How To Format Sd Card Into Fat32

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  1. How To Format Sd Card Into Fat32
  2. How To Format Sd Card Into Fat32
  3. How To Format Sd Card Into Fat32 File
  4. Format An Sd Card Fat32 Windows 10

To Format SD card to FAT32 in Mac OS, follow below instructions: 1. Connect the SD card to the Mac OS X computer. Search for Disk Utility in Launchpad and open it. Select the Drive and click Erase. Enter the new name (OPTIONAL).

How to format sd card into fat32 drive

Summary :

Are you looking for a professional FAT32 formatter to format your USB flash drive, external hard drive, SD card to FAT32 for better compatibility? This post will show you some ways and you can try them according to your needs.

Quick Navigation :

  • Format a Sandisk Extreme 64GB MIcro SD card to FAT32 I have a Sandisk Extreme 64GB Micro SD card and would like to format so that its file system is FAT32 so I can use it in my camera. However, the only options for it to be formatted are exFAT and NTFS.
  • Use SD card formatter tools. Of course, if the device in question, like your Canon camera, does not have the ability to format your 64GB SD card from exFAT to FAT32. Also plunge this SanDisk memory card to your computer with a card reader and download SD card.

Why Choose FAT32

What Is FAT32

When it comes to FAT32, you should know it refers to a version of the file allocation table (FAT) which is available since Windows 95 OSR 2 and Windows 98. How to watch movies on a hp laptop. It increases the number of bits used to address clusters and also reduces the size of each cluster. As a result, it can support larger disks (up to 2 terabytes) and better storage efficiency (less slack space).

FAT32 is an old file system, so many old operating systems including Win95, Win98, Win2000, Win2003, Win Vista and more support this file system.

What's more, as for some old game consoles, FAT32 is available. When reading here, you know FAT32 has very good compatibility. Besides, USB drives adopt the FAT32 file system by default.

Why Format to FAT32

Generally speaking, this is mainly because of the better compatibility of FAT32, despite that it can not support files larger than 4GB file size for single files.

Let's focus on a common issue for more information: What is the best format for a USB drive?

If you are using a USB drive but the partition is formatted to NTFS before, now you want to use your USB disk to connect to a game console PS3/PS4, Linux, or Mac OS X. In this case, you need to use a FAT32 formatter tool to change the file system to FAT32. Otherwise, PS4 can't read USB flash drive or you are unable to write in Mac OS/Linux.

Moreover, there is another case showing the necessity of formatting a hard drive to FAT32. You want to connect your USB disk or Seagate/Western Digital external hard drive to a NAS but the NTFS permissions cause the NAS not to access the drive. Under this circumstance, the better solution is to adopt FAT32. How much is terraria on steam.

How to Change Your Drive to FAT32

In order to get the best compatibility of your drive, using FAT32 as the file system is a good choice. Then, it is likely that you are wondering: How do I format a USB drive to FAT32? How do I convert NTFS to FAT32?

As a matter of fact, these two problems are often asked by many users. Today, in this post, we will show you how to change your external drives, USB disk or SD card to FAT32 in two cases in Windows 10/8/7.

Case 1: Important Data Are Saved on Your Hard Drive

Usually, there are some important files stored on the USB drive, SD card, memory stick or external USB hard drive. When there is a need, it is a better solution to adopt a professional FAT32 formatter tool to convert NTFS to FAT32 because of the limits of Windows Disk Management. (We will show you some details later.)

The Best FAT32 Format Software - MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard, professional FAT32 Converter, is recommendable since it enables you to not only convert NTFS to FAT32 but also convert FAT32 to NTFS without any data loss. It is compatible with many OSes including versions of Windows 10/8/7 and Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016 depending on different editions.

Convert NTFS to FAT is a paid feature, so you should use MiniTool Partition Wizard Professional Edition or a more advanced edition to change your SD card, USB disk or external hard drive to FAT32.

Step 1: Launch this FAT32 format software and enter its main interface.

Step 2: Focus on your SD card, USB disk or external hard drive partition to choose Convert NTFS to FAT from the right-click menu. Alternatively, you can select partition and click this feature from Change Partition column.

Step 3: At last, hit the Apply button at the top-left corner to execute this FAT32 conversion formatting process.

With the help of this application, you can easily and effectively change your external hard drive, USB drive or SD card to FAT32 from NTFS, which won't have any influence on the data of your hard drive.

Case 2: No Data Are Stored to Your Drive

Suppose that there are no important data stored on your hard drive, you can choose to directly format your disk to FAT32. Here we will show you four ways to format NTFS partition to FAT32 and just choose one according to your needs.

Tip: If you want to do a FAT32 format SD card, you need to use a card reader to connect your SD card to the computer and then start disk formatting.

FAT32 Format USB/SD Card - MiniTool Partition Wizard

To convert USB disk/SD card/external hard drive from NTFS to FAT32, this professional partition manager can also be used as a dedicated FAT32 formatter to format SanDisk/Kingston USB drives, SD cards (SDHC/SDXC cards) to FAT32 effectively in Windows 10/8/7. This way, you can use the drive in between Mac OS, Windows and Linux freely. (Also works to format drives to other file systems.)

Before the FAT32 format USB flash operation, you can free download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition and install this best FAT32 formatting application on your computer and have a try.

Note: In addition to formatting a drive to FAT32, these file systems including NTFS, FAT16, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, exFAT and Linux Swap are also supported.

Here is how to format to FAT32:

Step 1: Run MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition to its clear main interface to start FAT32 format SD card/USB drive.

Step 2: Choose the target partition and click Format Partition under Partition Management in the left pane.

Step 3: Specify the partition label, file system and cluster size for your target partition. Here FAT32 should be chosen. After finishing these settings, go back to the main interface.

Step 4: At last, hit the Apply button to perform formatting operation with this FAT32 format software.

Built-in FAT32 Formatter – Windows Disk Manager

In Windows 10/8/7, there is a snap-in FAT32 formatter which is used often. Usually, when referring to Windows format, Windows Disk Management is a good choice due to its clear user interface and accessibility (built-in free tool).

With it, you can create/delete/format volume, change drive letter and path, extend/shrink volume and so on. How do you format a flash drive to FAT32 with this disk manager? Follow the guidance as follows:

  1. Press Win + R keys to open the Run window.
  2. Type msc to open Computer Management. Then, go to Disk Management.
  3. Choose the target partition of your removable disk or external hard drive that you want to format to FAT32 and click Format from the right-click menu.
  4. In the disk formatting interface, specify volume label, file system (FAT32) and allocation unit size. Perform a quick format is selected by default in Windows 10/8/7.
Note: You may ask: how to format 64GB USB to FAT32? Actually, Windows Disk Manager can't allow you to format FAT32 larger than 32GB. From the following screenshot, you see there is no FAT32 in the file system list. In this case, please resort to the third-party FAT32 software - MiniTool Partition Wizard, which can format your USB disk or SD card to FAT32 without any limit.

After clicking OK, a warning 'Formatting this volume will erase all data on it. Back up any data you want to keep before formatting. Do you want to continue' appears. If no important data is saved on your disk, just ignore this warning. If you have some files on the target partition, please refer to case 1.

Tip: When using Windows Disk Manager to do Windows 10 format FAT32, you may encounter 'The format did not complete successfully' error message that occurs due to a corrupted file system, virus infection or bad sectors. Want to know the solution? Refer to this post - How Can You Fix 'The Format Did Not Complete Successfully'.

FAT32 Format Tool – Windows Explorer

In addition to the above two FAT32 formatters, you can also format a hard drive to FAT32 via Windows File Explorer.

Tip: Similarly, you cannot format FAT32 larger than 32GB via Windows Explorer.
  1. When right-clicking the target USB drive partition you want to format in Windows Explorer, there is an option Format, just click it.
  2. Custom file system (FAT32), allocation unit size, volume label, and quick format. Click Start to begin FAT32 format process.

Like that, your USB drives, SD cards or external hard drives will be formatted to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7.

Warning: When using Windows Explorer to format a hard drive, in all probability, an error message 'Windows was unable to format' appears because of the RAW file system of the target partition, the disk write-protection or disk bad sectors. For more detailed information, turn to this post - How Do I Fix Windows Was Unable to Complete the Format.

Optional FAT32 Formatter - Command Prompt

Now we will show you the last method that is to use Command Prompt. This way requires you to input some commands. How to format to FAT32? Do as the following:

1. Run diskpart by inputting diskpart in the search box and pressing the Enter key.

2. Then type the following commands in turn and end each command with Enter.

  • list disk: all disks are listed here.
  • select disk n: n should be the number of the disk you want to format to FAT32.
  • list partition
  • select partition n: n refers to the partition number.
  • format fs=fat32 quick
Tip: You may ask: can I format 64GB USB to FAT32 via diskpart? Actually, you still cannot format FAT32 larger than 32GB and you will get the error message 'Virtual Disk Service error: The volume size is too big'.

Also, a very similar tool called Windows Powershell has the same feature. To use this tool:

1. How to get fortnite on an android. From Windows Search bar, type 'Powershell'. From the search result, run Windows Powershell with admin privilege. (Or you can find it under Windows power user menu by pressing Win + X.)

2. Next, in the new bule window, execute the following commands:

  • get-disk | get-partition
  • format-volume -driveletter K -filesystem FAT32 -newfilesystemlabel TEST (*author says: the drive letter and file system label can be changed at your own situation)
  • exit

Simply doing the above will bring you drives with FAT.

Which Is the Best FAT32 Format Utility?

In this part, we show you how to change a hard drive to FAT32 in two cases: important data exist or no important data are saved to your disk. Four FAT32 formatting tools for USB disk, SD card or external hard drive are introduced to you in detail.

So, when reading here, you probably are wondering: which tool is the best one?

Third party utility MiniTool Partition Wizard enables you to convert NTFS to FAT32 without losing data. Besides, this tool also supports formatting partition of which the volume size is larger than 32GB to FAT32, which breaks the limit of FAT32. Disk Manager and Windows Explorer cannot be used to format the drive larger than 32GB to FAT32.

By contrast, you get that MiniTool Partition Wizard is the best FAT32 formatting tool in Windows 10/8/7. If you have a need, just get its Professional Edition to convert to FAT32 from NTFS and download its Free Edition to format a large hard drive to FAT32.

Bottom Line

Now we come to the end of this post. Need to format your USB flash drive, SD card or external hard drive to FAT32 with this FAT32 formatting tool? Four FAT32 formatters are displayed. Just choose one to quickly format FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7.

By contrast, we highly recommend you to use MiniTool Partition Wizard to convert NTFS to FAT32 or format SD card, USB disk or external hard drive to FAT32 without any limit.

How To Format Sd Card Into Fat32

Suppose that you have some questions or suggestions to this post, please don't hesitate to tell us by sending an email via [email protected] or leaving your comment in the following text box. Much appreciated.

FAT32 Formatter FAQ

FAT32 is a file system and it is the next in line after FAT16 and FAT. Usually, it is used for microSD cards, USB drives, memory sticks, etc.
You can use professional FAT32 formatters, for example, MiniTool Partition Wizard, Windows Disk Manager, Windows Explorer, and Command Prompt.
  1. Run MiniTool Partition Wizard.
  2. Choose the USB disk, click Format Partition, and choose FAT32 as the file system.
  3. Click Apply to execute the operation.
If the partition is larger than 32GB, you can't format it to FAT32. This is a limitation of the Windows system. In this case, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to format it to FAT332.

Q1: How to format USB flash drive?

A1) In most Windows systems while formatting a USB Stick/Flash Drive, file system choices are presented to you – NTFS, FAT, FAT32 or exFAT. FAT or FAT 32 file system is the option selected by default for formatting a USB flash drive. The two ways in which you can format your USB Flash Drive are:

Q2: How to Recover Data after formatting USB flash drive using FAT/FAT32/NTFS/exFAT?

A2) Ideally, you should take a back-up of your data before formatting. But sometimes, even after all the precautions, you end up losing your data. In such cases, to recover multimedia files from formatted USB flash drive/stick, you should try using a recovery software as a sure shot solution. Click here to know more.

USB flash drives are the little stick-like devices that we carry along in our pockets as portable external storage. But these little devices pack quite a punch; they can double up as your mobile movie library, photo collection, backup drive, OS boot volume, or just a way to transfer stuff from one computer to another. Each time you wish to use them for a unique purpose, it requires cleaning them and sometimes even formatting them to a file system suited to the target environment. Formatting is also a good way to rid the memory stick of unwanted errors or virus/malware programs.

One important thing to remember is always taking a backup of your data before beginning the formatting a USB drive procedure.

When it comes to formatting a USB drive, which format should you go for – FAT or NTFS? Or any other? Moreover, how can you change the format of your USB drive from FAT to NTFS to exFAT or FAT32? Let's answer these questions one at a time.

How To Format Sd Card Into Fat32

Which file system should I choose for formatting my USB Drive?

When it comes to formatting a USB drive, which format should you go for – FAT or NTFS? Or any other? Moreover, how can you change the format size of your USB drive from FAT to NTFS to exFAT or FAT32? Let's answer these questions one at a time.

In most Windows systems, while formatting a USB 4 file system choices are presented to you – NTFS, FAT, FAT32 or exFAT. You should choose one that suits your USB purpose as well as target environment. Additionally, here are the benefits of each of these file systems to help you make your choice.

Benefits of NTFS file system

If you select NTFS file system, you get:

  • Better disk space management.
  • Less space wastage.
  • Increased reliability and security with file encryption.
  • Small data clusters.
  • Compressed data so as to save disk space.
  • Ability to create permissions for individual files and folders.
  • Ability to read / write files larger than 32GB and up to maximum partition size.

Benefits of FAT / FAT32 file system

Note: For USB flash drives with capacity larger than 32GB, FAT / FAT32 formatting option is not available.

If you select FAT or FAT32 file system:

  • Faster performing USB owing to write operations lesser.
  • Less memory usage.
  • Quick disk scanning.
  • Compatibility with almost all operating systems.
  • Less space is dedicated to the file system data to allow more free space to hold other data.

Benefits of exFAT file system

If you select exFAT file system, you get:

  • Ability to create partitions larger than 32GB.
  • Better disk space management.
  • Ability to read / write files larger than 4GB.

So if you're USB flash drive which has a capacity greater than 32GB, you should select NTFS or exFAT. Other than that, you should choose the format that suits your work. For example, if you use the USB on multiple operating systems, going for FAT would be better.

How to format USB Flash Drive to FAT / FAT32 / NTFS / exFAT using Windows Explorer?

FAT or FAT 32 file system is the option selected by default for formatting a USB flash drive on Windows XP. FAT or FAT32 is also the default file system most music players in cars recognise. So if on plugging your USB into your car's music player you've faced an error saying – 'cannot read', check its file system and change it.

Here's the procedure to format USB Drive to NTFS / FAT / FAT32 / exFAT:

Step 1: Plug in the memory stick into your computer and allow it to be detected. Once it is recognised, you should see an Autoplay dialogue box pop up asking you to choose the next action. If it doesn't appear, you can open My Computer and see if the USB is detected as a newly mounted volume. You can also find the USB under Disk Drives in Device Manager (right-click on My Computer -> Manage).

Step 2: Right-click on the USB drive shown in My Computer and select 'Format'. This will open a dialogue box displaying the formatting options.

Step 3: Select the desired file system from NTFS, FAT, FAT32 or exFAT from the 'File System' drop-down, then punch in the name that you wish to assign to the USB drive under 'Volume label' and also select a 'Format option'.

Step 4: Once you've made sure all options are correct, and you have a backup of the important data on the USB, click on 'Start' to initiate the process. When prompted, click on 'Ok' to confirm that you wish to erase the data on the drive and format it.

How to format USB Drive to NTFS / exFAT / FAT / FAT32 using Command Prompt?

Step 1: Plug in the memory stick into your computer and allow it to be detected.

Step 2: Open Command Prompt (Start -> Accessories -> Command Prompt or Start -> Run -> type 'cmd' -> Enter)

Step 3 : Supposing your USB drive is assigned the letter 'E': type the following command in the Command Prompt:

For FAT: format E: /fs:FAT
For FAT32: format E: /fs:FAT32
For NTFS: format E: /fs:NTFS
For exFAT: format E: /fs:EXFAT

Step 4 : When prompted, press Y (for Yes) or N (for No) to continue or stop the formatting.

Things to remember when formatting to NTFS

When formatting to NTFS file system, you need to remember to enable the 'removal policy' of the USB to the 'better performance' option. Here's how to do this:

How To Format Sd Card Into Fat32 File

  1. Right-click on the USB and select 'Properties'.
  2. Under the 'Hardware' tab choose the USB drive from the listed disks.
  3. Click on 'Properties'.
  4. Select 'policies' -> 'better performance'.
  5. Click 'OK'.

You have formatted your USB drive successfully! Great! Now What if you want to again get back your precious photos, audios or videos???

Format An Sd Card Fat32 Windows 10

The best possible solution to go for will be to download and run Stellar Photo Recovery Software. The addedbenefit of keeping Stellar Photo Recovery Software in your system is that you can take a backup of your entire drive. The top menu bar of the main screen section of the software includes a ‘Create Image‘ option which is used to create an image of your entire drive. This image can be used as a backup for recovering data at a later stage. To recover back your multimedia files, if lost accidentally, you can try the demo version of the software absolutely free:

Final Words

Hope our pointers above will help you the next time you need to format your memory stick. Always remember to backup your data before beginning the formatting process and choose a file system that suits your requirement. However, if you want to recover data from a corrupt or inaccessible USB drive, read our next post.





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