Formatting a FAT32 storage device in Windows 11 is a task that cannot be performed using the standard function found in File Explorer by right-clicking a mounted drive. But there are other equally simple ways that we will remember you

Start by saying that Windows supports several file systems for working with data, and they are requisites for file space allocation, free space management and access to stored data. NTFS and exFAT are natively supported by Microsoft and are the main ones in Windows, but not the only ones that can be used. Here comes FAT32, the file system that came to improve FAT16 and the previous FAT created for MS-DOS, which is less advanced than the ones mentioned, but very useful in some scenarios.

Despite its limitations (it is not able to store files larger than 4 Gbytes, it does not allow creating partitions larger than 8 TB), FAT has 32 advantages in simplicity, versatility and compatibility with other operating systems (Linux, macOS, Android or others such as FreeBSD), making it particularly suitable for external / removable storage drives such as USB flash drives or microSD memory cards. Its use is diverse and there are old devices that are the only file system they support.

FAT32 on Windows 11

When we connect an external storage drive in Windows, such as a USB flash drive, the drive appears in the file explorer and from its context menu, the drive can be formatted in a very simple way with the click of a mouse. However, in Windows 11 (or Windows 10), you will find that you can only use NTFS or exFAT this way.

There are several ways to format FAT32 in Windows 11 using internal tools or through third-party software. Let’s go with them.

With Windows console

Although Microsoft no longer supports FAT32 on its systems, it allows you to create drives with this file system using the console. Simply open the advanced Windows Powershell console and use the command “format / FS: FAT32 X:”, where “X” is the drive letter we want to format:

With third party applications

The FAT32 format is one of the best applications that you can use to format disks using FAT32 in Windows 11. It is an application free and portable which does not require installation and facilitates the task of formatting drives with this file type.

Just download the software, run it, select the drive, enable formatting (it has a quick format option) and run it. This application is a faster method than using the Windows console.

Is FAT 32 for everything?

Obviously not and here we must recommend the use of exFAT whenever possible. Introduced in Windows XP, it is an evolution of FAT that seeks to eliminate the limitations of FAT32, albeit without introducing all the enhancements present in NTFS, which is generally used in Windows for external storage.

The main advantage of exFAT over its predecessor is it remove storage restrictionswhich is capable of creating larger partitions and gives the ability to store files larger than 4 GB without losing one of the excellent features of FAT, read and write speed.

Like FAT32, exFAT It is ideal for use on flash drives and external drives in general., with special mention of devices with a capacity of more than 16 GB. The great advantage of FAT32 is that it offers greater and better compatibility with a wider range of devices (especially older ones) as well as other platforms, as these disks work on Linux, macOS, Android or other alternative systems such as FreeBSD.

Summary: FAT32 should only be used for compatibility reasons where exFAT will not work. Even so, it is still very useful in some scenarios.