Questions and Answers
What are the two types of partitions you can divide a MBR disk into?
What does it indicate if a primary partition is marked as active?
It is a bootable partition.
How many primary partitions can you have on a disk?
4
What partition allows you to add multiple logical drives?
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How many extended partitions are you allowed to have on a disk?
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What are two important limitations of the MBR partitioning scheme?
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What partitioning scheme overcomes the limitations of the MBR disks?
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What are two key points to remember about GPT disks?
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What circumstance allows a Windows 7 system to boot to a GPT disk?
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What does a GPT disk include for backwards compatibility?
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What is the function of a recovery partition?
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Basic and dynamic disks can use MBR or GPT disks.
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If you convert the disk to dynamic, you will be able to use the system as a dual-boot system.
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What is a benefit of a dynamic disk?
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What type of disk allows you to create striped, mirrored, and spanned volumes?
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What is the RAID configuration that requires at least 2 disks and does not provide fault tolerance?
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What is the RAID configuration that requires only 2 drives and provides fault tolerance?
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What is the RAID configuration that requires at least 3 drives and provides fault tolerance?
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What RAID configuration requires at least 4 drives and does not support dynamic disks?
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What is the only RAID configuration you can use if you convert the disk to dynamic disks?
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Windows 7 is the only OS that supports mirrored disks.
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This RAID configuration can only be used on servers.
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Dynamic disks do not support RAID-10.
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What RAID configuration is supported on all Windows systems with dynamic disks?
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What RAID configuration requires each disk to be the same size and improves performance?
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What RAID configuration is supported on Windows 7 but not XP or Vista?
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What is a spanned volume?
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Where are the system boot files located?
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What is the location for Windows based system files?
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Spanned volumes can only be created on what type of disk?
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What is the purpose of a file system?
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What process organizes the partition based on the file system?
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What is a track in relation to disks?
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What are sectors in a hard drive?
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What are clusters?
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How do file systems identify the location of files on a disk drive?
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How many bits does each hexadecimal character represent?
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What is fragmentation?
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What are symptoms of fragmentation?
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What will a full format do to the disk?
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On a FAT16 file system, what was the maximum partition size you could create?
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On a FAT32 file system, what was the maximum partition size you could create?
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Name some advantages of the NTFS.
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What is the standard used to access files on optical discs?
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Before data can be read or written to a volume or disk array, what must take place?
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If you have a drive with data on it, and you want to format it to a different file system, what should you do first?
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What should you do to wipe a drive clean?
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What type of format will prepare the drive and scan for bad sectors?
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What type of format does not scan a disk for bad sectors?
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What type of format is quicker than a full format but not recommended for a regularly used system?
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What command would you type at the command prompt to format the volume D with the NTFS file system?
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Mount points can be mounted only on empty NTFS folders.
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What are two problems with converting from a basic disk to a dynamic disk?
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What command line tool is equivalent to the Disk Management GUI?
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What shortcut key can you press during Windows 7 installation to access the command prompt?
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What command tool is used to identify and resolve problems with disks?
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What chkdsk switch is used to fix errors on the disk?
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What chkdsk switch locates and recovers readable information while fixing errors?
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What will Windows often do if it detects a problem with a volume?
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What tools verify the integrity of the physical disk and file system?
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If you wanted to convert a file system from FAT32 to NTFS, which command tool would you use?
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Converting a volume does not reformat it, so it doesn't result in the loss of data.
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If you wanted to convert the E: drive from FAT32 to NTFS, what would the command look like?
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What must you do to revert from NTFS to FAT?
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What tool helps determine if a disk is fragmented?
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What would be the command to defrag the E: drive?
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What switch would you use with the defrag command to do an analysis of the E: drive?
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What switch would you use to defrag all the drives on the system?
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What tool would you use to remove temporary cached files from the internet and recycle bin?
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What command was used to partition a disk prior to installing an OS?
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What is simply a folder that has been shared and is available to other users on a network?
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Are UNC's case sensitive?
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How would you view a listing of all the shares available on a system?
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What types of shares are created automatically and are available to admins but not to other users?
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If you wanted to hide a share, how would you do it?
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What tool could users use to access a shared file if they are not connected to the network?
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What provides access to folders over a network?
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What are copies of shared files on the local system for offline access?
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What are some symptoms of a fragmented hard drive?
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What RAID configuration requires at least 2 disks, does not provide fault tolerance, and is supported by dynamic disks?
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Study Notes
Disk Partitioning
- MBR (Master Boot Record) allows two partition types: primary and extended.
- An active primary partition indicates it is bootable.
- Maximum of 4 primary partitions on a disk; you can have 3 primary and 1 extended.
- Extended partitions enable creation of multiple logical drives; only one extended partition permitted on a disk.
MBR Limitations
- Maximum single partition size is limited to 2TB.
- Total partition limit is four (4 primary or 3 primary + 1 extended).
GPT (Globally Unique Identifier Partition Table)
- Recommended for disks larger than 2TB, addressing MBR limitations.
- Windows supports GPT disks up to 256TB with up to 128 primary partitions.
- Extended partitions are not utilized on GPT disks.
- Windows 7 can only boot from GPT disks if it's a 64-bit EFI-based system.
- GPT disks incorporate a protective MBR table for compatibility with MBR applications.
Recovery and Dynamic Disks
- A recovery partition restores the system to its OEM state but is usually hidden.
- Basic and dynamic disks can utilize both MBR and GPT partitioning schemes.
- Converting to dynamic disks restricts dual-boot system capabilities.
Volume and RAID Configurations
- Dynamic disks allow up to 2000 volumes and support various RAID configurations:
- RAID-0 (striped): Requires at least 2 disks; no fault tolerance.
- RAID-1 (mirrored): Requires 2 drives; provides fault tolerance (only supported by Windows 7, not XP or Vista).
- RAID-5: Needs at least 3 drives; provides fault tolerance (server support only).
- RAID-10: Requires a minimum of 4 drives; provides fault tolerance (not supported by dynamic disks).
File Systems and Formatting
- File systems organize files for operating system access.
- Formatting a partition can result in data loss; backup is recommended before changing file systems.
- Full formats check for bad sectors; quick formats do not.
FAT and NTFS File Systems
- FAT16 allows a maximum partition size of 4GB, with file size limited to 2GB.
- FAT32 allows up to 32GB partition size with 4GB file size limits.
- NTFS offers file permissions, encryption, compression, larger volumes, and improved efficiency.
Data Management Tools
- Disk Management tools allow for visualization and management of drives.
- chkdsk checks disks for errors; chkdsk /f repairs, chkdsk /r recovers readable information.
- Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr) removes unnecessary files from the system.
Network Shares and Offline Files
- Shares provide network access to folders; administrative shares are hidden from users.
- Offline files are local copies of shared network files, allowing access without network connection.
- UNC paths are not case-sensitive; “net share” command lists all available shares.
Fragmentation and Performance
- Fragmentation occurs when files are stored in non-contiguous sectors, leading to slow performance.
- Symptoms of fragmentation include disk thrashing and decreased drive speeds.
- Defragmentation tools like Disk Defragmenter can help improve drive performance.
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Description
This quiz explores the fundamentals of disk partitioning, focusing on MBR and GPT partitioning systems. Learn about their limitations, advantages, and how they manage storage on larger disks. Test your knowledge about active partitions, extended partitions, and dynamic disks.