Convert a Hard Disk or Disk PartitionFrom Fat to NTFS format

Convert a hard disk  to NTFS format

NTFS is a short form for 'New Technology File System'. The earlier file system in windows operating system was the FAT (file allocation table). The NTFS file system is the latest of the file system which has better performance than the old FAT system. The NTFS file system provides better performance and security for data on hard disks and partitions or volumes than the FAT file system used in some earlier versions of Windows. If you have a partition that uses the earlier FAT16 or FAT32 file system, you can convert it to NTFS by using the convert command. Converting to NTFS does not affect the data on the partition.

NTFS is one of the latest file system used by Windows operating systems. The NTFS file system has better performance compared to old FAT file system. If your hard disk partition is formatted for either FAT16 or FAT32 file system, it is possible to convert that partition to NTFS file system. Even if you convert your partition to NTFS file system from FAT file system, the data in that hard disk partition does not get affected. Let us now see how we can convert a hard disk partition to NTFS file system.

You can convert a partition to NTFS by using the Convert command. But once you cpnvert to NTFS, it cannot be converted back to the FAT file system. If you once again decided to convert back to FAT file system, you need to format the complete hard disk partition which will erase all the data in the partition.

You have to close all the applications or programs running on the partition thaqt needs to be converted to NTFS file system

Open the Command Prompt by clicking on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> right-click on Command Prompt

 After right click on Command Prompt, click on the option 'Run as Administrator'.

Now  type 'convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs'. Here the drive_letter is the letter of the partition that you want to convert to NTFS file system. Now press Enter. Let us see an example.

C:\>convert D: /fs:ntfs will convert the partition D into NTFS partition.

That is all, your partition is now converted to NTFS file system.

After you convert a partition to NTFS, you cannot convert it back. If you want to use the FAT file system on the partition again, you will need to reformat the partition, which erases all data on it.

Some earlier versions of Windows cannot read data on local NTFS partitions. If you need to use an earlier version of Windows to access a partition on the computer, do not convert it to NTFS.

Although the chance of corruption or data loss during a conversion is minimal, you should back up all data on the partition before you begin.

To convert a hard disk or partition to NTFS format

Close any open programs running on the partition or logical drive to be converted.

Click the Start button ,click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

At the command prompt, type convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs, where drive_letter is the letter of the drive you want to convert, and then press Enter. For example, convert E: /fs:ntfs would convert drive E to the NTFS format.

Type the name of the volume you want to convert, and then press Enter. You must use the existing name of the volume or the conversion will be canceled. You can view all available volumes in the Computer folder under Hard Disk Drives.

Click to open Computer.

If the partition you are converting contains system files—which would be the case if you are converting the hard disk that the operating system was installed on—you will need to restart your computer for the conversion to take place. If your disk is almost full, the conversion process might not succeed. If you receive an error, try deleting unnecessary files, or back up files to another location, to free up disk space.