What action does EnCase take when a deleted file's starting cluster number is assigned to another file?

When a deleted file's starting cluster number is assigned to another file, EnCase handles this situation by marking the deleted file as being overwritten. This means that the data that was previously available at that starting cluster is no longer accessible as it has been replaced by new data belonging to a different file.

In forensic data recovery, when a file is deleted, it does not immediately remove the data from the disk; rather, it marks the space it occupied as available for use. If a new file then claims that space, it effectively overwrites the data of the deleted file. EnCase will identify the deleted file's metadata and its previous attributes, but since the corresponding physical data has been overwritten, it indicates that the deleted file's data cannot be recovered, hence marking it as such.

This understanding is crucial for forensic investigators, as it allows them to assess the recoverability of deleted files based on whether their data has been overwritten. In contrast, the other options suggest a misunderstanding of how EnCase treats data that has been overwritten, misrepresenting the relationship between deleted files and newly assigned cluster numbers.