Fat32 Hard Drive Formatter Program Pro
This is the easiest way to change file system of external hard drive to FAT32. This method is available for external HDD converting in all Windows platform. Pay attention: Backup data in advance because format will erase everything. ==> To get all methods to format an external hard drive, please visit this page: Format NTFS.
Trying to format a large external USB or Firewire hard drive to the FAT32 Ice ape arcade sims free play. file system? Can’t do it? Only see an option for formatting the drive using the NTFS file format? Well if you answered yes any of those questions, then you’re at the right place.
I was recently trying to format my 1 TB MyBook external hard drive in Windows XP to FAT32 instead of the overly forced-upon NTFS format. Why? Well because I needed to connect it to a NAS device and the NTFS permissions were causing the NAS not to be able to access the drive. Simple solution is to use FAT32, no security, no problems. Though it’s sometimes useful to format a USB drive in NTFS format.
Also, formatting a drive in FAT or FAT32 will allow it to be read by other operating systems, such as Mac, Linux, and older versions of Windows such as Windows 98.
Unfortunately, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 will only format a removable drive in FAT32 if it’s less than 32GB! Hmmm…that pretty much cuts out ALL modern external hard drives!
However, Windows can format a drive that is larger than 32GB in FAT32, but you have to use the DOS command prompt. However, if you have a drive that is 1TB or larger, you may still get an error saying “The volume is too big for FAT32”.
In that case, you can use some 3rd party programs that will allow you to format an external hard drive with the larger size. Let’s go through the different methods. In case you are having problems getting your external hard drive to show up in Windows, read my article on how to change the drive letter for an external drive in Windows.
Format in FAT32 using Drive-Specific Tools
Before we get into using the command prompt and other third-party programs, it’s worth mentioning that some of the hard drive manufacturers have created their own tools for converting a drive which is larger than 32 GB to FAT32. Here is a list:
Format External Hard Drive in FAT32 using DOS
Open a command window by going to Start, then Run and typing in CMD.
Now type in the following command at the prompt:
format /FS:FAT32 X:
Replace the letter X with the letter of your external hard drive in Windows. Windows will go ahead and begin formatting the drive in FAT32!
There seems to also be an issue when using the command line besides the size limit problem. Namely, it can take forever to format the hard drive for some users. Not sure why, but I’ve seen it enough times and it can be very frustrating to wait 5 hours and then have the whole format fail. If the format is taking longer than an hour, just cancel it and try one of the methods below first.
Format in FAT32 using Verbatim SmartDisk FAT32 Utility
There is a free utility called Verbatim FAT32 Tool which will allow you to convert your hard drive to FAT32 in seconds. I use to recommend a program called SwissKnife, which I mention below, but it’s no longer free and no one really needs to spend $10 to convert a hard drive from NTFS to FAT32. There are lots of other free tools and this Verbatim one is one of the better ones.
Just download it, unzip it and run the tool. It’s a standalone EXE file, so you don’t even have to install it on your system. Choose the drive you want to format, give it a Volume name and click Format Drive!
It’s a painfully simple program to use and it works really well. If you don’t even want to bother with the command prompt, just download this free tool and use it.
Format in FAT32 using FAT32Format
FAT32Format is another free tool you can use to get the job done. Choose the drive, the allocation unit size, give the volume a label, choose whether you want to do a quick format or not and then click Start.
I would suggest not checking Quick Format so that way the entire drive is completely overwritten and you’re starting from scratch. I’ve tried this program and it was able to convert my 1TB hard drive to FAT32 without any issues. It did take longer than Verbatim, but I didn’t choose Quick Format, which probably would have been faster.
Format in FAT32 using FAT32Formatter
Another option is the FAT32Formatter program from Tokiwa. Using this program, you can see the different partitions on the hard disk and format just one partition to FAT32 instead of the whole drive. It’s probably best not to have a mix of NTFS and FAT32 partitions on one drive, but you can do it if you want or if you need to for some reason. This program will allow you to do that.
Format in FAT32 using SwissKnife
SwissKnife is a nifty little program that used to be free, but not anymore, which you can use to format many types of external drives such as USB, Firewire, PCMIA, SATA and SCSI. The link points to the CNET page, which still has the older free version you can download. You can also use it to create partitions on an external hard drive and it formats faster than Windows.
With SwissKnife, you may run into an issue where after the conversion to FAT32, you are left with only a small percentage of the original disk size. For example, if you format a 1TB drive, you might perform the conversion and end up with only 500 MB of space. This can be fixed by first reformatting the drive in NTFS format by performing a quick format.
Once you format the entire drive using NTFS, make sure to view the available space in Explorer and that it matches the size of the hard drive. Once you do that, go ahead and use SwissKnife to perform the conversion to FAT32.
So next time you want to format a hard drive in FAT32 and Windows only gives you an option for NTFS, make sure to follow one of the methods mentioned above. Enjoy!
- Format Hard Drive to FAT32 without any Limitation
- Supports up to 2TB for Computer Internal Hard Disk, Windows External Hard Drive with a XBOX360 and Sony external Hard Drive with a PS3
- Works on Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10 and Latest Windows 10 Both 32 & 64 bit
The Problem
– Windows Cannot Format Drive to FAT32 that is Larger than 32GB/1TB
'I have a 250GB Samsung external hard drive. I want to format the whole thing into FAT32, but I have no clue. One member here told me that it can be done at the Windows Disk Management, but I cannot do that and I was told that the format cannot be reached when the hard disk drive is larger than 32GB. I know it may sound silly to most of you guys, but uh...so how do I do it?'
- Forum Post Asked in AppleInsiderThe Truth - 32GB Size Limit Exists on FAT32 Formatting
It is not silly indeed, let's face it; Windows cannot format drives and partitions larger than 32GB in FAT32. Certainly, you can use the DOS command prompt to format drives and partitions beyond 1TB. But if you have a drive that is 1TB or larger, you may still not use the DOS command prompt to format and get an error saying 'The volume is too big for FAT32'.
Some of the hard drive manufacturers have created their own tools for converting a drive which is larger than 32 GB to FAT32, such as Seagate DiscWizard and Western Digital (WD) FAT32 Formatting Tool. If you are using such brand hard drive, you can use their tools to accomplish the task. But if you are not using such brand hard drive, in that case, you might turn some 3rd party programs for help which will allow you to format an external hard drive with the larger size. It is worth using the FAT32 Formatter in Macrorit Free Partition Software and other advanced editions.
The Free Specific Utility - Format FAT32 Drives beyond 32GB Limit
Macrorit Partition Expert is an optimal solution that you can use to get the job done. You can use it to format many types of external drives such as USB, Firewire, PCMIA, SATA, and SCSI. Formatting large hard drive in FAT32 is no longer a problem by using the features of 'Format Volume' and 'Convert to FAT32 Partition' in Macrorit Partition Expert, the former format feature could assist you to reach the format the large drive in FAT32 without size limit (This feature will erase all data that stored in the target drive, so the target drive should be empty); the later convert feature is more advanced, if your drive contains important data, it is capable of helping you to convert to FAT32 partition without data losing (This feature is widely used for Sony external Hard Disk Drive to FAT32 file system prior to use it with your PS3 or other devices which contains large game files or videos). Let's see the details.
Free FAT32 Formatting Utility – For Empty Large Drive
Step 1: After launching the program, right-click the NTFS partition in the main disk partition map interface to get the drop-down menu, select 'Format Volume' to start.
Step 2: In the new window, choose FAT32 in the drop-down in file system area, then set the related info as your wish, click 'OK' to confirm the task and add it to pending task list. (If you are not similar with Cluster Size, please do not change the cluster size.)
Step 3: Back to the main window, last but not the least, you need to commit the change(s) (Shows in Pending Operations area) to effect by clicking 'Commit' button. It will only take several seconds to finish.
Free FAT32 Converter – Convert to FAT32 and Keep Your Data Intact
Convert large drive in FAT32 without data losing can be realized with the feature of 'Convert to FAT32'. If you are trying to use FAT32 for your Windows internal hard disk, or if you have a plan to use your Sony external Hard Disk Drive with a PS3 or any other device that only supports the FAT32 file system, this feature could help you to reach the safely conversion and keeps all data intact. More detail steps, read Easy Approach to Converting NTFS to FAT32 Partition.
All-in-one Solution for Companies and Technical Providers
External Hard Drive Formatter
Macrorit Partition Expert with unique Enterprise-class Data Protection has special customized editions for companies use or technical providers.Unlimited Edition and Technician Edition, they are allowed unlimited usage on multiple computers.