MCDST : Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System Chapter 8: Troubleshooting Storage Devices and Display Devices

Guide to MCDST Objectives Work with Windows XP storage devices Understand removable media Troubleshoot storage devices Work with display devices Troubleshoot display devices

Guide to MCDST Windows XP Storage Devices Windows XP supports: –Basic and dynamic storage –Large disk volumes –Fault-tolerant drive configurations –Secure access controls

Guide to MCDST Types of Storage Basic storage –Centers on partitioning a physical disk Dynamic storage –Not based on partitions but on volumes –Allows for more flexibility in drive configurations –Allows for drive changes with fewer calls to restart the machine –Offers better support for system recovery

Guide to MCDST Types of Storage (continued)

Guide to MCDST Types of Storage (continued)

Guide to MCDST Basic Storage The traditional, industry-standard method of dividing a hard drive into partitions Partition –A logical division of the physical space on a hard drive Primary partition –Division of a hard drive that can be marked active Extended partition –Division of a hard drive that can be subdivided into additional divisions or drives

Guide to MCDST Volume Sets In basic storage –Volumes or volume sets are 2 to 32 partitions combined into a single logical structure Volume set –Represented in the operating system by a single drive letter –Provides no fault tolerance

Guide to MCDST Disk Configurations RAID configurations –Combine two or more hard drives into a single accessible volume Windows XP –Can take control of drive configurations from previous operating systems

Guide to MCDST Storage Partitions Windows XP –Can be installed only onto basic storage partitions System partition –The active partition on which the boot files are stored Boot partition –Hosts the main Windows XP operating system and support files –Is the initial default location for the paging file

Guide to MCDST Dynamic Storage Does not use partitions Views an entire physical hard drive as a single entity Allows for more flexibility in drive configurations Allows for drive changes with fewer restarts Offers better support for system recovery

Guide to MCDST Drive Configurations Simple volume –All or part of a single drive Spanned volume –Volume configuration of two or more parts of one or more drives Striped volume –Two or more volumes (up to 32) of one or more drives

Guide to MCDST Drive Configurations (continued) FTONLINE tool –Saves data from inaccessible drive structures –Temporarily mounts failed drive structure to the drive letter –Designed as a short-term recovery tool

Guide to MCDST Disk Management Actions Features of the All Tasks submenu of the Action menu –Change Drive Letter and Paths –Convert to Basic Disk –Convert to Dynamic Disk –Delete Partition (or Delete Logical Drive) –Explore

Guide to MCDST The Properties Dialog Boxes General tab –Displays details about drive’s model, device type, manufacturer, location in drive chain, and status Policies tab –Used to configure the right caching and safe removal settings for device Volumes tab –Displays additional details about the device Driver tab –Displays details about the device driver used by the drive

Guide to MCDST The Properties Dialog Boxes (continued)

Guide to MCDST The Properties Dialog Boxes (continued)

Guide to MCDST The Properties Dialog Box for Partitions or Volumes General tab displays: –Label –Type –File system –Used space –Free space –Capacity

Guide to MCDST The Properties Dialog Box for Partitions or Volumes (continued) The Tools tab offers access to: –Error-checking –Defragmentation –Backup

Guide to MCDST The Properties Dialog Box for Partitions or Volumes (continued)

Guide to MCDST The Properties Dialog Box for Partitions or Volumes (continued)

Guide to MCDST Accessing File System Resources Windows XP –Uses drive letters to grant applications and user interface utilities access to file system resources Drive letters A and B –Typically used for floppy disks Drive letters C through Z –Used for local hard drives, CD-ROM drives, or mappings for network shares

Guide to MCDST Accessing File System Resources (continued) Mount point –An alternative to drive letters –Connects a FAT/FAT32 or NTFS volume to an empty directory on an NTFS volume –The gateway or doorway pointing to the root of another volume or partition

Guide to MCDST Working with Removable Media Windows XP supports the following categories of removable media: –CD-ROM drives –Floppies –Tape –Memory

Guide to MCDST Troubleshooting Storage Devices When a hard drive is malfunctioning –System may be unable to locate the active partition or the boot sector (MBR) –Error messages that result Invalid partition table Error loading operating system Missing operating system

Guide to MCDST Troubleshooting Storage Devices (continued) Other problems that Disk Management may display: –Not Initialized error Occurs when drive does not contain a valid disk signature in the MBR or a valid GUID in partition table –Online error Occurs when I/O errors have been detected on the internal platters of the disk –Unreadable error Occurs when disk is not accessible due to a physical or logical obstruction

Guide to MCDST Setting up Display Devices Display device –The visual output device for a computer system, including the video card and monitor Display applet –Used to choose from a wide range of interface changes and preference settings –Tabs include Themes, Desktop, Screen Saver, Appearance, and Settings

Guide to MCDST Setting up Display Devices (continued)

Guide to MCDST Troubleshooting Display Devices Setting the screen resolution too high is most common cause of problems with display devices Problem can be solved in the following ways: –Reset the display resolution to a lower density –Increase the DPI (dots per inch) –If you have made any changes to the display settings, reboot the system using Safe Mode

Guide to MCDST Troubleshooting Display Devices (continued)

Guide to MCDST Troubleshooting Display Devices (continued)

Guide to MCDST Summary Volume and partitions –Can be formatted with FAT, FAT32, or NTFS Preexisting basic storage drive configurations –Can be managed by Windows XP Disk Management snap-in –Used to perform all drive, partition, and volume- related functions

Guide to MCDST Summary (continued) All NTFS objects –Offer security, encryption, compression, and auditing Windows XP –Supports a wide range of removable media Troubleshooting storage devices –Involves using the FIXMBR and FIXBOOT commands from the Recovery Console Display devices used by Windows –Include display adapter cards and monitors