How many clusters can a FAT32 file system manage?

The correct answer, which states that a FAT32 file system can manage 2^28 clusters, is based on the inherent limitations of the FAT32 file system architecture. FAT32, which stands for File Allocation Table 32, traditionally uses a 32-bit addressing system to identify clusters, allowing for a maximum of 2^32 clusters.

However, not all of the 32 bits are available for addressing clusters in a FAT32 format. In practice, the maximum number of clusters that can be effectively addressed is 2^28, which equals 268,435,456. The limitation arises from the fact that the first few bits of the 32-bit cluster address are reserved for special purposes within the file system, which reduces the number of clusters that can actually be utilized for data storage.

Understanding this limitation is crucial for professionals working with file systems, particularly in forensic and data recovery contexts, as it can impact data management strategies. The other options do not align with the correct cluster capacity available in FAT32 due to the reasons related to how the addressing works within the file system.