I think this is not correct. In principle the FAT can always contain
all information neccesary because the FAT is correlated with the
number of clusters on a disk which is a fixed number. The limit is in
the number of sectors reserved for the root directory which is
written to the disk with the format command. The root directory can
not contain more files than a fixed number. Subdirectories are not
restricted to a fixed number of files because they can add new
clusters to the subdirectory list just as a normal file. So every DOS
(FAT) root directory has a fixed number of entries.
 
Gert van Cappellen
> > From [log in to unmask] Sat Feb  4 01:13:58 1995
> >
> > We want to pass along this warning to anyone using optical disks:
> >  [stuff deleted]
>
>         We had the same problem with a Pinnacle Micro 650Mb optical read/write
> drive.  There is an internal limit to the file allocation table, so when the
> number of files becomes too large, the file list is written onto the data area.
> As Dr. Mossant points out, the limit applies to all media.  The limit is
> probably based on a compromise between allocation of disk space to file listings vs. space for actual data.  So some optimization guru must have come up with
> the present allocations! However, if your disk screws up because the FAT is
> overrun, you can, in most cases, recover the files that were stored prior to
> the faulty session, as long as the file links are intact. I have been able to
> recover about 95% of the data from faulty disks.
 
 
 ========================================================================
Gert van Cappellen, [log in to unmask] Erasmus University,
Endocr.& Reprod., Dr. Molewaterplein 50, 3015 GE Rotterdam, The Netherlands