.: TiP :. To improve your system’s performance, run the Convert command with the /Cvtarea switch. This allows the master file table (MFT), the index of all files and folders on the selected volume, to be created in a single space, rather than being fragmented. Although the Windows XP Disk Defragmenter utility can work with the MFT, it cannot move the first fragment. This limitation practically guarantees that the MFT will be fragmented, unless you follow these steps as part of the NTFS conversion: Use the Windows XP Disk Defragmenter to defragment the drive you plan to convert and consolidate free space on the drive. Calculate the size of the MFT to be created. The default size of the MFT equals 12.5% of the partition size. Thus, on a 10 GB partition, the MFT should be approximately 1.25 GB. Use the Fsutil command to create a new contiguous placeholder file equal in size to the MFT you want to create. This file must be created in the root of the drive to be converted. For this example, issue the following command: fsutil file createnew c:testfile.txt 1250000000 You can use any legal file name. For the final parameter, substitute the proper size for the placeholder file, in bytes. Run the Convert command, using the following syntax: convert c: /fs:ntfs /cvtarea:testfile.txt Substitute the correct drive letter as necessary. If necessary, restart your system to complete the conversion. .: TiP :. P.S. This text is from Ms Press "Windows XP Inside Out" eBook