Re: Time limit for "convert c: /fs:ntfs" (convert FAT to NTFS)?

> deesto@yahoo.com (John) wrote in message news:<a1bbd9bd.0307091123.22988519@posting.google. com>...

> > Alex Nichol <alexn.mvpdts@ntlworld.delete.com> wrote in message news:<93algv8g1s5ecc516vtvubf2mpuh42de53@4ax.com>. ..

> > > Deesto wrote:
> > >
> > > >LOL thanks... rebooted (after 24 hours! and no progress) and took some
> > > >tinkering, as it wanted to stay in an endless loop, but finally got back

> >

> > > >to a previous, working configuration.
> > > >How do I do this? XP won't let me dismount the drive to do it from
> > > >within Windows!
> > >
> > > You cannot do it on C while the system is running from the drive you are
> > > converting.
> > >
> > > I would do a separate chkdsk /f (again at a reboot) and defragment the
> > > drive, before trying again. And read up at
> > > www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm on other considerations

> >
> > Thank you Alex, but it may be too late for this. I got frustrated and
> > tried to use Partition Magic to perform the FAT->NTFS conversion, but
> > I can't even get it to start up, as it's now complaining that the
> > partition table is invalid! Windows is running just fine, and it's
> > still reporting FAT32 as the part type.
> > What can I do now???
> > Thanks.
> > John

>
> Even worse news for me. As Alex suggested, I did "a separate
> chkdsk /f (again at a reboot) and defragment the drive, before trying
> again". I did the convert command i verbose mode, so I could see what
> was happening. After quite a few minutes of files flying by, it
> seemed to get stuck on what might have been the very last file for
> about a minute, then it rebooted. From that point on, my system was
> shot and gets stuck at "NTLDR is missing" during boot every time. I
> have tried every remedy I could find, from using the XP recovery
> console to restore the ntldr and ntdetect.com files (copied
> successfully but they seem to disappear on reboot?), to trying to do a
> rescue installation (says the disk is damaged and can't continue), to
> using a partition manager to try and restore things (gets hung up on
> some silly "EZ-Disk" utility that seems to be running for the Western
> Digital drive and won't start up). I've never, EVER had a problem of
> this magnitude happen and I think I'm completely stuck.
> Please help.
> Thank you.
>
> John