NTFS USB drive - can I reformat?

[Wolverine in Michigan]

I have a usb drive formatted NTFS attached to pc using Vista HP. Can

usb drive this be reformatted and still work afterward? I know the

files will be lost. I know there used to be a problem about

reformatting NTFS drives.



Thanks

 

[Michael]

"Wolverine in Michigan" wrote in message

news:#bnC7WewKHA.4552@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> I have a usb drive formatted NTFS attached to pc using Vista HP. Can usb

> drive this be reformatted and still work afterward?



Yes.



> I know the files will be lost. I know there used to be a problem about

> reformatting NTFS drives.



Not that I've ever heard of.



> Thanks



Anytime.

--





"Don't pick a fight with an old man.

If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."

 

[smlunatick]

On Mar 12, 1:13 pm, Wolverine in Michigan

wrote:

> I have a usb drive formatted NTFS attached to pc using Vista HP.  Can

> usb drive this be reformatted and still work afterward?   I know the

> files will be lost.  I know there used to be a problem about

> reformatting NTFS drives.

>

> Thanks



The only problems formatting hard drives (any) is the fact that

starting with XP we can not create FAT32 hard drive "partitions" in

excess of 32 GB natively with Windows Disk Management.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Wolverine in Michigan wrote:

> I have a usb drive formatted NTFS attached to pc using Vista HP. Can

> usb drive this be reformatted and still work afterward? I know the

> files will be lost.





Yes.





> I know there used to be a problem about

> reformatting NTFS drives.

>





Really? This is the first time I've ever heard any such claim, in 14

years of supporting computers using the NTFS file system. Where'd you

get your information?





--



Bruce Chambers



Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html



http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin



Many people would rather die than think in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell



The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

 

[John John - MVP]

smlunatick wrote:



> The only problems formatting hard drives (any) is the fact that

> starting with XP we can not create FAT32 hard drive "partitions" in

> excess of 32 GB natively with Windows Disk Management.



Actually FAT32 support came to be with Windows 2000 (NT could only

handle FAT16 & NTFS) and Windows 2000 too was limited to formating FAT32

volumes to a maximum size of 32GB. This was not a technical inability

of Windows 2000, it's was a limit imposed to reduce or curb the use of

inefficient FAT32 volumes on enterprise class workstations.



http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2006.07.windowsconfidential.aspx

Windows Confidential A Brief and Incomplete History of FAT32



Note that although Windows 2000/XP are limited in the size of the FAT32

volume that they can format they can mount any size FAT32 disks prepared

by other operating systems.



John