A hard disk is not always the same as a hard disk. Data on it can be stored in different file systems with different properties. The Windows 95B/98 and Millennium operating systems support the FAT32 file system. Windows NT/2000/XP, on the other hand, offer FAT32 and NTFS on. The so-called New Technology File System offers many security and performance features. If you only work with Windows XP, for example, it is recommended that you use the NTFS file system. However, if you have Windows 9x versions installed alongside this operating system, they cannot access it.
The conversion from FAT/FAT32 to NTFS is done as follows:
1. Insert a DOS boot disk into your floppy disk drive and switch on your computer. The command prompt will start immediately after booting.
2. Now enter the command C: to access the drive on which Windows XP is installed (can of course also be D:). Now type cd Windows followed by cd system in. The DOS prompt now reads C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\. You must confirm each command with ENTER!
3. Now write the command convert.exe c: /fs:ntfs there. The C: parameter determines the drive that needs to be converted. The conversion will now start.
NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.
