Why FAT16?!?!? Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 4:14 pm Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum Posted by DNA (552 messages posted) Hi gewg_, I certainly can't find fault with your preferred method of storing bookmarks as individual files, BUT... As far as I understand the FAT system, a FAT16 partition sized from 512 to 1023 MB would have 16 KB clusters, and a FAT16 partition from 1024 to 2047 MB would have 32 KB clusters, meaning minimum disk space allocated per file of 16 KB and 32 KB respectively (even for a '100-byte' file), versus... A FAT32 partition from 512 MB to 8 GB would have a cluster size of 4 KB, thus a minimum disk space of 4 KB allocated per file. On a 2 GB partition (ex: the flash drive), it must be noted that the size of the FAT (file allocation table) will be 128 KB in FAT16 and 2 MB in FAT32, so that when empty, the drive has 1920 KB more usable space. But if one is storing a large number of <4-KB files, and if each <4-KB file takes up 4 KB in FAT32 and 32 KB in FAT16, it would take only 69 <4-KB files to use up the 'extra' 1920 KB in disk space in the FAT16 partition (69, times the 28 KB difference = 1932 KB). If you're "addicted" to bookmarks, you probably have more than 69 individual bookmarks. I have more than that, and I wouldn't say I was "addicted"....So I would think that FAT32 would be more efficient for your 'individual bookmark' use, all said and done... If I'm missing another possible advantage of FAT16 for a USB drive (besides being able to run DOS from it, if the BIOS allowed booting from a USB drive), please follow up and explain... Thanks, DNA ---------------------------------------------------------- Athlon 1.1 - 768 MB RAM = 98SE & XP Home Athlon 3000+ 64 - 1024 MB RAM = 98SE (@768 MB RAM) & XP Pro IBM ThinkPad PIII 900 - 384 MB RAM = 98SE & XP Pro SP2 Windows 2000 Server in the basement Written in response to: Thread hijack: FAT16/FAT32 on a thumbdrive (gewg_: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 8:57 am) Responses to this message: re: Why FAT16?!?!? (gewg_: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 5:35 pm) All messages in this thread [show all] 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Bobbie: Mon, May 21, 2007, 2:08 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (gewg_: Mon, May 21, 2007, 3:58 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Bobbie: Tue, May 22, 2007, 7:02 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Keith Stanier: Tue, May 22, 2007, 4:09 am) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Bobbie: Tue, May 22, 2007, 6:38 am) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (gewg_: Tue, May 22, 2007, 8:20 am) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Ed: Tue, May 22, 2007, 4:06 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks -- Complete crap from Ed (gewg_: Tue, May 22, 2007, 4:46 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks -- Complete crap from Ed (DNA: Tue, May 22, 2007, 6:48 pm) Thread hijack: FAT16/FAT32 on a thumbdrive (gewg_: Wed, May 23, 2007, 8:57 am) Why FAT16?!?!? (DNA: Wed, May 23, 2007, 4:14 pm) re: Why FAT16?!?!? (gewg_: Wed, May 23, 2007, 5:35 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Bobbie: Tue, May 22, 2007, 7:04 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (dhm: Tue, May 22, 2007, 7:39 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Bobbie: Tue, May 22, 2007, 8:44 pm) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Don: Wed, May 23, 2007, 3:06 am) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Bobbie: Wed, May 23, 2007, 6:56 am) re: 3.5 floppy will not format disks (Bobbie: Wed, May 23, 2007, 3:16 pm) Reply or follow-up to this message Search this forum Start a new thread on a different subject Report abuse of the forum Return to the Windows 98 Discussion Forum