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What is the theoretical and practical minimum size for a FAT 16 volume?

I'm trying to determine the smallest Flash-chip size that can handle a FAT16 FS.

Thanks!

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2 Answers

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If I remember correctly it's 4.1MiB (1,048,576 bytes*4.1 = 4,299,161.6 bytes).

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That's correct. It is either 4.1MiB or equivalently 4.3MB. If you would also like the max size, it is (on a NT/2000/WinXP machine) 4GiB or 4.29GB. – Marcin Nov 23 at 19:06
Ah! So it makes sense that my FAT driver throws error at about 4MB. Where does the 4.1 come from? – MandoMando Nov 23 at 20:13
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4.1 MiB is correct, however you could go smaller with FAT12, which is still readable by modern OS's.

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I would, though I hear implementing a FAT12 driver is not easy. – MandoMando Nov 23 at 20:14

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