Converting an 80 GB Exernal USB hard disk into NTFS

[Rimo]

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.

 

[R. McCarty]

The first thing would be a Chkdsk. But if the disk/volume is dirty the
repairs might affect your data. You should run Partition Magic and do
a "Check for Errors". This will clue you in to any types of issues that
may exist on the drive.
When you say it failed, did you write down any specific error messages?
The 32Gig limitation is on creation using XP's Disk Management.
You didn't mention how much content is already on the disk. Is it
possible to transfer it to another drive and then format the 80-Gig
using NTFS and transfer it back.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

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.

Please help us to help you. What does "it failed" mean? Exactly
what happened when you tried? If you got an error message, please
quote it verbatim

For information on how to make a good newsgroup posting, read
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

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.

That's completely false. The maximum hard drive that FAT32
support is 2048GB.

Windows XP will not let you *create* a FAT32 hard drive larger
than 32GB, but it will happily use one if it's first created
externally.

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.

Read here: http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm

 

[Guest]

I tried Chkdsk but did not produce any thing wrong. Partition Magic; however,
produced the following error message:

File Size does not match FAT allocation for file.
Error nr. = 2003

So when I checked that error number in the PM PDF file, I got the following:
"File Size does not match FAT allocation for file. Run ScanDisk or Chkdsk to
fix the error"

I got nearly 35 GB of Data on the drive and my hard disk C: Hard disk is
only 20 GB, so transferrring data is out of the question here.

Any ideas still? Thanks for your help.

The first thing would be a Chkdsk. But if the disk/volume is dirty the
repairs might affect your data. You should run Partition Magic and do
a "Check for Errors". This will clue you in to any types of issues that
may exist on the drive.
When you say it failed, did you write down any specific error messages?
The 32Gig limitation is on creation using XP's Disk Management.
You didn't mention how much content is already on the disk. Is it
possible to transfer it to another drive and then format the 80-Gig
using NTFS and transfer it back.

 

[R. McCarty]

Just two possible ideas.
(1.) Boot from a Windows 9X EBD and run Scandisk
(2.) Shrink your 80 Gig to 40 Gig, leaving unallocated at the end
of the drive. Then create a new Primary partition in the unused
space. Copy content from the original (40) to the new partition.
Once completed, Re-run Partition Magic, delete the original 40
Gig and then Resize up the new partition to the full disk space.
(Make sure the new partition is formatted using NTFS).

||==============|| 80 Gig
||---------| Unallocated PQMagic Resize
||---------|NTFS New|| Windows XP Disk Management or PQMagic.
Copy ->>>>>>>>> Verify content on new drive
|| Delete | NTFS new||
|| Resize<<-----------|| Resize External to full size

Please be careful, with this much data at stake any misstep could be
bad. If you have DVD-R/W capability & Imaging software I would
image the disk before this.

I tried Chkdsk but did not produce any thing wrong. Partition Magic;
however,
produced the following error message:

File Size does not match FAT allocation for file.
Error nr. = 2003

So when I checked that error number in the PM PDF file, I got the
following:
"File Size does not match FAT allocation for file. Run ScanDisk or Chkdsk
to
fix the error"

I got nearly 35 GB of Data on the drive and my hard disk C: Hard disk is
only 20 GB, so transferrring data is out of the question here.

Any ideas still? Thanks for your help.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your advice. Bright thinking I must say!!

 

[Guest]

Hi Ken,
Thanks for your response.
Firstly, I don't think I need to follow a course on learning how to post a
message on a newsgroup!! I used the term "Failed" cause that is exactly what
the command prompt returned after excuting the command to convert the fs into
NTFS. It said something like " Converting drive x: was not successful.
Operation failed" Secondly, you're very much right that FAT32 supports up to
2 TB Hard disk size BUT I meant to say UNDER Windows XP. So eventhough the
hard disk was appearantly made externally, it is very clear that I can not
change it into NTFS under WinXP simply due to the conflict with the size. the
Error message 2003 I got from Partition Magic just simply affirms that.

Many thanks for your time any way.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Hi Ken,
Thanks for your response.
Firstly, I don't think I need to follow a course on learning
how to
post a message on a newsgroup!!

I didn't suggest a course. I pointed out that your message didn't
contain the information required for others to help you. If
you're unhappy with that, so be it, and good luck with your
problems.

I used the term "Failed" cause that
is exactly what the command prompt returned after excuting the
command to convert the fs into NTFS. It said something like "
Converting drive x: was not successful. Operation failed"
Secondly,
you're very much right that FAT32 supports up to 2 TB Hard disk
size
BUT I meant to say UNDER Windows XP.

The same is true under WIndows XP, as I tried to tell you.

So eventhough the hard disk was
appearantly made externally, it is very clear that I can not
change
it into NTFS under WinXP simply due to the conflict with the
size.

It may be very clear to you, but it's nevertheless wrong.

 

[CS]

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 23:50:48 GMT, "R. McCarty"

Booting with a Win98EBD is not going to work unless it contains
drivers that will enable DOS to "see" the USB 2.0 drive. There are
drivers available for free on the web that can be used.

 

[R. McCarty]

Nice Catch -

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 23:50:48 GMT, "R. McCarty"

Booting with a Win98EBD is not going to work unless it contains
drivers that will enable DOS to "see" the USB 2.0 drive. There are
drivers available for free on the web that can be used.

 

[Art]

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

 

[Jimmy]

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 23:50:48 GMT, "R. McCarty"

Booting with a Win98EBD is not going to work unless it contains
drivers that will enable DOS to "see" the USB 2.0 drive. There are
drivers available for free on the web that can be used.

Try Clone then erase the files you don't want. Try removing it from the USB
case and install in system then place back into case.

J.