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!

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Oliver· Answered on Sep 13, 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.

Free Download 

Windows 11/10/8/7100% Secure

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]

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