25. Typical MFT Attributes

• To allow basic file I/O, any file will have:

  • $STANDARD_INFORMATION

  • $FILE_NAME (two will exist if 8.3 name creation is turned on)

  • $DATA

• Similarly, a directory will have:

  • $STANDARD_INFORMATION

  • $FILE_NAME (two will exist if 8.3 name creation is turned on)

  • $INDEX_ROOT

  • $INDEX_ALLOCATION

• Every MFT entry, file or directory, must have a $STANDARD_INFORMATION and at least one $FILE_NAME.

• If the file name has more than 8 characters, there is a second $FILE_NAME attribute.

• If file is empty, it will have the $DATA attribute with nothing in it.

• Likewise, if directory is empty, it will have two index attributes