Good news for users who need to format FAT32 hard disk partitions. Microsoft has recently announced that it will remove the 32 GB limit for FAT32 partitions in Windows 11, lifting this limit to 2 TB in the latest versions of the Windows 11 operating system.
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As a brief passage through the history of the Windows operating system, I tell you that this change comes after almost 30 years in which Windows users have been restricted by an arbitrary limit of 32 GB, initially introduced during Windows 95 development. This limitation was initially imposed by a former Windows developer, Dave Plummer, which was an arbitration. of the time, especially related to "cluster slack" (inefficiency caused by the size of the clusters on large volumes).
Even with this limitation, the Windows operating system was able to read FAT32 partitions up to 2 TB, but creating such a partition directly in the operating system was not possible without the use of external software (third applications).
Related: How to format FAT32 a USB Drive (USB Stick) larger than 32GB on Windows 10
Why is it important to eliminate 32 GB limit for FAT32 partitions in Windows 11
Eliminating the 32 GB limit for FAT32 partitions in Windows 11 is a big advantage for users still depending on FAT32, especially in older devices that require this file system.
Although Microsoft is eliminated this limitation, the FAT32 partitions will be little used, as the limit of 4 GB is still maintained for the maximum individual file size. Certainly, this aspect makes Fat32 less attractive compared to other file systems, such as excavable, which do not have these restrictions.
What is FAT32 and why was the 32 GB limit imposed?
FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32) is a file system developed by Microsoft in 1996, which was popular due to its wide compatibility with a wide range of operating devices and systems, including Linux. Although Fat32 can manage volumes of up to 8 TB, in general practice and especially on Windows, there was an artificial limitation that did not allow partitions larger than 32 GB without using third tools. This limit was not imposed by the technical capacity, but by a decision taken during development.
It is important to mention the fact that at the moment there is no fat32 partition greater than 32 GB of the Windows 11 (UI) interface, but only by command lines executed in Command Prompt.
