What is FAT32 allocation table?
A file allocation table (FAT) is a file system developed for hard drives that originally used 12 or 16 bits for each cluster entry into the file allocation table. It is used by the operating system (OS) to manage files on hard drives and other computer systems.
How big is a FAT32 table?
File Allocation Table
| Structures | |
|---|---|
| File allocation | Linked list |
| Bad blocks | Cluster tagging |
| Limits | |
| Max. volume size | FAT12: 32 MB (256 MB for 64 KB clusters) FAT16: 2 GB (4 GB for 64 KB clusters) FAT32: 2 TB (16 TB for 4 KB sectors) |
Should I use FAT32 or NTFS?
If you need the drive for a Windows-only environment, NTFS is the best choice. If you need to exchange files (even occasionally) with a non-Windows system like a Mac or Linux box, then FAT32 will give you less agita, as long as your file sizes are smaller than 4GB.
Should I use FAT or FAT32?
There are other FAT replacements on the horizon like exFAT, but it is meant for newer, removable media like SDXC. For current media with capacitites of under 32GB, FAT32 is still the most appropriate version of FAT to use.
What is the 32 in FAT32?
FAT32 is also an acronym for File Allocation Table 32, and the 32 part of its name comes from the fact that FAT32 uses 32 bits of data for identifying data clusters on the storage device.
What is the default cluster size for FAT32?
Default cluster sizes for FAT32
| Volume size | Windows NT 3.51 | Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000 |
|---|---|---|
| 128 MB–256 MB | 2 KB | 2 KB |
| 256 MB–8GB | 4 KB | 4 KB |
| 8GB–16GB | 8 KB | 8 KB |
| 16GB–32GB | 16 KB | 16 KB |
How do I format FAT32?
How to Format a USB Device for FAT32 or NTFS
- Connect the USB storage device to the computer.
- Open the Computer or This PC window, depending on your OS version:
- In the Computer or This PC window, right-click the drive icon in which the USB device appears.
- From the menu, click Format….
What is FAT32 default allocation size?
Default cluster sizes for FAT32
| Volume size | Windows NT 3.51 | Windows NT 4.0 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 MB–64 MB | 512 bytes | 512 bytes |
| 64 MB–128 MB | 1 KB | 1 KB |
| 128 MB–256 MB | 2 KB | 2 KB |
| 256 MB–8GB | 4 KB | 4 KB |
Why is FAT32 still used?
Compatibility. Compatibility is probably the main reason why you probably want to use the FAT32 file system on your USB flash drives or SD cards. While modern versions of Windows back to Windows XP will support NTFS, other devices you use might not be so accommodating.
Is FAT32 a standard?
FAT32 is the de-facto standard. However, there’s a limitation of this standard. Individual files on a FAT32 drive cannot exceed 4 GB size limit. Also, FAT32 partition must be less than 8 TB.