Reasons for MS-DOS "File Allocation Table Bad" Error Message (62048)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.1
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.2
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.21
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3a
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.01
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0a
This article was previously published under Q62048

SUMMARY

There are basically six reasons why the "File Allocation Table Bad" error occurs. These reasons are as follows:

  • The disk is not formatted, or incorrectly formatted.
  • An operating system other than MS-DOS is on disk.
  • There are defective disk sectors in the file allocation table (FAT).
  • There are invalid cluster numbers in the FAT.
  • There are lost clusters on the disk.
  • There is cross-linking of some files on the same cluster.
Using the CHKDSK /F command on the disk should repair the above problems. If it doesn't correct the problem (that is, the same error is returned), you may want to use a third-party disk recovery utility. As a final option, you may want to reformat the disk.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/25/2003
Keywords:KB62048
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