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NTSF to FAT32 how?

krewelement394

krewelement394

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 14, 2008
196
0
Hi, i need to format an external drive to Fat32, but when i try using disk utility, and select the FAT option nothing happens, well it deletes everything, but it is still under the NTSF format. I tried using Windows XP, but the only option i get is NTSF....which is what i DO NOT want. i know that i am not allowed to format it to FAT 32 because it goes over the GB. the drive is a 160 GB drive, so that is why i cannot format it on windows... i know it is possible, but i do not know how. i went through many Google pages, and through many third party apps...and no luck... i need help.
 
first nothing to do with 160gb , fat only limits single files not to be bigger then 4 gb? cant remember exactly as its years now since i did anything in fat or ntfs as since i had linux i gone away from fat and ntfs , but
here is how its done and if that does not work then there is something wrong with your system
http://www.ehow.com/how_5133213_convert-ntfs-partition-fat.html

you could try if it really does not work to use your snow leopard disc and format the drive with disc utility there and maybe when you are onto it already repair permissions too on your internal drive
 
MacHamster68 said:
first nothing to do with 160gb , fat only limits single files not to be bigger then 4 gb? cant remember exactly as its years now since i did anything in fat or ntfs as since i had linux i gone away from fat and ntfs , but
here is how its done and if that does not work then there is something wrong with your system
http://www.ehow.com/how_5133213_convert-ntfs-partition-fat.html

you could try if it really does not work to use your snow leopard disc and format the drive with disc utility there and maybe when you are onto it already repair permissions too on your internal drive
Click to expand...

Windows option failed beccause there is no FAT32 option. all there is is NTSF. i have yet to try the Snowleopard....
 
FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
  • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
  • Maximum file size: 4GB.
  • Maximum volume size: 2TB
NTFS (Windows NT File System)
  • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
  • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
  • To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)
  • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx 33USD).
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard, but is not advisable, due to instability.
  • Maximum file size: 16 TB
  • Maximum volume size: 256TB
HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended)
  • Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
  • Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner backups of Mac internal hard drive.
  • To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive
  • To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
  • Maximum file size: 8EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 8EiB
 
GGJstudios said:
FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
  • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
  • Maximum file size: 4GB.
  • Maximum volume size: 2TB
NTFS (Windows NT File System)
  • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
  • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
  • To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)
  • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx 33USD).
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard, but is not advisable, due to instability.
  • Maximum file size: 16 TB
  • Maximum volume size: 256TB
HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended)
  • Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
  • Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner backups of Mac internal hard drive.
  • To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive
  • To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
  • Maximum file size: 8EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 8EiB
Click to expand...

You could also try exFAT. Snow Leopard can handle it as of recent update and you can DL a driver from MS for XP. It's built into Vista and beyond. No file size limitations.
 
bericd said:
You could also try exFAT.
Click to expand...
I left exFAT out because it only works with some versions of Windows and has a few other limitations. Not the best choice for compatibility.

exFAT (FAT64)
  • Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
  • exFAT partitions created with OS X 10.6.5 are inaccessible from Windows 7
  • Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
  • exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
  • Maximum file size: 16 EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB

bericd said:
Snow Leopard can handle it as of recent update
Click to expand...
Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
bericd said:
you can DL a driver from MS for XP
Click to expand...
Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users must have Service Pack 2 or later and install an update to support exFAT
bericd said:
It's built into Vista and beyond.
Click to expand...
Windows Vista must be Service Pack 1 or later for exFAT support
bericd said:
No file size limitations.
Click to expand...
There are file size limitations. They're just very large: Maximum file size: 16 EiB
 
Last edited:
well i was able to format the NTSF to FAT32 using windows....HOWEVER, i had to format my drive into 4 drives...;/ windows would only let me format to FAT32 as long as the drive did not go over 32GB..... so now i have a single drive split into 4 drives that equal 32GB.... how annoying. is there any other way? i know that when i bought the drive it was already in FAT32 format, but i had to format it to Mac Journal for it to work with time machine. I bought a 2TB HDD and really did not even use the 150GB one (the first one), but now i really do need it and it has to be in FAT32....:(
 
krewelement394 said:
well i was able to format the NTSF to FAT32 using windows....HOWEVER, i had to format my drive into 4 drives...;/ windows would only let me format to FAT32 as long as the drive did not go over 32GB..... so now i have a single drive split into 4 drives that equal 32GB.... how annoying. is there any other way? i know that when i bought the drive it was already in FAT32 format, but i had to format it to Mac Journal for it to work with time machine. I bought a 2TB HDD and really did not even use the 150GB one (the first one), but now i really do need it and it has to be in FAT32....:(
Click to expand...
Something is wrong, because FAT32 supports a volume size up to 2TB. Why does it have to be FAT32? There's no reason to be restricted to that old format. NTFS is the best choice if you're sharing the drive between Mac and Windows.
 
GGJstudios said:
Something is wrong, because FAT32 supports a volume size up to 2TB. Why does it have to be FAT32? There's no reason to be restricted to that old format. NTFS is the best choice if you're sharing the drive between Mac and Windows.
Click to expand...

it has to be fat 32 because my TV does not support NTFS. i guess i forgot to mention that i was not going to use this drive as a sharing HDD. i tried Xfat...no help. i used a 2 GB Flash Drive and my tv reads it very good. like i said, when i formatted the drive into 4 volumes, my only choice, and i was able to have them on FAT32. my tv reads the 4 separated drives...i just want the drive to be formatted completely like it was when i first got it.
 
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