A Simple Guide To Change NTFS To FAT32 Without Formatting

Are you worried about losing data? You have a massive hard drive that you want to reduce down to a smaller size using File Allocation Table (FAT) 32. The problem is that you’re on Windows and do not want to risk formatting the disk. Normally in this case you would either pick up another hard drive or purchase a new one, but if you have your reasons for keeping it, in this article I will show you how to go from NTFS to FAT32 without formatting your hard drive.

If we talk about data storage, there are two different file systems we normally encounter in our daily life, those are NTFS and FAT32.

NTFS is the newer one between the two, it offers better security and provides you efficient data management. It also supports file permission management and can automatically repair files when damaged.

But that doesn’t mean that FAT32 has become useless now. Many storage devices like memory sticks, SD Cards, and Hard Drives still work on this system.

There are times when you have to change your NTFS device into a FAT32. Usually, changing an NTFS device into a FAT32 will require formatting your device. This is of course will result in a data loss.

Of course, you can avoid it by making a data backup beforehand. But, what if you don’t have any available storage space? Thus, we will show you how to change NTFS to FAT32 without formatting.

Changing NTFS to FAT32 using Third-Party Software

To do this method, you have to install first a software called AOMEI Partition Assistant. It is a tool dedicated to solving issues like changing disk formats. Once you have installed AOMEI Partition Assistant on your computer, open it and follow the steps below.

1. The first to do here is to look for “NTFS to FAT32 converter”. To find it, you should go to the ”All tools” option and you will find the option under the “Other tools” section.
   
2. A window will then appear. You will find two options here, “NTFS to FAT32” and “FAT31 to NTFS”. Choose the first one.
   
3. Next, you will be asked about which disk you need to convert. There should be some drives available on the options list, make sure you select the right one and click “Next”.
   
4. The final step here is very easy. The program will ask for your confirmation regarding the conversion process. Click “Proceed” and wait until the process is over.
   

Changing FAT32 to NTFS using Command Prompt

There may be other times when you need to change a FAT32 drive into an NTFS one. It might be because the FAT32 device is not supported by the operating system or it might be caused by something else.

The method we are going to use here is using the Command Prompt (CMD). Now, start with opening the CMD on your computer. You can open the CMD from the Start menu. Don’t forget to confirm when the system asks you to run it as administrator.

1. Now that the CMD is open, type “chkdsk h:” or “chkdsk i:” depending on the location of your device. The system will run a disk check.If there are no issues with the disk, you can continue with the next step, which is converting the disk.
   
2. Type “convert i: /FS: NTFS” and hit enter. All you need to now is wait until the process is over.
3. When the process is finished, you will see “conversion complete” on the CMD window. It means you have successfully convert your FAT32 drive into an NTFS format.
4. To makes sure that the process is done correctly, open your File Explorer and see whether the format of the disk has been changed or not.

Summary: Change NTFS to FAT32 without Formatting

• Right click This PC/My Computer and choose "Manage".
• Open Disk Management by expanding it.
• Right click on the NTFS partition you want to change to FAT32 and select "Format...".
• In the pop-up window, change the file system to FAT32 and click OK.
• Click Apply button in the main interface to execute this operation including waiting for command completion, partition formatting and Windows rebuilding MBR so as to complete converting file system between NTFS and FAT32 without formatting or losing data.
• Takeaway: Changing partition file system between NTFS and FAT32 is not a difficult task with AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition at hand especially when it comes along with its ability of converting between GPT and MBR disk styles without losing any data on the disk.

Conclusion

Both NTFS and FAT32 disk format are still widely used by computer users today. But, there will be situations where you have to use one between the two disk formats. This should not be a problem anymore because it is very possible to replace NTFS with FAT32 disk format and vice versa.