NTFS detects FAT32 on XP?

[martianX10]

Alright, minor question, it shouldn't be too hard.

My parents computer -

OLD Gateway: Windows 98
128 MB Ram
20gb HDD Formatted in FAT32
600Mhz Processor

A new computer I recently got from a buddy -

New'ish Dell (Surfing PC not gaming) -

Windows XP
128mb Ram
40gb HDD Formatted in NTFS
1.59ghz processor

Ok, so my idea is to just throw the Hard Drive (with all my parents valuable files) and the RAM (if its the right speed) from the old gateway, into the newer Dell, and just give it to them.

Question is, will the XP NTFS Formatted HDD recognize the 98 FAT32 formatted one as a slave? Will NTFS even support a secondary FAT32 HDD at all? Its not a big deal I can just reformat the Dell as FAT32 but I was just gonna ask around first.

Thanks!

 

[brady]

It will recognize the HDD and files, however the security from the NTFS will not transfer over the FAT32 HDD. Also, the files created with applications such as Word will have a hard time reformatting to the newer version of Word.

 

[martianX10]

Wow that was fast thanks, alright.

2 last things:

1. Microsoft word finally just STOPPED working on the old gateway HDD, heh, which is one of the reasons I'm switching this HDD into the new one. Could you maybe explain whatcha mean by .doc's might have a "hard time reformatting?"

2. What excatly is NTFS's security?

Sorry I'm not a COMPLETE noob, made plenty of PC's before, just always formatted them in NTFS so I've never had this problem yet. Thanks again

 

[mrdinkel]

IN short order, NTFS Security is the security that's been the preferred filesystem of any NT-Based OS since NT 4. NTFS = new technology filesystem. Its most prominent use is in servers, and with Encrypted File-system, it renders the files securely encrpyted in case of theft of your notebook, desktop HDD, etc. I know from experience; i locked myself out of files from linux

Most of the advantages of NTFS compared to simpler, older file systems such as FAT relate to its fundamental characteristics. NTFS offers a superior architecture, support for larger files, security features such as access control and logging, enhanced reliability, and more.

 

[TheMajor]

Will work fine. It's not "NTFS" that has to support "FAT32". It is the OS that has to be able to read "FAT32". XP does.

 

[Osiris]

Im not 100% for sure yet but you might have issues taking over ownership of files, if you do do this below:

How to take ownership of a file
Note You must be logged on to the computer with an account that has administrative credentials.

To take ownership of a file, follow these steps: 1. Right-click the file that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).
3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.
4. In the Name list, click Administrator, or click the Administrators group, and then click OK.

The administrator or the Administrators group now owns the file. To change the permissions on the files and folders under this folder, go to step 5.
5. Click Add.
6. In the Enter the object names to select (examples) list, type the user or group account that you want to give access to the file. For example, type Administrator.
7. Click OK.
8. In the Group or user names list, click the account that you want, and then select the check boxes of the permissions that you want to assign that user.
9. When you are finished assigning permissions, click OK.

 

[TheMajor]

No, the disk he will add to his system is FAT32, no problems at all.

 

[martianX10]

It's not "NTFS" that has to support "FAT32". It is the OS that has to be able to read "FAT32". XP does.

That right there is what I was looking for, thanks.

Thanks to everyone else too, but thats more of what I was confused about.

 

[TheMajor]

In other words, it does not matter what file system XP has been installed onto. It can still read FAT32 and NTFS.

 

[martianX10]

Yeah I got it, thanks a bunch!