Win XP Pro Upgrade Query

[mark rouse]

If I purchase Windows XP Professional Upgrade to upgrade
from Windows 98 SE without losing my in-place settings,
data etc.: does that mean that Windows XP Professional
Upgrade keeps my existing FAT32 file system?

If it does, is there an option, once XP is installed and
working, to convert from FAT32 to NTFS so that I can take
advantage of NTFS' better security and bigger file sizes?

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Yes, XP will work fine with FAT32, and won't convert your existing system as
part of setup. You can retain all of your settings, using the Files and
Settings Transfer Wizard, but you will want to read this article by Gary
Woodruff on the use of FAST.

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm

And yes, you can convert to NTFS at any time, but for optimum performance,
you may need to take some additional steps if you're converting after the
fact. This article, by MVP Alex Nichol, covers this in more detail.

http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm

--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
--------------------------------
Associate Expert
ExpertZone - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
--------------------------------
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"mark rouse" > wrote in message
...
> If I purchase Windows XP Professional Upgrade to upgrade
> from Windows 98 SE without losing my in-place settings,
> data etc.: does that mean that Windows XP Professional
> Upgrade keeps my existing FAT32 file system?
>
> If it does, is there an option, once XP is installed and
> working, to convert from FAT32 to NTFS so that I can take
> advantage of NTFS' better security and bigger file sizes?
>

[Jon_Hildrum]

Yes, it will keep the FAT32 file system.

Yes, there is an option to convert to NTFS afterwards.

Note: Your may be better off doing a clean install and format the drive
using NTFS as part of the operating system installation. You can do this
with the upgrade as long as you still have your win98 disk as proof of a
qualifying product for the upgrade. (it will ask to check it during
installation).

--
Jon Hildrum
DTS MVP

www.hildrum.com
"mark rouse" > wrote in message
...
> If I purchase Windows XP Professional Upgrade to upgrade
> from Windows 98 SE without losing my in-place settings,
> data etc.: does that mean that Windows XP Professional
> Upgrade keeps my existing FAT32 file system?
>
> If it does, is there an option, once XP is installed and
> working, to convert from FAT32 to NTFS so that I can take
> advantage of NTFS' better security and bigger file sizes?
>