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Contents > Glossary of
Terms
Active@ KillDisk User's Guide
7 Glossary of Terms
- BIOS settings
Basic Input Output Subsystem. This programmable chip controls how
information is passed to various devices in the computer system. A typical
method to access the BIOS settings screen is to press F1, F2, F8 or F10 during the boot
sequence.
- boot priority
BIOS settings allow you to run a boot sequence from a floppy drive, a
hard drive or a CD-ROM drive. You may configure the order that your computer
searches these physical devices for the boot sequence. The first device in
the order list has the first boot priority. For example, to boot from a
CD-ROM drive instead of a hard drive, place the CD-ROM drive ahead of the
hard drive in priority.
- compressed cluster
When you set a file or folder property to compress data, the file or
folder uses less disk space. While the size of the file is smaller, it must
use a whole cluster in order to exist on the hard drive. As a result, compressed clusters contain
"file slack
space". This space may contain residual confidential data from the file that previously
occupied this
space. KillDisk can wipe out the residual data without touching the existing
data.
- cluster
A logical group of disk sectors, managed by the operating system, for
storing files. Each cluster is assigned a unique number when it is used. The
operating system keeps track of clusters in the hard disk's root records or
MFT records. (See lost cluster)
- free cluster
A cluster that is not occupied by a file. This space may contain
residual confidential data from the file that previously occupied this
space. KillDisk can wipe out the residual data.
- file slack space
The smallest file (and even an empty folder) takes up an entire
cluster. A 10-byte file will take up 2,048 bytes if that is the cluster
size. File slack space is the unused portion of a cluster. This
space may contain residual confidential data from the file that previously
occupied this
space. KillDisk can wipe out the residual data without touching the existing
data.
- deleted boot records
All disks start with a boot sector. In a damaged disk, if the location
of the boot records is known, the partition table can be reconstructed. The
boot record contains a file system identifier.
- ISO
An International Organization for Standardization ISO-9660 file system is a standard CD-ROM file system that allows
you to read the same CD-ROM whether you're on a PC, Mac, or other major computer
platform. Disk images of ISO-9660 file systems (ISO images) are a common way to electronically transfer the contents of CD-ROMs. They often have the filename extension .ISO (though not necessarily), and are commonly referred to as "ISOs".
- lost cluster
A cluster that has an assigned number in the file allocation table, even though
it is not assigned to any file. You can free up
disk space by reassigning lost clusters. In DOS and Windows, you can find
lost clusters with the ScanDisk utility.
- MFT records
Master File Table. A file that contains the records of every other file
and directory in an NTFS-formatted hard disk drive. The operating system
needs this information to access the files.
- root records
File Allocation Table. A file that contains the records of every other
file and directory in a FAT-formatted hard disk drive. The operating system
needs this information to access the files. There are FAT32, FAT16 and FAT
versions.
- sector
The smallest unit that can be accessed on a disk. Tracks are concentric
circles around the disk and the sectors are segments within each circle.
- unallocated space
Space on a hard disk where no partition exists. A partition may have been
deleted or damaged or a partition may not have been created.
- unused space in MFT records
The performance of the computer system depends a lot on the performance of the MFT.
When you delete files, the MFT entry for that file is not deleted, it is
marked as deleted. This is called unused space in the MFT. If unused space
is not removed from the MFT, the size of the table could grow to a point
where it becomes fragmented, affecting the performance of the MFT and
possibly the performance of the computer. This space may also contain
residual confidential data (file names, file attributes, resident file data) from the files that previously occupied these
spaces. KillDisk can wipe out the residual data without touching the existing
data.
- Windows system caching
Windows reserves a specified amount of volatile memory for file system operations.
This is done in RAM because it is the quickest way to do these repetitive
tasks.
- Windows system records
The Windows registry keeps track of almost everything that happens
in windows. This enhances performance of the computer when doing
repetitive tasks. Over time, these records can take up a lot of space.
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