This limitation only exists in recent versions of Windows. Microsoft has set a 32 GB partition size limit for the FAT/FAT32 file system to promote NTFS, which is generally more efficient when working with large partitions. Why Did Microsoft Limit the FAT Partition Size? When you need to transfer files between different operating systems or between your camera or Android phone and your Windows computer, you'll probably need a FAT32-formatted drive. People still use FAT32 because it's a universally recognized file system. Why Would Anyone Still Want to Use FAT32? Basically, the exFAT file size is unlimited. In fact, with exFAT, the file size limit is just under 16 EB (Exbibyte) or 1.845e+7 TB. If you need a cross-compatible file system that supports larger files, exFAT is the way to go. The maximum file size supported by FAT32 is just under 4 GB. With each increase, the maximum volume and file sizes supported by the file system increased, too. exFAT is the 64-bit version of the FAT file system. The main difference between FAT, FAT32, and exFAT relates to volume and file size limits.įAT, the original version of this file system designed for floppy disks, could keep an 8-bit sized record of the data clusters stored on the disk. It may be older than most operating systems around today, but it's still useful.įAT vs. The File Allocation Table (FAT) file system is a relic from the 1970s. We'll show you how to format a large hard drive with FAT/FAT32 or create a 32+GB partition with that file system. Windows 32 GB restriction is an artificial limit that you can bypass. However, FAT32 actually supports up to 16 TB hard drives, and most operating systems permit up to 2 TB. Windows doesn't make it easy to format a partition larger than 32 GB with the FAT32 file system.

How to make fat32 format