NTFS vs FAT32

*** also see Microsoft's "How FAT Works" and "How NTFS Works"

These are file system for hard drives.  Each has it's onw pro's and con's - although most seem to prefr NTFS, I prefer FAT32 because it is easy to rad and write to with a boot floppy.  WinXP comes with a conversion utility for FAT32 to NTFS called convert.exe.  Only the operating system decides whether a partition's file system can be read - NOT THE FILE SYSTEM OF THE BOOT DRIVE.  

	Win98-ME can read FAT32
	WinXP-2000 can read FAT32 and NTFS

For example, you can boot with a FAT32 partition with XP, and it can read FAT32 and NTFS. The fact that the boot drive is FAT32 has no bearing on what file systems the OS can read. Similarly, you can boot with an NTFS partition with XP, and it can read FAT32 and NTFS. Win98 can only boot on a FAT32 drive, and can only read FAT32 partitions.

Formatting a Drive to NTFS

1) Start/Run . . . cmd
2) format x: /fs:ntfs /a:size - where size=512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8102, 16k, 32k, 64k
or in Windows Explorer, right-click on the drive and select Format - but it only gives 
you options for NTFS cluster sizes up to 4096 (4 k clusters)

Converting a FAT32 Drive to NTFS

Considerations before you decide to Convert

	Dual-Boot Machines (one WinXP partition and one Win98 partiton) - if you boot from a Fat32 partition, you cannot read the NTFS partition - if you boot from an NTFS partition, you can read FAT32 partitions.
	now, what if you convert WinXP to NTFS, and then have a problem - you cannot boot, so you need to access the drive. If you boot into Win98 (FAT32) you cannot access the drive !!! Therefore it may be best to leave both drives as FAT32.
	but what about the 4 GB limit with FAT32 ?? I do a lot of video work and sometimes have files that exceed 4 GB. In that case, leave your two operating system partitions as FAT32, and convert your Video capture drive to NTFS.
	you cannot convert back to FAT32 once you convert the NTFS !!!
	the "cluster size" is automatically set to 512 bytes, which is very small. If you're a gamer or have applications that need to write or read to and from the hard disk often, you might see some performance degradation.
	FAT32 machines can read NTFS partitions through a LAN
	the NTFS sector size is always 512 bytes, but the cluster size can be set to 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8102, 16k, 32k, 64k
	Win98 machines can read NTFS partitions through a LAN, as can virtually any machine on the LAN

For example, assume you have two bootable partitions (Drives C and D), Win98 and XP, both on FAT32 partitions, and several other partitions (Drives E, F, and G) :

Case 1 - leave both as FAT32 - his is great because if either system crashes and will not boot - you can boot into the other OS, and access the files on both partitions to do repairs. 

Case 2 - convert WinXP boot partition to NTFS - unfortunatley, if XP crashes and will not boot - you cannot boot into Win98 and access the NTFS files to do repairs

Case 3 - leave both as FAT32, and convert drive E to NTFS - this is the best solution - you can boot into the other OS, and access the files on both partitions to do repairs. You can also use Drive E for video projects with unlimited files sizes (in the Tera-bytes)

using Convert.exe

*** runs on XP in a DOS box (Start/Run . . . cmd)

Convert.exe will not convert back to FAT32 once you convert the partition and files to NTFS !!! However this is not a problem - Partition Magic will do this for you. Or you can move the files to another local drive or network drive, use delpart to get rid of the NTFS partition, and fdisk to create the same partition as FAT32, and move the files back.

1) open a DOS box (Start/Run . . . cmd.exe )
2) cd \windows\system32
3) convert.exe drive_letter: /fs:ntfs 
NOTE: when you run the convert c: /FS: NTFS command, you might be asked to either restart the computer or allow the utility to "dismount" the partition. If asked to dismount, make sure all your files are closed first, and then allow the utility to dismount.