Engineering for the 8.3 Filename Constraint in MS-DOS
Explore the engineering constraints of the MS-DOS 8.3 filename limit, how VFAT handles long filenames through aliasing, and how to prevent data loss during FAT volume transfers.
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msdosMS-DOS 8.3 Filenames Were a Memory Trade, Not a Quirk
MS-DOS 8.3 names come from a fixed 32 byte FAT directory entry. The limit was a speed and memory trade for floppies and 640KB systems, not a quirk, with real collision risks today.
Understanding Slack Space: How MS-DOS Clusters Waste Disk Space
Discover why small files take up more space than expected in MS-DOS. We explore the File Allocation Table (FAT) architecture, cluster-based allocation, and the resulting slack space.