Question USB thumbdrive (64GB and larger), format to FAT32

[MrBailey]

Good morning from a lurker.

I have a colleague trying to format 64GB USB thumbdrives to FAT32 on a Windows10 laptop. He's using the PowerShell command: format /FS:FAT32 F:

It's apparently not working.

Is there a way to format to FAT32 without resorting to third-party app?

Thanks!

 

[mikeymikec]

What Is FAT32 Partition Size Limit and How to Break It

What is the FAT32 partition size limit and how to break it? You are going to learn at least two ways to break FAT32 limitations. Either Command Prompt or EaseUS Partition Master Free can do you a favor.

www.easeus.com

FAT32 can only support up to 32GB partition, and a single file can only support up to 4GB.

Which is odd because I'm pretty sure I've seen =>64GB flash drives pre-formatted as FAT32 (I've got a Kingston 64GB stick here that I've barely used and is still labelled 'KINGSTON' so I definitely haven't formatted it as exFAT like a sensible person normally would) and my Nokia 8.3 refuses to read file systems on a MicroSD card other than FAT32, and the card in my phone is 64GB.

I think I've encountered Veracrypt on Linux refusing to create >32GB FAT32 partitions too.

You may have reasons for going for FAT32 specifically but if not, definitely use exFAT, mainly because it has neither of the quoted limitations of FAT32.

 

[daveybrat]

Yeah i know it's a third party program but Rufus is the best for what he needs:

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Rufus: Create bootable USB drives the easy way

rufus.ie

I've been using it for years to format and make bootable .ISO flash drives. Excellent program and it's free.

 

[MrBailey]

Thanks for the replies. The need is definitely fat32. I'll tell my bud to check out Rufus.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Fat32Formatter from some .jp site, removes / bypasses this limitation.

 

[aigomorla]

Fat32Formatter from some .jp site, removes / bypasses this limitation.

Here from Softonic:

FAT32 Format

Free data converter

fat32-format.en.softonic.com