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NightOwl

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Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u
Reply #60 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 1:18am

Mackjazz

Quoting from the PartitionMagic User Guide, page 73:

Quote:

Converting FAT/FAT32 Partitions to 4K Aligned

Unlike an NTFS partition, the first cluster in a FAT or FAT32 partition is not located at
the beginning of the partition. Instead, all the FAT clusters come after a group of sectors
that are designated as a system area. Because the number of sectors needed for this system
area varies, the first cluster may not be aligned on any particular boundary.

During a convert operation from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS, all the sectors in the system
area must be converted to clusters. The cluster size of the resulting NTFS partition is
dependent on how many sectors are in the system area. If the number of sectors in the
system area is a multiple of eight, then the NTFS cluster size can be up to 4K in size (8
sectors x 512 bytes per sector equals 4K). If the number of sectors is not a multiple of
eight, then a smaller cluster size must be used when converting to NTFS.

When you convert a FAT or FAT32 partition to 4K aligned, the operation will check the
number of sectors in the system area to see if it is a multiple of eight. If it is not, it will
adjust the value by padding the number of sectors in the system area and shifting all the
data clusters accordingly. This will ensure that if you decide to convert the partition to
NTFS at a later time, it is possible to have 4K clusters on the resulting partition.

I have the older PowerQuest v8.xx version of PM--so your user guide pages may differ.

Starting on page 70:

Quote:

The basic conversion steps (1-5) are found below. However, for each file system type
there is specific information you need to know before beginning any conversion. Please
see the appropriate heading listed in this section before completing the conversion
procedure.

1 Select the partition you want to convert.

2 Click Partition > Convert.

The Convert Partition dialog appears.

3 Under Convert to, choose the file system to which you want to convert the partition.

Quote:

Procedure for Converting Partitions

You can convert the following file system formats:

--FAT partitions to FAT32
--FAT partitions to NTFS (Windows NT/2000/XP only)
--FAT32 partitions to FAT
--FAT32 partitions to NTFS (Windows 2000/XP only)
--FAT/FAT32 partitions to 4K aligned

--NTFS partitions to FAT
--NTFS partitions to FAT32

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Mackjazz

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Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u
Reply #61 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 1:45am

Thanks Nightowl.

Yes, you are correct. I have the same info on the same pages (ie 73pg) and I have been all through this stuff every which way I can think of.

I am just frustrated because when I select the C: Fat32 partition, then from the menu select Parition and then Convert from the dropdown, a window similiar to the one you quoted opens. However this is where its different. It has 2 columns. On the left side it has only 3 choices. Fat, Fat32 and NTFS. The first 2 are greyed out so one can't even choose them which leaves only one choice, that of the NTFS. There is no choice or option for Fat/Fat32 to 4k aligned. I don't understand it. On the right side is the Primary and Logical options and the Primary is greyed out. The only other thing I can think of is that I should try to do this from the cd instead of PM installed on my C: which is the drive I am trying to convert from Fat32 to NTFS?

Mack

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Brian

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Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u
Reply #62 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 2:56am

Mack, I don't have the 4K aligned choice either. It looks like it's been removed from ver 8.05 because when I did it a few years ago I was likely using a pre 8 version.

That's OK. You can do it this way. The 4k aligned part.

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

Make a BING floppy or CD. You don't need to install BING, just run it from the boot disc. It is a very interesting app.

Then you can do FAT32 to NTFS with PM.

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Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u
Reply #63 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 3:21am

Brian,

Thanks so much for the input. I was beginning to pull my hair out again. I waited online in chat mode with symantec for 45 min (in the que) then when I got the tech she was from India and had a hard time writing and really knew less than I did. In the end she said my PM 8 must be corrupt and so I needed to uninstall and re install. I told her I highly doubted that would change the options shown in the box. When I first asked her she had to have me explain what 4k aligned was. Boy did I know then that I was in for a good time with little expertise help.

I am going to bed and hopefully you are already there and will do this first thing in the morning. I want this all done and running by thursday eve.

thanks again for your undying support.
Mack

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Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u
Reply #64 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 3:33am

It will be a few hours before I go to bed. GMT +11.

The BING download contains a PDF and Step 1 starting on page 7 is what you need. Don't use Step 1 on page 8. You don't have to separately download MakeDisk as it's included in your BING download.

If you don't have a floppy drive make an ISO and then burn it to a CD. Remember to defrag after the 4K aligned process has completed.

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NightOwl

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	Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u Reply #65 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 10:00am Mackjazz PartitionMagic gives a different display depending on which partition I choose--I'm betting that if you do not get the 4k align option that your partition is already aligned.
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Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u
Reply #66 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 12:20pm

Yes NigihtOwl the second insert pic that you showed is the only box that opens and gives me the only choice of NTFS. Fat and Fat32 are greyed out so the only choice I have is NTFS. So you think that my Fat32 may already be aligned and set for conversion and thus the 4k is not an issue in my case? You think that this is a new feature maybe built into PM 8 whereas the older versions had it as a manual choice? I wonder why the techs at Symantec don't know that or didn't say? Perhaps you should be working there as the Tech who teaches techs!! Ha.

I assume Brian the Bing you refer to is the same as the BootitNG.com program referred to in that article you left me? I will download it and do as you recommend just to make sure that my disk is 4k aligned unless I hear back first from the symantec email I sent in after I chatted with the tech online. Since my gigs are tomorrow I think I will wait to do all this major conversion till after the weekend just so I don't have any more headaches. I do have a floppy drive to do this boot program. (Are you in the Far East?)

thx guys bunches.
Mack

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Brian

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	Re: Laptop Cloning headaches NG 9..ready to give u Reply #67 - Nov 30^th, 2006 at 8:33pm Mack, I tried the 4K aligned procedure using BING (BootItNG) on the FAT32 partition that had no PM menu for 4K aligned. It took 1 second. As NightOwl suggested, the partition must have been 4K aligned already. I guess you never know until you try.
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