Как форматировать внешний жесткий диск в fat32 на windows 10

«I want to format a 2TB external hard drive as FAT32, so that I can use it on my TV box. I heard that 2TB is the max size that FAT32 can manage, and someone has successfully got around that. But I didn’t find how to actually do that? Can anyone share a step-by-step guide about formatting 2TB external hard drive to FAT32 file system?»

Why do you want to format external hard drive to FAT32 file system?

File system controls the way how files are stored, organized and indexed on a storage device. The hard drive in your computer or the USB drive may use file system like NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, EXT4, HFS+, etc. Each type of file system has its own merits and demerits.

FAT32 is known as its universal support and it is compatible with almost all operating system platforms. It is certain that you wish to make the best of external device to the best potential, for example, use it across platforms. The newly bought external hard drive is usually formatted as NTFS already, which can be used on Windows computers only rather than Mac or Linux.

How do I convert NTFS to FAT32 for my external hard drive? Formatting is the simplest solution. However, FAT32 is not a native option once the drive to be formatted is larger than 32GB. Don’t worry, it’s time to show you how to format an external hard drive to FAT32.

Disclaimer: Disk formatting will erase all data off the drive being formatted. Before proceeding formatting, please make sure your data is safely backed up in advance.

Method #1: Format external hard drive in Disk Management

Disk Management is a free tool integrated into Windows operating system. With it you can easily delete, create, format, shrink or extend volume.

Step 1. Right-click the «Start» menu and choose «Disk Management» from the appeared menu.

Step 2. Locate and right-click the partition you intend to format and click «Format».

Картинка с сайта: www.diskgenius.com

Step 3. Set volume label, file system, and allocation unit for the drive. Then click «OK».

Formatting is a simple task, so you can just leave these settings as default.

Step 4. Click «OK» to start the formatting.

Method #2: Format external hard drive using diskpart command

Step 1. Connect the external hard drive to be formatted and make sure it can be recognized properly.

Step 2. Type «Command Prompt» in searching box and click «Run as administrator». Click «Yes» when User Account Control asks for permission.

Step 3. Type diskpart in Command Prompt and press Enter key.

Step 4. Type the following commands and press Enter after each command.

List volume
Select volume #
Format fs=FAT32 quick

Картинка с сайта: www.diskgenius.com

Method #3: Format external HDD greater 32GB with free disk partition manager software

Windows File Explorer, Disk Management and Diskpart command are not able to format a partition to FAT32 when the size is larger than 32GB. For example, the FAT32 option won’t be listed in the drop-down menu, or diskpart command reports «Virtual Disk Service error: The volume size is too big» error. In cases like this, you’ll need a third-party and free HDD format tool – DiskGenius Free Edition.

DiskGenius Free Edition is a free partition manager that empowers you to format hard drive, external hard drive, SSD, SD card, or USB flash drive to FAT32 file system whatever the size of the drive. In addition to FAT32 file system, it also enables you to format a partition to exFAT, NTFS, EXT4, EXT3 and EXT2 format. The formatting process is quite straightforward:

Step 1. Launch DiskGenius Free Edition, right-click the partition you attempt to format and choose «Format Current Partition».

Картинка с сайта: www.diskgenius.com

Step 2. Choose file system for the drive from the drop-down list, set cluster size, enter volume label in line with your needs. Then click «Format».

Картинка с сайта: www.diskgenius.com

Step 3. A message box will pop up warning you that formatting will remove all data. Click «Yes» to continue.

Diskpart command VS. DiskGenius

DiskGenius is free partition manager software for Windows PCs and Windows Servers, it covers the advantages of Windows Disk Management and Diskpart command. It is able to format large partition whose size exceeds 32GB to FAT32, as well as format any drive to NTFS, exFAT, EXT4, EXT3, EXT2… Moreover, this third-party software is free of charge to users who want to clone HDD/SSD, migrate Windows OS, back up a partition or hard drive into an image file, fully erase hard drive data, resize/split/shrink partitions, check bad sectors, export directory tree to an HTML file, and so on.

Bonus tip: How to Fully wipe an external hard drive?

As we’ve discussed in previous tutorial, lost files are recoverable even though the external hard drive is formatted. A quick formatting does not full erase data. If you’re selling or giving away the external hard drive, someone can still restore lost data with a data recovery tool. To fully wipe the drive, you should make sure each sector on the drive is overwritten by zeros or random characters. Here is a quick guide to fully wipe an external hard drive with DiskGenius Free Edition.

Step 1. Install and run DiskGenius Free Edition on a Windows computer where the external hard drive is connected.

Step 2. Select the external HDD you want to fully erase data and click «Tools» – «Erase Sectors».

Картинка с сайта: www.diskgenius.com

Step 3. Select the characters you want to use to fill the drive. Then click «Erase» button.

Картинка с сайта: www.diskgenius.com

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can any external hard drive be formatted to FAT32?

Yes, an external hard drive can be formatted to FAT32 format regardless of the brand or capacity. FAT32 is a reliable file system type for external disks, including USB flash drives, SD card, external hard drive, pen drive, thumb drive, etc. So you can format such disks to FAT32 as long as you are not going to store files over 4GB in size.

2. How do I format a 2TB hard drive to FAT32?

The «FAT32» won’t be available when you are attempting to format a 2TB partition in Windows File Explorer or Disk Management. Hence, the formatting task should be done with the help of third-party disk partition software such as DiskGenius Free Edition.

Step 1. Highlight the partition to be formatted and click «Format» button from the Toolbar.

Step 2. Choose FAT32 as the file system and click «OK» button.

3. How to convert NTFS to FAT32 for external hard drive?

Both NTFS and FAT32 are widely used file system on internal and external disks, and they can be converted to each other by way of formatting. So, when you want to convert NTFS to FAT32, exFAT, HFS+ for Mac or Linux, you can just format the external hard drive.

4. How to format hard drive to FAT32 using command prompt?

Diskpart is the command to be used to format hard drive to FAT32 file system, here are the steps of formatting HDD:

Step 1. Run Command Prompt as administrator.

Step 2. Type diskpart in Command Prompt and press Enter key.

Step 3. Type following commands to format HDD to FAT32:

List volume
Select volume # (replace # with the number of the drive you want to format)
Format fa=FAT32 quick

5. How do I format a 64GB USB to FAT32 in Windows 10?

For Windows File Explorer, Disk Management and diskpart command, FAT32 is the default file system for USB drive that is not larger than 32GB. The 64GB volume is too big for FAT32. So you need to use third-part partition manager software like DiskGenius to finish the formatting.

6. Why can’t I format my flash drive to FAT32?

There are two possible reasons why the flash drive cannot be formatted to FAT32:

• The flash drive is physically damaged, and Windows cannot complete the format.
• The flash drive you attempt to format is larger than 32GB.

7. How do I change NTFS to FAT32?

To change file system type from NTFS to FAT32, you just need to format the drive:

Step 1. Right-click the drive and choose «Format» option in Windows File Explorer.

Step 2. Select FAT32 as the file system and click «OK» button.

8. Is exFAT and FAT32 the same?

No, exFAT and FAT32 are two different file systems. FAT32 means FAT Allocation Table 32, exFAT stands for Extended File Allocation Table. exFAT can be used as the replacement form FAT32, and it supports files with 4GB per size.

In closing

Formatting HDD or external HDD to FAT32 can be done via methods presented above. FAT32 is one of the popular file systems that are cross-platform. If you want to use the external hard drive under different operating system environments like Mac, Windows, Linux, then formatting to FAT32 is good idea. Just make sure you’ve backed up files to a safe place before the formatting.

Related Articles

• How to Format 64GB and larger SD Card to FAT32 in Windows 11/10/8/7?
• How to Format SSD to FAT32 File System in Windows 11/10/8/7?
• How To Convert RAW to NTFS /FAT32 File System Without Losing Data?
• How to Convert (Format) NTFS to EXT4/3/2 in Windows 11/10/8/7? [FREE]

Drive Smaller than 32GB:

Method 1. Format External Hard Drive to FAT32 with Free Partition Manager (Techradar Recommended)
Method 2. Use Command Prompt(DiskPart Command) — Format External Hard Drive to FAT32
Method 3. Format FAT32 Windows 10 by PowerShell
Method 4. Use File Explorer to Convert FAT32 Format

Drive Larger than 32GB:

Format External Hard Drive to exFAT

Can You Format External Hard Drive to FAT32? See Size Limits

External hard drives larger than 32GB — It’s better to format to exFAT if your storage device will use on many operating systems.

External hard drives larger than 32GB can be formatted to FAT32, but there are some limitations to consider. First, FAT32 has a maximum file size limit of 4GB, so any individual files larger than that need to be split into smaller chunks. If not, you will see the «the volume is too big for fat32» error. In addition, larger drives may experience slightly slower data transfer rates due to the increased number of files that need to be stored. For these reasons, it’s generally best to format larger external hard drives as exFAT instead.

External hard drives smaller than 32GB — You can Format to FAT32.

Smaller external hard drives, on the other hand, can be safely formatted as FAT32 without any issues. The 32GB limit is more than sufficient for storing most types of files, and data transfer rates will not be affected. 

You May want to format USB or SD card:

For beginners — Run EaseUS Partition Master Free(Safe. You can withdraw if you choose the wrong step.) and File Explorer.

For advanced users — You can go with PowerShell and DiskPart.

Method 1. Format External Hard Drive to FAT32 with Free Partition Manager

Using a Windows 10 computer, you can format your external hard drive to FAT32 using EaseUS Partition Master Free. Complete formatting with three steps than other methods. This partition manager is free to download and use, and it’s effortless to format a drive using it. 

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the «Format» option.

Картинка с сайта: www.easeus.com

Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click «OK».

Картинка с сайта: www.easeus.com

Step 3. In the Warning window, click «Yes» to continue.

Картинка с сайта: www.easeus.com

Step 4. Click the «Execute 1 Task(s)» button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click «Apply» to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.

Картинка с сайта: www.easeus.com

EaseUS Video Tutorial — How to Format Hard Drive to FAT32 in Windows 10

This video tutorial explains the features of file systems and how to format a hard drive to FAT32 with three tools.

Method 2. Use Command Prompt(DiskPart Command) — Format External Hard Drive to FAT32 

The Windows 10 built-in utility, DiskPart, lets you format your disk to FAT32 by flexible command lines.

✔️Notice: Please ensure you’ve typed your target drive’s correct letter. Otherwise, you could clean the wrong disk. Warn data loss!

1. Plug the external hard drive into the PC.

2. Check the drive number of the external device — Open File Explorer > Click «This PC» > Go to «Devices and drives» and remember your drive letter(D, E, etc.).

3. Type Command Prompt in the Windows search, right-click the best match, and select Run as Administrator.

4. Type the command and press Enter after each command.

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk X (Replace X with your external drive number.)
• create partition recovery
• select partition 1
• active
• format fs=fat32
• assign 
• exit

Картинка с сайта: www.easeus.com

Method 3. Format FAT32 Windows 10 by PowerShell

1. Connect the external hard drive to the computer.

2. Click the Start icon, type PowerShell on the search box, and then click Windows PowerShell.

3. Type the command and hit Enter.

format /FS:FAT32 X (Replace X with the actual letter of your external hard drive. If your external disk is O, then enter format /FS:FAT32 O:)

Картинка с сайта: www.easeus.com

Method 4. Use File Explorer to Convert FAT32 Format

1. Connect your external hard drive to your PC.

2. Click «This PC» from the left panel.

3. Under the «Devices and drives» tab, right-click the external hard drive and select «Format» from the menu.

4. Select FAT32 as your file system.

5. Name your volume label.

6. Check the «Quick Format» box.

7. Click «Start».

Wait until the formatting is complete, then click OK.

[Larger than 32GB] Format External Hard Drive to exFAT

To format hard drive to exFAT by Disk Management:

Step 1. Right-click the Start icon and select Disk Management.

See more ways to access Windows Disk Management:

Step 2. Right-click the drive you want to format to exFAT. Select «Format».

Картинка с сайта: www.easeus.com

Step 3. Choose the file system as exFAT, then click OK.

Conclusion

This tutorial addresses how to format an external hard drive to FAT32 on Windows 10.

One option is to use a third-party tool such as EaseUS Partition Master Free. This tool is less complex and is easy to use, even for beginners. Another way is to run the built-in Disk Management tool. This tool can be found in the Control Panel under «Administrative Tools.» A third option is to use the command-line tool Diskpart. This tool is more advanced and requires more knowledge of Command Prompt. A final option is to use PowerShell. This tool is also more advanced and requires knowledge of how to use PowerShell.

Format External Hard Drive to FAT32 Windows 10 FAQs

Want to know more tips about formatting drives? Check the following frequently asked questions.

1. How do I format FAT32 instead of exFAT in Windows 10?

Windows 10 can format drives as FAT32 or exFAT. To format a drive as FAT32 in Windows 10:

1. Open This PC and select the Drive you want to format.

2. Right-click on the Drive and select Format.

3. In the File System drop-down, select FAT32.

4. Click Start to format the drive.

2. Can you format 1TB HDD to FAT32?

Yes, you can format 1TB HDD to fat32. To format your 1TB HDD to fat32, use a computer with a Windows operating system. First, open «My Computer.» Right-click on the 1TB HDD and select «Format.» Choose the «fat32» format and click «Start.» If you are prompted to format the drive, click «Yes.» The process may take a few minutes to complete. Once it is finished, your 1TB HDD will be formatted to fat32.

3. Why can’t I format it to fat32?

Your disk may be larger than 32GB.

Большинство смартфонов и планшетов позволяют подключать к ним флешки и даже внешние SSD диски объемом более 64 Гбайт, сделав ее дополнительным хранилищем информации для гаджета. Но эти носители должны использовать файловую систему FAT32, и вам нужно знать, как отформатировать 64 Гб в FAT32. В Windows 10 такая возможность по умолчанию не предусмотрена. Но мы сейчас расскажем, как это сделать без особых проблем.

Содержание

• Как отформатировать диск в FAT32
• Как форматировать через FAT32 в MacOS
• Как отформатировать флешку в FAT32 с помощью командной строки

Как отформатировать диск в FAT32

Как мы и сказали, операционная система Windows 10 не позволяет сделать это стандартными средствами (на скриншоте видно, что диск или флешку можно отформатировать лишь в NTFS). Но эту проблему легко решают всевозможные бесплатные утилиты. Например, достаточно популярная FAT32 Format, интерфейс которой отличается максимальной простотой.

• Скачайте приложение FAT32 Format с официального сайта разработчика. Для этого достаточно просто кликнуть по скриншоту окна программы.
• Подключите флешку или внешний накопитель к USB-разъему компьютера.
• Запустите приложение FAT32 Format и выберите нужную флешку в списке доступных, после чего нажмите кнопку «Start». Никакие дополнительные настройки, доступные в приложении, для этого менять не обязательно. По умолчанию будет выбрана и файловая система FAT32.
• Подтвердите форматирование флешки или диска и дождитесь завершения процедуры.

Картинка с сайта: ichip.ru

Внимание! Операция форматирования в FAT32 удалит все записанные на флешке или внешнем диске файлы. Убедитесь, что на ней отсутствуют нужные вам данные, а если они есть — скопируйте их на внутренний диск компьютера или другой носитель.

Как форматировать через FAT32 в MacOS

Владельцам компьютеров и ноутбуков Apple, работающих под управлением MacOS, немного проще. Возможность форматирования накопителя в FAT32 предусмотрена в самой операционной системе. Если же вы ищете внешний SSD, то вам наверняка пригодится наша подборка подобных устройств.

• Откройте Finder -> Приложения -> Дисковая утилита.
• Выберите нужный накопитель в списке доступных и нажмите «Стереть».
• Укажите файловую систему FAT32 и еще раз нажмите «Стереть», после чего дождитесь завершения процедуры и извлеките флешку.

Как отформатировать флешку в FAT32 с помощью командной строки

Да, графический инструмент, дающий возможность отформатировать флешку в FAT32 в Windows отсутствует, но у командной строки такого ограничения нет. И если вы думаете, как лучше форматировать флешку FAT32 или внешний накопитель без использования дополнительных программ, этот способ подойдет как нельзя лучше.

• Подключите накопитель к USB-разъему компьютера.
• Проверьте, какая буква присвоена подключенному накопителю. Для этого откройте «Проводник» и найдите название диска или флешки в левой части окна. Буква в скобках — это именно то, что нам нужно запомнить.