What is largest Fat32 partition?

[mtnmanseth]

When I try to format my 50 gig partition in Win XP explorer it only offers me a choice for NTFS and no choice to format as Fat32... anyone know why? This a size restriction issue? Anyone know what the largest allowable Fat32 partition is?

[Han]

I think max FAT32 partition size is 32 GB.

Why would you like FAT32 anyway? NTFS is far more advanced file system...

[mtnmanseth]

I was told Fat32 is faster for gaming and such... NTFS was more of a "business" or "file server" format... this true?

Really... what are the pros/cons/differences of Fat32 and NTFS?

[BuddhaTB]

Article on FAT32
FAT32

Article on NFTS
NTFS

Chart Comparing Features of NTFS and FAT32
NTFS Vs. FAT32

Hope these articles help. Also, FAT32 can only be used on Hard Drives less than 32 GB. While all Hard Drives bigger than 32 GB should use NTFS because if you use FAT32 on a Hard Drive bigger than 32 GB, windows will only recognize the Hard Drive as being 32 GB. So any hard drive bigger than 32 GB, its a must to use NTFS.

[mtnmanseth]

Hmm that certainly is helpful... thanks BuddhaTB

[dodecahedron]

can i still use FAT32 with a hard drive larger than 32GB, but have it partitioned with the FAT32 partitions smaller than 32GB?

[BuddhaTB]

can i still use FAT32 with a hard drive larger than 32GB, but have it partitioned with the FAT32 partitions smaller than 32GB?

To my knowledge, I believe you can partition a hard drive bigger than 32 GB, into smaller FAT32 partitions. Just makre sure that each of the partitions are smaller than 32 GB. However, I would recommend using NTFS to partition the larger hard drive (>32GB) into smaller hard drive petitions if your using Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

FAT32 Can Be Used On:
Windows 98
Windows ME
Windows 2000
Windows XP

NTFS Can Be Used On:
Windows NT
Windows 2000
Windows XP

Chart Comparing Features of NTFS and FAT32

[dodecahedron]

well, i want to use it on a dual-OS machine with Linux, so i'm going to use FAT32 so Linux can share the windows partition (that is be able to read and write to it), not possible with NTFS (AFAIK).

thaks for your info and replies, Buddha!

[BuddhaTB]

thaks for your info and replies, Buddha!

Your Welcome! :D

[blakerwry]

FAT 32 can make partitions into the terabyte size...

However, there is a bug in the winXP GUI that doesnt allow you to create a partition larger than ~32GB... you can goto a boot disk and format the drive fine... windows will also recognize it no problem (from what I'm told)...

[Robotnik]

I have a 160GB FAT32 paritition in my system. Been meaning to convert to NTFS, bit haven't got around to it yet.

[atguilmette]

The maximum FAT32 partition size that can be configured during an OEM setup is 32GB (like the drive you'd install Windows onto), while the theoretical max size for a FAT32 partition (not an active bootable partition, however) is 2TB.

The maximum FAT32 partition size that Windows XP can create is 32GB as well, meaning that you'd have 18gb of space in a 50gb drive what would need to be put into another partition.

However, Windows 98 and Windows 2000 can read FAT32 partitions up to 32TB.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/choosing_between_NTFS_FAT_and_FAT32.asp

Windows NT 4 would allow you to create only a 4GB NTFS parition during its setup, while OEM setup programs for NT would allow you to create partitions up to roughly 8GB. The max partition size for NTFS4 is 2TB. NTFS5's max partition size is 16TB.

The largest single file you can have:
FAT16 - 2GB
FAT32 - 4GB
NTFS - Limited only by size of volume[/url]

[NeilPeart]

Apart from the 4GB max file size limitation with FAT32, another major issue is the performance issue when a large partition is used; NTFS performance is not hindered by the size of the partition. While many benchmarks show FAT32 surpassing NTFS, they neglect to show the effect of FAT32 on a large hard drive. Personally, the performance issue is of little concern; the 4GB file limit of FAT32 is a deal-breaker for video-editing buffs.

[DoctorX]

I was using a 60gb FAT32 formatted drive unpartitioned with XP just fine. I did however set it up with Me, avoiding the supposed XP bug I've yet to encounter. And for the record, the max supported size for FAT32 and NTFS is 2 terabytes. It's even listed in the FAT32 vs. NTFS doc buddha posted above. As for the 4GB file limit, I think some video editing software have kludges to get around it, by transparently making separate files that are treated as one big one.

[Inertia]

The maximum FAT32 partition size that can be configured during an OEM setup is 32GB (like the drive you'd install Windows onto), while the theoretical max size for a FAT32 partition (not an active bootable partition, however) is 2TB.

There is no practical limit to the maximum size of an active bootable FAT32 partition that WinXP can support. The original format must be done with a Win98 or ME startup disc or some other programs that doesn't have the WinXP 32 MB limitation bug, but once done the largest available hard drive can be an active bootable partition FAT32 C: drive.

[blakerwry]

And for the record, the max supported size for FAT32 and NTFS is 2 terabytes

you need to re-read that part...

NTFS : Volumes much larger than 2 terabytes (TB) are possible.

FAT32: Volumes from 512 MB to 2 TB

[Spazmogen]

I running Win98SE and have a 40gb hard drive formated with Fat32.
Windows 98SE uses all of it. After I formatted it, the space is reported as 38gb, which I think is normal.

I tried NTFS when I had Win2K Pro installed, some software refused to run with it. I formatted back to Fat32 but still running Win2K and all was fine.

I reverted back to Win98SE because my scanner was not supported under Win2K. It was cheaper to go backwards to Win98 than it was to buy XP.

[blakerwry]

yes that is another thing to watch out for.. some software was not written with permissions in mind... unfortunately... and assumes you have root/admin access.

This is obviously not the case, however I have found that by setting the particular program's installation folder to read/write by all users you can usually circumvent most problems

[vxd*.*]

[quote="mtnmanseth"]When I try to format my 50 gig partition in Win XP explorer it only offers me a choice for NTFS and no choice to format as Fat32... anyone know why? This a size restriction issue? Anyone know what the largest allowable Fat32 partition is?[/quote]
I am almost sure there is a jumper setting on the HDD that will let u use the full capacity. I encountered a 20 gb-hdd that would only be seen as a 10. When I studied the jumper settings-I was able to (jump) it to 20.

[blakerwry]

vxd, would you start reading the posts and stop posting your nonesence...

he already says he has a 50GB partition... he just want's to format it...


there is no 50GB limit....

there are no jumpers to restrict the formatting of partitions already on the HDD....


His questions have already been answered....