Can you format a 128GB SD card to FAT32? Don't worry if you are unable to format a 128GB SD card, USB, or external hard drive to FAT32 using Windows built-in formatting tools. On this page, you will find the best FAT32 format tool - Qiling Partition Master with detailed steps to format SD card to FAT32 within only 3 steps.
"A few months ago, I bought a SanDisk 128GB SDXC card and formatted it to exFAT for my Android phone. And now I want to format it to FAT32 so I can use it as just a storage device. But the problem is that Windows only allows me to format it to is NTFS. So, I was wondering that if it is possible to format 128GB SD card to FAT32. If yes, how can I do it?"
As a storage device, SD card is available in various capacities ranging from a few MBs to a few GBs. SD cards of larger capacities usually use a format that differs from the cards of smaller capacities by default:
Due to the max size limit of FAT32 (32GB), the Windows disk management tool, the DiskPart format command, and many third-party SD card FAT23 format tools will format cards below 32GB as FAT32, and cards that are above 32GB as exFAT or NTFS.
As a result, many people may run into problems, such as "Cannot format 64GB SD card to FAT32" or "Unable to format 128GB SD card to FAT32", when they need to convert the file system of the high capacity SD cards (larger than 32GB) to FAT32 so as to be supported by certain devices.
If you are having the same question of "how do I format a 128GB SD card to FAT32", stay here. The best FAT32 format tool is ready here for you to download and apply the utility to format your 128GB, 256GB, and even 512GB SD card to FAT32 with ease.
Here the reliable FAT32 formatting tool we would like to recommend you try is Qiling Partition Master, a partition software tool with advanced Format feature.
This software allows you to flexibly format disk partition/USB flash drive/SD card (smaller and larger than 32GB) to FAT32, NTFS or EXT2/EXT3/EXT4. Besides, you can also directly convert FAT32 to NTFS without formatting using Qiling Partition Master.
Some of you may wonder why does Qiling Partition Master can format a bigger storage device (more than 32GB) to FAT32. Qiling formatting tool perfectly bypasses the format limitation of FAT32 with its advanced formatting algorithm, while the Windows Disk Management and other third-party SD card format software tools cannot.
Note that any formatting operation may cause data loss. Therefore, always remember to back up valuable data before you start formatting.
Insert your SD card to your computer, download and apply this tool to format your 128GB SD card to FAT32 with the following 4 steps:
Step 1. Launch Qiling Partition Master, right-click the partition you intend to format and choose "Format".
Step 2. In the new window, enter the Partition label, choose the FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4 file system, and set the cluster size according to your needs, then click "Proceed".
Step 3. Then you will see a warning window, click "OK" in it to start formatting the partition to FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4.
On this page, you've found the best SD card FAT32 formatting tool - Qiling Partition Master to break the limit of FAT32, formatting SD card bigger than 32GB to FAT32 with ease.
Besides formatting 64GB, 128GB SD card to FAT32, you may also apply this software to format big USB or external hard drive to FAT32, exFAT32, and even NTFS without any issues.
If you have further questions on SD card formatting, check and find answers from the following SD card FAT32 formatting FAQs:
1. How do I format a 256GB SD card to FAT32?
Being it similar to format 64GB or 128GB SD card to FAT32, you cannot use Windows Disk Management or Diskpart formatting command to change the default file system of a 256GB SD to FAT32.
Due to the 32GB size limit of FAT32, you will have to apply a third-party advanced FAT32 formatting tool like Qiling Partition Master for help. To gain a secure formatting process, remember to back up all essential data before you start formatting to FAT32 using this software. The process is the same as displayed above on this page:
Step 1. Connect SD card and run Qiling Partition Master.
Step 2. Launch Qiling Partition Master, right-click the 256GB SD card and select "Format".
Step 3. Reset the file system of the SD card as FAT32. Then click "Proceed" to finish the formatting.
2. How do I convert exFAT to FAT32?
In many cases, you have an SD card, external hard drive, USB flash drive, pen drive, or some other devices with exFAT, but you need to convert it to FAT32 for specific reasons. To protect your data, you should first back up all important data on your device to another secure location first.
Then you can apply Qiling exFAT32 to FAT32 Converter, Disk Management, or CMD command line to convert exFAT device to FAT32 with ease. For more details, you may refer to Convert exFAT to FAT32 for help.
3. How do I format a 128GB USB to FAT32 in Windows 10?
Usually, if you want to format a USB flash drive in Windows, you just need to right-click it and choose Format option. By default, the Windows disk management tool will format USB flash drives below 32GB as FAT32 and USB flash drives that are above 32GB as exFAT or NTFS.
As a result, you cannot directly format a USB flash drive larger than 32GB in Windows. Fortunately, there is a third-party FAT32 format tool that can help. For more details, see also: How to Format 128GB USB Flash Drive to FAT32.