FAT16 or FAT32

Simfan · 11-30-05, 02:51 AM

I'm new to real PDAs, so please excuse me for this basic Q...
On my SPV E200 I could format my SD cards and AFAIK it was FAT16.
For my (upcoming) X51v: should I buy a new SD card (old ones formatted FAT16) or can the X51v use and/or format both.
Also I read here that people talk about buying a seperate card reader because of the USB 2.0 speed option !?
Is that a must or could I simply use the X51v itself to format the SD/CF card (FAT16 and/or FAT32) ?
Thx.

11-30-05, 05:02 AM

Your X51v can handle both FAT16 and FAT32. If not available as an option from Windows Mobile (I guess you have WM5? I am not familiar with the options) then programs like FlashFormat from CNetX are very good.

The separate card reader is a question for transferring data to and from the card, not formatting. You can drag and drop files onto the card withn the Axim using Activesync from your PC, or you can put the card into a card reader direct onto the PC and drag and drop using File Explorer. This is much faster over USB 2.0 but only an issue if you make a habit of moving large files around.

Hope this helps

Simfan · 11-30-05, 06:21 AM

Thanks!
I'll format (<2GB card) with FAT16 anyway (if I have a choice that is) because it is supposedly faster for PPC PDA's.
I was afraid the X51v could only read/write FAT32 formatted flash media cards.

11-30-05, 07:08 AM

except you use the card with digicam (except canon, which supports FAT32), you can safely format the memory card in FAT32 for higher sector effectiency

**Rishad** · 11-30-05, 07:23 AM

I've had some problems with FAT16. the problems started when I had almost 900MB of data on my SD. I kept getting the msg every now n then that "Device storage is full". I couldn't even move a file that is less that 10kb and I still had more than 100MB available on my storage card. After a FAT32 format everything went back to normal plus shifting from FAT16 to FAT32, I gained ~40MB on the SD.

ChrisM510 · 11-30-05, 09:14 AM

Do either a search on here or a Google search for "optimize storage card." You will find an article written on the topic...the author is a genius. It is VERY informative about formating SD and CF cards, FAT16 vs FAT32, and choosing the right cluster size for you. Different cards perform very differently depending on the type of format you use. It cannot be unilaterally stated that FAT16 is worse than FAT32 or vice versa....there really are a LOT of factors that you should take into consideration. Read the article carefully and choose what is right for your situation.

Simfan · 11-30-05, 10:17 AM

Will do some more digging on this, Thx all.

im_dragon · 11-30-05, 12:41 PM

Simfan,

check this out:
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showt...ht=FAT16+FAT32

Simfan · 11-30-05, 01:45 PM

The Tutorial part of this Website is really helpfull, thx.
After reading thru it for a couple of hours it will keep me from asking the same Q all over again.
Highly recommended indeed :approve: .

ChrisM510 · 11-30-05, 08:47 PM

Here is the article I was referencing. I was able to find it:

http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17921