Default Cluster Sizes for FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS in Windows XP
When using Disk Management, Windows XP will use the following cluster sizes by default. If you want to use a different cluster size, you can use the FORMAT command at the command prompt with /a:size parameter to specify a different cluster size. Type FORMAT /? at the command prompt for help.
To modify the cluster size, you either need to use a third-party tool, such as Partition Magic, or reformat the volume.
| Volume Size | FAT16 Cluster Size | FAT32 Cluster Size | NTFS Cluster Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 MB–16 MB | 2 KB | Not supported | 512 bytes |
| 17 MB–32 MB | 512 bytes | Not supported | 512 bytes |
| 33 MB–64 MB | 1 KB | 512 bytes | 512 bytes |
| 65 MB–128 MB | 2 KB | 1 KB | 512 bytes |
| 129 MB–256 MB | 4 KB | 2 KB | 512 bytes |
| 257 MB–512 MB | 8 KB | 4 KB | 512 bytes |
| 513 MB–1,024 MB | 16 KB | 4 KB | 1 KB |
| 1,025 MB–2 GB | 32 KB | 4 KB | 2 KB |
| 2 GB–4 GB | 64 KB | 4 KB | 4 KB |
| 4 GB–8 GB | Not supported | 4 KB | 4 KB |
| 8 GB–16 GB | Not supported | 8 KB | 4 KB |
| 16 GB–32 GB | Not supported | 16 KB | 4 KB |
| 32 GB–2 terabytes | Not supported | Not supported* | 4 KB |
* For volumes that are larger than 32 GB, you must use NTFS. However, you can mount FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB on Windows XP if the volumes were created by other operating systems.
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