What does a sector on a hard disk drive typically store?

A sector on a hard disk drive typically stores 512 bytes of data. This size has been the traditional standard in many hard drives for decades, making it the most common sector size used across various file systems and disk architectures. The 512-byte size is significant because it allows for efficient storage of files and management of disk space. Although there are newer hard drives that can use larger sector sizes, such as 4K (4096 bytes), the 512-byte sector size remains widely recognized and used in many formats and systems.

Understanding the basic structure of a hard disk, including the organization of sectors, is essential for digital forensics, as this knowledge helps forensic professionals recover data and understand how information is stored and retrieved from disk drives.