Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft Windows => Windows Vista and 7 => Topic started by: Tsai Ming-Li on June 25, 2009, 12:46:34 AM
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Hi everyone! ^_^
So, I have this 500 GB external hard drive, which is formatted in exFAT with my Vista. As we all know, Windows XP can't read exFAT. But I want to use that external hard drive to transfer files from my Vista computer to my WinXP computer. So I tried using Vista to re-format the external hard drive into NTFS.
EDIT:: [Oh yea, sorry about this, but I forgot to mention earlier. During my first attempt to re-format the hard drive, my sister shut down the Format tool before it was even done. Does interrupting a format ruin a hard drive?]
Since then, all my attempts have resulted in failure. v_v The "Formatting Removable Disk" function goes all the way to the end, then announces that the format has failed. :'(
Please help... Are there any other programs that I can use? Or am I formatting it wrong? Does anyone else have the same problem as me??? Any help at all is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance. ^_^ :D
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Is the drive old? Did it work right before you tried to format it? Have you tried to format it using XP?
If all else fails I would download the disk tools and check the drive.
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The drive is not that old. I got it for Christmas. It worked properly before. I had some files saved in it, that I wished to transfer to the WinXP computer. Then I realized that XP can't read exFAT, so I wanted to reformat it to NTFS.
But now, even that computer with Vista keeps saying that it's not formatted when I click on that drive under "My Computer". (Obviously, I moved those files out beforehand lol.) Meanwhile, when I tried using the XP computer to re-format it, the drop down menus, that ask which kind of file system and allocation unit size, in the format function show up blank; and the "Start" button is grayed out.
I think I will try downloading the disk tools, as you've suggested. (Uh... Where can I download it?)
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From the Drive manuf. site...
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You can use the exFat on Windows XP by downloading it from Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=1cbe3906-ddd1-4ca2-b727-c2dff5e30f61&displaylang=en
To convert the drive to NTFS from exfat:
1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Left click mouse on the drive you want to format.
3. The drop down menu will appear go to the bottom to properties and left click mouse.
4. In the properties area go to the Tab [HARDWARE] and left click the mouse.
5. Go down the list and find the drive yo want to format to NTFS, left click the mouse on the drive.
6. Click on the button Properties.
7. Click the TAB [Policies], change the Optimize for quick removal to Optimize for Performance.
8. Click the OK button on both widows to close them.
9. Go back to the windows explorer and right click the mouse on the drive you just changed. Click on Format, in the drop down you will now have NTFS, FAT32, and exFat.
10. Change to NTFS and press the START button.