Converting FAT32 to NTFS

I have an external WD "MyBook" 1TB drive that I was moving files to from my internal "C" drive and one of them just would NOT copy. It was a 5.1GB file.

Someone informed me that it sounded like the External HD was formatted as a FAT or FAT32 disk and therefore could not handle files larger than 4GB.
Turns out they were correct.

WHY does WD ship these drives out as FAT32 instead of NTFS ? I assumed everything now-a-days was NTFS.

In any event, I see there is a way to convert the HD from FAT32 to NTFS without having to reformat it and start over.

Has any here done this? Any problem ? ANy tips or suggestions prior to my doing this ?

And I also learned that my SanDisk 16GB Flash Memory Stick is a FAT32 as well.

I see that the memory stick be "reformatted" to a NTFS too, so I may do it.

Or... do you think I would be better off actually doing a total reformat instead of a convert ?

Thanks for the help.

 

If you can do that total reformat. I think the reason it is fat32 is for compatibility purposes with various devices which can't see/use ntfs

 

pratzert,

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=105

If you can move the data off your drive and format as NTFS, that is faster.