2024-11-03

FAT file system

Identifying FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS File Systems and partitions

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM03 mins

File systems How can I tell what type of file system (FAT16, FAT32, NTFS) my drive is formatted in?

To identify what type of file system the drive is formatted in:

  1. Click on the Start button and select Computer if using Windows Vista, My Computer if using Windows XP or 2000, or Windows Explorer if using Windows Me or 98.
  2. Right-click on the drive letter you want to check.
  3. Click on the Properties option from the pull down menu. A window will appear with the type of file system you have. If you do not see any information regarding FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS in the window that means the drive is formatted in FAT16.

Notes:

  1. Partitions created with the FAT16 file system have a size limitation of 2,048 MB (2.1 GB).
  2. Microsoft first started supporting the FAT32 file system with the release of Windows 95B (a.k.a. OSR2), circa 1997.
  3. When booting from Windows 95A, a Windows 95A startup disk, or any version of MS-DOS, a FAT32 partition will appear as a NON-DOS partition in FDISK.
  4. FAT32 partitions have a theoretical partition size limitation of 2 terabytes (TB). However, new partitions created by either Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows 2000 will limit their size to 32 gigabytes (GB). To create partitions greater than 32 GB under Windows Vista, XP, or 2000, you will need to format them using the NTFS file system (or create multiple FAT 32 partitions for drives greater than 32GB).
  5. Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT all support the NTFS file system. Windows 2000, XP, and Vista can both support the FAT32 and NTFS file systems, however Windows Vista cannot be installed on a FAT32 partition. Windows NT cannot support FAT32 partitions.
  6. MaxBlast and DiscWizard allow FAT32 partitioning of a drive larger than 32GB.
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FAT 32 File System Frequently Asked Questions

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FAT32 File System Microsoft’s FAT32 File System

Windows 95 OSR2 provides an updated version of the File Allocation Table file system called FAT32. This updated file system allows for a default cluster size as small as 4K, as well as support for EIDE hard disc sizes in excess of 2 Gbytes. FAT32 provides many enhancements over previous implementations of the FAT file system.

Cluster & Partition Sizes

FAT32 supports drives up to 2 terabytes in size. FAT32 uses smaller clusters (that is, 4K clusters for drives up to 8 Gbytes in size), resulting in 10 to15 percent more efficient use of disc space relative to large FAT16 partitions. FAT32 will only work on 512 Mbytes and larger drives. Microsoft’s bundled disc tools (Format, FDISK, Defrag, and MS-DOS based ScanDisk) have been revised to work with FAT32.

Note: Please backup all data.

1. QUESTION
When I try to format a FAT32 file system partition larger than 8025 Mbytes from within Windows 95, I receive the following error:

Verifying xxx.xx M
Invalid media or track 0 bad-disk unusable
Format terminated

REASON
This error occurs if there is a non-DOS partition preceding the extended DOS partition and the primary DOS partition has been formatted using the real-mode FORMAT.EXE command.

SOLUTION

  1. Click the “Start” button, click “Shut Down”, click “Restart The Computer In MS- DOS Mode”, and then click “Yes”.
  2. Type format c: (where c is the drive letter for the partition you want to format), and press >ENTER>.
  3. When the format is complete, type exit and press ENTER to restart Windows 95.

2. QUESTION
When I try to partition a drive that is larger than 8 Gbytes in size, the maximum partition size is still 8 Gbytes.

REASON
This can occur if the hard disc controller does not fully support the interrupt 13 extensions. In order for a hard disc that is both larger than 8 Gbytes and using the FAT32 file system to be fully addressed, it must support interrupt 13 extensions. The file IO.SYS tests for the presence of interrupt 13 extensions, and if they are not found, uses the default CHS LBA limit of 7.9 Gbytes. This information applies to both ATA and SCSI hard disc drives.

SOLUTION
Contact the drive controller’s manufacturer for information about a possible BIOS upgrade to a version of the BIOS that fully supports interrupt 13 extensions.

3. QUESTION
When I check in FDISK to see if my partition is FAT32, it only shows FAT16. How do I get my drive to be partitioned in FAT32?

REASON

  1. You are either using the real-mode FDISK, which does not contain the “enable large disk support” prompt, or you did not answer “y” for yes to “enable large disk support”; or
  2. The drive you are attempting to partition with FAT32 is smaller than 512 Mbytes.

SOLUTION
Run the FDISK tool which came with OSR2 on a system with a drive over 512 Mbytes. FDISK will ask whether you wish to enable large disc support. If you answer Yes, any partition you create larger than 512 Mbytes is marked as a FAT32 partition.

4. QUESTION
When I try to dual-boot Windows version 3.x on a computer running Windows OSR2, I receive one of the following error messages:

  • This version of Windows does not run on MS-DOS 6.x or earlier.
  • You started your computer with a version of MS-DOS incompatible with this version of Windows. Insert a Startup diskette matching this version of Windows and then restart.
  • The system has been halted. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer.
  • This version of Windows cannot be run on this version of DOS.

REASON
Starting with OSR2, dual-booting Windows 3.x is not supported in Windows 95.

SOLUTION
To dual-boot between Windows 3.x and Windows 95, install the retail version of Windows 95. If you have FAT32 partitions, remove them and create a FAT16 partition with the Windows 95 or MS-DOS 6.x version of FDISK.EXE.

Neither MS-DOS 6.x nor the retail version of Windows 95 will recognize a FAT32 volume. Windows 3.x was designed to use the FAT12 and FAT16 file systems. It could potentially damage a FAT32 volume.

5. QUESTION
When I try to compress my drive with DriveSpace or DriveSpace 3, I get the following error:

Drive C cannot be compressed because it is a FAT32 drive.

REASON
DriveSpace was designed to work with the FAT12 and FAT16 file systems and cannot be used with drives using the FAT32 file system.

SOLUTION
None at this time.

6. QUESTION
When I try to defragment a FAT32 partition, I receive the following error:

Windows cannot defragment this drive. Make sure the disk is formatted and free of errors. Then try defragmenting the drive again.

REASON
This can be caused by running an earlier version of DEFRAG.EXE than the version included with OSR2.

SOLUTION
Extract a new copy of the DEFRAG.EXE file from your original OSR2 CD-ROM or discs. For additional information about how to extract or obtain the OSR2 version of DEFRAG.EXE, contact you OEM vendor or Microsoft technical support.

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NTFS Master File Table (MFT)

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Each file on an NTFS volume is represented by a record in a special file called the master file table (MFT). NTFS reserves the first 16 records of the table for special information. The first record of this table describes the master file table itself, followed by a MFT mirror record. If the first MFT record is corrupted, NTFS reads the second record to find the MFT mirror file, whose first record is identical to the first record of the MFT. The locations of the data segments for both the MFT and MFT mirror file are recorded in the boot sector. A duplicate of the boot sector is located at the logical center of the disk.

The third record of the MFT is the log file, used for file recovery. The seventeenth and following records of the master file table are for each file and directory (also viewed as a file by NTFS) on the volume.

Figure provides a simplified illustration of the MFT structure:

Figure 5-2 MFT Structure

 

The master file table allocates a certain amount of space for each file record. The attributes of a file are written to the allocated space in the MFT. Small files and directories (typically 1500 bytes or smaller), such as the file illustrated in next figure, can entirely be contained within the master file table record.

Figure 5-2 MFT Record for a Small File or Directory:

 

This design makes file access very fast. Consider, for example, the FAT file system, which uses a file allocation table to list the names and addresses of each file. FAT directory entries contain an index into the file allocation table. When you want to view a file, FAT first reads the file allocation table and assures that it exists. Then FAT retrieves the file by searching the chain of allocation units assigned to the file. With NTFS, as soon as you look up the file, it’s there for you to use.

Directory records are housed within the master file table just like file records. Instead of data, directories contain index information. Small directory records reside entirely within the MFT structure. Large directories are organized into B-trees, having records with pointers to external clusters containing directory entries that could not be contained within the MFT structure.

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