Cluster Remapping

In the event of a bad-sector error, NTFS implements a recovery technique called cluster remapping. When Windows 2000 detects a bad-sector, NTFS dynamically remaps the cluster containing the bad sector and allocates a new cluster for the data. If the error occurred during a read, NTFS returns a read error to the calling program, and the data is lost. If the error occurs during a write, NTFS writes the data to the new cluster, and no data is lost.

NTFS puts the address of the cluster containing the bad sector in its bad cluster file so the bad sector is not reused.

Important

Cluster remapping is not a backup alternative. Once errors are detected, the disk should be monitored closely and replaced if the defect list grows. This type of error is displayed in the Event Log.