I'm not very experienced with computers, so I'd appreciate a simple explanation. I bought a 128 GB Lexar flash drive and need to copy six files onto it, with each file being roughly 4–10 GB. It looks like the drive is formatted as FAT32, which has a limit of about 4 GB per individual file. Do I need a different USB drive, or can I reformat this one without editing the files? I'm using Windows 11.
3 Answers
A quick format is fine here as long as the drive isn’t showing signs of failure. The important part is selecting exFAT rather than FAT32. MBR versus GPT is unrelated to the individual file-size limit; that choice concerns partition layout and boot or storage compatibility, not whether a 10 GB file can fit.
You don’t need a different drive. FAT32 is the problem because it cannot store a single file larger than about 4 GB. Reformat the flash drive as exFAT or NTFS, and it will support files much larger than yours. Be sure to copy anything currently on the drive somewhere safe first, because formatting erases everything.
For a USB flash drive, exFAT is usually the best choice. It supports very large files and works with Windows, macOS, and many newer devices. NTFS also supports large files, but it can be less compatible with TVs, game consoles, cameras, and other non-Windows hardware. In Windows 11, right-click the drive in File Explorer, choose Format, select exFAT, and start the format after backing up its contents.
So exFAT is generally the better option than NTFS for a portable USB drive, unless I only plan to use it with Windows?