When your SD Card is larger than 32GB, formatting it to FAT32 may seem difficult. In this article, you can learn how to format SD cards with 32, 64, and 128 GB to FAT32, on Windows and Mac systems.
Let's clarify the FAT32 format's definition first before moving on to how to format an SD card into FAT32. FAT stands for File Allocation Table. The FAT32 system is said to be used to format disks with a storage capacity of less than 32GB.
It was specifically developed for Windows XP Operating systems as it only functions well with drives that have 512-byte sectors. This format is incompatible with CD and DVD drives. It operates on Linux, Mac, game consoles, and all current Windows versions. The FAT32 file format offers attributes such as read-only, hidden, system, volume, directory, and archive.
Without further ado, here is the information you need to know about various methodologies related to formatting SD cards with different storage capacities in FAT32.
Note: Understand more about other file systems like and know the difference between exFAT, NTFS or FAT32 here.
In certain circumstances, a memory card FAT32 conversion may be necessary. However, is it safe to convert an SD card to FAT32 without risking data loss? Yes, it is safe, since manufacturers typically convert different memory cards to the exFAT file system when memory cards are larger than 32GB.
To make the SD card usable, you must format it to FAT32. If you use the SD card for a phone, camera, or other digital devices, the best and most accessible methods for formatting an SD card to FAT32 on Windows 10 or Windows 11 and Mac systems will be suggested in this article.
However, if you are unable to format the SD card on your system, let us understand what might be the cause.
Similar to USB drives, SD cards with 32GB or less of storage are typically formatted in FAT32. However, ExFAT is the default file system for Memory cards with 64GB or 128GB of storage, which are significantly larger. Sometimes, users must format SD cards to FAT32 regardless of their size because of special cases, like the 3Ds SD card, or to get the support of the particular file system.
The Windows study does not address creating a FAT32 partition on a physical device bigger than 32GB due to FAT32 restrictions. Because of this, a USB drive or 64GB memory card cannot be directly formatted to FAT32. So, if you need to format a 64GB SD card to FAT32, what will you do?
Fortunately, there is still a way if you are unable to format your memory card or flash drive to FAT32 using the utility built into Windows and Mac. The techniques and tools mentioned in this article can be used to successfully solve this issue. Read to see how.
Note: Is your SD card unreadable on Mobile Phone or Computer? Learn how to easily fix it without formatting.
Note: Use File Explorer if the memory card is 32 GB or less, and Disk Management is functional if the SD card is 4 GB or less. If that is so, you can try these techniques.
The simplest solution would be to format the memory card to FAT32 using Disk Management, which requires an SD card with a volume of 32GB or less. The graphical user interface of this built-in tool is simple to understand and easy to use and the file systems like NTFS, FAT, FAT32, and exFAT are supported by Windows Disk Management.
This is a potential alternative to Windows disk Management for formatting memory cards to FAT32.
The formatting process starts when you click OK, and you will soon have converted your SD card to the FAT32 format you need.
An easy and quick way to format the memory card to FAT32 is to use Diskpart (for 32GB or smaller). Even if the data on the card is in RAW format, this will still work. Let's see how Diskpart can assist in this case.
This method for formatting a 64 GB microSD card in Windows 10 uses the following syntax:
Fat32 format tool is a free and open source utility that allows you to format a USB device up to 2 TB in size to FAT32. You can use it for Windows-based tools to format a memory card as Fat32.
Download and install the software on your computer, or get their app to use on mobile devices. The 64GB and 128GB SD cards can be formatted to FAT32 using the steps below.
Continue with the actions you have chosen. Use the same procedures as above to format a 64GB Memory card to FAT32 if you're working with one.
Using PowerShell, you can easily format the SD card to FAT 32. You can format both 128GB and 64GB SD cards to FAT32 with the help of PowerShell. You can perform the formatting process without having to download any additional software. Following are the instructions for formatting the SD card to FAT32.
These are some of the methods you can use to format SD cards to FAT32 format on Windows systems, for now, if you’re wondering about doing the same on Mac systems follow the procedure below.
Before going into the specifics of formatting SD cards to FAT32 on a Mac, let's talk about how you should prepare your SD card before performing these steps.
Without further ado, let's look at the two ways to format any SD card or micro SD card on a Mac to FAT32.
You might see your SD card with a partition underneath in the left sidebar. Select the primary card that might bear the brand name, and then double-check that it is the card you want to format by looking at its compatibility and available space.
By following this method, you can easily format your SD card to FAT32 using Disk Utility. If it didn’t format your SD card try the next solution.
Since the command-line interface is less user-friendly than the graphic interface and beginners may make mistakes, the Terminal is typically more recommended for techies. Hence, before you take any action, please read this carefully.
For instance, the command would be as follows if you wanted to format an SD with the name RASPBIAN and the identifier disk 2.
“sudo diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 RASPBIAN MBRFormat /dev/disk2”
Using these methods provided and the in-built tools mentioned, you can easily format the memory cards to FAT32 on a Mac system. You can also use any third-party software to format your SD card but make sure the tools are reliable and trustworthy.
Here is a small comparison between most used file systems for a better understanding
Compatibility | NTFS | FAT32 | 64kb |
Maximum file size | 16 TB | 4 GB | 16 EB (exabytes) |
Max partition size | 256 TB | 2 TB | 128 PB (petabytes) |
Compataiblity | Windows/macOS/Linux | Windows/macOS/Linux | Windows/macOS/Linux |
Maximum cluster size | 64KB | 64kb | 32768kB |
In case, you have lost data after the formatting and wondering how to recover data from formatted SD card if you don’t have a backup, we have got you covered. You can recover data using reliable SD card recovery software like Remo Recover. Here’s how you can recover data from your formatted SD card.
It takes a lot of work to retrieve data from a formatted SD card. The data from the SD card that was alleged to have been formatted actually remains on the card and only becomes inaccessible. Therefore, you need reliable software to find and recover the data from the formatted SD card.
Remo Recover is an effective data recovery program that enables you to easily retrieve all of your important files from a laptop, recycle bin or trash, internal hard drive, and external storage devices like USB drives or SD cards.
Remo Recover can recognize the file system of formatted USB flash drives, formatted SD cards, and other storage devices, allowing it to retrieve your valuable files.
If you are looking to format your SD card to FAT32 for compatibility between hosting devices and SD cards, we hope that after reading this article, you will be able to convert the file system. The article provides comprehensive solutions for formatting the SD card to the FAT32 file system.
In case you have lost data due to accidental formatting or any other causes, use Remo Recover. It provides a complete solution for all your data recovery needs.
You can change your SD card from exFAT to FAT32 using the two reliable options you can either use Windows Explorer, Disk Management, or Command Prompt.
FAT32 is not a file system option when formatting a 256GB drive with Windows Disk Management or File Explorer. In this situation, you can accomplish the formatting by using the FAT32 Format Tool, a third-party open-source SD card format tool.
The Windows operating system does not support creating a FAT32 format on a disk larger than 32GB due to FAT32's limitations. So you can't just format a 64GB memory card or USB flash drive to FAT32 using free methods.
Here’s how you can use an Android device to format a memory card or flash drive:
1. Access your device's Settings menu.
2. Navigate to the Storage menu.
3. Choose Format USB OTG Storage or Format SDTM card.
4. Choose a format as FAT32.
5. Click on Delete All.