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How to Format a USB Drive to FAT32 on Windows 10 GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps &gt; Windows <h1> How to Format a USB Drive to FAT32 on Windows 10</h1> <h2> Use File Explorer (drives smaller than 32GB) or Powershell (for drives greater than 32GB)</h2> By Jennifer Allen Jennifer Allen Writer Swansea University, Staffordshire University Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010.
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How to Format a USB Drive to FAT32 on Windows 10 GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps > Windows

How to Format a USB Drive to FAT32 on Windows 10

Use File Explorer (drives smaller than 32GB) or Powershell (for drives greater than 32GB)

By Jennifer Allen Jennifer Allen Writer Swansea University, Staffordshire University Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010.
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Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on October 12, 2022 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12&#43; years&#39; experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email <h3> In This Article</h3> Expand Jump to a Section Step-by-Step: With File Explorer Step-by-Step: With Powershell Command Line Pros and Cons of Using FAT32 Frequently Asked Questions <h3> What to Know</h3> File Explorer: Go to Start &gt; This PC &gt; right-click the USB Drive &gt; Format &gt; Start &gt; OK.Or launch Powershell &gt; enter format /fs:fat32 : and wait for the process to finish.You can format drives smaller than 32GB in File Explorer; for larger drives, you must use Powershell.<br/> This article teaches you how to format a USB drive in FAT32 on Windows 10.
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Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on October 12, 2022 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

In This Article

Expand Jump to a Section Step-by-Step: With File Explorer Step-by-Step: With Powershell Command Line Pros and Cons of Using FAT32 Frequently Asked Questions

What to Know

File Explorer: Go to Start > This PC > right-click the USB Drive > Format > Start > OK.Or launch Powershell > enter format /fs:fat32 : and wait for the process to finish.You can format drives smaller than 32GB in File Explorer; for larger drives, you must use Powershell.
This article teaches you how to format a USB drive in FAT32 on Windows 10.
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Kevin Wang 3 minutes ago
It also explains what FAT32 is compared to other formats and other limitations you need to know.
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Julia Zhang 1 minutes ago
Any data previously contained on the USB drive is removed during the formatting process. Select Star...
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It also explains what FAT32 is compared to other formats and other limitations you need to know. <h2> How to Format a USB Drive as FAT32 Using File Explorer </h2> Using File Explorer to format USB to FAT32 is the easiest method. It&#39;s only possible to format a drive smaller than 32GB in FAT32 format using this method.
Sophia Chen Member
access_time 3 minutes ago
It also explains what FAT32 is compared to other formats and other limitations you need to know.

How to Format a USB Drive as FAT32 Using File Explorer

Using File Explorer to format USB to FAT32 is the easiest method. It's only possible to format a drive smaller than 32GB in FAT32 format using this method.
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Kevin Wang 3 minutes ago
Any data previously contained on the USB drive is removed during the formatting process. Select Star...
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Brandon Kumar 2 minutes ago
Right-click the USB Drive. Choose Format....
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Any data previously contained on the USB drive is removed during the formatting process. Select Start icon. Select This PC.
Alexander Wang Member
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Any data previously contained on the USB drive is removed during the formatting process. Select Start icon. Select This PC.
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Amelia Singh 2 minutes ago
Right-click the USB Drive. Choose Format....
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Right-click the USB Drive. Choose Format.
David Cohen Member
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Right-click the USB Drive. Choose Format.
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Julia Zhang 1 minutes ago
Select Start. If the File system isn't listed as FAT32, click on the drop-down menu and choose i...
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Charlotte Lee 3 minutes ago
Select OK. Wait for the drive to format then select OK to finish the process.

Format a USB Driv...

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Select Start. If the File system isn&#39;t listed as FAT32, click on the drop-down menu and choose it.
Zoe Mueller Member
access_time 12 minutes ago
Select Start. If the File system isn't listed as FAT32, click on the drop-down menu and choose it.
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Elijah Patel 5 minutes ago
Select OK. Wait for the drive to format then select OK to finish the process.

Format a USB Driv...

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Select OK. Wait for the drive to format then select OK to finish the process. <h2> Format a USB Drive in FAT32 Using Powershell Command Line Tools </h2> If you want to format a drive larger than 32GB, then your only option is to use Windows 10&#39;s Powershell Command Line Tools to do so.
Christopher Lee Member
access_time 14 minutes ago
Select OK. Wait for the drive to format then select OK to finish the process.

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.
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Liam Wilson 6 minutes ago
It's a much slower process than through File Explorer, but it works. Here's how to format a ...
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Liam Wilson 2 minutes ago
Select the Search Bar. Type in Powershell. Select Powershell....
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It&#39;s a much slower process than through File Explorer, but it works. Here&#39;s how to format a USB drive using the command line function. As before, any data previously stored on the USB drive is removed during the formatting process.
Chloe Santos Moderator
access_time 16 minutes ago
It's a much slower process than through File Explorer, but it works. Here's how to format a USB drive using the command line function. As before, any data previously stored on the USB drive is removed during the formatting process.
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Select the Search Bar. Type in Powershell. Select Powershell.
Alexander Wang Member
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Select the Search Bar. Type in Powershell. Select Powershell.
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Type format /fs:fat32 : Wait for the process to complete. Formatting this way can take a long time. <h2> Pros and Cons of Using FAT32 </h2> FAT32 is an old file system that&#39;s been around for many years.
William Brown Member
access_time 50 minutes ago
Type format /fs:fat32 : Wait for the process to complete. Formatting this way can take a long time.

Pros and Cons of Using FAT32

FAT32 is an old file system that's been around for many years.
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Grace Liu 43 minutes ago
That means it's not an ideal fit for Windows 10. However, there are reasons why you might want t...
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That means it&#39;s not an ideal fit for Windows 10. However, there are reasons why you might want to use it. We delve into a brief overview of the pros and cons behind FAT32.
Emma Wilson Admin
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That means it's not an ideal fit for Windows 10. However, there are reasons why you might want to use it. We delve into a brief overview of the pros and cons behind FAT32.
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Brandon Kumar 15 minutes ago
FAT32 is near-universal. If you frequently move your USB drive between PC, Mac, Linux system, and ev...
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Natalie Lopez 14 minutes ago
That's because it has near-universal compatibility, so you can easily share files using this fil...
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FAT32 is near-universal. If you frequently move your USB drive between PC, Mac, Linux system, and even your phone, FAT32 is a good choice.
Charlotte Lee Member
access_time 60 minutes ago
FAT32 is near-universal. If you frequently move your USB drive between PC, Mac, Linux system, and even your phone, FAT32 is a good choice.
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Harper Kim 29 minutes ago
That's because it has near-universal compatibility, so you can easily share files using this fil...
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Thomas Anderson 38 minutes ago
That can be a big issue nowadays, especially if you regularly edit videos. FAT32 is slightly slower...
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That&#39;s because it has near-universal compatibility, so you can easily share files using this file system. FAT32 can&#39;t be used on drives larger than 16TB or files larger than 4GB. FAT32 isn&#39;t able to work with hard drives larger than 16TB. That won&#39;t affect many users yet, but it cannot deal with files over 4GB in size.
Scarlett Brown Member
access_time 52 minutes ago
That's because it has near-universal compatibility, so you can easily share files using this file system. FAT32 can't be used on drives larger than 16TB or files larger than 4GB. FAT32 isn't able to work with hard drives larger than 16TB. That won't affect many users yet, but it cannot deal with files over 4GB in size.
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Noah Davis 23 minutes ago
That can be a big issue nowadays, especially if you regularly edit videos. FAT32 is slightly slower...
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Joseph Kim 12 minutes ago
It might not make a huge difference at first, but it all adds up, and if you don't require unive...
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That can be a big issue nowadays, especially if you regularly edit videos. FAT32 is slightly slower. FAT32 is somewhat slower than its alternatives—NTFS and exFAT.
Grace Liu Member
access_time 70 minutes ago
That can be a big issue nowadays, especially if you regularly edit videos. FAT32 is slightly slower. FAT32 is somewhat slower than its alternatives—NTFS and exFAT.
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It might not make a huge difference at first, but it all adds up, and if you don&#39;t require universal support, you may as well use NTFS or Microsoft&#39;s exFAT file system instead. FAQ How do I format an SD card to FAT32?
Chloe Santos Moderator
access_time 75 minutes ago
It might not make a huge difference at first, but it all adds up, and if you don't require universal support, you may as well use NTFS or Microsoft's exFAT file system instead. FAQ How do I format an SD card to FAT32?
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Brandon Kumar 38 minutes ago
To format an SD card to FAT32, select This PC in File Manager and right-click your SD card in the De...
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To format an SD card to FAT32, select This PC in File Manager and right-click your SD card in the Devices section. Select Format and choose FAT32 from the File System drop-down menu. Select Start &gt; OK.
James Smith Moderator
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To format an SD card to FAT32, select This PC in File Manager and right-click your SD card in the Devices section. Select Format and choose FAT32 from the File System drop-down menu. Select Start > OK.
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Mia Anderson 31 minutes ago
What is FAT32? FAT32 is the latest version of the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system. It suppor...
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Zoe Mueller 28 minutes ago
A FAT32 volume can hold up to 268,173,300 files using 32KB clusters. How do I format USB to FAT32 on...
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What is FAT32? FAT32 is the latest version of the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system. It supports drive sizes up to 2TB and can go as high as 16TB with 64KB clusters.
Ethan Thomas Member
access_time 34 minutes ago
What is FAT32? FAT32 is the latest version of the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system. It supports drive sizes up to 2TB and can go as high as 16TB with 64KB clusters.
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Daniel Kumar 17 minutes ago
A FAT32 volume can hold up to 268,173,300 files using 32KB clusters. How do I format USB to FAT32 on...
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Rename the USB drive and select MS-DOS(FAT) as your format option. Select Erase....
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A FAT32 volume can hold up to 268,173,300 files using 32KB clusters. How do I format USB to FAT32 on Mac? To format a USB flash drive to FAT32 on a Mac, connect the drive to your Mac, open Disk Utility, and select the flash drive.
Isabella Johnson Member
access_time 36 minutes ago
A FAT32 volume can hold up to 268,173,300 files using 32KB clusters. How do I format USB to FAT32 on Mac? To format a USB flash drive to FAT32 on a Mac, connect the drive to your Mac, open Disk Utility, and select the flash drive.
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Rename the USB drive and select MS-DOS(FAT) as your format option. Select Erase....
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Rename the USB drive and select MS-DOS(FAT) as your format option. Select Erase.
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Rename the USB drive and select MS-DOS(FAT) as your format option. Select Erase.
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Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Format an SD Card to FAT32 How to use a System Repair Disc to Format the C Drive How to Erase Everything on an SD Card 11 Best Free Disk Partition Software Tools (Oct. 2022) How to Format a Hard Drive in Windows What Does "Format" Mean in Computing? How to Burn an ISO File to a USB Drive How to Format a USB Flash Drive on Mac AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition v9 Review How to Find a Flash Drive That's Not Showing Up on a Mac 35 Best Free Data Destruction Tools (October 2022) How to Format an SD Card on Windows How to Delete a Windows Recovery Partition What Is a File System and What Are the Different Kinds?
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Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Format an SD Card to FAT32 How to use a System Repair Disc to Format the C Drive How to Erase Everything on an SD Card 11 Best Free Disk Partition Software Tools (Oct. 2022) How to Format a Hard Drive in Windows What Does "Format" Mean in Computing? How to Burn an ISO File to a USB Drive How to Format a USB Flash Drive on Mac AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition v9 Review How to Find a Flash Drive That's Not Showing Up on a Mac 35 Best Free Data Destruction Tools (October 2022) How to Format an SD Card on Windows How to Delete a Windows Recovery Partition What Is a File System and What Are the Different Kinds?
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