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FAT32 and FAT16 |
A new version of the file allocation table (FAT) available in Windows 95 OSR 2 and Windows 98. FAT32 increases the number of bits used to address clusters and also reduces the size of each cluster. The result is that it can support larger disks (up to 2 terabytes) and better storage efficiency (less slack space).
If you upgraded a Windows 95 system to Windows 98, chances are your hard drive still uses the FAT16 file system. Now that you're using Windows 98, you have the option of converting that drive to the new-and-improved FAT32 system. FAT32 stores the data on your hard drive in smaller clusters than the older FAT16 system, so you end up with less wasted space. Before you do, you may want to know exactly how much space you'll regain upon conversion. The Windows 98 installation CD offers the FAT32 Conversion Utility to calculate this information for you.
Put the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive, and if the Windows 98 CD-ROM window doesn't appear on its own, open up My Computer and double-click your CD-ROM drive. Point and click where it says Browse This CD, then navigate your way to the tools\reskit\config folder. To run the utility, double-click the Fat32win.exe file, select a drive, and click Scan. You'll see some numbers that look very good. Maybe, maybe not. FAT32 isn't for eveybody.
The FAT32 Conversion Utility is also available for download from Microsoft's Web site at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/bin/W98FAT32.EXE
Chances are your hard drive still uses the FAT16 file system. Now that you're using Windows 98, you have the option of converting that drive to the new-and-improved FAT32 system.
Convertion may take up to three hours. Save anything you may be working
on and close all open programs. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System
Tools, Drive Converter (FAT32). Be sure to click Details and read all the
warnings about converting. For example, you can't convert a compressed
drive.
Click Next, select the drive you want to convert, then click Next again.
You'll need to wait as the wizard checks to see if you have any incompatible
programs installed. If it finds any, you may wish to exit the wizard, uninstall
these programs, and come back to the converter.
Click Next, and you'll be presented with an option to back up your
files. Click Create Backup to invoke Microsoft Backup and complete a backup
operation, or click Next.
Click Next and watch W98FAT32.EXE work.
Problems with the FAT File System
Despite its popularity, the FATFS is not a perfect file system. It suffers from three major problems.
The first problem is fragmentation. As the computer accesses files in a FATFS it becomes less efficient. Adjacent files in a directory and even the contents of individual large files can get spread across the disk media. This causes a larger number of disk seek operations to occur and increases the amount of time that is required to access a file on the disk. The routine use of a defragmentation program, such as DEFRAG, will 'clean house' and keep the disk running at peak performance.
The second problem is storage efficiency. The storage efficiency of the FATFS degrades for larger partitions. This is a result of the clustering added in DOS 4.0. The FATFS can only address about 65,518 units (or clusters) of storage on a disk regardless of the size of the disk. For small disks, a cluster of storage is 512 bytes, but for larger disks it can be 8192 bytes or more. The FATFS allocates storage to files in whole clusters, and no two files ever share a cluster. So what does this mean? It means that your 500 byte memo can take 8192 or more bytes of storage on the disk. For larger disks, this wasted space becomes a significant portion of the disk capacity. Microsoft is expected to introduce another improvement to the FATFS, called FAT32, which addresses this problem in the future.
The third problem with the FATFS is that it is not fault tolerant. The FATFS is a corruptible file system where a computer crash, a hardware malfunction, or a programming glitch can destroy the file system and ruin your day. (This is where FileRecovery steps in and earns its keep).
This is from Leong Peck Yoke's URL found below.
An Enhanced File System for Windows 95
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/pctech/content/16/07/os1607.001.html
PC Magazine tutorial article on what FAT32 does to solve problems with
the old FAT, and other advantages and disadvantages of the new file system.
Updated on Aug 4, 1998
Partitioning Your Hard Disks
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/pctech/content/16/11/tu1611.001.html
PC Magazine tutorial article on how to squeeze extra storage out of
large capacity drives with more efficient partitions. Provides very good
background information as well as an explanation of FAT32. Updated on Aug
2, 1998
FAT32 Resource Page
http://www.project9.com/fat32/
This site explains all the options and specifications of the new FAT32
file system for Windows. This page has been created to help answer some
of the questions and confusions about FAT32 and its new features. Updated
on Aug 4, 1998
Everything you need to know about OSR2 and FAT32
http://www.flash.net/%7Ehollowel/pro/fat32/index.html
Detailed FAQ about OSR2 and FAT32. The page is maintained by Sean Erwin.
Updated on Aug 5, 1998
How to safely take advantage of large FAT32 hard Drive Disks
http://www.stiller.com/BigDisk.htm
The FAT32 File System
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pr/fat32.htm
A Microsoft Knowledge Base article on FAT32.
OEMSR2
http://www.halcyon.com/cerelli/oemsr2.htm
FAT and FAT32
http://www.iscs.nus.edu.sg/~leongpec/
FAT 32 For Windows NT
http://www.winternals.com/fat32.html
People are always asking where I hang out:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/topics/comp/os-ms-windows/general/win95/
If you can convert from FAT32 to FAT16 without lossing data.
I don't know yet??? So far I have the following conflicting answers.
I hope to be able to prove it successful soon.
1. "Actually, you CAN convert back to FAT, but it requires a reformat of the drive. Run FDISK and when it asks if you want to enable large disk support, say NO, and then reformat the drive. That will convert back. However, there is no way to do it AND retain your data."?????
2. "Buy Partition Magic (www.powerquest.com) and change with no data loss"?????
3. If you know the answer please E Mail me.
A Quick Guide to FAT32 Conversion
http://www.windowatch.com/fat32.html
Open Control Panel/System Properties and look under System. If it reads 4.00.950 B, you can convert to FAT32. There are two ways to convert to FAT32 under Win95: the free way and the easy way.
The free way: Move or back up all files off your hard drive. Use your Win95B Emergency Startup Disk to boot to DOS and run FDisk, where you "enable large disk support" and repartition your drive. After that you'll have to format the disk, reinstall Win95, restore your other files, and reinstall all your apps.
The easy way: Buy a product like PowerQuest's PartitionMagic, which can perform FAT32 conversion without damaging your data or requiring any reinstallation.
Don't try to compress your disk after converting to FAT32.
You have to choose either compression or FAT32-you can't do both. Chances
are, you'll gain more space with old-fashioned FAT16 and disk compression.
But you'll gain stability with FAT32. Take your pick.
If you don't know whether or not your hard disk is using FAT32, here's
how to find out. Open up the Drive Converter (FAT32) utility, which you'll
find on the Start button/Programs/Accessories/System Tools menu. Launching
it will bring up a Drive Converter wizard. Click on the Next button. You'll
see a window labeled "Drives" showing all the drives on your computer and
whether they're FAT16 or FAT32. If you don't have the Driver Converter
utility on your system, you probably don't have FAT32 and your system probably
doesn't support it.
You successfully installed Win98 as an upgrade over Win95, preserving the old system files during setup so you could uninstall Win98 if necessary. Weeks later, you're having no trouble, and you're wondering whether it's time to proceed with FAT32 conversion and purge those system files to free up 50MB. (If you already converted to FAT32, then you no longer have the option to uninstall Win98, and the saved Win95 system files are already deleted.) The answer isn't clear-cut: On the one hand, Win98 runs better after a clean install. (Note: Preserve a Win95 files backup directory instead of wiping your hard drive clean when performing a clean install;
see http://www.winmag.com/library/1998/0701/cov0076.htm.) So if you think you'll eventually want to clean install Win98, save the Win95 system files: You'll be able to back out into Win95 and properly uninstall Win98. On the other hand, if Win98 is running fine, FAT32 is one of its chief advantages, and you're probably missing out on it. If you doubt you'll ever go through a clean installation, go ahead with FAT32 conversion, which takes care of deleting the system files for you.