External hdd resists format as ntfs

Hi Guys

I have an 80Gb USB external Fujitsu HDD. This came formatted as FAT32. It began to gave me trouble as it approached the FAT32 limit of 32Gb. I have backed up all the files off it so its contents are now of no value. If I format d: /fs:ntfs it fails with faulty partition table - or words to that effect.

If I try the equivalent function in Win XP it freezes.

What do you technical giants suggest as a solution?

Thanks

BJC

Yes you need to remove the partition not format (that comes later)

you should use a partitioning software to do that.
first delete the existing partition
then create a new one with the ntfs file system
and then format it

a good and free software is gparted live cd. you need to download and burn it to a cd. then boot your computer with it and do the 3 steps mentioned above.

There's no 32GB limit on FAT32, it's just that Windows XP (& probably Windows Vista) will refuse to format a partition in FAT32 if it larger than 32GB. Other partitioning software such as Partition Magic can format it in FAT32 beyond 32GB easily. One limitation of FAT32 that does exist is a file size limit of 4GB.

Have you tried converting the partition in NTFS rather than formating it ?