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Post by Tpgettys on Jan 4, 2017 1:03:29 GMT
This file system business is an Operating System thing and not a hardware thing, right ?; any old computer can handle any old format so long as the OS recognizes that format, right ? Exactly right BuckSkin. |
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Post by Peterj on Jan 13, 2017 17:23:11 GMT
Only if you're using a Windows OS. MAC OSX uses HFS+
Yes that's correct ... however I wouldn't format a 2TB drive with exFAT.
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Post by BuckSkin on Jan 19, 2017 1:33:42 GMT
I searched for "convert from FAT32 to NTFS" and found that there is a command line utility that will do that for you; here is one article about it: ConvertTHANK YOU ever-so-much for pointing me toward that NTSF Convert command; that has just made my life easier ! However, in practice, it is not quite so simple as reading the article would have one believe; but, it can't be too hard as I managed to accomplish it. I had to wait for another external drive to arrive so as to have somewhere to back-up the contents before taking a chance on me doing something wrong and losing all of the wife's pictures. Now, with everything safely synchronized onto another drive, I followed the instructions and managed to safely change the format of the FAT32 drive to NTSF without losing nary a file. Here are a couple screen-shots of the command dialogue; one is scrolled all the way up; the other is scrolled all the way down:   Here is a shot showing mission accomplished:  I don't quite understand that last line in the command dialogue "Data error <cyclic redundancy check>" The way it reads, one would think that it ran against some roadblock; however, it seemed to be finished and the drive now shows up as NTFS, so I guess all went well. If one has a FAT32 drive and needs it converted to NTFS, then I highly recommend this procedure. Again, thanks for pointing it out. |
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Post by Tpgettys on Jan 19, 2017 2:11:05 GMT
I don't quite understand that last line in the command dialogue "Data error <cyclic redundancy check>" I'm very pleased (and relieved!) that it worked for you. I noticed that last line also and was concerned about what it means. Just to be sure, I would run CHKDSK again to see if any errors are reported. |
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Post by BuckSkin on Jan 19, 2017 2:14:26 GMT
I don't quite understand that last line in the command dialogue "Data error <cyclic redundancy check>" I'm very pleased (and relieved!) that it worked for you. I noticed that last line also and was concerned about what it means. Just to be sure, I would run CHKDSK again to see if any errors are reported. Will do; although, I have no idea what to do with errors when they are reported..... |
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Post by Tpgettys on Jan 19, 2017 2:21:09 GMT
I did find another person that reported the same result after running CONVERT but when they ran CHKDSK no errors were reported. Hopefully that will be your experience as well.
FYI: if you use the /f switch any errors that are found will be repaired.
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Post by Sepiana on Jan 19, 2017 2:21:34 GMT
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Post by BuckSkin on Jan 19, 2017 9:06:41 GMT
Thanks, Tom and Sepiana. I did the command-line chkdsk with /f again; here are the results:  I am assuming that means we are good to go. A person might not use that ability to convert a FAT32 formated disk to NTFS no more than twice in a blue moon; but it sure does come in handy when the need arises. I was a wee bit skeptical of it being able to perform the task while leaving the files unharmed, but it appears to have done so. |
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Post by Tpgettys on Jan 19, 2017 20:59:32 GMT
Yep, it all looks Good! I am so glad it went well for you.
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Post by Sepiana on Jan 19, 2017 21:07:50 GMT
Thanks, Tom and Sepiana. I did the command-line chkdsk with /f again; here are the results: I am assuming that means we are good to go.
BuckSkin, yes, it looks like all is well now. Great news!
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Post by BuckSkin on Jan 20, 2017 0:12:34 GMT
There's another file system that probably belongs in the thread...exFAT "It’s a file system optimized for flash drives. It’s designed to be a lightweight file system like FAT32 without all NTFS’s extra features and overhead, but without FAT32’s limitations."
NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT comparisonWe just got a couple more flash-drives and I believe I will format them to exFAT so they can handle 4+GB videos. Thanks for enlightening me on the subject, as I was unaware such an animal even existed prior to your post. I just wonder if the printer kiosks at the big chain stores can handle exFAT; does anyone know ? |
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Post by Tpgettys on Jan 20, 2017 4:53:57 GMT
I just wonder if the printer kiosks at the big chain stores can handle exFAT; does anyone know ? It depends on the operating system they are using. Here is a link for info on windows suppport. Extra software is needed on Unix/Linux systems. It sounds like most camera memory cards are formatted as exFAT, so I would expect a printer kiosk to support it, but I don't have first-hand knowledge of that. |
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Post by BuckSkin on Jan 20, 2017 12:36:41 GMT
I just wonder if the printer kiosks at the big chain stores can handle exFAT; does anyone know ? It sounds like most camera memory cards are formatted as exFAT, so I would expect a printer kiosk to support it, but I don't have first-hand knowledge of that. If exFAT is a common format for memory cards, then it is a safe bet that all chain-store kiosks will support it; the majority of people using those kiosks are even less knowledgeable than me; of course, I myself have never used one, but the wife uses them quite frequently when someone else is paying for the printing. (since I have gotten smarter about buying printer ink, we do the majority of our personal printing at home, so long as it is 8.5x11 or less in size) |
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