Upgrading PC To XP

[Fayttt]

well

FAT32 doesnt support files over 2GB in size, nor does it support any type of security for your data, nor does it support larger hard drives\


ntfs on the other hand supports all those things and more

What do you mean it doesnt support files over 2gb? (I'm still a bit of a nub with hardware)

[Killgannon]

say you have a DVD image... those are usually 4GB or so in size, on FAT32 you wouldnt be able to handle that size of file... because of fat's file size limitation

also fat32 doesnt like long file names... over 255 characters so you cant name a file something really really long... but no one really does that intentionally...

[Fayttt]

Ah, I see. Well I've had huge 2gb+ dvd images before and they worked, but I wondered why they were so damn laggy ;x. How do I format my drive to NTFS though?

[Siniroth]

Only the bottom part is needed, but just in case...

Convert
Converts FAT and FAT32 volumes to NTFS.

Syntax
convert [volume] /fs:ntfs [/v] [/cvtarea:FileName] [/nosecurity] [/x]

Parameters

volume
Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon), mount point, or volume name to convert to NTFS.

/fs:ntfs
Required. Converts the volume to NTFS.

/v
Specifies verbose mode, that is, all messages will be displayed during conversion.

/cvtarea:FileName
For advanced users only. Specifies that the Master File Table (MFT) and other NTFS metadata files are written to an existing, contiguous placeholder file. This file must be in the root directory of the file system to be converted. Use of the /CVTAREA parameter can result in a less fragmented file system after conversion. For best results, the size of this file should be 1 KB multiplied by the number of files and directories in the file system, however, the convert utility accepts files of any size.
For more information about using the /cvtarea parameter, see "File Systems" at the Microsoft Windows XP Resource Kits Web site.(http://www.microsoft.com/)

Important

You must create the placeholder file using the fsutil file createnew command prior to running convert. Convert does not create this file for you. Convert overwrites this file with NTFS metadata. After conversion, any unused space in this file is freed. For more information about the fsutil file command, see Related Topics.

/nosecurity
Specifies that the converted files and directory security settings are accessible by everyone.

/x
Dismounts the volume, if necessary, before it is converted. Any open handles to the volume will no longer be valid.

Remarks
-You must specify that the drive should be converted when the computer is restarted. Otherwise, you cannot convert the current drive.

-If convert cannot lock the drive (for example, the system volume or the current drive), it offers to convert the drive the next time the computer restarts.

-The location of the MFT is different on volumes that have been converted from previous version of NTFS, so volume performance might not be as good on volumes converted from Windows NT.

-Volumes converted from FAT to NTFS lack some performance benefits compared to volumes initially formatted with NTFS. On converted volumes, the MFT might become fragmented. In addition, on converted boot volumes, NTFS permissions are not applied after the volume is converted.

Examples
To convert the volume on drive E to NTFS and display all messages:

Start -> Run -> "cmd" (type and hit enter, without quotations)
type following and hit enter:
convert e: /fs:ntfs /v

Copypasta from help and support center on my comp, and cleaned up and made more understandable, just switch "e:" in above example for whatever letter drive you're using (I assume C:, but my friend used H once, for some reason, so yeah)

lol I found a use for the Help and Support Center

[Fayttt]

Oh cool, thats easy enough then.

[Killgannon]

please realize that you WONT be able able to do this on C: with windows running, you will have to use a DOS boot disk, or something like ulitimate boot CD to pull that off cause like you cant convert something while windows is using it... and i still say converting is horrible horrible idea and if you do it you will die a horrible horrible death of dying and death and stuff will hapPEN to your windows installation and things will be all like "oh fuck i cant go and shit" and you'll be posting here again and being like "my shit wont go fuck!!!!" and we'll be like "you fucked it up when you did that shit from the other thread like we told you itd fuck up!!!" so unless you want this to happen i still suggest a format and reinstall, the install will still go the same way and shit, ie you'll burn that CD which you alreayd burned, stick it in your drive reboot, hit a key when it says "hit a key to enter setup..." and go through that deleting the partition then recreating and formatting it as NTFS...

VODKA IS YOUR FRIEND HAVE SOME AND STUFF <3

[Shuemue]

I concur with my vodka drinking colleague, fdisk that bitch.

[Siniroth]

>_> it asks if you wanna change it next restart, but yeah, i concur with vodka

[Fayttt]

Awesome, thanks for the help everyone =D