CIS 170F: Windows 7 Administration

Week 5

Managing File Systems
Supported File System
Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT)

  • Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) is a new file system used by the manufacturer for large portable memory devices. exFAT is also sometimes referred to as FAT 64 (for 64-bit).
  • exFAT is recommended for volume sizes of 512 TB or less but can theoretically support a volume size equivalent to the sum total of a billion blocks sized at 64 TB each.
  • Microsoft introduced native support for exFAT with Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
  • exFAT is not intended as a replacement for NTFS. Rather, exFAT is geared primarily toward mobile personal storage, such as used in MP3 players and other mobile devices. exFAT offers several advantages:
    • Theoretical volume size of 64 ZB (recommended size 512 TB).
    • Theoretical maximum file size of 64 ZB (recommended size 512 TB).
    • Supports more than 1,000 files per directory.
    • Provides cluster bitmap for fast storage allocation.
    • Better contiguous on-disk layout, useful for recordingmovies.
    • Is extensible.
  • If you want to optimize performance for removable media such as flash drives, consider formatting the drive with exFAT. However, keep in mind that the device will only be usable in a computer that supports exFAT.