Microsoft forgot to update this Windows feature for 30 years

Dave W Plummer, a software developer at Microsoft, told the interesting story of how the Format dialog box was created many years ago in a post on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend.

On a Thursday morning nearly 30 years ago at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Dave W Plummer was porting billions of lines of code from the Windows95 user interface to NT.

The Format dialog box on WindowsNT is so different from Windows95 that he had to take out paper and write down all the options and choices that the user can make related to formatting the drive, such as the filesystem. file system), label, cluster size, compression, encryption.

He said the Format dialog's lines of code are just a temporary solution 'until an elegant user interface appears'. Despite this, Microsoft never improved the look of the Format dialog box and it remains the same to this day on Windows 11.

If you're wondering why the formatted size of FAT drives in Windows is limited to 32 GB, this may be partly due to Plummer. Plummer admitted: 'That limit was also an arbitrary choice that morning and one that has stuck with us like a permanent side effect.' The FAT format actually supports drives up to 2 TB, but you will need to use a third-party tool to create this drive.

With each updated version of Windows, from Windows XP to Windows 7 and subsequent versions like Windows 8, Microsoft constantly improves and introduces new features to make its operating system more powerful and effective. easier to use.

For example, Windows XP, released on October 25, 2001, marked a major leap in the development of Microsoft operating systems with the combination of Windows NT/2000 and Windows 95/98/ME. It brings significant user interface improvements, increased speed and maneuverability, and integrates new features such as file system encryption, WiFi support and remote support.

Every version of Windows has improved features and interfaces, helping to optimize the user experience for users of all levels, but the Format dialog box seems to be the exception, which is true to the saying 'if it doesn't work'. If it's damaged, don't fix it.'