Is it safe to convert from FAT32 to NTFS winxp?

[WickedWeasel]

Win XP SP2 on C drive in FAT32. Is it safe to run the convert program on C drive and go from FAT32 to NTFS? Will there be some strange anomalies later on?

My other drives are in NTFS and I have some encrypted folders (in green). When I restore a ghost image, the encrypted folders are completey inaccessible. I am hoping that if C drive is in NTFS, it might be accessible even after the ghost image has been restored. No passwords are assigned right now.

 

[Gorankar]

I have never run into any strange anomalies after converting a drive from Fat32 to NTFS.. It is usually safe as long as your system is in good working order.. As always, back up your important data before you do it.. Strange shit can always happen.. I'm not sure you can convert your root drive while in Windows.. And I doubt converting to ntfs will fix your encrypted folders problem after a ghost restore..

 

[nessus]

If the folders were encrypted after you Ghost image was made, the encryption key used to encrypt them was not present in your profile when the ghost image was made. The encryption key for your profile isn't generated until you encrypt your first file.

To unecrypt your files later on, you need to export the encryption key out of your profile before blowing away your OS and replacing your ghost image. If you follow similar steps for the export of the recovery agent key below, but do it while logged on as your user, you can export your private encryption key. Importing that into your profile will give you full access to the encrypted files from your reimaged profile.

Your other alternative would be to export the recovery agent key, but I don't believe that is created until the first file is encrypted on the workstation either. This can only be used to unencrypt one file at a time. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/241201

Converting an existing partition from FAT32 to NTFS is a very safe operation as long as the minimum disk space needed for the conversion is still free. Typically less than 100 MB. Of course, an up to date backup never hurts.

 

[pigster]

I seem to recall that there was something strange about cluster size when you converted some FAT disks - you may want to research that.

 

[Catweazle]

Although converting the drive from FAT32 to NTFS usually works fine, there is no absolute guarantee that your data will remain accessible and uncorrupted. In some circumstances problems result. Thus it would NOT be correct to suggest that the procedure is "safe".

Make sure your data is backed up before running the conversion. It's as simple as that

 

[NoxTek]

I seem to recall that there was something strange about cluster size when you converted some FAT disks - you may want to research that.

If I remember correctly that changed with XP SP1 or SP2. The 'convert' command now does 4KB clusters by default instead of 512byte like it used to.

 

[WickedWeasel]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure now if I will convert to NTFS because the benefits may not be worth the risk, but I will look into storing the encryption key before ghosting the drive.