Why can't I copy files larger than 4GB into my thumbdrive?

In today's era of broadband, high quality multimedia content and huge storage capacities, single files reaching gigabytes wasn't uncommon. So it comes to the occasional need to transfer these large files via thumbdrives, flashdrives, pendrives– whateveryacallit.

And Windows simply gives you an error similar to this: "Not enough space in drive G:\". Oddly enough, you obviously have more than enough space, sometimes even double the available space. What the–

For the impatient, here's how you fix it:

1. Backup all the files inside the thumbdrive.
2. Right-click at the drive, and select Format...
3. Select file system as NTFS
   
4. Click start.

After formatting, you should be able to copy the large file into the thumbdrive. And remember to copy back the backup files, if you need it.

Now here comes the explanation. The default file system for thumbdrives are FAT32, which has a 4GB file size limit. NTFS, on the other hand, has a 16TB file size limit. For more detailed information, please visit your nearest wiki.

Another option is to select exFAT, however it will be unusable to Windows Vista before SP1, Windows XP before SP2 and update KB955704, Windows prior to XP, as well as devices other than PCs.