Microsoft Windows Increases FAT32 Partition Size Limit From 32GB To 2TB After 30 Years

To illustrate how fast technology advances compared to the human lifespan, technology matures a lot faster.

Sometimes, the metaphor of saying one year in technology can feel like five to ten human years due to the rapid pace of innovation, obsolescence, and advancements. For the many people who grew up with technology, it's evident how quickly things can change in the tech world.

But sometimes, not everything advances as quickly.

And Microsoft FAT32 partition system is one of them.

After 28 years, Microsoft is finally addressing its long-forgotten feature, by increasing its size from 32GB (gigabytes) To 2TB (terabytes).

FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32) is a file system that was introduced by Microsoft in 1996 as part of Windows 95 OSR2.

It's an evolution of the earlier FAT16 file system and was designed to address some of its limitations.

FAT32 is a way of organizing and managing files on storage devices like hard drives, USB flash drives, and SD cards. One of its biggest advantages is its widespread compatibility, and that it works across various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and many devices like cameras, gaming consoles, and media players.

While FAT itself supports volumes up to 2TB, Windows has had a 32GB arbitrary limit in place for nearly 30 years, just for stability and performance reasons.

What this means, Windows only allows FAT32 to be able to handle individual files up to 4GB in size.

This is where FAT32 is starting to see its biggest limitation, especially when compared to modern file systems like NTFS or exFAT.

Windows keeps FAT32 despite its age, knowing that it's still a widely used file system format that prioritizes broad compatibility over handling large files or volumes efficiently.

But in the modern days of technology, where files that are gigabytes in size are already common, Microsoft has no choice but to keep FAT32, but ramp it up to 2TB like it was originally intended.

Initially, according to a post on Microsoft, the increase is introduced in Windows 11 Insider Canary Preview Build, and that it's only available through the command line.

There are reasons why Microsoft somehow neglected FAT32.

First of, FAT32 is no longer widely used.

FAT32’s primary strength was its broad compatibility across different operating systems and devices, which made it a good choice for external storage. When FAT32 was particularly useful for removable media where simplicity and compatibility were more important than advanced features, Microsoft had little incentive to upgrade it.

This changed, when SD cards have mostly moved to exFAT.

FAT32 only remains relevant for devices that don’t require the same level of sophistication, like smaller USB drives or memory cards, where simplicity and cross-platform support are prioritized.

Second, Microsoft allegedly kept the 32GB limit for years and not upgrading it due to its attempt to push the adoption of the company’s NTFS format.

NTFS was quickly gaining its pace after it was introduced with Windows NT.

Since it became the default for modern Windows systems, users quickly found superior performance, security features, and support for larger files and partitions compared to FAT32. NTFS also offers more advanced features like file encryption, disk quotas, and journaling, making it better suited for internal drives on modern computers.

As a result of this, Microsoft even had no need to promote NTFS.

So here, Microsoft move to increase the size of the partition system, is more about making amends.