Cannot copy/transfer MP4 output file after successful rendering & play

[simoncwhat]

I recently upgraded my Premiere Elements from 2015 to the new 2023 version. It all works great until I go to transfer the rendered file (MP4) to a USB stick. The output MP4 file is 10.3GB. It plays just fine, but when I go to transfer to a blank 64GB USB stick, it says there is not enough room on the stick. I formated the stick ahead of time so it is blank. 

I tried this on 2 computers and I have the same problem. I failed on my Windows 10 desktop. I then archived the project to a USB stick and put it on my new Windows 11 laptop. Same problem. The error said the destination device was not large enough for the file MP4 file being transferred.

I'm completely bewildred by this behavior. I believe it must be a Premiere Elements problem, not a Windows file system problem. I can transfer much larger files/folders of various types to and from the same computer and USB stick without a problem. 

Any suggestions? The only thing I can think of is that when I archived the project for transfer to my Windows 11 laptop, I choose the "copy project" option to archive the entire project including all media assets. Maybe I should have chosen the "Archive Project"? But that doesn't explain why the problem occurred on the originating Windows 10 desktop from which I did the archive. 

Thanks,

- Simon

[John T Smith · Accepted solution]

ntfs is required for files >4gig in size

[simoncwhat]

John -

Thank You! Your suggestion was right on. I don't use Premiere Elements very much and I don't think I've ever rendered project MP4 files >4GB.

I gues I can no longer blame Bill Gates for all the problems that Windows has caused me over the years. Each new version of Windows seems to require a learning curve even for basic functions that Microsoft has "enhanced". 

If you haven't already heard it, here's an old Microsoft Windows joke: Q: Why shouldn't you buy a car from Bill Gates? A: It will likely crash every day.

I don't know if Bill Gates thinks that joke is funny. But I'm pretty sure that, regardless, he's laughing all the way to the bank.

With a smile ...

- Simon

[Peru Bob · Accepted solution]

exFAT will also work.

More information on drive formats:

https://www.usbmemorydirect.com/blog/flash-drive-format-types/

You can reformat the drive, but you will lose any data on it.

[simoncwhat]

Bob -

Thanks for the link to the article about USB formats. I used NTFS and everything works fine.

- Simon

[Ann Bens]

On a side note, you cannot play an USB stick which is NTFS on a TV.

[simoncwhat]

Ann -

On my new Sony TV, the USB stick formated with NTFS worked just fine in one of the USB ports on the TV. The same stick also plays on my computers. I produced a few different versions of the video - all well over the 4GB limit.

- Simon