I'm curious about the differences between formatting a USB stick to FAT32 using the built-in Windows tools versus using Rufus. We've noticed that our copiers and printers have trouble recognizing USB drives formatted with Windows FAT32, but those formatted with Rufus work perfectly. What could be causing this difference? By the way, the USB drive's type (2.0 or 3.0) or storage size doesn't seem to impact the issue.
2 Answers
Yeah, I’ve run into this too! Even if you’re using FAT32 in both cases, the way Rufus formats the drive can sometimes make it more compatible with older printers and copiers. It could be the way Rufus sets up the partition table or other file system parameters that makes a difference. It's worth checking the settings Rufus uses compared to the default settings in Windows.
It sounds like you might be dealing with different partitioning methods. When you format a USB stick using Windows, make sure it’s using an MBR (Master Boot Record) partitioning scheme. Windows might automatically create a GPT (GUID Partition Table) if certain conditions are met, which older devices won’t recognize. Have you checked that in the Disk Management Console? That could explain why your printers struggle with the USB formatted in Windows.
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