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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Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.)

A technology to assist the user in preventing possible system down time due to hard drive failure by attempting to predict imminent hard drive failure before it occurs.

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