Gaming problems copying files to external HD

[artisan]

im having problems copying files from my winvista laptop to an external hd. these are pics and videos i take when i go to hip hop shows, and id be very freaked out if i were to lose these, so i need them backed up. it happens for a few files, not all, but i usually get a msg asking me "you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?" with the options of yes or no. what properties is this msg referring to? would i be losing anything important if i hit yes? will the files still play? and will they play on a winxp pc? pls help!

 

[Lee79]

The message indicates that the file system on the external drive is not formatted as NTFS Probably it is FAT32, and doesn't support all of the meta data for the file that NTFS has. An example of this would be any permissions, security attributes or encryption that may have been applied to the file, also you cannot create a file larger than 4 GB on a FAT32 partition..

I would suggest you convert the external drive to NTFS.

Click on the Start sphere, and then in the Start Menu search box simply enter "cmd" and hit enter. Once you have decided which partition to switch from FAT32 to NTFS then write "convert : /fs:ntfs". For example, if I were to convert E:/ from Fat32 to NTFS then I would simply enter "convert e: /fs:ntfs."

Additionally, there is the old handy "convert /?" command that will bring up information on how to manage the conversion.

As long as the disk that you want to convert is not in use, you'll be fine. Otherwise, the conversion must be postponed for the next time you reboot. On Windows Vista start up, you will be prompted to either cancel or carry on with the conversion. The process is fully automated and it involves a couple of restarts. Just let Windows Vista do the work. You can leave the files already on the external hard drive while it is converting but i would suggest backing them up onto your main laptop hard drive or DVD-R before hand just in case.

 

[artisan]

backing up 120 gigs of music, 50 gigs of games, 250 gigs of movies, and 38 gigs of hip hop footage? holy crap dude...

ummm, so would i lose ANYthing important if i just clicked yes if asked "you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?"? i realize id lose some meta data, but the files would STILL play in winxp if i transferred them from vista, to the fat32 hd, then to the vista pc right?

 

[Trolly]

ummm, so would i lose ANYthing important if i just clicked yes if asked "you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?"? i realize id lose some meta data, but the files would STILL play in winxp if i transferred them from vista, to the fat32 hd, then to the vista pc right?

Yeah, probably, but I'd confirm with someone else first aha.
You're probably better converting to NTFS for the long term anyway, so I wouldn't try and avoid it. It's a pain for me, as I have to rar and split any files over 4GB I want on my external.

Also, hip hop music? Get out!

 

[artisan]

all that music isnt ONLY hip hop, but its a good portion of it. can anyone confirm my question?