[WriteLog] Converting a disk to NTFS

[Bill Turner]

On Sun, 19 Jan 2003 04:27:21 -0000, Steve Baron - KB3MM wrote:

>FAT32 may be adequate for you, but NTFS advantages are not limited to
>network environments.

_________________________________________________________

Please tell me what the advantages are.  If I'm missing
something, I will convert over.  

Here is the official Microsoft help file on NTFS.  Note that the
only advantages that MS spells out have to do with security and
accessing very large HDs.  As I said, I have a single computer,
not networked, and security is not an issue.
----------------------------------------------------------
FROM MICROSOFT:

You can choose between three file systems for disk partitions on
a computer running Windows XP: NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. Use the
information below to compare the file systems.

NTFS is the recommended file system for the following reasons:

NTFS is more powerful than FAT or FAT32, and includes features
required for hosting Active Directory as well as other important
security features. You can use features such as Active Directory
and domain-based security only by choosing NTFS as your file
system. 

It is easy to convert partitions to NTFS. The Setup program makes
conversion easy, whether your partitions used FAT, FAT32, or the
older version of NTFS. This kind of conversion keeps your files
intact (unlike formatting a partition). If you do not need to
keep your files intact and you have a FAT or FAT32 partition, it
is recommended that you format the partition with NTFS rather
than convert from FAT or FAT32. Formatting a partition erases all
data on the partition and allows you to start with a clean drive.
Whether a partition is formatted with NTFS or converted using the
convert command, NTFS is the better choice of file system. For
more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click
Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the command
window, type help convert and then press ENTER.

In order to maintain access control on files and folders and
support limited accounts, you must use NTFS. If you use FAT32,
all users will have access to all files on your hard drive,
regardless of their account type (administrator, limited, or
standard.) 

NTFS is the file system that works best with large disks. (The
next best file system for large disks is FAT32.) 
There is one situation in which you might want to choose FAT or
FAT32 as your file system. If it is necessary to have a computer
that will sometimes run an earlier version of Windows and other
times run Windows XP, you will need to have a FAT or FAT32
partition as the primary (or startup) partition on the hard disk.
Most earlier versions of Windows cannot access a partition if it
uses the latest version of NTFS. The two exceptions are Windows
2000 and Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later. Windows NT
4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later has access to partitions with
the latest version of NTFS, but with some limitations: It cannot
access files that have been stored using NTFS features that did
not exist when Windows NT 4.0 was released.

For anything other than a situation with multiple operating
systems, however, the recommended file system is NTFS.

 Important

Once you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot simply
convert it back to FAT or FAT32. You will need to reformat the
drive or partition which will erase all data including programs
and personal files on the partition. 

------------------------
73, Bill W7TI