>I was wondering if you all could clarify the
>> following:
>>

>> FAT
A general name given by Microsoft to the tables at the beginning of a logical
disk which tell the OS where to look for the files, what attributes have been
set for them, etc.

>> FAT 16
A version of FAT which MS seems to be phasing out, starting with later
versions of Win95.  These let you choose between FAT 16 and FAT 32.

>> VFAT
A second file database starting with Win95 (I think) which allows Windows to
handle file names longer than the 8+3 allowed by FAT 16 and 32 alone.  If I
have it right, VFAT is created in RAM from information Windows gets from FAT;
there is no VFAT database on the disk, which is what makes it "Virtual".

>> FAT 32
A newer version of FAT which uses larger clusters, thus wasting less disk
space.

>> NTFS
One of the Windows NT/2000 file systems.  It is more secure and handles files
more efficiently than FAT.  The NT series can also handle FAT 32.

Thank you.
David Jonathan Justman.

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