32-bit file access refers to the higher performance, protected mode disk caching method introduced in Windows for Workgroups 3.11, which replaced SmartDrive (Smartdrv). It bypassed MS-DOS and directly accessed the disk, either via the BIOS or (preferably) 32-bit disk access (Windows-native protected mode disk drivers). This feature was a backport from the then-unreleased Windows 95, as suggested by Microsoft's advertisements for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ("the 32-bit file system from our Chicago project").
With the introduction of 32-bit file access and Long File Names in Windows 95, DOS was reduced to the role of a boot loader for Windows.
It was implemented using the VFAT, VCACHE, and IFSMgr VxD drivers.
Also, it should not be confused with 32-bit disk access. Although both technologies are similar, 32-bit disk access (also known as FastDisk) pre-dates Windows for Workgroups 3.11. 32-bit file access provided a 32-bit code path for Windows to directly access the disk bus by intercepting the MS-DOS Int 21H services while remaining in 386 protected mode and at CPU speeds, rather than handling the Int 21H services in real mode by MS-DOS. 32-bit disk access offers relatively less performance and is less likely to work on many computers than 32-bit file access. 32-bit file access does not need 32-bit disk access.
Famous quotes containing the words file and/or access:
“While waiting to get married, several forms of employment were acceptable. Teaching kindergarten was for those girls who stayed in school four years. The rest were secretaries, typists, file clerks, or receptionists in insurance firms or banks, preferably those owned or run by the family, but respectable enough if the boss was an upstanding Christian member of the community.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)
“Oh, the holiness of always being the injured party. The historically oppressed can find not only sanctity but safety in the state of victimization. When access to a better life has been denied often enough, and successfully enough, one can use the rejection as an excuse to cease all efforts. After all, one reckons, “they” don’t want me, “they” accept their own mediocrity and refuse my best, “they” don’t deserve me.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)