File Allocation Table
E195199
The File Allocation Table (FAT) is a simple, widely used file system architecture that tracks the allocation and organization of files on disk storage, commonly employed in older and removable storage devices.
All labels observed (6)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| FAT file system | 2 |
| FAT12 | 2 |
| FAT file system specification | 1 |
| File Allocation Table canonical | 1 |
| MS-DOS FAT | 1 |
| Microsoft FAT specification | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1724647 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: File Allocation Table Context triple: [FAT16, uses, File Allocation Table]
-
A.
FAT16
FAT16 is an older 16-bit File Allocation Table file system widely used on early DOS and Windows systems, known for its simplicity and limitations in maximum partition and file sizes.
-
B.
FAT32
FAT32 is a widely used 32-bit file system format developed by Microsoft, commonly employed on older Windows systems and removable storage devices for broad compatibility.
-
C.
VFAT
VFAT is a Linux-compatible variant of the FAT file system that adds support for long filenames and improved interoperability with Windows systems.
-
D.
NTFS
NTFS (New Technology File System) is a Microsoft-developed file system known for its support of large volumes, file permissions, encryption, and advanced reliability features used in modern Windows operating systems.
-
E.
exFAT
exFAT is a Microsoft-developed file system optimized for flash drives and SD cards, designed to handle large files and volumes with broad cross-platform compatibility.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: File Allocation Table Target entity description: The File Allocation Table (FAT) is a simple, widely used file system architecture that tracks the allocation and organization of files on disk storage, commonly employed in older and removable storage devices.
-
A.
FAT16
FAT16 is an older 16-bit File Allocation Table file system widely used on early DOS and Windows systems, known for its simplicity and limitations in maximum partition and file sizes.
-
B.
FAT32
FAT32 is a widely used 32-bit file system format developed by Microsoft, commonly employed on older Windows systems and removable storage devices for broad compatibility.
-
C.
VFAT
VFAT is a Linux-compatible variant of the FAT file system that adds support for long filenames and improved interoperability with Windows systems.
-
D.
NTFS
NTFS (New Technology File System) is a Microsoft-developed file system known for its support of large volumes, file permissions, encryption, and advanced reliability features used in modern Windows operating systems.
-
E.
exFAT
exFAT is a Microsoft-developed file system optimized for flash drives and SD cards, designed to handle large files and volumes with broad cross-platform compatibility.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
computer file system
ⓘ
file system architecture ⓘ |
| abbreviation | FAT ⓘ |
| characterizedBy |
lack of advanced security features
ⓘ
limited scalability ⓘ simple implementation ⓘ susceptibility to fragmentation ⓘ wide compatibility ⓘ |
| commonlyUsedOn |
Linux
ⓘ
Windows ⓘ macOS ⓘ |
| compatibleWith | most operating systems ⓘ |
| dataStructureType | table ⓘ |
| designedFor | disk storage ⓘ |
| developedBy | Microsoft ⓘ |
| hasLimitation |
limited metadata support
ⓘ
no built-in journaling ⓘ |
| hasVariant |
FAT12
ⓘ
FAT16 ⓘ FAT32 ⓘ exFAT ⓘ |
| introducedInYear | 1977 ⓘ |
| maximumFileSize | 4 GB minus 1 byte for FAT32 ⓘ |
| maximumVolumeSize | 2 TB for FAT32 with 512-byte sectors ⓘ |
| organizesDataIn |
clusters
ⓘ
sectors ⓘ |
| originallyDevelopedFor |
MS-DOS
ⓘ
Microsoft BASIC ⓘ
surface form:
Stand-alone Disk BASIC
|
| replacedBy |
NTFS in modern Windows systems
ⓘ
more advanced file systems on modern computers ⓘ |
| standardizedIn |
ECMA-107
ⓘ
ISO/IEC 9293 ⓘ |
| stores |
bad cluster markers
ⓘ
cluster allocation information ⓘ end-of-file markers ⓘ |
| supportsFeature |
long filenames (VFAT extension)
ⓘ
short 8.3 filenames ⓘ simple directory structure ⓘ |
| usedFor |
managing free space on disk
ⓘ
tracking file allocation ⓘ tracking file organization ⓘ |
| usedIn |
USB flash drives
ⓘ
digital cameras ⓘ early hard disks ⓘ embedded systems ⓘ floppy disks ⓘ memory cards ⓘ older storage devices ⓘ removable storage devices ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: File Allocation Table Description of subject: The File Allocation Table (FAT) is a simple, widely used file system architecture that tracks the allocation and organization of files on disk storage, commonly employed in older and removable storage devices.
Referenced by (8)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
MS-DOS FAT
subject surface form:
FAT table
this entity surface form:
FAT file system
subject surface form:
FAT table
this entity surface form:
FAT file system specification
this entity surface form:
Microsoft FAT specification