QUICK: How to convert to NTFS via CMD

**FreakyOCR** · February 7th, 2002, 11:00 PM

itle says it.. In a rush so ASAP please

Vass the command console in win2k and YES from fat32

**vass0922** · February 7th, 2002, 11:04 PM

Come on man you know the rules lol

What OS, and what are you converting from?
just going from fat32 to ntfs?

Sure you dont want it from GUI?

I'm guessing you're stuck at command line?

Hmm gimme a min I'll look

**vass0922** · February 7th, 2002, 11:05 PM

Windows XP supports three file systems for fixed disks: FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS. It is recommended that you use NTFS with Windows XP because of its advanced performance, security, and reliability features. This article describes how to convert a FAT16 or FAT32 volume to NTFS.

Please note the following limitations:

UDF and CDFS are only used with optical media and cannot be converted to NTFS.

FAT12 is the only format used on floppy diskettes.

Some older programs that were not written for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 may exhibit slow performance after you convert the FAT32 file system to NTFS. This behavior does not occur on a clean partition of NTFS.

You can use the convert command (Convert.exe) to convert an existing FAT or FAT32 volume to NTFS. Because this conversion retains all of your files (unlike a format operation), use Convert.exe when you want to keep existing files on your volumes intact.

Before you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, consider the following:
The conversion to NTFS is a one-way process. After you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot convert it back to FAT or FAT32. To restore the volume to the previous file system, you must reformat it as FAT or FAT32. This action erases all existing data including your programs and personal files. In this case, you must either restore your data from a backup, or reinstall your operating system and programs.

Convert.exe requires that you have a certain amount of free space on the drive or partition to convert it. If Convert.exe determines that there is not enough free space on the volume, it does not convert the volume.

If you run other Windows operating systems on your computer in addition to Windows XP, note the following issues:

Only Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP have full access to files on an NTFS volume.

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later can access files on an NTFS volume. However, there are some limitations with files that are stored using features from the latest version of NTFS.

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Windows 98 Second Edition and earlier, and MS-DOS cannot access files on an NTFS volume.

that help?

**FreakyOCR** · February 7th, 2002, 11:08 PM

i need no know the exact command

aka convert ntfs c:\ or something

**vass0922** · February 7th, 2002, 11:14 PM

whoops minor detail

lol

NOTE : Although the possibility of corruption or data loss during the conversion is minimal, it is recommended that you perform a backup of the data on the volume that you want to convert before you start the conversion.

To convert an existing FAT or FAT32 volume to NTFS, follow these steps:
Click Start , point to All Programs , point to Accessories , and then click Command Prompt .

At the command prompt, type the following, where drive letter is the drive that you want to convert:

convert drive letter : /fs:ntfs
For example, type the following command to convert drive E to NTFS:
convert e : /fs:ntfs
When the following message is displayed in the command prompt window, type the volume label of the drive that you are converting, and then press ENTER:

The type of the file system is FAT.
Enter the current volume label for drive drive letter :
When the conversion to NTFS is complete, the following line is displayed in the command prompt window:

Conversion complete
Quit the command prompt.

**cadetstimp** · February 7th, 2002, 11:15 PM

convert <drive letter> /fs:ntfs

**FreakyOCR** · February 7th, 2002, 11:18 PM

Thanks... !!!!!!

**BFlurie** · February 7th, 2002, 11:24 PM

Frankly, you get a better NTFS if you do it on a clean, file-free partition -- if possible.

**kat12345** · April 15th, 2009, 02:29 PM

I am stuck. I go through all the steps to convert fat 32 to NTFS and get to the part that says, "Type the name of the volume you want to convert". I tried everything. I typed "L" I typed int the number of GB. I can't figure out what they are asking for specifically. I looked and looked online and everyone seems to assume that this should be easy and doesn't spell out what to put into the prompt at this point. Can you help!

**BipolarBill** · April 15th, 2009, 05:10 PM

This thread is 7 years old.

You're guilty of the same mistakes that the original poster is - lack of information. You haven't told us anything about the drive. Flash drives often do not support NTFS.

In your case, since the drive is "L", you do this:

1. Click Start > Run > CMD > OK.

2. Type CONVERT L: /FS:NTFS. Press Enter.

You can also use Disk Management to format the drive if you're not worried about the data. If you don't know about Disk Management, use Start > Help and Support to read about it.