| Short for File
Allocation Table, FAT is a method used by Microsoft
operating systems to keep track of the contents of a disk; the
table is a chart of numbers that correspond to cluster addresses on
the hard drive.
FAT12: The oldest type of File Allocation Table
that uses 12-bit binary
system. A hard disk drive formatted using FAT12 can use a maximum of
approximately 16,736,256 volume size and today is no longer used. If
your computer is running Windows 95 or above and your FAT within FDISK
is being displayed as FAT12 it is likely that your hard disk drive is
corrupted, bad or has a computer virus.
FAT16: FAT utilizing a 16-bit binary system. Commonly found with Windows
3.x through Windows 95. FAT16, while becoming obsolete by FAT32, is
still commonly found.
FAT32: Enhanced File
Allocation Table utilizing a 28-bit binary system, first used in Windows 95 OSR2 and more so in Windows 98, that saves disk space by
using 4k Cluster. See FAT32 Page for extended
information about FAT32.
Also see: Hard disk drive
definitions, HPFS, NTFS,
Partition, VFAT
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