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How to change the traditional file system of a usb flashdrive(fat32) into ntfs or other file system?

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2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

This article answers your question :-)

Q: How do I format a USB Flash Drive to NTFS file system?
A: To enable NTFS on your USB Flash Drive drive (USB Flash Memory):

1. Right click My Computer and select Manage.
2. Open the Device Manager and find your USB drive under the Disk Drives heading.
3. Right click the drive and select Properties.  
4. Choose Policies tab and select the "Optimize for performance" option.       
5. Click OK.    
6. Open My Computer.     
7. Select Format on the flash drive.   
8. Choose NTFS in the File System dropdown box.  
9. Device Formatting is completed.
Important: To remove a device safely without data loss use a "safely remove hardware" procedure or Eject function from Windows Explorer.

Credit: http://www.ntfs.com/quest22.htm

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up vote 2 down vote

You could use convert.exe:

> CONVERT driveletter: /FS:NTFS

where driveletter is the driveletter of your flash drive of course.

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One advantage of this method is that you don't need to format the drive. The data can stay on it. – fretje Dec 8 '09 at 10:35
Also supposing you are on windows btw. – fretje Dec 8 '09 at 10:38
in particular, it's a win-XP utility. any confirmation it also exists on vista & win-7? – quack quixote Dec 8 '09 at 11:50
@~quack: Just checked, en I can confirm that the tool is still included in Windows 7. – fretje Dec 8 '09 at 13:24
thanks! i just noticed your MS link didn't specify them, so it was worth asking. :) – quack quixote Dec 8 '09 at 15:28
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