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Thread ID: 91015 2008-06-23 08:07:00 Hard Drive Parition Questions? Mantis (3703) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
681415 2008-06-23 08:07:00 I have a 250gb external hard drive which I have partitioned into three parts, 2 x 100gb partitions and 1 x 50gb partitions. They are all formatted as NTFS.

Is it possible to have the different partitions using different file structures? ie both the 100gb partitions as NTFS and the 50gb partition as Fat32.

And if so would I need to reformat the whole drive or can I just reformat the 50gb partition as FAT32 without disrupting the other NTFS partitions.

Thanks as always for any help.

M.
Mantis (3703)
681416 2008-06-23 08:10:00 You can run different file systems and you should be able to just reformat the one partition you want without affecting the others.

Just out of interest why though?
gary67 (56)
681417 2008-06-23 08:10:00 Maybe he wants to run Win 98 ;) :D

Yes, you can just reformat the 50GB partition independently of the others. I think there is a limit on the FAT32 partition size - the figure escapes me right now :)
jwil1 (65)
681418 2008-06-23 08:33:00 Just out of interest why though?

Cheers for the help. I just wanted to find if it was possible to have a partition that both Windows and OSX can read and write to.

M.
Mantis (3703)
681419 2008-06-23 08:35:00 I'd say it's to use as a more flexible share between OS', such as Windows/OS X/*nix etc. Sure NTFS support can be mustered (code.google.com) but this is easier than fussing between platforms.

Edit: Ah, confirmed while I was posting.
sal (67)
681420 2008-06-23 08:46:00 Maybe he wants to run Win 98 ;) :D

Yes, you can just reformat the 50GB partition independently of the others. I think there is a limit on the FAT32 partition size - the figure escapes me right now :)

Think its that Windows can only format upto 32GB as FAT32.
stormdragon (6013)
681421 2008-06-23 08:47:00 Think its that Windows can only format upto 32GB as FAT32.

That's what I thought, but an old PC of mine has a 40GB HD formatted into one partition as FAT32. :confused:
jwil1 (65)
681422 2008-06-23 08:48:00 That's what I thought, but an old PC of mine has a 40GB HD formatted into one partition as FAT32. :confused:

Was it formatted inside Windows though?
stormdragon (6013)
681423 2008-06-23 08:51:00 I would think it was formatted in XP's setup wizard, but I didn't set it up initially, so can't be sure. jwil1 (65)
681424 2008-06-23 08:53:00 I'm relatively sure the likes of GParted can do, it not sure about XP setup might be a useful thing for me to find out. stormdragon (6013)
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