is it possible to convert a NTFS external drive to HFS extended?

Question

is it possible to convert a NTFS external drive to HFS extended?

My daughter saw the light and changed from a Sony laptop to an Intel iMac.

The problem is that she has 2 USB2 external drives that were formatted as NTFS. I spent some frustrating time today with the one of the drives and Disk Utility. Disk Utility kept choking (becoming unresponsive with the spinning pizza wheel) on formatting the HD or changing the partition from MBR to GUID.

I wondered what I might be doing wrong, but the quote below from the LaCie support site suggests that the problem is more systematic.

+Once you have converted a volume from FAT 32 to NTFS, there is no going back. You can convert from FAT 32 to NTFS, but not the other way around.+

If so, that would be disappointing. It certainly is true that Windows doesn't even off the option of creating FAT 32 partitions after re-initializing the HD.

I hope that I'm missing something here and that someone will gently point out the way forward. Thanks,

w r glendon

G5 iMac and intel iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Mar 9, 2008 8:08 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,103 points

Mar 9, 2008 8:35 PM in response to W. Richard Glendon

For an Intel Mac connect the USB drive to the computer. Do the following:

Extended Hard Drive Preparation

1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.

2. After ** loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the ** main window.

3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.

4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the ** main window.

5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data (single pass) and click on OK to return to the Erase window.

6. Click on the Erase button. The format process may take up to several hours or more depending upon the drive size.

Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

Repeat the above for the second drive. Do not skip any steps as the Zero Data step is important for what you are doing.

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Answer 2

mrtotes

Level 6

11,836 points

Mar 9, 2008 8:38 PM in response to W. Richard Glendon

Hello,

You can format the drive to HFS+ (or back to FAT32) easily using Apple's +Disk Utility+ but this will erase all data on the drive. Back up the data to another drive or discs (preferably two locations), then open Disk Utility. Select it in the left hand pane and click the Erase or Parition tab and choose "Mac OS Extended with Journalling".

mrtotes

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

362,103 points

Mar 9, 2008 8:41 PM in response to mrtotes

For use on an Intel Mac it will have to be re-partitioned using GUID before formatting it.

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Answer 4

mrtotes

Level 6

11,836 points

Mar 9, 2008 8:43 PM in response to Kappy

Thanks.

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Answer 5

Mar 10, 2008 8:41 AM in response to Kappy

Thank you for the helpful response, though the process you describe is what I have been doing. The problem is that instead of working through installing the new partition scheme, Disk Utility fails (spinning wheel and "not responding" message in the Force Quit dialogue.)

After this breakdown the disk can't be mounted, no surprise, though the old Windows XP machine can initialize and re-partion it, pronouncing it healty at the end. Then it will mount and be recognized on the iMac desktop, but I still can't get the Disk Utility to get any further.

The drive may be somehow damaged, but you can see why the LaCie quote in the original question left me wondering if there was something particularly sticky about NTFS, once an NTFS disk always an NTFS disk or something to that effect.

When we can get the other drive, also NTFS, cleared off, then we will try the same process with a different mechanism.

w r glendon

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Answer 6

Kappy

Level 10

362,103 points

Mar 10, 2008 9:07 AM in response to W. Richard Glendon

I don't know what LaCie meant by their statement, but certainly there's nothing magical about NTFS formatting that would render a drive unusable for any other format. Perhaps you should discuss this with LaCie's tech support as it's possible there's a problem with the drive. I don't know why Disk Utility would hang trying to re-partition the drive. Re-partitioning only attempts to modify those blocks on the drive that contain the disk's layout format - once called the Rigid Disk Block but I'm not sure what Apple calls it now. If there's a problem with that area of the drive (bad block) then it's possible that's causing ** to choke.

What you might try is rather than re-partitioning the drive just erase the drive, but before doing so see what other formats ** allows for the existing partition scheme (which should be MBR.) If it allows a Mac format then see if you can simply reformat the drive. If that's successful, then try re-partitioning and changing the partition scheme to GUID.

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Answer 7

Mar 10, 2008 4:09 PM in response to Kappy

Again thanks,

It seems that it must be a problem with the drive. The process went further today (trying separately both partitioning and erasing) but ended with a message:

Partition Failed with the error Input/Output Error

My guess that there are some bad blocks. I'm ready to give up on this project but I do appreciate your help.

w r glendon

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