
                             FYI

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          TITLE: FDISK CLUSTER SIZES
   DOCUMENT ID#: FYI-M-1208
           DATE: 09SEPT92
        PRODUCT: DR DOS
PRODUCT VERSION: 5.x 6.0
     SUPERSEDES: FYI-M-1208 (01JAN92)



The cluster size that FDISK will select depends on the size of the
partition being created. The cluster size for a particular
partition size is shown in the following table:

Partition Size     FAT SIZE       Sectors/Cluster   Cluster Size

0 - 7.9MB            12 bit               4              2K

8 - 15.9MB           12                   8              4K

16 - 31.9MB          12                   16             8K

32 - 127.9MB         16                   4              2K

128 - 255.9MB        16                   8              4K

256 - 511.9MB        16                   16             8K

512MB - 999.9MB      16                   32             16K

1GB - 2GB            16                   64             32k

The cluster size is adjusted for different partitions because of
the use of a 12 or 16 bit File Allocation Table (FAT). DR/PC/MS DOS
use a 16 bit FAT on partitions greater than 32MB and can therefore
keep track of 65,518 clusters. A 12 bit FAT can only keep track of
4,077 clusters. The 12 bit FAT format is kept to maintain
compatibility with earlier versions of DOS. 

A more detailed discussion of DOS partitioning methods can be found
in FYI-M-1207.
