How to use an external USB drive with a DVD player or breaking the FAT32-32GB limit.

Starting with Windows 2000 you can’t format FAT32 partitions larger then 32GB.

The problem does not stem from a limitation of the FAT32 design or implementation(FAT32 partitions can reach 2TB in size and each single file can reach 4GB in size) instead it stems from Microsoft’s high handed patriarchal decision to limit partitions to a 32GB maximum size.

The original idea was probably to encourage users to move to the more robust and secure NTFS file system.

Alas Microsoft failed to appreciate how successful their file system turned out to be. Today most devices and operating systems support the FAT file system. This is not necessarily true for FAT’s younger sister NTFS.

So what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that if you want to use a new USB disk, which is likely to be much bigger then 32GB and you are the proud owner of a Windows OS produced in the past 10 years and you want to copy your “home movies” and play them on your new DVD player, Microsoft says: No, No, No…

Yes I’ve been bad but…

The official solution is to boot from a Windows 98 floppy and format the drive. But that’s just opening a whole new can of worms.

Fortunately, thanks to other API junkies out there we have much better solutions.

This is the one I used:

http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm

Follow the steps in the above link and you should be good to go.

Just do me a favor and remember to format the right drive J