FAT stands for File Allocation Table. The FAT32 file system is a traditional file system for organizing data on hard drives. This file system uses mapping tables to provide inter-cluster mapping that points to the physical structure of the hard drive.
NTFS stands for New Technology File System. This file system was created to enhance the security and privacy of hard drives. NTFS included some features that supported larger hard drives much better than FAT32 file systems. The error handling mechanism in NTFS was also much better than in FAT32.
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As Windows now recommends NTFS over FAT32 file system, this article will walk us through the following steps to change FAT32 file system to NTFS in Windows 10:
Step 1:
Click the "File Explorer" icon pinned on the Windows taskbar.
Step 2:
Look for “This PC” in the left corner of the screen. Right click on “This PC” and click on “Manage”. This will open the “Computer Management” window.
Step 3:
In the left corner of the screen, find "Storage". In the "Storage" section, click "Disk Management".
Disk Management lists important data such as the volume (disk) name, layout, volume type, file system, and health status of the disks.
In the bottom section of Disk Management, select a hard drive (FAT32) that you need to convert to the NTFS file system. Right click on the desired hard drive and click "Format".
Step 4:
In the “File System” section, select “NTFS” from the drop-down list. Click "OK" to format the selected drive.
Step 5:
A confirmation dialog will appear on the screen saying “Formatting this volume will erase all data on it. Make a backup copy of the data you want to keep before formatting. Do you want to continue?".
Click "OK" to confirm the changes.
Note: The selected hard drive will be formatted and converted to the NTFS file system.
