Cleaning up the Attic: Convert command

For logic that now seems a bit fuzzy to me, I made the decision when my XP desktop system hard-drive failed, to continue with the four-partition model.

C: = system drive - NTFS

D: = pictures – FAT32

E: = music – FAT32

F: = storage – FAT32

Long time ago we used to have dual-partitioned systems at work as the standard with the system partition being NTFS and the other being FAT32.  We did this as (at the time) there was a dearth of boot tools that could read NTFS volumes “off-line” for file recovery, but could handle FAT32 just fine.

So we would set the user’s “My Documents” folder to that partition so we could always recover them.

Then Linux allowed reading of NTFS volumes.

Then Win PE came along.

So it didn’t really matter anymore.

I think I probably kept with that model at home.

Anyway, these three volumes are the only ones left at home that remain FAT32.  All the other systems are NTFS now…all the way, baby.

So I decided to convert them to NTFS.

First I ran a defrag session on them.

Then I launched a CMD (command line) window.

Off the C: prompt I typed:

DISKPART

DISKPART > list volume

That 2nd command at the Diskpart prompt listed all the volumes/partitions on my system as well as the “labels” given to each one.

I then exited out of diskpart and ran the following commands, waiting until each had completed before doing the next.

convert d: /fs:ntfs

convert e: /fs:ntfs

convert f: /fs:ntfs

At each point after some checks were done, I had to enter the label of the volume.  I just referenced and used the information gathered from DISKPART.

Each volume took just under five minutes to complete.  No reboot necessary in my case.

When I was done, all my partitions are now running with NTFS formatting.

And in my case, no data was lost in translation!

Sweet.

More linkage

• FAT32-NTFS: Convert FAT32 to NTFS in Windows XP or vista - Techblissonline

• How to use Convert.exe to convert a partition to the NTFS file system – Microsoft Help and Support ID 214579

• How to Use Convert.exe to Convert a Partition to the NTFS File System – Microsoft Help and Support ID 314097

• Free Space Required to Convert FAT to NTFS – Microsoft Help and Support ID 156560

• File security issues after converting FAT32 partitions to the NTFS file system  – Microsoft Help and Support ID 810142

• How To Cancel NTFS Conversion After Running CONVERT.EXE  – Microsoft Help and Support ID 130913

--Claus V.