Chapter 7: Configuring Disks

2/24

Objectives

• Learn about disk and file system configuration in Vista

• Learn how to manage storage

• Learn about the additional features that Vista provides to manipulate and support disk storage

Configuring File Systems• Each partition (logical drive) created

in Vista, must have an associated file system.

• The files system is used to store and retrieve the files stored on your hard drive.

• Microsoft Vista supports– FAT32– NTFS

• Choose which File System to use depending on the security and features required, and if backwards compatibility is necessary.

3/12

Configuring File Systems

• Fat32– First used with Windows 95 OSR2– Supports drives from 512 MB to 2 TB,

but a partition can only by 32GB.– Smaller cluster sizes (32kb), provides

more efficient storage.– Backwards compatible with other non-

NTFS systems– Does not contain native compression or

encryption– Designed for use by a single user

operating system, so local security is non-existent.

4/12

Configuring File Systems

• NTFS (New Technology Files System)– Introduced with the Windows NT

Operating System– Is the recommended files system for

Vista– Strong file and folder level security,

compression and encryption features– Maximum partition size 256 TB– Designed as a multi-user files system

(both local and networked)

5/12

File System Conversion• Windows Vista CONVERT utility

– Convert [drive:] /fs:ntfs– Allows conversion of FAT32 partitions to NTFS

without data loss– One-way conversion: cannot convert NTFS to

FAT32– To convert from NTFS to FAT32: backup data,

FORMAT partition with FAT32, and restore data from backup

– /v (verbose) displays messages during converstion

– /NoSecurity switch removes all security from converted files

• If the partition is locked because it is the system partition, the system will first reboot then begin the conversion

6/12

Configuring Disk Storage

• Two types of disk storage in Windows Vista– Basic Storage

• Primary and extended partitions• Drive can have up to 4 primary partitions

OR 3 primary + 1 extended• Extended partition can be segmented into

logical drives

– Dynamic Storage• Not partition based, but instead contains

volumes

7/12

Dynamic Storage• Simple Volumes

– Contains space from a single dynamic drive, whether contiguous or non-contiguous

• Spanned Volumes– Contains space on 2-32 dynamic drives– Space is filled on one drive before filling the

next– No performance benefit as in Striped– If any drive fails, you lose all data

• Striped Volumes– Contains equal amounts of space from 2-32

dynamic drives. Data is stored sequentially in all disks simultaneously, allowing faster read and write access

• If any drive fails, you lose all data• Data loss can be avoided by using

RAID1(Mirrored) or RAID5 which are fault tolerant, but only available in Windows Server version.

8/12

Volumes

9/12

Managing Basic Tasks Using Disk Management

• Must be logged in with Administrator privileges to use full functionality

– Control Panel>System and Maintenance>Administrative Tools>Computer Management

• Viewing Disk Properties– Right-click the disk, select Properties

• Disk number (First is 0)• Type of disk (basic, dynamic, CD)• Status of disk (online or offline)• Capacity of disk• Amount of unallocated space on disk• Logical volumes defined on the

physical disk10/12

Managing Basic Tasks Using Disk Management

• Viewing Volume Properties– Right-click the volume, select

Properties– Tools tab provides Scandisk (error

checking), Backup Wizard, and Disk Defragmenter

– Hardware tab shows hardware associated with the drives

– Sharing, Security, Previous Versions (shadow copies), Quota tabs for more settings

11/12

Creating Volumes and Partitions

• Some systems support hot swapping of drives to add more space

• Volume for Dynamic / Partition for Basic• Creating a Volume (Simple if 1st drive)

– Right-click an area of free space, click New Volume – starts the New Volume Wizard

• Creating a Partition– Right-click an area of free space, click

New Partition – starts the New Partition Wizard

12/12

Upgrading from Basic to Dynamic Using Disk

Management

• Right-click the disk you want to convert, and select the Convert to Dynamic Disk option.

• In the Convert to Dynamic Disk dialog box, check the disk that you want to upgrade and click the OK button.

• In the Disks to Convert dialog box, click the Convert button.

• A confirmation dialog box warns you that you will no longer be able to boot previous versions of Windows from this disk. Click the Yes button to continue to convert the disk.

13/12

Managing Data Encryption with EFS (Encrypting File System)

• Encryption used to increase data security• Encryption translates plain text data into

code (cipher text) that is not easily accessible. EFS provides encryption on Windows Vista systems

• Once encrypted you must have a password or key to decrypt the data

• If the person with the key is no longer available the DRA (Data Recovery Agent) can be used to provide the proper key to decrypt

14/12

Managing Data Encryption with EFS (Encrypting File System)

• Right-click the folder or file, click Properties, click the Advanced… button, check the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data option, or use the CIPHER utility.

• Encrypted files are color coded green• By default the DRA (Data Recovery Agent)

is Domain Administrator. In a local Vista environment, one has to be assigned Control Panel>Admin Tools>Local Security Policy

15/12

Using the Disk Cleanup Utility

• Start>Control Panel>System and Maintenance

• Identifies areas ofdisk space that can be deleted toreclaim space ona drive

• Identifies temporary files, Internet cache files, and other unnecessary files

16/12

Troubleshooting Disk Devices and Volumes

• Defragmenter looks for non-contiguous data

• Check Disk utility can attempt to fix file system errors, and detect and recover bad sectors.

• Cannot fix hardware problems.

17/12