As title states, can Windows Vista or Windows XP read/write FAT16 filesystems. Are there any special tricks to being able to do this without much trouble? I'm designing a hobby project and I'm trying to decided if FAT32 is worth the extra cost.
I'm aware of the size restrictions, they're not a concern in this particular case.
Best Answer
Yes, Windows XP and Vista can still read/write FAT16-formatted hard drives.
I have several external hard drives formatted in FAT16 and have never had a problem reading or writing to any of them with Windows XP and Windows Vista (and Windows 7).
It has become more common (again) to format drives using FAT16 so they can be used with some external devices. I use mine to plug into a DVD player with an external USB port. I still have to read/write the files from Windows XP/Vista/Win7. No problems.