312-49 Question #278: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is C: Lost. A cluster that is marked as 'used' in the file allocation table but is not actually assigned to any file is referred to as a 'lost cluster' (or lost allocation unit). This condition typically results from improper program termination, power failures, or file system errors. Tools

Submitted by ashley.k· Apr 18, 2026Disk Forensics

Question

When operating systems mark a cluster as used but not allocated, the cluster is considered as _________

Options

ACorrupt
BBad
CLost
DUnallocated

Explanation

A cluster that is marked as 'used' in the file allocation table but is not actually assigned to any file is referred to as a 'lost cluster' (or lost allocation unit). This condition typically results from improper program termination, power failures, or file system errors. Tools like CHKDSK (Windows) or fsck (Unix/Linux) can detect and recover these lost clusters. They differ from 'bad clusters,' which have physical damage, and 'unallocated clusters,' which are simply free space.

Topics

#Lost clusters#File system#Disk allocation#Data inconsistency

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