NTFS system became FAT?

[muddyfox1009]

I ran a windows 2000 server which had recently had to be reinstalled (thus reformatted) because it had asked for a chkdsk, then it turned out it had became (??) a FAT partition. Why did the NTFS file system had become FAT? ANy clues as to why this would happen ?

 

[captaincrunch00]

First of all why would you have to reformat and reinstall because of a chkdsk?

Second: When you reformatted before you reinstalled you may have picked the wrong option to format it. I think on 2000 servers the default type is format to FAT. If you didnt chose the NTFS option and just accepted the defaults you probably did it yourself.

 

[muddyfox1009]

What would you have me do? The disk was unreadable, the operating system is kaput, the file system stated that it is FAT, and still you implied there an option ?

No, the previous o/s, was on NTFS not FAT. That's a certainty.
So what gives?

 

[captaincrunch00]

Well, all you said was that it required a checkdisk, you didnt say the operating system was completely down and out.
A checkdisk is just a tool in windows that checks the integrity of your files and the drive itself. It doesnt mean that the entire operating system is dead. A checkdisk will run for about 30 minutes and then finish booting into windows.

If you had a bigger issue that wasnt fixable, then yes, that's a good reason to wipe and reinstall, but a chkdsk is nothing to worry about. You just confused me with your wording of why you formatted.



I realize the previous OS was on NTFS, but you said you formatted the drive and reinstalled.
When you formatted you probably chose the default options to install it and format the drive. The default option is "Format as FAT" which is probably what you picked.

You resinstalled it onto a drive you formatted to FAT. You may be able to find a tool in windows that will convert FAT to NTFS under Start->Program Files->Accessories->System Tools

 

[captaincrunch00]

Oh damn, I've read that entire thing wrong.

I thought you said it changed to FAT after the reinstall. My fault entirely, ignore me.

 

[Davetoo]

convert <target drive> /fs:ntfs

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[Davetoo]

I translated the post to mean after he reinstalled the OS he discovered the partition to be FAT instead of NTFS. My guess would be the same, he formatted it FAT instead of NTFS, in which case the command line I gave will fix the problem for him.

Word of caution muddyfox, you came here with your hand out looking for help, it's best not to bite that hand.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[muddyfox1009]

this is what happen. For the previous installation it was NTFS (verified). While operating normally a message came repeatedly saying i should run chkdsk. So first i ran the scandisk using the scandisk tool, but it wont run, then i check to go into command prompt using the run cmd, but it says can find, then repeatedly it warned that i should run chkdsk. I was left with no option, so restarted, of course the OS wasnt there, then manage to get into dos using the boot cd. There i just type a diskpart to check, and it says that the C drive is on FAT (remember that this was NTFS). All files amiss! corrupted. At this point is there any other choice?
SO i install the W2K again, and this again it is on NTFS.

But my question is what exactly happen with the NTFS turning into FAT? Apart from disk corruption, is there such a thing as another program caused the corruption. Or how can this happen?

 

[muddyfox1009]

Word of caution muddyfox, you came here with your hand out looking for help, it's best not to bite that hand. "

What's this about ? who's biting what hand?

 

[Davetoo]

It didn't turn into FAT, you got a response from the boot process, not the disk itself is the most likely answer.

As to what happened? No precise way of telling now that you've already reinstalled the OS, etc.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[muddyfox1009]

thanks guys, i realise i sounded grumpy there, so whatever it takes, i apologise. Any any improbable ideas of what might cause this corruption, as this is a server and would not want this to happen again (it's connected to the net).

 

[pgaliardo]

Not sure what caused the corruption, but as far as preventing in the future:
Do you have the O/S on any kind of RAID? This way if it was a physical disk failure, you can usually replace the disk without losing anything.
Depending on the type of server, there is usually some sort of tool to monitor hardware. We use HP Servers and I check Insight Manager daily on all 22 of our servers for any potential hardware problems.
Check Event Viewer daily. Sometimes it will alert you to possible problems on the drive.
Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[Seaspray0]

If you have FAT and want NTFS, you can convert the file system to NTFS. Read lander's comments above using the convert command. It will activate on reboot and perform a conversion at that time.

Start, Help. You'll be surprised what's there. A+/MCP/MCSE/MCDBA

 

[muddyfox1009]

and there is no such a program to convert NTFS into FAT (?) which is what happened. thanks .

 

[Davetoo]

With all due respect, you're trying to figure something out that probably you'll never get an answer for now. The time to ask was while the problem was occuring, not after you've reformatted and reloaded the OS.

Instead, focus your attention on how to prevent such an occurence from happening again. Install RAID, keep backups handy and up-to-date, keep your eye on your event logs daily, etc.

Unfortunatley, the forensic science field doesn't really work well with computers in such a case as this.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[muddyfox1009]

sigh...

 

[Davetoo]

Or not, it's your call. You don't seem willing to take our advice on the matter, so best of luck.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[captaincrunch00]

He is taking the advice, the problem is that we gave him the wrong advice.

Converting to NTFS is all find and dandy, but that is not his problem.

His disk was NTFS, it said to run a chkdsk and he did, then it said it was FAT32 and the drive crashed and burned.

I dont see any ideas in this thread of how it happened, we all said the same thing, but it's irrelevant because it is for a different problem.


You nailed it on the head, Lander, when you said it's probably something you can never figure out because he already wiped the drive and reinstalled, so this thread could probably just be closed.

 

[Davetoo]

The advice I was referring to was to "move on with life" and take steps to try to prevent it from occuring again.

Maybe I'm in a bad mood, but the "sigh" response didn't sit well with me. I'll refrain from any further input on this topic.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.