There are a multitude of file systems in the world that have features big and small that are useful (and even mission critical to the applications they are used in) such as native error checking and correction, journaling, permission schemes, and more. A file system, which is a separate thing from an operating system and other mechanisms on a computer, is an organizational scheme used to control how data is stored and retrieved on a a given storage medium (like a hard disk, a DVD disc, or a removable flash drive).
Don’t worry though! We can not only solve the mystery of the stubborn file but show you how to fix it in the process.įirst, let’s explain why you couldn’t copy it in the first place: the flash drive’s file system. We can certainly understand your frustration: here you were all ready to copy the files and then it just ground to a halt with a relatively cryptic message. What exactly does that error mean? Why can’t I put a 4.5GB file on a 64GB drive? Help!
The little files (MP3s, documents, etc.) all transferred fine but I have some DVD ISO files on there and when it came time to copy them I got the error “The file ‘DVDBACKUP1’ is too large for the destination file system.” and the transfer fails. I recently purchased a 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive, plugged it into my computer, and started copying some files onto it I wanted to transfer to another computer. What gives? Read on as we show you how to solve your flash drive frustrations.
See the following image for detail.You have a brand new high-capacity flash drive that can store more than the hard drive of your first three computers combined, but when you go to copy a large file it denies you. Click OK when formatting completes, and close the format window. Click Start, and then OK when the WARNING pops up (make sure you have done Step 1). Right-click on the FAT32 drive on Windows Explorer, and click Format… Back up the files on your FAT32 drive to PC.
For example, many Android phones and tablets, as well as the recent versions of macOS support exFAT devices. On the contrary, the exFAT system is not as advanced as NTFS, but it supports better on non-Windows platforms. However, non-Windows devices, like Android tablets and Mac computers, may not recognize NTFS drive without additional software. The NTFS file system is supported by all modern versions of Windows, and it also supports many other functions: file security, encryption, compression, etc. Just choose the one you think better fits your needs, and you could reverse it whenever you want in the future. Convert FAT32 as exFAT or NTFSīoth exFAT and NTFS have a way larger capacity to store big files, but differences between will show in later usage.
However, depending on the exact file type and the archive software you use, the compression ratio may not always be ideal enough. If the compressed file is smaller than 4GB, just do the transfer.
Simply speaking, people cannot copy or move an individual file over 4GB to a FAT32 drive, even if they have enough free space on the drive.