File systems, like everything related to the IT sphere, are constantly and dynamically developing. Who would have thought in 1996 that the maximum file size fat32 in 5-6 years would be considered insufficient? And the fat32 file size limit is far from the only drawback of this file system compared to other more advanced brothers.
Traditionally, fat32 is compared with the NTFS file system - also the brainchild of Microsoft. Among the advantages of this file system are its virtually unlimited maximum file size (theoretical limit is 2 exabytes), support for compressing files and folders, resistance to operating system crashes, the small size of one cluster, and more. But there is one significant drawback - the flash drives that are so popular now, both in write mode and in read / copy data mode, work faster with the outdated fat32 file system. For example, Corsair Voyager GT flash drives very popular among enthusiasts in fat32 in recording mode show a speed of 17-19 MB / s, and in NTFS - "only" 12-13 MB / s. Substantial difference, right? Moreover, this proportion does not depend on the volume of the flash drive, i.e. the user gets a loss in speed for both a 4 GB drive and a 16 GB drive.
Obviously, many users may have a problem for this reason: how to write a large fat32 file (the word large means a file that exceeds the maximum file size of fat32) on a USB flash drive? There is only one option - it is necessary to fragment, divide the file into several parts. But there are quite a few ways to do this, and which one is better to use depends on the type of file and on the user's qualifications.
One of the easiest ways is to use the WinRAR archiver. Already from the first version, this archiver could work with the so-called multi-volume archives, i.e. archives, which are essentially parts of one large archive. I think that even an inexperienced user will not be difficult to understand the necessary settings. Just in the window that opens when creating a new archive in the corresponding input field, specify the size of one volume (in bytes) slightly smaller than the maximum file size fat32 (for example, 4,000,000,000) and, voila, the archiver will create the necessary number of volumes of the new archive . If at the same time you specify the minimum compression ratio, then the archiving process will take time not much longer than regular copying. Extracting a file from a multi-volume archive will occur in the same way as always when unzipping.
Another way to split files into smaller parts is to use specialized utilities. There are quite a few such utilities (Split Files, HJSplit, Piranja, etc.). Among them are a large number of free programs. The only and most significant minus of this approach is the need for the same utility on the computer on which you will combine the parts into a single whole. Exceptions to this rule are found, but rather rarely. So you will probably have to carry either a distribution kit or a portable version of this program with you on a USB flash drive.
As an option of the previous method, you can use the file manager Total Commander. This program is very popular and is available on many computers. In the "Files" menu, select the "Split files" item, in the dialog that opens, specify the required size in bytes or select one of the most frequently used options, and you're done. On the computer on which you want to recreate the source file, select the "Collect files" menu item, while holding the cursor on the first part, and after a short time you get the source file.
More advanced users can use specialized audio and video converters to split a large multimedia file. There are many subtleties in this process. The main thing is for a novice to remember that up to a byte the size of the received files cannot be set, which means that in the calculations it is necessary to use a percent file size of 5-10 smaller than the maximum fat32 file size.