Is Windows not allowing you to select a FAT32 option? This is likely because your drive is larger than 32GB. Don’t worry, we have a solution.
The default windows format option only allows the FAT32 partition on drives that are 32GB or less. With flash drives, SD cards, and portable hard drives well exceeding that 32GB limit, users need to use another program to format the drive.
At Rugged Video it’s common for customers to use 64GB, 128GB or external hard drives with Terabytes of storage. The RV Line of recorders can accept almost all of these drives so long as they are formatted to FAT32 and don’t use exotic drivers. The solution is to download a free application that will allow the format of these drives.
In our experience the MiniAide FAT32 Formatter does the job and best of all, the home edition is free.
http://www.fat-32-formatter.com/miniaide-fat32-formatter-home.html
Once downloaded users can open the program and they will see all the drives(Disks) recognized by the computer.
In this case I have a three disks with multiple partitions on the first disk. Since I’ve verified my F: drive is the USB Flash Drive I wish to format, and the size is 64GB, I highlight Disk 2. Once highlighted I click “Format Partition” on the left hand side.
The format screen will appear and you will have the option to select a drive name, format type and cluster size(allocation size). The cluster size should be set to the largest option available, which is typically 64KB and in some cases with smaller drives 32KB. Once all options are selected click ‘OK”.
You will return to the main screen with “format partition…” listed under “Pending Operations”. Click the green Apply checkmark to begin the format.
A confirmation window will appear, click “Yes”.
The program will now format your flash drive to the proper format which can take a couple, to several minutes depending on your drive size. You can now use that drive in the RV Recorder.
*For any new drive its recommended users test drive compatibility and functionality before using the drive in the field. Some drives may use incompatible drivers or lack the write speed needed to record HD video. Usually a 10 minute record test is sufficient to ensure the drive is capable of recording HD video.
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