Windows 11 update to remove FAT32 partition size limit after nearly 3 decades

Microsoft is set to remove the 32GB size limit for FAT32 partitions in Windows 11, a restriction that has been in place for nearly 30 years. This change will allow users to format FAT32 volumes up to 2TB in size directly from the command line.

The Windows team announced the update in a blog post detailing the latest Windows 11 Canary test build, stating, "When formatting disks from the command line using the format command, we've increased the FAT32 size limit from 32GB to 2TB." However, this change currently applies only to the command line format tool. The existing format dialog box in the Windows interface will still display the 32GB limit until Microsoft decides to update it.

The 32GB limit was originally implemented during the development of Windows 95, over three decades ago. Former Windows developer Dave Plummer, who was responsible for creating the format dialog box, revealed earlier this year that the 32GB limit was a decision made at the time. "I also had to decide how much 'cluster slack' would be too much, and that wound up constraining the format size of a FAT volume to 32GB," Plummer explained in a post on X. He added that this limit, set in the early days of Windows, has persisted as a "permanent side effect."

While Windows has long been capable of reading FAT32 partitions up to 2TB, users have been unable to create such large partitions within the OS without resorting to third-party tools until now.