1. Exfat Vs Fat32 Mac And Windows
2. Exfat Vs Fat32 For Mac

This page covers the complete process of converting exFAT to FAT32 on your storage devices. Follow the You-Must-Do preparation tips and pick up one of the most suitable methods to switch your device file system from exFAT to FAT32 with ease now:

FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT are the three file systems created by Microsoft which used to store data on storage devices. The difference between FT32, NTFS, and exFAT is the storage size that the file. Like FAT32, exFAT doesn’t have many extra features, but it’s close behind in terms of compatibility. Windows, Mac, and Android machines can read and write to exFAT with no problem, as can many other modern devices. Linux kernel only added native support for exFAT in the recent 5.4 release, but you can just install a few packages to get full. ExFAT has been around for awhile, but we've never really talked about it. Essentially, it's a file system that's both readable and writable on any modern Mac or Windows machine (sorry, Leopard users).

1. # 1. You-Must-Do Preparations
2. # 2. Three exFAT to FAT32 Conversion Methods:

And if you format your drive to exFAT, it allows you to transfer large files between Mac OS X and Windows installed computers as well. Thus, it is the best solution to convert drive from FAT32 to exFAT file system. Three ways to convert drive from FAT32 to exFAT without losing data.

• EaseUS exFAT to FAT32 Converter - Free & Efficient Tool for All Levels of Users
• Disk Management - Free Windows Built-in Tool for Beginners
• CMD - Free Windows Built-in Tool & Complex for Beginners

Questions: How Do I Convert exFAT to FAT32 Without Losing Data

'How to format a 64GB SD card from exFAT to FAT32? I have a Sandisk Ultra 64GB SD card and cannot get it to a FAT 32 format. I'm using Windows 10.'
'I want to convert an exFAT-formatted USB flash drive to FAT32. I've tried a few links, no success. Is there any software that can help?'
'Is there any way to convert exFAT to FAT 32 on an external hard drive without losing data?'
If you are having a similar issue on converting your storage device from exFAT to FAT32, follow through any method below to switch your device file system without losing any data.

Preparations for Converting 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 and help you choose the best file system for your storage device, follow through the preparation procedure and tips that we have left here for you.

1. exFAT vs. FAT32, Which Is Better?

Merely a few people know the difference between exFAT and FAT32. Here is a comparison table exFAT vs. FAT32 that you can refer to learn why you should set FAT32 for your removable device.

For big file transferring and some specific purposed, exFAT will be better. However, as for normal usage on removable devices, including memory card, SD card, USB or flash drive, etc., FAT32 is preferable.

In a word, if you prefer to set your device compatible with all devices and platforms, FAT32 is a good choice.

2. Back-Up Data Before Switching File System from exFAT to FAT32

Once you have decided to convert the exFAT device to FAT32, the next step is to create a backup of your device data.

• If the data size is small, you may directly copy and save them to another device at one time.
• If your saved data is more than 5GB, manually copying is risky and time-consuming.

A safer and more efficient way is to apply reliable backup software to back up all the files at one time.

How to Convert exFAT to FAT32 for Free

In this part, you will be presented with detailed steps of exFAT to FAT32 conversion by using three different methods. Pick up one to swap your USB or SD card to FAT32 now.

• EaseUS exFAT to FAT32 Converter - Free & Efficient Tool for All Levels of Users
• Disk Management - Free Windows Built-in Tool for Beginners
• CMD - Free Windows Built-in Tool & Complex for Beginners

Note: Remember to back up your data in advance as each method requires to format the device for file system conversion. You may lose your device data during the process.

#1. Using EaseUS exFAT to FAT32 Converter

Applicable to all levels of users, beginners' best choice.

EaseUS free partition software - Partition Master is a favorable third-party disk management tool that enables you to convert exFAT to FAT32 with its Format feature easily.

With only a few simple clicks, you may convert your SD card, external hard drive, USB flash drive, pen drive, etc. to FAT32 in Windows 10/8/7.

If you haven't back up data yet, connect the exFAT device to your PC. Then go to the clone disk wizard on EaseUS Partition Master to copy the device data to another disk as a backup.

Step 1: Launch EaseUS 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 file system, and set the cluster size according to your needs, then click 'OK'.

Step 3: Then you will see a warning window, click 'OK' in it to continue.

Step 4: Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting the partition to FAT32.

After the conversion, you may now save the backup data back to the FAT32 device or use it for other purposes.

# 2. Format exFAT to FAT32 in Using Disk Management

Applicable for experienced Windows users.

Note that you should be very careful while following the steps below to format exFAT device to FAT32 in Disk Management. Any mistake may result in your device unusable.

Step 1. Connect the exFAT SD card, external hard drive, USB flash drive, pen drive, etc. to your PC.

Step 2. Right-click on Windows icon and select 'Disk Management'.

Step 3. On Disk Management, Right-click on your exFAT USB or external device, select 'Format”.

Step 4. Set the file system to FAT32, tick 'Quick Format' and click 'OK' to confirm.

When the formatting process finishes, your device is ready for saving and transfer files in the FAT32 format.

# 3. Convert exFAT to FAT32 with CMD Formatting Command

Applicable for professional users and IT administrators.

The last approach for exFAT to FAT32 conversion might be challenging for Windows beginners. We would like to suggest experienced users and administrators try this tip.

Note: Be very careful while executing the following operations on your PC.

Step 1. Connect your exFAT device to PC.

Step 2. Right-click the Windows icon and typing command prompt.

Step 3. Right-click Command Prompt and select 'Run as Administrator'.

Step 4. Type diskpart in Command Prompt and hit Enter.

Step 5. Open up DiskPart, type the following command lines, and hit Enter each time:

• list disk
• select disk 0 (Replace 0 with your exFAT device disk number)
• list volume
• select volume 1 (Replace 1 with your exFAT device volume number)
• format fs=fat32 quick

Step 6. when the formatting process finishes, your device is FAT32 now, type exit to close the Diskpart window.

After this, you may apply the FAT32 device to save and transfer files on your computer, game consoles, or media players.

Conclusion

This page includes three free & practical options to assist you in converting exFAT to FAT32.

If you want to convert FAT32 to exFAT, any method on this page will work.

For beginners, EaseUS Partition Master Free is the best option. For experienced or professional IT users, Disk Management and CMD can be a workout.

People Also Ask

Besides converting file system between exFAT and FAT32, some people even have more questions on formatting devices from NTFS to exFAT, FAT32, etc. If you are having these questions, check the quick solutions below.

1. How do I convert exFAT to NTFS?

Basically, the ways to convert exFAT to NTFS is similar to the provided methods on this page. You may apply CMD, Disk Management or third-party EaseUS Partition Master to format the device to NTFS.

For a detailed tutorial, you may refer to this link for help: How to Convert exFAT to NTFS.

2. How do I format a 64GB USB from exFAT to FAT32?

As Windows only allows creating up to 32GB single volume on FAT32 devices, both Disk Management and CMD cannot break the limit to format 64GB USB from exFAT to FAT32.

Fortunately, EaseUS Partition Master has broken the limit. You can simply format a 64GB USB to FAT32 regardless of its original file system is exFAT or NTFS.

3. What is the difference between exFAT, FAT32, and NTFS?

Highlights:

• NTFS is regarded as the most modern file system which is widely used on system drive by default.
• FAT32 owns greater compatibility with other operating systems. Also, FAT32 is current the most widespread one.
• ExFAT is regarded as an alternative file system to replace FAT32, with greater compatibility than NTFS on more devices and operating systems.

Limits:

• NTFS: No file-size or partition size limits.
• FAT32: 4 GB maximum file size, 8 TB maximum partition size.
• ExFAT: No realistic file-size or partition size limits.

Can I Use WD Hard Drive on Mac and PC

Before you get the answer, you must figure out what kind of file system can work well on both the macOS and the Windows system. macOS supports a handful of common file systems - HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT, with read-only support for NTFS. While Windows employs two major file systems: NTFS and FAT. FAT was inherited from old DOS and has exFAT as its later extension. In addition, the ReFS file system was developed as a new generation file system for server computers starting from Windows Server 2012.

That is to say, only FAT32 and exFAT can work on both Mac and PC. If you want to share digital files between Mac and Windows system easily, you must convert WD My Passport to FAT or exFAT. Here are three ways to format a WD My Passport, follow any one of them to convert to FAT.

1. Solution 1. Format WD HDD with Software (FREE)

How to Format WD My Passport in Windows Platform (Free)

You can format a Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to ex-FAT or FAT32 format using a free ex-FAT or FAT32 converter - EaseUS Partition Master or use built-in applications Windows.

Solution 1. Format WD My Passport Using Software (Free)

It is a wise choice to use a professional format tool. With the help of EaseUS Partition Master Free, you can perfectly bypass the format limitation of the Windows disk management tool and help you format WD My Passport to FAT32 or exFAT easily without any obstacles. What's more, this Windows partition software helps you create, resize, clone, move, and merge partitions without difficulty. Follow the details below to convert WD My Passport to FAT32 or exFAT.

Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the 'Format' option.

Step 2: Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.

Step 3: In the Warning window, click 'OK' to continue.

Step 4: Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.

Solution 2. Format WD My Passport Using File Explorer

Windows limits FAT32 partitions to 32GB. It does not offer the ability to format a drive larger than 32GB to FAT32, the only available choices are NTFS or exFAT. If you want to format your WD My Passport to FAT32, you must make sure that the size is smaller than 32GB. If it is larger than 32GB, you can only format it to exFAT.

Step 1. Open Windows File Explorer, locate and right-click on WD My Passport that you need to format, select 'Format'.

Step 2. Rename the drive, reset its file system to FAT32 or exFAT.

Step 3. Click 'Start' to begin the formatting.

How to Format WD My Passport in macOS/OS X Platform

The easiest way to format the drive to FAT32 or exFAT is by using macOS's built-in Disk Utility for FAT32 or exFAT.

Tips: The instructions below are designed to help repartition and format a hard drive. Once the process begins, all the data on the drive will be lost!

Step 1. Connect WD My Passport to your Mac.

Step 2. Once that's done, double left-click on the Mac HD, the internal Mac hard drive visible on the top-right corner of the desktop screen.Select 'Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility'.

Step 3. Select your WD My Passport on the sidebar, choose 'Erase'.

Step 4. Rename the drive, select the 'Volume Format' drop-down list and choose 'MS-DOS (FAT)' or 'ex-FAT File System'. Then click 'Erase'.

Wait for the process to complete and let the macOS erase data on the drive and reformat it by FAT32 or ex-FAT format. Then, you can use the drive in macOS or OS X as a regular hard drive.

Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS

FAT is known as the File Allocation Table. The successive major versions of the FAT format are named after the number of table element bits: FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32. FAT32 is the oldest of the three file systems available to Windows. Individual files on a FAT32 drive can’t be over 4 GB in size. A FAT32 partition must also be less than 8 TB, which admittedly is less of a limitation unless you’re using super-high-capacity drives.

exFAT, Extended File Allocation Table, is optimized for flash drives. It was added to older versions of Windows with updates to Windows XP and Windows Vista. This file system doesn't have the limitations of FAT32. You can use it when you need a bigger file size and partition limits than FAT32 offers.

NTFS, NT File System, is the modern file system Windows likes to use by default. It is packed with modern features not available to FAT32 and exFAT. However, it only works with all versions of Windows, but read-only with Mac by default.

If you want to use WD My Passport or any other hard drive on Mac and PC, you need to format a Western Digital My Passport external hard drive in exFAT or FAT32 format.

Exfat Vs Fat32 Mac And Windows

Tips to Avoid Formatting WD My Passport Without Backup

Just as I have mentioned above, once the process begins, all the data on the drive will be lost. To avoid unnecessary data loss issues, we highly recommended all users extract or back up important data to another device or partition in advance. You can copy files one by one to a new disk or drive. If you have quite a lot of data to be transferred, professional backup software shall be your best choice. Here we recommend you try EaseUS Todo Backup which allows you to directly back up target data with simple steps.

Step 1: Launch EaseUS Todo Backup software and then choose 'File Backup', 'Disk/partition Backup' or 'System Backup' for different backup purpose.

Step 2: Choose the system, disk partition, files or apps that you want to back up. Then select a destination where you want to store the backup file.

Step 3: Click 'Proceed' to start the data backup process.

Hot Topics - People Also Ask These Questions

What is the difference between NTFS, fat32, and exFAT?

NTFS is the commonly used file system for Windows internal drives. Windows OS can only be installed on an NTFS partition. FAT32 is an older file system used for external drives due to its great compatibility. exFAT is a replacement for FAT32, which is not as compatible as FAT32 but without the limitations of FAT32.

Can I use WD hard drive on Mac and PC?

Yes. If you want to use WD My Passport or any other hard drive on Mac and PC, you need to format a Western Digital My Passport external hard drive in exFAT or FAT32 format.

Can I convert exFAT to NTFS without losing data?

You are unable to directly convert exFAT to NTFS without losing data, as there is no such utility that can help you perform the exFAT to NTFS conversion. You can back up exFAT partition data to another drive and then format the exFAT partition to NTFS with EaseUS Partition Master Free.

How do I format my WD Passport?

Exfat Vs Fat32 For Mac

Step 1. Run EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the hard drive partition you intend to format and choose Format.

Step 2. In the new window, set the Partition label, File system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/exFAT), and Cluster size for the partition to be formatted, then click OK.

Step 3. Click OK in it to continue.

Step 4. Click the Execute Operation button on the top-left corner to review the changes, then click Apply.

Conclusion

You can format your Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to FAT32 or exFAT format to transfer the data between a Mac and Windows system conveniently. According to the solutions above, the EaseUS partition tool stands out for its convenience and easiness. It's always your best choice.