> 4gb file on fat32

Hi Guys,

I'm using the G1 with fat32 and am unable to extract a file that is more than 4gb via winrar. Is there any solution to this besides converting to ntfs?

Thanks.

 

Why is this a problem? I believe the upper limit on a FAT32 partition is 2TB so this shouldn't be a problem. That being said, I suggest that you anyway upgrade to NTFS if you are running Windows. It handles larger files better, especially on massive hard drives of today ( > 40 GB)

 

i've quite a few apps and games installed and some movies and mp3s. will converting to ntfs now corrupt them or are there any side effects/cons?

 

Not if u use MS Convert command

 

so i hit this "CONVERT volume /FS:NTFS [/V] [/CvtArea:filename] [/NoSecurity] [/X]" in command prompt?

 

I would play it safe and backup your files before doing the conversion that Bender mentions. You know, just in case.

 

but make sure they're in 4kb boundaries. it gets a bit more complicated than just converting (apparently)... u should check out wot i went through before u proceed

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=99870

hope this helps

 

wow it doesn't sounds as easy now. i'll have to read up in detail when i'm free tonite. thanks for the heads up.

 

No, actually it's CONVERT drive-letter: /fs:ntfs

where you replace "drive-letter" with what drive you want to convert, e.g., C or D.

Also note that the guide in Lord Farkward's link is a bit out of date, you don't need a floppy drive to align to 4kb boundaries, the installation of BootIt NextGeneration also creates a bootable ISO image file which can be written on a CD.

Edit: for clarification: the quoted formalism represents in a conventional way all the possible options of the command. What I gave you is the subset of the options that you need to convert the drive to NTFS.

 

ditto EBE
It's

 

I suggest the majority of Windows users to use NTFS. Only a hand fewof people need to run Fat32 because they have old programs and may want to use an older OS. So Asus provides their laptops in FA32 but also have an easy NTFS Icon on the desktop to make a quick and painless change.

No problems, takes 2 minutes, no need for backing up anything. But if you feel the need to back up important documents, by all means do it as a saftey measure.

 

was considering the asus convertor but does it align to 4kb boundaries?

need to source for a external hd before i do this...

 

Ok I've downloaded bootiting, how do i create the bootable ISO image? Am I supposed to run BOOTITNG.EXE to get the ISO image?

I checked http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.php

When I run BOOTITNG.EXE i get this...

What's ma next step now? Thanks all.

 

i just followed the instructions, i was able to create the ISO image by running that .exe file. just read EBE's instructions on the 2nd page of threads, everything worked according to plan. i'm not ENTIRELY sure if i've seen the same warning as u've posted (though i'm leaning towards 'haven't'), but if u've also followed the steps exactly try 'ignore' and see what happens?

 

k managed to create by selecting ignore. won't be home early tonite so have to manage my time properly. how long does it typically take to defrag? what's the longest you all have encountered?

 

before conversion (so FAT32)... took a good 3-4 hours? after conversion... 15-20 mins the first time, then less than 1 min afterwards (i'm a total freak and defrag once every 2-3 days even when i haven't installed/uninstalled anything )

 

i think i have to leave it overnight man... 10mins passed and it's still at 1%...

 

ok i'm worried. i'm using diskeeper to do the defrag. started at 1230am and when i woke up @ 7am it's only @ 41%... I have installed and unintsalled quite a few apps and games prior to this. There's also some videos in c:

Is this normal?

 

Yes...i will take a while =/

 

ESPECIALLY if it has large files like videos... it takes forever to defrag them for some reason... that's why i put all my videos in D and C has programs only

plus, if ur C drive is still in FAT32 format it takes a lot longer to defrag

 

ok, that's a relief. this is the initial defrag of fat32 prior to partitioning.

 

HOLY ****!!! It's 2 hrs short of 24hrs and it's only at 45%...

I'm starting to consider to recover to factory default and convert from there...

 

How about:

- try sliding (using BootItNG bootable CD) without defragmentation.
- convert
- defragment afterwards (more efficient on NTFS)

Optionally:
- stop defragmentation, remove all large files / move to other partition (videos, game kits, whatever), let only Windows and Program Files on the partition. This also increases the space available for defrag => better efficiency
- defrag like that
- slide with BootItNG
- convert to NTFS
- optionally, copy files back

 

i concurr with E.B.E's second suggestion. move all the video files away from C and leave it with JUST programs... i'd do a video/other media search on C just to make 100% sure

THEN i'd defrag... but judging for ur said time it'll still be at least a good 6 hours

actually if u're not going to change the sizes of the partitions afterwards, i don't think there's any harm in defragging after the conversion? E.B.E am i right?

 

so it's ok to skip the defrag 1st.
do the bootiting stuff first and convert.
then defrag in ntfs then change partition sizes?
this ok? it's taking way too long man... 24hrs and only 46%

 

this is turning out to be a really frustrating experience.

i made the bootable dvd with bootitng.iso and when i boot with that, it brings me to the dos screen only.
checked dir and below are the contents
command.com
drdos <dir>
oak <dir>
nr <dir>
wwbmu.exe
readme.txt
dconfig.sys
autodos7.bat

i choose wwbmu as it's the only executable there and it brought up some stuff in german then options for partitioning stuff i guess, also in german.

i feel so lost

 

that's so weird... i'm THINKING it might be the something to do with the 'problem' u encountered when creating the ISO image... try creating another ISO image and see if there're problems this time?

my experience was very a very smooth one... excluding the defragging of the FAT32, from creating ISO image to creating bootable CD to the 'sliding' thing to the conversion to then the defragment only took around 2-3 hours with no problem

so i'm GUESSING it has something to do with the ISO image that u created in the first place? just give it a try again and see what happens? i'm also assuming u did read E.B.E's guide and the link provided in there over and over again, right?

 

Thanks Lord Farkward! You've been very patient and helpful in this matter.

I tried to create another bootitng ISO again last night but got the same results.

Yes, I've read thru both yours and EBE's guides number of times.

Is it possible if you can upload your bootitng iso for me to download and try?

 

i can, but i'm not certain if it's a unique file for different comps? otherwise they would've just pasted a link to download the ISO image, non?

the real expert here is E.B.E, he was the one who walked me through everything... let's see what he thinks

 

It's ok, but the bootitng stuff might take longer as a result, since the file system is not "nicely prepared" for it. I also recommend my earlier suggestion #2 over #1, because (I suppose) it's better for BootitNG if there are fewer/smaller files on the partition.

If e.g., you have 15GB of a 25GB partition filled with 1GB files, and only have 700 MB free left, I can imagine defragmenting taking a lot of time. I'm exagerating with the numbers, but you get my point.

About: "then change partition sizes?"

Only change partition sizes if you need to change the partition sizes.

About the ISO problem: send me a Personal Message with your email address, and I'll email the ISO to you.

Also, you could try burning to a CD instead of DVD. (it's best to use rewriteable CD/DVDs for this sort of stuff, otherwise you'll need to throw away a bunch of them when you're done).

 

E.B.E. - PMed you. And thanks for helping.

I get your point. Trying to borrow an external HD now. Going to remove all large files and transfer there.

And yes I'm using rewriteables.

Care to share more bout this?
I intend to keep all my documents, and large files in d so I don't really need a 90gb c.

 

wow u have a 90gb C drive? mine came in with 30gb and the rest is D, which was EXACTLY what i wanted anyways. i guess that's why it took me a LOT quicker, huh

 

Then check the partition sizes in my guide. Quick reminder: about 20-30GB C:, the rest split between D: and E: (40/60% ,or just 1 big D: if you want it like that.

 

ok i'm confused now, this is what i found on microsoft's site.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/winpreinst/ntfs-preinstall.mspx

 

E.B.E. - I tried you iso and got the same result. Below are screens. It also appears my c is in 32KB clusters.

 

i wonder why u're in that DOS screen... when i booted from the ISO image it went straight into this program (it's sorta like bios with some 256 color huge bottons and stuff)... wow sorry i know it must be very frustrating when something has worked for others but not for u... i wonder if it has got anything to do with the fact that urs is running vista...

hope E.B.E can help u out soon mate. g'luck

 

I guess I'm stuck with FAT32... Is there any alternative to bootitng?

 

Problem resolved.

I used Partition Magic to align to 4K clusters.

 

The bootup is now slower than before, not much but I was hoping it would be better.
Could it be because defrag was not done before the conversion?
I've defraged c and status is very healthy, blue color everywhere.
This is the 1st time I've done defrag, are the files supposed to be continous, as in no white spaces in between?
I also noticed there's a tiny bit of blue at the end of the partition, this normal?

I'm now considering to recover back to factory default.
Does this only affect c or also d?
Once done, I'll install Partition Magic only, align to 4K, defrag then convert and see hot it runs.
Since there isn't much files and apps, I'm guessing it won't take as long as the previous attempt(24hrs @ 46% to defrag the 90gb c on FAT32.
Am I right here?

 

2. No, because 3.
4, 5. The situation is OK.
1. Have you addressed the other issues that might slowdown your boot? (I think I gave you a link to maintenance / cleanup in my WinXP guide, describing how to remove unneeded starting programs, cleanup windows prefetch, and the like).

I would try doing this before trying a complete recovery.

Also, check if you really have 4KB clusters, if I got you right you switched to 4KB clusters before conversion (i.e. in FAT32). That doesn't guarantee that you have 4KB clusters after conversion to NTFS. You might try to convert to 4KB using PQMagic, if the size is not 4KB. But after so many cluster size changes / conversions, I tend to agree with you that the filesystem is a bit "dizzy" and a 'clean' install would work better.

Nevertheless, do the cleanup first as described above, check if you have 4KB clusters, see if the performance satisfies you.

1. Try doing the things suggested above first.
2. You can choose whether you want a complete reformat or just recovery of Windows on first partition.
3. Not OK. Convert to 4KB after conversion using PQMagic.
4. You are right.

 

Yes.

Yes, it's 4K now in NTFS.

I've done all as instructed, and the speed compromised really annoys me. I will recover to factory default when I have the time.
This time from clean installation will defrag, align 4k and convert. Hope this works.

Thanks!

 

LastDance - is there a major speed difference?

I think that Fat32 is a quicker (but much less efficient) file system so you would get some slow down but it should not be significant. But it is the only way to handle files >4gb

 

Aside from compatibility with non-NTFS OSes (ex: linux, BSD, Win9x) and file recovery tools (which is irrelevent now, since many newer tools support both FAT32 and NTFS), there's no reason to be still using FAT32. It was designed as an "upgrade" to FAT16 to support larger partitions, but does not support individual files > 4 GB. Microsoft is gradually moving people away from FAT32. Notice how if you format a partition of > 32 GB with Disk Manager or the format utility, Windows will not allow you to use anything but NTFS.

FAT32 is very cumbersome if you plan on doing video editing since a typical DV dump for a 60 minute tape at high quality will be in the range of 11GB. Some video authoring/editing programs get around it by chunking the files in 2 GB pieces, but some programs don't.

Also, if you plan on generating DVD ISOs, a full single-layer DVD is 4489 MB. That's > 4096 MB. The actual files on a video DVD are usually not > 1 GB, though, and if you're using the standard type CDFS you can't have files > 2 GB without using UDF.

Also, NTFS is journaled (to a certain degree, it's arguably incomplete compared to other file systems), so it can roll back to a certain point if there are incomplete writes or other *minor* sorts of corruption. With FAT32, you get those annoying lost clusters from Scandisk that the system doesn't know what to do with and you have to start picking at the files to see what you lost.

The only issue with NTFS is that if it really messes up, it slows down the system a lot or crashes hard. But in my experience, that has only happened once when there was an actual hardware problem. FAT32 probably would've continued to work but write bad data everywhere and just outright mess up the data.

Also, NTFS allows for ACL, so you can set security on files and selectively allow/deny other users access. Good for hiding stuff from other non-Administrators...