Developer(s) | Microsoft, NCR, SCP, IBM, Compaq, Digital Research, Novell, Caldera |
---|---|
Full name | File Allocation Table |
Variants | 8-bit FAT, FAT12, FAT16, FAT16B, FAT32, ExFAT, FATX, FAT+ |
Introduced | 1977Standalone Disk BASIC-80 | with
Partition IDs | MBR/EBR: |
Structures | |
Directory contents | Table |
File allocation | Linked list |
Bad blocks | Cluster tagging |
Limits | |
Max volume size |
|
Max file size | 4,294,967,295 bytes (4 GB − 1) with FAT16B and FAT32[1] |
Max no. of files |
|
Max filename length | 8.3 filename, or 255 UCS-2 characters when using LFN[nb 1] |
Features | |
Dates recorded | |
Date range | 1980-01-01 to 2099-12-31 (2107-12-31) |
Date resolution |
|
Forks | Not natively |
Attributes | Read-only, hidden, system, volume, directory, archive |
File system permissions |
|
Transparent compression |
|
Transparent encryption |
|
File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers and was the default filesystem for MS-DOS and Windows 9x operating systems.[citation needed] Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices. The increase in disk drives capacity required four major variants: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and ExFAT. FAT was replaced with NTFS as the default file system on Microsoft operating systems starting with Windows XP.[3] Nevertheless, FAT continues to be used on flash and other solid-state memory cards and modules (including USB flash drives), many portable and embedded devices because of its compatibility and ease of implementation.[4]
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