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Maximum number of files in a single folder: 65,534.Maximum number of files on disk: 268,435,437.FAT32įAT32 was introduced to overcome some of the limitations of FAT16. Maximum number of files in a single folder: 512 (if I recall correctly, the root folder “/” had a lower limit of 128).Maximum number of files on disk: 65,517.FAT / FAT16įAT, for File Allocation Table, is the successor to the original FAT12 file system that shipped with MS-DOS many, many years ago. Limits are one factor in choosing which disk format to use. In practice, it is generally synonymous with “format”, as in, it’s a choice made when a disk is formatted. More importantly, there are limits on individual file size that depend on what file system your hard disk uses.Ī file system is nothing more than the specification of how files are stored on disk. There’s no practical limit on the combined sizes of all the files in a folder, though there may be limits on the number of files in a folder. I will say this right away, though: the size of the files in a single folder turns out not to be one of them. The limit most people run into first is the size of their hard disk, but assuming you have a big enough disk, other limits can come into play.
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