FAT32 to NTFS And Back?

Blake's7 · 06-07-2009, 01:13 PM

Hi! I'm not sure I'm in the right forum, but since it's about file systems...A friend has an old laptop that has had a few problems. At the present, the cd-rom drive doesn't work. His daughter has a couple of gigs of pictures on it that he wants to save. I figure I can use a flash drive to copy the pictures to my computer, then burn them to disc to copy to his desktop. The laptop is formatted in FAT32, and my computer is formatted in NTFS. If i use the flash drive on the laptop it's formatted in FAT32, and the file format is then FAT32. If I copy the files to the flash drive, and then copy them to the NTFS computer, they'll be converted to NTFS, right? Then if I burn them to a cd, they'll be in NTFS format, right? But when I copy them to his desktop, which is FAT32, then they'll be converted back to FAT32, right? Am I correct in these assumptions? Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks..

steveb1234 · 06-07-2009, 01:23 PM

The FAT32 and NTFS file systems refer to the way the HDD is formatted not the files recorded on them- it is ok to have a fat32 external drive connected to a computer with NTFS format hard disc drive. When you burn them to a cd the cd uses CDFS but this does not result in a conversion of the files that are recorded. FAT32 and NTFS and CDFS are disc formats and not file types. Also if you convert a HDD drive from FAT32 to NTFS you can't reverse the conversion but there is no need to do this anyway.

johnwill · 06-07-2009, 02:22 PM

Yep, the conversions when you copy are done automatically, no need to worry.

Blake's7 · 06-07-2009, 03:35 PM

Thanks for the replies. DOH! I thought about it after I posted, and remembered that the cd format is different so I'd have no problem. Thanks again.

06-07-2009, 01:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
Blake's7 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 62 OS: xp pro	FAT32 to NTFS And Back? Hi! I'm not sure I'm in the right forum, but since it's about file systems...A friend has an old laptop that has had a few problems. At the present, the cd-rom drive doesn't work. His daughter has a couple of gigs of pictures on it that he wants to save. I figure I can use a flash drive to copy the pictures to my computer, then burn them to disc to copy to his desktop. The laptop is formatted in FAT32, and my computer is formatted in NTFS. If i use the flash drive on the laptop it's formatted in FAT32, and the file format is then FAT32. If I copy the files to the flash drive, and then copy them to the NTFS computer, they'll be converted to NTFS, right? Then if I burn them to a cd, they'll be in NTFS format, right? But when I copy them to his desktop, which is FAT32, then they'll be converted back to FAT32, right? Am I correct in these assumptions? Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks..

06-07-2009, 01:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
steveb1234 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 323 OS: xp, windows 7	Re: FAT32 to NTFS And Back? The FAT32 and NTFS file systems refer to the way the HDD is formatted not the files recorded on them- it is ok to have a fat32 external drive connected to a computer with NTFS format hard disc drive. When you burn them to a cd the cd uses CDFS but this does not result in a conversion of the files that are recorded. FAT32 and NTFS and CDFS are disc formats and not file types. Also if you convert a HDD drive from FAT32 to NTFS you can't reverse the conversion but there is no need to do this anyway. Last edited by steveb1234; 06-07-2009 at 01:25 PM.

06-07-2009, 02:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,111 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: FAT32 to NTFS And Back? Yep, the conversions when you copy are done automatically, no need to worry. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

06-07-2009, 03:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
Blake's7 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 62 OS: xp pro	Re: FAT32 to NTFS And Back? Thanks for the replies. DOH! I thought about it after I posted, and remembered that the cd format is different so I'd have no problem. Thanks again.