So, how to get around it? You need to convert the file system to NTFS (or other file system that can handle files that big). Unfortunately, Vista gives you the cryptic file is too large for the destination file system error instead of telling you the real reason is that FAT32 cannot handle files that big and what to do to fix it. You cannot copy a file larger than 4gb to a FAT32 system. USB drives and external HD’s are often formatted with FAT32. The 1tb drive was empty, yet I kept getting errors about not having enough disk space.
Yesterday during a backup, I got the same message again trying to back up my Windows Media Center recorded tv shows. I didn’t have time to fiddle with it – so I left it. I was trying to copy 6gb iso file to my 8gb flash drive (where 7gb was free) and I kept getting an error message that the file ‘is too large for the destination file system’.