Форматирование флешки в файловую систему fat32

Powershell (Command Line)

If you wanted to format your drive in NTFS or exFAT, you could do so with the regular Windows 10 formatting tool. However, you won’t be able to use the formatting tool if you want to use the FAT32 file system.

Fortunately, there is a way around this. While you can’t choose FAT32 in the regular Windows 10 formatting tool, you can still do it without installing any third-party software.

Before you get started, connect the storage device you want to format in FAT32 to your PC. When you connect the drive, make note of the letter assigned to it.

Note: before proceeding any further, ensure that your data is backed up. Formatting will erase all of the data currently stored on the drive.

To format your drive to FAT32 in Windows 10, you’ll need to use Powershell. To launch the Powershell command line, right-click the Start button and select “Run” from the menu. This will open the Run command window. Alternatively, you can press Win + R to launch the Run command box. Type and either click OK or press Enter. Once the Powershell window opens, type the following command, replacing the “F” with the letter of the drive you want to format in FAT32:

Finally, hit the Enter key. You will see a prompt warning you that all of the data on the drive will be wiped. It will ask you to confirm or cancel formatting by hitting the Y or N key. Hit the Y key, and the formatting process will begin. Let your computer do its thing, and before you know it, your drive will be formatted in FAT32.

NTFS: системный диск

Однако ограничения FAT32 не позволят эффективно использовать ее в современных вычислительных средах. Отсутствие контроля доступа – это одно, абсолютное отсутствие ведения журнала и каких-либо намеков на отказоустойчивость – это другое. Ограниченный размер файла также является огромным минусом. В результате Microsoft представила новую файловую систему, которую они назвали файловой системой новых технологий, или NTFS.

В NTFS есть все, чего не хватает FAT. Мощные параметры контроля доступа? Пожалуйста. Отказоустойчивость и ведение журнала? Получите. Мгновенное сжатие и шифрование отдельных файлов, папок и целых томов диска? Конечно. Альтернативные потоки данных, повышенные меры безопасности, резервное копирование самой файловой системы и важных системных файлов и многие другие функции… Начиная с его первоначального выпуска в 1994 году, NTFS получала все новые обновления, в том числе, повышающие ее совместимость. Ее великолепный дизайн и простая реализация по-прежнему не имеют аналогов среди других файловых систем даже сегодня. Она достаточно универсальна для использования даже на смартфонах начального уровня под управлением Windows Phone 8 и 8.1. Но, если это такая отличная файловая система, почему ее не используют все и везде?

Как вы могли ожидать, NTFS не лишена недостатков. Разработанная еще в 1994 году для серверных операций, эта файловая система всегда требовала большой вычислительной мощности для поддержания своих многочисленных структур. Ее системные записи быстро растут, занимают драгоценное пространство и добавляют дополнительную нагрузку на эти устройства хранения, использующие флэш-память NAND. Наконец, если использовать что-либо, кроме больших жестких дисков, ее накладные расходы окажутся слишком велики, поэтому всеобщее признание система пока так и не завоевала

И последнее, но не менее важное: NTFS запатентована Microsoft, которые не желают открывать лицензии на эту файловую систему конкурентам

Format large disks with FAT32

FAT32 is an exciting, free feature that is essentially intended to cut down on wasted cluster spaces. It was first introduced by Microsoft as part of its iconic Windows 95 operating system, specifically the OSR2 version of Windows 95. In more recent years, FAT32 file format is used to support memory cards ranging in size between 4GB and 32GB.

File Allocation Table

FAT32 is derived from the File Allocation Table (FAT) system of filing that is used to support drives with storage in excess of 2GB. Due to the fact that FAT32 drives have capacity for 65,000 or more clusters, smaller sized clusters are utilized than in comparison with larger FAT16 drives. This efficiency results in more effective allocation of space on this drive. The largest possible file for this drive is 4GB minus 2 bytes. The system of filing comprises 4 bytes per cluster within the table for allocation of files. Notably the high 4-bit portions of the 32-bit values in the FAT32 file allocation table are allocated elsewhere and are not designated as comprising a portion of the number that is clustered.

FAT32 Features

Due to the fact that the Fat 32 BIOS Parameter Block (B.P.B.), depicted by the by the B.P.B. structure, is larger in size than a garden variety B.P.B, the boot record on FAT32 drives exceeds that of one sector. Additionally, there is a segment in the area reserved on FAT32 drives containing values for the counting of non-allocated clusters and the clustered numbering of the cluster that was most recently apportioned a location. These values are components of the «BIG FAT BOOT FSINFO» structure which is to be found within this segment. The supplementary fields permit the system to commence the values, excluding the need to read the FAT table in its entirety. It is usable with SD cards with SDHC and micro SDHC cards. On desktop and workstation PCs it still works on older Windows XP and 7 devices, as well as more recent iterations like Windows 8.1 and 10. On Apple devices it works on the Mac OS 8 and 9x onwards.

Some Last Words

The Fat32 interface is very easy to use and can be run as a separate, distinct program. It is very easy also to update the FAT 32, users can do so with relative ease by using the «version info» tab. It can function on a PC as a stand-alone program, users can also operate it on any PC with a basic thumb drive, thus eliminating the need to modify the existing system registry. If you are the type of computer user that could use a program like this, it’s a proverbial «no-brainer»! So go and download Microsoft’s enduring, free and versatile Fat32 today!

Two recommended HP FAT32 formatters for Windows PC

Considering that Windows build-in formatting methods (DiskPart, Disk Management and File Explorer) cannot format a large hard drive to the FAT32 file system, below we would like to share two more powerful HP FAT32 format programs to successfully format the large HP USB drive to FAT32.

Note: Formatting will delete all data on the USB drive, so make sure you back up everything important using AOMEI Backupper in advance to avoid unnecessary loss.

1. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

When the times comes for formatting HP USB drives to FAT32 in Windows computer, the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is a great choice since it can format USB drives to FAT32 even when the drive is larger than 32GB. The formatting process is relatively straightforward:

Step 1. Connect the USB drive to your computer and make sure it is detected. Download the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool from a reliable website to your computer.

Step 2. Right-click the HP format tool icon, choose “Run as administrator”, and click “Yes” in the pop-out dialogue.

Step 3. Specify the device you wish to format, select the FAT32 file system and assign the name to the selected device, then optionally choose «quick format» or enable compression.

Step 4. When all options have done, click “Start” to begin formatting.

Cons of the above HP USB FAT32 formatter:①It could work perfectly in Windows 7, but it cannot perform well as usual after you upgrade OS to Windows 10 on your desktop and laptop.②It cannot finish the formatting process when the USB drive is read only/write-protected, then will pop out format error “Device media is write-protected”.③If you don’t select “Run as Administrator” when launching it, you will get an error message “Permission Denied”.

2. Free AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard

To evade the restrictions of the HP USB Disk Storage Disk Format Tool, we recommend you a much better HP FAT32 formatter-AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard (Freeware).

Compared with the last HP FAT32 format utility, it can work on all versions of Windows 10/8/7 and Windows XP/Vista. Besides, it is also capable of formatting external hard drives from other famous brands like Seagate, SanDisk, Samsung, etc to FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, Ext2/3/4. What’s more, this software can format write-protected, corrupted and format RAW USB drives with ease. The formatting process is also easier:

Download Freeware
Win 10/8.1/8/7/XP

Secure Download

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant. Right-click the target USB drive and choose “Format Partition”.

Step 2. Select FAT32 under file system tab and click “OK”.

Step 3. Back to the main interface, click “Apply” and «Proceed» to execute the formatting.

Additional function: convert NTFS to FAT32 without losing dataIf you are planning to format HP USB drive from NTFS file system to FAT32, you can try “NTFS to FAT32 Converter” offered by AOMEI Partition Assistant. This feature can safely convert NTFS to FAT32 and convert FAT/FAT32 to NTFS without formatting/losing data.

Conclusion

In this article, we have shared 4 free ways to format SDXC to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7. If you need to format large SDXC card such as 64GB, 128GB to FAT32 file system, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard is highly recommended.

If you upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can unlock more advanced disk partition management functions. For example, you can convert system disk between MBR and GPT without data loss, clone Windows partition to SSD/HDD, split partitions, align SSD partitions to solve «SSD slowing down» issue and so on. For Windows Server users, there is also the specialized AOMEI Partition Assistant Server Edition.

Successfully format large SDXC to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7

In order to avoid the above situations, you can turn to a professional partition manager like AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. This freeware can successfully format over 32GB SDXC card, USB flash frive, pen drive, or other external hard drive to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7 and Windows XP/Vista (all editions). Besides, it can also help format the hard drive that becomes RAW or read only because of corrupted file system. Moreover, it is able to format drive to Ext4/Ext3/Ext2 in Windows.

Below is how to format 128 GB SDXC card to FAT32 (example):

Step 1. Connect your SDXC card to your Windows PC via a card reader and make sure it is detected. And free download the AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard.

Download Freeware
Win 10/8.1/8/7/XP

Secure Download

Step 2. Install and run this partition manager to enter its main interface. Right-click the partition of SDXC card and select «Format Partition».

Step 3. Choose «FAT32′ under file system menu and click «OK».

Step 4. Back to the main interface, click «Apply» to start formatting the card.

Other appealing features of AOMEI Partition Assistant

• Move partition to another location on the same disk;

• Copy partition to another hard drive or partition;

• Clone MBR system disk to MBR disk, clone MBR data disk to GPT (vice versa) and clone GPT data disk to GPT;

• Transfer OS to SSD to speed up computer;

• Rebuild MBR (Master Boot Record) to fix some common boot issues;

• Convert data disk between MBR and GPT partition table without deleting partitions;

• …

Further Readings about Formatting SSD to FAT32

Besides using formatting SSD to FAT32, some of you may have further more questions about SSD. Here we have collected some top concerned questions and left an answer to each question. If you are having the same doubt, find answers below.

Why Windows cannot format SSD to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7?

As we know, Windows limits FAT32 partitions to 32GB. But very few people know the reason why FAT32 has a 32GB maximum limit. 

The FAT32 file system is available on Windows 10/8.1/7/7/XP, Windows 2000 and Windows 95. As an old file system, it has some limits in the partition capacity and simple file size:

1). Max single volume capacity: 32GB.
2). Max file size: 4GB

Due to the limits, Windows does not support to format a drive larger than 32GB to FAT32. The only available choices are NTFS (for internal hard drive) or exFAT (for external storage devices). As a result, users cannot format a disk partition, SSD, USB drive or SD card larger than 32 GB to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7 via Disk Management.

But sometimes, they have to format SSD to FAT32 because of certain reasons. For example, their devices only support the FAT32 file system. To get the desired file system on your device, you just need to use EaseUS Partition Master that allows you to bypass the limitation and use it format SSD to FAT32 effortlessly. 

How do I convert to FAT32? 

The only way to convert a storage device file system to FAT32 is to format the device to FAT32. You can use Disk Management, File Explorer or EaseUS Partition Master as recommend on this page to execute this task.

Here we will show you how to convert the device to FAT32 by formatting using Disk Management:

1. 1. Right-click This PC/Computer and select «Manage».
2. 2. Click Disk Management, right-click your target device and choose «Format».
3. 3. Name the drive and select the file system as «FAT32».
4. 4. Click «OK». 

After this, you can find the format of the target device is FAT32. 

How do I format my external hard drive to FAT32?

There are four ways to format a storage device — using Disk Management, Diskpart CMD, File Explorer Right-click Format, and third-party formatting tool like EaseUS Partition Master.

As mentioned on this page, FAT32 has a max partition limit. Therefore, if your external hard drive is bigger than 32GB, you cannot use the former three methods to format the device to FAT32. You can only use EaseUS Partition Master with steps in Part 2 to format the external hard drive to FAT32.

Need to format hard drive to FAT32

No matter you are using a pendrive, SD card, USB flash drive, SSD or other external hard drives to store your data, you will need to format it to FAT32 in the following situations.

①If you plan to use the disk on PS3, Xbox or some other games consoles that only supports FAT32 file system, then you will need to format the disk to FAT32.

②If you want your device to be compatible with more operating systems, like Mac, Linux and some other older versions of Windows including Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, etc, the FAT32 is the best choice.

③If you need to connect your hard drive to a NAS device, but the NTFS won’t allow the NAS device to access the drive, then you need to format or convert NTFS to FAT32.

What Is the Best FAT32 Format Tool

Actually, there is a way to break the max partition size limit of FAT32 on Windows PC. A third-party FAT32 formatter or software support to format large hard drives to FAT32 beyond 32GB size limit. What is the best FAT32 format tool? Here we would like to introduce you EaseUS Partition Master Free. 

It’s regarded as the best FAT32 format tool for two reasons:

1. 1. It is 100% free, powerful, safe, and easy to use. 
2. 2. It breaks the max size limit of FAT32, formatting storage devices both bigger and smaller than 32GB to FAT32.

It can help you format hard drive partition, external hard drive, USB flash drive or SD card both smaller and bigger than 32GB into FAT32 in just simple steps, such as format 128GB USB to FAT32, format 64GB SD to FAT32. 

Besides, it also has some flexible and advanced format options. For example, it allows you to convert FAT32 to NTFS without formatting directly. Now, you can free download this FAT32 format tool and follow the tutorial below to format your device with ease. 

Effectively Apply FAT32 Formatter in Three Ways

1. Free FAT32 Format Tool — EaseUS Partition Master

EaseUS Partition Master is an all-in-one internal drive and external USB, SD, memory stick FAT32 formatting/reformatting solution in Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista. The problem about FAT32 that you cannot solve in Windows Disk Management shall be easily overcome by EaseUS free partition manager. People seeking for a powerful, easy-to-use and Windows 10-compatible disk and partition management tool have chosen it as the best free FAT32 formatter. Use the software to format new drive as FAT32. In addition, you can also convert NTFS to FAT32 without losing data.

 Warning

Before downloading the FAT32 formatter for Windows 10, you’d better back up all data on the disk because the FAT32 formatter will wipe all data. Read this article for details on how to backup your pc.

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition you intend to format and choose «Format».

Step 2. In the new window, enter the Partition label, choose the FAT32 file system, and set the cluster size according to your needs, then click «OK».

Step 3. Then you will see a warning window, click «OK» in it to continue.

Step 4. Click the «Execute Operation» button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click «Apply» to start formatting the partition to FAT32.

Though as an FAT32 formatted, EaseUS Partition Master can also execute other hard drive partition operations on your disk, such as resizing/moving, extending, shrinking, and even creating new partitions on your device.

2. Built-in FAT32 Formatter — Windows Disk Management

As I’ve said, when you plug in a USB drive in a Windows computer, you can directly format the drive to the FAT32 file system by using the built-in Windows Disk Management. However, once your drive’s default file system is not preformatted as FAT32, You can only be allowed to format it to NTFS, the default file system in Windows. So, the first attempt sometimes may fail. In this case, move on to the second option of FAT32 formatter tool.

1. Press Windows + X to open Disk Management.

2. Choose the target partition of your disk that you want to format to FAT32 and click Format from the right-click menu.

 Notice:

You may ask: can a 64gb USB be formatted to fat32? The Disk Management does not allow you to format disk larger than 32GB as fat32. As the same, you can not format it to fat32 in Windows File Explorer and Diskpart.

3. Appilable FAT32 Formatter — Diskpart

Now we are going to show you the last fat32 format tool in Windows 10. This method is more complicated than the other ways, do as following:

Step 1. Open search box and input diskpart.

Step 2. Copy the following commands.

list disk
select disk *
list volume
select volume *
format fs=ntfs quick

Step 3. Then type exit. (You can not format disk larger than 32GB to fat32, go back to the .)

Part 1. Prepare SSD

Applies to Both Old and New SSD

Here are some preparations for you to make the SSD ready before formatting. The ways to prepare old and new SSD are different, therefore, follow the right way to get everything ready on your SSD:

#1. Back-Up Data on Old/Used SSD

If you plan to format an old or used SSD, it is important to check and back up valuable data from the disk to another secure location in advance. You can choose manually copy those files to another location, or use reliable file backup software to back up all files at one time. 

#2. Initialize and Create Partition on New SSD

As for a brand new SSD, if it’s not initialized, Windows won’t be able to detect it. Without no partition, you cannot format the SSD either. Here are the steps to prepare a new SSD disk on Windows:

Step 1. Initialize SSD:

Connect SSD to Windows PC via a USB to STAT cable > Open Disk Management and right-click the SSD > Select «Initialize Disk» > Set SSD as GPT or MBR.

Step 2. Create partition:

On Disk Management, right-click unallocated space and select «New Simple Volume» > Set new volume letter, volume size, and file system (NTFS by default) for SSD > Finish.

After this, you can follow Part 2 to format SSD to FAT32 with a reliable FAT32 formatting tool with ease.

How to use Windows File Explorer to format a USB drive to FAT32

A quick note about this method: it only works on USB flash drives that are less that 32 GB. If your USB drive is larger than 32 GB, check out one of the later methods.

With that out of the way, plug your USB drive into your computer and open Windows File Explorer.

Next, right-click on the drive on the left hand side of the File Explorer window and click «Format»:

In the window that pops up, ensure that «FAT32» is selected. Also, feel free to rename the USB drive whatever you’d like:

You can leave the rest of the options alone. Just click start to format your drive.

Once it’s done, your USB drive should be formatted to use the FAT32 file system.

To double check this, open File Explorer, right click on your USB drive, and click «Properties».

A window will pop up and you should see that the file system is now FAT32:

exFAT: лучшее, если поддерживается…

Чтобы преодолеть ограничения FAT32 и уменьшить дополнительную нагрузку, оказываемую NTFS на носители на основе NAND, Microsoft разработала еще одну файловую систему под названием Extended FAT или exFAT. Эта файловая система в значительной степени основана на той же концепции, что и оригинальный FAT, только теперь она является настоящей 64-битной файловой системой без ограничения размера файла, существующего в FAT32. Именно поэтому exFAT используется как стандарт для больших SD-карт (стандарт SDXC требует, чтобы все SD-карты размером 64 ГБ и более были отформатированы с помощью exFAT). Поэтому, если вы покупаете 64-гигабайтную карту microSDXC, она будет работать на основе exFAT … и по этой причине она может не распознаваться вашим смартфоном или планшетом.

Причина, по которой exFAT не заменила древний FAT32 повсюду – платное лицензирование. В отличие от FAT32, которая бесплатна для всех без роялти, с производителей, которые хотят использовать exFAT на своих устройствах Microsoft взимает плату за лицензирование. В результате создатели телефонов Android, низкоуровневых Android-планшетов и дешевых камеры предпочитают сэкономить несколько центов стоимости устройств (в пересчете на единицу выпущенной техники) на лицензировании, предпочитая исключить exFAT из списка поддерживаемых файловых систем. В результате, если вы вставляете новую 64-гигабайтную микро SD-карту в такое устройство, карта, скорее всего, не будет распознана.

Можете ли вы самолично преодолеть это ограничение? В большинстве случаев да, и довольно легко. Просто подключите свою SD-карту к ПК через устройство чтения карт и отформатируйте ее с помощью … вы догадались… FAT32! Таким образом, вы потеряете возможность хранить на ней файлы размером более 4 ГБ, но ваша карта памяти, скорее всего, будет распознана и будет бесперебойно работать на устройстве Android, которое по техническим характеристикам вроде как и не должно поддерживать SD-карты емкостью более 32 ГБ.

(Обратите внимание, что некоторые устройства могут быть слишком старыми, чтобы распознавать карты памяти SDXC чисто физически. Да, таковые не производятся вот уже несколько лет, но выпущенные ранее устройства могут по-прежнему не поддерживать карту SDXC независимо от того, с какой файловой системой она поставляются). Однако минуточку… Windows Phone – это ОС Microsoft, так не будут ли устройства Windows Phone поддерживать exFAT по умолчанию? Так и есть! Windows Phone 8 и 8.1 действительно поставляются со встроенной поддержкой exFAT, бесплатной для производителей, которые хотят выпускать устройства для платформы Windows Phone

Microsoft предлагает бесплатную лицензию exFAT в рамках своего «пакета стимулирования», призванного побудить большее число производителей присоединиться к платформе Windows Phone

Однако минуточку… Windows Phone – это ОС Microsoft, так не будут ли устройства Windows Phone поддерживать exFAT по умолчанию? Так и есть! Windows Phone 8 и 8.1 действительно поставляются со встроенной поддержкой exFAT, бесплатной для производителей, которые хотят выпускать устройства для платформы Windows Phone. Microsoft предлагает бесплатную лицензию exFAT в рамках своего «пакета стимулирования», призванного побудить большее число производителей присоединиться к платформе Windows Phone.

Наконец, все или почти все планшеты с операционной системой Windows RT и полной версией Windows 8 или 8.1 поддерживают exFAT и распознают 64-ГБ и более крупные SD-карты без труда.

How to use Rufus to format a USB drive to FAT32

If your USB drive is larger than 32 GB, you’ll need to use a third-party program like Rufus to format it.

There are lots of other programs that can format USB drives, but Rufus is really small and portable. This means you can stick Rufus right on a USB drive, plug it into any Windows computer, and format other drives on the go.

After you download Rufus, double click on the file to start the application.

Make sure your USB drive is selected. Then, click the «Boot selection» dropdown and select «Non bootable»:

Next, click the «File system» dropdown and select «FAT32».

Also, feel free to change the name of your USB drive under «Volume label»:

Then, click the «Start» button to format your drive. After a few seconds it’ll be formatted to FAT32.

FAT32 vs. NTFS vs. exFAT: Which Is The Best for Your SD Card?

Besides FAT32, NTFS & exFAT are also available while formatting an SD card using Windows utilities — Disk Management, File Explorer, CMD or third-party partition manager. But do you know which is the best format for your SD card? Here in the following, we’ll show you the difference between FAT32, NTFS and exFAT, and give you a suitable suggestion to choose the right file system for your SD card or USB drive.

Comparison Among FAT32, NTFS and exFAT

FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS are all compatible file systems on Windows PC. Here is a basic comparison:

Comparison	FAT32	NTFS	exFAT
Supported OS	Windows 95/2000/XP/7/8.1/8/10	Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista/2000	Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10
Max Cluster Size	64KB	64KB	32768KB
Max Formatting Capacity	32GB	2TB	16EB
Max File Size	4GB	256TB	16EB

Next are a conclusion of the advantages and disadvantages of the three popular file systems that will help you understand their application case better.

Highlights:

• NTFS is regarded as the most modern file system which is widely used on system drive by default.
• FAT32 is not as efficient as NTFS, but it owns a greater compatibility with other operating systems. As for the compatibility, FAT32 is still the most widespread one. 
• exFAT is regarded as an alternative file system to replace FAT32, with greater compatibility than NTFS on more devices and operating systems. 

Limits:

• NTFS: No realistic file-size or partition size limits.
• FAT32: 4 GB maximum file size, 8 TB maximum partition size.
• exFAT: No realistic file-size or partition size limits.

Which File System Should You Choose for SD Card?

Which file system should you choose for your SD card or USB drive? Follow the suggestions below to set a suitable format for your devices:

FAT32

Applies to: Small SD card, USB drive with 32GB or smaller storage, gaming storage card, etc.

If your SD card storage is smaller than 32GB, and you don’t plan to store large files (larger than 4GB for a single file) on the card, FAT32 is the best format.

Whenever you need to convert NTFS to FAT32 on 64GB SD card or 128GB USB drive, you can apply EaseUS Partition Master with the steps on this page for help.

exFAT

Applies to: Cellphone storage, camera, digital camera, camcorder, GoPro, DJI Drones, etc. large SD cards.​

If your SD card or USB is 64GB or even bigger, or you need to store large files (single file bigger than 4GB), exFAT is recommended. Although it’s similar to FAT32 as of compatibility, it doesn’t have any storage limitations. 

NTFS

Applies to: Large USB drive or external hard drive, Windows hard drive partitions, etc.

NTFS is the Windows-based file system, and it adopts more advanced technology than that of FAT32 and exFAT. If you are simply using the SD card between your Windows computer and the digital device, meanwhile, do not expect any file size or storage size imitation, use NTFS to achieve the best SD card performance. Again, EaseUS Partition Master is the unique solution to convert FAT32 to NTFS without formatting or losing data.

FAT32 Formatter FAQ

What is FAT32 format?
FAT32 is a file system and it is the next in line after FAT16 and FAT. Usually, it is used for microSD cards, USB drives, memory sticks, etc.

How can I format my USB to FAT32?
You can use professional FAT32 formatters, for example, MiniTool Partition Wizard, Windows Disk Manager, Windows Explorer, and Command Prompt.

How do I format a 64GB USB to FAT32?

1. Run MiniTool Partition Wizard.
2. Choose the USB disk, click Format Partition, and choose FAT32 as the file system.
3. Click Apply to execute the operation.

Why can’t I format to FAT32?
If the partition is larger than 32GB, you can’t format it to FAT32. This is a limitation of the Windows system. In this case, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to format it to FAT332.

How to use PowerShell to format a USB drive to FAT32

While this method works with drives larger than 32 GB, it’s really slow – even formatting a 32 GB drive can take up to an hour depending on your computer.

But, if you aren’t able to use the previous two methods for some reason, this will work in a pinch.

First, click on the Windows Search Bar and type in «powershell». Then, click «Run as administrator» to launch PowerShell with elevated privileges:

In the PowerShell terminal, enter the following command:

Use the File Explorer to double check your drive letter. My drive letter was D, so I entered .

Press Enter, make sure your USB drive is plugged in, and press the Enter key again to start the process:

Then go run some errands or something – it will take awhile.

Once the command is finished, your drive should be formatted to FAT32.

Solution 4. Format to FAT32 Windows 10 Using Command Prompt

USB requirements: none

Some experienced users or administrators prefer to use command lines to execute some operations on Windows PC. It’s also an applicable way to format your flash drive or external hard drive to FAT32 in Windows 10.

Note: Be careful while using command lines on your PC to format USB drive. Any improper operations would cause serious issues.

Here are the details of how to use CMD, DiskPart, or PowerShell command lines formatting device:

Option 1. Use CMD — Command Prompt

Step 1. Type command prompt in Windows 10 search bar or right-click on «Windows icon» > select «Search», and type cmd.

Step 2. Right-click on «Command Prompt» and select «Run as Administrator». 

Step 3.  Check the USB label and type Format /FS:FAT32 O: at the prompt and hit «Enter».  (Replace O: with the drive letter of your USB drive.)

Windows 10 will begin formatting the USB flash drive or external hard drive into FAT32.

Step 4. Type exit when the process has completed.

Option 2. Use DiskPart 

Step 1. Type diskpart in Windows search bar and hit Enter.

Step 2. Hit Enter each time when you type the below command lines to quick format hard drive:

• list disk
• select disk 2 (Replace 2 with your USB disk number)
• list volume
• select volume 10 (Replace 10 with the volume number of the USB drive that you want to format)
• format fs=fat32 quick

Step 3. Type exit and hit Enter to close the program when DiskPart reports it has successfully formatted the USB.

Option 3. Use PowerShell

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select «Windows PowerShell Admin», click «Yes» to open it.

Step 2. Check the USB drive label, type Format /FS:FAT32 o: in PowerShell, and hit Enter.

Step 3.Type exit when the formatting process completes.

How do you format SDXC to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7?

When it comes to formatting SDXC card to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7, you can try the Windows inbuilt tools first.

Keep in mind: formatting process will erase everything on the SDXC card, so you had better clone SDXC card to another disk to make a data backup.

Method 1. Format SDXC card to FAT32 via Windows File Explorer

As long as you insert an SDXC card into your computer, you can see an added partition in File Explorer. Right click on it and select «Format». Then a small window will pop out where you are allowed to select «FAT32» as the file system, tick «Quick Format» and click «Start» to begin the formatting process.

Method 2. Format SDXC card to FAT32 via Windows Disk Management

First of all, open Disk Management by right clicking on «This PC/My computer»-> «Manage»-> «Disk Management». Then you will see the basic information on your disk. Right-click the SDXC card and select «Format», then select «FAT32» at the File system drop-down and click «OK».

Method 3. Format SDXC card to FAT32 via Diskpart

Diskpart can also format SDXC card into FAT32 by running some commands. First enter the command windows: press «Win+R» at the same time, type «cmd», run the program as administrator. Then type the following commands one by one and remember to hit enter after each.

• diskpart

• list volume

• select volume n (n refers to the volume number of SDXC, ensure you input the right number, or you will format the wrong disk.)

• format fs=fat32

Wait until it is done.