# How can check what a usb flash drive is formatted as



## zhong (Aug 1, 2010)

How can one check what a usb flash drive is formatted as ?

NTFS format or Fat 32 ?


What are they usually when you buy them new at the store ?

Like Kingston, Lexar, Sandisk , Memorex, Core Micro, and Verbatim ?


Where do you choose in Windows XP which format you wish to format as on the USB Flash Drive ?


Thanks.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Open "My Computer" and right click the flash drive and choose "Properties" and you will see there.


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## zhong (Aug 1, 2010)

I see Fat 32.
Is that the most common for Kingston and other flash drives ?
When would one format it as another format like NTFS format and for what purpose ?

Thanks.





Rich-M said:


> Open "My Computer" and right click the flash drive and choose "Properties" and you will see there.


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## LMiller7 (Jun 21, 2010)

From the factory almost all flash drives are formatted as FAT32 for maximum compatibility among operating systems. Older drives of 2 GB and smaller capacities were usually formatted as FAT (FAT16). Operating systems such as Windows 9x, Linux, Mac, and game consoles have limited or no compatibility with NTFS.

NTFS was never designed for removable media and has a number of issues when used this way. When NTFS was first released with NT 3.1 back in 1993 there were no flash drives. The main issue is that you must use the safe removal dialog before removing the drive. If any pending writes have not been completed (and you can never be sure of that with NTFS) you risk data loss or corruption if the device is removed at the wrong time.

NTFS has quite a number of advantages over FAT32, which is only an upgraded form of FAT16 and FAT 12 which have been around since the 1980's. These include better reliability, security, the ability to have files over 4 GB in size, and more. If you can accept the limitations, NTFS is a good choice.

In recent years Microsoft has introduced the exFAT file system for external drives. It has some of the advanced features of NTFS but without the most serious problem. It is directly supported by Vista and later and with a downloadable driver by XP as well. At the present time it is for Windows only.


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