Windows XP File Systems

1. Windows XP File Systems 70-270: MCSE Guide to Microsoft Windows XP Professional

2. File Storage Basics • Basic storage centers on partitioning the physical disk • Dynamic storage is new method supported only by Windows XP and Windows 2000 • Based around logical volumes, rather than physical partitions • Allows more flexibility in drive configurations, drive changes with fewer restarts, and better system recovery

3. Basic Storage (Page 1) • Basic storage is the traditional method of dividing a hard drive into partitions • A partition is a division of the physical space on a hard drive • It must be formatted before it can be used • A primary partition can be marked active and is used to boot the computer

4. Basic Storage (Page 2) • An extended partition can be subdivided into additional divisions which are called logical drives • The extended partition is not active and cannot be used to boot computer

5. Volumes • Volumes are represented in the operating system by a single local drive letter • Two to 32 physical drives can be combined into a single logical structure formatted with a single file system • Volumes can be extended even over one or more physical drives • Volumes should be as large as file system (FAT, FAT32 or NTFS) and O/S allows

6. Activity 4-1: Creating Disk Partition • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use Disk Management to create a new partition • Use Computer Management tool to create a partition: • Open Control Panel (Start, Control Panel), double-click Administrative Tools, double-click Computer Management, expand the Storage console node if necessary (click the plus sign to the left of the node) and select Disk Management.

7. Activity 4-1: Creating Disk Partition • Use Computer Management tool to create a partition (con.): • Right-click an unallocated area of a basic drive, and then click New Partition. • The New Partition Wizard opens. Click Next. • Select Primary partition. Click Next. • Select the amount of space to use in this partition. Accept the default of themaximum space available. Click Next. • Assign E as the Drive letter. Click Next.

8. Activity 4-1: Creating Disk Partition • Use Computer Management tool to create a partition (con.): • Select the file system to format this partition. Accept the default of NTFS.  Click Next. • The wizard displays a list of the actions to be performed in creating this partition. Click Finish. The system creates the partition, formats the drive, and assigns the drive letter. The display of the drive is updated to reflect the new partition.

9. Activity 4-2: Activating a Partition • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use Disk Management to make a different partition active • Follow instructions to mark partition active • Run the Disk Management applet • Right-click the partition that is assigned the E: drive letter, and then click Mark Partitionas Active. The Disk Management drive display shows the partition as active: Healthy (Active).

10. Activity 4-3: Creating a New Volume/Activity • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use the Disk Management tool to create a new volume and format it with a file system • Follow instructions to create a new volume using Computer Management: • Run the Disk Management applet • From within Disk Management, right-click on some unallocated on the dynamic disk, and then click New Volume. This starts the New Volume Wizard. Click Next.

11. Activity 4-3: Creating a New Volume/Activity • Follow instructions to create a new volume using Computer Management (con.): • You are prompted as to what type of volume to create. Click Simple. Click Next. (See the Drive Configurations section later in this chapter.) • Accept the defaults and click Next. • Next, you are prompted to select a drive letter, a mount point, or to not assign a drive letter at all. Assign it as drive F:.  Click Next. (See the Drive Letters and Mount Points section later in this chapter.)

12. Activity 4-3: Creating a New Volume/Activity • Follow instructions to create a new volume using Computer Management (con.): • Accept the default settings to format the volume with NTFS.  Click Next. • Click Finish to implement volume creation.

13. Dynamic Storage • Does not use partitions • Views an entire physical hard drive as a single entity • Drives belong to the O/S on which they were created • Existing drives with partitions can be upgraded to dynamic storage

14. Activity 4-4: Converting From Basic to Dynamic • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use Disk Management to convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk. • Follow instructions to convert drive • 1. At the Log On to Windows dialog box, type Administratorin the User name text box.  In the Password text box, type password. Click OK. • 2. Open Control Panel (Start, Control Panel). • 3. Double-click Administrative Tools. • 4. Double-click Computer Management. • 5. Expand the Storage console node if necessary (click the plus sign to the left of the node). • 6. Select Disk Management. • 7. Select Disk 1 in Disk Management. • 8. Right-click the Basic disk, and then click Convert to Dynamic Disk. • 9. A list of all hard drives present on the system is displayed. The disk you selected is already checked. Do not change the status of the check boxes on this list. Click OK. • 10. Click the Convert button in the Disks to Convert dialog box and confirm the conversion by clicking Yes to any warning messages that may appear.  Disk Management displays the drive as dynamic.

15. Activity 4-5: Creating a New Volume on a Dynamic Disk • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Create a volume on a dynamic disk • Create a new volume on the disk created in the previous activity. • 1. At the Log On to Windows dialog box, type Administratorin the User name text box.  In the Password text box, type password. Click OK. • 2. Open Control Panel (Start, Control Panel). • 3. Double-click Administrative Tools. • 4. Double-click Computer Management. • 5. Expand the Storage console node if necessary (click the plus sign to the left of the node). • 6. Select Disk Management. • 7. Right-click the unallocated space on a dynamic drive, and then click NewVolume. This starts the New Volume Wizard. • 8. Click Next. • 9. Select the volume type to create. In this case, click Simple. Click Next. • 10. For a simple volume, you need only unallocated space from a single drive. Make sure the drive is listed in the Selected dynamic disk field. • 11. In the Select the amount of space in MB field, enter an amount of about half of the maximum available space. Click Next. • 12. Assign the drive letter F:. Accept the defaults. Click Next. • 13. Select the file system to format the new volume. Accept the default of NTFS.  Click Next. • 14. The Wizard displays a list of actions to be performed in creating the new volume.  Click Finish.

16. Extending a Volume • Volume is extended to cover two drives • Can be a good technique to use when a hard drive runs out of space • Install the new drive and extend existing volume to it so it can be referenced by the same drive letter

17. Activity 4-6: Extending a Volume • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use Disk Management to extend a volume • (Review Activities 4-4, 4-5 and 4-6 found on pp. 140-142 to be ready to fully answer the questions in Case Project 4-2) • 1. At the Log On to Windows dialog box, type Administratorin the User name text box.  In the Password text box, type password. Click OK. • 2. Open Control Panel (Start, Control Panel). • 3. Double-click Administrative Tools. • 4. Double-click Computer Management. • 5. Expand the Storage console node if necessary (click the plus sign to the left of the node). • 6. Select Disk Management. • 7. Right-click the E: volume, and then click Extend Volume. • 8. The Extend Volume Wizard opens. Click Next. • 9. Make sure the drive with unallocated space is listed in the Selected dynamic disk field. • 10. Change the size of the remaining unallocated space to add to the existing volume to 80 percent of that available (if there is 200 MB remaining, change the number to 180). Click Next. • 11. The Wizard displays a list of actions to perform in extending the volume.  Click Finish. Disk Management displays the extension with the same drive letter as the original volume.

18. Activity 4-7: Reverting From Dynamic to Basic • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use Disk Management to convert a dynamic disk back to a basic disk • Volumes on drive must be removed before drive is converted • 1. At the Log On to Windows dialog box, type Administratorin the User name text box.  In the Password text box, type password. Click OK. • 2. Open Control Panel (Start, Control Panel). • 3. Double-click Administrative Tools. • 4. Double-click Computer Management. • 5. Expand the Storage console node if necessary (click the plus sign to the left of the node). • 6. Select Disk Management. • 7. If there are any volumes on the drive, they must be removed before converting back to basic.  On Disk 0, right-click the volume labeled New Volume (E:) and select Delete Volume from the shortcut menu. • 8. Click Yes on the Delete Simple Volume warning. • 8. Right-click Disk 0, and then click Convert to BasicDisk. Disk Management displays the drive as Basic

19. Drive Configurations (Page 1) • There are five drive configuration types but only three are supported by Windows XP • None of these configurations provide any fault tolerance; if one part in the set fails, all data is lost • Simple volume • All or part of a single drive • NTFS volumes may be extended; FAT and FAT32 volumes may not

20. Drive Configurations (Page 2) • Spanned volume • Two or more parts (up to 32) of one or more drives, or two or more entire drives • Data written to first drive in volume until it is full, then continues to next (extended) drive in volume and so forth • Only NTFS volumes may be extended; FAT and FAT32 volumes may not

21. Drive Configurations (Page 2) • Striped volume • Two or more volumes (up to 32) of one or more drives or two or more entire drives (up to 32) all of equivalent capacity • Data written to all drives in equal amounts (in 64 Kb units) to spread workload and improve performance • Cannot be extended

22. File Systems • XP supported file systems: • NTFS • FAT • FAT32

23. FAT and FAT32 (Page 1) • FAT was originally created for MS-DOS and is retained for backwards compatibility with older systems • The terms FAT and FAT32 collectively are referred to by Microsoft as "FAT" • Only uses separate terms when distinctions between the two are important

24. FAT and FAT32 (Page 2) • Features of FAT under Windows XP: • Supports volumes up to 4 GB in size • Most efficient on 256 MB volumes or smaller • Root directory can contain only 512 entries • No file-level compression • No file-level security • Maximum file size is 2 GB

25. NTFS (Page 1) • New Technology File System (NTFS) • The preferred file system for Windows XP • Support for volumes up to 2 TB in size • Most efficient on volumes larger than 10 MB • Root directory can contain unlimited entries • File sizes are limited only by the size of the drive or volume • File by file compression (as opposed to an entire folder, drive or volume)

26. NTFS (Page 2) • File by file security • File-level encryption (covered in Chapter 6) • Disk quotas—allow administrators to limit drive space consumed by individual users • Cannot be used to format floppy disks or other removable media

27. Converting File Systems • To convert from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS: • Reformat drive with new file system • Use the Convert.exe command-line utility to convert FAT/FAT32 to NTFS, i.e. • convert /fs:ntfs /v • First parameter specifies to convert to NTFS • Second parameter turns on verbose mode so all conversion messages are displayed • To convert back to FAT or FAT32, back up data, reformat the volume, then restore • In all cases, back up your data

28. Long Filenames • FAT, FAT32 and NTFS all support long filenames (LFN's) up to 256 characters • FAT and FAT32 additionally store the 8.3 equivalents (eight character filenames plus three character extensions) for backward DOS compatibility

29. Activity 4-8: Converting To NTFS • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use the CONVERT command to convert a FAT partition to NTFS • Follow instructions to convert partition • Proceed only if the conversion of this volume will not compromise your system

30. File Compression (Page 1) • Ability to compress data on the basis of single files, folders, or entire volumes • Benefit • Able to store more data in the same space • Drawback • Performance suffers due to compressing and uncompressing every time compressed file is accessed • Text files can be compressed considerably; executable programs cannot

31. File Compression (Page 2) • Process involves enabling or disabling the file compression attribute for an individual file, a folder or a volume • In the Properties dialog for a file or folder (use short-cut menu), select the General tab and click the <Advanced> button • In Compress or Encrypt attributes group, set the "Compress contents to save disk space" checkbox on or off • Must have Full Control to compress object

32. Activity 4-9: Compressing and Decompressing A Folder • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use Windows Explorer to compress and decompress a folder and its contents • Practice compressing folders using the folder Properties

33. Disk Management Object (Page 1) • Disk Management tool • Double-click Computer Management applet in Administrative Tools and select the "Disk Management" object

34. Disk Management Object (Page 2) • The All Tasks submenu is accessed from the Action menu (also by right-clicking on a drive, partition or volume) • Context-sensitive menu provides options to: • Change drive letters and paths • Convert between basic and dynamic disk • Delete partitions • Extend volumes • Format a drive • Mark a partition as active • Display the object's Properties dialog

35. Disk Management Object (Page 3) • The Action menu has two non-context-sensitive options: • Refresh—updates drive letter, file system, volume and removable media; also determines which previously unreadable volumes are not readable • Rescan disk—updates disk hardware and redraws the display

36. Activity 4-10: Changing Drive Letters • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Change the letter assigned to a drive using the right-click menu • Use Disk Management tool to change drive letter

37. Activity 4-11: Deleting a Partition • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Delete a partition • Follow instructions to use Disk Management to remove a partition

38. Activity 4-12: Deleting a Volume • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Use Disk Management to delete a volume • Follow instructions to use Disk Management to remove a volume

39. The Properties Dialog for Drives • Tabs include General, Policies, Volumes and Drivers

40. The Properties Dialog for Volumes • Tabs are --

41. The Properties Dialog for Partitions • Tabs are General, Tools, Hardware, Sharing, Security and Quota

42. Drive Letters and Mount Points • Grant applications and user interface utilities access to file system resources • A and B: used for floppies • C through Z: used for local hard drives or mappings for network shares • Mount point—alternative to drive letters • Connects a FAT/FAT32 or NTFS volume or partition to an empty directory on an NTFS volume or partition

43. Activity 4-13: Creating a New Mounted Volume • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Create a mount point on an NTFS folder using Disk Management. Create a new map point to Partition B

44. Activity 4-14: Deleting a Mounted Volume • http://course.labmentors.com • Objective: Delete the mounted volume that was created in the last activity

45. Disk Cleanup (Page 1) • Tool used to free up space on hard drives by removing deleted, orphaned, temporary, or downloaded files • The <Disk Cleanup> button is found on the General tab for a drive's Properties dialog • Can also be found from Start menu → Programs → Accessories → System Tools

46. Disk Cleanup (Page 2) • The Disk Cleanup dialog lets user select a checkbox for each file type • Those file are deleted (not to the Recycle Bin) when the <OK> button is clicked • Click <View Files> button to see selected file details in Windows Explorer-type dialog

47. Disk Cleanup (Page 3) • The More Options tab provides access to: • "Add/Remove Windows Components" utility from Control Panel • "Change or Remove Programs" utility also from Control Panel • The "System Restore" utility (covered in Chapter 14)

48. Check Disk (Page 1) • An inspection (error-checking) utility • Click the <Check Now> button on Tools tab of a partition's Properties dialog • Examines disk integrity and locates both logical and physical errors on a hard drive • Logical errors sometimes can be corrected • Physical errors are marked in the file allocation table and avoided in all future access to the drive

49. Check Disk (Page 2) • Where errors cannot be corrected, the file fragments (orphans) are saved as text files in the root directory of the drive • Check Disk uses incremental filenames—FILE0001, FILE0002, etc. • Used by the system after an improper shutdown or errors are found in directory structure of a drive

50. Defragmentation (Page 1) • Fragmentation • Division of a file into two or more parts • Each part stored in a different location on the hard drive, so that read and write operations begin to take longer • Defragmentation • Process that reorganizes files so they are stored contiguously and no gaps are left between files