Finally, all those long hours spent behind the computer screen in search of information about flash drives were left behind. Now, having started a conversation with friends and acquaintances, you can not transfer it to storage devices and transfer information. It's simple - the long-awaited flash drive is bought! Now you can go to your friends, see excerpts from the new movie on their computer and, quite by accident, recall the new flash drive in your pocket. Here on such thoughts, usually the joy of the owner of the flash memory ends - at the first attempts to write to it any file larger than 4 gigabytes (GB). And again reading the forums, looking for recommendations on how to format a USB flash drive in NTFS, etc. In fact, everything is simple. Everyone is faced with this, so as long as a person does not know how to format an NTFS flash drive correctly, he cannot consider himself versed in this matter. Next, we will tell you why you need to format a new flash drive and how to do it correctly.
Any new flash drive: sold both in the form of OEM (in a plastic bag) and the Retail version (in factory sealed packaging) is delivered ready to use. To be able to copy files, just connect it to a compatible device. At first glance, it might seem that the manufacturer is prudently formatting the flash drive, allowing the owner to simply enjoy the good work, rather than thinking how to format the flash drive in NTFS. In practice, all is a bit wrong.
At the moment there are several main file systems: FAT, FAT32, NTFS, exFAT. Linux adds its own systems, but there is no question of any backward compatibility with Microsoft products, so let's leave them to the professionals. A file system is a set of rules that determine the method of placement, storage and interaction of data recorded on a storage medium. In order for the operating system to work with the media, it must be formatted, that is, create the desired file system (structure). Each of them has certain advantages and limitations. For example, a simple FAT (File Allocation Table) is one of the first systems whose use on capacious modern devices is impractical.
The newer FAT32 was first introduced back in 1995 and since then has not undergone significant changes. It is a development of the old FAT16, increasing the size limit of the partition and making some other improvements. Most flash drives are formatted by manufacturers specifically in this system, which allows them to be connected to any other digital devices, as well as demonstrate high-speed performance. FAT32 is a universal system supported by a variety of equipment. In fact, this is the unwritten standard for flash memory. One of its drawbacks is the inability to write a file larger than 4 GB. Such an attempt will result in a message indicating that there is not enough free space, although it may still remain.
This problem is missing in the new NTFS. This is a rather complex system, significantly different from FAT. In it, the file is not represented by name and size, but by a set of attributes. The file size limit has been removed (it is, but so large that it will not be achieved in the near future). It is clear that the user wants to learn how to format a USB flash drive in NTFS. Performing this operation makes it possible to use the flash drive as a small hard drive and not worry that a large file cannot be written.
How to format a USB flash drive in NTFS? This can be done by Windows. We connect it to the computer, open the “My Computer” folder, select the flash drive, call its properties. The menu will be the item "Formatting". You can choose FAT32 or NTFS. When formatting, all data will be erased, so you need to save it first.
You can also convert FAT32 to NTFS without formatting, which guarantees the safety of data, for this you need to do:
Start - Run - convert "drive letter": / FS: NTFS
In addition to the standard method, the flash drive format in NTFS is often performed by the popular Format Tool (developed by HP). By the way, it is recommended that you do not use NTFS, but exFAT for flash memory devices, since this system is designed specifically for them.