Data Recovery and Digital Storage Glossary

• Linux
  Pronounced lee-nucks or lih-nucks. A freely-distributable open source operating system that runs on a number of hardware platforms. The Linux kernel was developed mainly by Linus Torvalds. Because it's free, and because it runs on many platforms, including PC and Macintosh® computers, Linux has become an extremely popular alternative to proprietary operating systems.
  
  
• Lost Cluster
  Also called a lost allocation unit, or a lost file fragment. A data fragment that does not belong to any file, according to the system’s file management system, and, therefore, is not associated with a file name in the file allocation table. Lost clusters can result from files not being closed properly, from shutting down a computer without first closing an application or from ejecting a storage medium, such as a floppy disk, from the disk drive while the drive is reading or writing.