How to write a large file to a flash drive? How to write a large file (movie) to a flash drive

Users often encounter an error when trying to write a large file to a flash drive. This usually happens when you try to write a file larger than 4 GB. The system reports that the file is too large and refuses to write. At the same time, at the time of recording, there may be several tens of free gigabytes on the flash drive, but they cannot be used. If you are faced with a similar problem, then this article should help you. Here you will find out why the system refuses to write large files to a flash drive and how you can fix it.

The reason this problem occurs is that most flash drives come from the factory with the FAT32 file system. This file system is quite old and therefore has many limitations, which are very noticeable in modern realities. In particular, the FAT32 file system does not support files larger than 4 gigabytes.

In order to get rid of this limitation and write files of any size to a flash drive, you need to change the file system of the flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS. This can be done in two ways: by formatting the flash drive in NTFS or by converting the file system from FAT32 to NTFS. Next we will look at both of these methods.

Method number 1. Formatting a flash drive.

The easiest way to be able to write large files to a flash drive is. In this case, all files from the flash drive will be deleted. Therefore, before formatting, you need to transfer them to a computer or another flash drive.

So, in order to format a flash drive in NTFS, you need to open “My Computer” and right-click on your flash drive. In the menu that opens, select “Format”.

As a result, a small window will open in front of you to format the flash drive. Here, in the “File system” drop-down menu, the “FAT32” option will be selected. You need to open this drop-down menu and select the NTFS file system.

The remaining settings can be left unchanged. After changing the file system, simply click on the “Start” button.

After this, you will see a warning about deleting files from the flash drive. In order to continue you need to click on the “Ok” button.

After this, the system will begin formatting the flash drive to NTFS. Typically the formatting process only takes a couple of seconds. Once everything is ready, you will see a corresponding message.

Method number 2. Converting the file system from FAT32 to NTFS.

The second way to get the opportunity to write large files to a flash drive is to perform. When converting the file system, the files on the flash drive are saved. But, you still need to back up your files. Because if the conversion process fails, files may be lost.

In order to convert the file system, you need to open the “Command Prompt” with administrator rights and run the command “ convert X: /FS:NTFS" In this case, the letter “X” must be replaced with the letter that was assigned to your flash drive when connected.

After executing this command, the system will begin converting the file system. The time required for conversion depends on the size of the flash drive, its speed and the number of files. But, in most cases, the conversion takes less than 1 minute. Once the conversion is complete, a message will appear in the Command Prompt indicating that the conversion is complete.

Now you can try to write a large file to the flash drive. If everything was done correctly, now files larger than 4 GB will be written without problems.

The problem of copying large files to regular flash drives and removable memory cards occupies the minds of many ordinary users. And very often they blame removable drives, although the problem here is completely different. Next, it is proposed to figure out how to transfer a large file to a flash drive and how possible this is. But first, let's look at the problem itself and find out what causes such situations.

Why can't I transfer a large file to a flash drive?

Apparently, there is little point in talking about which files in most cases are so large that it is simply impossible to transfer them to a regular flash drive. As a rule, most often the copying problem arises with files of modern video formats, which, depending on the quality of the material, can be quite impressive in size. Just remember the volumes of data that are stored on the same Blu-ray discs. And regular DVD movies, with high quality and duration, can take up no less space. The same can be said about some installation distributions, which may contain specialized databases in the form of a single or several large files. Very often this applies to libraries of virtual synthesizers, which are widely used today in music computer sequencers and studios.

For example, the instrument file of the popular Omnisphere 2 synthesizer takes up more than 50 GB. And transferring such an object to removable media can be not only time-consuming, but also impossible (and not at all due to the limited capacity of the flash drive itself). The main problem is that all flash drives use the FAT32 file system by default, which has its own limitations due to the fact that it cannot work with file sizes larger than 4 GB. The actual size of the file is, of course, determined, but it is impossible to move or copy such objects in it.

Using NTFS formatting

How to transfer a large file to a flash drive if it has the above structure? Apparently, many have already realized that it needs to be transformed. To perform such actions, the easiest way is to use the most common formatting of the drive, selecting NTFS as the final file system.

In this case, it is absolutely not necessary to use full formatting, but you can limit yourself to quick or so-called cleaning of the table of contents. On any Windows system, you can access this tool directly through the RMB context menu on the selected media.

Note: Similar to the standard process, formatting can be done from the command line or using its tools to copy the file to an external device. Due to the fact that such procedures look somewhat more complicated for ordinary users, they will not be considered. The end effect is still the same.

Additional formatting utilities

Speaking about how to transfer a large file to a flash drive, it is worth mentioning some third-party programs that allow you to quickly and without any problems format any type and any media.

Most of these programs have both an interface and features that are very similar to Windows tools. But some of them (in particular, HDD Low Level Format Tool) are advisable to use when problems are observed with flash drives or memory cards due to format changes, failure of controllers or other non-physical damage.

How to write a large file to a flash drive without formatting?

But let's assume that the user has a removable drive with information recorded on it, to which a file larger than 4 GB needs to be transferred. How to copy a large file to a flash drive in such a situation, because you don’t want to format it and destroy already recorded files? In this case, you can use the FAT32 to NTFS conversion tool, which only involves converting one file system to another without the need to format the drive. To the chagrin of many inexperienced users, this only works in the command console (cmd).

The conversion itself is performed by executing the command convert N: /fs:ntfs /nosecurity /x, where N is the letter of the removable drive displayed in Explorer.

Note: If the removable drive has a volume label, you will have to enter that label to complete the operation. But the easiest way is to first remove it through the properties section in Explorer, and only then start the conversion.

Splitting the original object into parts

Finally, let's see how to transfer a large file to a FAT32 flash drive without any formatting or converting the file system to another standard. Since you can’t go higher than 4 GB, the file needs to be split into parts that are smaller than this size, and then copied to the media. But what should you use to perform such actions? The most common programs for working with archives (WinZIP, 7-Zip, WinRAR, etc.) are best suited.

In any such application, you simply need to add the file you are looking for and specify the sizes of the parts that will be created during compression. To simplify your work, from a special list with preset parameters, you can select exactly the size that corresponds to the maximum in the FAT32 structure. It goes without saying that if you copy a movie in this way, it will be impossible to play it on either home devices or software players without extracting the contents of the archive.

Note: you can also simply split the source file into parts without compression in the Total Commander file manager.

Brief summary

Here is a brief summary of all the main solutions related to the problem of how to transfer a large file to a flash drive. To summarize in terms of choosing the best copying method, I think the best option would be either formatting or converting the file structure to NTFS. The use of archive programs is advisable only if the compression concerns not multimedia formats that need to be played from a removable device, but ordinary files and folders that need to be, for example, transferred to another computer.

You can store collections of high-quality films, images, games, archives. If you tried to transfer something to such a flash drive, and the “File is too large for the destination file system” window or the message “No disk space” popped up, this does not mean that the flash drive is faulty or damaged. Most likely there is a limitation on it. And you won’t be able to transfer a file larger than 4 GB to it. Even if the media memory is 32 GB. At the same time, you can easily upload 10 videos of 3 GB each to it.

This occurs due to the file system (FS) and is associated with some of its features. Typically, flash drives have one of the versions of FAT - File Allocation Table. It is this that prevents you from writing a large file to an external drive. Even on a 128 GB flash drive.

There is another FS - NTFS or New Technology File System. It is widely used in Microsoft Windows. And it does not block downloading if the file exceeds 4 GB. In NTFS, the size of each cluster is much smaller - this is a certain area into which information is added.

To make an analogy, imagine a piece of paper with a tic-tac-toe board on it. One cell equals a cluster. If you put a cross in it, you will fill it out entirely (that is, you will no longer be able to write any data there). Even if there is still room left in it. For both file systems, the total size of this field is the same - for example, one notebook sheet. In FAT, it fits 9 cells (3 by 3 field). And in NTFS - 49 (field 7 by 7). Because in the second case the clusters (cells) are smaller.

In addition, in NTFS you can configure quotas and set access rights. There is logging, which increases reliability.

If, when copying, you see the warning “The file is too large for the destination file system,” then the drive is set to FAT. To check this:

1. Insert the flash drive into the USB port.
2. Open My Computer. Your flash drive should be displayed there.
3. Right-click on it.
4. Select Properties. The information you need will be there.

It’s easy to find out the file type - to do this, go to Media Properties

If "FAT" is indicated, it means that only data up to 4 GB in size can be written to the disk. But what if you downloaded a video and want to watch it on TV? Or do you need to transfer an archive of photos?

You can remove the maximum volume limit. Before copying a large file to a flash drive, change the FS. If the drive is a boot disk, you must leave FAT.

Formatting

The easiest way is to format the USB drive and immediately set it to the necessary settings. But absolutely all information, even encoded and hidden, will be erased from it. Therefore, you need to transfer everything that is there to another medium. Then you can return your documents to the formatted drive.

Here's how to write a large file to a flash drive:

1. Insert its USB port.
2. Open My Computer
3. Right-click on the name of the flash drive.
4. Click Format.
5. Select "NTFS" from the drop-down list.
6. Click "Start".
7. Wait.

This will clear the "File is too large for target file system" warning.

If there is no “NTFS” line in that menu, do the following:

1. Open Control Panel. You can enter it through “Start”.
2. You need "Device Manager". It is in the Hardware and Sound category. Open it.
3. Expand the "Disk devices" list.
4. Find your flash drive in it.
5. Right-click on its name.
6. “Properties” item.
7. "Politics" tab.
8. Place a marker next to the line “Optimize for execution.”
9. Click OK.

Try formatting the flash drive to NTFS again. And you can drop a large file on it.

Conversion

The drive can be converted to the desired file system. To do this, Windows has an option “File System Conversion Utility” or “Convert.exe”. There is no need to launch it manually. It is controlled through commands.

Here's how to transfer a large file to a flash drive:

1. In the input field, write “cmd” without quotes. A window will open with a black background and white characters. This is the command line.
2. Insert the drive into the USB slot.
3. Open My Computer.
4. Find your flash drive there. Look at the name of the disk (external devices are assigned names with the letters “F:”, “L:”, “H:”).
5. In the command line you need to enter or copy the command “convert [drive name] /fs:ntfs /nosecurity /x”. Instead of “drive name,” write the letter of the flash drive. And after it put a colon. That is, it should look something like “convert G: …”.
6. Wait until the "Conversion Complete" message appears.

Now try writing a large file to the drive.

When converting, nothing is erased from the media. But still, before changing the file system, clean the flash drive and create a backup copy of the data. There must be free space on the USB drive for successful conversion.

If during conversion the error “Enter a volume label for the disk” appears, write the label (the full name of the disk). Or uncheck it in the “Properties” menu in the “General” section. Just remove what is written in the input field at the top.

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

To convert a flash drive, use the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool application.

1. Search the Internet and download this utility. There should be only one executable file "HPUSBDisk.exe".
2. Right-click on it.
3. Select "As administrator".
4. Find your flash drive in the “Devices” list. It should already be inserted into the USB connector.
5. In the "File system" field, enter "NTFS".
6. You can set a label (“Volume Label”).
7. During the conversion, all data on the drive will be erased. It makes sense to copy them to a PC and then return them to a flash drive.
8. Click "Start". Before doing this, make sure that you have selected the correct media. So as not to accidentally format something else.

After this, try writing the necessary data to the drive.

Now you know how to transfer a large file to a flash drive. We need to transfer it to another file system. Then the size limitation will disappear. Choose any method you like.

Why can't I transfer a 4GB or larger file to my USB flash drive?
This is due to the FAT32 limitation. Files larger than 4 GB cannot be saved in FAT32 format. Formatting the flash drive in NTFS or exFAT will resolve this issue.

WARNING: Back up your data. Formatting will delete all data in the device memory.

SOLUTION 1. Formatting in exFAT

exFAT is a new file system that allows you to save a file larger than 4 GB on your device. This file system is also compatible with Mac.

Windows 7 and Mac OS 10.6 and higher are compatible with exFAT natively. Previous operating systems may require a patch for exFAT compatibility.

NOTE: The exFAT file system is not compatible with some devices such as TVs, gaming systems, older operating systems, car stereos, etc.

Formatting a flash drive to exFAT

1. Double-click on My Computer.
2. Right-click on the flash drive or memory card and select Format.
3. In the list of File Systems, click on exFAT.
4. Select Get Started.
5. Select OK to start formatting.

SOLUTION 2: Format to NTFS

ATTENTION:
- After formatting your device to NTFS, you will not be able to write to the disk on Mac. Most Macs can read NTFS, but not write.
- NTFS is a journaling file system, this means more read/write activity. Thus, the life expectancy of the device will be reduced.
- Once the device is formatted to NTFS, you must use Safely Remove Hardware.

STEP 1 - Optimizing the Flash Drive for Better Performance

1. Connect your device to your PC.
2. Open Control Panel
   a)Windows 8
   b) Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
3. Right-click on the flash drive and then select Properties.
4. Select the Hardware tab.
5. Select SanDisk Cruzer USB Drive, select Properties.
6. Click the Settings tab.
7. Select Optimize Performance and then click OK

STEP 2 - Format flash drive

1. Double-click the My Computer icon.
2. Right-click on the flash drive, then select Format.
3. In the list of system files, click NTFS.
4. Click the Start button.
5. Click OK to start formatting.

There is still enough free space on the flash drive, but for some reason the file is not being written. If this is a large file (more than 4GB), a movie, for example, or a DVD image or archive, then on this page you will find the answer to how to write the file to a USB flash drive.

Why isn't it recording?

If everything is fine with the flash drive, i.e. if it is physically intact and there are no problems with the file system, then most likely it is because your flash drive is formatted in FAT32. This file system was developed quite a long time ago and does not support the ability to work with files larger than 4GB (minus 1 byte).

What to do?

There are two options to choose from:

1. Split a long file into several pieces less than 4GB.
2. Use another, more modern file on the flash drive new system.

Let's look at these options in more detail.

1. Split a long file into several pieces

Probably the easiest way. It is suitable even if you are using a computer with MS Windows XP or GNU\Linux. All you need is an archiver program that can make multi-volume archives. WinRAR, 7-Zip, WinZip and others are suitable. Using 7-Zip for MS Windows as an example, it looks like this: launch 7-Zip File Manager:

Select the required file and click the “Add” button. In the “Add to archive” window that opens:

1. Select the folder where the final files should be located. You can immediately select a flash drive or a folder on a flash drive. If you don't select anything, then chunks of the file will be in the same folder as the original file.
2. Specify the size for file chunks. A size slightly less than 4GB will suit us. You can specify 4000M.
3. Select the compression level. Here, the higher the compression level, the longer the archiver will work to create the “slice”. Plus, you need to remember that often movies are already a compressed file and trying to apply a high compression ratio to it does not make sense. For films and archives, we recommend choosing either the “High-Speed” mode or “No compression”.

Next, click “OK” and wait for 7-Zip to complete. You will get several files with the same name, only the extension will be different: .001, .002, .003, etc. If the file was cut somewhere on the hard drive, then you can now transfer the resulting pieces of the original file to a flash drive. The main thing is not to forget that to recreate the original file from pieces you will again need an archiver.

2. Another file system on the flash drive

An alternative to the legacy FAT32 file system is either exFAT, or NTFS.

exFAT file system was developed by Microsoft specifically for use on flash drives and does not have many of the disadvantages of FAT32, including the 4GB file size limitation. But, unfortunately, not all devices and operating systems can work with flash drives formatted in exFAT. Windows understands exFAT since XP service pack 2+ KB955704, MS Windows Vista - with service pack 1. Mac OS X - starting from version 10.6.5. Linux requires additional installation of a special package, and not everything is clear with the license. Android devices usually do not understand exFAT out of the box. For TVs and other devices, it is better to check the documentation.

You can format a flash drive in exFAT using standard MS Windows tools:

Of course, if you have the necessary files on your flash drive, you need to temporarily copy them to your hard drive before formatting, because After formatting, the flash drive will be empty.

However, NTFS- as a more common file system, it is supported by a large number of operating systems and devices out of the box, but with intensive use on flash drives, this file system can lead to premature failure of the flash drive due to the increased number of read-write service operations.

NTFS on a flash drive can be obtained by converting from FAT32. This is done simply: click the “Start” button, select “Run” or instead, press Win+R on the keyboard at the same time and type:

convert e: /fs:ntfs /NoSecurity /x

where e: is your flash drive. We are waiting for completion. Before starting the conversion, it is recommended to make a backup copy of the files from the flash drive, but as a rule, the conversion takes place without data loss.

It doesn’t matter which file system you chose: exFAT or NTFS, now you can easily write files larger than 4GB to a flash drive.

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