What's the difference between ExFAT and FAT32 formatted Windows boot drives

Introduction

FAT32 is an old file system that only supports individual files up to 4GB, so when creating a FAT32 formatted system boot drive, we need to split large files from the Windows ISO into smaller files. This splitting process takes much more time than simply copying files.

The best practice is to create an ExFAT boot drive. However, ExFAT compatibility is slightly inferior to FAT32. Only a small number of older computers don't support ExFAT.

So if you want to install Windows 10 or Windows 11 on your new PC, using the ExFAT format will be the best practice.

How to create an ExFAT Windows boot drive

If you're using MacOS, FlashISO will be your best option.

Support for ExFAT will arrive in the next version. But don't worry, you can still use FlashISO to create a FAT32 formatted boot drive now.