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FAT32 Full Form

FAT32 Full Form

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Mar 01, 2023 11:39 AM IST

What is the full form of FAT32?

The FAT32 is the most straightforward file system supported by operating systems. Storage devices like floppy disks had FAT32 as their file system. The definition of FAT is “File Allocation Table”. With today’s technology, FAT32 is no longer the default file system in Microsoft Windows computers and laptops. Still, it is being used with the older versions of the Windows operating system.

This Story also Contains
  1. What is the full form of FAT32?
  2. What is FAT32?
  3. Features of FAT32
  4. Difference Between Different File Systems
  5. Advantages of FAT32
  6. Disadvantages of FAT32
  7. What Makes it Better Than FAT16?
FAT32 Full Form
FAT32 Full Form

What is FAT32?

The FAT32 file system was designed and developed by Microsoft. It was developed in the year 1996. At that time, DOS 7.1 (Disk Operating System) and Windows 95 were using it as their file system. FAT has various variants depending on their capacity. The names of those variants are- FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32. As it can be judged by the number 32 that the size of this variant is larger than previous versions, it is the reason to build FAT32, to overcome size limitations.

Features of FAT32

The following features of FAT32 helped the users and developers to overcome the issues in previous variants-

  1. The size support of the drive extended up to 2 terabytes which is a very huge number.

  2. Since smaller clusters are used, this made it space efficient as compared to other smaller variants.

  3. The limit of number of root folder entries on the drive does not exist anymore. Now it is a cluster chain which can be put anywhere in the drive.

  4. The partitions can be resized dynamically.

  5. Since the folder can be relocated, it has a robust nature.

  6. A backup copy of FAT can be used instead of a default one.

Difference Between Different File Systems

FAT32

NTFS

exFAT

Oldest file system released in 1996.

Modern technology file system, currently used as default in windows.

Newer than FAT, was released in 2006.

No encryption.

Encryption is present.

Encryption is present.

Good performance.

Better performance than FAT32.

High performance.

Less accessing speed.

Better accessing speed than FAT32

Lesser speed than NTFS.

No file compression ability.

File compression supported.

No file compression ability.

The maximum supported file size is 4 GB.

The maximum supported file size is 16 TB.

The maximum file size is 16 EB (ExaByte).

Compatible with older versions of Windows.

Compatible with the latest versions of Windows.

Compatible with all versions of Windows as well as the latest version of MAC OS.

Best for removable devices.

Best suitable for internal Windows drives.

Best suitable for flash drives.

Does not contain any pre-built security.

Has a built-in security feature.

Has a built-in security feature.

Advantages of FAT32

  1. The file system is compatible with many devices like digital cameras, smartphones, USB devices, gaming consoles, etc.

  2. It uses a very small disk space even for large partitions because of its cluster size.

Disadvantages of FAT32

  1. Even the maximum file size is 4 GB only which is very small.

  2. The maximum supported size partitions it can work with is 8 TB.

  3. During the formatting of the FAT32 drive, a loss in power can result in a loss of data.

  4. There is no built-in compression feature.

  5. To encrypt files, third-party tools are required because it has no built-in security feature.

  6. The performance is slower as compared to its previous variant only.

What Makes it Better Than FAT16?

  1. It uses space more efficiently because small clusters are used in it.

  2. It is very much stable and reliable. The root folder is relocatable easily.

  3. Due to having a normal cluster chain, it is much more flexible.

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

1. What is a file system?

A file system is nothing but a way in which files are managed and stored in a computer or a storage device. A file system makes it easier to access any file or folder from any location. Had there been no file system, it would have been close to impossible to locate the required file.

2. What is DOS?

A DOS, or Disk Operating System, is an operating system that works from a disk drive.

3. What is an NTFS file system?

NTFS stands for “New Technology File System” and is a file system developed by Microsoft in 1993. It is far better as compared to FAT32 and is the default file system in Microsoft Windows operating systems in today’s technology.

4. What is encryption?

Encryption can be understood as a method of converting a secret piece of information that can not be identified easily whereas decryption is the opposite of it. In decryption, we extract back data from the secret code. This whole phenomenon of encryption and decryption of data is termed Cryptography.

5. What is an exFAT file system?

exFAT stands for “Extensible File Allocation Table” and is a file system that is also developed by Microsoft. It was developed in 2006 and is mainly used for USB flash drives and MicroSD cards. exFAT is the default file system for SDXC cards that have storage space larger than 32 GB.

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