File Size Limits
Today I tried to use my iPod to temporarily store some large files on my laptop. See, the Microsoft disk defragmenter can’t seem to get anywhere unless it has at least 15% free disk space to use, and, well, I only have 14% free. So no defrag for me, until I can move some of these large files off of my lappy.
Now, these files are all around 4GB apiece, and my iPod is a 40GB version, so it shouldn’t be a big deal. Right? Well, unfortunately for me, I kept getting these “Disk full” errors, and I had at least 30GB free space. That was really frustrating!
But then I finally realized what the deal is. 4GB is the maximum file size that the FAT32 filesystem can handle, and now that my iPod is formatted for Windows, that’s just the limit I gotta deal with.
Apple has an information page about this issue, which is characteristically snippy and self-aggrandizing:
This is because the FAT32 file system–the Windows hard disk format used for iPod–limits files to 4 GB. This limitation does not apply to an iPod formatted for Mac, which uses the Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) file system. Its file size limit is much larger, in case you were wondering.
Yes, thank you Apple. I was wondering whether Macs could possibly be as stupid and broken as Windows. A little worried, even. I’m so glad they aren’t. I can sleep again at night.
</sarcasm>