Freeware: Convert FAT32 to Ext4 without Data Loss in Windows 10, 8, 7
- "Need to convert FAT32 to Ext4 under Windows"
- Can Windows convert FAT32 to Ext4?
- Freeware to successfully convert FAT32 to Ext4 without data loss
- Step 1. Back up data on the FAT32 partition to another storage device
- Step 2. Format FAT32 to Ext4 via Qiling Disk Master
- Step 3. Restore the backup to Ext4 partition
- Conclusion
"Need to convert FAT32 to Ext4 under Windows"
You can convert the FAT32 partition to Ext4 under Windows using a tool like EaseUS Partition Master or MiniTool Partition Wizard. These programs allow you to resize, move, and convert partitions, including formatting the drive to Ext4. However, please note that you'll need to boot from a Linux live USB to actually install and configure the Ext4 partition as a bootable partition for your Linux OS, as Windows does not natively support Ext4. You can also use a tool like GParted, which is a free and open-source partition editor that can be run from a live USB, to convert the FAT32 partition to Ext4. It's always a good idea to back up any important data before making changes to your partitions.
FAT32 EXT2 and EXT3 are older file systems for Linux, while EXT4 is a more modern and widely used journaling file system. It offers better performance, reliability, and capacity compared to its predecessors, with minimal maintenance required. EXT4 supports volumes up to 1 exabyte and files up to 16 terabytes in size, making it a reliable choice for large-scale storage needs. In contrast, FAT32 is an older file system for Windows, with limitations on file size (less than 4GB) and partition size (less than 2TB), and is not as widely compatible as EXT4.
Can Windows convert FAT32 to Ext4?
In Windows 10/8/7, you can use built-in tools like Disk Management, Windows File Explorer, or Diskpart to convert a partition's file system, but these tools won't work for converting FAT32 to Ext4.
In Windows, you can't format a drive as Ext4 using Disk Management, File Explorer, or the built-in Diskpart command. This is because Windows doesn't recognize the Ext4 file system. If you try to format as Ext4 in Diskpart, you'll get an error saying the file system is incompatible.
Freeware to successfully convert FAT32 to Ext4 without data loss
The traditional formatting tools are not sufficient to change a FAT32 partition to Ext4 due to Ext4's incompatibility with Windows operating system. A professional converter, Qiling Disk Master Standard, is recommended for this task.
You can use this freeware to easily format a FAT32 partition to Ext4/3/2 in Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP. It also offers other features like cloning Ext4 partitions, merging partitions, moving partitions, cloning hard disks, and converting partitions between FAT32 and NTFS without formatting. To format a FAT32 partition to Ext4 without losing data, you'll need to back up the partition, format it, and then restore the backup.
Step 1. Back up data on the FAT32 partition to another storage device
To back up data on the FAT32 volume, you can use the keyboard shortcuts "Ctrl+C" and "Ctrl+V" to copy and paste important files to another storage device if the amount of data is small. For larger backups, including applications and game consoles, consider using the free software Qiling Disk Master Standard.
Step 2. Format FAT32 to Ext4 via Qiling Disk Master
You can now download the freeware and install it on your Windows computer.
1. Run Qiling Disk Master Standard, right-click on the FAT32 partition and choose "Format Partition" from the drop-down menu.
2. Select the "Ext4" file system for this partition in the mini window.
Tip: You can change the partition label and adjust the cluster size as needed right here.
3. The file system conversion process will be executed, and the results will be displayed on the main interface.
The FAT32 partition will be converted to Ext4, but it won't be visible in Windows File Explorer as Windows can't recognize the Ext file system.
Step 3. Restore the backup to Ext4 partition
Once you have completed the backup, you will need to move all the backed up data to the new Ext4 partition, or restore the backup image to it.
Conclusion
To convert FAT32 to Ext4 without data loss under Windows, you can use Qiling Disk Master, a more versatile disk manager tool than Windows built-in utilities, which can also format RAW drives, corrupted drives, and write-protected disks.
Upgrading to Qiling Disk Master Professional unlocks more advanced features, such as recovering lost partitions, migrating OS partitions between MBR and GPT disks, optimizing SSD performance, and securely erasing data from SSD drives.
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