FAT32 does not support "sparse" attribute, which is necessary for Acronis Nonstop Backup

This article applies to:

• Acronis True Image Home 2010
• Acronis True Image Home 2011
• Acronis True Image Home 2012

Description

Acronis Nonstop Backup storage can only be put on a partition with NTFS file system.

Other file systems (e.g. FAT32) are not supported.

This limitation is due to the fact that Acronis Nonstop Backup needs the sparse file attribute to function (e.g. to perform autoconsolidation). The sparse file attribute was introduced in NTFS. See also Microsoft TechNet Article: NTFS File System (Sparse File Support).

More information

Some external USB drives have FAT32 file system by default.

Finding out the file system of a partition:

1. Open Computer (or My Computer);
2. Right-click on a partition and select Properties:

   

3. Check if the file system is NTFS:

   

Converting FAT32 to NTFS with complete data loss (easier option):

1. Hit Start-Run and type in diskmgmt.msc

   

2. Click OK;
3. Right-click on the FAT32 partition and click Format:

   

4. Select File system -> NTFS:

   

5. Click OK.

   (!) This will format the partition and remove all data from it. The file system will be converted to NTFS.

Converting FAT32 to NTFS without data loss:

1. Hit Start-Run and type in cmd

   

2. In the command line, issue the following command:

   convert [DISK LETTER]: /fs:ntfs

   where [DISK LETTER] is the letter of the partition that you want to convert.

   For example, issuing the following command will convert the E: partition FAT32 into NTFS:

   convert E: /fs:ntfs

   

   No data on the partition will be lost.

See also:

• Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: Converting FAT32 to NTFS in Windows XP
• Windows Seven Forums: Convert FAT32 to NTFS in Windows 7