To elaborate on the difference between FAT16 and FAT32 _dos/bat

Before we explain the FAT file system, we have to know what fat is? FAT (file allocation table) is the meaning of the????? As the name suggests, is used to record the location of the file table, it is very important for the use of hard disk, if the loss of file allocation table, then the data on the hard disk will not be able to use the location. The file systems used by different operating systems are not the same, and in the commonly used operating system on personal computers, MS-DOS 6.x and the following versions use FAT16;OS/2 to use Hpfs;windows NT for NTFS; and MS-DOS 7.10 and Rom-dos 7.10 also provides the FAT16 and FAT32 for the user to choose. One of our most contacted is FAT16, FAT32 file system.
First, FAT16 file system
FAT16 uses 16-bit space to represent the case of each sector (sector) profile, which is called FAT16.
FAT16 because of the innate limitations, the size of the cluster (Cluster) that it uses must be amplified to accommodate larger disk space after each partition that exceeds a certain capacity. The so-called cluster is the allocation unit of disk space, just like a lattice of shelves in a library. Each file to be saved to disk must be configured with a sufficient number of clusters to be stored on disk. FAT16 the relationship between each partition and cluster size is as follows:
Partition size FAT16 cluster size
16MB-127MB 2KB
128MB-255MB 4KB
256MB-511MB 8KB
512MB-1023MB 16KB
1024MB-2047MB 32KB
If you store 50KB files in a 1000MB partition, because the partition cluster is 16KB in size, it uses 4 clusters. And if it is a 1KB file, it must also use a cluster to store. Can the remaining space in each cluster be used? The answer is no, so in the use of disk, virtually all will lose some disk space more or less.
From the above, the FAT16 file system has two biggest drawbacks:
(1) The maximum disk partition can only be 2GB. At present, as long as you buy a computer, presumably the size of the hard disk must have at least 2GB, and 3.2GB, 4.3GB more than the hard disk everywhere, and inexpensive. The FAT16 file system has been unable to adapt to the current large-capacity hard drive and must be partitioned into several disk spaces. The size of the partition disk is also involved in the problem of clusters, it is quite influential.
(2) The use of cluster size is not appropriate. Just imagine, if a 1KB-size file is placed in a 1000MB disk partition, it occupies a space not 1KB, but 16KB, a waste of 15kb! The current popular HTML file, its size is almost 1KB, 2KB, and the production of a Web site is often used to dozens of HTML files. If you have 100 of these small files on your hard drive, your wasted disk space can be from 700KB (511MB partition) to 3.1MB (2047MB partition).
These two problems often make users in the "Partition of how large, in order to save space, but also make the use of hard disk more convenient and effective" the choice of wandering.
Second, FAT32 file system
In order to solve the problems existing in FAT16, a FAT32 system is developed. FAT32 uses 32-bit space to represent the case of each sector (sector) configuration file. The use of FAT32 can use a single partition, the maximum can reach 2TB (2048GB), and the size of the partition can use the size of the cluster, is also appropriate, the above two advantages, created a hard drive to use more efficient. Now with the partition and the size of the cluster as follows, we can carefully make a comparison:
Partition size FAT16 cluster size FAT32 cluster size
16MB-32MB 2KB does not support
32MB-127MB 2KB 512bytes
128MB-255MB 4KB 512bytes
256MB-259MB 8KB 512bytes
260MB-511MB 8KB 4KB
512MB-1023MB 16KB 4KB
1024MB-2047MB 32KB 4KB
2048MB-8GB does not support 4KB
8GB-16GB does not support 8KB
16GB-32GB does not support 16KB
32GB above does not support 32KB
With the current hardware can support the case, such as the 8GB hard disk into a single partition, the use of the cluster size is only 4KB, compared to the previous FAT16, really save a lot of space.
Iii. restrictions on the use of FAT32
Seeing these advantages, you must be eager to convert FAT16 to FAT32. Before converting, however, be aware of the following points:
(1) incompatible with other PC operating systems. The operating systems currently supporting FAT32 only have MS-dos 7.10, Rom-dos 7.10, FreeDOS, and Windows 2000, while other operating systems cannot read FAT32 partitions at all. For example, if you turn on an older DOS boot disk, such as MS-DOS 6.x, the FAT32 partition on your hard drive disappears and you don't see the partition at all. In addition, if you want to use multiple boot to start a variety of different operating systems, it is recommended that you do not change the C: this partition to FAT32. Because some operating systems will be forced to from C: This primary partition to install, boot, if you will C: to FAT32, and the operating system does not recognize FAT32, then you can not boot.
(2) Some disk tools, anti-virus software do not recognize FAT32, may cause conversion, the disk tool software can not FAT32 partition for disk processing work, and anti-virus software will not recognize this file system, misjudged as poisoning phenomenon.
(3) Some versions of older software cannot be performed in FAT32 partitions, such as Office 95.
(4) partitions less than 512MB generally do not allow conversion to FAT32. Although we found in the previous list that partitions less than 512MB use only 512Bytes-size clusters, in Windows 98 you can only convert 512MB or more partitions. If you want to convert a partition between 32MB and 512MB, you must use the/min command in CVT.EXE, such as CVT D:/cvt32/min, or FDISK/FPRMT.
(5) disk compression cannot be done in the FAT32 partition, even if using disk compression in Windows 98 is not feasible.
(6) If your motherboard BIOS supports the "Suspend-to-disk" feature, turn off this feature because it is not available in the FAT32 partition.
(7) The conversion tools provided by Windows 98 can only convert FAT16 to FAT32 and can no longer be converted from FAT32 back to FAT16. To convert it back only: Repartition (Partition), Format (format), and then reinstall the system, application software, and so on.
To convert from FAT32 back to FAT16, you can also use a tool: PowerQuest Partition Magic 3.0 or later. This is a set of software that allows you to freely change the size of partitions, file systems without damaging disk data. You can use this software to convert FAT32 to FAT16 without reformatting your favorite hard drive. If you do not have the software, then have the idea of "ready to regret", please do the backup before FAT16 convert FAT32. At the same time, we remind you that if your computer configuration is not very high (that is, not pⅱ or the same level of CPU), it is best not to convert the partition table to FAT32, because it will affect the hard drive read speed.