Most of the format and partition info in Microsoft documentation was written for Win95, Win98, and WinME, with a few articles specifically to try to get Win2K people to give up the old ways and get with NTFS. Win2K and later have "wizards" that do things the way you're supposed to, so you only need documentation if you find a need to "bend the rules."

Articles that I've pulled recently that may be helpful:

MS-DOS Partitioning Summary: Article ID 69912 a rather old article that gives a summary of what partition types can be used with various DOS versions, through Win98.

A linked article, Order in Which MS-DOS Assigns Drive Letters: Article ID 51978 may be helpful. Should be good through WinME.

Overview of FAT, HPFS, and NTFS File Systems: Article ID 100108 gives a brief summary of the formats that can be used with various Windows and NT versions.

Description of Default Cluster Sizes for FAT32 File System: Article ID 192322 gives a little more specific info for just FAT32.

Description of the FAT32 File System: Article ID 154997 gives more info on the FAT32 format. Applies to Win versions through WinME.

Common Questions About the FAT32 File System : Article ID 253774 gives answers to a few questions about the FAT32 format, applicable to Win versions through WinME.

Default Cluster Size for FAT and NTFS: Article ID 140365 gives information you need it you plan to repartition. Choosing an appropriate cluster size is an essential step in getting the partition size you expect. (Note that a strict reading of applicability would limit this document to use with Win2K, NT and Server 2003 versions.)


Dynamic vs. Basic Storage in Windows 2000: Article ID 175761 written for Win2K, but the same principles apply to WinXP and to most server versions.

Hard Disk Limited to 8-GB Partition: Article ID 153550 info on the partition size limit for early Win95, Win98, and WinME. May help if there's a question about what sizes you can use.

How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk: Article ID 255867 is a long article with lots of stuff in it, but strictly applicable to WinME and earlier.

Maximum Partition Size Using FAT16 File System: Article ID : 118335 the article that states that WinME and earlier can format a partition (4GB) that's larger than they can use(2GB). Note that this specific limit may not apply for OEM version of the OS, and/or for updated versions with suitable BIOS.

This is just scratching the surface of what's available. The only problem is figuring out how to get to what you need. Maybe the way they've phrased the title will suggest something useful to someone.

One extra, for Nostalgia Nuts: The Four Steps Needed to Make a Hard Disk Usable: Article ID : 66706 applicable to "XT or AT computers running MS-DOS."

John