You can format a drive as FAT32 from File Explorer, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. In this guide, I'll show you how.
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How to format a USB drive larger than 32GB to FAT32
Windows 11 (and 10) allows you to format drives in FAT32 format. In this guide, I'll show you several ways to complete this configuration through File Explorer, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.
Although you'll usually use NTFS as the file system for drives connected to Windows, sometimes you'll still need to use FAT32, as this file system is often required on USB flash drives to store the BIOS file for updating the firmware on your computer's motherboard. Printers may need the file system to read images you want to print directly from the USB stick. If you have a digital camera, you may need to format the SD card with FAT32 to make the storage available on the device. Other platforms may also require this file system.
FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32) has been a widely used legacy file system format for many years due to its simplicity and compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux, etc.). It is still relevant today, especially for devices that, as mentioned above, require broad compatibility.
