A model of the process of writing and deleting file information on a disk with NTFS

Abstract

This paper aims at demonstrating a mathematical model of the process of writing and deleting information about files on a disk, using the contents of the $MFT system file, i.e. in a file generated in the NTFS (New Technology File System). The presented model uses the language of control theory, where the state of the system is equal to the state of the disk and the state of the $MFT file, and where control is understood as undertaking the action of writing or deleting. The deterministic nature of the process and its stationarity were assumed. Then, based on the transition function after its specification, we suggest constructing further inverse images of possible prior states at subsequent stages of data writing or deletion. The obtained results form the basis for the implementations developed.