Somewhere on my computer I saw that my hard drive was in NTFS but an
external harddrive I bought is installed as FAT32. The external hd says it
is best to run it in NTFS.

I haven't put anything on the external hd yet and have no idea how to
convert. Can any one point me in the right direction?
Patti

If you haven't yet put anything on the drive it's best to format it
rather than converting it. Right click on the drive and select the
Format option and then select NTFS in the File system box. You can also
do this from the Disk Management tool, to launch the Disk Management
console enter diskmgmt.msc in the Start menu Run box.

John

Patti Barden wrote:
> Somewhere on my computer I saw that my hard drive was in NTFS but an
> external harddrive I bought is installed as FAT32. The external hd says it
> is best to run it in NTFS.
>
> I haven't put anything on the external hd yet and have no idea how to
> convert. Can any one point me in the right direction?
> Patti
>
>

Patti Barden wrote:
> Somewhere on my computer I saw that my hard drive was in NTFS but an
> external harddrive I bought is installed as FAT32. The external hd says it
> is best to run it in NTFS.
>
> I haven't put anything on the external hd yet and have no idea how to
> convert. Can any one point me in the right direction?
> Patti
>
>


As you've nothing on the disk yet, it would be best, as "john John"
said to simply delete the existing FAT32 partition, create a new one,
and format it as NTFS to start.

For future reference, though:

You can safely convert your current hard drive to NTFS whenever
desired, without having to format the partition and reinstall
everything. As always when performing any serious changes, back up any
important data before proceeding, just in case. A little advance
preparation is also strongly recommended, so you can avoid any
performance hits caused by the default cluster size:

Converting FAT32 to NTFS in Windows
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

On Mon, 7 Dec 2009 16:02:16 -0000, "Patti Barden" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> Somewhere on my computer I saw that my hard drive was in NTFS but an
> external harddrive I bought is installed as FAT32.



One has nothing to do with another. You can have both at once.


> The external hd says it
> is best to run it in NTFS.


It has nothing to do with this drive or with it's being external. In
my view, it's best to run all drives as NTFS, *unless* you also want
to use it on an older non-NTFS-aware operating system, like Windows
98.


> I haven't put anything on the external hd yet and have no idea how to
> convert. Can any one point me in the right direction?



If there's nothing on it, don't convert it, just reformat it.
Right-click on it and choose Format.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Mind if I stick my head in? Thanks, please see below, inline:
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
> On Mon, 7 Dec 2009 16:02:16 -0000, "Patti Barden" <(E-Mail Removed)>
> wrote:
>
>> Somewhere on my computer I saw that my hard drive was in NTFS but an
>> external harddrive I bought is installed as FAT32.
>
>
>
> One has nothing to do with another. You can have both at once.
>
>
>> The external hd says it
>> is best to run it in NTFS.
>
>
> It has nothing to do with this drive or with it's being external. In
> my view, it's best to run all drives as NTFS, *unless* you also want
> to use it on an older non-NTFS-aware operating system, like Windows
> 98.
>

"In my view, it's best to run all drives as NTFS..."

I understand that very well in the context of internal drives. However,
I don't understand the advantage of NTFS for an external drive used for
data or for backup.

If you plug an NTFS-formatted external hard drive into another computer
where you do /not/ have administrator permissions, you can't access the
data on the drive because NTFS enforces user account permissions. And
you can't use the data on the drive with a Mac. It's not the end of the
world, but you can think of situations where this could be inconvenient.

LG

>
>> I haven't put anything on the external hd yet and have no idea how to
>> convert. Can any one point me in the right direction?
>
>
>
> If there's nothing on it, don't convert it, just reformat it.
> Right-click on it and choose Format.
>

Leonard Grey wrote:
> Mind if I stick my head in? Thanks, please see below, inline:
>
>
> "In my view, it's best to run all drives as NTFS..."
>
> I understand that very well in the context of internal drives. However,
> I don't understand the advantage of NTFS for an external drive used for
> data or for backup.
>

Most Backup applications store the preserved data in a single file,
which, given the large amount of music or videos that are often present,
can easily exceed 4GB in size. FAT32 cannot support files this large,
but NTFS can.


> If you plug an NTFS-formatted external hard drive into another computer
> where you do /not/ have administrator permissions, you can't access the
> data on the drive because NTFS enforces user account permissions.


True. This helps prevent someone else from accessing your data without
your knowledge, permission, and assistance.

> And
> you can't use the data on the drive with a Mac.


Again, true. But, if one were preparing an external drive to be shared
between Windows and Mac (or any other non-WinNT OS), one would naturally
choose a file system that is common to all. If one has no such plans,
why not go with NTFS' superiority over FAT32.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

On Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:15:54 -0700, Bruce Chambers
<(E-Mail Removed)3t> wrote:

> Leonard Grey wrote:
> > Mind if I stick my head in? Thanks, please see below, inline:


Of course I don't mind. All conversations here are public, and your
comments are usually very good ones.

But see my single comment on one of your points, below.


> > "In my view, it's best to run all drives as NTFS..."
> >
> > I understand that very well in the context of internal drives. However,
> > I don't understand the advantage of NTFS for an external drive used for
> > data or for backup.
> >
>
> Most Backup applications store the preserved data in a single file,
> which, given the large amount of music or videos that are often present,
> can easily exceed 4GB in size. FAT32 cannot support files this large,
> but NTFS can.
>
>
> > If you plug an NTFS-formatted external hard drive into another computer
> > where you do /not/ have administrator permissions, you can't access the
> > data on the drive because NTFS enforces user account permissions.
>
>
> True. This helps prevent someone else from accessing your data without
> your knowledge, permission, and assistance.
>
> > And
> > you can't use the data on the drive with a Mac.
>
>
> Again, true. But, if one were preparing an external drive to be shared
> between Windows and Mac (or any other non-WinNT OS), one would naturally
> choose a file system that is common to all.


Yes, and that was one of my original points. I said "it's best to run
all drives as NTFS, *unless* you also want to use it on an older
non-NTFS-aware operating system, like Windows 98."


> If one has no such plans,
> why not go with NTFS' superiority over FAT32.




--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Thank you both for your replies.

The 4GB file size limitation is undeniable, but it's not an issue for
me. The size of all my documents and spreadsheets doesn't come close to
that, especially after compression by my backup program. Having quick
and convenient access to that data is most important to me.

Media files - at least, the ones I own - can be backed up to 4 GB
containers, if need be. If I start acquiring video files greater than 4
GB...I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I'm not trying to argue with you...just expressing the preference that
works for me.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
> On Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:15:54 -0700, Bruce Chambers
> <(E-Mail Removed)3t> wrote:
>
>> Leonard Grey wrote:
>>> Mind if I stick my head in? Thanks, please see below, inline:
>
>
> Of course I don't mind. All conversations here are public, and your
> comments are usually very good ones.
>
> But see my single comment on one of your points, below.
>
>
>>> "In my view, it's best to run all drives as NTFS..."
>>>
>>> I understand that very well in the context of internal drives. However,
>>> I don't understand the advantage of NTFS for an external drive used for
>>> data or for backup.
>>>
>> Most Backup applications store the preserved data in a single file,
>> which, given the large amount of music or videos that are often present,
>> can easily exceed 4GB in size. FAT32 cannot support files this large,
>> but NTFS can.
>>
>>
>>> If you plug an NTFS-formatted external hard drive into another computer
>>> where you do /not/ have administrator permissions, you can't access the
>>> data on the drive because NTFS enforces user account permissions.
>>
>> True. This helps prevent someone else from accessing your data without
>> your knowledge, permission, and assistance.
>>
>>> And
>>> you can't use the data on the drive with a Mac.
>>
>> Again, true. But, if one were preparing an external drive to be shared
>> between Windows and Mac (or any other non-WinNT OS), one would naturally
>> choose a file system that is common to all.
>
>
> Yes, and that was one of my original points. I said "it's best to run
> all drives as NTFS, *unless* you also want to use it on an older
> non-NTFS-aware operating system, like Windows 98."
>
>
>> If one has no such plans,
>> why not go with NTFS' superiority over FAT32.
>
>
>
>

Leonard Grey wrote:
> Thank you both for your replies.
>
> The 4GB file size limitation is undeniable, but it's not an issue for
> me. The size of all my documents and spreadsheets doesn't come close to
> that, especially after compression by my backup program. Having quick
> and convenient access to that data is most important to me.
>
> Media files - at least, the ones I own - can be backed up to 4 GB
> containers, if need be. If I start acquiring video files greater than 4
> GB...I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
>
> I'm not trying to argue with you...just expressing the preference that
> works for me.


That's understood. Each individual is free to choose the method that
works best for his situation.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

On Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:32:10 -0500, Leonard Grey
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Thank you both for your replies.
>
> The 4GB file size limitation is undeniable, but it's not an issue for
> me. The size of all my documents and spreadsheets doesn't come close to
> that, especially after compression by my backup program. Having quick
> and convenient access to that data is most important to me.
>
> Media files - at least, the ones I own - can be backed up to 4 GB
> containers, if need be. If I start acquiring video files greater than 4
> GB...I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
>
> I'm not trying to argue with you...just expressing the preference that
> works for me.



Preferences are fine, and they don't have to be the same for everyone.


> Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
> > On Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:15:54 -0700, Bruce Chambers
> > <(E-Mail Removed)3t> wrote:
> >
> >> Leonard Grey wrote:
> >>> Mind if I stick my head in? Thanks, please see below, inline:
> >
> >
> > Of course I don't mind. All conversations here are public, and your
> > comments are usually very good ones.
> >
> > But see my single comment on one of your points, below.
> >
> >
> >>> "In my view, it's best to run all drives as NTFS..."
> >>>
> >>> I understand that very well in the context of internal drives. However,
> >>> I don't understand the advantage of NTFS for an external drive used for
> >>> data or for backup.
> >>>
> >> Most Backup applications store the preserved data in a single file,
> >> which, given the large amount of music or videos that are often present,
> >> can easily exceed 4GB in size. FAT32 cannot support files this large,
> >> but NTFS can.
> >>
> >>
> >>> If you plug an NTFS-formatted external hard drive into another computer
> >>> where you do /not/ have administrator permissions, you can't access the
> >>> data on the drive because NTFS enforces user account permissions.
> >>
> >> True. This helps prevent someone else from accessing your data without
> >> your knowledge, permission, and assistance.
> >>
> >>> And
> >>> you can't use the data on the drive with a Mac.
> >>
> >> Again, true. But, if one were preparing an external drive to be shared
> >> between Windows and Mac (or any other non-WinNT OS), one would naturally
> >> choose a file system that is common to all.
> >
> >
> > Yes, and that was one of my original points. I said "it's best to run
> > all drives as NTFS, *unless* you also want to use it on an older
> > non-NTFS-aware operating system, like Windows 98."
> >
> >
> >> If one has no such plans,
> >> why not go with NTFS' superiority over FAT32.
> >
> >
> >
> >

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
Please Reply to the Newsgroup