How to Determine File System of Drive in Windows 10


A file system enables applications to store and retrieve files on storage devices.

Windows 10 supports formatting a drive using the FAT, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, or ReFS file system.

Feature	FAT	FAT32	exFAT	NTFS	ReFS
Maximum volume size	4 GB	32 GB	128 PB	256 TB	4.7 ZB (zettabytes)
Maximum file size	4 GB	4 GB	16 EB (exabytes)	18 EB (exabytes)	18 EB (exabytes)
Maximum filename length	8.3 characters	255 characters	255 characters	255 characters	255 characters
Maximum cluster size	64 KB	32 KB	32 MB	2048 KB	64 KB
File compression	No	No	No	Yes	No
File encryption	No	No	No	Yes	No
Permissions	No	No	No	Yes	Yes

This tutorial will show you how to determine the file system of a drive in Windows 10.

Contents

• Option One: Determine File System of Drive in This PC
• Option Two: Determine File System of Drives in Disk Management
• Option Three: Determine File System of Drives in Command Prompt
• Option Four: Determine File System of Drives in PowerShell
• Option Five: Determine File System of Drives in Settings

OPTION ONE

Determine File System of Drive in This PC

1 Open This PC in File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Right click or press and hold on the drive you want to know its file system, and click/tap on Properties. (see screenshot below)

3 You will now see the file system of the drive. (see screenshots below)

OPTION TWO

Determine File System of Drives in Disk Management

1 Right click on the Start button to open the Win+X menu, and click/tap on Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).

2 You will now see the file system listed for each connected drive on the PC at the top. (see screenshot below)

OPTION THREE

Determine File System of Drives in Command Prompt

You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.

1 Open an elevated command prompt.

2 Type the commands below one at a time into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter after each command. (see screenshot below)

diskpart

list volume

3 You will now see the file system listed for each connected drive on the PC.

OPTION FOUR

Determine File System of Drives in PowerShell

1 Open PowerShell.

2 Type the get-volume command into PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

3 You will now see the file system listed for each connected drive on the PC.

OPTION FIVE

Determine File System of Drives in Settings

This option is only available starting with Windows 10 build 20197.

1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the System icon.

2 Click/tap on Storage on the left side, and click/tap on the Manage Disks and Volumes link on the right side. (see screenshot below)

3 You will now see the file system listed under each connected drive on the PC.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Format a Disk or Drive in Windows 10

Windows 11 Tutorials