carfield.com.hkFat.jpg2001-07-03T16:00:00Z2001-07-03T16:00:00Z<br/><img src="/document/microsoft/hardware/Fat.jpg" id="main_img" alt="Fat.jpg"/><br/><script type="text/javascript"><!--google_ad_client = "pub-9426659565807829";google_ad_slot = "9359905831";google_ad_width = 728;google_ad_height = 15;//--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>2001-07-03T16:00:00ZFat_dir.jpg2001-07-03T16:00:00Z2001-07-03T16:00:00Z<br/><img src="/document/microsoft/hardware/Fat_dir.jpg" id="main_img" alt="Fat_dir.jpg"/><br/><script type="text/javascript"><!--google_ad_client = "pub-9426659565807829";google_ad_slot = "9359905831";google_ad_width = 728;google_ad_height = 15;//--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>2001-07-03T16:00:00Zfat.txt2001-07-03T16:00:00Z2001-07-03T16:00:00Z<br/>To accommodate the larger number of possible clusters, the directory<br/>entry for each file must have 4<br/>bytes for the starting cluster of the<br/>file, rather than the 2 bytes needed<br/>under FAT16. Traditionally, each<br/>directory entry is a 32-byte record<br/>(as shown in Figure 1). In the<br/>middle of the record are 10 bytes<br/>(bytes 12 to 21) that Microsoft has<br/>reserved for its own future use.<br/>Two of those bytes are now used to accommodate<br/>the extra bytes needed to specify the starting cluster<br/>under FAT32.<br/><br/>The operating system has always kept two copies<br/>of the FAT on disk but used only one. With FAT32,<br/>the OS can now use either copy. Another change is<br/>that the root directory, which used to be of fixed size<br/>and location on disk, is now free to grow as<br/>necessary, like a subdirectory. There is no longer a<br/>limit on the number of directory entries in the root<br/>directory. That's especially important, because each<br/>long filename uses multiple directory entries. (For<br/>details, see "How Windows 95 Stores Long<br/>Filenames," PC Magazine, June 25, 1996.)<br/><br/>The combination of a movable root directory and the<br/>use of both FAT copies offer the potential of<br/>smooth, dynamic resizing of a hard disk--to shrink a<br/>partition, for example, to make room for some other<br/>operating system. The new approach is safer than<br/>ones used by third-party programs to resize<br/>partitions under FAT16. (While Windows doesn't<br/>include a utility that takes advantage of the potential<br/>of FAT32, third-party products that do have been<br/>announced. They include PowerQuest's Partition<br/>Magic 3.0 and Quarterdeck's PartitionIt.)<br/><br/><br/><script type="text/javascript"><!--google_ad_client = "pub-9426659565807829";google_ad_slot = "9359905831";google_ad_width = 728;google_ad_height = 15;//--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>2001-07-03T16:00:00Zntfs.html2001-07-03T16:00:00Z2001-07-03T16:00:00Z<br/><br/><script type="text/javascript"><!--google_ad_client = "pub-9426659565807829";google_ad_slot = "9359905831";google_ad_width = 728;google_ad_height = 15;//--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>2001-07-03T16:00:00Z