Reasons for MS-DOS "File Allocation Table Bad" Error Message (62048)
The information in this article applies to:
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.1
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.2
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.21
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3a
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.0
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.01
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
• Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0a
This article was previously published under Q62048
SUMMARY
There are basically six reasons why the "File Allocation Table Bad" error
occurs. These reasons are as follows:
• The disk is not formatted, or incorrectly formatted.
• An operating system other than MS-DOS is on disk.
• There are defective disk sectors in the file allocation table
(FAT).
• There are invalid cluster numbers in the FAT.
• There are lost clusters on the disk.
• There is cross-linking of some files on the same cluster.
Using the CHKDSK /F command on the disk should repair the above
problems. If it doesn't correct the problem (that is, the same error
is returned), you may want to use a third-party disk recovery utility.
As a final option, you may want to reformat the disk.
| Modification Type: |
Major |
Last Reviewed: |
11/25/2003 |
| Keywords: |
KB62048 |
|