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exFAT file system

specification
08/27/2019 • 106 minutes to read •
In this article
1 Introduction
2 Volume Structure
3 Main and Backup Boot Regions
4 File Allocation Table Region
5 Data Region
6 Directory Structure
7 Directory Entry Definitions
8 Implementation Notes
9 File System Limits
10 Appendix
11 Documentation Change History

1 Introduction
The exFAT file system is the successor to FAT32 in the FAT family of file
systems. This specification describes the exFAT file system and provides all the
information necessary for implementing the exFAT file system.

1.1 Design Goals

The exFAT file system has three central design goals (see list below).

1. Retain the simplicity of FAT-based file systems.

Two of the strengths of FAT-based file systems are their relative

simplicity and ease of implementation. In the spirit of its
predecessors, implementers should find exFAT relatively simple and
easy to implement.

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2. Enable very large files and storage devices.

The exFAT file system uses 64 bits to describe file size, thereby
enabling applications which depend on very large files. The exFAT
file system also allows for clusters as large as 32MB, effectively
enabling very large storage devices.

3. Incorporate extensibility for future innovation.

The exFAT file system incorporates extensibility into its design,

enabling the file system to keep pace with innovations in storage
and changes in usage.

1.2 Specific Terminology

In the context of this specification, certain terms (see Table 1) carry specific
meaning for the design and implementation of the exFAT file system.

Table 1 Definition of Terms Which Carry Very Specific Meaning

Term Definition

Shall This specification uses the term “shall” to describe a behavior which
is mandatory.

Should This specification uses the term “should” to describe a behavior

which it strongly recommends, but does not make mandatory.

May This specification uses the term “may” to describe a behavior which
is optional.

Mandatory This term describes a field or structure which an implementation

shall modify and shall interpret as this specification describes.

Optional This term describes a field or structure which an implementation

may or may not support. If an implementation supports a given
optional field or structure, it shall modify and shall interpret the field
or structure as this specification describes.

Undefined This term describes field or structure contents which an

implementation may modify as necessary (i.e. clear to zero when

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Term Definition

setting surrounding fields or structures) and shall not interpret to

hold any specific meaning.

Reserved This term describes field or structure contents which

implementations:

1. Shall initialize to zero and should not use for any purpose
2. Should not interpret, except when computing checksums
3. Shall preserve across operations which modify surrounding
fields or structures

1.3 Full Text of Common Acronyms

This specification uses acronyms in common use in the personal computer

industry (see Table 2).

Table 2 Full Text of Common Acronyms

Acronym Full Text

ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange

BIOS Basic Input Output System

CPU Central Processing Unit

exFAT extensible File Allocation Table

FAT File Allocation Table

FAT12 File Allocation Table, 12-bit cluster indices

FAT16 File Allocation Table, 16-bit cluster indices

FAT32 File Allocation Table, 32-bit cluster indices

GPT GUID Partition Table

GUID Globally Unique Identifier (see Section 10.1)

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Acronym Full Text

INT Interrupt

MBR Master Boot Record

texFAT Transaction-safe exFAT

UTC Coordinated Universal Time

1.4 Default Field and Structure Qualifiers

Fields and structures in this specification have the following qualifiers (see list
below), unless the specification notes otherwise.

1. Are unsigned

2. Use decimal notation to describe values, where not otherwise noted; this
specification uses the post-fix letter "h" to denote hexadecimal numbers
and encloses GUIDs in curly braces

3. Are in little-endian format

4. Do not require a null-terminating character for strings

1.5 Windows CE and TexFAT

TexFAT is an extension to exFAT that adds transaction-safe operational

semantics on top of the base file system. TexFAT is used by Windows CE.
TexFAT requires the use of the two FATs and allocation bitmaps for use in
transactions. It also defines several additional structures including padding
descriptors and security descriptors.

2 Volume Structure
A volume is the set of all file system structures and data space necessary to
store and retrieve user data. All exFAT volumes contain four regions (see Table
3).

Table 3 Volume Structure

 

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Sub- Offset Size Comments

region
Name (sector) (sectors)

Main Boot
Region

Main Boot 0 1 This sub-region is

Sector mandatory and
Section 3.1 defines its
contents.

Main 1 8 This sub-region is

Extended mandatory and
Boot Section 3.2) defines its
Sectors contents.

Main OEM 9 1 This sub-region is

Parameters mandatory and
Section 3.3 defines its
contents.

Main 10 1 This sub-region is

Reserved mandatory and its
contents are reserved.

Main Boot 11 1 This sub-region is

Checksum mandatory and
Section 3.4 defines its
contents.

Backup
Boot
Region

Backup 12 1 This sub-region is

Boot mandatory and
Sector Section 3.1 defines its
contents.

Backup 13 8 This sub-region is

Extended mandatory and
Boot Section 3.2 defines its
Sectors contents.
 

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Sub- Offset Size Comments

region
Name (sector) (sectors)

Backup 21 1 This sub-region is

OEM mandatory and
Parameters Section 3.3 defines its
contents.

Backup 22 1 This sub-region is

Reserved mandatory and its
contents are reserved.

Backup 23 1 This sub-region is

Boot mandatory and
Checksum Section 3.4 defines its
contents.

FAT
Region

FAT 24 FatOffset – 24 This sub-region is

Alignment mandatory and its
contents, if any, are
undefined.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
FatOffset field.

First FAT FatOffset FatLength This sub-region is

mandatory and
Section 4.1 defines its
contents.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
FatOffset and
FatLength fields.

Second FatOffset + FatLength * This sub-region is

FAT FatLength (NumberOfFats – mandatory and

 1)


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Sub- Offset Size Comments

region
Name (sector) (sectors)

Section 4.1 defines its

contents, if any.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
FatOffset, FatLength,
and NumberOfFats
fields. The
NumberOfFats field
may only hold values
1 and 2.

Data
Region

Cluster FatOffset + ClusterHeapOffset This sub-region is

Heap FatLength * – (FatOffset + mandatory and its
Alignment NumberOfFats FatLength * contents, if any, are
NumberOfFats) undefined.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
FatOffset, FatLength,
NumberOfFats, and
ClusterHeapOffset
fields. The
NumberOfFats field’s
valid values are 1 and
2.

Cluster ClusterHeapOffset ClusterCount * This sub-region is

Heap 2SectorsPerClusterShift mandatory and
Section 5.1 defines its
contents.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
ClusterHeapOffset,
ClusterCount, and
 

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Sub- Offset Size Comments

region
Name (sector) (sectors)

SectorsPerClusterShift
fields.

Excess ClusterHeapOffset VolumeLength – This sub-region is

Space + ClusterCount * (ClusterHeapOffset mandatory and its
2SectorsPerClusterShift
+ ClusterCount * contents, if any, are
2SectorsPerClusterShift) undefined.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
ClusterHeapOffset,
ClusterCount,
SectorsPerClusterShift,
and VolumeLength
fields.

 

3 Main and Backup Boot Regions

The Main Boot region provides all the necessary boot-strapping instructions,
identifying information, and file system parameters to enable an
implementation to perform the following:

1. Boot-strap a computer system from an exFAT volume.

2. Identify the file system on the volume as exFAT.

3. Discover the location of the exFAT file system structures.

The Backup Boot region is a backup of the Main Boot region. It aids recovery
of the exFAT volume in the event of the Main Boot region being in an
inconsistent state. Except under infrequent circumstances, such as updating
boot-strapping instructions, implementations should not modify the contents
of the Backup Boot region.

3.1 Main and Backup Boot Sector Sub-regions

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The Main Boot Sector contains code for boot-strapping from an exFAT
volume and fundamental exFAT parameters which describe the volume
structure (see Table 4). BIOS, MBR, or other boot-strapping agents may
inspect this sector and may load and execute any boot-strapping instructions
contained therein.

The Backup Boot Sector is a backup of the Main Boot Sector and has the same
structure (see Table 4). The Backup Boot Sector may aid recovery operations;
however, implementations shall treat the contents of the VolumeFlags and
PercentInUse fields as stale.

Prior to using the contents of either the Main or Backup Boot Sector,
implementations shall verify their contents by validating their respective Boot
Checksum and ensuring all their fields are within their valid value range.

While the initial format operation will initialize the contents of both the Main
and Backup Boot Sectors, implementations may update these sectors (and
shall also update their respective Boot Checksum) as needed. However,
implementations may update either the VolumeFlags or PercentInUse fields
without updating their respective Boot Checksum (the checksum specifically
excludes these two fields).

Table 4 Main and Backup Boot Sector Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

JumpBoot 0 3 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.1 defines
its contents.

FileSystemName 3 8 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.2 defines
its contents.

MustBeZero 11 53 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.3 defines
its contents.

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

PartitionOffset 64 8 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.4 defines
its contents.

VolumeLength 72 8 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.5 defines
its contents.

FatOffset 80 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.6 defines
its contents.

FatLength 84 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.7 defines
its contents.

ClusterHeapOffset 88 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.8 defines
its contents.

ClusterCount 92 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.9 defines
its contents.

FirstClusterOfRootDirectory 96 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.10
defines its contents.

VolumeSerialNumber 100 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.11
defines its contents.

FileSystemRevision 104 2

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

This field is
mandatory and
Section 3.1.12
defines its contents.

VolumeFlags 106 2 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.13
defines its contents.

BytesPerSectorShift 108 1 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.14
defines its contents.

SectorsPerClusterShift 109 1 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.15
defines its contents.

NumberOfFats 110 1 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.16
defines its contents.

DriveSelect 111 1 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.17
defines its contents.

PercentInUse 112 1 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.18
defines its contents.

Reserved 113 7 This field is

mandatory and its
contents are
reserved.

BootCode 120 390

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

This field is
mandatory and
Section 3.1.19
defines its contents.

BootSignature 510 2 This field is

mandatory and
Section 3.1.20
defines its contents.

ExcessSpace 512 2BytesPerSectorShift This field is

– 512 mandatory and its
contents, if any, are
undefined.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
BytesPerSectorShift
field.

3.1.1 JumpBoot Field

The JumpBoot field shall contain the jump instruction for CPUs common in
personal computers, which, when executed, "jumps" the CPU to execute the
boot-strapping instructions in the BootCode field.

The valid value for this field is (in order of low-order byte to high-order byte)
EBh 76h 90h.

3.1.2 FileSystemName Field

The FileSystemName field shall contain the name of the file system on the
volume.

The valid value for this field is, in ASCII characters, "EXFAT ", which includes
three trailing white spaces.

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3.1.3 MustBeZero Field

The MustBeZero field shall directly correspond with the range of bytes the
packed BIOS parameter block consumes on FAT12/16/32 volumes.

The valid value for this field is 0, which helps to prevent FAT12/16/32
implementations from mistakenly mounting an exFAT volume.

3.1.4 PartitionOffset Field

The PartitionOffset field shall describe the media-relative sector offset of the
partition which hosts the given exFAT volume. This field aids boot-strapping
from the volume using extended INT 13h on personal computers.

All possible values for this field are valid; however, the value 0 indicates
implementations shall ignore this field.

3.1.5 VolumeLength Field

The VolumeLength field shall describe the size of the given exFAT volume in
sectors.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 220/ 2BytesPerSectorShift, which ensures the smallest volume is no less

than 1MB

• At most 264- 1, the largest value this field can describe

However, if the size of the Excess Space sub-region is 0, then the value of this
field is ClusterHeapOffset + (232- 11) * 2SectorsPerClusterShift.

3.1.6 FatOffset Field

The FatOffset field shall describe the volume-relative sector offset of the First
FAT. This field enables implementations to align the First FAT to the
characteristics of the underlying storage media.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 24, which accounts for the sectors the Main Boot and Backup
Boot regions consume

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• At most ClusterHeapOffset - (FatLength * NumberOfFats), which

accounts for the sectors the Cluster Heap consumes

3.1.7 FatLength Field

The FatLength field shall describe the length, in sectors, of each FAT table (the
volume may contain up to two FATs).

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least (ClusterCount + 2) * 22/ 2BytesPerSectorShiftrounded up to the nearest

integer, which ensures each FAT has sufficient space for describing all
the clusters in the Cluster Heap

• At most (ClusterHeapOffset - FatOffset) / NumberOfFats rounded down

to the nearest integer, which ensures the FATs exist before the Cluster
Heap

This field may contain a value in excess of its lower bound (as described
above) to enable the Second FAT, if present, to also be aligned to the
characteristics of the underlying storage media. The contents of the space
which exceeds what the FAT itself requires, if any, are undefined.

3.1.8 ClusterHeapOffset Field

The ClusterHeapOffset field shall describe the volume-relative sector offset of

the Cluster Heap. This field enables implementations to align the Cluster Heap
to the characteristics of the underlying storage media.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least FatOffset + FatLength * NumberOfFats, to account for the

sectors all the preceding regions consume

• At most 232- 1 or VolumeLength - (ClusterCount * 2SectorsPerClusterShift),

whichever calculation is less

3.1.9 ClusterCount Field

The ClusterCount field shall describe the number of clusters the Cluster Heap
contains.

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The valid value for this field shall be the lesser of the following:

• (VolumeLength - ClusterHeapOffset) / 2SectorsPerClusterShiftrounded down to

the nearest integer, which is exactly the number of clusters which can fit
between the beginning of the Cluster Heap and the end of the volume

• 232- 11, which is the maximum number of clusters a FAT can describe

The value of the ClusterCount field determines the minimum size of a FAT. To
avoid extremely large FATs, implementations can control the number of
clusters in the Cluster Heap by increasing the cluster size (via the
SectorsPerClusterShift field). This specification recommends no more than 224-
2 clusters in the Cluster Heap. However, implementations shall be able to
handle volumes with up to 232- 11 clusters in the Cluster Heap.

3.1.10 FirstClusterOfRootDirectory Field

The FirstClusterOfRootDirectory field shall contain the cluster index of the first
cluster of the root directory. Implementations should make every effort to
place the first cluster of the root directory in the first non-bad cluster after the
clusters the Allocation Bitmap and Up-case Table consume.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 2, the index of the first cluster in the Cluster Heap

• At most ClusterCount + 1, the index of the last cluster in the Cluster

Heap

3.1.11 VolumeSerialNumber Field

The VolumeSerialNumber field shall contain a unique serial number. This

assists implementations to distinguish among different exFAT volumes.
Implementations should generate the serial number by combining the date
and time of formatting the exFAT volume. The mechanism for combining date
and time to form a serial number is implementation-specific.

All possible values for this field are valid.

3.1.12 FileSystemRevision Field

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The FileSystemRevision field shall describe the major and minor revision
numbers of the exFAT structures on the given volume.

The high-order byte is the major revision number and the low-order byte is
the minor revision number. For example, if the high-order byte contains the
value 01h and if the low-order byte contains the value 05h, then the
FileSystemRevision field describes the revision number 1.05. Likewise, if the
high-order byte contains the value 0Ah and if the low-order byte contains the
value 0Fh, then the FileSystemRevision field describes the revision number
10.15.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 0 for the low-order byte and 1 for the high-order byte

• At most 99 for the low-order byte and 99 for the high-order byte

The revision number of exFAT this specification describes is 1.00.

Implementations of this specification should mount any exFAT volume with
major revision number 1 and shall not mount any exFAT volume with any
other major revision number. Implementations shall honor the minor revision
number and shall not perform operations or create any file system structures
not described in the given minor revision number's corresponding
specification.

3.1.13 VolumeFlags Field

The VolumeFlags field shall contain flags which indicate the status of various
file system structures on the exFAT volume (see Table 5).

Implementations shall not include this field when computing its respective
Main Boot or Backup Boot region checksum. When referring to the Backup
Boot Sector, implementations shall treat this field as stale.

Table 5 VolumeFlags Field Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

ActiveFat 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section 3.1.13.1

defines its contents.

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

VolumeDirty 1 1 This field is mandatory and Section 3.1.13.2

defines its contents.

MediaFailure 2 1 This field is mandatory and Section 3.1.13.3

defines its contents.

ClearToZero 3 1 This field is mandatory and Section 3.1.13.4

defines its contents.

Reserved 4 12 This field is mandatory and its contents are

reserved.

3.1.13.1 ActiveFat Field

The ActiveFat field shall describe which FAT and Allocation Bitmap are active
(and implementations shall use), as follows:

• 0, which means the First FAT and First Allocation Bitmap are active

• 1, which means the Second FAT and Second Allocation Bitmap are active
and is possible only when the NumberOfFats field contains the value 2

Implementations shall consider the inactive FAT and Allocation Bitmap as

stale. Only TexFAT-aware implementations shall switch the active FAT and
Allocation Bitmaps (see Section 7.1).

3.1.13.2 VolumeDirty Field

The VolumeDirty field shall describe whether the volume is dirty or not, as
follows:

• 0, which means the volume is probably in a consistent state

• 1, which means the volume is probably in an inconsistent state

Implementations should set the value of this field to 1 upon encountering file
system metadata inconsistencies which they do not resolve. If, upon mounting
a volume, the value of this field is 1, only implementations which resolve file

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system metadata inconsistencies may clear the value of this field to 0. Such
implementations shall only clear the value of this field to 0 after ensuring the
file system is in a consistent state.

If, upon mounting a volume, the value of this field is 0, implementations

should set this field to 1 before updating file system metadata and clear this
field to 0 afterwards, similar to the recommended write ordering described in
Section 8.1.

3.1.13.3 MediaFailure Field

The MediaFailure field shall describe whether an implementation has

discovered media failures or not, as follows:

• 0, which means the hosting media has not reported failures or any
known failures are already recorded in the FAT as "bad" clusters

• 1, which means the hosting media has reported failures (i.e. has failed
read or write operations)

An implementation should set this field to 1 when:

1. The hosting media fails access attempts to any region in the volume

2. The implementation has exhausted access retry algorithms, if any

If, upon mounting a volume, the value of this field is 1, implementations which
scan the entire volume for media failures and record all failures as "bad"
clusters in the FAT (or otherwise resolve media failures) may clear the value of
this field to 0.

3.1.13.4 ClearToZero Field

The ClearToZero field does not have significant meaning in this specification.

The valid values for this field are:

• 0, which does not have any particular meaning

• 1, which means implementations shall clear this field to 0 prior to

modifying any file system structures, directories, or files

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3.1.14 BytesPerSectorShift Field

The BytesPerSectorShift field shall describe the bytes per sector expressed as
log2(N), where N is the number of bytes per sector. For example, for 512 bytes
per sector, the value of this field is 9.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 9 (sector size of 512 bytes), which is the smallest sector possible
for an exFAT volume

• At most 12 (sector size of 4096 bytes), which is the memory page size of
CPUs common in personal computers

3.1.15 SectorsPerClusterShift Field

The SectorsPerClusterShift field shall describe the sectors per cluster

expressed as log2(N), where N is number of sectors per cluster. For example,
for 8 sectors per cluster, the value of this field is 3.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 0 (1 sector per cluster), which is the smallest cluster possible

• At most 25 - BytesPerSectorShift, which evaluates to a cluster size of

32MB

3.1.16 NumberOfFats Field

The NumberOfFats field shall describe the number of FATs and Allocation
Bitmaps the volume contains.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• 1, which indicates the volume only contains the First FAT and First
Allocation Bitmap

• 2, which indicates the volume contains the First FAT, Second FAT, First
Allocation Bitmap, and Second Allocation Bitmap; this value is only valid
for TexFAT volumes

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3.1.17 DriveSelect Field

The DriveSelect field shall contain the extended INT 13h drive number, which
aids boot-strapping from this volume using extended INT 13h on personal
computers.

All possible values for this field are valid. Similar fields in previous FAT-based
file systems frequently contained the value 80h.

3.1.18 PercentInUse Field

The PercentInUse field shall describe the percentage of clusters in the Cluster
Heap which are allocated.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• Between 0 and 100 inclusively, which is the percentage of allocated

clusters in the Cluster Heap, rounded down to the nearest integer

• Exactly FFh, which indicates the percentage of allocated clusters in the

Cluster Heap is not available

Implementations shall change the value of this field to reflect changes in the
allocation of clusters in the Cluster Heap or shall change it to FFh.

Implementations shall not include this field when computing its respective
Main Boot or Backup Boot region checksum. When referring to the Backup
Boot Sector, implementations shall treat this field as stale.

3.1.19 BootCode Field

The BootCode field shall contain boot-strapping instructions. Implementations

may populate this field with the CPU instructions necessary for boot-strapping
a computer system. Implementations which don't provide boot-strapping
instructions shall initialize each byte in this field to F4h (the halt instruction for
CPUs common in personal computers) as part of their format operation.

3.1.20 BootSignature Field

The BootSignature field shall describe whether the intent of a given sector is
for it to be a Boot Sector or not.

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The valid value for this field is AA55h. Any other value in this field invalidates
its respective Boot Sector. Implementations should verify the contents of this
field prior to depending on any other field in its respective Boot Sector.

3.2 Main and Backup Extended Boot Sectors Sub-regions

Each sector of the Main Extended Boot Sectors has the same structure;
however, each sector may hold distinct boot-strapping instructions (see Table
6). Boot-strapping agents, such as the boot-strapping instructions in the Main
Boot Sector, alternate BIOS implementations, or an embedded system's
firmware, may load these sectors and execute the instructions they contain.

The Backup Extended Boot Sectors is a backup of the Main Extended Boot
Sectors and has the same structure (see Table 6).

Prior to executing the instructions of either the Main or Backup Extended Boot
Sectors, implementations should verify their contents by ensuring each
sector's ExtendedBootSignature field contains its prescribed value.

While the initial format operation will initialize the contents of both the Main
and Backup Extended Boot Sectors, implementations may update these
sectors (and shall also update their respective Boot Checksum) as needed.

Table 6 Extended Boot Sector Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

ExtendedBootCode 0 2BytesPerSectorShift This field is

–4 mandatory and
Section 3.2.1
defines its
contents.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot
Sectors both
contain the
BytesPerSectorShift
field.

ExtendedBootSignature 2BytesPerSectorShift 4 This field is

 –4 mandatory and 

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

Section 3.2.2
defines its
contents.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot
Sectors both
contain the
BytesPerSectorShift
field.

 

3.2.1 ExtendedBootCode Field

The ExtendedBootCode field shall contain boot-strapping instructions.

Implementations may populate this field with the CPU instructions necessary
for boot-strapping a computer system. Implementations which don't provide
boot-strapping instructions shall initialize each byte in this field to 00h as part
of their format operation.

3.2.2 ExtendedBootSignature Field

The ExtendedBootSignature field shall describe whether the intent of given

sector is for it to be an Extended Boot Sector or not.

The valid value for this field is AA550000h. Any other value in this field
invalidates its respective Main or Backup Extended Boot Sector.
Implementations should verify the contents of this field prior to depending on
any other field in its respective Extended Boot Sector.

3.3 Main and Backup OEM Parameters Sub-regions

The Main OEM Parameters sub-region contains ten parameters structures

which may contain manufacturer-specific information (see Table 7). Each of
the ten parameters structures derives from the Generic Parameters template
(see Section 3.3.2). Manufacturers may derive their own custom parameters
structures from the Generic Parameters template. This specification itself

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defines two parameters structures: Null Parameters (see Section 3.3.3) and
Flash Parameters (see Section 3.3.4).

The Backup OEM Parameters is a backup of the Main OEM Parameters and
has the same structure (see Table 7).

Prior to using the contents of either the Main or Backup OEM Parameters,
implementations shall verify their contents by validating their respective Boot
Checksum.

Manufacturers should populate the Main and Backup OEM Parameters with
their own custom parameters structures, if any, and any other parameter
structures. Subsequent format operations shall preserve the contents of the
Main and Backup OEM Parameters.

Implementations may update the Main and Backup OEM Parameters as

needed (and shall also update their respective Boot Checksum).

Table 7 OEM Parameters Structure

Field Offset Size Comments

Name
(byte) (bytes)

Parameters 0 48 This field is mandatory and Section

[0] 3.3.1 defines its contents.

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

Parameters 432 48 This field is mandatory and Section

[9] 3.3.1 defines its contents.

Reserved 480 2BytesPerSectorShift This field is mandatory and its

– 480 contents are reserved.

Note: the Main and Backup Boot

Sectors both contain the
BytesPerSectorShift field.

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3.3.1 Parameters[0] ... Parameters[9]

Each Parameters field in this array contains a parameters structure, which

derives from the Generic Parameters template (see Section 3.3.2). Any unused
Parameters field shall be described as containing a Null Parameters structure
(see Section 3.3.3).

3.3.2 Generic Parameters Template

The Generic Parameters template provides the base definition of a parameters

structure (see Table 8). All parameters structures derive from this template.
Support for this Generic Parameters template is mandatory.

Table 8 Generic Parameters Template

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

ParametersGuid 0 16 This field is mandatory and Section

3.3.2.1 defines its contents.

CustomDefined 16 32 This field is mandatory and the

structures which derive from this
template define its contents.

3.3.2.1 ParametersGuid Field

The ParametersGuid field shall describe a GUID, which determines the layout
of the remainder of the given parameters structure.

All possible values for this field are valid; however, manufacturers should use a
GUID-generating tool, such as GuidGen.exe, to select a GUID when deriving
custom parameters structures from this template.

3.3.3 Null Parameters

The Null Parameters structure derives from the Generic Parameters template
(see Section 3.3.2) and shall describe an unused Parameters field (see Table 9).
When creating or updating the OEM Parameters structure, implementations
shall populate unused Parameters fields with the Null Parameters structure.
Also, when creating or updating the OEM Parameters structure,

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implementations should consolidate Null Parameters structures at the end of

the array, thereby leaving all other Parameters structures at the beginning of
the OEM Parameters structure.

Support for the Null Parameters structure is mandatory.

Table 9 Null Parameters Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

ParametersGuid 0 16 This field is mandatory and Section

3.3.3.1 defines its contents.

Reserved 16 32 This field is mandatory and its

contents are reserved.

3.3.3.1 ParametersGuid Field

The ParametersGuid field shall conform to the definition provided by the

Generic Parameters template (see Section 3.3.2.1).

The valid value for this field, in GUID notation, is {00000000-0000-0000-0000-

000000000000}.

3.3.4 Flash Parameters

The Flash Parameter structure derives from the Generic Parameters template
(see Section 3.3.2) and contains parameters for flash media (see Table 10).
Manufacturers of flash-based storage devices may populate a Parameters field
(preferably the Parameters[0] field) with this parameters structure.
Implementations may use the information in the Flash Parameters structure to
optimize access operations during reads/writes and for alignment of file
system structures durning formatting of the media.

Support for the Flash Parameters structure is optional.

Table 10 Flash Parameters Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

ParametersGuid 0 16 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.1 defines its
contents.

EraseBlockSize 16 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.2 defines its
contents.

PageSize 20 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.3 defines its
contents.

SpareSectors 24 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.4 defines its
contents.

RandomAccessTime 28 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.5 defines its
contents.

ProgrammingTime 32 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.6 defines its
contents.

ReadCycle 36 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.7 defines its
contents.

WriteCycle 40 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 3.3.4.8 defines its
contents.

Reserved 44 4 This field is mandatory and its

contents are reserved.

All possible values for all Flash Parameters fields, except for the
ParametersGuid field, are valid. However, the value 0 indicates the field is
actually meaningless (implementations shall ignore the given field).

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3.3.4.1 ParametersGuid Field

The ParametersGuid field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Parameters template (see Section 3.3.2.1).

The valid value for this field, in GUID notation, is {0A0C7E46-3399-4021-90C8-

FA6D389C4BA2}.

3.3.4.2 EraseBlockSize Field

The EraseBlockSize field shall describe the size, in bytes, of the flash media's
erase block.

3.3.4.3 PageSize Field

The PageSize field shall describe the size, in bytes of the flash media's page.

3.3.4.4 SpareSectors Field

The SpareSectors field shall describe the number of sectors the flash media
has available for its internal sparing operations.

3.3.4.5 RandomAccessTime Field

The RandomAccessTime field shall describe the flash media's average random
access time, in nanoseconds.

3.3.4.6 ProgrammingTime Field

The ProgrammingTime field shall describe the flash media's average

programming time, in nanoseconds.

3.3.4.7 ReadCycle Field

The ReadCycle field shall describe the flash media's average read cycle time, in
nanoseconds.

3.3.4.8 WriteCycle Field

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The WriteCycle field shall describe the average write cycle time, in
nanoseconds.

3.4 Main and Backup Boot Checksum Sub-regions

The Main and Backup Boot Checksums each contain a repeating pattern of
the four-byte checksum of the contents of all other sub-regions in their
respective Boot regions. The checksum calculation shall not include the
VolumeFlags and PercentInUse fields in their respective Boot Sector (see
Figure 1). The repeating pattern of the four-byte checksum fills its respective
Boot Checksum sub-region from the beginning to the end of the sub-region.

Prior to using the contents of any of the other sub-regions in either the Main
or Backup Boot regions, implementations shall verify their contents by
validating their respective Boot Checksum.

While the initial format operation will populate both the Main and Backup
Boot Checksums with the repeating checksum pattern, implementations shall
update these sectors as the contents of the other sectors in their respective
Boot regions change.

Figure 1 Boot Checksum Computation

C ＝ Copy

UInt32 BootChecksum
(
UCHAR * Sectors, // points to an in-memory copy of the
11 sectors
USHORT BytesPerSector
)
{
UInt32 NumberOfBytes = (UInt32)BytesPerSector * 11;
UInt32 Checksum = 0;
UInt32 Index;

for (Index = 0; Index < NumberOfBytes; Index++)

{
if ((Index == 106) || (Index == 107) || (Index == 112))
{
continue;
}
Checksum = ((Checksum&1) ? 0x80000000 : 0) + (Checksum>>1)
+ (UInt32)Sectors[Index];
}

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return Checksum;
}

4 File Allocation Table Region

The File Allocation Table (FAT) region may contain up to two FATs, one in the
First FAT sub-region and another in the Second FAT sub-region. The
NumberOfFats field describes how many FATs this region contains. The valid
values for the NumberOfFats field are 1 and 2. Therefore, the First FAT sub-
region always contains a FAT. If the NumberOfFats field is two, then the
Second FAT sub-region also contains a FAT.

The ActiveFat field of the VolumeFlags field describes which FAT is active. Only
the VolumeFlags field in the Main Boot Sector is current. Implementations
shall treat the FAT which is not active as stale. Use of the inactive FAT and
switching between FATs is implementation specific.

4.1 First and Second FAT Sub-regions

A FAT shall describe cluster chains in the Cluster Heap (see Table 11). A cluster
chain is a series of clusters which provides space for recording the contents of
files, directories, and other file system structures. A FAT represents a cluster
chain as a singly-linked list of cluster indices. With the exception of the first
two entries, every entry in a FAT represents exactly one cluster.

Table 11 File Allocation Table Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

FatEntry[0] 0 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 4.1.2 defines
its contents.

FatEntry[1] 4 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 4.1.2 defines
its contents.

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (bytes)

FatEntry[2] 8 4 This field is

mandatory and
Section 4.1.3 defines
its contents.

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

FatEntry (ClusterCount 4 This field is

[ClusterCount+1] + 1) * 4 mandatory and
Section 4.1.3 defines
its contents.

ClusterCount + 1 can
never exceed
FFFFFFF6h.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
ClusterCount field.

ExcessSpace (ClusterCount (FatLength * This field is

+ 2) * 4 2BytesPerSectorShift) mandatory and its
– contents, if any, are
((ClusterCount undefined.
+ 2) * 4)
Note: the Main and
Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
ClusterCount,
FatLength, and
BytesPerSectorShift
fields.

4.1.1 FatEntry[0] Field

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The FatEntry[0] field shall describe the media type in the first byte (the lowest
order byte) and shall contain FFh in the remaining three bytes.

The media type (the first byte) should be F8h.

4.1.2 FatEntry[1] Field

The FatEntry[1] field only exists due to historical precedence and does not
describe anything of interest.

The valid value for this field is FFFFFFFFh. Implementations shall initialize this
field to its prescribed value and should not use this field for any purpose.
Implementations should not interpret this field and shall preserve its contents
across operations which modify surrounding fields.

4.1.3 FatEntry[2] ... FatEntry[ClusterCount+1] Fields

Each FatEntry field in this array shall represent a cluster in the Cluster Heap.
FatEntry[2] represents the first cluster in the Cluster Heap and FatEntry
[ClusterCount+1] represents the last cluster in the Cluster Heap.

The valid range of values for these fields shall be:

• Between 2 and ClusterCount + 1, inclusively, which points to the next

FatEntry in the given cluster chain; the given FatEntry shall not point to
any FatEntry which precedes it in the given cluster chain

• Exactly FFFFFFF7h, which marks the given FatEntry's corresponding

cluster as "bad"

• Exactly FFFFFFFFh, which marks the given FatEntry's corresponding

cluster as the last cluster of a cluster chain; this is the only valid value for
the last FatEntry of any given cluster chain

5 Data Region
The Data region contains the Cluster Heap, which provides managed space for
file system structures, directories, and files.

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5.1 Cluster Heap Sub-region

The Cluster Heap's structure is very simple (see Table 12); each consecutive
series of sectors describes one cluster, as the SectorsPerClusterShift field
defines. Importantly, the first cluster of the Cluster Heap has index two, which
directly corresponds to the index of FatEntry[2].

In an exFAT volume, an Allocation Bitmap (see Section 7.1.5) maintains the

record of the allocation state of all clusters. This is a significant difference from
exFAT's predecessors (FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32), in which a FAT maintained a
record of the allocation state of all clusters in the Cluster Heap.

Table 12 Cluster Heap Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(sector) (sectors)

Cluster[2] ClusterHeapOffset 2SectorsPerClusterShift This field is

mandatory and
Section 5.1.1 defines
its contents.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
ClusterHeapOffset
and
SectorsPerClusterShift
fields.

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

Cluster ClusterHeapOffset 2SectorsPerClusterShift This field is

[ClusterCount+1] + (ClusterCount – mandatory and
1) * Section 5.1.1 defines
2SectorsPerClusterShift its contents.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the

 ClusterCount,


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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(sector) (sectors)

ClusterHeapOffset,
and
SectorsPerClusterShift
fields.

 

5.1.1 Cluster[2] ... Cluster[ClusterCount+1] Fields

Each Cluster field in this array is a series of contiguous sectors, whose size is
defined by the SectorsPerClusterShift field.

6 Directory Structure
The exFAT file system uses a directory tree approach to manage the file
system structures and files which exist in the Cluster Heap. Directories have a
one-to-many relationship between parent and child in the directory tree.

The directory to which the FirstClusterOfRootDirectory field refers is the root

of the directory tree. All other directories descend from the root directory in a
singly-linked fashion.

Each directory consists of a series of directory entries (see Table 13).

One or more directory entries combine into a directory entry set which
describes something of interest, such as a file system structure, sub-directory,
or file.

Table 13 Directory Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

DirectoryEntry 0 32 This field is mandatory and Section 6.1

[0] defines its contents.

. . . .

. . . .

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

. . . .

DirectoryEntry (N – 1) 32 This field is mandatory and Section 6.1

[N–1] * 32 defines its contents.

N, the number of DirectoryEntry fields,

is the size, in bytes, of the cluster chain
which contains the given directory,
divided by the size of a DirectoryEntry
field, 32 bytes.

6.1 DirectoryEntry[0] ... DirectoryEntry[N--1]

Each DirectoryEntry field in this array derives from the Generic DirectoryEntry
template (see Section 6.2).

6.2 Generic DirectoryEntry Template

The Generic DirectoryEntry template provides the base definition for directory
entries (see Table 14). All directory entry structures derive from this template
and only Microsoft-defined directory entry structures are valid (exFAT does
not have provisions for manufacturer-defined directory entry structures except
as defined in Section 7.8 and Section 7.9). The ability to interpret the Generic
DirectoryEntry template is mandatory.

Table 14 Generic DirectoryEntry Template

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section

6.2.1 defines its contents.

CustomDefined 1 19 This field is mandatory and structures

which derive from this template may
define its contents.

FirstCluster 20 4

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

This field is mandatory and Section

6.2.2 defines its contents.

DataLength 24 8 This field is mandatory and Section

6.2.3 defines its contents.

6.2.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field has three modes of usage which the value of the field
defines (see list below).

• 00h, which is an end-of-directory marker and the following conditions

apply:

◦ All other fields in the given DirectoryEntry are actually reserved

◦ All subsequent directory entries in the given directory also are end-of-
directory markers

◦ End-of-directory markers are only valid outside directory entry sets

◦ Implementations may overwrite end-of-directory markers as

necessary

• Between 01h and 7Fh inclusively, which is an unused-directory-entry

marker and the following conditions apply:

◦ All other fields in the given DirectoryEntry are actually undefined

◦ Unused directory entries are only valid outside of directory entry sets

◦ Implementations may overwrite unused directory entries as necessary

◦ This range of values corresponds to the InUse field (see Section

6.2.1.4) containing the value 0

• Between 81h and FFh inclusively, which is a regular directory entry and
the following conditions apply:

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◦ The contents of the EntryType field (see Table 15) determine the
layout of the remainder of the DirectoryEntry structure

◦ This range of values, and only this range of values, are valid inside a
directory entry set

◦ This range of values directly corresponds to the InUse field (see

Section 6.2.1.4) containing the value 1

To prevent modifications to the InUse field (see Section 6.2.1.4) erroneously

resulting in an end-of-directory marker, the value 80h is invalid.

Table 15 Generic EntryType Field Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

TypeCode 0 5 This field is mandatory and Section

6.2.1.1 defines its contents.

TypeImportance 5 1 This field is mandatory and Section

Section 6.2.1.2 defines its contents.

TypeCategory 6 1 This field is mandatory and Section

6.2.1.3 defines its contents.

InUse 7 1 This field is mandatory and Section

6.2.1.4 defines its contents.

6.2.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field partially describes the specific type of the given directory
entry. This field, plus the TypeImportance and TypeCategory fields (see
Section 6.2.1.2 and Section 6.2.1.3, respectively) uniquely identify the type of
the given directory entry.

All possible values of this field are valid, unless the TypeImportance and
TypeCategory fields both contain the value 0; in that case, the value 0 is
invalid for this field.

6.2.1.2 TypeImportance Field

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The TypeImportance field shall describe the importance of the given directory
entry.

The valid values for this field shall be:

• 0, which means the given directory entry is critical (see Section 6.3.1.2.1
and Section 6.4.1.2.1 for critical primary and critical secondary directory
entries, respectively)

• 1, which means the given directory entry is benign (see Section 6.3.1.2.2
and Section 6.4.1.2.2 for benign primary and benign secondary directory
entries, respectively)

6.2.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall describe the category of the given directory
entry.

The valid values for this field shall be:

• 0, which means the given directory entry is primary (see Section 6.3)

• 1, which means the given directory entry is secondary (see Section 6.4)

6.2.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall describe whether the given directory entry in use or not.

The valid values for this field shall be:

• 0, which means the given directory entry is not in use; this means the
given structure actually is an unused directory entry

• 1, which means the given directory entry is in use; this means the given
structure is a regular directory entry

6.2.2 FirstCluster Field

The FirstCluster field shall contain the index of the first cluster of an allocation
in the Cluster Heap associated with the given directory entry.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

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• Exactly 0, which means no cluster allocation exists

• Between 2 and ClusterCount + 1, which is the range of valid cluster

indices

Structures which derive from this template may redefine both the FirstCluster
and DataLength fields, if a cluster allocation is not compatible with the
derivative structure.

6.2.3 DataLength Field

The DataLength field describes the size, in bytes, of the data the associated
cluster allocation contains.

The valid range of value for this field is:

• At least 0; if the FirstCluster field contains the value 0, then this field's
only valid value is 0

• At most ClusterCount * 2SectorsPerClusterShift* 2BytesPerSectorShift

Structures which derive from this template may redefine both the FirstCluster
and DataLength fields, if a cluster allocation is not possible for the derivative
structure.

6.3 Generic Primary DirectoryEntry Template

The first directory entry in a directory entry set shall be a primary directory
entry. All subsequent directory entries, if any, in the directory entry set shall be
secondary directory entries (see Section 6.4).

The ability to interpret the Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template is

mandatory.

All primary directory entry structures derive from the Generic Primary
DirectoryEntry template (see Table 16), which derives from the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2).

Table 16 Generic Primary DirectoryEntry Template

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.3.1 defines its contents.

SecondaryCount 1 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.3.2 defines its contents.

SetChecksum 2 2 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.3.3 defines its contents.

GeneralPrimaryFlags 4 2 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.3.4 defines its contents.

CustomDefined 6 14 This field is mandatory and

structures which derive from this
template define its contents.

FirstCluster 20 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.3.5 defines its contents.

DataLength 24 8 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.3.6 defines its contents.

6.3.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1).

6.3.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.1).

6.3.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.2).

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6.3.1.2.1 Critical Primary Directory Entries

Critical primary directory entries contain information which is critical to the

proper management of an exFAT volume. Only the root directory contains
critical primary directory entries (File directory entries are an exception, see
Section 7.4).

The definition of critical primary directory entries correlates to the major

exFAT revision number. Implementations shall support all critical primary
directory entries and shall only record the critical primary directory entry
structures this specification defines.

6.3.1.2.2 Benign Primary Directory Entries

Benign primary directory entries contain additional information which may be

useful for managing an exFAT volume. Any directory may contain benign
primary directory entries.

The definition of benign primary directory entries correlates to the minor

exFAT revision number. Support for any benign primary directory entry this
specification, or any subsequent specification, defines is optional. An
unrecognized benign primary directory entry renders the entire directory
entry set as unrecognized (beyond the definition of the applicable directory
entry templates).

6.3.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.3).

For this template, the valid value for this field shall be 0.

6.3.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.4).

6.3.2 SecondaryCount Field

The SecondaryCount field shall describe the number of secondary directory

entries which immediately follow the given primary directory entry. These

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secondary directory entries, along with the given primary directory entry,
comprise the directory entry set.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 0, which means this primary directory entry is the only entry in
the directory entry set

• At most 255, which means the next 255 directory entries and this primary
directory entry comprise the directory entry set

Critical primary directory entry structures which derive from this template may
redefine both the SecondaryCount and SetChecksum fields.

6.3.3 SetChecksum Field

The SetChecksum field shall contain the checksum of all directory entries in
the given directory entry set. However, the checksum excludes this field (see
Figure 2). Implementations shall verify the contents of this field are valid prior
to using any other directory entry in the given directory entry set.

Critical primary directory entry structures which derive from this template may
redefine both the SecondaryCount and SetChecksum fields.

Figure 2 EntrySetChecksum Computation

C ＝ Copy

UInt16 EntrySetChecksum
(
UCHAR * Entries, // points to an in-memory copy of the
directory entry set
UCHAR SecondaryCount
)
{
UInt16 NumberOfBytes = ((UInt16)SecondaryCount + 1) * 32;
UInt16 Checksum = 0;
UInt16 Index;

for (Index = 0; Index < NumberOfBytes; Index++)

{
if ((Index == 2) || (Index == 3))
{
continue;
}

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Checksum = ((Checksum&1) ? 0x8000 : 0) + (Checksum>>1) +

(UInt16)Entries[Index];
}
return Checksum;
}

6.3.4 GeneralPrimaryFlags Field

The GeneralPrimaryFlags field contains flags (see Table 17).

Critical primary directory entry structures which derive from this template may
redefine this field.

Table 17 Generic GeneralPrimaryFlags Field Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

AllocationPossible 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section

6.3.4.1 defines its contents.

NoFatChain 1 1 This field is mandatory and Section

6.3.4.2 defines its contents.

CustomDefined 2 14 This field is mandatory and structures

which derive from this template may
define this field.

6.3.4.1 AllocationPossible Field

The AllocationPossible field shall describe whether or not an allocation in the

Cluster Heap is possible for the given directory entry.

The valid values for this field shall be:

• 0, which means an associated allocation of clusters is not possible and

the FirstCluster and DataLength fields are actually undefined (structures
which derive from this template may redefine those fields)

• 1, which means an associated allocation of clusters is possible and the

FirstCluster and DataLength fields are as defined

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6.3.4.2 NoFatChain Field

The NoFatChain field shall indicate whether or not the active FAT describes
the given allocation's cluster chain.

The valid values for this field shall be:

• 0, which means the corresponding FAT entries for the allocation's cluster
chain are valid and implementations shall interpret them; if the
AllocationPossible field contains the value 0, or if the AllocationPossible
field contains the value 1 and the FirstCluster field contains the value 0,
then this field's only valid value is 0

• 1, which means the associated allocation is one contiguous series of

clusters; the corresponding FAT entries for the clusters are invalid and
implementations shall not interpret them; implementations may use the
following equation to calculate the size of the associated allocation:
DataLength / (2SectorsPerClusterShift* 2BytesPerSectorShift) rounded up to the nearest
integer

If critical primary directory entry structures which derive from this template
redefine the GeneralPrimaryFlags field, then the corresponding FAT entries for
any associated allocation's cluster chain are valid.

6.3.5 FirstCluster Field

The FirstCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.2).

If the NoFatChain bit is 1 then FirstCluster must point to a valid cluster in the
cluster heap.

Critical primary directory entry structures which derive from this template may
redefine the FirstCluster and DataLength fields. Other structures which derive
from this template may redefine the FirstCluster and DataLength fields only if
the AllocationPossible field contains the value 0.

6.3.6 DataLength Field

The DataLength field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.3).

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If the NoFatChain bit is 1 then DataLength must not be zero. If the FirstCluster
field is zero, then DataLength must also be zero.

Critical primary directory entry structures which derive from this template may
redefine the FirstCluster and DataLength fields. Other structures which derive
from this template may redefine the FirstCluster and DataLength fields only if
the AllocationPossible field contains the value 0.

6.4 Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry Template

The central purpose of secondary directory entries is to provide additional

information about a directory entry set. The ability to interpret the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template is mandatory.

The definition of both critical and benign secondary directory entries

correlates to the minor exFAT revision number. Support for any critical or
benign secondary directory entry this specification, or subsequent
specifications, defines is optional.

All secondary directory entry structures derive from the Generic Secondary
DirectoryEntry template (see Table 18), which derives from the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2).

Table 18 Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry Template

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and

Section Section 6.4.1 defines its
contents.

GeneralSecondaryFlags 1 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.4.2 defines its
contents.

CustomDefined 2 18 This field is mandatory and

structures which derive from
this template define its
contents.

FirstCluster 20 4

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

This field is mandatory and

Section 6.4.3 defines its
contents.

DataLength 24 8 This field is mandatory and

Section 6.4.4 defines its
contents.

6.4.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1)

6.4.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.1).

6.4.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.2).

6.4.1.2.1 Critical Secondary Directory Entries

Critical secondary directory entries contain information which is critical to the

proper management of its containing directory entry set. While support for
any specific critical secondary directory entry is optional, an unrecognized
critical directory entry renders the entire directory entry set as unrecognized
(beyond the definition of the applicable directory entry templates).

However, if a directory entry set contains at least one critical secondary

directory entry which an implementation does not recognize, then the
implementation shall at most interpret the templates of the directory entries
in the directory entry set and not the data any allocation associated with any
directory entry in the directory entry set contains (File directory entries are an
exception, see Section 7.4).

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6.4.1.2.2 Benign Secondary Directory Entries

Benign secondary directory entries contain additional information which may

be useful for managing its containing directory entry set. Support for any
specific benign secondary directory entry is optional. Unrecognized benign
secondary directory entries do not render the entire directory entry set as
unrecognized.

Implementations may ignore any benign secondary entry it does not

recognize.

6.4.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.3).

For this template, the valid value for this field is 1.

6.4.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.1.4).

6.4.2 GeneralSecondaryFlags Field

The GeneralSecondaryFlags field contains flags (see Table 19).

Table 19 Generic GeneralSecondaryFlags Field Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

AllocationPossible 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section

6.4.2.1 defines its contents.

NoFatChain 1 1 This field is mandatory and Section

6.4.2.2 defines its contents.

CustomDefined 2 6 This field is mandatory and structures

which derive from this template may
define this field.

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6.4.2.1 AllocationPossible Field

The AllocationPossible field shall have the same definition as the same-named
field in the Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.4.1).

6.4.2.2 NoFatChain Field

The NoFatChain field shall have the same definition as the same-named field
in the Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.4.2).

6.4.3 FirstCluster Field

The FirstCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.2).

If the NoFatChain bit is 1 then FirstCluster must point to a valid cluster in the
cluster heap.

6.4.4 DataLength Field

The DataLength field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.2.3).

If the NoFatChain bit is 1 then DataLength must not be zero. If the FirstCluster
field is zero, then DataLength must also be zero.

7 Directory Entry Definitions

Revision 1.00 of the exFAT file system defines the following directory entries:

• Critical primary

◦ Allocation Bitmap (Section 7.1)

◦ Up-case Table (Section 7.2)

◦ Volume Label (Section 7.3)

◦ File (Section 7.4)

• Benign primary

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◦ Volume GUID (Section 7.5)

◦ TexFAT Padding (Section 7.10)

• Critical secondary

◦ Stream Extension (Section 7.6)

◦ File Name (Section 7.7)

• Benign secondary

◦ Vendor Extension (Section 7.8)

◦ Vendor Allocation (Section 7.9)

7.1 Allocation Bitmap Directory Entry

In the exFAT file system, a FAT does not describe the allocation state of
clusters; rather, an Allocation Bitmap does. Allocation Bitmaps exist in the
Cluster Heap (see Section 7.1.5) and have corresponding critical primary
directory entries in the root directory (see Table 20).

The NumberOfFats field determines the number of valid Allocation Bitmap

directory entries in the root directory. If the NumberOfFats field contains the
value 1, then the only valid number of Allocation Bitmap directory entries is 1.
Further, the one Allocation Bitmap directory entry is only valid if it describes
the First Allocation Bitmap (see Section 7.1.2.1). If the NumberOfFats field
contains the value 2, then the only valid number of Allocation Bitmap
directory entries is 2. Further, the two Allocation Bitmap directory entries are
only valid if one describes the First Allocation Bitmap and the other describes
the Second Allocation Bitmap.

Table 20 Allocation Bitmap DirectoryEntry Structure

Field Offset Size Comments

Name
(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section 7.1.1

defines its contents.

BitmapFlags 1 1 This field is mandatory and Section 7.1.2

defines its contents.

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Field Offset Size Comments

Name
(byte) (byte)

Reserved 2 18 This field is mandatory and its contents are

reserved.

FirstCluster 20 4 This field is mandatory and Section 7.1.3

defines its contents.

DataLength 24 8 This field is mandatory and Section 7.1.4

defines its contents.

7.1.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1).

7.1.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.1).

For an Allocation Bitmap directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

7.1.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.2).

For an Allocation Bitmap directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.1.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.3).

7.1.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic Primary
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.4).

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7.1.2 BitmapFlags Field

The BitmapFlags field contains flags (see Table 21).

Table 21 BitmapFlags Field Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

BitmapIdentifier 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section

7.1.2.1 defines its contents.

Reserved 1 7 This field is mandatory and its contents

are reserved.

7.1.2.1 BitmapIdentifier Field

The BitmapIdentifier field shall indicate which Allocation Bitmap the given
directory entry describes. Implementations shall use the First Allocation
Bitmap in conjunction with the First FAT and shall use the Second Allocation
Bitmap in conjunction with the Second FAT. The ActiveFat field describes
which FAT and Allocation Bitmap are active.

The valid values for this field shall be:

• 0, which means the given directory entry describes the First Allocation
Bitmap

• 1, which means the given directory entry describes the Second Allocation
Bitmap and is possible only when NumberOfFats contains the value 2

7.1.3 FirstCluster Field

The FirstCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.5).

This field contains the index of the first cluster of the cluster chain, as the FAT
describes, which hosts the Allocation Bitmap.

7.1.4 DataLength Field

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The DataCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.6).

7.1.5 Allocation Bitmap

An Allocation Bitmap records the allocation state of the clusters in the Cluster
Heap. Each bit in an Allocation Bitmap indicates whether its corresponding
cluster is available for allocation or not.

An Allocation Bitmap represents clusters from lowest to highest index (see

Table 22). For historical reasons, the first cluster has index 2. Note: the first bit
in the bitmap is the lowest-order bit of the first byte.

Table 22 Allocation Bitmap Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

BitmapEntry[2] 0 1 This field is

mandatory and
Section Section
7.1.5.1 defines its
contents.

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

BitmapEntry ClusterCount 1 This field is

[ClusterCount+1] -1 mandatory and
Section 7.1.5.1
defines its contents.

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
ClusterCount field.

Reserved ClusterCount (DataLength * This field is

8) – mandatory and its
ClusterCount contents, if any, are
reserved.

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

Note: the Main and

Backup Boot Sectors
both contain the
ClusterCount field.

7.1.5.1 BitmapEntry[2] ... BitmapEntry[ClusterCount+1] Fields

Each BitmapEntry field in this array represents a cluster in the Cluster Heap.
BitmapEntry[2] represents the first cluster in the Cluster Heap and BitmapEntry
[ClusterCount+1] represents the last cluster in the Cluster Heap.

The valid values for these fields shall be:

• 0, which describes the corresponding cluster as available for allocation

• 1, which describes the corresponding cluster as not available for

allocation (a cluster allocation may already consume the corresponding
cluster or the active FAT may describe the corresponding cluster as bad)

7.2 Up-case Table Directory Entry

The Up-case Table defines the conversion from lower-case to upper-case

characters. This is important due to the File Name directory entry (see Section
7.7) using Unicode characters and the exFAT file system being case insensitive
and case preserving. The Up-case Table exists in the Cluster Heap (see Section
7.2.5) and has a corresponding critical primary directory entry in the root
directory (see Table 23). The valid number of Up-case Table directory entries is
1.

Due to the relationship between the Up-case Table and file names,
implementations should not modify the Up-case Table, except as a result of
format operations.

Table 23 Up-case Table DirectoryEntry Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section

7.2.1 defines its contents.

Reserved1 1 3 This field is mandatory and its contents

are reserved.

TableChecksum 4 4 This field is mandatory and Section

7.2.2 defines its contents.

Reserved2 8 12 This field is mandatory and its contents

are reserved.

FirstCluster 20 4 This field is mandatory and Section

7.2.3 defines its contents.

DataLength 24 8 This field is mandatory and Section

7.2.4 defines its contents.

7.2.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1).

7.2.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.1).

For the Up-case Table directory entry, the valid value for this field is 2.

7.2.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.2).

For the Up-case Table directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

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7.2.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.3).

7.2.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic Primary
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.4).

7.2.2 TableChecksum Field

The TableChecksum field contains the checksum of the Up-case Table (which
the FirstCluster and DataLength fields describe). Implementations shall verify
the contents of this field are valid prior to using the Up-case Table.

Figure 3 TableChecksum Computation

C ＝ Copy

UInt32 TableChecksum
(
UCHAR * Table, // points to an in-memory copy of the up-
case table
UInt64 DataLength
)
{
UInt32 Checksum = 0;
UInt64 Index;

for (Index = 0; Index < DataLength; Index++)

{
Checksum = ((Checksum&1) ? 0x80000000 : 0) + (Checksum>>1)
+ (UInt32)Table[Index];
}

return Checksum;
}

7.2.3 FirstCluster Field

The FirstCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.5).

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This field contains the index of the first cluster of the cluster chain, as the FAT
describes, which hosts the Up-case Table.

7.2.4 DataLength Field

The DataCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.6).

7.2.5 Up-case Table

An up-case table is a series of Unicode character mappings. A character

mapping consists of a 2-byte field, with the index of the field in the up-case
table representing the Unicode character to be up-cased, and the 2-byte field
representing the up-cased Unicode character.

The first 128 Unicode characters have mandatory mappings (see Table 24). An
up-case table which has any other character mapping for any of the first 128
Unicode characters is invalid.

Implementations which only support characters from the mandatory mapping

range may ignore the mappings of the rest of the up-case table. Such
implementations shall only use characters from the mandatory mapping range
when creating or renaming files (via the File Name directory entry, see Section
7.7). When up-casing existing file names, such implementations shall not up-
case characters from the non-mandatory mapping range, but shall leave them
intact in the resulting up-cased file name (this is a partial up-casing). When
comparing file names, such implementations shall treat file names which differ
from the name under comparison only by Unicode characters from the non-
mandatory mapping range as equivalent. While such file names are only
potentially equivalent, such implementations cannot ensure the fully up-cased
file name does not collide with the name under comparison.

Table 24 Mandatory First 128 Up-case Table Entries

Table Table
Index Entries

+0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6

0000h 0000h 0001h 0002h 0003h 0004h 0005h 0006h

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Table Table
Index Entries

0008h 0008h 0009h 000Ah 000Bh 000Ch 000Dh 000Eh

0010h 0010h 0011h 0012h 0013h 0014h 0015h 0016h

0018h 0018h 0019h 001Ah 001Bh 001Ch 001Dh 001Eh

0020h 0020h 0021h 0022h 0023h 0024h 0025h 0026h

0028h 0028h 0029h 002Ah 002Bh 002Ch 002Dh 002Eh

0030h 0030h 0031h 0032h 0033h 0034h 0035h 0036h

0038h 0038h 0039h 003Ah 003Bh 003Ch 003Dh 003Eh

0040h 0040h 0041h 0042h 0043h 0044h 0045h 0046h

0048h 0048h 0049h 004Ah 004Bh 004Ch 004Dh 004Eh

0050h 0050h 0051h 0052h 0053h 0054h 0055h 0056h

0058h 0058h 0059h 005Ah 005Bh 005Ch 005Dh 005Eh

0060h 0060h 0041h 0042h 0043h 0044h 0045h 0046h

0068h 0048h 0049h 004Ah 004Bh 004Ch 004Dh 004Eh

0070h 0050h 0051h 0052h 0053h 0054h 0055h 0056h

0078h 0058h 0059h 005Ah 007Bh 007Ch 007Dh 007Eh

 
(Note: entries with non-identity up-case mappings are in bold)

Upon formatting a volume, implementations may generate an up-case table

in a compressed format using identity-mapping compression, since a large
portion of the Unicode character space has no concept of case (which means
the "lower-case" and "upper-case" characters are equivalent).
Implementations compress an up-case table by representing a series of

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identity mappings with the value FFFFh followed with the number of identity
mappings.

For example, an implementation may represent the first 100 (64h) character
mappings with the following eight entries of a compressed up-case table:

FFFFh, 0061h, 0041h, 0042h, 0043h

The first two entries indicate the first 97 (61h) characters (from 0000h to
0060h) have identity mappings. The subsequent characters, 0061h through
0063h, map to characters 0041h through 0043h, respectively.

The ability to provide a compressed up-case table upon formatting a volume

is optional. However, the ability to interpret both an uncompressed and a
compressed up-case table is mandatory. The value of the TableChecksum field
always conforms to how the up-case table exists on the volume, which may be
in either compressed or uncompressed format.

7.2.5.1 Recommended Up-case Table

When formatting a volume, implementations should record the recommended

up-case table in compressed format (see Table 25), for which the value of the
TableChecksum field is E619D30Dh.

If an implementation defines its own up-case table, either compressed or

uncompressed, then that table shall cover the complete Unicode character
range (from character codes 0000h to FFFFh inclusive).

Table 25 Recommended Up-case Table in Compressed Format

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

+0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

0000h 0000h 0001h 0002h 0003h 0004h 0005h

0008h 0008h 0009h 000Ah 000Bh 000Ch 000Dh

0010h 0010h 0011h 0012h 0013h 0014h 0015h

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Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0018h 0018h 0019h 001Ah 001Bh 001Ch 001Dh

0020h 0020h 0021h 0022h 0023h 0024h 0025h

0028h 0028h 0029h 002Ah 002Bh 002Ch 002Dh

0030h 0030h 0031h 0032h 0033h 0034h 0035h

0038h 0038h 0039h 003Ah 003Bh 003Ch 003Dh

0040h 0040h 0041h 0042h 0043h 0044h 0045h

0048h 0048h 0049h 004Ah 004Bh 004Ch 004Dh

0050h 0050h 0051h 0052h 0053h 0054h 0055h

0058h 0058h 0059h 005Ah 005Bh 005Ch 005Dh

0060h 0060h 0041h 0042h 0043h 0044h 0045h

0068h 0048h 0049h 004Ah 004Bh 004Ch 004Dh

0070h 0050h 0051h 0052h 0053h 0054h 0055h

0078h 0058h 0059h 005Ah 007Bh 007Ch 007Dh

0080h 0080h 0081h 0082h 0083h 0084h 0085h

0088h 0088h 0089h 008Ah 008Bh 008Ch 008Dh

0090h 0090h 0091h 0092h 0093h 0094h 0095h

0098h 0098h 0099h 009Ah 009Bh 009Ch 009Dh

00A0h 00A0h 00A1h 00A2h 00A3h 00A4h 00A5h

00A8h 00A8h 00A9h 00AAh 00ABh 00ACh 00ADh

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Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

00B0h 00B0h 00B1h 00B2h 00B3h 00B4h 00B5h

00B8h 00B8h 00B9h 00BAh 00BBh 00BCh 00BDh

00C0h 00C0h 00C1h 00C2h 00C3h 00C4h 00C5h

00C8h 00C8h 00C9h 00CAh 00CBh 00CCh 00CDh

00D0h 00D0h 00D1h 00D2h 00D3h 00D4h 00D5h

00D8h 00D8h 00D9h 00DAh 00DBh 00DCh 00DDh

00E0h 00C0h 00C1h 00C2h 00C3h 00C4h 00C5h

00E8h 00C8h 00C9h 00CAh 00CBh 00CCh 00CDh

00F0h 00D0h 00D1h 00D2h 00D3h 00D4h 00D5h

00F8h 00D8h 00D9h 00DAh 00DBh 00DCh 00DDh

0100h 0100h 0100h 0102h 0102h 0104h 0104h

0108h 0108h 0108h 010Ah 010Ah 010Ch 010Ch

0110h 0110h 0110h 0112h 0112h 0114h 0114h

0118h 0118h 0118h 011Ah 011Ah 011Ch 011Ch

0120h 0120h 0120h 0122h 0122h 0124h 0124h

0128h 0128h 0128h 012Ah 012Ah 012Ch 012Ch

0130h 0130h 0131h 0132h 0132h 0134h 0134h

0138h 0138h 0139h 0139h 013Bh 013Bh 013Dh

0140h 013Fh 0141h 0141h 0143h 0143h 0145h

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Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0148h 0147h 0149h 014Ah 014Ah 014Ch 014Ch

0150h 0150h 0150h 0152h 0152h 0154h 0154h

0158h 0158h 0158h 015Ah 015Ah 015Ch 015Ch

0160h 0160h 0160h 0162h 0162h 0164h 0164h

0168h 0168h 0168h 016Ah 016Ah 016Ch 016Ch

0170h 0170h 0170h 0172h 0172h 0174h 0174h

0178h 0178h 0179h 0179h 017Bh 017Bh 017Dh

0180h 0243h 0181h 0182h 0182h 0184h 0184h

0188h 0187h 0189h 018Ah 018Bh 018Bh 018Dh

0190h 0190h 0191h 0191h 0193h 0194h 01F6h

0198h 0198h 0198h 023Dh 019Bh 019Ch 019Dh

01A0h 01A0h 01A0h 01A2h 01A2h 01A4h 01A4h

01A8h 01A7h 01A9h 01AAh 01ABh 01ACh 01ACh

01B0h 01AFh 01B1h 01B2h 01B3h 01B3h 01B5h

01B8h 01B8h 01B8h 01BAh 01BBh 01BCh 01BCh

01C0h 01C0h 01C1h 01C2h 01C3h 01C4h 01C5h

01C8h 01C8h 01C7h 01CAh 01CBh 01CAh 01CDh

01D0h 01CFh 01D1h 01D1h 01D3h 01D3h 01D5h

01D8h 01D7h 01D9h 01D9h 01DBh 01DBh 018Eh

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 61 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

01E0h 01E0h 01E0h 01E2h 01E2h 01E4h 01E4h

01E8h 01E8h 01E8h 01EAh 01EAh 01ECh 01ECh

01F0h 01F0h 01F1h 01F2h 01F1h 01F4h 01F4h

01F8h 01F8h 01F8h 01FAh 01FAh 01FCh 01FCh

0200h 0200h 0200h 0202h 0202h 0204h 0204h

0208h 0208h 0208h 020Ah 020Ah 020Ch 020Ch

0210h 0210h 0210h 0212h 0212h 0214h 0214h

0218h 0218h 0218h 021Ah 021Ah 021Ch 021Ch

0220h 0220h 0221h 0222h 0222h 0224h 0224h

0228h 0228h 0228h 022Ah 022Ah 022Ch 022Ch

0230h 0230h 0230h 0232h 0232h 0234h 0235h

0238h 0238h 0239h 2C65h 023Bh 023Bh 023Dh

0240h 0240h 0241h 0241h 0243h 0244h 0245h

0248h 0248h 0248h 024Ah 024Ah 024Ch 024Ch

0250h 0250h 0251h 0252h 0181h 0186h 0255h

0258h 0258h 018Fh 025Ah 0190h 025Ch 025Dh

0260h 0193h 0261h 0262h 0194h 0264h 0265h

0268h 0197h 0196h 026Ah 2C62h 026Ch 026Dh

0270h 0270h 0271h 019Dh 0273h 0274h 019Fh

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 62 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0278h 0278h 0279h 027Ah 027Bh 027Ch 2C64h

0280h 01A6h 0281h 0282h 01A9h 0284h 0285h

0288h 01AEh 0244h 01B1h 01B2h 0245h 028Dh

0290h 0290h 0291h 01B7h 0293h 0294h 0295h

0298h 0298h 0299h 029Ah 029Bh 029Ch 029Dh

02A0h 02A0h 02A1h 02A2h 02A3h 02A4h 02A5h

02A8h 02A8h 02A9h 02AAh 02ABh 02ACh 02ADh

02B0h 02B0h 02B1h 02B2h 02B3h 02B4h 02B5h

02B8h 02B8h 02B9h 02BAh 02BBh 02BCh 02BDh

02C0h 02C0h 02C1h 02C2h 02C3h 02C4h 02C5h

02C8h 02C8h 02C9h 02CAh 02CBh 02CCh 02CDh

02D0h 02D0h 02D1h 02D2h 02D3h 02D4h 02D5h

02D8h 02D8h 02D9h 02DAh 02DBh 02DCh 02DDh

02E0h 02E0h 02E1h 02E2h 02E3h 02E4h 02E5h

02E8h 02E8h 02E9h 02EAh 02EBh 02ECh 02EDh

02F0h 02F0h 02F1h 02F2h 02F3h 02F4h 02F5h

02F8h 02F8h 02F9h 02FAh 02FBh 02FCh 02FDh

0300h 0300h 0301h 0302h 0303h 0304h 0305h

0308h 0308h 0309h 030Ah 030Bh 030Ch 030Dh

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 63 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0310h 0310h 0311h 0312h 0313h 0314h 0315h

0318h 0318h 0319h 031Ah 031Bh 031Ch 031Dh

0320h 0320h 0321h 0322h 0323h 0324h 0325h

0328h 0328h 0329h 032Ah 032Bh 032Ch 032Dh

0330h 0330h 0331h 0332h 0333h 0334h 0335h

0338h 0338h 0339h 033Ah 033Bh 033Ch 033Dh

0340h 0340h 0341h 0342h 0343h 0344h 0345h

0348h 0348h 0349h 034Ah 034Bh 034Ch 034Dh

0350h 0350h 0351h 0352h 0353h 0354h 0355h

0358h 0358h 0359h 035Ah 035Bh 035Ch 035Dh

0360h 0360h 0361h 0362h 0363h 0364h 0365h

0368h 0368h 0369h 036Ah 036Bh 036Ch 036Dh

0370h 0370h 0371h 0372h 0373h 0374h 0375h

0378h 0378h 0379h 037Ah 03FDh 03FEh 03FFh

0380h 0380h 0381h 0382h 0383h 0384h 0385h

0388h 0388h 0389h 038Ah 038Bh 038Ch 038Dh

0390h 0390h 0391h 0392h 0393h 0394h 0395h

0398h 0398h 0399h 039Ah 039Bh 039Ch 039Dh

03A0h 03A0h 03A1h 03A2h 03A3h 03A4h 03A5h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 64 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

03A8h 03A8h 03A9h 03AAh 03ABh 0386h 0388h

03B0h 03B0h 0391h 0392h 0393h 0394h 0395h

03B8h 0398h 0399h 039Ah 039Bh 039Ch 039Dh

03C0h 03A0h 03A1h 03A3h 03A3h 03A4h 03A5h

03C8h 03A8h 03A9h 03AAh 03ABh 038Ch 038Eh

03D0h 03D0h 03D1h 03D2h 03D3h 03D4h 03D5h

03D8h 03D8h 03D8h 03DAh 03DAh 03DCh 03DCh

03E0h 03E0h 03E0h 03E2h 03E2h 03E4h 03E4h

03E8h 03E8h 03E8h 03EAh 03EAh 03ECh 03ECh

03F0h 03F0h 03F1h 03F9h 03F3h 03F4h 03F5h

03F8h 03F7h 03F9h 03FAh 03FAh 03FCh 03FDh

0400h 0400h 0401h 0402h 0403h 0404h 0405h

0408h 0408h 0409h 040Ah 040Bh 040Ch 040Dh

0410h 0410h 0411h 0412h 0413h 0414h 0415h

0418h 0418h 0419h 041Ah 041Bh 041Ch 041Dh

0420h 0420h 0421h 0422h 0423h 0424h 0425h

0428h 0428h 0429h 042Ah 042Bh 042Ch 042Dh

0430h 0410h 0411h 0412h 0413h 0414h 0415h

0438h 0418h 0419h 041Ah 041Bh 041Ch 041Dh

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 65 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0440h 0420h 0421h 0422h 0423h 0424h 0425h

0448h 0428h 0429h 042Ah 042Bh 042Ch 042Dh

0450h 0400h 0401h 0402h 0403h 0404h 0405h

0458h 0408h 0409h 040Ah 040Bh 040Ch 040Dh

0460h 0460h 0460h 0462h 0462h 0464h 0464h

0468h 0468h 0468h 046Ah 046Ah 046Ch 046Ch

0470h 0470h 0470h 0472h 0472h 0474h 0474h

0478h 0478h 0478h 047Ah 047Ah 047Ch 047Ch

0480h 0480h 0480h 0482h 0483h 0484h 0485h

0488h 0488h 0489h 048Ah 048Ah 048Ch 048Ch

0490h 0490h 0490h 0492h 0492h 0494h 0494h

0498h 0498h 0498h 049Ah 049Ah 049Ch 049Ch

04A0h 04A0h 04A0h 04A2h 04A2h 04A4h 04A4h

04A8h 04A8h 04A8h 04AAh 04AAh 04ACh 04ACh

04B0h 04B0h 04B0h 04B2h 04B2h 04B4h 04B4h

04B8h 04B8h 04B8h 04BAh 04BAh 04BCh 04BCh

04C0h 04C0h 04C1h 04C1h 04C3h 04C3h 04C5h

04C8h 04C7h 04C9h 04C9h 04CBh 04CBh 04CDh

04D0h 04D0h 04D0h 04D2h 04D2h 04D4h 04D4h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 66 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

04D8h 04D8h 04D8h 04DAh 04DAh 04DCh 04DCh

04E0h 04E0h 04E0h 04E2h 04E2h 04E4h 04E4h

04E8h 04E8h 04E8h 04EAh 04EAh 04ECh 04ECh

04F0h 04F0h 04F0h 04F2h 04F2h 04F4h 04F4h

04F8h 04F8h 04F8h 04FAh 04FAh 04FCh 04FCh

0500h 0500h 0500h 0502h 0502h 0504h 0504h

0508h 0508h 0508h 050Ah 050Ah 050Ch 050Ch

0510h 0510h 0510h 0512h 0512h 0514h 0515h

0518h 0518h 0519h 051Ah 051Bh 051Ch 051Dh

0520h 0520h 0521h 0522h 0523h 0524h 0525h

0528h 0528h 0529h 052Ah 052Bh 052Ch 052Dh

0530h 0530h 0531h 0532h 0533h 0534h 0535h

0538h 0538h 0539h 053Ah 053Bh 053Ch 053Dh

0540h 0540h 0541h 0542h 0543h 0544h 0545h

0548h 0548h 0549h 054Ah 054Bh 054Ch 054Dh

0550h 0550h 0551h 0552h 0553h 0554h 0555h

0558h 0558h 0559h 055Ah 055Bh 055Ch 055Dh

0560h 0560h 0531h 0532h 0533h 0534h 0535h

0568h 0538h 0539h 053Ah 053Bh 053Ch 053Dh

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 67 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0570h 0540h 0541h 0542h 0543h 0544h 0545h

0578h 0548h 0549h 054Ah 054Bh 054Ch 054Dh

0580h 0550h 0551h 0552h 0553h 0554h 0555h

0588h 17F6h 2C63h 1D7Eh 1D7Fh 1D80h 1D81h

0590h 1D84h 1D85h 1D86h 1D87h 1D88h 1D89h

0598h 1D8Ch 1D8Dh 1D8Eh 1D8Fh 1D90h 1D91h

05A0h 1D94h 1D95h 1D96h 1D97h 1D98h 1D99h

05A8h 1D9Ch 1D9Dh 1D9Eh 1D9Fh 1DA0h 1DA1h

05B0h 1DA4h 1DA5h 1DA6h 1DA7h 1DA8h 1DA9h

05B8h 1DACh 1DADh 1DAEh 1DAFh 1DB0h 1DB1h

05C0h 1DB4h 1DB5h 1DB6h 1DB7h 1DB8h 1DB9h

05C8h 1DBCh 1DBDh 1DBEh 1DBFh 1DC0h 1DC1h

05D0h 1DC4h 1DC5h 1DC6h 1DC7h 1DC8h 1DC9h

05D8h 1DCCh 1DCDh 1DCEh 1DCFh 1DD0h 1DD1h

05E0h 1DD4h 1DD5h 1DD6h 1DD7h 1DD8h 1DD9h

05E8h 1DDCh 1DDDh 1DDEh 1DDFh 1DE0h 1DE1h

05F0h 1DE4h 1DE5h 1DE6h 1DE7h 1DE8h 1DE9h

05F8h 1DECh 1DEDh 1DEEh 1DEFh 1DF0h 1DF1h

0600h 1DF4h 1DF5h 1DF6h 1DF7h 1DF8h 1DF9h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 68 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0608h 1DFCh 1DFDh 1DFEh 1DFFh 1E00h 1E00h

0610h 1E04h 1E04h 1E06h 1E06h 1E08h 1E08h

0618h 1E0Ch 1E0Ch 1E0Eh 1E0Eh 1E10h 1E10h

0620h 1E14h 1E14h 1E16h 1E16h 1E18h 1E18h

0628h 1E1Ch 1E1Ch 1E1Eh 1E1Eh 1E20h 1E20h

0630h 1E24h 1E24h 1E26h 1E26h 1E28h 1E28h

0638h 1E2Ch 1E2Ch 1E2Eh 1E2Eh 1E30h 1E30h

0640h 1E34h 1E34h 1E36h 1E36h 1E38h 1E38h

0648h 1E3Ch 1E3Ch 1E3Eh 1E3Eh 1E40h 1E40h

0650h 1E44h 1E44h 1E46h 1E46h 1E48h 1E48h

0658h 1E4Ch 1E4Ch 1E4Eh 1E4Eh 1E50h 1E50h

0660h 1E54h 1E54h 1E56h 1E56h 1E58h 1E58h

0668h 1E5Ch 1E5Ch 1E5Eh 1E5Eh 1E60h 1E60h

0670h 1E64h 1E64h 1E66h 1E66h 1E68h 1E68h

0678h 1E6Ch 1E6Ch 1E6Eh 1E6Eh 1E70h 1E70h

0680h 1E74h 1E74h 1E76h 1E76h 1E78h 1E78h

0688h 1E7Ch 1E7Ch 1E7Eh 1E7Eh 1E80h 1E80h

0690h 1E84h 1E84h 1E86h 1E86h 1E88h 1E88h

0698h 1E8Ch 1E8Ch 1E8Eh 1E8Eh 1E90h 1E90h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 69 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

06A0h 1E94h 1E94h 1E96h 1E97h 1E98h 1E99h

06A8h 1E9Ch 1E9Dh 1E9Eh 1E9Fh 1EA0h 1EA0h

06B0h 1EA4h 1EA4h 1EA6h 1EA6h 1EA8h 1EA8h

06B8h 1EACh 1EACh 1EAEh 1EAEh 1EB0h 1EB0h

06C0h 1EB4h 1EB4h 1EB6h 1EB6h 1EB8h 1EB8h

06C8h 1EBCh 1EBCh 1EBEh 1EBEh 1EC0h 1EC0h

06D0h 1EC4h 1EC4h 1EC6h 1EC6h 1EC8h 1EC8h

06D8h 1ECCh 1ECCh 1ECEh 1ECEh 1ED0h 1ED0h

06E0h 1ED4h 1ED4h 1ED6h 1ED6h 1ED8h 1ED8h

06E8h 1EDCh 1EDCh 1EDEh 1EDEh 1EE0h 1EE0h

06F0h 1EE4h 1EE4h 1EE6h 1EE6h 1EE8h 1EE8h

06F8h 1EECh 1EECh 1EEEh 1EEEh 1EF0h 1EF0h

0700h 1EF4h 1EF4h 1EF6h 1EF6h 1EF8h 1EF8h

0708h 1EFCh 1EFDh 1EFEh 1EFFh 1F08h 1F09h

0710h 1F0Ch 1F0Dh 1F0Eh 1F0Fh 1F08h 1F09h

0718h 1F0Ch 1F0Dh 1F0Eh 1F0Fh 1F18h 1F19h

0720h 1F1Ch 1F1Dh 1F16h 1F17h 1F18h 1F19h

0728h 1F1Ch 1F1Dh 1F1Eh 1F1Fh 1F28h 1F29h

0730h 1F2Ch 1F2Dh 1F2Eh 1F2Fh 1F28h 1F29h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 70 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0738h 1F2Ch 1F2Dh 1F2Eh 1F2Fh 1F38h 1F39h

0740h 1F3Ch 1F3Dh 1F3Eh 1F3Fh 1F38h 1F39h

0748h 1F3Ch 1F3Dh 1F3Eh 1F3Fh 1F48h 1F49h

0750h 1F4Ch 1F4Dh 1F46h 1F47h 1F48h 1F49h

0758h 1F4Ch 1F4Dh 1F4Eh 1F4Fh 1F50h 1F59h

0760h 1F54h 1F5Dh 1F56h 1F5Fh 1F58h 1F59h

0768h 1F5Ch 1F5Dh 1F5Eh 1F5Fh 1F68h 1F69h

0770h 1F6Ch 1F6Dh 1F6Eh 1F6Fh 1F68h 1F69h

0778h 1F6Ch 1F6Dh 1F6Eh 1F6Fh 1FBAh 1FBBh

0780h 1FCAh 1FCBh 1FDAh 1FDBh 1FF8h 1FF9h

0788h 1FFAh 1FFBh 1F7Eh 1F7Fh 1F88h 1F89h

0790h 1F8Ch 1F8Dh 1F8Eh 1F8Fh 1F88h 1F89h

0798h 1F8Ch 1F8Dh 1F8Eh 1F8Fh 1F98h 1F99h

07A0h 1F9Ch 1F9Dh 1F9Eh 1F9Fh 1F98h 1F99h

07A8h 1F9Ch 1F9Dh 1F9Eh 1F9Fh 1FA8h 1FA9h

07B0h 1FACh 1FADh 1FAEh 1FAFh 1FA8h 1FA9h

07B8h 1FACh 1FADh 1FAEh 1FAFh 1FB8h 1FB9h

07C0h 1FB4h 1FB5h 1FB6h 1FB7h 1FB8h 1FB9h

07C8h 1FBCh 1FBDh 1FBEh 1FBFh 1FC0h 1FC1h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 71 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

07D0h 1FC4h 1FC5h 1FC6h 1FC7h 1FC8h 1FC9h

07D8h 1FC3h 1FCDh 1FCEh 1FCFh 1FD8h 1FD9h

07E0h 1FD4h 1FD5h 1FD6h 1FD7h 1FD8h 1FD9h

07E8h 1FDCh 1FDDh 1FDEh 1FDFh 1FE8h 1FE9h

07F0h 1FE4h 1FECh 1FE6h 1FE7h 1FE8h 1FE9h

07F8h 1FECh 1FEDh 1FEEh 1FEFh 1FF0h 1FF1h

0800h 1FF4h 1FF5h 1FF6h 1FF7h 1FF8h 1FF9h

0808h 1FF3h 1FFDh 1FFEh 1FFFh 2000h 2001h

0810h 2004h 2005h 2006h 2007h 2008h 2009h

0818h 200Ch 200Dh 200Eh 200Fh 2010h 2011h

0820h 2014h 2015h 2016h 2017h 2018h 2019h

0828h 201Ch 201Dh 201Eh 201Fh 2020h 2021h

0830h 2024h 2025h 2026h 2027h 2028h 2029h

0838h 202Ch 202Dh 202Eh 202Fh 2030h 2031h

0840h 2034h 2035h 2036h 2037h 2038h 2039h

0848h 203Ch 203Dh 203Eh 203Fh 2040h 2041h

0850h 2044h 2045h 2046h 2047h 2048h 2049h

0858h 204Ch 204Dh 204Eh 204Fh 2050h 2051h

0860h 2054h 2055h 2056h 2057h 2058h 2059h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 72 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0868h 205Ch 205Dh 205Eh 205Fh 2060h 2061h

0870h 2064h 2065h 2066h 2067h 2068h 2069h

0878h 206Ch 206Dh 206Eh 206Fh 2070h 2071h

0880h 2074h 2075h 2076h 2077h 2078h 2079h

0888h 207Ch 207Dh 207Eh 207Fh 2080h 2081h

0890h 2084h 2085h 2086h 2087h 2088h 2089h

0898h 208Ch 208Dh 208Eh 208Fh 2090h 2091h

08A0h 2094h 2095h 2096h 2097h 2098h 2099h

08A8h 209Ch 209Dh 209Eh 209Fh 20A0h 20A1h

08B0h 20A4h 20A5h 20A6h 20A7h 20A8h 20A9h

08B8h 20ACh 20ADh 20AEh 20AFh 20B0h 20B1h

08C0h 20B4h 20B5h 20B6h 20B7h 20B8h 20B9h

08C8h 20BCh 20BDh 20BEh 20BFh 20C0h 20C1h

08D0h 20C4h 20C5h 20C6h 20C7h 20C8h 20C9h

08D8h 20CCh 20CDh 20CEh 20CFh 20D0h 20D1h

08E0h 20D4h 20D5h 20D6h 20D7h 20D8h 20D9h

08E8h 20DCh 20DDh 20DEh 20DFh 20E0h 20E1h

08F0h 20E4h 20E5h 20E6h 20E7h 20E8h 20E9h

08F8h 20ECh 20EDh 20EEh 20EFh 20F0h 20F1h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 73 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0900h 20F4h 20F5h 20F6h 20F7h 20F8h 20F9h

0908h 20FCh 20FDh 20FEh 20FFh 2100h 2101h

0910h 2104h 2105h 2106h 2107h 2108h 2109h

0918h 210Ch 210Dh 210Eh 210Fh 2110h 2111h

0920h 2114h 2115h 2116h 2117h 2118h 2119h

0928h 211Ch 211Dh 211Eh 211Fh 2120h 2121h

0930h 2124h 2125h 2126h 2127h 2128h 2129h

0938h 212Ch 212Dh 212Eh 212Fh 2130h 2131h

0940h 2134h 2135h 2136h 2137h 2138h 2139h

0948h 213Ch 213Dh 213Eh 213Fh 2140h 2141h

0950h 2144h 2145h 2146h 2147h 2148h 2149h

0958h 214Ch 214Dh 2132h 214Fh 2150h 2151h

0960h 2154h 2155h 2156h 2157h 2158h 2159h

0968h 215Ch 215Dh 215Eh 215Fh 2160h 2161h

0970h 2164h 2165h 2166h 2167h 2168h 2169h

0978h 216Ch 216Dh 216Eh 216Fh 2160h 2161h

0980h 2164h 2165h 2166h 2167h 2168h 2169h

0988h 216Ch 216Dh 216Eh 216Fh 2180h 2181h

0990h 2183h FFFFh 034Bh 24B6h 24B7h 24B8h

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 74 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0998h 24BBh 24BCh 24BDh 24BEh 24BFh 24C0h

09A0h 24C3h 24C4h 24C5h 24C6h 24C7h 24C8h

09A8h 24CBh 24CCh 24CDh 24CEh 24CFh FFFFh

09B0h 2C01h 2C02h 2C03h 2C04h 2C05h 2C06h

09B8h 2C09h 2C0Ah 2C0Bh 2C0Ch 2C0Dh 2C0Eh

09C0h 2C11h 2C12h 2C13h 2C14h 2C15h 2C16h

09C8h 2C19h 2C1Ah 2C1Bh 2C1Ch 2C1Dh 2C1Eh

09D0h 2C21h 2C22h 2C23h 2C24h 2C25h 2C26h

09D8h 2C29h 2C2Ah 2C2Bh 2C2Ch 2C2Dh 2C2Eh

09E0h 2C60h 2C62h 2C63h 2C64h 2C65h 2C66h

09E8h 2C69h 2C69h 2C6Bh 2C6Bh 2C6Dh 2C6Eh

09F0h 2C71h 2C72h 2C73h 2C74h 2C75h 2C75h

09F8h 2C79h 2C7Ah 2C7Bh 2C7Ch 2C7Dh 2C7Eh

0A00h 2C80h 2C82h 2C82h 2C84h 2C84h 2C86h

0A08h 2C88h 2C8Ah 2C8Ah 2C8Ch 2C8Ch 2C8Eh

0A10h 2C90h 2C92h 2C92h 2C94h 2C94h 2C96h

0A18h 2C98h 2C9Ah 2C9Ah 2C9Ch 2C9Ch 2C9Eh

0A20h 2CA0h 2CA2h 2CA2h 2CA4h 2CA4h 2CA6h

0A28h 2CA8h 2CAAh 2CAAh 2CACh 2CACh 2CAEh

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/exfat-specification 5/11/2020
exFAT file system specification - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs Page 75 of 112

Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0A30h 2CB0h 2CB2h 2CB2h 2CB4h 2CB4h 2CB6h

0A38h 2CB8h 2CBAh 2CBAh 2CBCh 2CBCh 2CBEh

0A40h 2CC0h 2CC2h 2CC2h 2CC4h 2CC4h 2CC6h

0A48h 2CC8h 2CCAh 2CCAh 2CCCh 2CCCh 2CCEh

0A50h 2CD0h 2CD2h 2CD2h 2CD4h 2CD4h 2CD6h

0A58h 2CD8h 2CDAh 2CDAh 2CDCh 2CDCh 2CDEh

0A60h 2CE0h 2CE2h 2CE2h 2CE4h 2CE5h 2CE6h

0A68h 2CE9h 2CEAh 2CEBh 2CECh 2CEDh 2CEEh

0A70h 2CF1h 2CF2h 2CF3h 2CF4h 2CF5h 2CF6h

0A78h 2CF9h 2CFAh 2CFBh 2CFCh 2CFDh 2CFEh

0A80h 10A1h 10A2h 10A3h 10A4h 10A5h 10A6h

0A88h 10A9h 10AAh 10ABh 10ACh 10ADh 10AEh

0A90h 10B1h 10B2h 10B3h 10B4h 10B5h 10B6h

0A98h 10B9h 10BAh 10BBh 10BCh 10BDh 10BEh

0AA0h 10C1h 10C2h 10C3h 10C4h 10C5h FFFFh

0AA8h FF22h FF23h FF24h FF25h FF26h FF27h

0AB0h FF2Ah FF2Bh FF2Ch FF2Dh FF2Eh FF2Fh

0AB8h FF32h FF33h FF34h FF35h FF36h FF37h

0AC0h FF3Ah FF5Bh FF5Ch FF5Dh FF5Eh FF5Fh

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Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0AC8h FF62h FF63h FF64h FF65h FF66h FF67h

0AD0h FF6Ah FF6Bh FF6Ch FF6Dh FF6Eh FF6Fh

0AD8h FF72h FF73h FF74h FF75h FF76h FF77h

0AE0h FF7Ah FF7Bh FF7Ch FF7Dh FF7Eh FF7Fh

0AE8h FF82h FF83h FF84h FF85h FF86h FF87h

0AF0h FF8Ah FF8Bh FF8Ch FF8Dh FF8Eh FF8Fh

0AF8h FF92h FF93h FF94h FF95h FF96h FF97h

0B00h FF9Ah FF9Bh FF9Ch FF9Dh FF9Eh FF9Fh

0B08h FFA2h FFA3h FFA4h FFA5h FFA6h FFA7h

0B10h FFAAh FFABh FFACh FFADh FFAEh FFAFh

0B18h FFB2h FFB3h FFB4h FFB5h FFB6h FFB7h

0B20h FFBAh FFBBh FFBCh FFBDh FFBEh FFBFh

0B28h FFC2h FFC3h FFC4h FFC5h FFC6h FFC7h

0B30h FFCAh FFCBh FFCCh FFCDh FFCEh FFCFh

0B38h FFD2h FFD3h FFD4h FFD5h FFD6h FFD7h

0B40h FFDAh FFDBh FFDCh FFDDh FFDEh FFDFh

0B48h FFE2h FFE3h FFE4h FFE5h FFE6h FFE7h

0B50h FFEAh FFEBh FFECh FFEDh FFEEh FFEFh

0B58h FFF2h FFF3h FFF4h FFF5h FFF6h FFF7h

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Raw Compressed
Offset Table
Entries

0B60h FFFAh FFFBh FFFCh FFFDh FFFEh FFFFh

 

7.3 Volume Label Directory Entry

The Volume Label is a Unicode string which enables end users to distinguish
their storage volumes. In the exFAT file system, the Volume Label exists as a
critical primary directory entry in the root directory (see Table 26). The valid
number of Volume Label directory entries ranges from 0 to 1.

Table 26 Volume Label DirectoryEntry Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and Section

7.3.1 defines its contents.

CharacterCount 1 1 This field is mandatory and Section

7.3.2 defines its contents.

VolumeLabel 2 22 This field is mandatory and Section

7.3.3 defines its contents.

Reserved 24 8 This field is mandatory and its contents

are reserved.

7.3.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1).

7.3.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.1).

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For the Volume Label directory entry, the valid value for this field is 3.

7.3.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.2).

For the Volume Label directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.3.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.3).

7.3.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic Primary
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.4).

7.3.2 CharacterCount Field

The CharacterCount field shall contain the length of the Unicode string the
VolumeLabel field contains.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 0, which means the Unicode string is 0 characters long (which is

the equivalent of no volume label)

• At most 11, which means the Unicode string is 11 characters long

7.3.3 VolumeLabel Field

The VolumeLabel field shall contain a Unicode string, which is the user-
friendly name of the volume. The VolumeLabel field has the same set of
invalid characters as the FileName field of the File Name directory entry (see
Section 7.7.3).

7.4 File Directory Entry

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File directory entries describe files and directories. They are critical primary
directory entries and any directory may contain zero or more File directory
entries (see Table 27). For a File directory entry to be valid, exactly one Stream
Extension directory entry and at least one File Name directory entry must
immediately follow the File directory entry (see Section 7.6 and Section 7.7,
respectively).

Table 27 File DirectoryEntry

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.1 defines
its contents.

SecondaryCount 1 1 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.2 defines
its contents.

SetChecksum 2 2 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.3 defines
its contents.

FileAttributes 4 2 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.4 defines
its contents.

Reserved1 6 2 This field is mandatory

and its contents are
reserved.

CreateTimestamp 8 4 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.5 defines
its contents.

LastModifiedTimestamp 12 4 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.6 defines
its contents.

LastAccessedTimestamp 16 4 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.7 defines
its contents.

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

Create10msIncrement 20 1 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.5 defines
its contents.

LastModified10msIncrement 21 1 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.6 defines
its contents.

CreateUtcOffset 22 1 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.5 defines
its contents.

LastModifiedUtcOffset 23 1 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.6 defines
its contents.

LastAccessedUtcOffset 24 1 This field is mandatory

and Section 7.4.7 defines
its contents.

Reserved2 25 7 This field is mandatory

and its contents are
reserved.

7.4.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1).

7.4.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.1).

For a File directory entry, the valid value for this field is 5.

7.4.1.2 TypeImportance Field

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The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.2).

For a File directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.4.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.3).

7.4.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic Primary
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.4).

7.4.2 SecondaryCount Field

The SecondaryCount field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.2).

7.4.3 SetChecksum Field

The SetChecksum field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.3).

7.4.4 FileAttributes Field

The FileAttributes field contains flags (see Table 28).

Table 28 FileAttributes Field Structure

Field Offset Size Comments

Name
(bit) (bits)

ReadOnly 0 1 This field is mandatory and conforms to the

MS-DOS definition.

Hidden 1 1 This field is mandatory and conforms to the

MS-DOS definition.

System 2 1

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Field Offset Size Comments

Name
(bit) (bits)

This field is mandatory and conforms to the

MS-DOS definition.

Reserved1 3 1 This field is mandatory and its contents are

reserved.

Directory 4 1 This field is mandatory and conforms to the

MS-DOS definition.

Archive 5 1 This field is mandatory and conforms to the

MS-DOS definition.

Reserved2 6 10 This field is mandatory and its contents are

reserved.

7.4.5 CreateTimestamp, Create10msIncrement, and CreateUtcOffset Fields

In combination, the CreateTimestamp and CreateTime10msIncrement fields

shall describe the local date and time the given file/directory was created. The
CreateUtcOffset field describes the offset of local date and time from UTC.
Implementations shall set these fields upon creation of the given directory
entry set.

These fields shall conform to the definitions of the Timestamp,

10msIncrement, and UtcOffset fields (see Section 7.4.8, Section 7.4.9, and
Section 7.4.10, respectively).

7.4.6 LastModifiedTimestamp, LastModified10msIncrement, and

LastModifiedUtcOffset Fields

In combination, the LastModifiedTimestamp and

LastModifiedTime10msIncrement fields shall describe the local date and time
the contents of any of the clusters associated with the given Stream Extension
directory entry were last modified. The LastModifiedUtcOffset field describes
the offset of local date and time from UTC. Implementations shall update
these fields:

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1. After modifying the contents of any of the clusters associated with the
given Stream Extension directory entry (except for contents which exist
beyond the point the ValidDataLength field describes)

2. Upon changing the values of either the ValidDataLength or DataLength

fields

These fields shall conform to the definitions of the Timestamp,

10msIncrement, and UtcOffset fields (see Section 7.4.8, Section 7.4.9, and
Section 7.4.10, respectively).

7.4.7 LastAccessedTimestamp and LastAccessedUtcOffset Fields

The LastAccessedTimestamp field shall describe the local date and time the
contents of any of the clusters associated with the given Stream Extension
directory entry were last accessed. The LastAccessedUtcOffset field describes
the offset of local date and time from UTC. Implementations shall update
these fields:

1. After modifying the contents of any of the clusters associated with the
given Stream Extension directory entry (except for contents which exist
beyond the ValidDataLength)

2. Upon changing the values of either the ValidDataLength or DataLength

fields

Implementations should update these fields after reading the contents of any
of the clusters associated with the given Stream Extension directory entry.

These fields shall conform to the definitions of the Timestamp and UtcOffset
fields (see Section 7.4.8 and Section 7.4.10, respectively).

7.4.8 Timestamp Fields

Timestamp fields describe both local date and time, down to a two-second
resolution (see Table 29).

Table 29 Timestamp Field Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

DoubleSeconds 0 5 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.8.1 defines its contents.

Minute 5 6 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.8.2 defines its contents.

Hour 11 5 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.8.3 defines its contents.

Day 16 5 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.8.4 defines its contents.

Month 21 4 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.8.5 defines its contents.

Year 25 7 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.8.6 defines its contents.

7.4.8.1 DoubleSeconds Field

The DoubleSeconds field shall describe the seconds portion of the Timestamp
field, in two-second multiples.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• 0, which represents 0 seconds

• 29, which represents 58 seconds

7.4.8.2 Minute Field

The Minute field shall describe the minutes portion of the Timestamp field.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• 0, which represents 0 minutes

• 59, which represents 59 minutes

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7.4.8.3 Hour Field

The Hour field shall describe the hours portion of the Timestamp field.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• 0, which represents 00:00 hours

• 23, which represents 23:00 hours

7.4.8.4 Day Field

The Day field shall describe the day portion of the Timestamp field.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• 1, which is the first day of the given month

• The last day of the given month (the given month defines the number of
valid days)

7.4.8.5 Month Field

The Month field shall describe the month portion of the Timestamp field.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 1, which represents January

• At most 12, which represents December

7.4.8.6 Year Field

The Year field shall describe the year portion of the Timestamp field, relative
to the year 1980. This field represents the year 1980 with the value 0 and the
year 2107 with the value 127.

All possible values for this field are valid.

7.4.9 10msIncrement Fields

10msIncrement fields shall provide additional time resolution to their

corresponding Timestamp fields in ten-millisecond multiples.

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The valid range of values for these fields shall be:

• At least 0, which represents 0 milliseconds

• At most 199, which represents 1990 milliseconds

7.4.10 UtcOffset Fields

UtcOffset fields (see Table 30) shall describe the offset from UTC to the local
date and time their corresponding Timestamp and 10msIncrement fields
describe. The offset from UTC to the local date and time includes the effects
of time zones and other date-time adjustments, such as daylight saving and
regional summer time changes.

Table 30 UtcOffset Field Structure

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(bit) (bits)

OffsetFromUtc 0 7 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.10.1defines its contents.

OffsetValid 7 1 This field is mandatory and Section

7.4.10.2 defines its contents.

7.4.10.1 OffsetFromUtc Field

The OffsetFromUtc field shall describe the offset from UTC of the local date
and time the related Timestamp and 10msIncrement fields contains. This field
describes the offset from UTC in 15 minute intervals (see Table 31).

Table 31 Meaning of the Values of the OffsetFromUtc Field

Value Signed Decimal Equivalent Description

3Fh 63 Local date and time is UTC + 15:45

3Eh 62 Local date and time is UTC + 15:30

. . .

. . .

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Value Signed Decimal Equivalent Description

. . .

01h 1 Local date and time is UTC + 00:15

00h 0 Local date and time is UTC

7Fh -1 Local date and time is UTC – 00:15

. . .

. . .

. . .

41h -63 Local date and time is UTC – 15:45

40h -64 Local date and time is UTC – 16:00

As the table above indicates, all possible values for this field are valid.
However, implementations should only record the value 00h for this field
when:

1. Local date and time are actually the same as UTC, in which case the value
of the OffsetValid field shall be 1

2. Local date and time are not known, in which case the value of the
OffsetValid field shall be 1 and implementations shall consider UTC to be
local date and time

3. UTC is not known, in which case the value of the OffsetValid field shall
be 0

If the local date and time offset from UTC happens to not be a multiple of 15
minute intervals, then implementations shall record 00h in the OffsetFromUtc
field and shall consider UTC to be local date and time.

7.4.10.2 OffsetValid Field

The OffsetValid field shall describe whether the contents of the OffsetFromUtc
field are valid or not, as follows:

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• 0, which means the contents of the OffsetFromUtc field are invalid

and shall be 00h

• 1, which means the contents of the OffsetFromUtc field are valid

Implementations should only set this field to the value 0 when UTC is not
available for computing the value of the OffsetFromUtc field. If this field
contains the value 0, then implementations shall treat the Timestamp and
10msIncrement fields as having the same UTC offset as the current local date
and time.

7.5 Volume GUID Directory Entry

The Volume GUID directory entry contains a GUID which enables

implementations to uniquely and programmatically distinguish volumes. The
Volume GUID exists as a benign primary directory entry in the root directory
(see Table 32). The valid number of Volume GUID directory entries ranges
from 0 to 1.

Table 32 Volume GUID DirectoryEntry

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.5.1 defines its contents.

SecondaryCount 1 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.5.2 defines its contents.

SetChecksum 2 2 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.5.3 defines its contents.

GeneralPrimaryFlags 4 2 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.5.4 defines its contents.

VolumeGuid 6 16 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.5.5 defines its contents.

Reserved 22 10

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

This field is mandatory and its

contents are reserved.

7.5.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1).

7.5.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.1).

For the Volume GUID directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.5.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.2).

For the Volume GUID directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

7.5.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.3).

7.5.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic Primary
DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.1.4).

7.5.2 SecondaryCount Field

The SecondaryCount field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.2).

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For the Volume GUID directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.5.3 SetChecksum Field

The SetChecksum field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.3).

7.5.4 GeneralPrimaryFlags Field

The GeneralPrimaryFlags field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.4) and defines the
contents of the CustomDefined field to be reserved.

7.5.4.1 AllocationPossible Field

The AllocationPossible field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.4.1).

For the Volume GUID directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.5.4.2 NoFatChain Field

The NoFatChain field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Primary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.3.4.2).

7.5.5 VolumeGuid Field

The VolumeGuid field shall contain a GUID which uniquely identifies the given
volume.

All possible values for this field are valid, except the null GUID, which is
{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}.

7.6 Stream Extension Directory Entry

The Stream Extension directory entry is a critical secondary directory entry in

File directory entry sets (see Table 33). The valid number of Stream Extension
directory entries in a File directory entry set is 1. Further, this directory entry is
valid only if it immediately follows the File directory entry.

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Table 33 Stream Extension DirectoryEntry

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.6.1 defines its
contents.

GeneralSecondaryFlags 1 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.6.2 defines its
contents.

Reserved1 2 1 This field is mandatory and its

contents are reserved.

NameLength 3 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.6.3 defines its
contents.

NameHash 4 2 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.6.4 defines its
contents.

Reserved2 6 2 This field is mandatory and its

contents are reserved.

ValidDataLength 8 8 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.6.5 defines its
contents.

Reserved3 16 4 This field is mandatory and its

contents are reserved.

FirstCluster 20 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.6.6 defines its
contents.

DataLength 24 8 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.6.7 defines its
contents.

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7.6.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1).

7.6.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.1).

For the Stream Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.6.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.2).

For the Stream Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.6.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.3).

7.6.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.4).

7.6.2 GeneralSecondaryFlags Field

The GeneralSecondaryFlags field shall conform to the definition provided in

the Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2) and defines
the contents of the CustomDefined field to be reserved.

7.6.2.1 AllocationPossible Field

The AllocationPossible field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.1).

For the Stream Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

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7.6.2.2 NoFatChain Field

The NoFatChain field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.2).

7.6.3 NameLength Field

The NameLength field shall contain the length of the Unicode string the
subsequent File Name directory entries (see Section 7.7) collectively contain.

The valid range of values for this field shall be:

• At least 1, which is the shortest possible file name

• At most 255, which is the longest possible file name

The value of the NameLength field also affects the number File Name
Directory Entries (see Section 7.7).

7.6.4 NameHash Field

The NameHash field shall contain a 2-byte hash (see Figure 4) of the up-cased
file name. This enables implementations to perform a quick comparison when
searching for a file by name. Importantly, the NameHash provides a sure
verification of a mismatch. Implementations shall verify all NameHash matches
with a comparison of the up-cased file name.

Figure 4 NameHash Computation

C ＝ Copy

UInt16 NameHash
(
WCHAR * FileName, // points to an in-memory copy of the up-
cased file name
UCHAR NameLength
)
{
UCHAR * Buffer = (UCHAR *)FileName;
UInt16 NumberOfBytes = (UInt16)NameLength * 2;
UInt16 Hash = 0;
UInt16 Index;

for (Index = 0; Index < NumberOfBytes; Index++)

{

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Hash = ((Hash&1) ? 0x8000 : 0) + (Hash>>1) + (UInt16)Buffer

[Index];
}
return Hash;
}

7.6.5 ValidDataLength Field

The ValidDataLength field shall describe how far into the data stream user
data has been written. Implementations shall update this field as they write
data further out into the data stream. On the storage media, the data between
the valid data length and the data length of the data stream is undefined.
Implementations shall return zeroes for read operations beyond the valid data
length.

If the corresponding File directory entry describes a directory, then the only
valid value for this field is equal to the value of the DataLength field.
Otherwise, the range of valid values for this field shall be:

• At least 0, which means no user data has been written out to the data
stream

• At most DataLength, which means user data has been written out to the
entire length of the data stream

7.6.6 FirstCluster Field

The FirstCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.3).

This field shall contain the index of the first cluster of the data stream, which
hosts the user data.

7.6.7 DataLength Field

The DataLength field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.4).

If the corresponding File directory entry describes a directory, then the valid
value for this field is the entire size of the associated allocation, in bytes, which
may be 0. Further, for directories, the maximum value for this field is 256MB.

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7.7 File Name Directory Entry

File Name directory entries are critical secondary directory entries in File
directory entry sets (see Table 34). The valid number of File Name directory
entries in a File directory entry set is NameLength / 15, rounded up to the
nearest integer. Further, File Name directory entries are valid only if they
immediately follow the Stream Extension directory entry as a consecutive
series. File Name directory entries combine to form the file name for the File
directory entry set.

All children of a given directory entry shall have unique File Name Directory
Entry Sets. That is to say there can be no duplicate file or directory names
after up-casing within any one directory.

Table 34 File Name DirectoryEntry

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.7.1 defines its
contents.

GeneralSecondaryFlags 1 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.7.2 defines its
contents.

FileName 2 30 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.7.3 defines its
contents.

7.7.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1).

7.7.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.1).

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For the Stream Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

7.7.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.2).

For the Stream Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.7.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.3).

7.7.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.4).

7.7.2 GeneralSecondaryFlags Field

The GeneralSecondaryFlags field shall conform to the definition provided in

the Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2) and defines
the contents of the CustomDefined field to be reserved.

7.7.2.1 AllocationPossible Field

The AllocationPossible field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.1).

For the Stream Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.7.2.2 NoFatChain Field

The NoFatChain field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.2).

7.7.3 FileName Field

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The FileName field shall contain a Unicode string, which is a portion of the file
name. In the order File Name directory entries exist in a File directory entry
set, FileName fields concatenate to form the file name for the File directory
entry set. Given the length of the FileName field, 15 characters, and the
maximum number of File Name directory entries, 17, the maximum length of
the final, concatenated file name is 255.

The concatenated file name has the same set of illegal characters as other
FAT-based file systems (see Table 35). Implementations should set the unused
characters of FileName fields to the value 0000h.

Table 35 Invalid FileName Characters

Character Description Character Description Character Description

Code Code Code

0000h Control 0001h Control 0002h Control

code code code

0003h Control 0004h Control 0005h Control

code code code

0006h Control 0007h Control 0008h Control

code code code

0009h Control 000Ah Control 000Bh Control

code code code

000Ch Control 000Dh Control 000Eh Control

code code code

000Fh Control 0010h Control 0011h Control

code code code

0012h Control 0013h Control 0014h Control

code code code

0015h Control 0016h Control 0017h Control

code code code

0018h Control 0019h Control 001Ah Control

code code code

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Character Description Character Description Character Description

Code Code Code

001Bh Control 001Ch Control 001Dh Control

code code code

001Eh Control 001Fh Control 0022h Quotation

code code mark

002Ah Asterisk 002Fh Forward 003Ah Colon

slash

003Ch Less-than 003Eh Greater-than 003Fh Question

sign sign mark

005Ch Back slash 007Ch Vertical bar

 
The file names "." and ".." have the special meaning of "this directory" and
"containing directory", respectively. Implementations shall not record either of
these reserved file names in the FileName field. However, implementations
may generate these two file names in directory listings to refer to the
directory being listed and the containing directory.

Implementations may wish to restrict file and directory names to just the ASCII
character set. If so they should limit their character use to the range of valid
characters in the first 128 Unicode entries. They must still store file and
directory names in Unicode on the volume and translate to/from
ASCII/Unicode when interfacing with the user.

7.8 Vendor Extension Directory Entry

The Vendor Extension directory entry is a benign secondary directory entry in

File directory entry sets (see Table 36). A File directory entry set may contain
any number of Vendor Extension directory entries, up to the limit of secondary
directory entries, less the number of other secondary directory entries.
Further, Vendor Extension directory entries are valid only if they do not
precede the required Stream Extension and File Name directory entries.

Vendor Extension directory entries enable vendors to have unique, vendor-

specific directory entries in individual File directory entry sets via the

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VendorGuid field (see Table 36). Unique directory entries effectively enable
vendors to extend the exFAT file system. Vendors may define the contents of
the VendorDefined field (see Table 36). Vendor implementations may
maintain the contents of the VendorDefined field and may provide vendor-
specific functionality.

Implementations which do not recognize the GUID of a Vendor Extension

directory entry shall treat the directory entry the same as any other
unrecognized benign secondary directory entry (see Section 8.2).

Table 36 Vendor Extension DirectoryEntry

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.8.1 defines its
contents.

GeneralSecondaryFlags 1 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.8.2 defines its
contents.

VendorGuid 2 16 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.8.3 defines its
contents.

VendorDefined 18 14 This field is mandatory and

vendors may define its
contents.

7.8.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1).

7.8.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.1).

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For the Vendor Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.8.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.2).

For the Vendor Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

7.8.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.3).

7.8.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.4).

7.8.2 GeneralSecondaryFlags Field

The GeneralSecondaryFlags field shall conform to the definition provided in

the Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2) and defines
the contents of the CustomDefined field to be reserved.

7.8.2.1 AllocationPossible Field

The AllocationPossible field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.1).

For the Vendor Extension directory entry, the valid value for this field is 0.

7.8.2.2 NoFatChain Field

The NoFatChain field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.2).

7.8.3 VendorGuid Field

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The VendorGuid field shall contain a GUID which uniquely identifies the given
Vendor Extension.

All possible values for this field are valid, except the null GUID, which is
{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}. However, vendors should use a
GUID-generating tool, such as GuidGen.exe, to select a GUID when defining
their extensions.

The value of this field determines the vendor-specific structure of the

VendorDefined field.

7.9 Vendor Allocation Directory Entry

The Vendor Allocation directory entry is a benign secondary directory entry in

File directory entry sets (see Table 37). A File directory entry set may contain
any number of Vendor Allocation directory entries, up to the limit of
secondary directory entries, less the number of other secondary directory
entries. Further, Vendor Allocation directory entries are valid only if they do
not precede the required Stream Extension and File Name directory entries.

Vendor Allocation directory entries enable vendors to have unique, vendor-

specific directory entries in individual File directory entry sets via the
VendorGuid field (see Table 37). Unique directory entries effectively enable
vendors to extend the exFAT file system. Vendors may define the contents of
the associated clusters, if any exist. Vendor implementations may maintain the
contents of the associated clusters, if any, and may provide vendor-specific
functionality.

Implementations which do not recognize the GUID of a Vendor Allocation

directory entry shall treat the directory entry the same as any other
unrecognized benign secondary directory entry (see Section 8.2).

Table 37 Vendor Allocation DirectoryEntry

Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

EntryType 0 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.9.1 defines its
contents.

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Field Name Offset Size Comments

(byte) (byte)

GeneralSecondaryFlags 1 1 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.9.2 defines its
contents.

VendorGuid 2 16 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.9.3 defines its
contents.

VendorDefined 18 2 This field is mandatory and

vendors may define its
contents.

FirstCluster 20 4 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.9.4 defines its
contents.

DataLength 24 8 This field is mandatory and

Section 7.9.5 defines its
contents.

7.9.1 EntryType Field

The EntryType field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1).

7.9.1.1 TypeCode Field

The TypeCode field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.1).

For the Vendor Allocation directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

7.9.1.2 TypeImportance Field

The TypeImportance field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.2).

For the Vendor Allocation directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

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7.9.1.3 TypeCategory Field

The TypeCategory field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.3).

7.9.1.4 InUse Field

The InUse field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.1.4).

7.9.2 GeneralSecondaryFlags Field

The GeneralSecondaryFlags field shall conform to the definition provided in

the Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2) and defines
the contents of the CustomDefined field to be reserved.

7.9.2.1 AllocationPossible Field

The AllocationPossible field shall conform to the definition provided in the

Generic Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.1).

For the Vendor Allocation directory entry, the valid value for this field is 1.

7.9.2.2 NoFatChain Field

The NoFatChain field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.2.2).

7.9.3 VendorGuid Field

The VendorGuid field shall contain a GUID which uniquely identifies the given
Vendor Allocation.

All possible values for this field are valid, except the null GUID, which is
{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}. However, vendors should use a
GUID-generating tool, such as GuidGen.exe, to select a GUID when defining
their extensions.

The value of this field determines the vendor-specific structure of the contents
of the associated clusters, if any exist.

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7.9.4 FirstCluster Field

The FirstCluster field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.3).

7.9.5 DataLength Field

The DataLength field shall conform to the definition provided in the Generic
Secondary DirectoryEntry template (see Section 6.4.4).

7.10 TexFAT Padding Directory Entry

This specification, exFAT Revision 1.00 File System Basic Specification, does
not define the TexFAT Padding directory entry. However, its type code is 1 and
its type importance is 1. Implementations of this specification shall treat
TexFAT Padding directory entries the same as any other unrecognized benign
primary directory entries, implementations shall not move TexFAT Padding
directory entries.

8 Implementation Notes

8.1 Recommended Write Ordering

Implementations should ensure the volume is as resilient as possible to power

faults and other unavoidable failures. When creating new directory entries or
modifying cluster allocations, implementations should generally follow this
writing order:

1. Set the value of the VolumeDirty field to 1

2. Update the active FAT, if necessary

3. Update the active Allocation Bitmap

4. Create or update the directory entry, if necessary

5. Clear the value of the VolumeDirty field to 0, if its value prior to the first
step was 0

When deleting directory entries or freeing cluster allocations, implementations

should follow this writing order:

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1. Set the value of the VolumeDirty field to 1

2. Delete or update the directory entry, if necessary

3. Update the active FAT, if necessary

4. Update the active Allocation Bitmap

5. Clear the value of the VolumeDirty field to 0, if its value prior to the first
step was 0

8.2 Implications of Unrecognized Directory Entries

Future exFAT specifications of the same major revision number, 1, and minor
revision number higher than 0, may define new benign primary, critical
secondary, and benign secondary directory entries. Only exFAT specifications
of a higher major revision number may define new critical primary directory
entries. Implementations of this specification, exFAT Revision 1.00 File System
Basic Specification, should be able to mount and access any exFAT volume of
major revision number 1 and any minor revision number. This presents
scenarios in which an implementation may encounter directory entries which
it does not recognize. The following describe implications of these scenarios:

1. The presence of unrecognized critical primary directory entries in the

root directory renders the volume invalid. The presence of any critical
primary directory entry, except File directory entries, in any non-root
directory, renders the hosting directory invalid.

2. Implementations shall not modify unrecognized benign primary

directory entries or their associated cluster allocations. However, when
deleting a directory, and only when deleting a directory,
implementations shall delete unrecognized benign primary directory
entries and free all associated cluster allocations, if any.

3. Implementations shall not modify unrecognized critical secondary

directory entries or their associated cluster allocations. The presence of
one or more unrecognized critical secondary directory entries in a
directory entry set renders the entire directory entry set unrecognized.
When deleting a directory entry set which contains one or more
unrecognized critical secondary directory entries, implementations shall
free all cluster allocations, if any, associated with unrecognized critical

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secondary directory entries. Further, if the directory entry set describes a

directory, implementations may:

• Traverse into the directory

• Enumerate the directory entries it contains

• Delete contained directory entries

• Move contained directory entries to a different directory

However, implementations shall not:

• Modify contained directory entries, except delete, as noted

• Create new contained directory entries

• Open contained directory entries, except traverse and enumerate,

as noted

4. Implementations shall not modify unrecognized benign secondary

directory entries or their associated cluster allocations. Implementations
should ignore unrecognized benign secondary directory entries. When
deleting a directory entry set, implementations shall free all cluster
allocations, if any, associated with unrecognized benign secondary
directory entries.

9 File System Limits

9.1 Sector Size Limits

The BytesPerSectorShift field defines the lower and upper sector size limits
(which evaluates to lower limit: 512 bytes; upper limit: 4,096 bytes).

9.2 Cluster Size Limits

The SectorsPerClusterShift field defines the lower and upper cluster size limits
(lower limit: 1 sector; upper limit: 25 -- BytesPerSectorShift sectors, which
evaluates to 32MB).

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9.3 Cluster Heap Size Limits

The Cluster Heap shall contain at least enough space to host the following
basic file system structures: the root directory, all Allocation Bitmaps, and the
Up-case Table.

The lower Cluster Heap size limit is a function of the lower size limit of each of
the basic file system structures which reside in the Cluster Heap. Even given
the smallest possible cluster (512 bytes), each of the basic file system
structures needs no more than one cluster. Therefore, the lower limit is: 2 +
NumberOfFats clusters, which evaluates to either 3 or 4 clusters, depending
on the value the NumberOfFats field.

The upper Cluster Heap size limit is a simple function of the maximum
possible number of clusters, which the ClusterCount field defines (upper
limit: 232- 11 clusters). Regardless of the cluster size, such a cluster heap has
enough space to at least host the basic file system structures.

9.4 Volume Size Limits

The VolumeLength field defines the lower and upper volume size limits (lower
limit: 220/ 2BytesPerSectorShiftsectors, which evaluates to 1MB; upper limit: 264- 1
sectors, which, given the largest possible sector size, evaluates to
approximately 64ZB). However, this specification recommends no more than
224- 2 clusters in the Cluster Heap (see Section 3.1.9). Therefore, the
recommended upper limit of a volume is: ClusterHeapOffset + (224- 2) *
2SectorsPerClusterShift. Given the largest possible cluster size, 32MB, and assuming
ClusterHeapOffset is 96MB (enough space for the Main and Backup Boot
regions and only the First FAT), the recommended upper limit of a volume
evaluates to approximately 512TB.

9.5 Directory Size Limits

The DataLength field of the Stream Extension directory entry defines the lower
and upper directory size limits (lower limit: 0 bytes; upper limit: 256MB).
This means a directory may host up to 8,388,608 directory entries (each
directory entry consumes 32 bytes). Given the smallest possible File directory
entry set, three directory entries, a directory may host up to 2,796,202 files.

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10 Appendix

10.1 Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs)

A GUID is the Microsoft implementation of a universally unique identifier. A

GUID is a 128-bit value consisting of one group of 8 hexadecimal digits,
followed by three groups of 4 hexadecimal digits each, and followed by one
group of 12 hexadecimal digits, for example {6B29FC40-CA47-1067-B31D-
00DD010662DA}, (see Table 38).

Table 38 GUID Structure

Field Offset Size Comments

Name
(byte) (bytes)

Data1 0 4 This field is mandatory and contains the four

bytes from the first group of the GUID
(6B29FC40h from the example).

Data2 4 2 This field is mandatory and contains the two

bytes from the second group of the GUID
(CA47h from the example).

Data3 6 2 This field is mandatory and contains the two

bytes from the third group of the GUID
(1067h from the example).

Data4 8 1 This field is mandatory and contains the most

[0] significant byte from fourth group of the
GUID (B3h from the example).

Data4 9 1 This field is mandatory and contains the least

[1] significant byte from the fourth group of the
GUID (1Dh from the example).

Data4 10 1 This field is mandatory and contains the first

[2] byte from the fifth group of the GUID (00h
from the example).

Data4 11 1 This field is mandatory and contains the

[3] second byte from the fifth group of the GUID
(DDh from the example).

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Field Offset Size Comments

Name
(byte) (bytes)

Data4 12 1 This field is mandatory and contains the third

[4] byte from the fifth group of the GUID (01h
from the example).

Data4 13 1 This field is mandatory and contains the

[5] fourth byte from the fifth group of the GUID
(06h from the example).

Data4 14 1 This field is mandatory and contains the fifth

[6] byte from the fifth group of the GUID (62h
from the example).

Data4 15 1 This field is mandatory and contains the sixth

[7] byte from the fifth group of the GUID (DAh
from the example).

10.2 Partition Tables

To ensure interoperability of exFAT volumes in a broad set of usage scenarios,

implementations should use partition type 07h for MBR partitioned storage
and partition GUID {EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7} for GPT
partitioned storage.

11 Documentation Change History

Table 39 describes the history of releases of, corrections to, additions to,
removals from, and clarifications of this document.

Table 39 Documentation Change History

Date Description of Change

08- First release of the Basic Specification, which includes:

Jan-
2008 Section 1, Introduction

Section 2,
Volume Structure

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Date Description of Change

Section 3, Main and Backup Boot Regions

Section 4, File Allocation Table Region

Section 5, Data Region

Section 6, Directory Structure

Section 7, Directory Entry Definitions

Section 8, Implementation Notes

Section 9, File System Limits

Section 10, Appendix

08- Second release of the Basic Specification, which includes the following
Jun- changes:
2008
Addition of Section 11,
Documentation Change History

Addition of the Vendor Extension and Vendor Allocation directory

entries in Sections 7.8 and 7.9

Addition of the recommended up-case table in Sections 7.2.5 and

7.2.5.1

Addition of the UtcOffset fields in Section 7.4 and addition of the

UTC acronym in Section 1.3

Correction of the size of the CustomDefined field in Table 19

Correction of the valid range of NameLength values in Section 7.6.3

Correction and clarification of the Timestamp and 10msIncrement

fields in Section 7.4

Clarification of the Null Parameters structure in Section 3.3

Clarification of the meaning of the values of the NoFatChain field in

Section 6.3.4.2

Clarification of the meaning of the values of the DataLength field in

Section 6.2.3

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Date Description of Change

Clarification of the VolumeDirty field in Section 3.1.13.2 and

recommended write ordering in Section 8.1

Clarification of the MediaFailure field in Section 3.1.13.3

01- Third release of the Basic Specification, which includes the following
Oct- changes:
2008
Addition of SHALL, SHOULD and MAY to field explanations

Addition of UTC definition in Table 2 Section 1.3

Modified sections 1.5, to ensure alignment with the TexFAT

specification document.

Clarified the restriction that only Microsoft may define the layout of
Directory Entries in Section 6.2

Added clarification that FirstCluster Field shall be zero if the

DataLength is zero and NoFatChain is set to Section 6.3.5 and
Section 6.4.3

Clarified requirements for valid file directory entries in Section 7.4

Added requirement for unique file and directory names to Section

7.7

Added implementation note for ASCII to the end of Section 7.7.3

01- Fourth release of the Basic Specification, which includes the following
Jan- changes:
2009
Removed references to Windows CE Access Control entries

Added clarification to Section 7.2.5.1 to explicitly require a full up-

case table

02- Fifth release of the Basic Specification, which includes the following
Sep- changes:
2009
Document formatting changes to allow better PDF conversion

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Date Description of Change

24- Sixth release of the Basic Specification, which includes the following
Feb- changes:
2010
Amended incorrect statement: “FirstCluster Field shall be zero if the
DataLength is zero and NoFatChain is set” in Section 6.3.5 and
Section 6.4.3 to “If the NoFatChain bit is 1 then FirstCluster must
point to a valid cluster in the cluster heap“ to clarify that there must
be valid allocation if the NoFatChain bit is set.

Added “If the NoFatChain bit is 1 then DataLength must not be zero.
If the FirstCluster field is zero, then DataLength must also be zero” to
Section 6.3.6 and Section 6.4.4 to clarify that there must be valid
allocation if the NoFatChain bit is set.

Updated copyright notice to 2010

26- Seventh release of the Basic Specification, which includes the following
Aug- changes:
2019
Updated legal terms pertaining to the specification, including:

Removal of Microsoft Confidential notice

Removal of Microsoft Corporation Technical Documentation License

Agreement section

Updated copyright notice to 2019

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