pecet: FAT32?

balth_at_ikp.atm.com.pl

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					Balthasar
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					balth_at_ikp.atm.com.pl
					http://www.atm.com.pl/~balth
LARGE DISK SUPPORT (FAT32)
==========================
Introduction
------------
The File Allocation Table (FAT) file system has been the primary 
disk format used by MS-DOS-based and Windows-based personal computers 
since 1981. FAT is a fast and broadly supported disk format, but until 
now, it has been unable to support single drives over 2 gigabytes (GB). 
A gigabyte is equal to 1,024 megabytes, or approximately 1.07 billion 
bytes. 
This product includes support for an enhanced version of the FAT 
file system, FAT32, that supports drives up to 2 terabytes 
(approximately 2,000 GB). It also allocates space on the drive in 
smaller units (called clusters) than earlier versions of FAT, 
resulting in more efficient use of space on the drive.
This section addresses some of the known issues with FAT32, and 
answers some of the questions you might have.
Compatibility
-------------
FAT32 is designed to be fully compatible with existing computers and 
programs designed to run on earlier versions of MS-DOS and Windows. 
However, many existing disk utilities (programs that perform low-level 
maintenance tasks on disks, such as disk compression or repair tools 
and defragmenters) will need to be updated in order to work with FAT32 
drives. The disk tools contained with Windows, including ScanDisk, 
Backup, and Disk Defragmenter, fully support FAT32 drives. FAT32 
drives cannot be compressed by using DriveSpace, however.
In addition, operating systems other than this version of Windows are 
unable to access information stored on FAT32 drives. This includes the 
original version of Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0 and earlier, and previous 
versions of MS-DOS and Windows. However, this version of Windows does 
support accessing FAT32 drives in MS-DOS mode. In addition, FAT32 drives 
can be shared over a network and accessed by remote computers in the 
same way as older-style FAT drives, even if the remote computers don't 
support FAT32.
Known Problems
--------------
Running Interlink on a FAT32 drive
----------------------------------
If you are running Interlink as a server on a FAT32 drive, all 
connections and inquiries (such as DIR) result in the following 
error message: "File allocations table bad, Drive X." Also, the 
Interlink "manager" shows the incorrect total drive size.
This problem does not occur on FAT16 drives. To see your FAT32 
server, start your computer in protect mode with Interlink running.
Incorrect free disk space reported by programs
----------------------------------------------
Programs not developed specifically for this version of Windows 
may be unable to report free space accurately on large hard disks 
that use FAT32. Older programs are unable to report more than 2 GB 
of free or total disk space, and many will report incorrect amounts 
of free, total, or used space on large hard drives. Windows 95 
version 4.00.950 B provides new MS-DOS and Win32 APIs that programs 
can use to determine free or total disk space over 2 GB. 
Save to File (Hibernate) feature 
may be incompatible with FAT32
--------------------------------
On computers containing a BIOS made by Phoenix Technologies, you 
might not be able to use the Save to File feature if your primary 
(boot) drive is formatted using FAT32. If your PhDISK utility is 
earlier than version 5.0, you must obtain an updated version of the 
utility and an updated ROM BIOS from your computer manufacturer in 
order to use a Save to Disk file. 
With older versions of the ROM BIOS, your computer may be unable to 
start if it tries to read a Save to Disk file from a FAT32 drive. If 
this occurs, you must disable the Save to File feature in your ROM BIOS. 
This does not affect computers using a disk partition to store the Save 
to Disk data.  
Ontrack Systems Disk Manager
----------------------------
If you use the Ontrack Systems Disk Manager program on a computer with 
FAT32 drives, there might be a long pause when you start your computer 
and/or the drive will be set to run in compatibility mode. If you use 
version 7.0x, you can avoid this pause by using the /L=0 option with 
Disk Manager. To do this, carry out the following steps:
1. Start your computer normally, and then run Disk Manager.
2. Click the Maintenance menu, and then click Update Dynamic Drive 
   Overlay.
3. Add /L=0 to any other options that are already present.
4. Save the settings, and then restart your computer.
If you are running an earlier version of Disk Manager and you want 
to use FAT32, you should update to version 7.04 or later and use 
the /L=0 switch.
V Communications System Commander
---------------------------------
Versions 2.28 and earlier of V Communications System Commander are 
incompatible with FAT32. If your primary (boot) hard disk uses FAT32 
exclusively, you must obtain version 3 or later of System Commander.
Iomega Jaz tools may be incompatible with FAT32
-----------------------------------------------
If you format an Iomega Jaz disk using FAT32, you may need to obtain 
updated versions of the Jaz tools. Older versions of the tools do not 
support FAT32 Jaz disks properly. As a result, the eject, write-
protection, and password-protection options will be disabled. Updated 
versions of these tools that are compatible with FAT32 are available 
from Iomega, and from the Microsoft Windows Driver Library contained 
on the Windows CD-ROM disk and available for download from various 
on-line services.
SyQuest Techology, Inc. device drivers
--------------------------------------
Older versions of the Squatdvr.sys and Sqdriver.sys device drivers 
are incompatible with this version of Windows and will hang when 
your computer starts if your primary (boot) disk uses FAT32. You 
must remove the associated DEVICE= line from your Config.sys file 
in order to start your computer from a FAT32 drive. Updated versions 
of these drivers that are compatible with FAT32 are available from 
SyQuest, and from the Microsoft Windows Driver Library contained on 
the Windows CD-ROM disk and available for download from various 
on-line services.
Questions and Answers
---------------------
How do I tell if a drive is a FAT32 drive?
------------------------------------------
In My Computer, right-click the icon that represents your hard 
disk, and then click Properties. The kind of drive you are using 
is indicated after the word Type at the top of the screen.
How do I enable FAT32?
----------------------
If you obtained this version of Windows with a new computer system, 
it may already be using the FAT32 disk format. If not, or if you 
add a new hard disk to your computer and you want to use the FAT32 
file system, you enable it by running the FDISK program. FDISK is 
a program used to create or delete one or more partitions on a hard 
disk. A partition is a section of a hard disk that appears to be a 
single disk drive. Most hard disks must be partitioned with FDISK 
before they can be used with Windows. If your computer has a disk 
drive larger than 512 megabytes (MB), when you run FDISK it will 
prompt you whether to enable large disk support. If you answer yes, 
then any partition you create that is over 512 MB will use the FAT32 
file system. If you answer no, then you will be unable to create disk 
partitions larger than 2GB. After creating a partition with FDISK, 
you must restart your computer and then format the drive before you 
can store data on it.
IMPORTANT NOTE: FDISK is an extremely powerful program. If you delete 
a disk partition by using FDISK, all the data in that partition will 
be permanently destroyed. If you are unfamiliar with FDISK, you may 
want to consult a qualified computer technician before using it.
Is FAT32 faster than earlier versions of FAT?
---------------------------------------------
In general, no. In most cases, your computer will perform about 
the same if your hard disk is formatted by using FAT32 as it did 
previously. In some cases, however, performance may be worse than 
with the original version of FAT.
Note that FAT32 drives may be significantly slower when your 
computer is running is MS-DOS mode or when you are running Windows 
in Safe Mode. If you use MS-DOS mode with FAT32 drives, you may find 
that performance is improved significantly by loading the Smart Drive 
disk-caching program.
What size clusters are used on FAT32 drives?
--------------------------------------------
The following cluster sizes are typically used on FAT32 drives:
        Drive size        Cluster size
        -----------       ------------
       <260 MB            512 bytes
        260 MB -  8 GB      4 kilobytes (KB)
          6 MB - 16 GB      8 KB
         16 MB - 32 GB     16 KB
        >32 GB             32 KB
Can I use disk compression on FAT32 drives?
-------------------------------------------
No. DriveSpace 3 does not support compressing FAT32 drives.