How to Create and Format exFAT Partition in Windows 11/10/8/7 (Free Methods)

What kind of partition is exFAT?

exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) is one of the file systems that Microsoft released in 2006. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac and is commonly used for USB flash drives, memory cards, and thumb drives larger than 32 GB.

The reason we like exFAT is that it's compatible with Windows, Mac, and even Linux.

Read more:

Can I format the exFAT drive?

tools Partition Master is a reliable disk management tool that can optimize your disks and partitions for better performance and speed. With this software, you can freely create, resize, move, format, delete, merge, check HDD/SSD, SD card, and memory card partitions. It supports various file systems, including exFAT, NTFS, FAT32, FAT, EXT2, EXT3, and EXT4.

Now that Windows 11 is out, have you received the update notification? Are you ready to upgrade your drive to Windows 11? This Windows 11 Upgrade tool can do more:

• Convert MBR to GPT and FAT to NTFS.
• Migrate OS to SSD with one click.
• Manage or extend partitions on Windows 11 PC.
• Clone disks or partitions.

This disk optimizer has features that are not found in the built-in Windows utilities, so if your disk management can't perform advanced functions like merging non-contiguous partitions or cloning all data to another new disk, give this disk manager a try.

How to Create an exFAT Formatted Drive

To create an exFAT partition, if you have unallocated space on your disk, you can directly select it and create an exFAT partition. Otherwise, you need to free some unallocated space first with the “Resize/Move” feature.

How to create an exFAT partition using Partition Master tool:

Step 1. Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard. On the main interface, right-click on the “Unallocated” space on the hard drive or external storage device and select “Create”.

Step 2. Adjust the size of the new partition, the file system (select a file system as needed), label, etc., and click OK to continue.

Step 3. Click the “Execute 1 Task(s)” button and then click “Apply” to create the new partition.

Watch the following video tutorial to learn how to create partitions on an NTFS, FAT, or EXT file system.

How to Format exFAT Partition on Windows and Mac - 4 Ways

Across many tutorials, the usual methods of formatting a flash drive to exFAT include command prompt, Disk Management, and Windows Explorer. Apart from these two approaches, you can also opt for a free formatting tool to manage your USB drive with ease.

Note: Performing any of the following methods will erase all data on your hard drive. Back up all important data on your device first.

1. Format exFAT in Windows 11/10 Using Command Prompt
2. Format Partition to exFAT Using Windows File Explorer
3. Format Hard Drive to exFAT
4. How to Format Hard Drive to exFAT Using Free exFAT Formatting Tools

1. Format exFAT in Windows 11/10 Using Command Prompt

You can also format hard drive using Command Prompt.

Step 1: Click the search icon, type "cmd" in the box, right-click "Command Prompt," and select "Run as administrator."

Step 2: Type diskpart, and then press Enter.

Step 3: Type the command and press Enter:

• List volumes
• Select volume * (where * represents your volume number)
• Format fs=exfat

Step 4: Once formatting is complete, type exit to quit the CMD.

2. Format the partition as exFAT using Windows Explorer

Step 1: Connect the USB device to your computer and check if it is detected.

Please check by following these steps: Open File Explorer > Click on “This PC” from the left pane > Check under the “Devices and drives” tab for your USB.

Step 2: Right-click on the USB drive and select "Format" from the drop-down menu.

Step 3. Click on the “File System” tab and select “exFAT.” Give your drive a “Volume Label” next.

Step 4. Click “Start” to continue.

3. Format the drive to exFAT

Step 1. Press "Windows + X" and select Disk Management from the menu.

Step 2. Right-click the hard drive or USB drive and select "Format."

Step 3: Choose “exFAT” as the file system. Check the “Quick Format” box, then click “OK.”

4. How to Format a Hard Drive with the Free exFAT Formatter Tool

Compared with Command Prompt and File Explorer, the advantages of Partition Master lie in its easy-to-use steps and more exFAT partition features, such as creating an exFAT partition, resizing an exFAT partition, shrinking an exFAT partition, etc. Why not choose this free exFAT formatter? Follow the steps below to format your disk.

Get it for free:

How to Format a Drive as exFAT:

Step 1: Select the USB drive you want to format.

Connect your USB drive or flash drive to your computer. Download and open a partitioning software. Right-click the USB drive you want to format, then select “Format.”

Step 2: Assign the USB drive letter and file system.

Assign a new volume label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT) and cluster size to the selected partition, then click “OK”.

Step 3: Check “Yes” to confirm the formatting of the USB drive.

If you see any warning windows, click Yes. Back up your data first if it's important.

Step 4: Apply the changes.

First, click on “Execute 1 Task(s)” and then click “Apply” to format the USB drive.

In summary

If you want to use exFAT on your hard drive, SD card, or USB drive, the methods in this article can help you create and format the volume without any errors in Windows 11/10/8/7. If you have not decided to click the "Execute" button when creating or formatting, the Back key in the Partition Master tool will return to the initial state.