FAt-32?????

Question

Am i stuck with this in my hardrive or is it just in the operating system?

Answer 1

you mean you are stuck with FAT32 ? Do you want to convert it to NTFS. If so you can do it easily as explained on the link below

Answer 2

FAT 32 File System

The FAT32 file system was introduced in the second version of Windows 95, often know as Windows 95B or OSR2. It is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system in order to remain compatible with existing programs, networks, and device drivers. The biggest improvement in FAT 32 is its ability to efficiently manage storage space on today’s larger hard drives. It can handle disks larger than 2GB and format them with a single partition thereby allowing you to assign a single drive letter to your drive.

In addition, the FAT 32 file system only uses a 4KB cluster size for all hard disks under 8 Gigabytes. This reduces the amount of slack space found on your hard disk when you save small files to your drive. As mentioned earlier, a 1KB file takes up 32KB of space on a 1GB hard disk using the old FAT 16 file system. However, a 1KB file on the same hard disk using the FAT32 system takes up only 4KB of space, a savings of 28KB. This may sound trivial, but when you are dealing with an entire hard disk that has thousands of files, the savings is actually dramatic and even Microsoft claims that you will achieve at least 10 to 15 percent more efficient use of disk space on the average large hard disk.

FAT32 has some other advantages over the FAT 16 file system in regards to improved reliability. For example, under the FAT 16 file system, the root directory is located only at the beginning of the hard disk. If anything were to happen to this section of the hard disk, such as the development of bad sectors, the whole drive will become unusable as the file index will become damaged. Therefore, one will have to seek out special disk recovery tools to try to recover the data, which more than likely will be unsuccessful. By using the FAT 32 file system, the root directory can be located anywhere on the hard disk. Therefore, if anything happens to the section of the hard disk storing the root directory, the FAT 32 file system’s built in utilities will be able to move the root directory to a safe location on the hard disk and repair the defective area. In addition, the FAT 32 file system can use both the default and the backup copy of the File Allocation Table. This means that if something were to happen to the default FAT, your system will continue to run by using the backup copy until the default can be repaired.

Answer 3

It depends on the version of WIndows you're using. If you have Win98 or lower, you have to use FAT or FAT32. If you are running Win2000, NT, XP you can convert it to NTFS by using the drive tools provided when you right click on the drive. BUt always, always back up first.

Answer 4

that means how data is organised on your hard disk
fat - file allocation table
your operating system should support that organisation of data
else it would not recognise your drive
that is why win98 another older op systems do not support NTFS file system

Answer 5

Its a file system format, supported by windows and dos.
There should be some format of drive else you wont be accessing it. such as FAT, FAT32, NTFS etc.

Answer 6

This is the file system used by your computer. It is set by Windows, and should not be changed.