How to format a USB flash drive to FAT32 without deleting files? Hi admin, I wonder if there is such an opportunity to format a USB flash drive with data from the NTFS file system to FAT32 without losing this very data, it seems like on the Internet they say that Acronis programs will do for this Disk Director and Paragon Partition Manager?
How to format a USB flash drive to FAT32
Quite often this question sounds on our resource. Unfortunately no, you are wrong, Acronis Disk Director and Paragon Partition Manager cannot convert a USB flash drive with NTFS file system to FAT32 without complete removal files on a USB flash drive. Without deleting data, you can convert a USB flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS and the easiest way to do this is to use the built-in tools operating system Windows.And anyway, I can't guess why you want format the flash drive to FAT32, when there is another and more modern file system NTFS which has many advantages over FAT32, for example, in performance and reliability.
Note: if you decide to format the USB flash drive to the NTFS file system, read our article. But if you've already decided to make your flash drive happy with the outdated FAT32 file system, then go ahead. Let's do it in the simplest way using Windows tools. We can apply graphical interface, but we can command line. Let's look at both options. Since the first method is much easier, let's start with it.
Open the "Computer" window, click on our flash drive with the right mouse (Caution! In my case, the flash drive is assigned the letter H :, in your case it may be a different letter) and select "Format".
Here we select the FAT32 file system. To begin.
Attention! Formatting will destroy ALL data on that drive. We agree and click OK.
Formatting is complete.
That's all there is to it.
I am sure that if a real hacker (and we are with you) suddenly needs a flash drive with the FAT32 file system, he will certainly create it in the command line. Open the command line by all means from the administrator
And enter the command
format / FS: FAT32 H: / q
/ FS: FAT32 - for formatting, we select the FAT32 file system.
H: - the letter of your flash drive.
/ q - quiet mode.
To the question - Do you need a volume label? Just hit Enter.
Nowadays it is already an indisputable fact: the NTFS (New Technology File System) Is one of the most successful and reliable file systems currently in existence. NTFS could not occupy its niche for a long time due to the fact that significant volumes were required to organize effective work with its data structures random access memory... Since PCs with up to 128MB of RAM were simply unable to get any benefit from using NTFS, it had a reputation for being slow and unwieldy. In fact, this is not true - modern PCs with memory of 256 MB and above get huge performance gains from using NTFS. As for performance, NTFS is not very efficient for small partitions of hard drives (up to 1 GB), but work with huge amounts of data and impressive directories is organized very efficiently, and this gives a speed advantage over other file systems.
The main advantage of NTFS is fault tolerance. The scourge of FAT32 is the so-called lost clusters, which are formed in abundance when the OS is shutting down incorrectly. NTFS is not afraid of this, in case of any failures, it will restore its integrity and performance itself. If your operating system is Windows XP, then using any file system other than NTFS means significantly limiting your convenience and flexibility of the operating system itself. Windows XP is like two parts of a single whole with NTFS - a set useful opportunities operating system is directly tied to the physical and logical structure of this file system, and it makes sense to use FAT or FAT32 only for compatibility - if several operating systems are installed on the PC, including the outdated Windows 98 and ME.
How to Convert FAT32 to NTFS without Data Loss
One of best programs for this - PartitionMagic 8.0 from PowerQuest Corporation. Install the program, run it, select it with a click desired disk... Choosing a menu Partition - Convert... Put the switch NTFS - OK... Push the button Apply... (If the version of PowerQuest PartitionMagic is Russified, then everything is clear and simple: the program interface is friendly and intuitive to the user).
Converting the FAT32 file system to NTFS without data loss can be performed using standard operating system tools using the utility convert.exe (File System Conversion Utility): button Start - Run ... - Run the program - cmd - OK... The command interpreter cmd.exe starts. After the system prompt C: \\ Documents and Settings \\ Username\u003e, enter the command
CONVERT volume: / FS: NTFS
here
volume - specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),
/ FS: NTFS - Destination file system: NTFS.
/ NoSecurity - security settings for converted files and folders will be available for change to everyone.
/ X - forced removal of this volume (if it was mounted). Any open descriptors to this volume will become invalid.
For example, if you want to convert drive C, then you need to enter
CONVERT C: / FS: NTFS / NoSecurity / X
Notes
1. Since converting the file system is potentially dangerous (in case of any failures, for example, if a power failure occurs, you may lose access to your files), if you do not feel sufficiently prepared, contact the specialists!
2. Attention! Although the above methods allow you to convert FAT32 to NTFS without data loss, it is advisable to copy your data to another medium first.
3. The most ideal case is to convert the file system to NTFS when installing (reinstalling) Windows XP. This is done by the operating system setup program.
4. If you do not know which file system you are using, the easiest way to find out is: open “ Windows explorer"By clicking the" My Computer "icon. Right-click on the local disk icon from the opened context menu select "Properties". In the opened Properties dialog box: Local disk"On the" General "tab, the file system type is indicated.
5. Before starting converting, it is recommended to close all open files and running programs.
6. After converting, it is advisable to check the file system for errors and defragment it. To do this, you need to perform the operations specified in p. 4. Open the "Service" tab, click the "Run check ..." button. In the "Check disk: Local disk" dialog box that opens, select the "Automatically fix system errors"And" Check and repair damaged sectors", Press the" Start "button. A check will be carried out (as a rule, after a reboot), the errors found will be fixed.
For defragmentation, in the same dialog box "Properties: Local Disk", click the button "Perform defragmentation". In the "Disk Defragmenter" dialog box that opens, click the "Defragment" button.
All the best!
,Despite the fact that the file system FAT32
is obsolete, it is still used in portable flash - carriers of a small volume. Disadvantages of this FS obvious: neither FAT32
nor the preceding FAT
don't support writing files anymore 4 GB , use of access rights and encryption. For this reason, you may want to reformat your flash drive or memory card to NTFS
.
This procedure itself is very simple, you just need to right-click on the media in Explorer, select an option and specify a new file system in the drop-down list of the dialog box NTFS .
The only drawback of this approach is that all data will be deleted from the drive during the formatting process. To save them, you need to either create a temporary copy of them on the main hard disk or use the built-in Windows 10 a utility that allows you to convert the file system FAT / FAT32 in NTFS no data loss.
It has the following syntax:
convert [volume] / fs: ntfs
You only need two parameters for conversion - volume (drive letter) and / fs (file system) ... If during the conversion process you want to get detailed information about the actions performed, you can add a key / V.
Let's convert a USB flash drive for example FAT32 with data written to it in NTFS ... Run the command line as administrator and execute the following command:
convert M: / fs: ntfs
The utility will immediately ask you to assign a label to the drive. The label should be the current drive name displayed in Explorer. If you enter a different name, you will get an error "Invalid disk label specified" ... After pressing Enter the second time, the utility will perform the necessary calculations and convert the file system to NTFS .
The data will not be affected. Naturally, all files on the drive must be closed. If you get the message when executing the command "The volume is in use by another process" , add the parameter to the command being executed / x.
This will unmount the volume, close the open descriptors, and the conversion will be done without error.
How to access data on a disk with the ReFS file system in Windows 7 or 8.1 ... In 2012, Microsoft introduced ReFS, a recoverable file system built on top of the now ubiquitous NTFS. Continuing NTFS, the new file system is devoid of its shortcomings, it is more refusal ...
Most flash drives are produced by manufacturers already formatted in FAT32 format. We start using them without thinking that this file system has serious limitations. One day we need to write to a USB flash drive large file with the film, but we can't do it. What to do? Let's look at this issue from the beginning.
Surely you have a USB stick? What filesystem is it formatted on? Don't be embarrassed ... Don't you know? If you do not know, then look like this. Open "My Computer" and select there by clicking the mouse your icon inserted into the port USB stick... Look in the sidebar. I even circled it with a red one in the screenshot. This flash drive will be in the FAT32 file system. I will not dwell on the advantages of NTFS over FAT32 now. I will only say that if you want to transfer files larger than 4 gigabytes on your flash drive, then NTFS or exFAT should become its file system. It makes sense to leave a USB flash-drive less than 4 gigabytes in FAT32 format.
Easy formatting of USB stick to NTFS
A new or empty flash drive can be simply formatted, since there is no need to fear data loss. They are simply not there. For this you do not need any additional programsenough built in Windows tools... Unfortunately, from the context menu (called by clicking right button mouse on the disk icon (flash drive)) formatting the flash drive to NTFS will fail. Even if you select the "Format" item, then in the window that appears there will be no formatting option in the file nTFS system.
Therefore, you have to use the format utility launched from the console. Beginning with windows versions XP SP3, it is included in the OS from Microsoft. To start it, you need to open the console (Win + R and in the window that appears, type cmd command) and type the command format in it. This command has several keys. In this case, we are interested in the / FS key. I.e command line should look like:
Format Z: / FS: NTFS
Replace Z with the letter corresponding to your flash drive in the system. Be careful not to confuse the letter, otherwise you will format another medium, which can be problematic to recover information from.
The format utility can help you format a USB flash drive not only in the NTFS file system. Beginning with windows systems XP SP3, Windows supports the exFAT file system, which was originally created specifically for use on portable drives. I will not dwell on its advantages and disadvantages, I will only say that it, like NTFS, allows you to write files larger than 4 gigabytes, which FAT32 cannot. In order to format a USB flash drive in exFAT format, you need to type in the command line:
Format X: / FS: exFAT
After that, just press Enter and the formatting process will begin.
Using the format command, we can format our flash drive in NTFS or exFAT (whichever you prefer), but all files, if any, will be lost. But what if the flash drive is full of something useful? Then we will have to use a different command.
Convert flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS without data loss
If we do not want to lose data on the flash drive, then we can use the convert.exe utility to convert its file system to NTFS. It is built into Windows XP SP3 and newer. The convert command is used to run it. It should also be typed in the console (see above for launching the console). The convert command can be entered with parameters. It will be better if you familiarize yourself with the capabilities of the utility in advance by entering into the command line:
Convert /?
Help for using this application will appear. Before starting the conversion, I would recommend, just in case, to copy the most difficult-to-recover files from the media to hDD... Failures of this process are almost impossible to predict, but it is within our power to minimize losses. In order to convert a USB flash drive, you need to type the command in the console:
Convert Z: / FS: NTFS / NoSecurity / X
Instead of Z, you should indicate the letter of the volume that we are converting. We use the / FS: NTFS key to designate the target file system. / NoSecurity allows us to do available files for all users (in NTFS, file access is regulated much stricter than in archaic FAT32). The / X switch allows us to forcibly close all connections to the flash drive so that nothing interferes with the process. After typing this command, press Enter.
This utility can be used to convert hard drives without data loss. In order to avoid failures and loss of information, a simple rule should be followed - this process cannot be interrupted. That is, do not turn off the power to the computer or remove the media during conversion. Therefore, I advise you to do everything carefully and on a PC equipped with an uninterruptible power supply.
If you need to change the file system FAT32 on NTFS, for example, then the right way will take advantage of your flash drive or disk. Of course, before that, you need to transfer all important data somewhere, because formatting erases all files on the media. But sometimes there are situations that you urgently need to change the FS (file system) from FAT32 to NTFS, and there is nothing at hand where you can transfer data. Or you have an external volume of 500 gigabytes or more / less completely "crammed" with files. Then you definitely need to look for where to copy so many files, and then transfer them to it again, and at the same time waste a lot of time on all these operations.
In general, there is a way to "reformat" FAT32 to NTFS while saving all data to the media. By the way, why exactly FAT32? Because on most standard-supplied hard drives and flash drives are exactly this FS, and NTFS is better compared to it.
So, in order to "convert" one file system to another, we need to run (preferably, but you can "redo") and enter the following command into it:
convert (drive letter) / fs: ntfs
where (drive letter) is the letter of your flash drive or drive that you want to convert. For example, you have his letter G, then the line will be like this:
convert g: / fs: ntfs
this is what it will look like on the command line:
now press Enter.
After that, a message about the name of the flash drive / disk may appear. You can change, you can not change, or you can leave it blank altogether.
By the way, some users note that it is better when the flash drive / disk has no label (name) at all. Then the conversion takes place without any problems or errors.
Then the conversion will start
You can then go in and make sure that all files remain in their places.
Now about the nuances of this method.
1) It will not work to reformat NTFS to FAT in this way. In order to change the FS in a similar way, the command should be "redone" and as a result it will be like this:
convert drive letter: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x
2) It is highly advisable to check your flash drive or disk for errors before converting. For example, in a way, but for other systems as well. Main in Properties drive to find the desired item.
This is necessary so that errors like SRC and others do not come out.
3) With this method, the fragmentation of files will be very large. It is understandable. This will affect, first of all, the fact that the speed of the media will decrease (read / write / copy, etc.), and it can also be time consuming or even completely impossible.
4) If the flash drive or disk (which is most often) has installed applicationsthat require registration or the original CD with the distribution kit, it is likely that this registration will disappear.
On this I think everything. You can reformat NTFS to FAT32 and vice versa without data loss, but I still recommend changing the FS using file transfer and normal formatting.
