*TechNote*: Hard disks #1 - Sectors, Clusters, Fat
A sector is always 512 bytes, which is half a kilobyte.
A cluster (also known as allocation units) is the smallest unit of disk that the operating system knows how to handle when writing files and is made up of a number of sectors.
Logical formatting creates a file allocation table (FAT) and defines the minimum number of sectors a cluster can use to store data.
The number of clusters is dictated by the format. FAT16 has 65,525 and FAT32 has a maximum of 268,435,456. They typically vary in size between 2k and 32k, depending on the size of the volume.
The FAT is a record of which files are contained in which clusters. For instance, if a file is 32k in size it will take up 8 clusters, if the clusters are 4k in size. Regular defragging of a drive ensures that these clusters are continuous.
The more sectors a cluster has, the lesser the demands are on the FAT.
Partition size....Recommended file system / cluster size
1-16M..............FAT-12 / 4K
16-256M..........FAT-16 / 4K
256-512M........FAT-16 / 8K
512M-1G..........FAT-16 / 16K or FAT-32 / 4K
1-8G...............FAT-32 / 4K
8G and up........FAT-32 / 8K
A cluster (also known as allocation units) is the smallest unit of disk that the operating system knows how to handle when writing files and is made up of a number of sectors.
Logical formatting creates a file allocation table (FAT) and defines the minimum number of sectors a cluster can use to store data.
The number of clusters is dictated by the format. FAT16 has 65,525 and FAT32 has a maximum of 268,435,456. They typically vary in size between 2k and 32k, depending on the size of the volume.
The FAT is a record of which files are contained in which clusters. For instance, if a file is 32k in size it will take up 8 clusters, if the clusters are 4k in size. Regular defragging of a drive ensures that these clusters are continuous.
The more sectors a cluster has, the lesser the demands are on the FAT.
Partition size....Recommended file system / cluster size
1-16M..............FAT-12 / 4K
16-256M..........FAT-16 / 4K
256-512M........FAT-16 / 8K
512M-1G..........FAT-16 / 16K or FAT-32 / 4K
1-8G...............FAT-32 / 4K
8G and up........FAT-32 / 8K
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Comments
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JakL
Member Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
Is that a typo? you state:
Partition size....Recommended file system / cluster size
1-16M..............FAT-12 / 4K
16-256M..........FAT-16 / 4K
256-512M........FAT-16 / 8K
512M-1G..........FAT-16 / 16K or FAT-32 / 4K
1-8G...............FAT-32 / 4K
8G and up........FAT-32 / 8K
AND you state 1-16M....Fat-12 / 4K. Well, my questions is FAT-12? Ive never head of FAT 12. Is this a Typo or am I just clueless?
~JakL~ -
Munda
Member Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
Can i convert my HDD parition into FAT-12 ? ? ?
Or can i convert any floppy disk into FAT-16 or FAT-32 ? ? ?
through any software or technique......
Bye 4 nao ! -
Ricka182
Member Posts: 3,359
Munda wrote:Can i convert my HDD parition into FAT-12 ? ? ?
Or can i convert any floppy disk into FAT-16 or FAT-32 ? ? ?
through any software or technique......
Bye 4 nao !
A floppy will always use Fat12, and can not be converted. A HDD partition would use Fat16, Fat32, or NTFS.i remain, he who remains to be.... -
techboyjk
Member Posts: 46 ■■□□□□□□□□
bellboy wrote:A sector is always 512 bytes, which is half a kilobyte.
Partition size....Recommended file system / cluster size
1-16M..............FAT-12 / 4K
16-256M..........FAT-16 / 4K
256-512M........FAT-16 / 8K
512M-1G..........FAT-16 / 16K or FAT-32 / 4K
1-8G...............FAT-32 / 4K
8G and up........FAT-32 / 8K
Do I need to know this for the exam??? -
Plantwiz
Mod Posts: 5,057 Mod
Not only will it benefit you to know if for the exam, it will help you in the field.
Understand it and be familiar with it - I wouldn't spend a week on it, but yes, you should know it.Plantwiz
_____
"Grammar and spelling aren't everything, but this is a forum, not a chat room. You have plenty of time to spell out the word "you", and look just a little bit smarter." by Phaideaux
***I'll add you can Capitalize the word 'I' to show a little respect for yourself too.
'i' before 'e' except after 'c'.... weird? -
panik
Member Posts: 61 ■■□□□□□□□□
coyote911 wrote:HPFS - NT 3.51
NTFS4 - NT 4
NTFS5 - 2000 and XP
HPFS is OS/2: http://www.lesbell.com.au/hpfsfaq.html -
OLC-RBOC
Member Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
bellboy wrote:A sector is always 512 bytes, which is half a kilobyte.
A cluster (also known as allocation units) is the smallest unit of disk that the operating system knows how to handle when writing files and is made up of a number of sectors.
Logical formatting creates a file allocation table (FAT) and defines the minimum number of sectors a cluster can use to store data.
The number of clusters is dictated by the format. FAT16 has 65,525 and FAT32 has a maximum of 268,435,456. They typically vary in size between 2k and 32k, depending on the size of the volume.
The FAT is a record of which files are contained in which clusters. For instance, if a file is 32k in size it will take up 8 clusters, if the clusters are 4k in size. Regular defragging of a drive ensures that these clusters are continuous.
The more sectors a cluster has, the lesser the demands are on the FAT.
Partition size....Recommended file system / cluster size
1-16M..............FAT-12 / 4K
16-256M..........FAT-16 / 4K
256-512M........FAT-16 / 8K
512M-1G..........FAT-16 / 16K or FAT-32 / 4K
1-8G...............FAT-32 / 4K
8G and up........FAT-32 / 8K -
JacksRage
Member Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
bellboy wrote:Partition size....Recommended file system / cluster size
1-16M..............FAT-12 / 4K
16-256M..........FAT-16 / 4K
256-512M........FAT-16 / 8K
512M-1G..........FAT-16 / 16K or FAT-32 / 4K
1-8G...............FAT-32 / 4K
8G and up........FAT-32 / 8K
Question on this. Now you partition before you format right? So do these apply to the partition sizes or the physical HDD?
Say I had a 24 gig drive. And formated fat 32 on the whole thing, I would end up with 8k clusters. But if I made 4 6 gig parts would it then be 4k clusters?
And what is ntfs5 s cluster sizes?
