Converting HD file system

[karohemd]

You might remember my post from last week about not being able to copy large files to my new external HD. The reason was that the drive was formatted as FAT32 which doesn't allow files bigger than 4.somethingGB. Various people suggested formatting but neilh pointed out you can convert the file system to NTFS from the command prompt:

convert drive letter: /fs:ntfs

There needs to be some free space (no idea how much) but converting the 320GB drive took less than 5 minutes.

Right, now to do the same with the other external HD.

Comments

[crocodilewings.livejournal.com]

The convert tool does a quick NTFS format. You can probably get better performance from your disk if you do a full format in Disk Management.

This may not actually matter unless you're working on heavy end RAID arrays in industrial server infrastructure.

[neilh.livejournal.com]

If you are on the end of a USB wire it won't be the filesystem thats the bottleneck (though it depends a little on the kinds of files you're keeping on it). Indeed, the external disk I just converted is now running twice the transer rates I was getting on FAT32.

[crocodilewings.livejournal.com]

And the time you save from having a fully formatted NTFS partition is probably less noticeable than the 5+ hours it takes Windows Disk Management to format a 500GB USB external disk.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

It's just a backup drive so I guess I'll be fine.

[echo-echo.livejournal.com]

Is that a convert with files intact or converting an empty drive?

The only real advantage I can see of keeping FAT32 is that it means you can swap between a PC and a Mac.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

It worked with files intact but it's probably a good idea to back them up first (which I did).