File system of Memory card

[Scott]

I have a 1 G SD card. Can someone advise me how do I know its file system,
i.e., FAT16, FAT32 or NTFS.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Puppy Breath]

Not sure, but a good thing to try would be to right-click its icon in your
Computer folder and choose Properties. It works for most drive types. I
haven't tried it with an SD card.

 

[ray]

I have a 1 G SD card. Can someone advise me how do I know its file system,
i.e., FAT16, FAT32 or NTFS.

Thanks,

Scott

You can be pretty sure is fat16. Cards over 2gb are generally fat32; those
2gb and under are fat16. Unless someone has reformatted it otherwise. A
Linux mount can tell you what type it is.

 

[Scott]

Puppy,

Thanks for your advice. Does FAT mean FAT16? I tested a 128 MB memory
stick that shows FAT in File System.

Scott

 

[Scott]

Ray,

Thanks for your information. I tested a 2 GB USB flash drive that shows
FAT32 and believe it is borderline case and can be FAT 16 or 32.

Scott

 

[Alun Harford]

Puppy,

Thanks for your advice. Does FAT mean FAT16?

Yes.

Alun Harford

 

[Scott]

Alun,

Thanks!

Scott

Yes.

Alun Harford

 

[Ken Blake]

Puppy,

Thanks for your advice. Does FAT mean FAT16? I tested a 128 MB
memory stick that shows FAT in File System.

Back in the days before FAT32, FAT16 was the only kind of FAT there was
(except for FAT12, which was used only for diskettes and tiny hard drive
partitions). So, not needing the "16" to distinguish it from FAT32, it was
normally just called "FAT."

Tody, some people still use the word "FAT" to mean FAT16, but I think that
usage is poor and can potentially lead to confusion. In reality, "FAT" means
any kind of FAT-- FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32--and if you mean any of those in
particular it's best to add the number to make which you mean clear.

But any time you see "FAT" and "FAT32" used in the same sentence, you can be
pretty sure that, by "FAT," the writer means "FAT16."

 

[ray]

Ray,

Thanks for your information. I tested a 2 GB USB flash drive that shows
FAT32 and believe it is borderline case and can be FAT 16 or 32.

As I understand, the 'borderline case' is 4gb - this is usually formatted
as fat32, but, I believe, the fat16 spec leaves the possibility to support
4gb. There is no reason a smaller card cannot be fat32 - but generally
they are fat16 as older digital cameras support fat16 but not necessarily
fat32.

 

[huwyngr]

Note that some laptop card readers cannot read SD's over 1 GB .....