Hard Drive Issue, FAT32 vs NTFS?

Question

I have a HD that was FAT32, Recently I stupidly Formated it and it is now NTFS I have tried using Partition Magic and Partition Expert to re-Format this back to FAT32. But it just doesnt give me the option to select FAT32. Is there any way I can get it back to FAT32?

Answer 1

Most operating systems allow you to format drives. If you're using Windows or Linux, you should be able to just right click on the drive, select "format" and FAT32.

Answer 2

You can easily format back to FAT32 by using a DOS-based boot disk. If you have an old copy of Windows 98 or Windows ME just boot with it and format the drive as FAT32. You don't have to install the operating system.



Another easy option is to download a free DOS boot-disk from http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm. Any of the disks in the first section will allow you to boot and format as FAT32. If you don't need any of the Windows stuff, just download the DOS 6.22 file and extract to a CD or floppy.



Which leads to the real question. After formatting as NTFS, why do you want to go back to FAT32? Since you've formatted it as NTFS there's no chance of getting any of your old files back, if that's what you're after. Well --technically-- file recovery is possible afterwards, but it's an expensive process done by professionals. Also, unless you are using Windows ME or older FAT32 is a disadvantage because NTFS is much more efficient. Microsoft actually stopped including a FAT32 format option starting with Windows XP.

Answer 3

There is no way to convert it back to fat 32 unless you format the drive, but this you will loss all your data, and you should notice that only 32GB below could be formatted to FAT32 by disk part command or DM. You can try this NTFS to FAT 32 converter, it is free download, and you can use to demo edition to experience, the demo edition only support 8GB partition to convert,. In order to make your new HDD recognized by PS3, you must make sure 3 points, firstly the file system is fat 32 or ntfs if it is ntfs you should convert it to fat 32 by this ntfs converter . Secondly make sure whether your PS3 firmware is the latest, if not you need upgrade it , you could download the latest firmware from the Playstation website, and put it on to a memory stick. Then put this into one of the USB ports on your PS3. This will be recognized by the PS3 and will be used in the process of setting up your new hard drive. and you should also put your FAT32 partition as the first partition on your HDD, only this it could be recognized by PS 3.

Hopefully this is all clear to you.

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