How to Format FAT32

Download fat32format. This is a free utility that allows you to format any drive with a capacity not exceeding 2 TB according to the FAT32 standard. You can download this software from ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm . Open the website, click on the location marked in the screenshot above to download the program.

• The downloaded file is named “guiformat.exe”.

Plug the drive you want to format into the computer. With this tool, you can format any drive with capacities up to 2 TB.

• The larger the drive, the longer it takes Windows to recognize and connect files when the drive is plugged in again. It may take about 10 seconds or so from the time it is plugged in for the 2 TB drive to appear on Windows.

Run guiformat.exe . Windows will ask you to give the program administrative access. This program requires no installation and will run immediately.

Select the USB drive from the Drive menu. You will see the current capacity and format of the drive.

Name the drive. You can enter any name. This is the name that appears when the drive is connected to a computer or other device.

Click the “Start” button to begin formatting the drive. Formatting time depends on the capacity of the drive.

Check that the drive is formatted. Once formatted, the drive will appear in the Computer/This PC window. Note that it may not appear immediately, especially when larger than 1 TB.

• If you plan to use the drive on the device and the computer supports exFAT or NTFS, instead of FAT, you should use either of these formats. They offer faster transfer speeds and support larger file sizes. Only the FAT32 standard should be used for drives larger than 32 GB in case your device only supports this format.

Back up any important data from the drive. When formatted, everything on the drive will be erased. So make sure that any important files are safely backed up elsewhere before starting the format.

Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder. This folder is located in the Applications folder.

Select your USB drive from the list on the left. If the USB drive does not appear, try using another USB port. If you’ve used all ports or tried on another computer and still can’t get the USB drive to appear, it may be damaged.

Click the “Erase” tab. Formatting options for the USB drive will be displayed.

Select “MS-DOS (FAT)” from the “Format” or “Vpume Format” menu. Even if it’s just listed as “FAT”, that’s actually the FAT32 file system standard. Note that FAT32 only supports drives with a maximum capacity of 32 GB and files not exceeding 4 GB. If your drive is over 32 GB or in case you need to transfer larger files, consider using a more modern format – “exFAT”. If only using the drive with your Mac, select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)”. ^{[1] X Research Source}

• If you have a drive larger than 32 GB but really need FAT32, you can split the USB drive area and format each part into individual FAT32 partitions. Click the “Partition” tab. Next, click the “+” button to create new zones. Set the size of each zone to no more than 32 GB and select “MS-DOS (FAT)” from the Format menu for each of those regions.

Name the USB drive. Enter the drive name in the “Name” field. This name will appear every time the drive is connected to a computer or device.

Click “Erase” to start formatting. Any data on the drive will be erased and it will be formatted according to the FAT32 file system standard.

Check the USB drive. Once you’ve finished formatting, you should be able to add and move files in the drive without any problems. The USB disk will be on your desktop. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Back up the data you want to keep. When formatted, any data on the drive will be erased. Therefore, copy everything you want to keep from the USB drive before proceeding with the format.

Open the Disks utility. This utility allows you to format the drive connected to your computer. The easiest way to open it is to click the Dash button or press the ⌘ key combination and type “disks”. The Disks utility will be the first result in the displayed list.

Select your USB drive. It’s in the list of drives that appear on the left side of the Disks window.

Click the Stop button (■) – Stop. As a result, the file connection will be disconnected and you can proceed to format the drive.

Click the Gear button and select “Format” . A new window will be opened.

Select “Compatible with all systems and devices (FAT)” from the “Type” menu. In doing so, you have selected FAT32 as the file system standard.

• If you only use a USB drive on a Linux machine, choose the “ext4” standard.

Name the USB drive. This name will appear every time the drive is connected to a computer or device.

Click the “Format” button to begin the formatting process. Formatting will only take a moment to complete.