File System

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What Does File System Mean?

A file system is a process that manages how and where data on a storage disk, typically a hard disk drive (HDD), is stored, accessed and managed. It is a logical disk component that manages a disk’s internal operations as it relates to a computer and is abstract to a human user.

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Techopedia Explains File System

Regardless of type and usage, a disk contains a file system and information about where disk data is stored and how it may be accessed by a user or application. A file system typically manages operations, such as storage management, file naming, directories/folders, metadata, access rules and privileges.

Commonly used file systems include File Allocation Table 32 (FAT 32), New Technology File System (NTFS) and Hierarchical File System (HFS).

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.