answer to your question is "no". if you are using just basic DOS tools like fdisk and format you will have to first fdisk the NTFS drive and delete the partition and then create a FAT32 partition. you cannot use the format.com command to format a NTFS partition because you can only create an NTFS partition in these two situations: 1.) when installing NT4/WIN2K or 2.) you already have an existing NT4/WIN2K installation and then you put your harddisk drive in the current computer running NT4/WIN2K and use Disk Administrator (NT4) or Disk Management (WIN2K). when you change file formats, like with your situation, you have no choice but destroy the boot partition and filesystem using fdisk in DOS or in a NT4/WIN2K install or pre-existing install. in other words you have no choice but to create a new filesystem and destroy the current boot record (MBR) on the harddrive if you want to go from NTFS to FAT32. usually when one fdisks' a harddrive the MBR is destroyed and recreated for its particular filesystem. but, if you just format a partition without fdisking or using the NT4/WIN2k tools the MBR will still be intact. Or, you can do a "fdisk /mbr" which means that you cleared the first sector on the harddrive (the MBR) and no OS will load up because the first sector on a harddrive carries the information of your filesystem and where and how to boot your OS. If you do not have a BOOT SECTOR the harddrive still contains the filesystem and information you saved on the harddrive--if you want to access this information you can use a boot disk or put the harddrive in another computer that has an OS loader. The Master Boot Record is needed if you want a filesystem that you can read from and write to the harddrive and boot/load an operating system. To do this in DOS with fdisk make sure your drive is ACTIVE--there is a choice for that in fdisk. NT4/WIN2K puts the MBR on the Primary Master harddrive in your system during installation. But if you are already in the NT4/WIN2K OS be careful not to make any other disk active in DISK Management/DISK Administrator besides your Primary Master because it will disable your system from booting your OS. if you make another harddrive ACTIVE your system will cease to boot because the OS is not smart enough to move your BOOT RECORD files to this other disk. the other harddrive may be ACTIVE (which means it has the ability to boot) but it does not contain the information (on the first sector) of where or how to boot your Operating System.
If i remember right NTFS cannot be converted back to FAT32. but, i am not sure anymore, because i thought i read a procedure or saw a program that could do it. probably something like Partition Magic can do that. it seems to me that once you go NTFS you dont go back unless you fdisk and format.
i hope i said this in a clear manner...
yazz