FAT32 to NTFS???

R4L · 01-26-2009, 05:15 PM

I recently recovered my WD 320GB external hard drive with Testdisk once being plugged into a Vista computer. I'm thinking that vista recognizes only NTFS and screwed up my HD in order to recognize it. I wanted to know is there any way to change from FAT32 to NTFS without losing my data (for free)?

**raptor_pa** · 01-26-2009, 05:28 PM

convert command open a command prompt and type convert /? to see the syntax...

R4L · 01-26-2009, 05:39 PM

Raptor_pa, thanks again for helping me out. I just want to get the idea down before going forward, once selecting "/FS:NTFS" from command on the XP pc, my questions are:

1. Will the command prompt give me an option to select the external drive?
2. Will the conversion allow me to view my files on both pcs, or will I be limited to the vista one?
3. I will lose no data of any sort in the conversion, correct?

**raptor_pa** · 01-26-2009, 06:07 PM

No data loss if there are no losses at this point... look again at the syntax, command prompts generally do not allow extra input... it should be
convert DriveLetter: /fs:NTFS
make sure of the spaces and the colon after the drive letter. Although I know of no recognized issues, I have seen a lot of errors moving externals between XP and Vista. Vista uses a GUID partiton format while XP uses an MBR format and the partition tables are different. Vista is supposed to maintain compatibility when it creates it's GUID table. It may require SP3 on the mXP machine to read it perhaps, but I have seen a lot of issues moving externals between them, just not able to replicate enough times to get a handle on the details...

**blah789** · 01-26-2009, 06:07 PM

Vista should be able to read FAT and FAT32 partitions just fine.
The way it works is
convert x: /fs:ntfs
where x is the letter of the drive you want to convert.
1. you do so by picking the drive letter. make sure no other window is making use of the drive (including windows explorer). just to be sure, wait a couple of minutes after boot to run it. to make doubly sure, before running it, run chkdsk on the external drive.
2. depends on what the other pc has. if it has windows 2000 or xp or vista it should be able to read it. if it has mac os x or linux, you can use ntfs-3g (among many other solutions - just google for more).
if it has win 98 or me, it might work if the drive was less than 128gb, windows 98 was patched up, and with additional software (ntfs for windows 98 by sysinternals), but i wouldn't count on it too much.
3. any conversion like this always carries a risk. if the process is interrupted in any way (program crash or worse, power failure) you could lose all your data. the chances of it happening are very slim, but it can happen.

01-26-2009, 05:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
R4L Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 19 OS: XP	FAT32 to NTFS??? I recently recovered my WD 320GB external hard drive with Testdisk once being plugged into a Vista computer. I'm thinking that vista recognizes only NTFS and screwed up my HD in order to recognize it. I wanted to know is there any way to change from FAT32 to NTFS without losing my data (for free)?

01-26-2009, 05:28 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,931 OS: XP	Re: FAT32 to NTFS??? convert command open a command prompt and type convert /? to see the syntax... __________________

01-26-2009, 05:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
R4L Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 19 OS: XP	Re: FAT32 to NTFS??? Raptor_pa, thanks again for helping me out. I just want to get the idea down before going forward, once selecting "/FS:NTFS" from command on the XP pc, my questions are: 1. Will the command prompt give me an option to select the external drive? 2. Will the conversion allow me to view my files on both pcs, or will I be limited to the vista one? 3. I will lose no data of any sort in the conversion, correct?

01-26-2009, 06:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,931 OS: XP	Re: FAT32 to NTFS??? No data loss if there are no losses at this point... look again at the syntax, command prompts generally do not allow extra input... it should be convert DriveLetter: /fs:NTFS make sure of the spaces and the colon after the drive letter. Although I know of no recognized issues, I have seen a lot of errors moving externals between XP and Vista. Vista uses a GUID partiton format while XP uses an MBR format and the partition tables are different. Vista is supposed to maintain compatibility when it creates it's GUID table. It may require SP3 on the mXP machine to read it perhaps, but I have seen a lot of issues moving externals between them, just not able to replicate enough times to get a handle on the details... __________________

01-26-2009, 06:07 PM	#5 (permalink)
blah789 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2,333 OS: Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP3	Re: FAT32 to NTFS??? Vista should be able to read FAT and FAT32 partitions just fine. The way it works is convert x: /fs:ntfs where x is the letter of the drive you want to convert. 1. you do so by picking the drive letter. make sure no other window is making use of the drive (including windows explorer). just to be sure, wait a couple of minutes after boot to run it. to make doubly sure, before running it, run chkdsk on the external drive. 2. depends on what the other pc has. if it has windows 2000 or xp or vista it should be able to read it. if it has mac os x or linux, you can use ntfs-3g (among many other solutions - just google for more). if it has win 98 or me, it might work if the drive was less than 128gb, windows 98 was patched up, and with additional software (ntfs for windows 98 by sysinternals), but i wouldn't count on it too much. 3. any conversion like this always carries a risk. if the process is interrupted in any way (program crash or worse, power failure) you could lose all your data. the chances of it happening are very slim, but it can happen.