External Hard Disk Q.

ins0mn1ac · 20 Apr 2009 at 20:35

I have an external HDD here but it's in FAT32, my understanding is around 4gb is the file size limit for it, basically the drive is full of installation files and what-not for the drive itself. Question being, can I format it into NTFS obviously losing all said installation junk and will it still act as an HDD?

Gotta check first because it's not mine.

jak731 · 20 Apr 2009 at 20:36

yes, but you may want to check what operating system they are usign first

ins0mn1ac · 20 Apr 2009 at 20:37

Both OS are Vista64. PS I've had that quote in my sig for ages.. GEDOFF!

rpstewart · 21 Apr 2009 at 10:16

You can use convert.exe from a command prompt to change the filesystem from FAT32 to NTFS while retaining the data that's on the drive.

Unless there is a compelling (ie compatability) reason to leave it as FAT32 then I'd go for NTFS, not only do you get large file support and all the other goodies but it's a fair bit faster than FAT32. I saw about a 20% improvement in transfer rates going to NTFS which is bizarre considering how much more complex it is as a filesystem.