How can I convert NTFS into FAT32 through dos?

How can I do that? Please give me suggestions only concerning dos. I need to know how can I do that, if there is a program, please give me a link or a name. I don't mind if it will format my partition.

 

You cannot convert from NTFS to FAT32... The only way you CAN do it is to format your hard drive and reinstall everything.... When you format, if you are using your XP disk you can choose between NTFS and FAT32... When you format you will lose everything you do not have saved. There are all kinds of websites out there that explain in great detail how to format and reinstall. If you want to know a few, ask...

 

Well, that's only half true. Programs like partition magic can convert to FAT32 from NTFS. Not that I would suggest doing so because NTFS is far superior than FAT32.

 

This is an oft-asked question, and unfortunately, there is no clean or easy way of doing this. Some might ask why, and the answer to that is rather simple: FAT32 is an older file system, and Microsoft wants to move people away from it. NTFS is superior to FAT32 in almost every way, and there is no compelling reason for users to use it anymore. Converting NTFS back to FAT32 should be considered a last resort in all cases.

Essentially, your options boil down to doing one of three things:

1. Start over with a clean install; partitioning and formating the drive as FAT32.

2. Unfortunately, Windows does not have a built-in tool to convert backwards, like one can to convert from FAT/FAT32 to NTFS. Partition Magic allows you to convert an NTFS partition back to FAT32, but there is a reason that Partition Magic is not so lovingly referred to as "Partition Tragic". Often conversions simply fail, or worse, destroy data.

3. Use the Windows Disk Management Tool. First off, delete the partition that you wish to convert. This is done by going into Disk Management: right click "My Computer" -> Manage -> Disk Management, which is found under the Storage section. Right click the partition you wish to remove, and click "Delete Volume". This will erase the partition. Once you have done this, you must re-create the partition. This is done by right clicking on an unallocated region of a disk, and selecting "Create Partition". Then click "Create Logical Drive". Bear in mind that Windows cannot format a FAT32 partition that is any larger than 32GB. This is the case because FAT32 is terribly inefficient on volumes that are larger than 32GB: fragmentation becomes a serious problem.

To format this new volume, right click it, and choose Format. Again, if the volume you wish to format is larger than 32GB, FAT32 will not be one of the options available to you in the drop-down box. You will have to create multiple partitions if you want to format a large drive as FAT32.

 

A stupid question, maybe.

If you back up all your NTFS stuff to CD/DVD, can you then import it back into FAT32?

Bazza

 

yes. The Filesystem is transparent in that respect.

 

Thanks kodo. I don't want to do it. Just wanted to know if it could be done. Bazza

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You can use Partition Magic ver 8.02 from dos to conver.

 

yes, thank you for repeating what I posted