Hi, I've got a Technika DVD Player that can play usb sticks (and the avi's on the sticks). I've got a USB External HDD which is currently NTFS, and I want to change it back to FAT 32.

I've been trying in Vista, but I cant seem to see anyway of getting it back to FAT32, only ExFAT.

Any ideas on how to do this?

Hi,

From my reckoning there is no way to go back to FAT32 unless you fdisk your hard disk and reformat it in FAT32. If you do an upgrade to NTFS from FAT32 windows always informs you that this is irreversible.

I know it won't, but hope this helps!!

Regards,
Geoff

fDisk?

I've seen this on the cmd prompt, but im just a bit wary of using it in case I end up formating my internal hard drive.

Nevermind.

Originally Posted by Conercao

fDisk?

I've seen this on the cmd prompt, but im just a bit wary of using it in case I end up formating my internal hard drive.

Geo2411 is right no way to go back to FAT32 unless you fdisk your hard disk

You are right to be cautious if you are not sure what the drive letter is of your
USB External HDD then you could quite possibly fdisk an internal drive.
Although Fdisk isn't available from the Command prompt you need a Windows98 or Windows Me floppy to start your PC with to use Fdisk.

But here lies the problem I'm not sure you can access a USB External HDD from a windows98/me startup floppy.

I've never tried are you familiar with using Dos commands?

Jim

I haven't tried this tool for a external USB Hardrive. I usually use Gparted since I run Linux.

Might be worth a shot. If it works be sure to post back.

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool - v2.1.8 Download - EXTREME Overclocking

in vista to manage the partitions and format on a disk, use computer management under accessories, system tools. that's probably what you're already doing, i apologize for the repetition. you won't be able to revert to fat32 from ntfs using Windows or Linux partition programs though. Its a code byte thing. You'll have to entirely reformat the disk and then reformat it, and repartition it how you would like. to do that use computer management. don't forget to back up your data.

Why do you want to go from ntfs to fat32? In windows there are numerous advantages to ntfs. The only real advantage to having fat32 on a windows system is for cross compatibility with another OS or an older version of windows. You have compression, encryption, a more efficient use (especially with larger volumes), & more. In addition there is a much lower file and volume size limit than with ntfs. If you are only going to be using this on a windows system I suggest that you stick with ntfs.

I want to go back to FAT32 as my DVD Player (which supports USB playback) doesnt support NTFS. Getting this hard drive back to FAT32 is a lot cheaper than getting a new dvd player/using DVDs all the time.

Thanks rokytnji, I'll have a look at that tool later

Thanks rokytnji, I'll have a look at that tool later

If you wish to think outside of the box (ie Windows) your task can be easily done using Gparted Iso also. Just download Gparted Iso and use Nero to burn Image Iso, or if you don;t have Nero. I usually recommend ImageBurn for Windows users for its ease of use. It is freeware,

In Windows System Management you also should be able to Delete the external NTFS Partition on the external drive to where it should become unallocated space. At least I know I can do this in Gparted.

After deleting ntfs partition on external Hardrive. Then you can use the HP Format tool to format external USB Hardrive as Fat 32,, Pay attention to drive letters especially. You don't want to make a mistake. Formatting drives (especially the wrong drive) can be dangerous and make data unrecoverable. I am proficient at this but have had a lot of practice with partitioning, multibooting, boot manager editing and multiple types of file formatting.

A pencil and a piece of paper and jotting down notes goes a long way. Good luck with it. Remember, Google is your friend.