Why My 256GB Flash Drive Become 32GB
I bought a 256GB flash drive yesterday and then used it as a Windows 10 installation drive. Now I'm about to format the flash drive, but it only shows 32GB, and I don't know why. Is there any way to fix this? Thanks!
Best Answered by
Oliver· Answered on May 16, 2024
According to your description, the reason why your 256GB flash drive becomes 32GB is because it's a Windows installation drive. And Windows install drives are designed to be formatted as FAT32, which has a FAT32 partition size limit and 4GB file size limit.
There are also other reasons why a flash drive becomes 32GB:
- It's a Windows recovery drive.
- The flash drive uses the FAT32 file system.
- Unallocated space exists on your flash drive.
If you don't plan to use it as a Windows installation drive anymore, you can use EaseUS Partition Master Free to convert the drive from FAT32 to NTFS.
You can do it with the steps here to format the flash drive to NTFS for free:
Step 1. Connect the flash drive to your PC and open EaseUS Partition Master.
Step 2. Right-click on the target partition of your flash drive and choose "Advanced" > "FAT to NTFS."
Step 3. Confirm the message and start the process.
After this, there might be unallocated space on your flash drive. You can right-click on it and select "Extend/Shrink" in EaseUS Partition Master to expand its storage space.
Further reading: How to Restore USB Drive Back to Full Capacity [100% Working]
