Irene Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 I have a 500GB external hard drive, on which I store photos, videos and my C & D drive Acronis backup files.After copying a VHS tape to the EHD this morning, I ended up with a file called VIDEO_TS. When I tried to lift it into Studio 10, a message appeared on screen saying this.....I see that I can convert the EHD to NTFS. Would that be advisable or not?I suppose I'm saying should I do it or not? Help needed please. I know absolutely nothing about this subject. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Definitely convert to NTFS - even more important if you're doing video of more than a few minutes.What I do with my external drives is to reformat them when new - that removes all the rubbish "extra value" items that may be on the drive as well.I suggest that if there is anything important on the drive, move it elsewhere temporarily, and reformat.If you want help on how to reformat, let us know :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 The instruction leaflet that came with my plug in hard drive recommended formatting to NTFS. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Definitely convert to NTFS - even more important if you're doing video of more than a few minutes. I suggest that if there is anything important on the drive, move it elsewhere temporarily, and reformat. If you want help on how to reformat, let us know :)There is about 100GB in use out of the 500.Some I know were created during my trial and error runs. I must do a major investigation on them in due course.However, since there is so much on there, but nothing life threatening, I would prefer to leave well alone if possible.I believe it is still possible to still covert with files still in place. The procedure I have found is as follows. Click Start, Run, and then type cmd, and press Enter.In the command window, type: convert J: /FS:NTFS then press Enter. (J is the drive which is currently FAT32).According to one set of instructions which I have found it then says:- "This initiates the conversion from FAT32 to NTFS. When prompted. enter the volume label noted in the previous page." Hopefully all will become clear as I go through the process. -pops-, Does this look OK to you. I'll wait for your reply before I proceed, if I may. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Yes, that's the way to do it. The reason I recommended to move existing files is that it can happen that the conversion can go wrong (I've never known it do so) and the files are then lost. If you're happy to take that small risk, do it!Note: be prepared to wait quite a time for a large disk such as you have to be converted. Don't give up thinking it's gone wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Thank you very much -pops-. I'll report back when It's finished. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 OMG... I failed at the first fence!!What is the Volume label?Could it be the description of the drive in 'My Computer', i.e. IOMEGA_HDD (J:) ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Ignore that bit, Irene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted November 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Ignore that bit, Irene.Thanks -pops-.I just came up against another problem.It said that it was not able to convert because of inconsistencies and suggested that I did a check disk.I have now completed that and have set it to continue when I re-boot tomorrow. Way past my bedtime now, so I'll report back tomorrow. Hopefully after the conversion!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 What is the Volume label?Could it be the description of the drive in 'My Computer', i.e. IOMEGA_HDD (J:) ?? Yes, it's exactly that. You do not really need to name the disk, but I usually prefer a name to just blank.P.S. It's always a good idea to defragment a drive before running a file system conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted November 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Thanks -pops-, Pat.Infortunately the conversion failed. :( The message went off the screen quickly, so I only caught a brief glimpse. I think I saw failed due to shortage of memory or file problem etc.I am begining to think that a format is going to be the way forward. I'll check the files and copy to DVD anything which I definitely want to keep.It will leave me without the Acronis backup briefly, but I'll do one as soon as it's back up and running again.So, -pops- , I would be very grateful for your guidance on what to do next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 OK, RIGHT click My Computer and select Manage -> Disc Management. You will be presented with a list of all drives on the computer. RIGHT click on the drive you want to format and click Format. Select the file system you want - it may already have a volume label. If it doesn't, ignore that. Leave the Allocation unit as default. DO NOT tick the Quick format or Compression box.Click OK. You will get a warning about everything being lost. Click OK again and leave it to it. As I said above, a large drive will take a long time to format so don't give up thinking it's gone wrong. There should be a progress report visible to show you how it's going.If you have more than a "C" drive and your external one, ensure you are formatting the correct one. Windows won't allow you to format the "C" drive (it won't commit suicide) so you are safe there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Just realised. If your Acronis is on that drive as Acronis Secure Zone, that is most likely the reason you cannot convert FAT 32 to NTFS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted November 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Just realised. If your Acronis is on that drive as Acronis Secure Zone, that is most likely the reason you cannot convert FAT 32 to NTFS.Can I change the Secure Zone in Acronis?Will that then allow me to convert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 I don't think you can do much with the Acronis secure zone - it's there and hidden from Windows which sees it, probably, as an error on the disk - which is why you can't do the conversion.All in all, I think you are best re-formatting and starting again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted November 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Good News!!I deleted the backup files completely from the EHD.Then I tried again for the conversion. Thank goodness, it worked. :D Since then I have defragmented the drive (it took ages). So I am now ready to do a new Acronis backup of Drive C & D. Thank you very much for your help -pops- & Pat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted November 24, 2007 Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 You're welcome, Irene. So pleased it's worked OK for you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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