Definition: Cluster


A hard disk term that refers to a group of sectors. A cluster is considered an allocation unit. At least one cluster is allocated to each file, regardless of the file's size, that is stored in the DOS environment. The cluster size increases with the partition size determined during formatting. With a 1024 MB partition, the cluster size is 32 KB. Each file stored consumes 32 KB of storage space, no matter how small the file. Create multiple, smaller partitions to avoid wasting space on small files. (This definition applies to FAT16).




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Data Recovery Fact

Cylinder, Head, Sector (CHS) Addressing

A method of referencing the sectors on a drive as a collection of unique cylinder, head and sector addresses. Each block on the drive will have a unique cylinder, head and sector address.

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