Format iPod to NTFS?

Is it advisable to re-format a new iPod 160 gig from FAT32 to NTFS?

My #2 son has just purchased a new 160 gig iPod and it is FAT32 format.
He has many 1000's of songs on his Vista powered laptop hard drive and I'd rather use the newer, more efficient NTFS format.

It is also better for backups as Fat32 splits his music into multiple 4 gig files.

I am using Acronis True Image backup software. Should I backup his existing iPOD files, re-format to NTFS and reload his backup into the new NTFS format?

Will this work OK, or is there another way?

Thanks

Bazza

 

Can anyone assist? #2 son wants to play with his new toy. :-D

Bazza

 

If i remember correctly, if ever you were to connect that to a mac, it wont get recognized as NTFS. As for any other problems, I don't own an ipod, so i cant help ya

 

Normally MAC can read NFTS but can not write. I believe the OS X model does. But I did find where you can read and write NFTS on MAC by following these directions.

1. Download MacFUSE package dmg from google (free) :
http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/
Install it; restart of the mac is required.

2. Download and install NTFS-3g package (free, and no restart required)
http://chucker.mystfans.com/opensource/ntfs-3g/

(3. If you get an error in installing NTFS-3g, rename MacFUSE Core.pkg to MacFUSE.pkg
Macintosh HD/Library/Receipts/MacFUSE Core.pkg and then repeat step 2)

4. Plug in your NTFS formatted USB hard drive or connect to your Windows share or user or however you plan to use the NTFS volume, and enjoy the read and write access.

I have not tried this so I can't guarantee that it works but from what I have read it does.

Now I am only assuming that you are running a MAC and not a PC. If you are running a PC with XP, Vista or WIN 7 then of course it can read and write on NFTS.

Hope this helps.

 

I would not reformat an iPod. Apple would format the device for the most universal and easiest to use. Since FAT32 has read and write in OSX, Windows and Linux, I'm sure that's why this format was chosen.

 

Thanks ichase and plodr. :major

The iPod will probably never be used on a Mac, :-D, but you never know.

I know Apple use Fat32 as the most universal format but how do I check if is using 4k or bigger clusters? I'd prefer 4k than 512k, for example. Although songs should be fairly efficient using up to 512k segments with not too much unused space.

My major beef is that running a backup in FAT32 has a maximum size of 4 gigs a file. The boys have 12,000 or more tracks taking up nearly 80 gigs which means up to 20 individual files at 4 gig each in the backup. I prefer 1 file but there are pro's and con's for any cluster size.

Bazza
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My #2 son has suggested

Pod Mania - The iPod Authority
at http://www.digitalmania-online.com/

I'm about to check it out right now.

Bazza