Your hard disk was partitioned in such a way that each cluster is 32KB. There was originally a file on the system that occupied seven clusters, but it was erased. The OS has now reclaimed one of those clusters with a 610 byte file. How would you best describe that particular cluster now? (For the purposes of this question, ignore binary calculations.)

Question

Marcel Callahan

Computers & Technology

31 October, 22:51

Your hard disk was partitioned in such a way that each cluster is 32KB. There was originally a file on the system that occupied seven clusters, but it was erased. The OS has now reclaimed one of those clusters with a 610 byte file. How would you best describe that particular cluster now? (For the purposes of this question, ignore binary calculations.)

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Talan Dyer · Answer 1

The cluster would have 610 bytes of data and 31,390 bytes in the slack space

Explanation:

A cluster in a hard disk is the smallest possible unit of storage on a hard disk forming a group of sectors within a disk for allocation of files and directories. Each cluster in a hard disk is unique having its own ID. Storing small files on a hard disk with large clusters will therefore waste disk space. This wasted disk space is called slack space.

Since each cluster has 32 KB space = 32 * 1000 bytes = 32000 bytes.

A 610 byte file is the stored in a cluster, Therefore since each cluster has a space of 32000 bytes they would be a wasted space of (32000 - 610 = 31390 bytes). The cluster would have 610 bytes of data and 31,390 bytes in the slack space