How to Format to FAT32 on Windows 11 [Free]

What is FAT32?

Before figuring out how to format FAT32 in Windows 11, we should understand what is FAT32. The FAT32 format means that the file allocation table is a disk file management format that uses 32-bit binary number record management. Because the core of the FAT file system is the file allocation table, the name is derived from it.

The advantage of the FAT32 format is that it has good stability and compatibility, and is easy to maintain. The disadvantage is that the security is poor, and only supports up to 32 GB partitions, and a single file supports up to 4 GB.

Why format to FAT32 in Windows 11?

If you want to take full advantage of an external hard drive, your best choice is to format it as a FAT32 file system. Why? Because if you have an NTFS external hard drive, you can only apply it to Windows OS. If you have an HFS+ external hard drive, you can only apply it to macOS. However, if you have a FAT32 external storage drive, the result will be completely different. Because both Windows OS and macOS can easily recognize FAT32. In addition, PlayStation 3/4/5 only supports exFAT and FAT32 file system.

So, no matter what purpose you want to format the internal hard drive or external hard drive as FAT32, the methods I provide can solve it for you. Please see how to format hard drive to FAT32 in Windows 11.

How to format to FAT32 in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7

There are two formatting methods you can use, one is the Windows 11 built-in tool Disk Management, and the other is using a third-party utility, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. But before you start formatting, please note that any formatting method will delete the data on the device, so please make a backup in advance.

▶ Method 1. Format drive to FAT32 with Disk Management

Be extra careful when using Disk Management, because incorrect operations or operating errors may cause you to lose partitions.

Step 1. Click the Search icon on the Windows 11 desktop and enter Create and format hard disk. Then, open it.

Step 2. In the Disk Management window, you can see all the hard disks on the computer. Right-click and select the partition and click “Format”. Then select “FAT32” from the drop-down menu. Then click “OK”.

Note: Disk management cannot format a storage device larger than 32 GB to FAT32.

▶ Method 2. Format drive to FAT32 via free format software (hot)

So how to format a larger drive to FAT32 format in Windows 11? Here, I recommend you to use the free formatting software AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. It allows you to easily format hard drives of any size into common file systems such as FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, etc. in Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10/11.

In addition, it can directly Convert File System between FAT32 and NTFS without data loss. Next, I will show how to format FAT32 in Windows 11 step by step.

★Tips:

 After switching to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can try more advanced features, like deleting large files to free up space, moving applications from one drive to another, migrating Windows 11 to SSD, recovering lost data, allocating free space, etc.

 If you are running Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2008, and 2003, please turn to Server Edition, which is designed for Windows Server users.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. Right-click the hard drive and select the “Format Partition” option.

Step 2. Choose “FAT32” in the File System drop-down menu. You can also change Cluster Size, and Partition Label on this window.

Step 3. Back to the main interface, click “Apply” to commit the pending operation.

Bottom line

Do you see it? This article shows you how to format FAT32 in Windows 11 in two ways. It is not difficult to format a partition or drive as FAT32 on a PC. But you need to choose the right method. Although Disk Management comes with Windows 11, it has obvious flaws. The AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard can just make up for the lack of Disk Management. As long as the hard drive can be detected by the computer, it can be formatted as exFAT, NTFS, FAT32, and more.