Can a NTFS drive be converted to a FAT32 drive?
486105
Nope.  FAT32 can be made into NTFS (on Windows XP) but NTFS cannot be reverted back to FAT32.
822499
There is no need for the external drive to be NTFS....NTFS recognises FAT32. You can back up from a computer which has a NTFS hard drive onto a FAT32 external hard drive (in an enclosure). The NTFS will see the FAT 32 Drive & you can drag & drop both ways.\nA Computer using FAT32 cannot recognise /backup to a NTFS external drive but NTFS can recognise & backup onto a FAT32 aswell as a NTFS external drive.\nThis is why you are having difficulty finding an NTFS external drive because FAT32 (unlike NTFS) is compatible for computers using either NTFS or FAT32 & is the best one to get.
1037709
The NTFS file system is the recommended file system for use with Windows 2000. NTFS has all of the basic capabilities of FAT, and it provides the following advantages over the FAT and FAT 32 file systems:\n\n1) Better file security and auditing. 2) Better disk compression. 3) Support for large hard disks, up to 2 terabytes (TB). {The maximum drive size for NTFS is much greater than that for FAT, and as drive size increases, performance with NTFS doesn't degrade as it does with FAT.}  4) As well as various features for POSIX subsystem.\n\nFAT and FAT32\nFAT32 is an enhanced version of the FAT file system that can be used on drives from 512 megabytes (MB) to 2 TB in size. FAT and FAT32 offer compatibility with operating systems other than Windows 2000. If you're setting up a dual-boot configuration, you should probably use FAT or FAT32.\n\nIf you're dual booting Windows 2000 and another operating system, choose a file system based on the other operating system, using the following criteria:\n\nFormat the partition as FAT if the installation partition is smaller than 2 gigabytes (GB), or if you're dual booting Windows 2000 with MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT. \n\nUse FAT32 for use on partitions that are 2 GB or larger. If you choose to format using FAT during Windows 2000 Setup and your partition is greater than 2 GB, Setup automatically formats it as FAT32. \n\nIt's recommended that you use NTFS rather than FAT32 for partitions larger than 32 GB.\n\n\nSame thing goes for windows server 2003 also.\n\nhowever,there are more things.......\n\nNTFS supports filenames up to 256 characters in length (including spaces) with multiple extensions; FAT supports 8-character filenames with 3-character extensions, except when using VFAT.\n\nNTFS provides robust system security whether on a workstation or server; FAT does not.\n\nNTFS preserves mixed case filenames (although it does not distinguish between upper and lowercase when searching for files or folders); FAT does not.\n\nNTFS keeps a log of activities, in order to be able to restore the disk after a power failure or other interruptions.\n\nNTFS supports RAID configurations, whereas DOS is not equipped to read stripe sets, volume sets, and mirror sets.  Any such NTFS partitions would be invisible to anyone trying to read them from DOS.\n\nNTFS supports files and partitions up to 16 exabytes in length (an exabyte is about 16 quintillion bytes).\n\nNTFS provides real-time file compression on a file-by-file basis.\n\nNTFS supports POSIX standard network naming conventions such as case sensitivity, last-access-time stamping, and hard links.   Caution: While NTFS supports POSIX naming, NT's utilities do not.  Do not manage POSIX files with Explorer.\n\nNT implements a B-tree directory structure rather than the linked list directory structure used by the FAT file system.  This speeds up file searches and reduces the possibility of a missing link resulting in data loss.
828813
right click on the drive and select format
344406
In short: NTFS supports larger harddisks then FATand has better protection against errors.\n\nLong: \n"FAT (FAT16 and FAT32) and NTFS are two methods for storing data on a hard drive. The hard drive has to either be formatted using one or the other, or can be converted from one to the other (usually FAT to NTFS) using a system tool.\n\nFAT is basically the same file system that has been used on PCs since the early DOS days, with a number of modifications made to allow it to work with larger hard drives. NTFS was originally developed to work in Windows NT, to support large hard drives from the get-go (up to 16 billion gigabytes per volume!) and to guard against the kinds of errors that routinely wreck FAT volumes. NTFS is just the better choice overall at this point and most computers running Windows are running a version of Windows that can handle it (i.e., Windows 2000 or XP). "
278913
Your old hard drive is already formatted FAT32 so no problem there. To make it a slave just remove the jumper. It will be located on the 5 double pin set that is NEXT to the large white power connector (4 pin)
504842
It allows you to separate data into different segments for different things...\n\nFor instance, lets say I have a hard disk of 100 Gigabytes. I can partition that drive into three different pieces (assuming I use NTFS)\n\n1) First  partition is 50GB and will be my drive C:\n2) Second partition is 25GB and will be drive G:\n3) Third partition is just under 25GB (because of structure it never is the full 100 GB) and will be my drive H:\n\nThe first partition I can install a windows operating system on. The second partition (Drive G:) I will put on Linux operating system. The last paritition (Drive H) I will use strictly for games and music. So now my system is a dual boot system (I can run windows or Linux) as well as have a drive dedicated to my entertainment.\n\nParitition just allows you to break up the data into logical sections so that they are seen as different hard disks and treated differently. If you are using the FAT32 file system, you will be forced to parition bigger drives because FAT32 doesn't support bigger gigabyte hard disks.\n\nI hope this clarifies it for you. I have included a link below to Wikipedia that talks a bit more in depth about what you can do with partitions. Enjoy!
515843
You formatted using FAT32.  Use FAT16 on smaller volumes.
932197
the same way as you do it for an internal HD. go to My Computer, right click the drive and select Format.
1071199
Yes, it is very possible to save your files. All you need to do is pull your hard drive, install it in another pc that already has a bootable hard drive installed (hook it up as a slave with the drive already in that system as the master)\n\nwhen you power up this other system, it will then boot into windows as it always does, (using its C drive, not yours)  and you can access the files on the secondary drive and copy them to whatever media of your choosing for backup. this way you are not having to utilize Your windows file system to get into your drive, ergo not lockup\n\nOnce you have backed up the files you wish to keep, reinstall the harddrive on your pc, wipe it clean (I recommend Dban from dban.sourcefourge.net, its very thorough and Free) and reinstall windows. then copy your files back to your drive. ta-da.\n\nonly other major thing of note is (and this is guesswork on my part) if you do this, be sure the system you do it with does not use an operating system OLDER than yours. In other words, it may not work if your hard drive was formatted NTFS and you try to do the rescue using a FAT32 win98 system. I'm just guessing here though as it's not something I have tried.\n\noh, and CLEARLY label your dban floppy..putting it in by accident and hitting enter could cause you unwanted stress down the road =)\n\nthere may be easier ways than this, but this is how I have done it in similar circumstances.\n\nif the problem is the hard-drive itself, it may be limited to the windows sector if you are lucky, still allowing you to follow the above advice. if it is a larger failure, you could need professional services.\n\ngood luck
665013
if u have win NT/2K/XP/Vista and use FAT/FAT32 then there is a command line program.\nStart command prompt and type:\nconvert [drive:] /FS:NTFS /X
247032
It depends on what you need.\n\nNTFS offers better security, file compression, quotas, and encryption.\n\nIf you're multi-booting with multiple OS'es, then you will have to format some volumes as FAT, since NTFS is typically not compatible with other operating systems.\n\nHere's some articles comparing and contrasting the two.\nhttp://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/russel_october01.mspx\nhttp://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/ntfs/implFAT-c.html\nhttp://www.windowsitpro.com/Windows/Article/ArticleID/2744/2744.html
463704
you have to format and name the drive using the admin tools then it will show up as a drive\n\nuse control panel/admin tools/computer management/storage then disk management right clcik the new drive and format as ntfs and the drive should show up in "My Computer"
888871
FAT, NTFS partition are vulnerable to fragmentation so that's why you need to defragment them once in a while. MAC on the other side is using Unix type partition, extf2,3 compatible. These type are not vulnerable to fragmentation! A defragmentation process is "prebuilt" in the filesystem in this case.
1070463
In NTFS (new technology file system) you get more options like encrypting data and more and you can have unlimited hard drive unlimited partitions and in FAT you don't have any more options and you cannot have hard drive more than 108 GB.\n                                             hope it helps
1018139
Assuming you used followed all steps in the Windows XP setup you will most likely have formatted the drive in an NTFS file system. Unfortunately 98 uses FAT32 file system and they are incompatible. To install 98 you will have to format and start from scratch using a win 98 CD. I have to agree with the others though going to 98 is a major step backwards, stick with XP. If your desperate to change OS either go to linux or wait for vista which is just around the conrer
826101
yes you can.\n\nhttp://www.soft32.com/download_151.html\n\n\ndownload and install Partition magic program.\nopen partition magic and right click on the particular drive you want to convert. simple