FAT (File Allocation Table) refers to a data table that holds information about how and where files are stored on any one partition (for simplicity think of a partition as all the files on your hard drive).

For example, a single file on your hard drive may not be stored in one place, the file could be split up and stored in several different (physical) places (this is called fragmentation), the FAT keeps a record of where the different parts of the file are stored.

The FAT system does not duplicate critical data (as opposed to NTFS) so if a critical sector is lost then it can mean the loss of all data within the partition.

FAT16 is a file system used in the first releases of Windows 95.

FAT32 is a file system used by later releases of Windows 95 and by Windows 98/98SE, it is also supported by Windows XP.

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