I will also ask ChatGPT about FAT and exFAT, similar to how I did with NTFS. Since some of the responses are somewhat unclear, it seems necessary to either ask more detailed questions to verify ChatGPT's answers or verify the information myself.
And I thought that reading Brian Carrier's "File System Forensic Analysis" might be easier and more understandable than asking ChatGPT.
- List the key items to know about FAT from a digital forensics perspective.
- Provide a detailed explanation of the directory entry.
- Please explain in detail about the root entry of the FAT file system.
- Where is the root directory entry located in the file system?
- Describe the mechanism for storing long file names in the directory entry.
- Detail the processing of the directory entry when a new file is created.
- Detail the processing of the directory entry when a new folder is created.
- Explain the timestamp resolution in FAT in detail.
- Are timestamps stored in local time?
- Explain the access date in FAT in detail.
- Provide a detailed explanation of the FAT table.
- Describe the cluster allocation method in FAT in detail.
- Explain the concept of the cluster chain in detail.
- Describe how the cluster chain is handled when file data is fragmented.
How is the cluster chain processed when a file is deleted in FAT? - Detail the recovery process for deleted files when file data is fragmented in FAT.
- When a file is deleted in FAT, are the cluster chain values deleted, making data reconstruction impossible?
- Explain the reason why the beginning of the file name can still be confirmed even if a file is deleted on a FAT file system and the beginning of the directory entry is overwritten, causing the initial part of the file name to be lost.
- Explain the differences between FAT and exFAT in detail.
- List the key items to know about exFAT from a digital forensics perspective.
- Provide a detailed explanation of the directory entry in exFAT.
- Detail the processing of the directory entry when a new file is created on exFAT.
- Detail the processing of the directory entry when a new folder is created on exFAT.
- Explain the process when a file is deleted on exFAT in detail.
- Describe the timestamp resolution in exFAT in detail.
- Explain the access date in exFAT in detail.
- Provide a detailed explanation of the time zone values in exFAT.
- Explain why times in FAT and exFAT are recorded in even seconds.
- How is the update time handled when a file with an odd-second update time in NTFS is copied to exFAT?
- In exFAT, creation times can have odd seconds, but update times do not. Explain this difference.
