If you want to FAT32 format a USB Drive (USB stick) larger than 32GB on the operating system Windows 10, in this tutorial you will see step by step how you can do the formatting correctly.
We don't know exactly why Microsoft chose to cannot be formed FAT32 storage media USB Stick (Flash Drive) larger than 32 GB. At least not through the traditional right-click method drive → Format → File system : FAT32.
For storage units USB Drive larger than 32 GB, this formatting option FAT32 missing on the operating system Windows 10. They can only be theoretically formatted NTFS or exFAT. Practically though, there is a very simple method by which you can FAT32 format a USB Drive larger than 32GB using a simple command in PowerShell or Command Prompt
How to format a USB drive larger than 32GB to FAT32 on Windows 10
To format FAT32 a USB Drive (USB stick), larger than 32GB on Windows 10, you have to do the following steps:
1. Identify the drive letter of the Flash Drive connected to the system. The simplest, see in "This PC” or via the command line executed in Command Prompt or PowerShell:
wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, description1. After identifying the flash drive letter, execute the command:
Careful! This command will erase all data from the storage drive!
format /FS:FAT32 F:
Where “F:” is the letter (Drive Letter) of the flash drive connected to the PC.
After running the command line, wait for the formatting process to finish.
It may take longer if the volume of the external storage media is larger than 32 GB. We had to wait a while for it to finish formatting a 256 GB USB Drive.
At higher volumes, the error message may appear after a while: "The volume is too big for FAT32". In this case it is recommended to reformat the drive in the system NTFS, then open Command Prompt or PowerShell with privileges Administrator and do it conversion from NTFS to FAT32, by command:
convert F: /FS:FAT32
Normally, if you already have a flash drive formatted in NTFS system but want to convert it to FAT32, the data stored on it should not be affected. However, it is good to have a backup copy of your data. An error occurred during the conversion process "NTFS to FAT32” may result in data loss.
It is NOT possible to convert from NTFS to FAST32. It appears from the command prompt that the conversion is not accepted.
See how the flash drive unit is called...E, F or another letter, and change it in the order.