‘Disk Full’ Error When using Microsoft Backup

Microsoft Backup “Cannot copy filename. There is not enough free disk space.” or
“You have either run out of space, or the backup (.bkf) is too large for this disk. Note: If this is a disk formatted with FAT32, the maximum possible file size for the backup file is limited to 4GB.”

This error occurs due to a file system limitation within Microsoft. The file limitations are as follows:

Windows FAT 32 has a 4 GB limit.
Windows NTFS has a 2 TB (terabyte) limit using a Basic Partition. (Dynamic Volumes can be up to 16TB).

1394 and USB Personal Storage drives are pre-formatted in FAT 32. If the backup file is larger than 4 GB a file size error will occur. This is a Microsoft design and limitation. To backup or copy a file larger than 4 GB you must format the Personal Storage drive to NTFS. NTFS format only applies to Windows 2000 and XP. Use Disk Management in Windows 2000 and XP to format the drive. Windows 98 and Me users are limited to the FAT 32 file format and cannot format the drive to NTFS.

How to format the drive in NTFS under Windows 2000 and XP?

Note: This procedure is data destructive. Backup the data before performing this procedure.

  1. Access “Administrative Tools” through the “Control Panel”. XP user might have to click on “Performance and Maintenance” first to access “Administrative Tools”.
  2. In “Administrative Tools” click on “Computer Management”, “Storage”, and “Disk Management”.
  3. Right-click on the Drive Letter assigned to the Personal Storage device.
  4. Select “Delete Partition…” and “Yes”
  5. Right-click on the “Unallocated” space.
  6. Select “New Partition”.
  7. In the “New Partition Wizard”, click Next. Select the type of partition you want and follow all on-screen instructions.