Linux - HardwareThis forum is for Hardware issues.
Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Is this possible?
I have an external USB 2.0 hard disk (LaCie 200GB) formatted with NTFS filesystem, and now that i have totally unninstalled Windows from my machine i would like to have write rights to that external hard drive...
Is it possible to convert that partition (in Linux) without losing any data....
Thanks in advance
converting NTFS to FAT32 is really hard, in fact I doubt you can do this, even using partition magic. The FAT32 to NTFS is easy but the reverse is very complex.
PM8 will convert ntfs to fat32 routinely. Install PM8, make the rescue floppies, reboot with floppy 1, insert floppy 2 and resize, convert to your hearts content. Just did that today as a matter of fact. It can be done with PM7 but it is a pain in the butt! You have to identify those files that are sparse or compressed, delete them, run COMPACT with some variables from the command line and pray for the best. Been a while since I've done that so those directions aren't definitive.
Reread your post and assume that you no longer have a windows OS so none of what I wrote is pertinent. Sorry.
You can do it with QTparted by splitting the partition and adding a new partition. Then copy the files to the new partition. It will take a few times.
I strongly suggest before attempting to change the partitions or filesystem is to backup. If power goes out, even Partition Magic will lose data and probably trash the partition table. If you think making backups makes you a wimp. Backups saves a lot of grief and can save your job.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.