What to know about the file system partitions (NTFS FAT32 & FAT)
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by: danematias
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Word Count: 543
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 Time: 12:17 AM
File system partition helps in organizing the data inside computer hard drives. It is because of this file partition only that the files appear when a user conducts the search. File system partition is an advanced IT index where all files exist independently regardless of their size and configuration. Here, we will discuss about some basic NTFS, FAT32 and FAT features and a Windows 7 Data Recovery (PC File Recovery) tool.
FAT
As the time winds down, one can see massive changes in this file system. FAT, which was first used in MS DOS is completely different from its newer versions in Windows. The FAT file is a classified representation or logical area of the hard disk in allocation units i.e. clusters, and maps. FAT is often called the FAT 16 file system as it uses 16 bit address space for finding the files.
The FAT clusters differ in disk size operating system. The FAT’s 16-bit address space supports more than 65000 clusters. Previously, a cluster in 65MB disk was sized at just 1KB but the size now has expanded with the availability of gigantic disks space.
FAT32
In the initial stage, FAT32 was implemented in Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2) with a 32-bit address space. With the increased address space FAT32 supported more clusters which were also small by nature. In this way, FAT32 minimized the possibility of wasted drive space.
Another advantage with FAT32 is that it can hold file names up to 255 character length. On the other hand FAT could hold character names up to eight digits only. In FAT32 a user can give a lengthy file name to describe about the content.
The arrival of FAT32 increased the provision of addressable volume by 2TB. It promises reliability with an option of FAT copy switch - if the default copy has been damaged.
NTFS
New Technology File System (NTFS) arrived with the Windows NT OS and supported a 64-bit address space. It quickly displayed its ability and removed the cluster size limitation.
It brought some fresh new concepts i.e. directory security attributes, file encryption supporting storage volumes of 16TB and 232 clusters.
After landing on its heels, the NTFS replaced the FAT (File Allocation Table) format with MFT (Master File Table). MFT is a spectacular species of storage file systems and far advanced than the FAT system. It classifies all the field directories (metadata, security settings) on the disk drive.
NTFS has defined itself as a high performance fault tolerance mechanism which feeds the disk operations before performing them. It can also retrieve the log files (PC File Recovery) for restoring the data lost because of a system crash.
Another good feature of NTFS folder system is that it prevents the bad clusters and transfers them to a new location.
There are many unforeseen reasons because of which a NTFS file can be damaged and go beyond recovery. Some of them are missing operating system, bad sector disk, partition table corruption, accidental file deletion, etc. If a user fails in PC File recovery after using the Bootrec.exe tool then he can use the Recover Deleted Folder tool.This tool quickly scans the disc drives for recovering the damagedFAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5 and HPFS files (also suitable for Windows 7 Data Recovery).
About the Author
The Author is a Senior Program Lead with a decade of project experience in recovery software’s domain. The author has specified about the Windows 7 Data Recovery or PC File Recovery solutions for the NTFS FAT32 & FAT file storage systems.
