Vista and Windows 7 Functionality in XP: exFAT

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 02 Feb 2009

Microsoft may have moved on with Vista and now Windows 7, but the simple truth of the matter is that quite a few users are still running Windows XP on their machines. This means they did not notice the fact that Microsoft introduced the exFAT file system which provides faster access, improved allocation, UTC time stamp support, better flash media compatibility, and support for large files or drives (gone are the 4GB file and 32GB drive limitations).

KB955704 is an update released by Microsoft that addresses the users’ running Windows XP desire to access exFAT, which as you might have guessed, is not supported by default in XP, nor is it native to this now rather old version of the Windows OS.

“The exFAT file system is the successor to FAT32 in the FAT family of file systems. The exFAT file system is a new file system format that addresses the growing needs of mobile personal storage on different operating systems. The exFAT file system handles large files, such as those that are used for media storage, and it enables seamless interoperability between desktop computers and devices, such as portable media devices. Because of this functionality, you can easily copy files between the desktop and external devices or between the desktop and other operating systems,” says Microsoft.

The update is provided by Microsoft free-of-charge, and the only prerequisite you have to comply with is having XP SP2 or XP SP3 installed on your machine. You will have to reboot the machine once the installation process has completed successfully. “After you download the file you will be able to format external media in the exFAT format. Additionally, you will be able to format external media that is larger than 32 GB, and exFAT-formatted media will be recognized on the computer,” says Microsoft.

If you would like to get KB955704, a Microsoft download location is available here.


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