How to Format a 64 GB USB Drive to FAT32: A Step-by-Step Guide

When you need to format your USB drive to FAT32, especially if it's larger than 32GB, things can get a bit tricky. Many users may encounter issues when trying to format their drives directly on Windows, and that's where this article comes in – to provide a step-by-step guide on how to format a 64 GB USB drive to FAT32 using a third-party program.

The default allocation size for formatting a USB drive is usually set at 32768 bytes (32K), which can be problematic when dealing with larger drives. For instance, if you have a 64GB USB stick, it's actually only 63GB due to the way sizes are measured in computing. This discrepancy can cause issues when trying to format your drive directly on Windows.

To overcome this limitation, we recommend using a third-party program specifically designed for formatting USB drives to FAT32. These programs allow you to set the allocation size according to the size of your drive, ensuring that your data is properly formatted and accessible.

When choosing a program to help you with formatting, consider one that offers user-friendly interface and adjustable settings. You can find many free programs available online that cater specifically to this task. For example, we've found a nice little freeware program that allows us to easily format our USB sticks of different sizes to FAT32.

Before formatting your drive, make sure to check the size of your USB stick accurately. This is important because Windows does not support formatting drives larger than 32GB in FAT32 by default. To ensure proper formatting, you can refer to a chart that provides allocation size guidelines for different drive sizes.

For instance, according to the chart we used, for drives ranging from 4GB to 127GB, an allocation size of 65536 bytes (64K) is recommended. This ensures that your data is properly formatted and accessible on both Windows and other operating systems.

By following these simple steps and using a reliable third-party program, you can easily format your 64 GB USB drive to FAT32, making it compatible with a wider range of devices and operating systems.

How to format usb drive to fat32 64 gb