There are various common error messages, which can occur over time due to the result of the way in which FAT (File Allocation Table) file system chains files together and allocates space. Such errors occur due to damage to the logical structure of the hard drive. Most of such errors may detected by the standard hard drive error-checking tools, which analyze the integrity of file system. In Windows operating system, you can do it using Chkdsk utility. But in some situations, such errors can not be detected and fixed using Chkdsk and thus your FAT file system partition become inaccessible. This behavior leads to partition loss and require Partition Recovery to be sorted out.

The file system error messages are usually caused by logical corruption to the hard drive. Program crashes generally cause file system errors. A power failure or power surge on a system running Windows operating system results into file system errors as the files can not be closed properly. Following are the frequently occurring errors on FAT file system partition:

Lost Disk Clusters: Any of the Windows user may face this issue. Lost clusters are the ones, which are marked as being used in FAT, but operating system can't link them to a file. Hard drive checking tools scan whole hard drive partition for lost clusters. Such errors are generally caused by the interrupted file activity.

Invalid Files/Directories: In some cases, internal structure of the files/directories may get damaged and they become inaccessible. Therefore some files/directories are not following "rules" of how the particular file/directory has to be placed.

Allocation/FAT Errors: Sometimes the entries in FAT (File Allocation Table) may get damaged or have invalid values.

Cross-linked Files: In some cases, two files may point same memory location on the hard drive. The same memory location can not be allocated to two files. The only solution for this problem is to delete one file.

All these errors eventually cause partition loss and need Partition Recovery Software to be sorted out. The applications use powerful scanning algorithms to methodically scan entire hard drive and extract all lost, missing, and inaccessible Windows hard drive partitions. These software allow you to carry out Partition Recovery on your own as they have simple and rich graphical user interface.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most efficient and best ever made application for assured recovery of lost Windows partitions. The software recovers all FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file system partitions. It works well with Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000.