Yesterday, Microsoft released a new preview build of Windows 11 to Windows Insiders, introducing a noteworthy update: the maximum size limit for FAT32 partitions has been increased to 2TB.
FAT32, a file system developed in 1996 as an extension of earlier FAT formats, has historically been limited to a 32GB partition size when formatted through Windows. Although FAT32 can technically support up to 16TB, Windows itself has restricted the maximum size to just 32GB. This limitation has been a source of frustration for users needing larger FAT32 partitions.
With this new Windows update, which is currently available to Insiders on the Canary channel, users can now format FAT32 partitions up to 2TB using the command line format command. However, the graphical drive formatting tool still adheres to the old 32GB limit. It’s worth noting that while the partition size can now be increased, the maximum file size on FAT32 remains capped at 4GB.
The original 32GB limitation was likely a strategic move by Microsoft, which introduced the NTFS file system in 1993 and made it the default in Windows starting with XP. Despite this, the ability to create larger FAT32 partitions in Windows is a welcome change for those who still use FAT32 for compatibility reasons.
