In 1996, Microsoft introduced the FAT32 file system as an update to the previous version, FAT16. At the time, Microsoft imposed a limit on the creation of FAT32 partitions, deciding that the maximum partition size would be 32GB. Now, 30 years later, the FAT file system supports partitions of up to 2TB — and Microsoft is finally getting rid of that arbitrary limit from Windows 95 OSR 2.
FAT32, which stands for the 32-bit version of Microsoft’s file allocation system, is far from the go-to option in Windows. NTFS is what most people use, and exFAT is there to fill in for many other use cases. Overshadowed by its two more widely used rivals, FAT32 managed to slip under the radar for 30 years.
The maximum file size FAT32 supports is 4GB, and that’s fine — it’s the maximum partition size of 32GB that’s been a problem. Microsoft broke the news that it’s finally addressing the issue in the upcoming Windows Insider build. The maximum partition size will now be the same as what FAT has already supported for years: 2TB.
I wrote this Format dialog back on a rainy Thursday morning at Microsoft in late 1994, I think it was.
We were porting the bajillion lines of code from the Windows95 user interface over to NT, and Format was just one of those areas where WindowsNT was different enough from… pic.twitter.com/PbrhQe0n3K
— Dave W Plummer (@davepl1968) March 24, 2024
As The Verge notes, even though the limit is being removed, it’s still going to be there in the format dialog box. Microsoft might have to take care of that one day, too. As the publication spotted, the developer who worked on FAT32 all the way back in 1994 took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his process a few months ago.
Dave Plummer, a former Microsoft developer, said that he came up with both the 32GB limit and the format dialog box as a temporary choice. “That was some 30 years ago, and the dialog is still my temporary one from that Thursday morning, so be careful about checking in ‘temporary’ solutions,” said Plummer.
With NTFS and exFAT both being an option, it’s less of a surprise that Microsoft managed to leave FAT32 as is for nearly 30 years. But there are benefits to FAT32, which made the limitations all the more annoying for those who needed to use it. It has the best compatibility of all available file systems. While exFAT and NTFS are more widely used and support bigger file and partition sizes, FAT32 is highly compatible across different operating systems and devices, such as all versions of Windows, macOS, and Linux, and many embedded systems like USB drives and SD cards. It’s what you’d often use to share a drive between a Mac and a Windows PC, so it’s good to see it finally being addressed, even if it’s likely at least two decades too late.
