Re: FAT32

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>> "armourexe" wrote:
>>
>> | my pc is from dell and was setup when i got it, however they set the
>> file system to NTFS and i want to change it FAT32 can this be done with
>> out wiping my hard drive and starting again?


> "Carey Frisch [MVP]" <cnfrisch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:u$lfaI3pFHA.3108@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> No. NTFS is the ideal file system for running Windows XP and is
>> the only file system available if your hard drive is larger than 32GB.
>> The only way to get to FAT32 is to completely delete all existing
>> partitions, create a primary partition smaller than 32GB, then format
>> that partition FAT32 and completely reinstall Windows XP.
>>
>> --
>> Carey Frisch
>> Microsoft MVP
>> Windows XP - Shell/User
>> Microsoft Newsgroups

"Jerry" <NoSpamChiefZeke@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OgNEoV5pFHA.2816@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Not true. If you boot from the drive manufacturer's floppy or use an ME
> DOS boot floppy you can create FAT32 drives larger than 32Gb and XP will
> install just fine. It is XP itself that cannot create FAT32 drives larger
> than 32Gb.


Jerry:
Please note that the OP wants to *convert* his present NTFS file system to
FAT32 (for whatever reason). While it is true as you point out that one can
use the FDISK/FORMAT commands on a Win9x/Me startup disk to create & format
FAT32 partitions > 32 GB, in the OP's case that would effectively delete
*all* the data on his drive.

While there's no internal way in XP to effect this type of conversion,
Partition Magic 8 (and possibly other third-party programs) does have a NTFS
to FAT32 conversion feature. I've used it a number of times on various
machines and it worked just fine. But in a major undertaking of this kind
(it is *not* a trivial process by any means!), the OP would do well to back
up any important or critical files before undertaking this process.
Anna


.

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