What Is The Maximum Partition Size In Fat32??

Black_Pride

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What is the biggest partition size I can make in FAT32?

EXAMPLES:


I have installed XP on a 20 GIG HD and been given BOTH the FAT32 or NTFS options by the XP setup program.

I have installed XP on a 32 GIG HD and been given BOTH the FAT32 or NTFS option by the XP setup program.

I have installed XP on a 60 GIG HD and been given ONLY the NTFS option by the XP setup program. (this one threw me off because I didnt want to use NTFS but I had no choice!!)


So what is the maximum size partition that FAT32 can create??


ANYONE??
 
XP only supports the creation of Fat partitions no larger than 32 gig. However, you can create any size partition you like in ntfs and then use Partition Magic to convert back to fat if you like.
 
Or you can use FDISK to create any size FAT partrion you want. WinXP can not create a partion larger than 32 gigs but it will recognize an existing partion of any size
 
The XP limit of 32 GB is just to make people use NTFS instead (and you should!). If i remember correctly the theoretical size limit of FAT32 is 2 TB.
 
dadx - Don't believe that's true. While you can use fdisk to create a larger fat partition, when you get into XP I believe it will on recognize 32 gig of it.
 
allan cant say that I have done it so maybe I am wrong but I have two friends who claim to have FAT 32 partions of 40 gigs and they claim they are recognized as such in XP Pro.
 
Okay - here's the issue. You can create a partition of any size (up to 2 TByte), but if you format it with the FAT32 file system in XP (even at a command prompt) it will only format up to 32 gig. In other words, if you have an 80 gig HD and use Fdisk to create 2 40 gig partitions and then format using FAT32, XP will see two 32 gig partitions and the remaining 16 gig will be unformatted.

However, if you have a large FAT partition created and formatted before installing XP (ie, from a prior Win98 installation), then XP will see it and use it.
 
You can Fomat a drive larger than 32gb to FAT32 in win 98/ME, then just install XP on it, it will recognise the full size of the disk then.

Do you have a friend with WIN98 ? just stick your hard drive into their computer format it put it back in yours then install XP onto it

Its the simplest way and the most reliable..


And why does it say XP home under my name when i have XP pro? Anyone???
 
Hi Narciccus,
you have to alter your profile to show that you have Pro
 
Ive tried that Dirk... but i cant see anywhere i could put it!
 
Win not just use a boot disk to create AND format the large drive?!?

If 98 does it A boot disk must surley...
 
you can put fat32 on just about any drive. i formatted my 75 GB drive under fat32 and it worked fine. then again, i formatted it under my win2k OS though, not XP.
 
Hi Narciccus,

click "User CP"
Click "Edit Profile"
type what ever you want in the box called "New Title"
Then click "Submit Modifications"
 
Originally posted by Dirk Diggler
Hi Narciccus,

click "User CP"
Click "Edit Profile"
type what ever you want in the box called "New Title"
Then click "Submit Modifications"
You need at least 10 post before you can change the title under/above (where ever it is) your avatar.
 
Originally posted by Narciccus

And why does it say XP home under my name when i have XP pro? Anyone???
Originally posted by MiseryQ aka InvisibleMan
Are you guys in the wrong Thread?!?

Nope ^^^ see above
 
I currently have 2 80GB drives formatted in FAT32 and are both recognised in WIN XP Pro.

To use FAT32 do the following.
Make a boot disk using Windows 98/ME (get a friend to make one for you if you cannot do this), copy onto another floppy disk the format command from the windows/command directory.

Start your computer using the boot disk made from Windows 98/ME, run fdisk to create partitions then insert the second floppy disk containing the format command and format the drive(s).

Then install Windows XP & choose FAT32, when installed Win XP recognises the partitions ok.
 
Correct. We did establish that you can format any disk to any size in Fat32 using a non-xp boot disk (ie, Win 98)
 

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