Theodore, a forensic expert, was tasked with investigating a cybercrime involving a Windows operating system running on NTFS. In the course of the…

In the NTFS file system, the Master File Table ($MFT) is the central and most critical metadata file. It functions as a database containing records for every file and directory on the volume. Each record within the $MFT stores a comprehensive set of attributes, including the file's name, size, security descriptors, and all three MAC (Modified, Accessed, Created) timestamps. Crucially, it also contains pointers to the physical location of the file's data on the disk. Therefore, a forensic expert like Theodore would access the $MFT to obtain a complete record of file system objects and their associated metadata.

A. $volume contains metadata about the volume itself, such as its name and the NTFS version, not records for every file.
B. $logfile is a circular log used for file system transaction journaling and recovery, not the primary repository of all file records.
C. $mftmirr is a partial backup of the initial records of the $MFT, used for recovery, not the complete and authoritative source.

1. Microsoft. (2023). How NTFS Works. Microsoft Learn documentation. The section "NTFS File System Metadata Files" explicitly describes the Master File Table ($MFT) as containing "at least one entry for every file on an NTFS volume."

2. Carrier, B. (2005). File System Forensic Analysis. Addison-Wesley Professional. Chapter 10, "NTFS Concepts," details the structure of the $MFT, stating on page 282, "The MFT is the heart of the NTFS volume because it contains information about all files and directories."

3. Solomon, D. A., & Russinovich, M. E. (2005). Microsoft Windows Internals (4th ed.). Microsoft Press. Chapter 12, "File Systems," provides a detailed technical breakdown of the NTFS architecture, identifying the $MFT as the primary index of all files on the volume.