Convert - DOS/Command Prompt Reference
[Windows NT series] Converts the file system of the specified FAT volume (drive) to NTFS while preserving the data.
Syntax
convert[.exe] <volume> /FS:NTFS [/V] [/CvtArea:<file-name>] [/NoSecurity] [/X]
Options
| <volume> | Specifies the volume you want to convert. <volume> will be either ‘drive letter + colon’, ‘mount point’, or ‘volume name’ (confirmed with Mountvol) to identify the volume. |
| /FS:NTFS | Specifies the file system. Currently, only NTFS is supported, and you must always specify ‘/FS:NTFS’ (it cannot be omitted). |
| /V | Outputs detailed logs. |
| /CvtArea:<file-name> |
[Windows Vista or later] Specifies a file on the volume to be used as a placeholder. This file is used when reserving space on the volume for the Master File Table (MFT) and NTFS metadata (the file's location will be replaced with this data). The file must exist in the root directory of the volume. Additionally, the file must be present as contiguous data within the volume (the process will fail if the data is not contiguous). * The file specified here will be erased from the volume as part of the process. |
| /NoSecurity | [Windows Vista or later] Applies no security settings to the converted NTFS volume, allowing all users to access all files and directories. |
| /X |
[Windows Vista or later] If necessary, forcibly dismounts the volume. If this option is not specified, a prompt will be displayed asking whether to dismount the volume if it cannot be converted due to reasons such as files being open (volume in use). If canceled here, you can schedule the conversion to take place during the computer's restart. If forcibly dismounting, open file handles will become invalid, and programs handling those files may lose data as they won't be able to operate on the files. |
Details
The ‘Convert’ command converts a volume with FAT/FAT32 file system to NTFS. Volumes with file systems other than FAT or FAT32, such as exFAT, cannot be converted to NTFS using this command.
In NTFS, it's necessary to store the Master File Table (MFT) and NTFS metadata within the volume. When converting from FAT/FAT32 to NTFS using the ‘Convert’ command, these data might be placed in a different location compared to creating a new NTFS volume, potentially impacting performance. If this becomes an issue, it may be necessary to create a new NTFS volume without using ‘Convert’ and manually move the files.
[Windows Vista or later] By default, when ‘Convert’ is executed by an administrator, the converted NTFS volume may have security settings preventing write access for regular users. To allow access for all users as before, you need to use the /NoSecurity option.
Samples
Sample
fsutil file createnew Q:\ph.bin 16777216 convert Q: /FS:NTFS /CvtArea:ph.bin /NoSecurity
[Windows Vista or later] Converts the Q drive volume to NTFS. At this point, a 16 MiB file named ‘Q:\ph.bin’ is created as a placeholder, specified with the ‘/CvtArea’ option. Additionally, the ‘/NoSecurity’ option is included to allow access for all users.