Storage Flashcards

Question

File System

Answer 1

A *file system* is a means for organizing and storing data and information on a storage device. The file system and the operating system work together to ensure data availability, integrity, and accessibility.

Answer 2

**Component** **Description** Partition A *partition* is a logical division of a storage device associated with a hard disk drive. Multiple partitions can be assigned to a single device, in which case a drive letter is assigned to represent each partition. Multiple letters do not always mean that there are multiple devices, just multiple partitions. Some reasons why you may consider partitioning your hard drive are: * Assigning the boot system to a different partition than application and data files can help many computers run more smoothly and minimize damage in a system crash. * Storing the swap file on its own partition is sometimes necessary or useful. * Creating a separate partition for your operating system can help it run properly. Some operating systems can't run on a large partition. * Assigning log files to be stored on distinct partitions can help minimize the effects of a system crash due to excessively large log files. * Assigning distinct operating systems to run on assigned partitions allows a dual boot system setup. Unallocated space is space on a partition that has not been assigned to a volume. You cannot store or read data in unallocated space Volume A *volume* is a single accessible storage area within a file system. A volume can encompass a single partition or span across multiple partitions depending on how it is configured and what operating system you are using. Volumes are identified by drive letters. Directory A *directory* (also called a *folder*) is a container in a volume that holds files or other directories. It is used to logically sort and organize data to keep related files grouped together. Most operating systems use a hierarchal filing structure. File A *file* is a one-dimensional stream of bits treated as a logical unit. Files are the most basic component that a file system uses to organize raw bits of data on the storage device itself. The file name is made up of the directory path plus the file name. An extension can also be added to the filename to identify the file type and the program used to create, view, and modify the file.

Answer 3

* Compact Disk filing system (CDFS), a virtual file system used with Linux. * Network File System (NFS), a distributed file system that allows client computers to access files over a computer network. * Ext4, the default Linux file system (and its predecessor ext3, which is still in use).

Answer 4

Formatting is the process of preparing a partition to use a specific file system.

Answer 5

* When you format a disk, you identify the file system type and identify the cluster size used to store data. * Reformatting removes the existing file system and replaces it with the new file system type. Reformatting a drive deletes all existing data. * If your system or disk supports multiple operating systems, be sure to select a file system supported by all necessary operating systems. * NTFS is not recommended for disks smaller than 10 MB. * When using NTFS on removable devices, you must use Safely Remove Hardware before removing the flash device to prevent file corruption. * If you run a Full Format, files are removed from the volume you scan and the system checks the hard disk for bad sectors. If you run a Quick Format, the system removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad sectors.

Answer 6

\*FAT32 partitions/volumes can be up to 2 terabytes in size. Windows can read partitions up to the 2 terabyte size, but cannot create them. **Property** **FAT32** **NTFS** Partition size 2 terabytes\* 256 terabytes Volume size 2 terabytes\* 256 terabytes File name length Long File Names (255 characters, spaces) Unicode (255 characters, anything but /) File size 4 gigabytes 16 terabytes Amount of files 268,435,437 4,294,967,295

Answer 7

For Windows systems, you will likely choose NTFS over FAT for hard drives to take advantage of additional features not supported by FAT such as: * The ability to format larger partition sizes in Windows. * Smaller cluster sizes for more efficient storage with less wasted space. * File and folder permissions to control access to files. * Encryption to hide the contents of a file. * Compression to reduce the amount of space used by files. * Disk quotas to restrict the amount of disk space that files saved by a user can use. * Volume mount points that allow you to map disk space on another partition into an existing volume.

Answer 8

The Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT, sometimes called FAT64) file system is a special file system that is designed to support large flash drives. Using NTFS on flash drives is usually not a good idea due to its high overhead and risk of corruption if the device is not stopped properly prior to removal. However, many flash drives exceed the 32 GB limit discussed above. Microsoft introduced native exFAT support in Windows 7 to allow large removable flash storage devices to continue to use a FAT-type file system.

Answer 9

A *partition* is a logical division of the storage space on a hard disk drive. Partitions are identified by 16-bit entries that make up the partition table located in the master boot record (MBR) of that drive. A hard disk can contain a single partition that encompasses the entire drive or multiple partitions that divide up the storage space on the hard disk drive.

Answer 10

**Disk Type** **Description** Basic Basic disks have the following characteristics: * Basic disks use primary and extended partitions. * Each physical disk can have up to four primary partitions or three primary partitions and one extended partition. * Logical drives are defined within an extended partition. You can have up to 24 logical partitions on an extended partition. The extended partition can be divided into multiple logical drives. * You must create a logical drive in an extended partition before you can format and store data (the logical drive is the storage unit, not the partition). * Basic disks are supported by all operating systems. * A basic disk only supports volumes made up of contiguous disk space. * Basic disks store partition information in a portion of the master boot record (MBR) known as the partition table. * The partition table has room for up to four partition entries. * When an extended partition is used, one of the four entries points to an extended boot record (EBR). The EBR is located within the extended partition and contains information about the logical drives within the extended partition. Dynamic Dynamic disks have the following characteristics: * Volumes on dynamic disks are like partitions and logical drives on basic disks. * Dynamic disks support up to 128 volumes. * Dynamic disks support volumes that use noncontiguous disk space. * *Simple* volumes contain disk space from a single hard disk (either contiguous or noncontiguous space). * *Spanned* volumes contain disk space from multiple hard disks grouped as a single logical volume. * Dynamic disks store partitioning information in a hidden database on all dynamic disks in the system.

Answer 11

* Use Disk Management or DiskPart to create, format, and manage partitions and volumes. You access Disk Management on Windows systems through Computer Management. You access DiskPart from the command prompt by entering **cmd**. * Basic and dynamic disks use the same hardware, but different partitioning methods. * You can convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk without losing data in existing partitions. * Existing basic volumes and logical drives in the extended partition are converted to dynamic volumes. * You must reboot the system to complete the conversion if the disk contains the boot or system volume or if the volume includes the page file. * To convert from a dynamic disk to a basic disk, you must delete all existing volumes. * The *active* partition identifies the partition that contains the operating system (or the program that loads the operating system) used to start the computer. * The extended partition or a logical drive on the extended partition cannot be set to active. * You cannot install the operating system on a dynamic disk. You can, however, upgrade a basic disk containing the operating system to a dynamic disk after installation. * When you shrink a partition, unmovable files (the paging file or the shadow copy storage area) are not automatically relocated, and you cannot decrease the allocated space beyond the point where the unmovable files are located. If you need to shrink the partition further, check the Application log for Event 259, which identifies the unmovable file. Next, move the paging file to another disk, delete the stored shadow copies, shrink the volume, and then move the paging file back to the disk. * You can shrink primary partitions and logical drives on raw partitions (those without a file system) or partitions using the NTFS file system. * To shrink a partition, you must be a member of Backup Operators or Administrators (or equivalent) to complete this process.

Answer 12

GPT partitions are a new standard that are gradually replacing MBR partitions. GPT is associated with UEFI. GPT stands for GUID Partition Table. It's named for the fact that every partition on the drive has a globally unique identifier, or GUID. That means that each partition worldwide would have its own unique identifying number. A GPT disk: * Can be basic or dynamic. * Supports up to 128 partitions depending on space allocated for the partition table. There is no need for extended and logical partitions. * Can support between 8 and 9.4 zettabytes depending on the sector size. * Stores multiple copies of the partition table across the disk, so it's much more robust and can recover if the data is corrupted. * Stores cyclic redundancy check (CRC) values to check that its data is intact. If the data is corrupted, GPT notices the problem and attempts to recover the damaged data from another location on the disk. MBR has no way of knowing if the data is corrupted. You would only see that there was a problem when the boot process failed or the partitions vanished. * Includes a protective MBR. The protective MBR sees the GPT drive as a single partition that extends across the entire drive. If you try to manage a GPT disk with an old tool that can only read MBRs, it will see the GPT disk as a single partition that extends across the entire drive. The protective MBR makes sure that the old tools don't mistake the GPT drive for a non-partitioned drive and overwrite all your data.

Answer 13

* You'll probably want to use GPT when setting up a drive. However, if you need compatibility with old systems, like the ability to boot Windows off a drive on a computer with a traditional BIOS, you'll need to use MBR. * Windows can only boot from GPT on UEFI-based computers running 64-bit versions of Windows 7, 8.x, 10, and the corresponding server versions. All versions of Windows 7 and later can read GPT drives and use them for data, but they cannot boot from them without UEFI. * Because Windows 7 does not support UEFI on 32-bit platforms, you cannot boot from a GPT partition on Windows 7. * Linux has built-in support for GPT. Apple's Intel Macs no longer use Apple's APT, or Apple Partition Table, scheme but uses GPT instead.

Answer 14

**Status** **Description** Healthy or Online The Healthy or Online status indicates that the disk is turned on and can be accessed. The volume on the disk is valid and has no errors. Formatting The Formatting status is shown for volumes during the formatting process. After formatting is complete, the status for the volume changes to Healthy. Unallocated The Unallocated status shows for portions of a disk that have not been assigned to a partition or a volume. Initializing The Initializing process shows while a disk is being converted from a basic disk to a dynamic disk. After the conversion, the status for the volume changes to Healthy. No Media The No Media status shows for an optical or removable media drive that does not contain a valid disc. This disk status only applies to CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or removable disks. Foreign A Foreign disk is a dynamic disk that was created in one system and moved to another system. When you first add the disk to a different system, the partition information for the disk must be updated to reflect all dynamic disks in the current system. Import the disk to make it available in the new system. Not Initialized Unknown The Not Initialized or Unknown status indicates a disk without a valid master boot record or partition table (either missing or corrupt). To correct the problem, initialize the disk. If the partition table is invalid, use third party tools to try to recover the partition table. Online (Errors) The Online (Errors) status indicates that I/O errors have been detected on a dynamic disk. To correct the problem, try reactivating the disk. Unavailable The Unavailable status indicates that errors have occurred on physical or dynamic disks. Unreadable The Unreadable status indicates a hardware failure, I/O errors, or other corruption but might also be caused by a delay in reading the disk in Disk Management. Try rescanning the disk to see if the status changes. If it doesn't, troubleshoot the hardware or disk problem. Missing Offline The Missing or Offline statuses show when a dynamic disk has failed, been removed, or turned off. If the disk is turned off, turn it back on, then reactivate the disk. If the disk no longer exists, then delete the disk from Disk Management. Failed The Failed status shows for a volume that cannot be started, such as when the disk is damaged or the file system is corrupt. Make sure the disk is on and then try reactivating the volume. If that doesn't work, then you likely have data loss.

Answer 15

**Method** **Description** Configure a Mount Point A *mount point* is an empty folder on the existing volume that points to another partition. Data saved to the folder is physically saved on the referenced partition. * The volume with the empty folder must be formatted with NTFS. * You can create mount points on basic or dynamic volumes. * The folder on the source volume must be empty. * The target partition must not have a drive letter. Using a mount point is the only solution to adding space to the system volume using space on a different disk or non-contiguous disk space. Extend the Volume When you extend a volume, you add unallocated disk space to the volume. * For basic volumes, you can only extend the volume onto the same drive using contiguous unallocated space. Many third-party partitioning tools can extend partitions regardless of the operating system. * To extend the volume onto the same drive using non-contiguous unallocated space or to extend the volume onto another disk, convert the disk to a dynamic disk and then extend the volume. * An extended volume uses disk space on the same disk. * A spanned volume uses disk space on a different disk. * The system volume can only be extended using contiguous free space on the same disk. This is the same for both basic and dynamic disks. * Volumes must be unformatted or formatted with NTFS to be extended.

Answer 16

**Benefit** **Description** Ease of Adding Space Storage spaces eliminate the need for such tasks as repartitioning drives, resizing volumes, and backing up data in order to repartition. When you need more disk space for your storage spaces, follow these steps: * Install a new storage device to the system. * Add the free space on that device to a storage pool. * Allocate space to an existing storage space. Data Resiliency Storage spaces can include data resiliency. Choosing an option that provides resiliency requires you to allocate space for redundant information. The options for storage spaces data resiliency include: * Simple, which does not provide redundancy. This option simply adds space from the storage pool to the storage space. When you select the Simple option, all of the data in the storage space is lost if one of the drives fails. * Two-way mirror requires at least two storage devices. The data is written to two devices. Two-way mirror requires twice as much device space as the amount of storage allocated to the storage space. This option protects you from a single storage device failure. * Three-way mirror requires at least five storage devices. The data is written to three storage devices. This option provides redundancy for the data if two storage devices fail at one time. * Parity requires that you have at least three storage devices. This option uses parity information to reconstruct data if one of the storage devices fails. Parity uses less space for redundancy than the mirror options, but performance is not as good as the mirror options if a device failure occurs. Parity requires only 50 percent more redundancy space than storage space. Thin Provisioning Thin provisioning or overbooking allows you to allocate larger storage spaces than the disk space available in the pool. * Thin provisioning is based on the premise that not all users will use all of space in their allocated storage space. * Space is added to a user's storage space as the user consumes space. * If a storage space runs out of disk space, it will immediately unmount, leaving any I/O processes vulnerable to data corruption. * An unmounted storage space must be brought back online manually. * Files can be accessed after the storage space is brought back online manually, but you must add more physical disk space to the pool and add it to the storage space in order to use the storage space.

Answer 17

**Task** **Description** Initialize a Drive You can initialize, or format, a new hard drive disk on a Windows system from Disk Management. Check a Drive Status Drive Status is a message that indicates whether a drive is available. You can use a variety of command tools and applications to check drive status. Depending on the tool, an available drive might be labeled UP, Okay, Good, or a similar label, and an unavailable status may be labeled DOWN or bad. Split Partitions To split a partition in Windows 10, you can download the EaseUS Partition Master program and install it. From the program interface, you can split a partition and reallocate space. Shrink Partitions You can shrink a partition in Disk Management using the Shrink Volume option in Computer Management. Assign Drive Letters When you connect a new drive to your PC, Windows automatically assigns the next available drive letter after C. You can change the drive letter from Disk Management using the Change Drive Letter and Paths option. Use a letter other than A or B, which were historically reserved for floppy drives and can confuse older software.

Answer 18

* *Devices* are the hard disks or other types of storage from which storage pools are created. You can use a variety of devices such as SATA drives and external drives to create storage pools. * Pools of storage are created from the available disk space. A pool is a logical concept composed of the free space available on the specified storage devices. * Storage spaces define logical units of space created from a pool. One or more storage spaces can be created from the pool. To the Windows system and the user, storage spaces appear as disks with typical drive letters (e.g., E: drive, F: drive).

Answer 19

*Storage spaces* are logical drives that display in File Explorer for storing data and other user files. Storage spaces are created by pooling space from multiple disk drives, or other storage devices, and then creating logical drives from the pooled space. A storage space appears to the user as one drive regardless of the number of disks or devices contributing space to the storage pool. The storage spaces feature is available only in Windows 8.*x* and 10; it is not included in Windows 7.

Answer 20

**Features** **Description** Upgrade the Hard Disk Upgrade to the fastest hard disk possible. Hard disk drives come in a variety of different rotation speeds such as: * 5400 RPM (not desired) * 7200 RPM (minimum) * 10,000 RPM * 15,000 RPM Upgrade the Disk Interface Upgrading your disk interface will greatly improve the throughput of data to and from your hard disk drive. For optimal performance, consider upgrading to SATA3. This will upgrade your speed to 600 Mbps.

Answer 21

Disk Cleanup helps manage disks by locating and disposing of files that can be safely removed from the disk by: * Emptying the Recycle Bin * Deleting temporary files such as those used by a web browser or for application installation * Deleting installation log files * Deleting offline files * Compressing old files You can type **Cleanmgr** at the command prompt to run Disk Cleanup.

Answer 22

Disk Defragmenter optimizes the performance of your hard drive by joining fragments of files that are in different locations on your hard drive into a single location. * To improve defragmentation, disable programs that run in the background like screensavers and virus software. Any disk access while Disk Defragmenter is running (whether to read from or write to the disk) will slow down the defragmentation process. * The more information that is on the drive, the more time it will take to defragment the drive. Run **Defrag** at a command prompt to run Disk Defragmenter in a text mode.

Answer 23

Check Disk is a utility that verifies the file system integrity of a hard disk. Errors that can be checked and fixed by Check Disk include: * Lost clusters are a series of used clusters on the hard disk drive that are not associated with a specific file. * A cross-linked file occurs when two files claim the same cluster. Check Disk will identify cross-linked files and correct their cluster associations. * *Orphaned* files are files that exist on the hard drive but are not associated with a directory in the index. Normally Check Disk can re-associate the file with the correct directory. * A *bad sector* is a portion of the hard disk that cannot be used. Bad sectors are marked so that they are no longer used. Any used bad sectors are redirected to another sector. The NTFS file system automatically detects bad sectors as the system operates saving and reading files. You can run Check Disk by typing **Chkdsk** at a command prompt. * Use **Chkdsk** with the **/f** switch to automatically fix errors without scanning for bad sectors. * Use the **/r** switch to scan and fix bad sectors and other errors. Use the **/?** command for help.

Answer 24

**Issue** **Device Type** **Resolution** Slow Performance HDD Several things can help increase the performance of a slow HDD: * Maintain a healthy amount of free disk space on the drive. A mostly empty disk runs faster than a mostly full disk. If a disk is getting full, migrate to a newer, bigger disk. * Keep the disk defragmented. A heavily fragmented disk can run quite slowly. You'll need ample free space to fully defragment the drive. * Check the disk rotational speed. A disk that spins faster will perform better. * Check the speed of the disk interface. If your system uses an older disk interface, upgrade to a faster interface (if possible). SSD The more an SSD is used, the slower the read/write speed will be. * Make sure the file system being used is optimized for an SSD. Because SSDs store data differently than HDDs, they require special techniques to extend the life of the drive, such as wear leveling support. * Update the SSD's firmware. Newer firmware versions are released to fix bugs and optimize how the SSD stores data. * Run a manufacturer-specific SSD software utility. Most SSD manufacturers have specialized utilities that can check for errors and optimize an SSD's performance. * Check the speed of the SATA connection. Older SATA versions have slower transfer speeds than newer SATA versions. If performance is too slow, consider upgrading components to the latest SATA version. * When the SSD is too full, performance will decrease significantly. If this happens, try enabling features such as TRIM support in the OS. While features such as TRIM will help to an extent, the best way to maintain high performance is keeping an SSD below 90% capacity. Failure to Boot (OS not Found) HDD/ SSD A failure to boot with an error message that reads something to the effect of "OS Not Found" could be trivial or serious. Common causes include the following: * You're booting from the wrong disk ; one that doesn't have an operating system installed. This is a very common issue. It frequently occurs when a CD or DVD is in your optical drive at system boot and the BIOS/UEFI is configured to boot from the optical drive first. The error message is displayed when an operating system can't be found on the optical disc. To fix this issue, simply remove the optical disc from the drive and reboot. This error could also be caused in situations where you have multiple hard disks in the system, but only one has an operating system installed. If the boot device setting gets inadvertently changed in the BIOS/UEFI, it will try to boot the system from the wrong hard disk. * Your master boot record (MBR) has been overwritten or is corrupt. The MBR is the first sector of your hard drive that tells the BIOS where to look for the operating system on the disk. If the MBR is damaged or corrupt, then the operating system will fail to load. On Windows, you have to boot from the installation disc to enter the recovery environment and select the Automatic repair option. Alternatively, you can select the Command prompt option and run the **bootrec** command to rebuild the boot configuration data. You can also run the bootrec command with the following switches: * **/fixmbr**: Repairs the master boot record * **/fixboot**: Repairs the boot sector * **/rebuildbcd**: Rebuilds the boot configuration data Drive not Recognized by the BIOS/UEFI HDD/SSD A modern BIOS/UEFI automatically detects your drives and their geometry during POST. In older systems, you had to manually enter the disk geometry and it was very common for a wrong value to be entered. In modern systems, this rarely happens. If the BIOS can't detect your drive, it's usually caused by one of three things. * The power connector is unplugged. * The SATA cable is unplugged. * The drive is malfunctioning. Application Crash If an application you are using crashes, an error has occurred that gives you no choice except to exit the application. Sometimes you can fix the problem by rebooting the computer. You may need to debug your system. Check log files for errors that provide clues about what might have caused the crash. Crash Screens If you experience a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on a Windows machine or Spinning Pinwheel of Death (SPOD) on a MAC, several events may have occurred. You could have a fatal system error that is preventing the system from operating safely, or just one application may have failed. Often, rebooting the computer solves the problem. If that doesn't work, you can attempt to revert the system to a previous state to undo any software or hardware changes that are causing problems. Scan your computer for viruses, roll back drivers, update drivers, update your operating system, update BIOS or return them to their factory settings, repair permissions, or clear the dyld cache. Drive Noise HDD Excessive or unusual drive noise is almost always indicative of a failing hard disk. For example, a clicking noise coming from the drive usually indicates one or more failing heads.

Answer 25

**Issue** **Description** Defragmentation On an SSD storage device, fragmentation is much less of an issue than it is for standard hard disk drives. File systems such as NTFS still fragment files when writing them to the drive in order to optimize storage space. However, an SSD storage device doesn't have read-write heads, and no repositioning must occur to read heavily fragmented files. As a result, fragmented files can be read as quickly as contiguous files. When working with SSD drives, you should not defragment them as you do standard hard disk drives. This is because SSDs wear out over time. Each cell in a flash memory bank has a finite lifetime and can only be written to and erased a certain number of times before it fails. Running defragmentation utilities causes unnecessary write/erase operations to occur. Use Security and Maintenance in Control Panel to disable automatic disk defragmentation on SSD storage devices. Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) Because of the way they are constructed, an SSD storage device has a lifespan called the mean time before failure, which is usually much shorter than standard hard disk drives. Each time a write/erase operation occurs, it consumes some of the finite lifetime of the flash memory chips within the SSD device. Be aware that some applications running on the system can overuse SSD storage devices. For example, audio, graphic, and especially video editing applications commonly require a very large number of write/erase operations and can cause SSD storage devices to fail prematurely. However, these applications also benefit greatly from the increased speed offered by SSD storage devices. Therefore, if you chose to use SSDs with these types of applications, you should consider configuring an automatic data backup process (such as Windows Backup and Restore or File History) to protect the data stored on the SSD drive on a traditional hard disk drive. Some system builders implement a mix of storage devices in high performance systems so that: * Heavily used information is stored on a standard hard disk drive. For example, the Windows operating system and its applications may be installed on a less expensive but more durable standard hard disk drive. * Only data that requires high performance is stored on SSD storage devices. * Important data on the SSD is automatically backed up on the standard hard disk drive. TRIM One method for extending an SSD device's life is to enable TRIM functionality. TRIM configures the operating system to communicate with an SSD device and to tell it which blocks of data on the device are no longer required and can be wiped clean. This prevents the SSD device from storing unnecessary data and being overused. Later versions of Windows should automatically detect the presence of an SSD device and enable TRIM. You can verify this by opening a command window and entering **fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify**. This command will return either a **0** or a **1**. A value of 0 indicates that TRIM is enabled, but a value of 1 indicates that it is not. If it is disabled, you can manually enable TRIM on an SSD drive by entering **fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0**.

Storage Flashcards

(49 cards)