Can Thumb/Flash drives be reformatted to NTFS?

[robert213]

I have SanDisk's Cruzer 16GB Flash drive.

It is pre-formatted with two partitions, where the data partition is formatted FAT32.

Would I be able to convert from FAT32 to NTFS without distroying the Flash drive...

A. using Windows XP Disk Manager?

B. using Norton's Parition Magic?

C. using something else?

[craigmontHunter]

there is a command line tool, called convert, and the syntax is (assuming flash drive is e:)
"convert e: /fs:ntfs/x"
(the /x will force a dismount of the filesystem) - if you need help with syntax just type "convert /?" and it will give you the list of everything.

Good luck

[robert213]

Gathering notes...

http://www.ntfs.com/quest22.htm

NTFS General Information > Questions and Answers > Question

Questions and Answers
Q: How do I format a USB Flash Drive to NTFS file system?
A: To enable NTFS on your USB Flash Drive drive (USB Flash Memory):

1. Right click My Computer and select Manage.

2. Open the Device Manager and find your USB drive under the Disk Drives heading.
http://www.ntfs.com/images/device-manager.gif

3. Right click the drive and select Properties.

4. Choose Policies tab and select the "Optimize for performance" option.
http://www.ntfs.com/images/device-optimize.gif

5. Click OK.

6. Open My Computer.

7. Select Format on the flash drive.
http://www.ntfs.com/images/format-ntfs.gif

8. Choose NTFS in the File System dropdown box.

9. Device Formatting is completed.
http://www.ntfs.com/images/4.gif

Important: To remove a device safely without data loss use a "safely remove hardware" procedure or Eject function from Windows Explorer.
http://www.ntfs.com/images/eject.gif

http://communities.sandisk.com/sandisk/ ... ad.id=3080

If your data partition appears as K:, then in a command prompt (running as admin) type the following to convert on the fly (back up documents to be safe)..

convert K: /FS:NTFS

Then you can transfer large ISOs etc over.

http://reviews.cnet.com/usb-flash-drive ... 22257.html

(1) Back up ALL data on your Cruzer flash drive before doing anything else.

(2) Delete the U3 software and partition. All new Cruzer U3 drives include an uninstall utility. Use the U3 launchpad to select <Settings>, then <U3 Launchpad settings> then <Uninstall>. Best results can be obtained from a total reformat. You can find more instructions, software upgrades and removal tools on SanDisk?s web site.

(3) Set the Cruzer for performance. In Windows Explorer, right click on the Cruzer?s icon, and select <Properties> from the pop-up menu. Click on the <Hardware> tab, select the SanDisk Cruzer drive from the list then click the <Properties> button in the lower right corner of the dialog. In the new dialog, click on the <Policies> tab, then click on the radio button <Optimize for Performance>. Click on OK (twice) to return to Windows Explorer. Note that you will no longer be able to yank the flash drive out of the USB port without first using the Windows ?Safety Remove Hardware? feature.

(4) Reformat the Drive. In Windows Explorer, right click on the Cruzer?s icon, and select <Format>. In the dialog box select the ?File System? as <FAT 32>. This will work very well with large and very large files. You may want to use NTFS, but only if you?re routinely copying lots (thousands) of very small files.