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Questions tagged [exfat]

158 questions
193
votes
9 answers

Why should I use exFAT over NTFS on removable media?

So, basically I always format my removable mass storage devices as NTFS by default, but someone told me I was better off using exFAT. Now I've been looking around google, but can't find any good reasons why I should. Is there anything that exFAT…
Pylsa
  • 31,383
46
votes
16 answers

Getting around the FAT32 4 GB file size limit

I recently purchased a 32 GB USB 3 stick that was formatted with FAT32. I plugged it into my computer and attempted to copy a video file onto it. The file was over 4 GB however and it would not let me copy the file across because of the 4 GB file…
Aesir
  • 574
43
votes
6 answers

Is it best to reformat the hard drive to exFAT using 512kb chunk, or smaller or bigger chunks?

I can reformat a brand new 2TB WD Passport drive to exFAT, with choice of many "Allocation Unit Size": 128kb 256kb 512kb 1024kb 4096kb 16384kb 32768kb which one is best if this drive is mainly used for recording HDTV programs using Media Center on…
nonopolarity
  • 9,886
42
votes
4 answers

Which Name Is Correct, exFAT or FAT64?

I conducted a quick Google search and realized that some people are referring to exFAT as FAT64. Is exFAT just another name for FAT64?
user577910
32
votes
6 answers

Shrink exFAT partition

Is there any way to shrink an exFAT partition? The windows disk manager has the "Shrink" option greyed out.
Fake Name
  • 2,609
28
votes
5 answers

Convert NTFS volume to exFAT (without losing contents)

I have a 500GB external hard disk which I use mostly for storing movies/music and some backup. Since I have some rather large files I use NTFS on it, but don't need the security/compression/encryption features. I recently read about exFAT and as far…
user4072
28
votes
2 answers

Why is exFAT's default allocation size in Windows so high?

Referencing this page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/140365 NTFS doesn't go over 4KB cluster size until the volume goes over 16TB, and FAT32 maxes out at 16KB in the 16GB–32GB volume range on modern versions of Windows. exFAT however only…
InsanityOnABun
  • 391
21
votes
3 answers

How to open exFAT SSD in Ubuntu 12.04?

I have some files on my SSD and I want to put them on my Ubuntu 12.04(64bit) desktop , but Ubuntu cannot open the exFAT SSD when I connect it via USB. How can I make it work?
mugetsu
  • 471
19
votes
3 answers

Please explain wasted space on an exFAT formatted external hard drive

I recently bought a 750 GB 2.5" hard drive and put it in an external enclosure. It has Advanced Format Technology (AFT), but I use Windows 7, so I assumed I would be safe. I decided to try exFAT, because I was enticed by the reduced overhead For…
JohnB
  • 1,305
19
votes
2 answers

Does or will exFAT support symlinks?

I've just acquired a brand new laptop. Did split my ssd in 3 partitions, one for win7, one for macOSX and one shared data partition. I chose exFAT for this partition, but i did not find how to create symlinks on it. With win7 mklink won't work. Any…
Olivier
  • 1,549
18
votes
3 answers

Check the cluster size of an exFAT drive on Windows

How do I check the cluster/allocation size of an exFAT drive on Windows?
woojoo666
  • 411
17
votes
8 answers

Which file system to use for a large (1 TB) external hard drive?

I've got a 1 TB hard disk drive which is currently formatted as NTFS. I've recently learned about exFAT. I'm connecting this drive via USB. Which filesystem should I use for this large hard disk drive and why? (I know exFAT requires a patch on…
RomanSt
  • 9,959
16
votes
1 answer

chmod'ing file on exFAT

Is it possible to chmod a file on an exFAT formatted drive? I'm on Mac OS X and I would like to set the permissions to not be 777. Is this possible? What I'm really trying to do is set the permissions of an SSH key on a exFAT flash drive to be 600.…
bswinnerton
  • 531
13
votes
2 answers

Disable automatic fsck_exfat on dirty volume mount in Mac OSX

I've several large hard disks formatted in exFAT to keep clean compatibility between Win7/Bootcamp and Snow Leopard. Here's the problem: fsck_exfat needs something like 6-8gb of RAM to complete on a large disk. (windows' chkdsk works fine, btw). If…
Tom Corelis
  • 403
13
votes
4 answers

UEFI exFAT partition?

Is it possible to boot from UEFI on an exFAT partition? I've been reading that it should be FAT32 and not NTFS, however I was able to boot SteamOS from an exFAT formatted USB - notably with errors... but it did seem to error. I ask to exclude the…
Alex KeySmith
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