Easy Approach to Convert NTFS to FAT32 Partition

by Jane / Saturday, February 04, 2017 / UPDATED in Partition Magic Guide

NTFS or FAT32 for Sony PlayStation3 and XBOX 360?

xbox-360

Hi guys, I have an NTFS USB drive and I want to convert it to FAT32 so the PS3 will recognize it. Now I'm pretty sure you need a 3rd party tool to do this, can anyone recommend one?- Eurogamer

For PS or XBOX 360 game fans, they usually find a best solution to convert NTFS partition to FAT32 so that their game box can recognize the partition. Why PS3 and XBOX360 do not support NTFS partition? That's probably a way to avoid pirate.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table): FAT32 is the most common version of the FAT, FAT32 is a good choice for the users who are running multiple OS, while NTFS (New Technology Files System) is the newer drive format which has great security, file by file compression, quotas and file encryption. With Windows built in Disk Management, FAT32 can be converted to NTFS but it is not so easy to convert NTFS back to FAT32.

Why converting NTFS back to FAT32 cannot be easily reached? There are two main reasons:

  1. If the partition is larger than 32GB, we are not allowed to format the NTFS partition as FAT32 file system even the partition is empty. This is the inherent limitation in Windows.
  2. If the partition stores important data, format NTFS partition to FAT32 will cause everything erased as well.

Fortunately, there's available solution for users to choose, that is, Macrorit Disk Partition Expert, it was given the feature of converting NTFS to FAT32 and keep data intact as well. So following article covers a look at the conversion from NTFS to FAT32 in general and also includes related useful tips.

Main interface

Download the corresponding editions in download center, you are allowed to test the program as trial version without registration. The trial version cannot perform the actual convert task, so if you are satisfied with the testing, you could upgrade the trail version to full version to reach the conversion.

Launch the program, we get the main interface and follow the steps below:

Step 1: Right click H partition and select "Convert To FAT32" in drop-down menu, and confirm the task in the new pop out window.

Main interface

Step 2: After clicking “OK”, back to the main window, the operation is pending for accomplish. Click “Commit” to submit the task.

Main interface

Result: The H partition was converted to FAT32, let's check the result in the Disk Management.

Main interface

All in all, this software can simplify the conversion from NTFS to FAT32 and keep data security as well. All the process will finish in a few seconds without rebooting the OS. If you are finding a program to convert NTFS to FAT32 partition for your PS3 or XBOX 360 external hard drive, Macrorit Disk Partition Software worth trying, you can also find out ways to extend FAT32 partition when game partition is not possessing much space.

  • Move or backup the file(s) larger than 4GB,
    because FAT32 partition imposes the 4GB file limitation by design.
  • Remove or backup the compressed files.
  • Backup the encrypted files or decrypt the files.
  • Keep the cluster size as default to avoid other errors.
Program:
Macrorit Disk Partition Pro Edition
Test Environment:
Windows 7 32-bit / Windows 10 64-bit
Task:
Convert H: partition NTFS to FAT32 partition on Disk 2
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