hard drive formatting

diane b · 01-03-2008, 08:16 AM

I have an iomega Ext Hard Drive 320GB that I installed last summer & I have a couple of basic questions.
1. It is currently formatted in FAT32- do I need to change it to NTFS?
2. If I change the format, will I lose all the data in the hard drive?
3. I have Media Player set up to update files from the hard drive, but if I have my photos in the hard drive, Media Player pulls the photo files as well as the music files. Is this a problem?
You can probably tell I am a complete newbie here, but I had no instructions available with the new hardrive- just plug it in and use it.
Any help is appreciated

**Deleted090308** · 01-03-2008, 08:32 AM

Hi, welcome to TSF.

1. You only have to convert it to NTFS if you want to save files bigger than 4GB.
2. If you convert (not format) the drive you should not lose any data - but there's always a risk of data loss when converting. I would save all important files on another drive - then format.
3. Sorry, but I don't understand this question - probably because I don't use Windows Media player. Please explain.

diane b · 01-03-2008, 08:51 AM

first, thanks for the info on formatting- I didn't want to reformat if I didn't need to.
regarding Media Player, it keeps a library of music files, photo files, video files, etc. by searching through the C drive and the hard drive for media files.
I only use Media Player for music; will it slow down the computer or Media Player to have the photos in Media Player?
I bought the hard drive specifically to store music and photos, so I want to keep the photos in there if I can.

**Deleted090308** · 01-03-2008, 09:21 AM

Media player only builds a (reference) library telling the program where to find the files (photos, music, video etc) - it won't move the files.

Hope that helps.

diane b · 01-03-2008, 09:27 AM

that does answer my question- thanks for the help.

**Deleted090308** · 01-03-2008, 09:29 AM

You're welcome.

01-03-2008, 08:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
diane b Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3 OS: xp	hard drive formatting I have an iomega Ext Hard Drive 320GB that I installed last summer & I have a couple of basic questions. 1. It is currently formatted in FAT32- do I need to change it to NTFS? 2. If I change the format, will I lose all the data in the hard drive? 3. I have Media Player set up to update files from the hard drive, but if I have my photos in the hard drive, Media Player pulls the photo files as well as the music files. Is this a problem? You can probably tell I am a complete newbie here, but I had no instructions available with the new hardrive- just plug it in and use it. Any help is appreciated

01-03-2008, 08:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: hard drive formatting Hi, welcome to TSF. 1. You only have to convert it to NTFS if you want to save files bigger than 4GB. 2. If you convert (not format) the drive you should not lose any data - but there's always a risk of data loss when converting. I would save all important files on another drive - then format. 3. Sorry, but I don't understand this question - probably because I don't use Windows Media player. Please explain.

01-03-2008, 08:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
diane b Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3 OS: xp	Re: hard drive formatting first, thanks for the info on formatting- I didn't want to reformat if I didn't need to. regarding Media Player, it keeps a library of music files, photo files, video files, etc. by searching through the C drive and the hard drive for media files. I only use Media Player for music; will it slow down the computer or Media Player to have the photos in Media Player? I bought the hard drive specifically to store music and photos, so I want to keep the photos in there if I can.

01-03-2008, 09:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: hard drive formatting Media player only builds a (reference) library telling the program where to find the files (photos, music, video etc) - it won't move the files. Hope that helps.

01-03-2008, 09:27 AM	#5 (permalink)
diane b Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3 OS: xp	Re: hard drive formatting that does answer my question- thanks for the help.

01-03-2008, 09:29 AM	#6 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: hard drive formatting You're welcome.