Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: 26
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
DOS-era systems assign alphabetical letters to identify storage devices. Understanding the total addressable set of drive letters helps technicians reason about multi-drive setups, network mappings, RAM disks, and optical drives in legacy environments and emulations.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Count the available symbols used by DOS to label logical volumes. Each letter corresponds to a potential logical drive. Historically, A: and B: are often reserved for floppy drives, and C: typically denotes the first hard disk partition, but the counting question asks about total capacity, not about reservations.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Verification / Alternative check:
In practice, DOS-based systems and Windows shells derived from DOS display drives from A: to Z:, confirming a 26-letter namespace. Even when some letters are unused or reserved, the address space itself remains 26 wide.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Common Pitfalls:
Confusing “usable” letters in a particular setup (for example, A:, C:, D:) with the theoretical maximum labeling space. Also, assuming that reserved letters reduce the total count; they reduce availability in practice, not the namespace size.
Final Answer:
26
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