Tracks numbering ends at which value on a typical hard disk?

Tracks numbering ends at which value on a typical hard disk?

• A. 1020
• B. 1023
• C. 1024
• D. 2023

Answer: (B)

This uses the idea of CHS addressing, where a track (cylinder) number is stored in a 10-bit field. With 10 bits, values go from 0 to 1023. Since counting starts at zero, the highest track number you can address on a surface is 1023, so tracks effectively end at 1023. This is a historical detail tied to how BIOS/drive geometry was represented; there are 1024 possible track numbers per surface in that scheme, but the last one is 1023 due to zero-based counting. The other options would either exceed the 10-bit range or ignore the zero-based start.

This uses the idea of CHS addressing, where a track (cylinder) number is stored in a 10-bit field. With 10 bits, values go from 0 to 1023. Since counting starts at zero, the highest track number you can address on a surface is 1023, so tracks effectively end at 1023. This is a historical detail tied to how BIOS/drive geometry was represented; there are 1024 possible track numbers per surface in that scheme, but the last one is 1023 due to zero-based counting. The other options would either exceed the 10-bit range or ignore the zero-based start.