Windows Forum
hi
can any 1 explain me what are sectors on the hd,
what are clusters???
does a single sector contains some clusters if yes then how many clusters form a single sector.
does it depends upon the type of file system..
i am totally confused plz help me out..
regards..
by ann777
A good site for definitions of computer terms:
In personal computer storage technology, a cluster is the logical unit of file storage on a hard disk; it's managed by the computer's operating system. Any file stored on a hard disk takes up one or more clusters of storage. A file's clusters can be scattered among different locations on the hard disk. The clusters associated with a file are kept track of in the hard disk's file allocation table (FAT). When youread a file, the entire file is obtained for you and you aren't aware of the clusters it is stored in.
Since a cluster is a logical rather than a physical unit (it's not built into the hard disk itself), the size of a cluster can be varied. The maximum number of clusters on a hard disk depends on the size of a FAT table entry. Beginning with DOS 4.0, the FAT entries were 16 bits in length, allowing for a maximum of 65,536 clusters. Beginnning with the Windows 95 OSR2 service release, a 32-bitFAT entry is supported, allowing an entry to address enough clusters to support up to two terabytes of data (assuming the hard disk is that large!).
The tradeoff in cluster size is that even the smallest file (and even a directory itself) takes upthe entire cluster. Thus, a 10-byte file will take up 2,048 bytes if that's the cluster size. In fact, many operating systems set the cluster size default at 4,096 or 8,192 bytes. Until the file allocation table support in Windows 95 OSR2, the largest size hard disk that could be supported in a single partition was 512 megabytes. Larger hard disks could be divided into up to four partitions, each with a FAT capable of supporting 512 megabytes of clusters.
by ann777
On a computer diskette or hard disk, a sector is one of the "pies slices" the diskette or disk is divided into. Dividing the circular medium into pie slices is a way to organize it so that data can be located by the read/write heads of the drive. The diskette or disk is also divided into a number of concentric circles. Data can be located by knowing the number of the sector and the concentric track that passes through that sector. Each track is divided into a number of clusters that representthe smallest unit of storage that is addressable (can be written to or read). Typically, a cluster is 256 or 512 bytes in length.
Sector 0 of the diskette or disk contains a special file, the file allocation table (FAT). The FAT tells where the directory to the files on the medium is located and information about how clusters are used. You can't look at sector 0 directly.
On hard disks, the first sector is called variously the master boot record, the partition sector, or the partition table. This record or table tells how and whether the disk has been divided into logical partitions (for example, you can divide your hard drive into two logical partitions or drives so that you can load different operating systems on to the disk and switch back of forth). When your operating system is being booted or loaded into RAM, a program in this partition sector briefly gets control, determines how your disk is partitioned, and then reads the operating system boot sector and gives that boot sector program control so that the rest of the operating system can be loaded into RAM. The partition sector is the sector that can be "infected" when you leave a diskette in drive A th
by ann777
The partition sector is the sector that can be infected when you leave a diskette in drive A that contains a boot virus.
The sectors as well as the rest of the organization of the diskette or disk are set up as a result of the process called formatting. Most diskettes you buy today are already formatted. However, if you're using an old one, you may need to reformat it. You can do this using a common utility that comes with your operating system.
by ann777
"does a single sector contains some clusters? if yes then how many clusters form a single sector?"
Yes, every sector contains clusters. Clusters typically are 256 bytes or 512 bytes in length. It depends on the specifications of your hdd.Standard 1.44 MB floppy disks are formatted with 512 byte clusters.
by chidimark
by ann777
"does a single sector contains some clusters? if yes then how many clusters form a single sector?"
Yes, every sector contains clusters. Clusters typically are 256 bytes or 512 bytes in length. It depends on the specifications of your hdd. Standard 1.44 MB floppy disks are formatted with 512 byte clusters.
by chidimark
by chidimark
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