On Windows 10/8.1/8/7, there are typically four ways for both average and advanced users to format to FAT32, which has the greatest compatibility compared to other file systems.
Windows can only be installed on an NTFS partition, so chances are your system at home is using it.Format to FAT32 for USB or External Hard Drive in Windows 10 Its name stands for New Technology File System (clever, no?). The exFAT file system was created by Microsoft as an updated version of FAT32. NTFS: This is the newest file system created by Microsoft and is the de facto file system for almost every modern internal hard drive and SSD. This helps data integrity by recording the changes to files before they take place. The only other downside to exFAT is it’s not supported by Apple’s Time Machine software. One downside to exFAT is that it doesn’t have any journaling functionality, which is a system whereby any changes to the files on the disk are noted in a log before they’re actually performed. For swapping or sharing large files, especially between OSes, exFAT is the way to go.
Though it’s a proprietary Microsoft technology, Apple licensed it for use in its OSes so you’ll see it as an option when formatting a drive in OS X. It debuted in Windows Vista SP1, it has a maximum file size of 16 exabytes (EB) (it’s going to take us a while to hit that), and it’s compatible with both Mac and PC. Though Windows file systems work the same regardless of drive type I wanted to expand on his piece a bit by including the system called exFAT, so in this piece I’ll discuss the three file systems, their pluses and negatives, and which one to use according to your needs.ĮxFAT: This is an updated file system created by Microsoft to replace FAT32. My colleague wrote about this previously in regards to external drives, but he was discussing high-capacity hard drives you plug into your PC. In dealing with this it occurred to me that Majid probably isn’t alone, and people might not be aware of the fact that you can format a USB key in Windows using one of three available file systems, and that each system has both advantages and limitations. He sent me a screenshot that clearly indicated the problem, as it read “The file is too large for the destination file system.” I replicated the issue quite easily by trying to move a 10GB file to a Fat32 disk, as Fat32 can’t handle any file larger than 4GB.įAT32 has a 4GB file size limitation, making it tough to copy HD or 4K video footage. Majid was unable to copy a movie from his PC to his newly acquired 32GB USB key, and wondered why.
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