Why are files larger than 4 GB not copied? What to do if files from your computer are not copied to a flash drive. Causes and solutions to problems
Hello dear visitors. Yesterday they asked me a question: what should I do? I can’t transfer a large file to a flash drive? The system says that there is not enough disk space, but there is enough space on the flash drive. It was necessary to copy a movie of about 9 GB in size to a 16 GB flash drive. If you think logically, then everything should fit, but the system refused to put such a large file on a flash drive and that’s it.
I knew what was going on, and while I was explaining what needed to be done, a bright thought appeared in my head that I should write about it on a blog, so I’m actually writing it :). Let's first explain why large files, or to be precise, files larger than 4 GB do not want to be written to the flash drive and a message appears that there is not enough disk space.
The fact is that when you buy a flash drive, it is already formatted in the file system FAT32, and the file system is FAT32 does not support files larger than 4 GB. Here's the thing, it's very simple. We need to change the file system of the flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS. Because the NTFS file system supports, if I'm not mistaken, files up to 16 GB.
This question is becoming more and more relevant every day, because the size of memory on flash drives is growing and they are becoming cheaper every day. You can already buy a 16 GB flash drive for the same money that a year ago you could only buy a 4 GB one.
We just need to change the file system of our flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS. I will now write two ways in which this can be done.
Format the flash drive to the NTFS file system
I have already written about how. But I think it wouldn’t hurt to repeat it again and pay special attention to the fact that we are formatting it into an NTFS system.
Attention! Formatting a flash drive will destroy all information on it. Make sure that your flash drive does not contain the files you need. If there are, then copy them to your computer.
We connect the flash drive to the computer, wait until the computer recognizes it, go to “My computer” and right-click on our flash drive, select "Format".
A window will open in which we need to select the NTFS file system, select and click “Start”. We agree to the system warning.
After the formatting process is completed, you will receive a blank flash drive with the NTFS file system, onto which you can copy large files.
Converting a flash drive to NTFS for writing large files
The second method is to simply convert a flash drive to NTFS. This method essentially differs from the first, only in that the files you have on the flash drive will not be lost. But I still advise you not to risk it and copy the necessary files to your computer.
Our flash drive is connected and recognized by the computer. We go to “Start”, “All programs”, “Standard” and select “Run”. Or just press Win+R. A window will open in which we write the command cmd and click “Ok”.
A window will open in which we need to enter a command to convert the flash drive to NTFS:
convert k : /fs:ntfs /nosecurity /x
Where k is the letter that the computer assigned to your flash drive, go to “My computer” and see what letter you have. Enter this command and press “Enter”.
Once completed, a report will appear:
How to transfer a large file to a flash drive? Converting a flash drive to the NTFS file system. updated: December 27, 2012 by: admin
If no files are copied to the flash drive, the problem with the drive appears to be at the hardware level. Especially if copying cannot be done on any computer - otherwise, a ban on transferring files may be set by the system administrator in the Windows settings of the PC with which the flash drive does not work.
Hardware problems with a flash drive are resolved in a service center, and it is usually cheaper to purchase a new flash-disk or flash drive. However, for starters, you can try to format the flash drive using standard OS tools or a special program.
Lack of space on flash drive
If you can’t copy only one file to the flash drive, that’s the problem. First, you should make sure that there is enough free space on the flash drive to transfer this file.
The amount of unallocated space and file size can be viewed in the “Properties” section of the flash drive and file context menus, respectively.
This menu opens when you right-click on the flash drive and file icon.
File system problems
Secondly, if the file size is more than 4 GB, and there is enough free space on the flash drive, the problem lies in the file system.
Most flash drives are formatted by default in the FAT32 system (FAT16 is occasionally found), and it has a maximum file size limit of just 4 GB (read more about how to write files larger than 4 GB).
To bypass it, you should reformat the flash drive in the NTFS system.
This is done through the context menu of the flash drive: in it you need to select the “Format” item, and in the window that opens, set the file system value to “NTFS”. Read more about formatting a flash drive into the NTFS file format in the following articles:
Before formatting, all necessary files should be transferred to another storage medium. An NTFS formatted flash drive is ready to work with large files.
Sometimes problems can arise, as they say, out of nowhere. It is precisely such eccentricities that provoke confusion among users, a lack of understanding of what caused the problem, and even more so, how to solve it.
A flash drive, which is currently the leader among removable storage devices, is often used to store any content that is very important for a person’s professional activities, as well as for organizing their free time in an interesting way.
Resetting a favorite movie is a piece of cake for many. What a disappointment and incredible surprise it is when you suddenly discover that files are not copied to the flash drive.
At the same time, they begin to be even more surprised when they discover that one film is copied without problems, but the second simply refuses. It is for this reason that many people want to figure out why .
Problems with resetting content
In most cases, this problem occurs when the user tries to drop a large file. Of course, many may object and say that for a large flash drive, a capacity of 4 GB may be negligible, but believe me, even this can act as the main reason.
Causes and solutions to problems
If you are unable to copy a file to a flash drive, pay attention not so much to the size of your removable drive, but rather to what format it is supplied in.
In most cases, manufacturers format removable media in FAT16 or FAT32 format. In this case, no matter how much you try to change something, to force a video larger than 4 GB to be copied, you will not succeed.
The fact is that such a file system does not support moving and saving large files. However, this does not mean that you will have to fold your arms and never achieve your goal.
Everything can be solved, you just have to first format the flash drive in NTFS format. Right-click on it, select the “Format” option, and in the window that opens, select the NTFS format.
Once this process is completed, repeat the process of copying the large video file. We are confident that this time what you previously failed to do will now work out.
Of course, this is not the only reason for the problem. It may happen that there is simply no free space on the flash drive.
In this case, you should check the amount of filled and free volume. You can open “Computer”, hover your mouse over the removable media icon, and information regarding free space will appear.
You can also simply view this information by right-clicking on the media shortcut and selecting the “Properties” option. A new window will open, which will indicate the information of interest and even demonstrate it in a pie chart.
Viruses can block the process of copying content, so it doesn’t hurt to check the media with an anti-virus program.
Sometimes the process of moving files is not possible on someone else's computer, while on others this problem does not arise. In this case, you may suspect incorrect settings on the PC when the ability to copy is prohibited by the system administrator of a particular PC.
And finally, you can check the flash drive for system errors. To do this, click on the “Properties” option, go to the “Service” subsection and there click “Run check”.
So, such an unpleasant situation associated with the inability to copy, in most cases, can be solved by you yourself if you strictly follow all these recommendations.
The situation when you urgently need to copy something to a flash drive, and, as luck would have it, the computer freezes or gives an error, is probably familiar to many users. They spend a lot of time in vain searches for a solution to the problem, but they leave it unresolved, attributing everything to a drive malfunction or a problem with the computer. But in most cases this is not the case at all.
There may be several reasons why a file cannot be copied to a flash drive. Accordingly, there are several ways to solve this problem. Let's look at them in more detail.
Reason 1: Lack of free space on the flash drive
To people who are familiar with the principles of storing information on a computer at least slightly above the basic level, this situation may seem too elementary or even ridiculous to be described in the article. But nevertheless, there are a huge number of users who are just starting to learn the basics of working with files, so even such a simple problem can confuse them. The information below is intended for them.
If you try to copy files to a flash drive that does not have enough free space, the system will display the following message: 
This message indicates the cause of the error as informatively as possible, so the user can only free up space on the flash drive so that the information he needs fits on it in full.
There is also a situation when the size of the drive is smaller than the amount of information that is planned to be copied to it. You can check this by opening Explorer in Datasheet view. The sizes of all partitions will be indicated there, indicating their total volume and remaining free space. 
If the size of the removable media is insufficient, you should use another flash drive.
Reason 2: File size does not match file system capabilities
Not everyone has knowledge about file systems and their differences. Therefore, many users are perplexed: the flash drive has the necessary free space, but when copying, the system gives an error: 
This error occurs only in cases where an attempt is made to copy a file whose size exceeds 4 GB to a flash drive. This is explained by the fact that the drive is formatted in the FAT32 file system. This file system was used in older versions of Windows, and flash drives are formatted in it for greater compatibility with various devices. However, the maximum file size that it can store is 4 GB.
You can check which file system is used on your flash drive from Explorer. It's very easy to do this:
To solve the problem, the flash drive must be formatted in the NTFS file system. This is done like this:
Once the flash drive is formatted, you can safely copy large files to it.
Reason 3: Problems with the integrity of the file system of the flash drive
Often the reason that a file refuses to be copied to removable media is accumulated errors in its file system. The reason for their occurrence is most often premature removal of the drive from the computer, power outages, or simply prolonged use without formatting.
This problem can be solved using systemic means. To do this you need:
If the reason for the copying failure was due to file system errors, then after checking the problem will go away.
In cases where the flash drive does not contain any information valuable to the user, you can simply format it.
Reason 4: The media is write-protected
This problem often occurs among owners of laptops or standard PCs that have card readers for reading from SD or MicroSD drives. Flash drives of this type, as well as some models of USB drives, have the ability to physically block writing to them using a special switch on the case. The ability to write to removable media can also be blocked in Windows settings, regardless of whether there is physical protection or not. In any case, when trying to copy files to a flash drive, the user will see the following message from the system: 
To solve this problem, you need to move the switch lever on the flash drive case or change the Windows settings. This can be done using system tools or using special programs.
If the methods described above for solving problems did not help and it is still impossible to copy files to a flash drive, the problem may be a malfunction of the media itself. In this case, it would be most advisable to contact a service center, where specialists using special programs will be able to restore the media.