can i have NTFS and FAT32 on a HDD?

Question

can i have more than 2 files systems on an external HDD?

for example, NTFS to store backups/images of operating system and important data. And, FAT32 to store data for sharing purposes over my network? Cuz i intend to use my HDD as a NAS.

Answer 1

Sure, use a utility like Partition Magic to split up partitions and format them as desired.

Answer 2

Not to be repetitive here, but the answer is "partitions".

Your question talks about the entire hard drive, but dividing it up into more than one partition gives you the option of having different file formats.

By the way, when you share across the network, it doesn't matter if you have NTFS or FAT32. So, I'm not sure why that's a concern. The OS sharing the files translates the file system for other operating systems that can't read NTFS. So for example, a Win98 PC can read shared "network" files on a WinXP NTFS share.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Yes it can be done. when you first format the drive allocate the amount of space you want for Fat32 and format it first. You must always format in the order of least to greatest. meaning Fat16 then Fat 32 and finally NTFS. once you have installed the NTFS partition you will be unable to go back and change the Fat32 partition so make sure you calculate everything the first time. Once you have formted the drives you will be able to insatll however you like. just remeber that the OS will default to the C drive on a harddrive unless you customize the %systemroot% file to the other partition.

Answer 4

I've never done it myself, but I've seen two types of partitions on our work server, and one is FAT32 the other NTFS.

Answer 5

Yes you can. You can have as many different formats as you wish.
It is very common for users to have different partitions for multi-boot systems.
9x and ME -- FAT32
XP 2000 NT-- NTFS
Linux--- ext2