LinuxQuestions.org

LinuxQuestions.org (/questions/)
-   Linux - Software (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/)
-   -   ntfs to ext4 (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/ntfs-to-ext4-814181/)

273 01-09-2013 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@S@f (Post 4866210)
You're pathetic if you care about your extra-valuable data. And moreover - you are coward.

Faint heart never won fair lady ;)

If I didn't care about my data I'd not have it. Why keep data you don't want or need? If you don't want your data then you can just wipe the partition and reformat -- it's that easy. So why use this tool?
I sincerely hope you are not looking after data for anyone but yourself with such an attitude.

unSpawn 01-09-2013 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@S@f (Post 4865754)
You could easly convert ntfs to ext ext2 or ext3 with anyconvertfs

Have you tried it yourself? How "easy" is this actually? Can you tell us something about the process?

P@S@f 01-09-2013 09:52 AM

I'm always able to create everything from scratch in better way than I created it before. So I'm not fear.

It just took some time. And this tool could help to save this time.

P@S@f 01-09-2013 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unSpawn (Post 4866224)
Have you tried it yourself? How "easy" is this actually? Can you tell us something about the process?

As easy as type
Code:

sudo anyconvertfs --dontstop /dev/sda1 ext3
And wait some time, just leave tool doing it's job. Some long time. It took about 8 hours to convert 1.5 tb drive with 60% used space.

BTW I did not found any reports of losing data after using this tool across the Internet. Just use UPS, cause program won't insurance you from power fails.

273 01-09-2013 10:42 AM

Hmm, I hate to sound even more like a moaning naysayer but 8 hours is about the time it would take to copy the data to a new, clean partition. So this tool seems only good for changing the file system of a partition on which you have data you don't care about enough and don't have the room to back up.
I can see it being useful for, say, movie and audio libraries ripped from discs and the like though. Good to know about for that kind of thing. :D

TobiSGD 01-09-2013 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@S@f (Post 4866200)
This feature was introduced in 2007

It was released first in 2006 and abandoned in 2010, still not having a 1.0 release.
Quote:

and it is not "in beta" 5 years already
If you look at the Sourcefourge site of this project you can clearly see that this software is marked by the developers as beta. I think they know best about their software.

Besides that, the reasonable way is to make backups of your files before doing any system critical action (if you don't have the recommended backup anyways), but if you have a backup already there is no need for this tool. In fact, a simple format and copying back the files is the better option, since it removes the fragmentation on that partition (and NTFS isn't famous for not fragmenting, don't you think?).
Having backups has nothing at all to do with being a coward or pathetic. You will see when your disk or disk controller fails, you are the victim of a bug in the file system driver or the disk controller driver or simply in a tool that is considered even by the developers to be in beta state (which implies that the software is not bug free).
Besides the usual "I accidentally removed" or better "I accidentally overwrote" incident.

ruario 01-09-2013 12:57 PM

I think the words 'pathetic' and 'coward' are uncalled for. Having a backup is a sensible idea, not something to be mocked. Your tone in this thread and your intro thread is a little over the top IMHO. People are simply offering solutions, this isn't a competition much less the "trash talk" that happens between boxers who are about to fight. Perhaps tone it down a bit.

If you really cared nothing for your data you would already have wiped the disk and started fresh (that is the quickest way). You certainly wouldn't have spent 4 hours trawling the Internet for a solution (as you stated in your intro). And if this conversion fails I think you will feel rightly annoyed, after the effort you have put into researching this. Hence the suggestion to consider using or buying a second disk (which can also be used use later as a backup), is not exactly crazy.

Regarding the risks and the notion that this is not 'Beta' software. It might not be labeled 'Beta' and as you state it may have been introduced 5 years ago but how much testing has it actually had? Few people are aware of the tool and of those who are I would assume most would use the more traditional conservative approach of using another disk. Sure it might be more time consuming but it is much more likely to work (since copying files between filesystems is a common and hence well tested approach) and in any case you only have to do it once.

frieza 01-09-2013 02:06 PM

ok i'll toss my 2 cents into the ring
there is a difference between 'can' and 'should' big enough to navigate an aircraft carrier through with room to spare
just because there exists a utility that allows you to do such a thing doesn't mean it's something that should be used, especially on data that you want to keep, it's always best to use tried and true methods, as archaic as they may seem, there is a reason they hang around.. THEY WORK, rather than take a risk with some bleeding edge utility that may or may not permanantly hose your data, that being said, even with the benefit of such utility, backing up the data would be a smart choice, so what really is the difference, back up data, convert drive (reliability.. unknown), or backup data... format drive with new fs (reliability... well known, very reliable), copy data back. seriously, it's not really worth shaving a bit of time to use a relativly unproven utility of unknown reliability when there is a method guaranteed to work, it just will take perhaps a little more time for the insurance of knowing for sure your data isn't going to disapear forever.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:00 AM.