Master File Table Size

Windows reserves 12.5% of its NTFS file system for the master file table. Greater space will only be allocated to the MFT if the rest of the volume becomes full. See this Microsoft posting for confirmation on this point. As noted before on this site, the MFT stores information about every file used on operating system. After files are deleted, they will still be referenced in the MFT.

Individual entries in a MFT are between 1 KB and 4 KB each. If the total size of a file is less than record in the MFT, all of the data will be stored in the MFT. The MFT may contain pointers to attributes for files that reside outside the MFT for files which are very large in size.

The first 16 records in the MFT contain the meta data for the volume, or hard drive. The meta data will include the $logfile which records operating system events; the name of the volume and its creation time; and a cluster map, $bitmap, that indicates which clusters are currently active.

NTFS Info

In addition to the Windows command described in last night's tip, you can also find the size of a master file table with an appelet available on the Microsoft site, called NTFS Info.

NTFS info was designed by Mark Russinovich. After installing it on your PC, it allows you to run a new command (in admin mode). Use the cd command to change to the directory with the ntfsinfo.exe file that you downloaded. Then enter the command:

ntfsinfo.exe c:

. . . in order to get information about your C drive. As you can see in the screen grab below the size of the master file table is given in MB.

Converting Numbers Between Decimal, Binary, and Hexadecimal

If you want a quick and easy way to convert numbers between their decimal, binary, and hexadecimal form use Programmer mode in Windows Calculator.

Windows Calculator has come installed on all Windows operating systems for a long time now. Look in the accessories menu or just type calc at start to run it.

Go to the view menu and select 'Programmer' mode.

The setting at the left for the number form should default to decimal.

If you enter a number and click one of the other radial buttons, the number will be automatically converted.