NTFS is a good file structure, but remember that the format is a one way street. Once you format to ntfs, you can't go back to fat32, which could cause headaches if you decide to revert to an older OS. My recomendations are this. 1. Back up any data you want to keep. 2. Use and old windows 98/ME boot disk, and partition the hard drice into one primary partition and one extended partition. I set aside roughly 1/3 of the total disk space for the primary partition. 3 Keep the primary partition fat32, (backwards compatability) and install windows to that partition. 4.When you have xp installed, use the disk management snap-in (right click my computer and select manage), and format the extended partition to NTFS. (Use the NTFS volume to store programs and data. That way, if you suffer from a system failure and have to reformat your c drive, all you loose is your windows info.)