How to Create FAT32 Partition on an External Hard Drive

Quick Answer: How to Create a FAT32 Partition on an External Hard Drive?

To create a FAT32 partition on an external hard drive, use MiniTool Partition Wizard if the partition is larger than 32GB or if you need to resize an existing partition first.

Windows Disk Management can create or format FAT32 partitions only when the target partition is 32GB or smaller.

• Create a new FAT32 partition: Use unallocated space on the external drive.
• Reformat external hard drive to FAT32: Formatting erases data on the target partition, so back up files first.
• Convert to FAT32: Convert an NTFS partition without formatting via MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro or a higher edition.

Why to Create a FAT32 Partition

Short answer: You mainly need a FAT32 partition for compatibility—with older Windows versions, USB flash drives, and game consoles such as PS3, PS4, and Xbox, which don’t support NTFS or exFAT.

FAT32 is an old file system which is used to replace the older FAT 16 file system. FAT32 file system defines each cluster as 4KB which can make full use of disk space. But compared to NTFS, FAT32 has a limitation that it can only support up to 4GB single file. Nevertheless, sometimes you need to create a FAT32 partition in the following three situations.

1. FAT32 only can be used in some earlier Windows operating systems, such as Win 95, Win98.
2. Besides, in USB flash drives and other portable external drives, it is FAT32 format by default.
3. Moreover, some old game consoles only support FAT32 format, for example, PS3 and PS4.

In such cases, you need to set your drive as FAT32 to be compatible with those operating systems and consoles.

FAT32 vs NTFS vs exFAT: Which Should You Choose?

If your device supports exFAT or NTFS, these formats bypass FAT32’s 4GB file-size limit. Use FAT32 only if the target device—such as an older OS or a game console—specifically requires it.

How to Create FAT32 Partition on External Hard Drive

Method 1. Create a FAT32 Partition with MiniTool Partition Wizard

If you need to create a FAT32 partition on an external hard drive larger than 32 GB, Windows Disk Management may not offer FAT32 as a formatting option.

MiniTool Partition Wizard removes the limit that Windows’ built-in tools have, letting you create a FAT32 partition, format an existing partition as FAT32, or convert NTFS to FAT32 on Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

1.Unallocated Space Is on Your External Hard Drive

Step 1: Launch this partition manager and go to main interface. If there is some unallocated space at the beginning of your external HD, you can use its “Create Partition” feature by clicking it in “Operations” after you choose a target partition. Or right click the target partition to select “Create”.

Step 2: During the process, you can choose FAT32 as the file system. Click “OK” to continue.

Step 3: Then click “Apply” to perform the operations.

2. No Unallocated Space on External Hard Drive

Step 1. If there is no unallocated space on your external hard drive, you can take some free space by resizing partition and then create a FAT32 partition according to the above steps.

Step 2. In addition, you can also convert to FAT32 from a NTFS partition to achieve aim. This way is fast and convenient for you, and won’t cause any data loss. Please do this operation with its “Convert NTFS to FAT” feature.

Method 2. Create a FAT32 Partition with Windows Disk Management

If you’d rather stick with Windows’ built-in tool for a partition under 32GB, you can also use Disk Management.

A. If there is a new external hard drive, you can easily create a FAT32 partition by using its “New Simple Volume”. During the process of creating the new simple, you can format this volume as FAT32 file system.

B. If there are partitions created in your external hard drive, you can reformat external hard drive to fat32, which can cause all data loss on the target partition.

However, there is still a limitation of Disk Management:

If your partition is larger than 32 GB, this partition tool can’t format partition as FAT32. You can only create/format partition smaller than 32 GB to FAT32 format.

Bottom Line

With MiniTool Partition Wizard, you can create a FAT32 partition on an external hard drive, reformat an existing partition to FAT32, or convert NTFS to FAT32 based on your needs.

Choose the method that best fits your drive and back up important data before making partition or file system changes.