Depending on the configuration of a computer, a Win32-based application may have access to volumes managed by any of the following file systems:
·New Technology file system (NTFS)
·File allocation table (FAT) file system
·Protected-mode FAT file system
For example, applications that connect to network drives may encounter file systems that range from FAT to NTFS. Because different volumes may be managed by different file systems, it is important to understand the differences between file systems and to prepare applications to work effectively with all available file systems. The following sections describe these differences and present guidelines for handling them within applications.