CST8118 Partitions, Computer Essentials PDF

CST8101 Computer Essentials Partitions  Week 12: Partitions Example: Separating software and user data Lesson Learning Goals What are Disk Partitions Drive Types and Partitioning Preparing a Disk Drive for Use Partition Methods Parti...

CST8101 Computer Essentials Partitions  Week 12: Partitions Example: Separating software and user data Lesson Learning Goals What are Disk Partitions Drive Types and Partitioning Preparing a Disk Drive for Use Partition Methods Partition Methods - MBR Drive Letters Formatting Partitions: Why format the partition? Why Format the Partition?: Types of Formatting Partition Methods – GPT: Comparison with MBR Partition Methods – GPT Diagram Dynamic Storage / Disks Partition Software – OS Included Software Partition Software – 3rd-Party Software 2  Example: Separating software and user data Operating System Programs / Games Documents Photos / Videos Programming Projects Saved Games 500 Gb Storage Device (one partition) 3  Example: Separating software and user data Operating System Documents Programs Photos / Videos Games Programming Projects Saved Games (100Gb) (400Gb) 500 Gb Storage Device (two partitions) What about SSD Wear-Leveling? Handled by the SSD Controller. 4  Lesson Learning Goals What are Disk Partitions The different partitioning methods: MBR, GPT The difference between Primary, Extended and Logical Partitions, and common uses for each View and modify partitions in the Windows Disk Management Tool 5  What are Disk Partitions? Partitioning is the process of sub-dividing a physical drive into smaller units called partitions. Every hard drive should have at least one partition. Why do we need multiple partitions? Increase performance (HDD only) Simplify backups Installation of multiple operating systems 6  Drive Types and Partitioning The disk partitioning process is the same regardless of the type of disk. For this lecture will use the generic term “disk drive” or “drive” to cover mechanical hard drives, solid state drives, and hybrid (part HDD, part SSD) drives. 7  Preparing a Disk Drive for Use 0) Disk drive ready for partitioning: 1) Creating a disk partition: Empty Partition 2) High-level formatting the partition to create a File System File-System, allowing the Operating System to store folders and files on the partition: 8  Partition Methods MBR – Master Boot Record GPT – GUID Partition Table (GUID – Global Unique Identifier for an item) Windows Dynamic Storage – Similar functionality to what can be done with Raid 9  Partition Methods - MBR Located at the first physical sector of a hard drive The MBR contains two elements Executable code that boots the active partition (where the operating systems starts/boots from) Partition table, which identifies each partition residing on the hard drive Supports up to 4 bootable partitions 10  Partition Methods - MBR MBR Partition In addition, each partition has its own: Drive letter ( e.g. C: , D: ) Boot sector (OS boot information) Root directory (The first folder) FAT (File Allocation Table, list of files, folders and their properties) 11  Partition Methods – MBR Types of Partitions Primary Partition – A regular partition which can be bootable. Required for installing Operating Systems. MBR supports up to 4 Primary Partitions, only one of which is the active partition (booted on startup) Extended Partition – Can take the place of 1 Primary Partition. Each extended partition can contain multiple sub-partitions inside it (if space allows), called Logical Partitions. Logical Partitions cannot be active, but can be used to store data. 12  Partition Methods – MBR Examples for partitioning One drive with a MBR and four Primary MBR P P P P partitions. Primary Logical One drive with a MBR and two Primary partitions, then one Extended partition MBR P P L L L L L L P with six Logical partitions within it, and then one more Primary partition. Extended 13  Drive Letters Each disk volume is assigned a drive letter to identify it The first drive letter used by hard drives is C: Drive letters are assigned in a specific order: 1. All primary partitions 2. All logical drives 3. Other connected devices such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, External drives (such as USB flash drives) Aside: Drive letters A: and B: are reserved for floppy disk drives. 14  Formatting Partitions Why format the partition? After partitioning your drive must be formatted before it can be used Formatting creates three essential disk structures Creates and configures the partition boot sector Creates two copies of the File Allocation Table Creates a blank root directory 15  Why Format the Partition? Types of Formatting Low-level (full format) does a surface scan Checks for tracks and sectors marked as bad during initial low-level format The format utility will try and write and read these disk areas with data, this also erases any old data still on the disk. (i.e., a surface scan) If the read/write operation fails, then the format will mark bad clusters in the FAT. Bad clusters are not written or read from in future file operations. The surface scan is time consuming but ensures a reliable disk. High-level (quick format) Does not do a surface scan, i.e., the disk is not checked for reliability. The FAT is cleared, drive contents remain unchanged. 16  Partition Methods – GPT Comparison with MBR GPT is not 100% compatible with all BIOS firmware Each partition has a “global unique identifier” (GUID) Capable of containing a maximum of 128 partitions of almost any size hard disk. (limit 9 zettabytes – approx. 9 million TB) Arranged in LBAs (logical block address) instead of sectors, to have a logical address for non-HDDs. Instead of MBR and partition table, they use a GPT header and partition entry array. Both are located at the beginning and end of the drive so there is a protected backup copy. 17  Partition Methods – GPT Diagram The GPT diagram to the right illustrates that there is a Master Boot Code, followed by 4 partition table entries and an end marker 0x55AA making up a protective MBR (backwards compatibility with MBR). Following these there are 1 to 128 GUID Partition Entries collectively called a Primary GUID Partition Entry Array, and then Primary Partitions from C: onwards (n means up to 128 partitions in total). Following these there is a backup GUID Partition Entry Array which mirrors the primary GUID Partition Entry Array for redundancy. Lastly, there is a Backup GUID Partition Table Header. 18  Dynamic Storage / Disks Works only on Windows Allows defining disk spaces as Volumes (same as partitions) No volume limitations Volumes can span over multiple drives Can implement RAID (mirroring, striping..) Windows also allows creating Simple Volumes instead (equivalent to primary partitions) 19  Partition Software – OS Included Software Partition software included with an operating system allow you to: Create a new partition or logical drive Set the active partition Delete a partition Common Software: FDISK (Windows Me and older, Linux) DISKPART (Windows 2000, XP, Windows 7, 8, 10, & 11) Disk Management (Graphical User Interface) Windows Caution: It is best to practice these tools in a virtual environment, windows diskpart effects changes immediately, without warning, so a mistake will likely result in data loss. (is diskpart pointed at your USB drive, or the internal drive?) 20  Partition Software – OS Included Software Usage Example The screen shot below shows using the Windows Disk Management system utility, a Graphical User Interface, to examine and / or partition hard disk drives. Use start button and search for Computer Management, then select Disk Management from the list on the left. 21  Partition Software – 3 -Party Software rd With the included partitions software, you may not be able to change a partition without erasing it first. Aftermarket/3rd-party software may allow you to: Resize and split partitions without erasing Convert between different file systems Copy of move a partition to a different physical drive Examples include (to be clear these are not endorsed by Algonquin College, only reported here as educational examples): EaseUS Partition Master (Windows) Paragon Partition Manager (Windows) GNOME Partition Editor, GParted (Windows / Mac / Linux OS) 22  Summary Hard drives must be partitioned before use There are different methods of partitioning: MBR, GPT Use Primary Partitions for OS Use Logical Partitions for data storage Each partition must be high-level formatted before it can be used to store programs and data The Disk Management tool on Windows can be used to modify the disk drive’s partitions 23  Conclusion In this lesson, you learned… Example: Separating software and user data Lesson Learning Goals What are Disk Partitions Drive Types and Partitioning Preparing a Disk Drive for Use Partition Methods Partition Methods - MBR Drive Letters Formatting Partitions: Why format the partition? Why Format the Partition?: Types of Formatting Partition Methods – GPT: Comparison with MBR Partition Methods – GPT Diagram Dynamic Storage / Disks Partition Software – OS Included Software Partition Software – 3rd-Party Software 24  Sources Cited / Recommended Reading Using GPT Drives. learn.microsoft.com. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/hardware/design/dn6 53580(v=vs.85) (Accessed Feb 5, 2023) Basic and Dynamic Disks. learn.microsoft.com. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/basic-and-dynamic-disks?re directedfrom=MSDN (Accessed Feb 5, 2023) How Basic Disk and Volumes Work. learn.microsoft.com. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server -2003/cc739412(v=ws.10) (Accessed Feb 5, 2023) 25  Recommended Reading What are Dynamic Disks and Volumes? learn.microsoft.com. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server -2003/cc737048(v=ws.10) (Accessed Feb 5, 2023) 26