Convert FAT32 to NTFS with/without Formatting

If a hard disk partition or removable disk was formatted with the FAT32 file system, you may find that you cannot save a single file larger than 4GB to the FAT32 drive. Why? Well, this is due to the limitation of the FAT32 file system, which only supports single files smaller than 4GB. In addition, the performance of the FAT32 file system is not as good as the NTFS file system.

Therefore, it is recommended to format your hard disk drive with the NTFS file system when partitioning an internal hard drive on your computer. However, when you buy a new computer or USB flash drive, it might already be formatted with the FAT32 file system. So, is there anything you can do to convert FAT32 to the NTFS file system?

	Disk Management	Diskpart	Partition Resizer*
Convert FAT32 to NTFS
Format NTFS to FAT32
Convert NTFS to FAT32 without Losing Data	NO	NO
Price	FREE	FREE	FREE
			Download Win 11-7 (100% Free) Download Win Server (Free Demo)

Way 1 - Change FAT32 to NTFS Without Formatting Using Convert CMD

It's completely safe to convert a FAT32 drive to NTFS on Windows computers using the convert command, and no data will be removed.

The command: convert G: /fs:NTFS (G should be replaced by the drive letter of your drive. For example, if your D drive needs to be converted to NTFS, type: convert D: /fs:NTFS, and then press the Enter key).

Note: Converting FAT32 to NTFS using CMD does not result in data loss. However, converting NTFS back to FAT32 without data loss is not possible. To change NTFS back to FAT32 without losing data, you can use the free tool Partition Resizer.

Video - How to Convert FAT32 to NTFS Without Formatting

The Question: Converting OS C Drive from FAT32 to NTFS?

Answer: The command prompt convert method will not work on the OS C drive.

Alternative solution: Want to expand the C drive in FAT32? You can redistribute disk space for the FAT32 C drive using the free tool IM-Magic Partition Resizer without losing data.

Extend C Drive Without Converting It to NTFS

Step 1: Download Partition Resizer Free, install it, and open it. Create unallocated space by shrinking a large volume: Right-click the large volume and choose "Resize/Move."

Step 2: Move the border of the large drive from left to right to create unallocated space on the left side, or move the border to the left to create unallocated space on the right side.

Step 3: Right-click the C drive and choose "Resize/Move." Extend its right-side border to claim the unallocated space.

Step 4: Move the arrows to add the unallocated space to the C drive. Click the "Apply" button.

4 Ways to Convert FAT32 to NTFS by Reformatting (Non-OS Drive)

On any Windows computer, both FAT32 and NTFS file systems are supported on local disk drives or removable disks. If you want to reformat an internal or removable disk from FAT32 to NTFS for free, you can select any of the methods below:

Tip: Please back up your data in advance, as reformatting will wipe the device. The free tool Partition Resizer has the Clone Disk and Copy Partition functions for data backup.

1. Reformat Internal/Removable Disk from FAT32 to NTFS in My Computer

Step 1: Right-click the disk that has the FAT32 file system and select the Format option.

Step 2: Select NTFS under the file system section and then click the Start button.

2. Reformat Disk in Disk Management

You can open Disk Management on your computer and right-click the FAT32 drive to format it to the NTFS file system.

==> Please visit the following links to access Disk Management in different Windows versions:

>> Windows 7 Disk Management

>> Windows 10 Disk Management

3. Use Diskpart Command to Reformat Disk from FAT32 to NTFS

Follow the guide below to run the Diskpart command to format a disk to NTFS:

Step 1: Type Diskpart after running Command Prompt.

==> To learn how to run Command Prompt, please refer to: open command prompt

Step 2: Type list disk and then enter select disk 0, 1, 2… (It depends on the disk you want to format).

Step 3: Type list volume and then enter format fs=ntfs label=volume label quick (volume label is the label of the partition you want to format).

4. Free Partition Software to Format Disk Volume from FAT32 to NTFS

IM-Magic Partition Resizer is a free tool that can help back up disk data (Clone Disk or Copy Partition) and then format the disk drive to NTFS.

Also read: How to back up a partition for free with Partition Resizer

For Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000 ==> Download IM-Magic Partition Resizer Free

For all Windows Server versions ==> Download IM-Magic Partition Resizer Server

Free to Change FAT32 Drive to NTFS with Command Line

If you want to change a disk to NTFS without formatting, you can run Command Line to execute the conversion task.

Step 1: Methods to Open Command Line

To change a disk from FAT32 to NTFS with Command Prompt, the first step is to open the Command Line.

For Windows XP users – Click the Start button > Run > type cmd and press the OK button.

For Windows Vista / 7 users – Click the Start button > type cmd in the search bar > right-click cmd.exe and choose Run as administrator.

For Windows 8 / 10 users – Press Windows + X keys and select Command Prompt (Admin).

Step 2: Change FAT32 Drive to NTFS with Command Prompt

You need to enter the appropriate command to change the FAT32 drive to NTFS.

==> For detailed steps on how to convert a drive from FAT32 to NTFS with Command Prompt, please refer to: How Command Line works for FAT32 to NTFS conversion

Free to Convert USB Flash Drive from FAT32 to NTFS

USB flash drives are available in capacities from 1GB to 512GB. Typically, USB flash drives smaller than 32GB are formatted with the FAT32 file system, while those larger than 32GB are formatted with NTFS.

==> For more details on converting a flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS, please refer to: How to convert flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS

Free to Convert NTFS to FAT32

It is easy to convert FAT32 to NTFS, but it can be more difficult to convert an NTFS drive back to FAT32. Command Line typically does not support converting any partition from NTFS to FAT32. You can try formatting to convert an NTFS partition back to FAT32. If you do not want to format or there is no FAT32 file system option available when formatting, you can use IM-Magic Partition Resizer to change NTFS to FAT32.

Step 1: Right-click the NTFS partition and select the "Convert to FAT32" option.

Step 2: Confirm the conversion and click the "Apply Changes" button.

Download the Proper Version of IM-Magic Partition Resizer

For Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000 ==> Download IM-Magic Partition Resizer Free

For all Windows Server versions ==> Download IM-Magic Partition Resizer Server

Last updated on 2024/10/2