Re: Converting an 80 GB Exernal USB hard disk into NTFS
From: Art (noonehere_at_someplace.com)
Date: 02/12/05
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Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 14:37:40 -0500
>>"Rimo" <Rimo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>>> > Hi all,
>>>> > I have purchased an external USB 80 GB hard disk that was formatted
>>>> > with FAT32. I did not notice that really till after saving lots of
>>>> > data on it. Now when I wanted to convert the file system into NTFS,
>>>> > it failed. I tried both the convert command and Partitionm Magic 8.0
>>>> > but both failed. I presume that they failed due to the fact that they
>>>> > must have seen an error as the Max hard disk size that FAT32 supports
>>>> > is 32GB. So Appearantly the hard disk was not formatted using the
>>>> > "Computer Management" utility in Windows XP. I do not wish to
>>>> > reformat the hard disk cause I saved lots of data on it already.
So can anyone help me convert it into NTFS? I really appreciate your help.
>>>> > --
>>>> > Rimo
Rimo:
First of all, every commercially available USB external hard drive that I'm
familiar with is always formatted FAT32. This is to allow the use of this
device in operating systems like Win95/98/Me since those OSs will not
recognize a NTFS file system.
I understand you have indicated that you want to format your USB EHD NTFS
(and so far the convert command has not worked); however, are you aware that
the FAT32 file system is perfectly acceptable for its use as a backup of the
files from your NTFS-formatted XP operating system? There's really no
significant advantage in formatting your USB EHD with the NTFS file system
in this situation. And there's no problem or incompatibility issues existing
between having your OS with a NTFS file system and your external HD having a
FAT32 file system. Indeed, there's even an advantage in having a FAT32 file
system on your EHD; if you ever have to copy/backup files from a Win9x/Me OS
you'll be able to do so. This capability would not be present should your
EHD be NTFS formatted.
Why the convert command did not work I do not know. It would be helpful if
you gave some details as to how it "failed". Error messages? Is it possible
that your EHD is defective? I take it the EHD is a Maxtor product. If so,
Maxtor does have diagnostic software available that you can use to determine
if there's any problem with the hard drive.
You also mention something about the 32 GB limitation that XP imposes on
partitioning/formatting FAT32. That is not relevant in the situation
confronting you. As you perceived, your EHD was not partitioned/formatted in
an XP environment, but rather with a process involving the FDISK/FORMAT
commands available in previous OSs that used the FAT32 file system.
If, however, you're insistent about having your USB EHD NTFS formatted and
you still can't get the convert command to work (and assuming your HD is not
defective), there is a workaround. You can use the disk cloning utility
available from Maxtor (I'm not sure if it was included with your drive, but
you can obtain it from the hard drive manufacturer's website) and clone the
contents of your internal NTFS-formatted system to the EHD. This will
establish a NTFS-file system on your EHD. Of course, you should understand
that this will overwrite the contents of your EHD, so if there are any files
on that drive that you need and are not included on your internal HD, make
sure you copy them before you undertake the cloning operation. BTW, you can
use the usual disk imaging programs, e.g., Ghost, Acronis True Image, if
they're available to you, to perform the clone.
Art
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