Vic Smith wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:07:52 -0500, John H.
wrote:

I have a 160 GB external hard disk to which I tried to back up my documents
and settings using the Windows backup system.

After about a half hour, I get a message saying there's not enough room for
the backup, and that if the hard disk is FAT 32, the backup can be no
larger than 4 GB. So I checked, and sure enough, the external HD is FAT 32.

Now what? I already have about 50 GB of stuff on the external HD that I
don't want to lose by reformatting (if that's what's required).

Don't fool around. Just buy a bigger HD, and format it in NTFS.
Then reformat the other one, and use it too.
Better to have at least 2 backup drives for Murphy Law insurance.

--Vic


I don't usually help idiots because it only encourages them,
but you can easily convert a FAT32 drive to NTFS without a great risk of
losing data.

First, stop the backup. Then:

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click
Command Prompt.

At the command prompt, type the following, where drive letter is the
drive that you want to convert:
convert drive letter: /fs:ntfs
(As an example, type the following command to convert drive E to NTFS:
convert e: /fs:ntfs)

(Note If the operating system is on the drive that you are converting,
you will be prompted to schedule the task when you restart the computer
because the conversion cannot be completed while the operating system is
running. When you are prompted, click YES.)

When you receive the following message at the command prompt, type the
volume label of the drive that you are converting, and then press ENTER:

The type of the file system is FAT.
Enter the current volume label for drive drive letter

When the conversion to NTFS is complete, you receive the following
message at the command prompt:
Conversion complete

Quit the command prompt.



These are Mickeysoft's directions, not mine. I've done this a few times
without complications and without losing data.