Fat 32

bsharp91

New Member
I have an external harddrive that runs with Fat 32 but it wont connect to my vista laptop without reformating, which would wipe my harddrive clear. i dont want this. i just want it to connect. to read the files. how can i do this?
 

My Computer

Have you got another computer to test it on?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
    Motherboard
    XFX MB-750I-72P9 NF750i
    Memory
    4096MB Corsair XMS2 PC-5400
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS Nvidia Geforce GTX470
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" S2409W & Dell 20" E207WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 & 1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    750GB Western Digital Caviar Black & 500GB Samsung
    PSU
    750 watt Thermaltake Toughpower
    Case
    Coolermaster Dominator 690 Nvidia Edition
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT Cooler, 6x 120mm Chassis Fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G11 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (2007 edition)
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Other Info
    abit airpace 54mbps wireless PCI-E x1 card
yes it works on older computers. just vista doesnt work. it says i have to format it to do anything with it. it should otherwise load as KIRK but it just says drive F.
 

My Computer

Windows vista dose not support fat32 or DOS anymore, NTFS is the new (sort off) fileing system for PC's these days I can install XP that OS still supports fat32.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
    Memory
    Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (G92GT/D8P)
    Sound Card
    Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS/RealTek ALC885/889A/890
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
    Screen Resolution
    1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (RAID0)
    PSU
    SUPER FLOWER 500watt Plug in Leads 24pin ATX BLACK MODEL
    Case
    Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
    Cooling
    Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
    Keyboard
    Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
    Mouse
    Cyber Snipa Stinger Laser Gameing Mouse (400-3200Dpi)
    Internet Speed
    Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty Cable 17Mbps/256kbps

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
    Memory
    Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (G92GT/D8P)
    Sound Card
    Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS/RealTek ALC885/889A/890
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
    Screen Resolution
    1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (RAID0)
    PSU
    SUPER FLOWER 500watt Plug in Leads 24pin ATX BLACK MODEL
    Case
    Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
    Cooling
    Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
    Keyboard
    Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
    Mouse
    Cyber Snipa Stinger Laser Gameing Mouse (400-3200Dpi)
    Internet Speed
    Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty Cable 17Mbps/256kbps
Hello Bsharp, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You might see if converting the drive from FAT32 to NTFS may allow you to use it in Vista afterwards without losing anything on the drive.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
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