FAT

The File Allocation Table (FAT) filesystem was originally created for use with MS-DOS (and later pre-NT Microsoft Windows); currently a late version of FAT (FAT32) is used for USB flash disks. It has made its way over to Linux systems and has official support in the Linux kernel.

Kernel
When planning on mounting FAT partitions, users may need to specify a  option with mount. In the example above the codepage for the United States and Canada is used, however other codepages can be enabled a necessary. Optionally, users can also set a default codepage for FAT in the kernel configuration. Be sure each codepage value to be used is enabled in the Kernel.

Avoid setting  to UTF-8; it is not recommended. Instead, pass the  option when mounting FAT partitions (this requires CONFIG_NLS_UTF8 to be enabled in the kernel. For further information see  or see the appropriate kernel documentation at

Emerge
The package is needed for FAT userspace utilities:

Usage
It should be possible to mount FAT filesystems with the command.

Slow file transfer speeds
If file transfer speeds are slow, try remounting the filesystem with the  mount option. can be a stark contrast to the  mount option:

External resources

 * - Documentation on the VFAT filesystem included with the Linux kernel sources.