© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Implementing Hard Drives Chapter 10

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Overview In this chapter, you will learn to –Explain the partitions available in Windows –Discuss the formatting options –Partition and format a hard drive –Maintain and troubleshoot a hard drive

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Hard Drive Partitions

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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 logical partitions

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Essentials CompTIA A+ Essentials

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Basic Disks Master boot record (MBR) –Small amount of code that takes control of boot process –Looks in partition table for partition holding valid operating system –MBR and partition table stored in boot sector –Only one MBR per disk

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Basic Disks Support up to four partitions –Can have four primary partitions or three primary partitions and one extended partition Primary partition—bootable Extended partitions—non-bootable –Can hold multiple logical drives lettered D: to Z:

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Partitioning Primary partitions: –Store bootable operating system –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:

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Primary Partitions Can be used for dual-boot or multi-boot configurations More than one bootable partition Third-party tools available to identify primary partitions and provide choices Partition currently booted to is marked as active partition

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Dynamic Disks New since Windows 2000 (Server and Workstation) –Not available in XP Home Edition Partitions called simple volumes –No limitation on number of volumes Added capabilities –RAID 0, 1, 5 on Windows Server products –RAID 0 on Windows desktop products –Extended and spanned volumes RAID covered in Chapter 9 Other volumes covered in more depth later in chapter

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Other Partitions Hidden 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved When to Partition Older OSs required partitioning before installation –Command-line program called FDISK Windows 2000 and above include partition tool in install program

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved When to Partition After installation –Windows 2000 and above use GUI called Disk Management –Third-party tools available: GParted (Linux tool that works on Windows partitions) Partition Magic

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved File Systems Windows supports three different file systems: –FAT16 (often called just FAT) –FAT32 –NTFS

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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 and reads from each sector to see if it is good

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved FAT Limitations 16 bits can address only 64 K (2 16 ) sectors Sector sizes limited to 512 bytes 64K X 512 bytes = 32 MB max size Solution was clustering, allowing partition sizes up to 2 GB

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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 DOS, Windows 3.1, and the first version of Windows 95 all use FAT16 –Newer OSs also support FAT16

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved How FAT Works Windows looks for the first cluster marked 0000 (good & available for use) 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)

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Examples of FAT Storage = GoodFFF7 = BadFFFF = End of File

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Fragmentation Fragmentation occurs when files are spread across drives (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 or Speed Disk can be used to defragment files, folders, or both

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Fragmented File Takes longer for system to piece together and can impact performance

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Disk Defragmenter Can defragment disk

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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 Can still become fragmented

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved CompTIA A+ Technician NTFS IT Technician

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved NTFS File system of choice today Six major improvements and refinements 1.Redundancy 2.Security 3.Compression 4.Encryption 5.Disk quotas 6.Cluster sizing

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved NTFS Improvements NTFS structure –Uses an enhanced file allocation table called the Master File Table (MFT) NTFS keeps a backup copy in the middle of disk Security –Provides file and folder access control –Uses Access Control List with permissions –If you’re on the list, you’re granted the specific permission

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved NTFS Improvements Compression –Allows files and folders to be compressed to save space Encrypting file system –Allows files and folders to be encrypted and unreadable to anyone without the key Files and folders can be encrypted or compressed

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved NTFS Improvements 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 2 TB partitions

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Partitioning and Formatting Process

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Partitioning and Formatting With Windows installation CD –During text portion of install –Can create single partition

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Partitioning and Formatting With Windows installation CD –Allows you to set the size of the drive –Minimum of 8 MB up to size of drive

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Partitioning and Formatting With Windows installation CD –Can format the drive with a file system –NTFS Quick—not as thorough –NTFS Regular—checks the drive

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Partitioning and Formatting With Windows installation CD –Can create multiple partitions

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved PATA Drive Letter Assignments Primary partition of the 1.Primary master drive 2.Primary slave drive 3.Secondary master drive 4.Secondary slave drive Then all logical drives in the extended partition of the 1.Primary master drive 2.Primary slave drive 3.Secondary master drive 4.Secondary slave drive C: D: E: F:

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved SATA Drive Letter Assignments Similar to PATA, but based on order set in CMOS 1.Primary partition of the first drive 2.Primary partition of the second drive 3.Primary partition of the third drive 4.Etc. 5.All logical drives in extended partition of first drive 6.All logical drives in extended partition of second drive 7.All logical drives in extended partition of third drive 8.Etc.

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Disk Management GUI in Windows 2000 and XP –Used to manage partitions –Part of Computer Management –Can be launched directly with diskmgmt.msc

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Creating a New Partition Right-click in unallocated space and choose New Partition

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved New Partition Wizard

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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 –> 32GB can choose only NTFS

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Creating a Logical Drive Once an extended partition is created, you may create logical drives in it

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Dynamic Disks Dynamic disks are a new type of storage available since Windows 2000 –Not available in XP Home (available in XP Pro) –Available in 2000 Server and Server 2003 –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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Dynamic Disks Spanning volumes (one hard drive) –D: drive is spanned to include unallocated space –Effect is more space on D: volume C:\ Volume 10 GBD:\ Volume 10 GB30 GB unallocated space C:\ Volume 10 GBD:\ Volume 10 GB30 GB unallocated space C:\ Volume 10 GBD:\ Volume 40 GB

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Dynamic Disks Extended volumes (multiple hard drives) –Simple volume spanned across multiple disks –Effect is more space on D: volume C:\ Volume 10 GBD:\ Volume 10 GB New disk—80 GB C:\ Volume 10 GBD:\ Volume 90 GB

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Dynamic Disks 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Mount Points Your system partition drive (typically C:) may be made dynamic –Cannot be extended or spanned Can create a mount point on C: –Drive that functions like a folder mounted into another drive –Provides additional storage on a hard drive by creating a folder that is another entire hard drive

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Formatting a Partition Can do in Windows Explorer Can do in Disk Management

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Maintaining and Troubleshooting Hard Drives

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved ScanDisk and CHKDSK ScanDisk and CHKDSK check for bad clusters on hard drives –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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Error-checking Can check the drive Can be set to fix errors automatically Can scan for and recover bad sectors

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Defragmentation Disk Defragmenter –Consider using regularly (monthly or weekly) –Will slow down system while running –If not done, system may slow down due to fragmentation –Can be scheduled

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Disk Cleanup Allows you to purge system of unneeded files –Files in the Recycle Bin –Temporary Internet files –Downloaded program files –Temporary files

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Troubleshooting Three broad categories: 1.Installation errors 2.Data corruption 3.Dying hard drives

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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 connected properly Reseating the hard drive controller (if an expansion card) Use autodetection in CMOS Check the jumper settings Some EIDE drives are incompatible on the same controller

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Troubleshooting Installation CMOS –CMOS configuration mismatch –No boot device available –Drive not found –Missing OS –Solutions Always run autodetect in CMOS Always select LBA

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Troubleshooting Installation 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Troubleshooting Corruption Extract/expand –Use to copy a specific file from an installation CD –Many files located inside a CAB (cabinet) file

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Troubleshooting Installation 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Troubleshooting Dying HD 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

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Third-party partition tools allow you to create, change, and delete partitions without destroying the data –PartitionMagic –VCOM’s Partition Commander Third-Party Partition Tools

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved