UNDERSTANDING THE FILE ALLOCATION TABLE [FAT] IN WINDOWS

ABSTRACT The File Allocation Table of contents of a computer disk which tells what sectors are used for what file. The File Allocation Table ( also know as FAT, FAT16, and FAT32 ), is located in the master boot sector (first 63) of a bootable disk, floppy or hard. You visually cannot see this. The FAT follows the boot sector.  The FAT file system revolves around the File Allocation Table for which it is named. Each logical volume has its own FAT, which serves two important functions: it contains the allocation information for each file on the volume in the form of linked lists of allocation units and it indicates which allocation units are free for assignment to a file that is being created or extended.  The File Allocation Table ( FAT ) was designed and coded in Feb., 1976 by a kid named Bill Gates during a five day stay at the Hilton Hotel in Albuquerque. He developed it for a version of Basic that could store programs and data on floppy disks. The FAT design was incorporated by Tim Patterson in an early version of an operating system for the Intel 8086 chip. Gates bought the rights to the system, then rewrote it to create the first version of DOS. As a direct result, Gates is the richest man in America. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION PAGE DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT 1.1STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 1.2PURPOSE OF STUDY 1.3IMPORTANCE OF STUDY 1.4DEFINITION OF TERMS 1.5ASSUMPTION OF STUDY
CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERETURE REVIEW 2.1 BRIEF HISTORY
CHAPTER THREE 3.0 TRENDS IN FAT 3.1 FILE SYSTEM STRUCTURE 3.1 DIRECTORY ENTRY STRUCTURE 3.2 FILE STRUCTURE 3.3 FAT STRUCTURE
CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 DIRECTORY STRUCTURE 4.1 CLUSTERS IN FAT 4.2 BOOT SECTOR
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 5.1LIMITATION OF STUDY 5.2SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 5.3 REFERENCES