File Allocation Table: the file system used by DOS and Windows to manage files stored on hard disks, floppy disks, and other disk media. The file system takes its name from an on-disk data structure known as the file allocation table, which records where individual portions of each file are located on the disk. Earlier versions of Windows used the 16-bit version known as FAT16. Windows 98 has the option of using FAT32, which supports larger partition sizes and smaller cluster sizes, thereby improving disk performance and increasing available disk space. See also VFAT.
