Which Windows version was the first to support the FAT32 file system?

Windows 95 OSR2 was the first Windows version to support the FAT32 file system. Released to computer manufacturers in 1996, OSR2 added FAT32 through its updated MS-DOS 7.1 foundation and accompanying disk utilities.

The original retail release of Windows 95 used FAT16, whose practical partition limit was about 2 GB. FAT32 substantially increased the usable size of partitions by using smaller allocation units and a larger address range. Windows 95 OSR2 could create and use FAT32 partitions, although OSR2 was distributed mainly through OEMs rather than ordinary retail channels.

Windows 98 and Windows Me also supported FAT32, which is why those versions are sometimes incorrectly chosen as the first. The NT-based Windows family followed a different path: Windows NT 4.0 did not natively support FAT32, while Windows 2000 later added the ability to read and write it. FAT32 remained common on consumer PCs, removable media, and game consoles before being superseded in many roles by NTFS and exFAT.