If you’ve ever tried to copy a file larger than 4GB to a USB drive, you may have encountered an error message. This is due to the FAT32 file system, which is commonly used on USB drives and has a maximum file size limit of 4GB. In this article, we will discuss how to overcome this limitation.
To copy files larger than 4GB to a USB drive, you have two options. The first is to reformat the USB drive with a file system that supports larger file sizes, such as exFAT or NTFS. The second option is to split the file into smaller parts using an archive manager or the command line.
Understanding File Systems
Before proceeding, it’s important to understand what a file system is. A file system controls how data is stored and retrieved on a storage device. Different file systems have different capabilities and limitations. FAT32, for example, is widely used due to its compatibility with virtually all operating systems, but it has a maximum file size limit of 4GB.
Solution 1: Reformatting the USB Drive
One way to copy files larger than 4GB to a USB drive is to reformat the drive with a file system that supports larger file sizes. The two most common options are exFAT and NTFS.
exFAT is a file system introduced by Microsoft, which is like a more modern version of FAT32 without the 4GB file size limit. It is compatible with almost all operating systems, making it a good choice for most users.
NTFS, also developed by Microsoft, supports very large file sizes and also includes other features like file permissions and system-level encryption. However, while NTFS is read/write compatible with Windows, it is read-only on macOS by default.
To reformat your USB drive:
- Back up any data on the drive, as reformatting will erase all data.
- On Windows, right-click the drive in File Explorer, select “Format…”, choose either exFAT or NTFS under “File system”, and click “Start”.
- On macOS, open Disk Utility, select the drive, click “Erase”, choose either exFAT or “Windows NT Filesystem” for NTFS, and click “Erase”.
Solution 2: Splitting the File into Smaller Parts
If you don’t want to or can’t reformat the USB drive, another solution is to split the large file into smaller parts using an archive manager like 7-Zip or WinRAR, or using the command line.
Here’s how to do it using the split command in a Linux or macOS terminal:
split -b4294967295 /path/to/input.file /path/to/pen/drive/output.file.This command splits the input file into parts that are each 4GB or smaller. The -b option specifies the maximum size of each part. In this case, 4294967295 is the maximum number of bytes in a 4GB file.
To reassemble the parts into the original file, you can use the cat command:
cat /path/to/pen/drive/output.file.* > /path/to/original/fileThis command concatenates all the parts back into the original file. The * is a wildcard that matches all parts of the split file.
Conclusion
Copying files larger than 4GB to a USB drive can be a challenge due to the limitations of the FAT32 file system. However, by reformatting the drive to a file system that supports larger file sizes, or by splitting the file into smaller parts, you can easily overcome this limitation. Always remember to back up your data before reformatting, and ensure the file system you choose is compatible with the operating system you intend to use the drive with.
The maximum file size limit for the FAT32 file system is 4GB.
The two file systems that support larger file sizes than FAT32 are exFAT and NTFS.
NTFS is read/write compatible with Windows and read-only on macOS by default.
On Windows, you can right-click the drive in File Explorer, select "Format…", choose either exFAT or NTFS under "File system", and click "Start". On macOS, you can open Disk Utility, select the drive, click "Erase", choose either exFAT or "Windows NT Filesystem" for NTFS, and click "Erase".
Yes, you can split a large file into smaller parts using an archive manager like 7-Zip or WinRAR, or using the command line.
You can use the split command in a Linux or macOS terminal. The command would look like this: split -b4294967295 /path/to/input.file /path/to/pen/drive/output.file.. This will split the file into parts that are each 4GB or smaller.
You can use the cat command in a Linux or macOS terminal. The command would look like this: cat /path/to/pen/drive/output.file.* > /path/to/original/file. This will concatenate all the parts back into the original file.
