Windows XP conversion from NTFS to FAT32

[Guest]

I reformated my computer and accidentally clicked NTFS upgrade. How can I bring it back to FAT32. I tried reinstalling but it was of no help. Can u please help me

 

[Kent W. England [MVP]]

I reformated my computer and accidentally clicked NTFS upgrade. How
can I bring it back to FAT32. I tried reinstalling but it was of no
help. Can u please help me

There is no native tool to take NTFS back to FAT32. You could do a
complete reinstall, delete the NTFS partition, and create a FAT32, but
I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to use NTFS.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I reformated my computer and accidentally clicked NTFS upgrade. How
can I bring it back to FAT32. I tried reinstalling but it was of no
help. Can u please help me

Natively - there is no method to do this without a clean installation. Even
then, if your hard drive is larger than 32GB, you will have to format the
partitions before starting the installation with a third party utility, as
Windows XP does not support formatting FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB.

You could use a third party utility like Partition Magic to help solve your
dilemma, but to be quite honest, I see very few actual reasons for anyone
not to use NTFS now. It adds some stability, much security and doesn't
cause (in general) much trouble. Yes, you may have to learn file &
directory permissions if you continue using NTFS and have multiple users on
the machine with different "security levels", but the truth is, without
NTFS, the security levels are in some ways only "Window Dressing", pun
intended.

Perhaps if you presented your reasons for wanting a FAT32 system as opposed
to NTFS, we can either confirm or lessen your concerns..

 

[Bob Harris]

You need a third party tool, like Partition Magic version 8, to do this.

I should mention that XP can indeed handle a FAT32 partition larger than 32
Gig. I currently have one that is 49 Gig. However, XP will not create such
a partition for you. That is an artificial constraint imposed by Microsoft,
who thinks that NTFS is far superior to FAT32.

They may be correct that NTFS is a better file system, certainly if you want
the file security feature of XP. However, that needs to be balanced against
ease of recovery, in case of bad disk, virus, etc. There are more tools to
help you with FAT32 than with NTFS, and many are free or cheap for FAT32.

I made my arge FAT32 partition during the initial pre-XP formatting, using
Seagate's disk preparation tools. But, given where you are, Partition Magic
would be a better bet, since it does not destroy data.

Of course, a cautious user will always backup his personal data before
operating on partitions, in case something goes wrong. In the case of PM8,
it will offer to make a couple of emergency recovery floppies. Be sure to
do it ! I have never needed to use mine, but I understand that PowerQuest
support can help you fix things (e.g., in case of a power failure while
partitioning), but only if you have these make these floppies.

I reformated my computer and accidentally clicked NTFS upgrade. How can I

bring it back to FAT32. I tried reinstalling but it was of no help. Can u
please help me