1. Implementing Hard Drives
Chapter 12 1

2. Overview In this chapter, you will learn how to
Explain the partitions available in Windows
Discuss hard drive formatting options
Partition and format hard drives
Maintain and troubleshoot hard drives
Instructor Tip
When gaining attention and establishing common ground, ask questions of the class such as, “Who here has ever partitioned or formatted a hard drive?” or “Who here has ever had a hard drive crash?”
For a positive statement, tell the class, “In this lesson, we are going to learn how to set up a hard drive, partition and format it, and use tools to maintain and troubleshoot a hard drive.” 2

3. Hard Drive Partitions 3

4. Partitioning
Process of electronically subdividing the physical hard drives
Windows assigns them names such as C: or D:
A hard drive must have at least one partition
Partitioning enables organization of a drive that suits your personal taste
One physical drive
One or more partitions 4

5. Essentials Two kinds of partitions: Basic Disks Dynamic Disks
CompTIA A+ Essentials
Two kinds of partitions:
Basic Disks
Older style
Readable by other utilities
Dynamic Disks
Proprietary Microsoft style
Let’s start with basic disks and then move to dynamic disks. 5

6. Basic Disks Master boot record (MBR) Partition table
Small amount of code that takes control of boot process
Partition table
MBR looks in partition table for partition holding valid operating system
MBR and partition table stored in boot sector
Only one MBR per disk 6

7. Basic Disks (continued)
Support up to four partitions
Can have four primary partitions or three primary partitions and one extended partition
Primary partition—can be bootable
Stores the OS
Uses a drive letter such as C:
Active partition
A partition must be made active to be bootable
Extended partitions—non-bootable
Can hold multiple logical drives lettered D: to Z:
These logical drives can also be mounted as folders with names 7

8. Partitioning Primary partitions: Extended partitions:
Store bootable operating system(s)
Disk can have up to four primary partitions
Active partition is one currently booted to
Only one primary partition can be active at a time
Extended partitions:
Extended partitions are not bootable
Disk can have only one extended partition
They can be divided into many logical drives
Strength is number of drive letters that can be used, D: to Z:
Don’t confuse a primary partition with the primary controller; they are totally different animals that just happen to have similar names.
A hard drive must have an active partition to be bootable! 8

9. Dynamic Disks Introduced with Windows 2000 (Server and Workstation)
Not available in XP Home Edition, Vista Basic, or Vista Home Premium
Partitions called volumes
No limitation on number of volumes
Added capabilities
Spanned volumes
RAID 0, 1, 5 on Windows Server products
RAID 0 on Windows desktop products
RAID covered in Chapter 11
Other volumes covered in more depth later in chapter
One Microsoft source claims there is a limit of around 1000 volumes. 9

10. Other Partitions Hidden partition Swap partition
Primary partition hidden from OS
Used to hide a backup copy of OS
Swap partition
Only on Linux and BSD systems
Entire partition that works like page file in Windows 10

11. When to Partition Older OSs required partitioning before installation
Command-line program called FDISK
Windows 2000/XP and Vista/7 include partition tool in install program 11

12. When to Partition (continued)
After installation
Windows uses GUI called Disk Management
Third-party tools available
GParted (Linux tool that works on Windows partitions)
Partition Magic 12

13. Hard Drive Formatting
Formatting configures a partition to hold files and folders suitable to the OS
Two major functions of formatting
Creates a file system
Creates a root directory 13

14. File Systems Windows supports three different file systems
FAT (often called FAT16)
FAT32
NTFS 14

15. File Allocation Table (FAT)
File allocation table (FAT) keeps track of the sectors that store the various parts of a file
16-bit FAT (FAT16) uses 4 hexadecimal digits to number the sectors
0000 thru FFFF
FAT is like a two-column spreadsheet
Column one numbers the sectors
Column two contains the status of the sector
Bad sectors = FFF7
Good sectors = 0000
Format creates the FAT and then writes to and reads from each sector to see if it is good 15

16. FAT Limitations 16 bits can address only 64 K (216) sectors
Sector sizes limited to 512 bytes
64 K × 512 bytes = 32 MB max. size in early drives
What to do to increase capacity?
Solution was clustering, enabling partition sizes up to 2 GB 16

17. Clustering
Clustering combines a set of contiguous sectors and treats them as a single unit
Called a cluster or file allocation unit
Instead of numbering the sectors, clusters were numbered
Allowed partition sizes up to 2 GB
Size of cluster increases with the size of the partition
See chart on p. 376 17

18. How FAT Works
Windows looks for the first cluster marked (good and available)
If the file fits in that cluster, FFFF is put in the status column
If the file is larger than the cluster, Windows finds the next open cluster
That open cluster’s number is put in the first status field to know where to link
Process continues until the file is fully stored
Last cluster’s status field is marked FFFF (end-of-file) 18

19. Examples of FAT Storage1 3 2 4
0000 = Good FFF7 = Bad FFFF = End of File 19

20. Fragmentation
Fragmentation occurs when files are spread across clusters (not contiguous)
Individual files are broken into pieces that fit into a sector or cluster
The pieces are stored on the hard drive but may not be stored in contiguous clusters
Fragmentation slows down the system during hard drive reads and writes
Programs such as Disk Defragmenter can be used to defragment files, folders, or both 20

21. Fragmented File
Takes longer for system to piece together and can impact performance 21

22. Disk Defragmenter
Can defragment disk 22

23. FAT32
FAT32 was introduced with Windows 95 OSR2 (OEM Service Release 2)
Supports partitions up to 2 terabytes
Uses 32 bits to describe each cluster
Allows the use of small clusters
See chart on p. 380
Can still become fragmented 23

24. CompTIA A+ Practical Application
NTFS

25. NTFS File system of choice today
Six major improvements and refinements
Redundancy
Security
Compression
Encryption
Disk quotas
Cluster sizing 25

26. NTFS Improvements NTFS structure provides redundancy Security
Uses an enhanced file allocation table called the Master File Table (MFT)
NTFS keeps a backup copy in the middle of the disk
Security
Provides file and folder access control
Uses access control list (ACL) to restrict or grant access 26

27. NTFS Improvements (continued)
Compression
Enables files and folders to be compressed to save space
Encrypting file system (EFS)
Enables files and folders to be encrypted and unreadable to anyone without the key
Essentially has integrated security
Files and folders can be encrypted or compressed 27

28. NTFS Improvements (continued)
Disk quotas
Can control how users can use space
Set on a per-drive basis
Cluster sizes
Can adjust cluster sizes
Rare to do so
NTFS supports 16-TB minus 64 KB partitions
MBR limited to 2 TB so have to go to dynamic disk for full capacity
Theoretical maximum partition size for NTFS is 16 EB minus 1 KB. 28

29. Partitioning and Formatting Process29

30. Bootable Disks Any removable media that has a bootable OS installed
Floppy, CD-ROM, USB thumb drive
All Windows and Linux installation CDs are bootable
Common to create bootable media with tools added 30

31. Partitioning and Formatting
With Windows XP installation CD
During text portion of install
Can create one or more partitions 31

32. Partitioning and Formatting (continued)
With Windows XP installation CD
Enables you to set the size of the drive
Minimum of 8 MB up to size of drive 32

33. Partitioning and Formatting (continued)
With Windows XP installation CD
Can format the drive with a file system
NTFS Quick—not as thorough
NTFS Regular—checks the drive 33

34. Partitioning and Formatting (continued)
With Windows XP installation CD
Can create multiple partitions 34

35. Partitioning and Formatting (continued)
With the Windows Vista DVD
Follow the screens
No need to put in product key when prompted initially
Every version of Vista is on the installation disc
The product key determines installation version

36. Partitioning and Formatting (continued)
With the Windows Vista DVD
Full drive selected by default
Click the Drive options (advanced) button to get options for creating smaller partitions
You can resize

37. Digression 101: Install the OS
Can't play with partitioning without loading Windows
So, time to load Windows
ATAPI optical drive installed on SATA controller
Bootable Windows CD-ROM
Adjust boot order in CMOS to make optical drive first
Boot to the CD
Toast any existing partition(s) on the hard drive
Make a new partition of a modest size, such as 20 GB
Follow the prompts and accept default settings to install Windows
Instructor: This slide may or may not apply to your classroom setup. Delete if not relevant.

38. Disk Management GUI tool in Windows Used to manage partitions
In Computer Management in Administrative Tools
Can be launched directly with diskmgmt.msc
Diskmgmt.msc at Start | Run
Must initialize a new disk: marks it as part of the system. 38

39. Disk Initialization All drives must be initialized before use
Right-click disk in Disk Management and select Initialize
Status Indicator
Unallocated = unpartitioned space
Healthy = just what it sounds like
Active = potentially bootable partition
Foreign = newly connected dynamic disk
Formatting = just what it sounds like
Failed = big trouble
Other status indicators, too, such as online or offline.

40. Creating a New Partition
Right-click in unallocated space and choose New Partition 40

41. New Partition Wizard 41

42. Disk Management Creating a partition in Windows
Pick partition type, size, and assign drive letter
< 4 GB can choose FAT, FAT32, or NTFS
4 GB to 32 GB can choose FAT32 or NTFS
> 32 GB can choose only NTFS
Windows 2000/XP/Vista can read/write FAT32 partitions larger than 32 GB, but Disk Management won’t create one any bigger. FDISK certainly can. 42

43. Creating a Logical Drive
Once an extended partition is created, you may create logical drives in it
Can only create an extended partition in Vista if the drive has three primary partitions already. 43

44. Dynamic Disks Dynamic disks are a type of storage
Not available in all versions of Windows
Can convert basic to dynamic
Converting dynamic to basic causes all data to be lost
Regular drives are known as basic disks
Dynamic disks are divided into volumes instead of partitions
Home versions of Windows XP and Vista do not support dynamic disks
Tech Tip
Once you convert a drive to dynamic, you cannot revert it to a basic disk without losing all the data on that drive. Be prepared to back up all data before you revert.
You can make that stack of old small-capacity disk drives collecting dust in your computer room useful again through the magic of dynamic disks. Here’s the trick: Install all the old drives into one system, convert them to dynamic disks, and span them all into a single drive letter. Now that you have created a decent-sized volume, you can use that system for long-term file storage, backups, and more. 44

45. Dynamic Disks (continued)
Simple volumes (single hard drive)
C:\ Volume 10 GB
D:\ Volume 10 GB 45

46. Dynamic Disks (continued)
Spanned volume (multiple hard drives)
Simple volume spanned across multiple disks
Effect is more space on E: volume
D:\ Volume 10 GB
E:\ Volume 10 GB
New disk—80 GB
D:\ Volume 10 GB
E:\ Volume 90 GB 46

47. Dynamic Disks (continued)
Extending a volume (one hard drive)
E: volume is extended to include unallocated space
Effect is more space on E: volume
D:\ Volume 10 GB
E:\ Volume 10 GB
30 GB unallocated space
D:\ Volume 10 GB
E:\ Volume 10 GB
30 GB unallocated space
D:\ Volume 10 GB
E:\ Volume 40 GB 47

48. Dynamic Disks (continued)
Simple volume like a primary partition
Striped volume (RAID-0)
Mirrored volume (RAID-1)
Striped with parity (RAID-5)
Desktop products (2000 Pro, XP Pro)
Support RAID 0
Server products (2000 & Server 2003)
Support RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 48

49. Mount Points
Your system partition drive (typically C:) may be made dynamic
Cannot be extended or spanned
Can create a mount point on C: or other partition
Drive that functions like a folder mounted into another drive
Provides additional storage on a hard drive by creating a folder that holds another entire partition
Partition or volume getting the mount point does not have to be dynamic 49

50. Creating Mount Points
Right-click an unallocated space on a dynamic disk and select New Volume
The second screen in the wizard lets you create a mount point instead of another drive letter
Works like folder but appears as disk icon 50

51. Formatting a Partition
Can format in Windows Explorer
Can format in Disk Management 51

52. Maintaining and Troubleshooting Hard Drives52

53. Error-checking Error-checking scans for bad clusters on hard drives
Often referred to by old name of ScanDisk or Run command of CHKDSK
Also checks for invalid filenames and tries to fix them
Looks for lost clusters or chains that do not have a filename associated with them and deletes them
Checks the links between parent and child folders
Launched via error-checking tools from Windows Explorer
To start error-checking:
On Windows 2000 or XP: Open My Computer | Right-click the drive and choose Properties | Check Now… under Error- checking.
Newer versions of Windows no longer call the disk-checking tool ScanDisk. Instead, Microsoft has relegated this important tool to a button called Error- checking in the Drive Properties dialog box. Even though the term ScanDisk has disappeared from the program name, however, most PC people still use it to refer to any of Windows’ hard disk error-checking programs. 53

54. Error-checking (continued)
Can check the drive
Can be set to fix errors automatically
Can scan for and recover bad sectors 54

55. Defragmentation Disk Defragmenter
Consider using regularly (monthly or weekly)
Will slow down system while running
If not done, system will slow down due to fragmentation
Can be scheduled
Called DEFRAG by many techs and by CompTIA
Defrag can also be accessed through a drive’s Properties dialog box in Windows 2000 and XP. 55

56. Disk Cleanup Allows you to purge system of unneeded files
Files in the Recycle Bin
Temporary Internet files
Downloaded program files
Temporary files 56

57. Troubleshooting Three broad categories 1. Installation errors
2. Data corruption
3. Dying hard drives 57

58. Troubleshooting Installation
Connectivity
Hard drive error
No fixed disks present
HDD controller failure
No boot device available
Drive not found
Solutions include
Checking the cables to make sure they connect properly
Reseating the hard drive controller (if an expansion card)
Using autodetection in CMOS
Checking the jumper settings
Some PATA drives are incompatible on the same controller 58

59. Troubleshooting Installation (continued)
CMOS
CMOS configuration mismatch
No boot device available
Drive not found
Missing OS
Solutions
Always run autodetect in CMOS
Always select LBA
Dynamic Drive Overlays
Most new hard drives come with a special program called a dynamic drive overlay (DDO), designed to enable older systems to support the new drive even if they lack native hardware BIOS support for larger hard drives (LBA). If your system doesn’t support ATA/ATAPI-6 drives, for example, you could still install one of the newer 200 GB drives by running the install program that came with the drive. DDOs, also called software translation drivers, load early on in the boot process so they can be in place before any other piece of software tries to access the drive.
This sounds like a great simple solution to a standard upgrade problem, but not recommended for a number of reasons. A DDO basically sets up logical disk volumes in its own nonstandard format, which right there raises a big sign saying “future PC tech headache.” In addition, the versions of this software that ship with specific hard drives are usually customized for the particular drive they ship with, so if you add another drive from a different manufacturer, you can forget the “free” part of the deal, because you’ll need to buy vendor-neutral disk management software that can handle different brands. At that point, you might as well just buy an add-on hard disk controller.
Finally, consider the implications of this being a driver that loads when you boot into Windows. What if you have to boot from a floppy? The drive overlay won’t load, and like magic, your disk contents will disappear! It is possible to boot to the hard disk, wait for the overlay to load, and have the DDO software generate a prompt that allows you to boot from the floppy with the overlay in place. But if you’re booting to a floppy so you can remove a virus on your hard drive, this “boot to the hard drive first” procedure won’t help you. The moral to this story: If you must use a DDO, use it to make a boot floppy that contains a copy of the DDO. The further moral: Don’t bother with DDOs, because less expensive and better hardware solutions for this problem are available! 59

60. Troubleshooting Installation (continued)
Partitions
Failing to partition
Invalid drive specification error
Making the wrong size or type of partition
Format
Failing to format
Drive is not accessible
Invalid media type
“Trying to recover lost allocation unit” indicates the drive is dying
Ultimate Boot Disk
The Ultimate Boot Disk turns your Windows Startup disk into a real powerhouse. You can use it to make a backup of your boot sector, even on NTFS volumes! You can find the Ultimate Boot Disk at 60

61. Troubleshooting Corruption
Data corruption
Caused by many things such as power surges, accidental shutdowns, viruses, and more
Show up as
File is missing or corrupt
Download location information is damaged
Unable to load file
Cannot find command.com
Error loading operating system
Invalid boot.ini
Try running error-checking utility
Hard Drive Warranties
Most hard drives have three-year warranties. Before you throw away a dead drive, check the hard-drive maker’s Web site or call them to see if the drive is still under warranty. Ask for a Return Material Authorization (RMA). You’ll be amazed how many times you get a newer, usually larger, hard drive for free! It never hurts to check!
Data Recovery Companies
If you ever lose a hard drive that contains absolutely critical information, you can turn to a company that specializes in hard drive data recovery. The job will be expensive—prices usually start around US$1000—but when you must recover the data, such companies are your only hope. Do a web search for “data recovery” or check the Yellow Pages for companies in this line of business. 61

62. Extract/expand Troubleshooting Corruption (continued)
Use to copy a specific file from an installation CD
Many files located inside a CAB (cabinet) file
CAB Files
To get a file from inside a CAB file, use the following:
Extract in Windows 95/98
Expand in Windows 2000/XP
Extract in Recovery Console
To find which CAB file the compressed file is located in, use the appropriate switch with one of the commands. 62

63. Troubleshooting Corruption (continued)
Corrupted data on bad sectors
The built-in error correction code (ECC) checks the drive for bad sectors
Disk checkers can be used to fix problems pertaining to corrupted data 63

64. Troubleshooting Dying HDD
Dying hard drive
The following sounds indicate a drive about to die
Continuous high-pitched squeal
Series of clacks, a short pause, and then more clacks
Continuous grinding or rumbling
Boot drive issue would show up as “no boot device present”
Second drives simply do not show up
Exercise
HDD Diagnosis
While the students are out of the classroom on a break, surreptitiously change the ribbon cable orientations on some drives, reset the jumpers, partially unplug ribbon cables from the motherboards, or change the CMOS values for the drives on others. Allow the students to track down the problems. Having the students work on systems other than those into which they installed the drives will orient them to working on unfamiliar systems—something we all must do. 64

65. Beyond A+
Third-party partition tools enable you to create, change, and delete partitions without destroying the data
PartitionMagic
VCOM’s Partition Commander
GParted
Free (open source) license
Linux only 65

66. 66