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When creating new partitions, the Macrium rescue wizard will always format it FAT32 to maximise compatibility. However, some tablets and computers with secure boot enabled may only be capable of uEFI booting. Most modern computers can boot either method. This will boot from a FAT partition only. This will boot from either the primary FAT or NTFS partition that has been set active
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Boot MechanismsĬomputers boot can boot using one or both of the following mechanisms. However, exFAT is not suitable for booting. Less commonly, USB devices are formatted exFAT. Most USB external harddisks are formatted NTFS. This is the native filesystem for Windows XP and later. However, Windows systems will only format FAT systems to a maximum of 32GB and files are limited to 4GB. USB sticks are commonly pre-formatted FAT. The FAT filesystem is older and compatible with non-Windows operating systems. There are two common filesystems supported by Windows systems Hard disk enabling multiple filesystems to co-exist on the same device. They can be partitioned with the same flexibility as an internal
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This is the Windows name for a USB attached hard disk or They can only contain one partition this is a Windows limitation. This is the type Windows assigns to USB flash sticks and similar. However, there are a few technical details that can make creating USB boot media more complex than CD media.ĭevice types USB media exist in two types.
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