如果您曾经使用过 Windows PC 或USB 记忆(USB memory)棒或SD 卡(SD card)等存储设备，那么您几乎不可能没有听说过FAT32。它是各种存储设备上最流行的文件系统之一。如果您想了解更多关于它的历史、用途和用途(purpose and uses)，请继续阅读。在这篇文章中，我们谈论的是FAT32：
什么是FAT32？
FAT32是一种用于存储设备的文件系统，文件(file system)系统(file system)是在诸如硬盘驱动器、SSD(SSDs)、记忆棒、microSD 卡等设备上组织存储的方式。FAT32也是File Allocation Table 32的首字母缩写，其名称的 32 部分来自于FAT32使用 32 位数据来识别存储设备(storage device)上的数据簇。
FAT32 是什么时候发明的，是谁发明的？
FAT32是微软(Microsoft)于 1996 年首次向世界推出的文件系统(file system)，在MS-DOS 7.1和Windows 95 OSR2中使用了它。FAT32是FAT16 和 FAT(FAT16 and FAT)之后的下一个。最初的FAT 文件(FAT file)系统最初是在 1977 年设计和使用的。它的目的是在软盘上使用，但随着计算技术的进步，它很快也成为了格式化硬盘的默认选择。(default choice)
FAT及其衍生文件，包括FAT32，是DOS（磁盘操作系统(Disk Operating System)）和 Windows 计算机自 1980 年代至2000 年(year 2000)以来最流行的文件系统。FAT32在 2001 年开始失去重要性，当Windows XP推出时，它默认使用NTFS而不是FAT32。
FAT32 仍然是当今世界上(world today)最流行的文件系统之一，因为它仍然被大规模用于格式化各种存储设备。
使用 FAT32 的优点
FAT32有一些好的地方，否则它也活不了这么久。然而，今天使用FAT32的唯一重要优势是：(FAT32)
- 它兼容多种设备：智能手机、平板电脑、计算机、数码相机、游戏机、监控摄像头等。
- 它还与自 1995 年至今推出的几乎所有操作系统交叉兼容。FAT32适用于Windows 95 OSR2、Windows 98、XP、Vista、Windows 7、8(Windows 7)和10。MacOS 和 Linux(MacOS and Linux)也支持它。
使用 FAT32 的缺点
在驱动器上使用FAT32有一些严重的缺点：
FAT32比NTFS快还是慢？
FAT32也比(FAT32)NTFS稍慢，后者是Windows设备上最常用的文件系统。(file system)为了比较速度的实际下降，我们使用了一些存储设备并使用CrystalDiskMark测量了它们的读/写速度。我们使用的存储设备是：
- 256GB Samsung NVMe M.2 PCI Express X4 SSD在我们的Lenovo Legion Y520 笔记本电脑(Lenovo Legion Y520 laptop)中找到（由数字 1(number 1)表示），
- 一个 250GB SATA III 三星 750 (SATA III Samsung 750) EVO SSD（由数字 2(number 2)表示），
- 金士顿 DataTraveler microDuo 3C(Kingston DataTraveler microDuo 3C)（由数字3(number 3)表示），
- IronKey D300（由数字 4(number 4)表示），以及
- 一个SanDisk Ultra Fit（由数字 5 表示）。
在下面的屏幕截图中，您可以看到我们使用FAT32格式化这些存储驱动器时测量的速度。
以下是我们使用NTFS格式化相同驱动器时获得的速度：
通过查看这些结果，您可以看到两个固态驱动器（由数字 1 和 2 表示）从FAT32文件系统(file system)读取数据的速度较慢。写入数据时结果相似。我们还可以看到IronKey D300（以数字 4(number 4)表示）和SanDisk Ultra Fit（以数字 5表示）的相同趋势，它们在使用(number 5)FAT32而不是NTFS时读取数据的速度也较慢。
我们得出结论，当您希望在各种设备和操作系统之间实现交叉兼容性时，最好使用FAT32 。但是，如果您想要速度，FAT32不是您可以做出的最佳选择。为此，NTFS更好，特别是在固态驱动器上，与旧的FAT32文件系统相比，读取速度要高得多。
你使用FAT32吗？
您几乎不可能在一生中至少一次偶然发现使用FAT32格式化的存储设备。(storage device)其受欢迎和寿命长的原因是不同制造商的设备之间以及各种操作系统之间的这种交叉兼容性。老实说，这是您可能仍想使用FAT32的唯一原因。在关闭本指南之前，我们很想知道您是否还在使用它，以及在哪种存储设备上使用。在下面的评论中分享您对FAT32的想法和经验。
Simple questions: What is FAT32 and why is it useful?
If you ever uѕed a Windows PС or a storage device like a USB memory stick оr an SD card, it is almost impоssible that you havе not heard about FAT32. It is one of the most popular file systems ever used on storage devices of all kinds. If you want to learn more about its history, its purpose and uses, read on. In this article, we are talking about FAT32:
What is FAT32?
FAT32 is a file system used for storage devices, and file systems are ways of organizing storage on devices such as hard drives, SSDs, memory sticks, microSD cards, and so on. FAT32 is also an acronym for File Allocation Table 32, and the 32 part of its name comes from the fact that FAT32 uses 32 bits of data for identifying data clusters on the storage device.
When was FAT32 invented and by who?
FAT32 is a file system that was first introduced to the world in 1996, by Microsoft, which used it in MS-DOS 7.1 and Windows 95 OSR2. FAT32 is the next in line after FAT16 and FAT. The original FAT file system was initially designed and used way back in 1977. Its purpose was to be used on floppy disks, but with the advance of computing technology, it was soon the default choice for formatting hard drives too.
FAT and its derivatives, including FAT32, were the most popular file systems used by DOS (Disk Operating System) and Windows computers since the 1980s and up until the year 2000. FAT32 began to lose importance in 2001, when Windows XP was launched, which used NTFS rather than FAT32 by default.
FAT32 remains one of the most popular file systems in the world today, as it is still used on a large scale for formatting all kinds of storage devices.
The pros of using FAT32
FAT32 had some good things about it, otherwise it would not have managed to live for such a long time. However, the only important advantages of using FAT32 today are:
- It is compatible with a huge variety of devices: smartphones, tablets, computers, digital cameras, gaming consoles, surveillance cameras and so on.
- It is also cross-compatible with almost all operating systems that were launched since 1995 and up until now. FAT32 works with Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8, and 10. MacOS and Linux also support it.
The cons of using FAT32
There are some serious disadvantages to using FAT32 on your drives:
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FAT32 can only work with files that are less than 4 GB in size.
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FAT32 only works with partitions with a maximum capacity of 8 TB.
- If you have a drive that is formatted in FAT32, you do not get any data protection in case of power loss.
- The FAT32 file system does not include any built-in file compression features.
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FAT32 was not designed to be secure and does not include any built-in encryption features. If you want to encrypt files on a FAT32 formatted drive, you must use third-party tools for that.
Is FAT32 faster or slower than NTFS?
FAT32 is also slightly slower than NTFS, which is the most used file system on Windows devices. To compare the actual decrease in speed, we used a few storage devices and measured their read/write speed using CrystalDiskMark. The storage devices that we used are:
In the screenshot below, you can see the speeds that we measured when we formatted these storage drives using FAT32.
Here are the speeds we got when we formatted the same drives using NTFS:
From looking at these results, you can see that both solid state drives (represented by the numbers 1 and 2) were slower at reading data from a FAT32 file system. The results were similar when writing data. We can also see the same trend with the IronKey D300 (represented by number 4) and with the SanDisk Ultra Fit (represented by number 5), which were also slower at reading data when using FAT32 instead of NTFS.
We conclude that using FAT32 is best when you want cross-compatibility between various devices and operating systems. However, if you want speed, FAT32 is not the best choice you could make. For that, NTFS is better, especially on solid state drives, where the reading speeds are quite a bit higher compared to the old FAT32 file system.
Do you use FAT32?
It is highly unlikely that you did not stumble on a storage device formatted using FAT32 at least once in your life. The reason for its popularity and long life is this cross-compatibility between devices from different manufacturers and between various operating system. To be honest, this is the sole reason why you might still want to use FAT32. Before closing this guide, we are curious to know whether you still use it, and on what kind of storage devices. Share your thoughts and experience with FAT32, in a comment below.
