XP: Convert Fat32 to NTFS
Contributed by AlexTheBeast 
Tagged: Windows NTFS has several advantages over the old Fat32 format. Here’s how to make the conversion.
Microsoft has decided to switch from fat32 to the NTFS format. The debate on which is better or worse is still raging. However, NTFS is now microsoft’s format of choice and is here to stay.
The conversion should not cause you to lose any data; however, I certainly would backup before large scale conversions like this.
1. Click Start
2. Select Run from the Start menu
3. Type cmd in the textbox and click OK
4. In the command window that opens type the following:
- convert c: /fs:ntfs
(If you want to convert any other drive, change the c: to the drive of choice.)
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Stefanie said on November 21, 2008
Does convert format the drive?
genie said on January 3, 2009
Stefanie…. convert only changes the format of the drive… it does not format your drive (as in wiping it clean). Convert will leave all your files and data intact. However, it is still a great idea to have your hdd backed up just in case something does go wrong. But since we ALL keep recent backups anyway, that shouldn’t be a problem. ;-)
theo said on January 16, 2009
i tried to do it in an externat drive (conected via usb) and it says:
CONVERT is not available for RAW units
what should i do?
Amol said on March 29, 2009
i’m not able to convert my usb drive
ertugrul uysal said on July 4, 2009
i ve just done it on my external harddrive. It doesn’t format the disk, everything is like it were. Not any loss of data. If the conversion fails try to fix the file system errors on the disk and then convert. It happened to me. The file system errors are gone and conversion was successful then. it works just fine. thx
Anonymous said on January 23, 2010
thnx
Turios said on August 13, 2010
Can you convert a usb-stick to ntfs?
Tanujgahlot007 said on September 23, 2010
data will be not deleted
dejan said on October 21, 2011
when i done the conversion from fat32 to ntfs on my external hdd, the speed of transfering the files is extremly slower :( Is that common or what?