Content
FAT32 is a widely used file system for computers of all shapes and sizes. FAT32 has many advantages over other known file systems; almost any operating system is capable of writing and reading to it and it does not have a built-in security system for ease of use. While FAT32 is widely supported, it is not often set as the default format on most machines. Computers with the Windows operating system use the NTFS system as standard, Linux generally the Ext4 system and Apple machines use the HFS Plus system. When using external drives with different systems, it can be an advantage to format the drive in the FAT32 file format. Formatting a drive is a fairly straightforward process. If you buy an external hard drive, it is usually NTFS formatted, but that is easy to change. Formatting is easiest done via Windows Explorer, but is also possible via the command prompt. This offers a little more flexibility, but also leaves more room for errors and is a lot more time-consuming. If you still want to use this method, follow the steps below.
To step
Make a backup of any data you want to keep. Formatting a hard drive will completely delete all data on it. Move the files you want to keep to another drive or computer. 
Open the command prompt. Hold down the "Start" key and then press the "r", or click the "Start" button, and select "Run." Then type "cmd" in the dialog box. This will then open the command prompt window. 
Enter the command for formatting. In the command window, type the following command: "format / FS: FAT32 X:" replace the letter "X" with the letter of the external hard drive (this can be found via Windows explorer). 
Press Enter to confirm. Windows warns you that all data on the drive will be erased by formatting it. Type "Y" to confirm that you want to proceed. Wait for the format to finish before removing the external drive; the time required for this depends on the size of the disk.
Method 1 of 1: Formatting an external drive to FAT32 in Mac OS X
- Open the Disk Utility application. Start by opening the Finder window and click "Applications" in the left pane. Scroll down until you see the "Disk Utility" icon and double click on it to start the application.
- Select the external hard drive you want to format. In the left panel, select this drive by clicking on it. Click the "Erase" button in the right pane to open a dialog box with formatting options.
- Format the drive to FAT32. In the drop-down menu that now appears, select "FAT32". Click on "Erase" to start formatting. Wait for this process to complete before removing or attempting to use the disc.
Tips
- If you are having trouble formatting a large hard disk to FAT32 with the standard program, you can also try the SwissKnife program that offers you the option to format larger volumes.
- Note that most operating systems by default format USB sticks with FAT32. Since USB sticks are used so much for fast data sharing between computers, the FAT32 system is best in this case.
Necessities
- Computer
- External hard drive
