Default File System Choices During Windows 2000 Setup

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This article was previously published under Q211249

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SUMMARY

During the text-based portion of Windows 2000 Setup, you can choose to convert your hard disk from the FAT32 file system to the NTFS file system. There are many benefits to converting to the NTFS file system, including increased file security, more reliability, and more efficient use of disk space. During Setup, you receive the following prompt:

Upgrading to the Windows NT File System
Do you want Setup to upgrade your drive to NTFS?

Yes, Upgrade my drive
No, Do not upgrade my drive

The default options are:

Windows 2000 Professional: No, do not convert this drive to NTFS.
Windows 2000 Server products: Yes, convert this drive to NTFS.

NOTE: After a partition is converted to the NTFS file system, it cannot be converted back to the FAT or FAT32 file system. To return to the FAT or FAT32 file system, you must format the partition.

Note that if a partition is larger than 2 gigabytes (GB) and you choose the FAT file system, the FAT32 file system is used by default.

MORE INFORMATION

If you do not convert to the NTFS file system during Setup, you can convert the partition later by using the Convert.exe tool. For additional information about converting to the NTFS file system, please see the "Convert Command" topic in Windows 2000 Help.

For additional information about file systems, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

100108 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/100108/EN-US/ ) Overview of FAT, HPFS, and NTFS File Systems