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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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After installing NT and converting the primary partition to NTFS, I’m now having problems installing various hardware (i.e. ORB Drive, OnStream digital tape), because of having the file system as NTFS. Is it possible to create a new partition as FAT, and install the necessary software on this partition. Or will this not work because the drives are recognized during the boot process, from the NTFS partition? To get these drives to work, will I need to re-format & re-install NT on FAT?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

What you will need to do is reformat the HDD, and format it with two partitions, both as FAT. NOT FAT32!! Once this is done you will be able to install NT and convert a partition to NTFS.
The command line will look like this:
convert c: /fs:ntfs
I recommend that you leave your d: drive as FAT, and convert the c: drive.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

Well if you have unused space on your disk, you can create a new partition with it and format it with FAT. If you used all the disk space with NTFS you can try the partition magic program, to create a FAT partition off of the free space available on your NTFS partition.
A third option is to add another disk and make that one a FAT partition.

Good luck!

NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

Why does the disk format have an impact on installing new hardware? If the drivers / access software work under NT, the disk format is not visible to the software – i.e., NT abstracts file access from the actual hard disk itself.

If you are having a problem, it may actually be an indicator that the drivers / support software are not NT compatible. I.e., if they need realtime access to hardware (DOS style access vs Windows APIs) they still are likely not going to work once you boot into NT.

NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

My response to your question may not be what you want to hear but, I would have to give this a little thought because the hardware definitely has a compatability issue with NT not with whether you are placing them on NTFS or FAT. I would check to see if there are drivers available for these devices specifically for NT on their websites or at winfiles.com

NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

I don’t know about the ORB drive, but the OnSteam tape drive definitely does not have any problem w/NTFS, and I can’t imagine any reason that any piece of hardware would even care what the file system is. If the drives aren’t being recognized thereis probably another problem. One thing to check is the security settings – be sure that the drive/partition/directory you are installing the drivers into has appropriate access rights under NTFS. Generally, the default rights are set so that this is not a problem (Everyone has Full Control), but if you have changed things you may have neglected to be sure that both the SYSTEM and Creator/Owner have full control rights to everything. I’ve done this before myself. To answer your question directly, if you have free space on the drive you can add a FAT partition if you want to, but I really don’t think this is going to solve your problem. Hope this helps!

NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

The fact that a hardware device works properly on your system, has nothing to do with the file system that is being used.
In order to make a hardware device working properly, you need a driver for it THAT WORKS WITH THE OPERATING SYSTEM YOU HAVE.
So what you have to do, is search on the website of the hardware’s vendor (or on other websites where you can find drivers) for a driver for your device that works under NT.

If you encounter problems (like you mentionned) installing devices, then this is caused by the fact that the driver doesn’t work under NT.

NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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Convert the master primary partition to FAT using Partition Magic. This will preserve all content on the primary and allow DOS based utilities a chance to install. The boot partiton should be DOS based to allow (mostly) DOS utilities to get control of the disk if there is a problem. Keep NTFS for secure (data) partitions.

NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

In reply to NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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NTFS & FAT partitions on same hard disk?

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