FAT32 to NTFS File System Conversion Does Not Work When Using Sysprep

When you attempt to convert a partition from FAT32 file system to NTFS file system during a Sysprep cloning operation, and the volume being converted has anything other than a blank (null) volume label, the conversion may be unsuccessful. Depending on the method you use to attempt the conversion, there is either no error message to indicate that the conversion was unsuccessful, or an error message is displayed that disappears before you can read it.

If you use Sysprep in conjunction with a modified Sysprep.inf file and the following line is added to the [unattend] section, in this particular scenario, the conversion is unsuccessful: In addition, the [GUIRunOnce] section in the Sysprep.inf file allows you to run commands. If you use a convert command, the process stops and you are prompted for a volume name.

Use of the ConvertNTFS parameter is not supported during the Mini-Setup phase that is run after a cloned system prepared with the System Preparation Utility is first started. The ConvertNTFS parameter is only supported during text mode setup, which is never invoked by the System Preparation utility.

It is possible to convert a FAT32 volume to NTFS using the CONVERT.EXE command. The convert command can be incorporated into the system preparation process in one of two ways:

1. Before running SYSPREP against the reference machine, open a command prompt and issue the command to convert the file system to NTFS.
   
   For example, on a system that will have the C: drive converted from FAT16 or FAT32 to NTFS:

   CONVERT C: /FS=NTFS
   							

2. Add the CONVERT command to the GUIRUNONCE section of the Sysprep.inf.
   
   For example, on a system that will have the C: drive converted from FAT16 or FAT32 to NTFS:

   Command1="cmd /c convert.exe c: /fs:ntfs /v"
   							

For more information on the GuiRunOnce section of the Sysprep.inf, please see the Sysprep.doc file, or the Unattend.doc file included with the Windows 2000 deployment tools.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

If you use Convert.exe to convert a FAT32 partition to NTFS and the volume has a label, the following message is displayed: If you type the volume name, the following message may be displayed: