Conversion FAT32 to NTFS query

[LastDance]

I'm currently using ASUS G1 laptop and the HD came in fat32 format. I've only recently found out that fat32 cannot support files more than 4gb thus have to do the conversion now.

 

My primary drive c has 90gb and about 50% has been used for programs, games, movies and so on.

 

Here are the steps i intended to take.

 

1) defrag c & d

2) re-partition c and d(partition magic)

3) use bootitng to align to 4kb clusters boundaries (read here why)

4) convert to ntfs

 

Ok now here's the problem, after 24hrs of defrag using diskeeper, status is only at 46% for c!! From 44-46% it was basically stuck with my Football Manager 07 game. I cancelled the process thinking of doing it another way.

 

1) use bootitng to align to 4kb clusters boundaries (read here why)

2) convert to ntfs

3) defrag c(since it would be more efficient in ntfs)

4) re-partition c and d(partition magic)

 

But... another problem arose while performing a dry run for bootitng.

I made the bootable dvd with bootitng.iso and when i boot with that, it brings me to the dos screen only.

Checked dir and below are the contents:

command.com

drdos dir

oak dir

nr dir

wwbmu.exe

readme.txt

dconfig.sys

autodos7.bat

 

I choose wwbmu as it's the only executable there and it brought up some stuff in german then options for partitioning stuff i guess, also in german.

 

Does anybody have any experience with bootitng here? Is it supposed to be like that?

Also am I doing it right above?

[stsoh]

most likely ur hd had bad sectors.

do a backup n try get hold a ur hd utility software.

most hd utility software have zero data wipe-off might resolve bad sectors.

otherwise a low level format will also solve bad sectors on hd.

[ghost]

very confusing, i too suggest u better do a backup first. restore ur computer to factory default, partition the drive n then convert the FAT32 to NTFS. u wasted too much time on defrag, the time could have used to restore the hdd to factory state

[redbeacon]

Regarding the bootable disc that you've made, sometimes, "bootable" programs are meant to be made on a floppy; meaning to say, if you want to do it on a disc, there might be a 50/50 chance that it'll work. If you're feeling lucky, cross your fingers, give it a 2nd shot, and hope for the best.

 

it was basically stuck with my Football Manager 07 game

 

I have a graphics and processor-intensive game which used huge-sized BMP files. Therefore, it is understandable that the Defragmentation utility can sometimes take way too long to arrange and reposition my, shall I say, my oversized files.

 

That's my best guess by far regarding the slowness of disk defragmenter.

 

Moreover, FAT is already "inefficient", so I gotta say, you're stuck with its limitations as you embark on a slow journey to convert your hard disk.

 

=====

 

Based on the comments being made here by our peers, I'd also suggest an entire HDD bad-sector scan, a reformat, and repartitioning. Rids the problem once and for all. Then, tackle the NTFS conversion (maybe an optional bootitng if it works).

 

Let us know how it faired. Cheers.

[tt6389]

Originally posted by LastDance@February 09, 2007 03:29 pm

I'm currently using ASUS G1 laptop and the HD came in fat32 format. I've only recently found out that fat32 cannot support files more than 4gb thus have to do the conversion now.

 

My primary drive c has 90gb and about 50% has been used for programs, games, movies and so on.

 

Here are the steps i intended to take.

 

1) defrag c & d

2) re-partition c and d(partition magic)

3) use bootitng to align to 4kb clusters boundaries (read here why)

4) convert to ntfs

 

Ok now here's the problem, after 24hrs of defrag using diskeeper, status is only at 46% for c!! From 44-46% it was basically stuck with my Football Manager 07 game. I cancelled the process thinking of doing it another way.

 

1) use bootitng to align to 4kb clusters boundaries (read here why)

2) convert to ntfs

3) defrag c(since it would be more efficient in ntfs)

4) re-partition c and d(partition magic)

 

But... another problem arose while performing a dry run for bootitng.

I made the bootable dvd with bootitng.iso and when i boot with that, it brings me to the dos screen only.

Checked dir and below are the contents:

command.com

drdos dir

oak dir

nr dir

wwbmu.exe

readme.txt

dconfig.sys

autodos7.bat

 

I choose wwbmu as it's the only executable there and it brought up some stuff in german then options for partitioning stuff i guess, also in german.

 

Does anybody have any experience with bootitng here? Is it supposed to be like that?

Also am I doing it right above?

problem is NTFS hard disk crashed - very hard to recover data. Fat32 hard disk can easily recover data by removing hard disk & put inside a external portable hard disk case. Then use Norton utiltities to repair partition table, scan & remove viruses , copy files etc.

 

Unless you know how to use a bootable LIVE CD (Linux), you might be able to recover a NTFS hard disk data.

 

why you need to handle > 4GB files? Is it Digital video files from yr digital video camera? I remember handling >10GB file on my Fat32 hard disk previously.

 

[LastDance]

I only have the recovery discs and if I'm not wrong it will only bring me back to factory default right? Which means still in FAT32, I'll still need to align to 4K clusters then convert to NTFS.

 

tt6389 - I need to handle more than 4GB for game

 

May I know how you managed to handle more 10GB on your FAT32 HD?

[tt6389]

Originally posted by LastDance@February 11, 2007 11:02 pm

I only have the recovery discs and if I'm not wrong it will only bring me back to factory default right? Which means still in FAT32, I'll still need to align to 4K clusters then convert to NTFS.

 

tt6389 - I need to handle more than 4GB for game

 

May I know how you managed to handle more 10GB on your FAT32 HD?

recovery discs to bring back factory default as in Fat32? No way. Recovery disc is to restore boot files plus some utilities for formatting etc.

 

Unless you have special software to copy hard disk image to several dvdroms , then you can restore from NTFS to original Fat32 condition.

 

Handling 10GB files? Can't remember, coz i was meddling with my digital video camcorder years back. I rememer raw digital video is 11GB for every hour of video footage. I was able to transfer 11GB of file thru my firewire, the compressed it to mpeg2 before burning to dvd. Maybe the Video editing software which I installed comes with drivers which enable my system to handle >4GB

Or could be I update the latest patches on my win2k system.

[redbeacon]

Originally posted by tt6389@February 13, 2007 12:34 am

recovery discs to bring back factory default as in Fat32? No way. Recovery disc is to restore boot files plus some utilities for formatting etc.

 

Unless you have special software to copy hard disk image to several dvdroms , then you can restore from NTFS to original Fat32 condition.

 

Handling 10GB files? Can't remember, coz i was meddling with my digital video camcorder  years back. I rememer raw digital video is 11GB for every hour of video footage. I was able to transfer 11GB of file thru my firewire, the compressed it to mpeg2 before burning to dvd. Maybe the Video editing  software which I installed comes with  drivers which enable my system to handle >4GB 

Or could be I update the latest patches on my win2k system.

Actually, yes.

 

My Acer recovery disc actually held an image of my hard disk as when it came out from the factory (the filesystem, the way it was partitioned, the files inside, etc...).

 

Explaining it in technical terms, how Acer captured an image of my 80GB hard disk onto a 600MB CD-ROM, was that not the entire 80GB was copied into that CD-ROM. I'm not gonna go into detail but to put it simply, it's possible to do that.

 

====

 

Anyways, again, the threadstarter's concern is that he wants to convert his filesystem to NTFS. FAT32 have a limit to how big a file can grow to, to my knowledge.

 

And yes, contrary to the listed limitations of FAT32, there are ways to store files that grow beyond 4GB... away from Windows consciousness, just like in your case of that 11GB video that you imported. Only that you cannot physically modify, delete, move, copy it using the traditional Windows point-n-click method once the file is saved.

[jB]

dude whatever you do, get a portable hard drive and back up every now and then.. kinda regretted then my acer laptop every now and then tio tai ji and have to recover or reform or even worse, bring it down to acer..within 18 months I got a new laptop replacement from acer FOC..jeez wonder if its the brand or not