FAT32: Definition and additional resources from ZDNet

The 32-bit version of the FAT file system. In wide use on PCs that run Windows 95/98, FAT32 was introduced with the OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2) version of Windows 95 in 1996. It supports larger disk partitions and file sizes and has more safeguards than the earlier FAT (FAT16). In the event of disk failure, FAT32 can relocate the root directory on the disk and use the backup copy of the FAT table. FAT32 also reduced cluster waste (see cluster). Starting with Windows NT, FAT32 was superseded by NTFS. See NTFS and FAT.

              FAT16    FAT32         NTFS
  Maximum     4GB      2TB           2TB+
  Partition            32GB on
  Size                 Win2K/WinXP
  Maximum                            Size of
  File size   2GB      4GB           Drive
  OS          DOS
  Support     OS/2
              Win3x
              Win95     Win95(OSR2)
              Win98     Win98
              WinNT     WinNT        WinNT(SP4)
              Win2K     Win2K        Win2K
              WinXP     WinXP        WinXP
                                     WinVista

Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia.
Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc.
All rights reserved.

Additional Resources

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