The file size exceeds the allowed limit and cannot be saved. File length limit in Windows features and subtleties How to remove the limit on the size of the file system

Some users still face the problem of handling files larger than 4 GB.

As a rule, more and more often this happens when downloading files from or from somewhere else (because we rarely move files of such sizes, which means that people simply do not know that they have a similar problem and why it exists).

Error when file is larger than 4 GB

In the case of a torrent, the error looks like this: "One or more files exceed the size limit of the file system and cannot be downloaded."

In other cases, if my memory serves me (and it happens :)) it sounds like "No access. The disk is full or write-protected."

The essence of the problem lies in the fact that the FAT32 file system (and users facing a similar problem use this particular file system) supports a maximum file size of 4,294,967,296 bytes and no more. There's nothing you can do about it - that's how it was designed from the start.

The solution to the problem is to reformat or convert to the NTFS file system.

Solution 1

I'll start with the second method as the most acceptable one:

To start the conversion, do the following.

Start - Run - cmd

A console will open in front of you. Enter there:

convert D: /fs:ntfs

Where D: is the letter of the drive you want to convert to NTFS format.
I don’t remember exactly, but I have an opinion that, as in the case of formatting, convert the system disk, i.e. the one where the system is now located will fail. The way out of this is either formatting or connecting the hard drive to another computer.

Solution 2

As for formatting..
It is impossible to do this without losing data because formatting erases all files from a hard disk, and therefore you need to either be prepared for this and transfer all the information to external media, or simply buy a new disk and format it in the NTFS file system. To format, click:

My computer - Right click on the desired drive- Format - File system: NTFS- put tick "Quick Format"- To begin .

We are waiting for the end of formatting.
Alternatively, to move files, you can cut them into pieces with special programs, but this will not solve the problem if you download files from the Internet, and is it worth it to fence the garden? In addition, changing the file system to NTFS will also have a positive effect on the performance of the hard disk in Windows Vista, because both operating systems are made to work with this file system.

Afterword

Here are the things. If you have any questions - ask in the comments.

Attention for users of older operating systems (before XP). The NTFS file system is not supported by these versions of operating systems, i.e. You will not see a newly reformatted disk if you have one of the versions of Windows of the 95/98 family.

How to remove the file system limit?

Master's response:

Sometimes some file systems may have certain limitations. For example, if FAT is present on your computer, then you will not be able to download from the Internet, or write to your hard drive such a file, whose size will exceed four gigabytes. Of course, you can remove the restriction of writing and copying files. This can be done by converting the file system to NTFS.

It will try to convert the file system using standard operating system tools. Click the Start menu, then All Programs. There, select "Accessories". In this tab, select "Command Prompt".

First, consider the case of converting a system disk. To do this, enter C: / FS: NTFS at the command line. If your system partition has a different letter, then instead of C, you need to enter this letter. After you enter the command, press Enter. You will see a message that this system partition is in use, which means that the conversion will be possible only at the next system startup. Press the Y key. After that, restart your computer.

After the reboot, the partition will begin the conversion process. After the conversion process is completed, your computer will restart again. The next time you start, you will already have an NTFS file system. This means that all restrictions will be lifted.

If you want to convert some other partition, then simply put the required letter in front of the /FS:NTFS command. In this case, it will not be necessary to restart the computer.

As an alternative to the standard method, you can also use Norton Partition Magic 8.0. Download this program from the Internet, and then install it on your computer. Run the utility. In the main menu, you will find a list of all hard disk partitions.

Right-click on the letter of the partition you will be converting. Select "Convert" from the context menu. A new window will open where you need to check the NTFS item and click OK. after that the file system conversion will start. When finished, your computer will restart and your file system will already be converted. All file size restrictions will be removed.

Have you ever come across an error message in Windows saying you can't copy (move) a file and one of the files is too big? If so, then you probably wondered why such a message appeared (example below in the picture). This article will explain the features and subtleties of the restrictions that are imposed on the length of a file name in Windows.

Depending on the structure of the file system, there will be different restrictions on the length of filenames. It is important to remember and understand that the file name is made up of not only the extension and the name that you gave it when you created it. The filename includes all the information the operating system needs to accurately identify the file. In other words, the filename includes the drive and all directories that contain the file. In addition, the name may contain various system information (and it is not necessary that you will see it anywhere).

Note: In case you didn't know, in most file systems a directory is a kind of file, but with zero data size.

There are many different file systems, each of which defines the structure of a file name in its own way, including how the file path is constructed. For example, on small USB storage devices, the FAT32 system is usually used. And on optical discs (CD / DVD), UDF or ISO 9660 is usually used. On the system drives of the latest Windows operating systems, the NTFS file system is used, which will be the subject of this article (as the most common for Windows).

Note: For example, on system disks with Windows XP, the FAT32 file system was often used. However, it had a significant (for today's time) drawback - a limitation on the maximum file size of 4 GB. NTFS does not have this limitation.

There is some confusion about the maximum length of a filename in NTFS, which you can find in various sources. For starters, there is an absolute limit introduced by the Windows API and it is 260 characters. However, the practical limit is less than 260 characters. For example, all names must have a null terminator at the end. Normally, only Windows sees this marker, but it is still treated as a single character. So you only have 259 characters available. Three more characters are used to indicate the drive (for example, C:\). Thus, the real limit for a name containing all directories, including subdirectories, and the name of the file itself, together with the extension, is reduced to 256 characters.

Note: The Windows API is the core interface on which the entire operating system is built and used by programs.

However, there is another subtlety related to how Windows encodes characters. No individual object (file or directory) can have a name longer than 255 characters. In this case, the name includes spaces and a backslash, which is used as separators. This 255-character limit is often cited as the limit for a single filename, but in practice this only applies to filenames in the root directory without any directories.

There is another limitation on filename length that is often overlooked. Generally, by default, Windows supports an alternate filename using the old 8.3 naming system. When you create a folder, Windows will reserve 12 characters for the alternate filename, leaving 244 characters for all objects contained within. The use of the 8.3 naming system can be disabled, but this can cause problems when using older 16-bit programs.

Note: The 8.3 naming system is quite simple. 8 is the number of characters in the name. "." is the separator between the name and the extension. 3 is the number of characters for the extension. 12 is 8 + 1 + 3.

Note: For more information on how to disable 8.3 support, see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc778996.aspx . Please note that you will need to edit the registry.

There is also a mechanism that allows longer filenames to be used. For example, network systems sometimes need more flexibility in file names. Therefore, the Windows API includes a special handling system to support very long Unicode names in blocks of 255 characters. These long names are prefixed with "\\?\" (no quotes). So if you encounter a problem with a file name that is too long, then try using this prefix in the path name, for example "\\?\c:\file.txt" (without the quotes).

Most cases of errors of too long filename paths are associated with a large level of nesting of directories. Therefore, being aware of the limitations will allow you to be careful when creating your directory structure and avoid the problems associated with too long names.

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