ITWissen.info - Tech know how online

extended file allocation table (exFAT)

Classic File Allocation Table (FAT) from Microsoft are designed for file systems with 16 bit (FAT16) and 32 bit (FAT32). For flash memory, memory cards and USB sticks, the file systems have been extended to an address space of 64 bits. This file system, called FAT64 or Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT), was developed to format USB sticks, solid-state drives( SSD) or other removable media.

With the exFAT file system, which is a combination of an NTFS file system and the file allocation table (FAT32), external hard disks or USB sticks can be used not only under Windows, but also under other operating systems. Since Service Pack 1 (SP1), the exFAT file system can be formatted with Windows Vista and read and written with Windows XP. In addition to the operating systems mentioned, exFAT is suitable for embedded systems under Windows Embedded CE 6.0, Windows 7 and the server operating system Windows Server 2008. Data media formatted with exFAT can store file sizes of more than 4 GB. Data media with storage capacities of more than 32 GB can be formatted with exFAT.

exFAT is used in memory cards and USB sticks with a storage capacity of more than 32 GB. Individual files may exceed 4 GB in file size and can be up to 512 terabytes( TB) in size. The ExFAT file system supports interoperability between desktops and portable computers. Via the extremely large addressing space of 64 bits, an allocation in size of 16 Exbi( Ei), a 19- digit number, can be made.

A special software program is required to formatdisks in exFAT. The exFAT driver is not installed via Windows updates, but can be obtained from the link provided.

Informations:
Englisch: extended file allocation table - exFAT
Updated at: 07.07.2019
#Words: 265
Links: file allocation table (FAT), file, flash memory, universal serial bus (USB), address space (AS)
Translations: DE
Sharing:    

All rights reserved DATACOM Buchverlag GmbH © 2024