Microsoft is lifting a decades-old restriction on Home windows that capped FAT32 disk formatting at 32GB. As a substitute, FAT32 formatting on Home windows 11 will assist partitions as much as 2TB in dimension. The corporate is rising the boundaries first in a beta model of Home windows 11, particularly the Construct 27686 preview launch for the Canary channel.“When formatting disks from the command line utilizing the format command, we’ve elevated the FAT32 dimension restrict from 32GB to 2TB,” the corporate wrote in a weblog publish concerning the beta launch.The change ought to make it simpler for customers to format a USB drive or flash card whereas utilizing the FAT32 system, which was first launched in 1996 and has since turn out to be common throughout Home windows, Mac, and Linux computer systems, together with gaming consoles. Home windows has lengthy been capable of learn giant FAT32-formatted disk drives. However on account of an “arbitrary” programming determination {that a} Microsoft engineer made three many years in the past, the OS has been restricted from creating FAT32 disk partitions past the 32GB restrict. In consequence, Home windows customers have had to make use of third-party instruments to bypass the restriction.
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However now Microsoft is lastly modernizing the OS to assist FAT32 formatting to 2TB, which is the utmost dimension the file system commonplace can assist. On the draw back, it doesn’t appear to be Home windows 11 disk administration software helps creating FAT32 disk partitions past 32GB. As a substitute, customers might want to use the format command within the Home windows command line immediate.
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One consumer on Twitter already examined the characteristic utilizing the format command to create a FAT32 disk partition that is larger than 114GB. Regardless of the change, it’s essential to notice the FAT32 formatting nonetheless restricts particular person file sizes to 4GB on account of an inherent limitation to the file system.
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
I have been with PCMag since October 2017, protecting a variety of matters, together with client electronics, cybersecurity, social media, networking, and gaming. Previous to working at PCMag, I used to be a overseas correspondent in Beijing for over 5 years, protecting the tech scene in Asia.
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