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How do I format a USB flash drive to FAT32?
How to format USB under 32GB to FAT32 in Windows 10 Explorer?
How do I format a USB drive?
How to format USB to FAT32 using PowerShell system manager?
Nov 10, 2023 · Plug the USB into your computer, then run CMD as Administrator. After using the commands "diskpart", "list disk", and "select disk", type "clean" and press "Enter". Use the command "create partition primary" to further format your USB drive.
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There are many reasons to format your drive in FAT32 format. The most common one is that your drive will work with many more devices than if it was formatted in another file format, say NTFS. Nearly all the devices support FAT32.
A good example here is that you can add data to your drive from your Mac machine if your drive was formatted in FAT32. You can't do that with an NTFS-formatted drive.
Related: FAT32 vs. exFAT vs. NTFS: What's the Difference?
While there are pros to using the FAT32 format, a few cons exist as well. You can't store an individual file larger than 4 GB on a FAT32-formatted drive. Also, the built-in graphical formatting options on Windows only let you format your drives in FAT32 if they're 32 GB or less in storage capacity. (However, there's a command-line method and a third-party app to format drives larger than 32 GB in FAT32 format.)
Using File Explorer
To format a drive in FAT32 format with File Explorer, first, plug your drive into your Windows PC. Then, open File Explorer by pressing Windows+E. In File Explorer, right-click your drive and choose "Format." A "Format" window opens. Here, click the "File System" drop-down menu and choose "FAT32." Optionally, configure other options. Then, click "Start." When your drive is formatted, it will be in FAT32 format. Related: How to Format a Hard Drive or SSD on Windows 11
With Disk Management
Disk Management is another graphical tool you can use to format your drives. To use it for your USB flash drive, right-click your "Start" menu icon and choose "Disk Management." On Disk Management's main window, right-click your USB drive and choose "Format." In the "Format" window, select the "File System" drop-down menu and choose "FAT32." Then, click "OK" to start formatting your drive. Disk Management will display a message when your drive is formatted. Related: How to Manage Partitions on Windows Without Downloading Any Other Software
Using Command Prompt
If you like running commands, you have a command you can use in Command Prompt to format your drive in FAT32 format. To do that, first, open the "Start" menu, find "Command Prompt", and select "Run as Administrator." In the "User Account Control" prompt, choose "Yes." On the Command Prompt window, type the following command replacing X with the letter of your USB flash drive. Then, press Enter. When your drive is formatted, close Command Prompt. Related: How to Format a USB Drive on Linux That Works With Windows
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Apr 12, 2024 · You can press Windows + R, type cmd, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run Command Prompt as administrator. Then type the following commands and press Enter after each command. diskpart; list disk; select disk * (replace * with the exact disk number of USB) clean; format fs=fat32 quick (replace fat32 with ntfs if you want to format USB to ntfs ...
- Use Windows File Explorer. Formatting USB to FAT32 with the help of File Explorer is probably the simplest method. Windows File Explorer on your PC isn't only designed to view and handle files, but you can also use it to do basic disc management tasks.
- Use Disk Management. Another formatting option present on your device to format USB to FAT32 is Windows Disk Management. This free Windows built-in utility is easy to use and can help users to format a USB drive with 32GB capacity or smaller.
- Use Diskpart Command Translator. If you are good at computer skills and familiar with the command lines, then you can also try the Diskpart to format your USB drive to FAT32.
- Use Command Prompt (CMD) Using the command prompt for proceeding to format USB to FAT32 Windows 10 is a useful and quick fix to go for formatting.
1. First, plug in the USB drive. After that, open the Command Promot window as admin. Search for cmd in the start menu, right-click on Command Prompt and select “ Run as Administrator .” 2. To format the USB drive, we need to use the Diskpart tool.
Jan 25, 2023 · On Windows 10, you can quickly format a USB flash drive to erase content or fix data corruption using File Explorer, Disk Management, PowerShell, and Command Prompt, and here’s how.
Mar 11, 2023 · Format a USB Drive in FAT32 Using Powershell Command Line Tools. If you want to format a drive larger than 32GB, then your only option is to use Windows 10's Powershell Command Line Tools to do so. It's a much slower process than through File Explorer, but it works.
