1. Home
  2. Computing & Technology
  3. PC Support

Sector

By Tim Fisher, About.com

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 imply anything about the difference in possible sizes between hard drives and optical discs - the number of sectors available on the drive or disc determines this.

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!"
Explore PC Support
About.com Special Features

Stay connected and entertained with reviews on tips on the latest HDTVs, cellphones and more. More >

Easy ways to connect two computers for networking purposes. More >

  1. Home
  2. Computing & Technology
  3. PC Support
  4. Glossary / Terms
  5. D
  6. Sector Definition - What is a Sector?>

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.