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I have a microSD card with a FAT16 file partition and I'd like to add some files to it. How can I put files onto the FAT16 partition of a microSD card with Windows 7?

Unfortunately my windows box will not let me edit the FAT16 partition. I can see the files using DiskInternals Linux Reader:

enter image description here

I'd like to write to the FAT 16 Volume 1 (NO NAME) Drive shown on the mid-left. The properties box refers to the Volume 1 58.12Gb Linux native drive. Note, when I try to access the SD card with windows I am initially greeted with this:

You need to format the disk in Drive E: before you can use it

Lee
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2 Answers2

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Windows 7 is supposed to support FAT16 volumes for both read and writes. I have experienced some unexplained oddities, however.

Note that FAT16 volumes can have a maximum of 65,356 files and the volume cannot exceed 4GB. Similarly, each file is limited to a maximum file size of 4GB.

Although this MS TechNet article dates back to Windows XP, it describes the limits to the filesystems, and the differences between them, quite well.

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Windows (even MS-DOS) can write on a FAT16 volume. You are trying to write files on a Linux native partition (as you can see in the picture) and Windows cannot natively read or write on it unless you format it previously to FAT-something or NTFS.

To use the partition from Windows you can:

  1. Backup your files using DiskInternals Linux Reader to your HD, format the partition and recover the files. Then you will be able to add more files.
  2. Install a rw driver for Windows. Read this question to learn more.
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