Chapter 7: Configuring Disks

Configuring File Systems Fat32 –First used with Windows 95 OSR2 –Smaller cluster sizes, more efficient storage up to 32 GB –Volumes from 512 MB to 2 TB NTFS –Introduced with the Windows NT Operating System –Strong file security, compression and encryption features –Maximum partition size 2 TB: 16 EB theoretical limit 2/12

File System Conversion Windows Vista CONVERT utility –Allows conversion of FAT32 partitions to NTFS without data loss –One-way conversion: cannot convert NTFS to FAT16 or FAT32 –To convert from NTFS to FAT32: backup data, FORMAT partition with NTFS, and restore data from backup 3/12

Configuring Disk Storage Two types of disk storage in Windows Vista –Basic Storage Primary and extended partitions Drive can have up to 4 primary partitions OR 3 primary + 1 extended Extended partition can be segmented into logical drives –Dynamic Storage No limit to number of partitions 4/12

Dynamic Storage Simple Volumes –Contains space from a single dynamic drive, whether contiguous or non- contiguous Spanned Volumes –Contains space on 2-32 dynamic drives –Space is filled on one drive before filling the next Striped Volumes –Contains equal amounts of space from 2-32 dynamic drives. Data is stored sequentially in all disks simultaneously, allowing faster read and write access 5/12

Volumes 6/12

Managing Basic Tasks Using Disk Management Viewing Disk Properties –Right-click the disk, select Properties Viewing Volume Properties –Right-click the volume, select Properties –Tools tab provides Scandisk, Backup Wizard, and Disk Defragmenter –Hardware tab shows hardware associated with the drives –Sharing, Security, Previous Versions, Quota tabs for more settings 7/12

Creating Volumes and Partitions Creating a Volume –Right-click an area of free space, click New Volume – starts the New Volume Wizard Creating a Partition –Right-click an area of free space, click New Partition – starts the New Partition Wizard 8/12

Upgrading from Basic to Dynamic Using Disk Management Right-click the disk you want to convert, and select the Convert to Dynamic Disk option. In the Convert to Dynamic Disk dialog box, check the disk that you want to upgrade and click the OK button. In the Disks to Convert dialog box, click the Convert button. A confirmation dialog box warns you that you will no longer be able to boot previous versions of Windows from this disk. Click the Yes button to continue to convert the disk. 9/12

Managing Data Encryption with EFS Encryption translates data into code that is not easily accessible. EFS provides encryption on Windows Vista systems. Right-click the folder or file, click Properties, click the Advanced… button, check the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data option, or use the CIPHER utility. 10/12

Using the Disk Cleanup Utility Identifies areas of disk space that can be deleted to reclaim space on a drive Identifies temporary files, Internet cache files, and other unnecessary files 11/12

Troubleshooting Disk Devices and Volumes Check Disk utility can attempt to fix file system errors, and detect and recover bad sectors. Cannot fix hardware problems. 12/12