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FAT ○˒｜Definition｜1st｜20260402174201-00-⌔

File Allocation Table - Wikipedia

File Allocation Table

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File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers and was the default file system for the DOS and Windows 9x operating systems.1 Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices. The increase in disk drive capacity over time drove modifications to the design that resulted in new versions: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and exFAT.

FAT was replaced with NTFS as the default file system on Microsoft operating systems starting with Windows XP.2 Nevertheless, FAT continues to be commonly used on relatively small capacity solid-state storage technologies such as USB flash drives, SD cards, MultiMediaCards (MMC) and eMMC because of its compatibility across operating systems and embedded systems, and ease of implementation.3

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. “File Allocation Table (FAT): What It Is, Types, Versions, Advantages & Disadvantages”. www.includehelp.com. Retrieved 2025-06-01. ↩

  2. “Comparing NTFS and FAT file systems”. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2014-01-27. ↩

  3. “A brief introduction to FAT (File Allocation Table) formats”. www.wizcode.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015. ↩

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