Today, Michael writes:

I’ve been trying to convert my ntfs external drive to fat32, can you please suggest what i can do to resolve it.
My operating system is windows xp.

Been there, so I can relate to the dilemma. Sounds like you are trying to make the drive accessible for either a Linux box or a Mac, but also accessible for Windows as well. Am I close? Short of that, there would be absolutely no advantage to dumping the better NTFS setup.

Unfortunately, you will find that your options stink. See, going from FAT32 to NTFS – no problem. Going the other way however will mean backing up any of the data on that drive, repartitioning it and then reformat it as needed. This can be done with Partition Magic or using the tools that Windows gives you. My Computer” -> Manage -> Disk Management. Ready for more bad news? Windows cannot format a FAT32 partition that is any larger than 32GB. What’s worse, FAT32 is really poor for handling large data files and will give you plenty of fragmentation issues over time. It really blows.

Better, more reliable options? Format it to support the other file system. If you are needing to work with a Mac, get MacDrive. If you are trying to create a shared drive for Linux, I would either stick to NTFS (preferred) or go with this read only route. If you are using Ubuntu Feisty or higher, just goto Applications, System Tools and select NTFS Configuration tool. Toggle the two radio boxes. This way your external NTFS driver will auto-mount when plugged in via USB.

Do you have an IT-related question? Perhaps you are just burnt out on writing on the walls with crayons? Whatever the comments may be, drop me a line, and you too can “Just Ask Matt!” Please address comments to the comments section above, my email address is for questions – thanks!