Definition: A sector is a specifically sized division of a hard disk drive, optical disc, floppy disk or other kind of storage medium.
Usually, one sector of a hard disk drive or floppy disk can hold 512 bytes of information. One sector of an optical disc can usually hold 2048 bytes.
This difference in sector size doesn't necessarily imply anything about the difference in possible sizes between hard drives and optical discs. Usually it's the number of sectors available on the drive or disc that determines capacity.
Also Known As: disk sector
Examples:
"Of the millions of sectors on my hard drive, the boot sector was damaged, along with a dozen others, when I dropped my hard drive, forcing me to buy a new one!"
