DIsk management tools Flashcards
What are the three main problems related to file storage?
- Fragmentation
- Capacity
- Damage
These issues can significantly impact the performance and reliability of disk drives.
What is fragmentation in the context of hard disks?
Files become fragmented across non-contiguous clusters, reducing read performance
Ideally, each file would be saved in contiguous clusters.
How does capacity affect disk performance?
Performance can be impaired if the boot volume has less than 20% free space
A Low Disk Space warning is generated when space drops below 200 MB.
What can cause damage to hard disk drives?
Power cuts, physical impacts, overheating, and electrical issues
SSDs can also suffer from memory circuitry degradation.
How often should disk maintenance tools be run?
At least every month and before installing software applications
Regular maintenance helps prevent performance issues.
What is the purpose of the Disk Defragmenter tool (dfrgui.exe)?
To speed up the performance of HDDs and SSDs
It performs different operations based on the type of disk.
What does defragmenting do on a hard disk drive?
Rewrites file data to occupy contiguous clusters
This reduces the time the controller needs to seek over the disk.
What is the main purpose of the optimizer tool for SSDs?
To instruct the controller to run a TRIM operation
TRIM identifies data marked as deletable and tags blocks as writable.
What happens during a TRIM operation on an SSD?
The controller identifies deletable data and tags corresponding blocks as writable
This helps in maintaining SSD performance.
What is the function of the Disk Clean-up tool (cleanmgr.exe)?
Tracks files that can be safely erased to reclaim disk space
It includes files in the Recycle Bin and various temporary files.
What additional option can be used with Disk Clean-up to reclaim more space?
Clean up system files option in administrator mode
This can reclaim data from caches such as Windows Update and Defender.
True or False: SSDs manage data blocks directly through the operating system.
False
The drive controller manages how blocks are used according to wear-leveling routines.
What is the primary function of the Task Scheduler?
Runs commands and scripts automatically
It is accessed through taskschd.msc.
What types of schedules can tasks in the Task Scheduler follow?
Once at a future date or time, recurring schedule
Tasks can be set to run based on specific triggers.
What can a task in the Task Scheduler be?
A simple application process, batch file, script
Tasks can include command switches if necessary.
What is an example of a trigger in the Task Scheduler?
User signs in, machine wakes from sleep or hibernation
Triggers can be events rather than just calendar dates/times.
How many actions can each task in the Task Scheduler include?
Multiple actions
Tasks are versatile and can perform various functions.
What happens to the activity of tasks in the Task Scheduler?
All activity is logged
This allows for investigation of failed tasks.
How can tasks be organized within the Task Scheduler?
In folders
This helps manage multiple tasks efficiently.
What must be defined apart from the path to the file or script in a task?
Trigger and credentials
Credentials are necessary for tasks to run under the correct user account.
True or False: A task will run if the selected user account does not have sufficient permissions.
False
Insufficient permissions will prevent the task from running.
What is the Local Users and Groups console?
The Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) console provides an advanced interface for creating, modifying, disabling, and deleting user accounts.
What can you do with the Local Users and Groups console?
You can create, modify, disable, delete user accounts, and reset the password for an account.
What are security groups used for?
Security groups can be used to collect user accounts that need to be allocated similar permissions.
What is an example of a permission allocated to a security group?
An example is the right to edit files in a shared folder.
What are the default groups in the Local Users and Groups console?
The default groups include Administrators, Users, and Guests.
What do the default groups implement?
The default groups implement the account types that can be selected via the settings interface.
What is a digital certificate?
A digital certificate is a means of proving the identity of a subject, such as a user, computer, or service.
Who guarantees the validity of a digital certificate?
The validity of each certificate is guaranteed by the issuing certification authority (CA).
What does the Certificate Manager console (certmgr.msc) do?
The Certificate Manager console shows which certificates have been installed and provides a mechanism for requesting and importing new certificates.
What is stored in the Personal folder of Certificate Manager?
The Personal folder stores the certificates that have been issued to the user account.
What tasks can user certificates be used for?
User certificates can be used for tasks such as authenticating to a network access server, encrypting data, and adding a digital signature to a document or message to prove its authenticity.
What does the Trusted Root Certification Authorities folder contain?
It contains a superset of the certificates of all issuers that are trusted, including Microsoft’s own CA root, local enterprise CAs, and third-party CAs.
How are most Trusted Root Certification Authorities certificates managed?
Most of these certificates are managed via Windows Update.
What is the purpose of the Third-party Root Certification Authorities folder?
It contains trusted issuers from providers other than Microsoft or a local enterprise.
What does trusting an unsafe CA raise?
Trusting an unsafe CA raises critical security vulnerabilities.
What can a rogue CA certificate allow a website to do?
A rogue CA certificate might allow a website to masquerade as a legitimate bank or other service and trick the user into submitting a password.
What is the function of certlm.msc?
Certlm.msc manages the computer certificate store.
How do third-party browser applications manage certificates?
Third-party browser applications usually maintain a separate store of personal certificates and trusted root CAs.
What is the purpose of the Windows registry?
A remotely accessible database for storing operating system, device, and software application configuration information
The Registry Editor (regedit.exe) is used to view or edit the registry.
What are the five root keys in the Windows registry?
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE governs system-wide settings, while HKEY_USERS includes settings for individual user profiles.
What does HKEY_CURRENT_USER represent?
A subset of HKEY_USERS with the settings for the logged-in user
It contains personalized settings unique to the current user.
What is a hive in the context of the Windows registry?
A single file that contains the registry database, along with a .LOG file and a .SAV file
The system hive also includes an .ALT backup file.
Where are most registry hive files stored?
C:\Windows\System32\Config folder
User profile hive files (NTUSER.DAT) are stored in the folder holding the user’s profile.
What are subkeys in the registry?
Analogous to folders within the registry structure
They can contain additional data items called value entries.
What are the three parts of a value entry in the registry?
Name of the value, data type of the value, value itself
Data types can include string or binary values.
How can you export parts of the registry database?
Select File > Export Registry File
The exported file can be merged into another computer’s registry by double-clicking it or calling it from a script.
True or False: The Registry Editor can only be used to view the registry, not edit it.
False
The Registry Editor (regedit.exe) allows both viewing and editing of the registry.
Fill in the blank: A hive comprises a single file with no extension, a .LOG file, and a _______.
.SAV file
The .SAV file is a copy of the key as it was at the end of setup.
