exFAT

three USB thumbdrives, labelled "FAT32", "exFAT", and "NTFS"

How Should I Format My Thumbdrive?

Looking to format a USB thumb drive but confused about FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS? I’ll break down each file system’s strengths and limitations and help you choose the best format based on compatibility needs, file sizes, and which devices you’ll use it with.

Format Thumbdrive

Tip of the Day: Use FAT for Thumb Drives

An image of an external USB hard disk with a large question mark on it.

Troubleshooting External Disk Issues

Here’s a series of steps to recover use of an external drive that’s acting up when connected to one machine but not with another.

A Corgi using a large eraser to "erase" the platter of a hard disk.

How to Reformat a Disk

I’ll walk you through four easy ways to erase and prepare a disk in Windows using File Explorer or the command line, plus tips on choosing the right file system and format type.

Overflowing Folders

Is There a Limit to What a Single Folder or Directory Can Hold?

Hard disks continue to increase in size, as does what we’re storing on them. There are size limits, but not limits most people need to worry about.