Implementing Mass Storage

Question 1

Tiny bit of code that takes control of the boot process from the system BIOS

Answer 1

Master Boot Record (MBR)

Question 2

Table located in the boot sector of a hard drive that lists every partition on the disk that contains a valid OS

Answer 2

Partition Table

Question 3

Stores information for booting from the partition, such as the location of OS boot files

Answer 3

Partition Boot Sector

Question 4

Type of partition supported by MBR partition tables that are designed to be bootable

Answer 4

Primary Partition

Question 5

Type of partition supported by MBR partition tables that are designed to not be bootable

Answer 5

Extended Partitions

Question 6

On a hard drive, primary partition that contains an OS

Answer 6

Active Partition

Question 7

Sections of an extended partition on a hard drive that are formatted and (usually) assigned a drive letter, each of which is presented to the user as if it were a separate drive

Answer 7

Logical drive

Question 8

Special feature of Windows that enables users to span a single volume across 2+ drives. These do not have partitions, they have volumes. Can be striped, mirrored, and striped or mirrored with parity

Answer 8

Dynamic disks

Question 9

Volume created when setting up dynamic disks. Acts like a primary partition on a dynamic disk

Answer 9

Simple volume

Question 10

Volume that uses space on multiple dynamic disks

Answer 10

Spanned volume

Question 11

RAID 0 volumes. Data is spread across 2 drives for increased speed

Answer 11

Striped volumes

Question 12

Volume that is mirrored on another volume

Answer 12

Mirrored volume

Question 13

A software-based RAID 5 volume made up of 3+ dynamic disks with equal-sized unallocated space. Created with Windows Disk Management

Answer 13

RAID 5 Volumes (dynamic disks)

Question 14

Partitioning scheme that enables you to create more than 4 primary partitions without needing to use dynamic disks

Answer 14

Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT)

Question 15

A recreation of the master boot record from MBR drives so that disk utilities know it is a GPT drive and don’t mistakenly overwrite any partition data

Answer 15

Protective MBR/LBA0

Question 16

Provides a reference number for an object or process that has an almost impossibly small chance of duplication. The number is unique to a specific object or process

Answer 16

Globally Unique Identifier (GUID)

Question 17

A primary partition that is hidden from your OS. Used by some PC makers to hide a backup copy of an installed OS that you can use to restore your system if you accidentally trash it

Answer 17

Hidden Partition

Question 18

Found only on Linux/UNIX systems; its only job is to act like RAM when your system needs more than is installed

Answer 18

Swap Partition

Question 19

The process of making a partition into something that stores files. Creates a file system and a root directory in the file system to enable the partition to store folders

Answer 19

Formatting

Question 20

Base storage area for hard drives; each one stores up to 4096 bytes

Answer 20

Block

Question 21

Hidden table that records how files on a hard disk are stored in distinct clusters; the only way the DOS knows where to access files. The address of the first cluster is stored in the directory file. The entry of the first cluster is the address of the second cluster used to store that file. In the entry for the second cluster is the address of the third cluster, and so on until the final cluster, which gets a special end of file marker. Two of them, mirroring images of each other, in case one is destroyed or damaged. Also refers to the 16-bit one when used by Win2000 and later NT-based OSs

Answer 21

File Allocation Table (FAT)

Question 22

File allocation table that uses 32 bits to address and index clusters. Commonly used with USB flash-media drives and versions of Windows prior to XP

Answer 22

FAT32

Question 23

Starting cluster size for FAT32, doubles at 8GB, 16GB, 32GB drive sizes

Answer 23

4 KB

Question 24

Occurs when files and directories get jumbled on a fixed disk and are no longer contiguous. Can significantly slow down hard drive access times and can be repaired by using the defrag utility included with each version of Windows

Answer 24

Fragmentation

Question 25

Robust and secure file system introduced by Microsoft with Windows NT, it provides an amazing array of configuration options for user access and security. Users can be granted access to data on a file-by-file basis. Enables object-level security, long filename support, compression, and encryption

Answer 25

New Technology File System (NTFS)

Question 26

Enhanced FAT used by NTFS. NTFS keeps a backup copy of the critical parts of it in the middle of the disk, reducing the chance that a serious drive error wipes out both it and the copy

Answer 26

Master File Table (MFT)

Question 27

A clearly defined list of permissions that specifies what actions an authenticated user may perform on a shared resource

Answer 27

Access Control List (ACL)

Question 28

Storage organization and management service, such as NTFS, that has the capability of applying a cipher process to the stored data

Answer 28

Encrypting File System (EFS)

Question 29

Application allowing network admins to limit hard drive space usage

Answer 29

Disk Quotas

Question 30

A Microsoft-proprietary file system that breaks the 4GB file size barrier, supporting files up to 16 exabytes (EB) and a theoretical partition limit of 64 zetabytes (ZB). Envisioned for use with flash media devices with a capacity exceeding 2 TB

Answer 30

exFAT

Question 31

Classical file system used by older Macs. Still required for Time Machine drives

Answer 31

Hierarchial File System (HFS+)

Question 32

Replaced HFS+ in nee Macs and existing compatible systems

Answer 32

Apple File System (AFS)

Question 33

File system used by most Linux distribution

Answer 33

Fourth Extended File System (ext4)

Question 34

Any removable media that has a bootable OS

Answer 34

Boot Device/Boot Disk

Question 35

Snap-in available with the Microsoft Management Console that enables techs to configure the various disks installed in a system; available in Computer Management in Administrative Tools

Answer 35

Disk Management

Question 36

A process that places special info on every hard drive installed in a Windows system

Answer 36

Disk Initialization

Question 37

Drive that functions like a folder mounted into another drive

Answer 37

Mount Point

Question 38

A collection of physical drives that enables you to flexibly add and expand capacity

Answer 38

Storage Pool

Question 39

Virtual drives that are created from storage pool free space. They have resiliency and fixed provisioning

Answer 39

Storage Spaces

Question 40

Provides 1+ layers of redundancy so you can lose a hard drive or two and not lose any data

Answer 40

Resiliency Mechanism

Question 41

Feature that allows you to create a space with more capacity than your current physical drive provides

Answer 41

Provisioning Feature

Question 42

Windows graphical tool that scans and fixes hard drive problems. Often referred to by the name of the executable, chkdsk, or Check Disk. The macOS equivalent is Disk Utility, and Linux offers a command-line tool called fsck

Answer 42

Error-Checking Utilities

Question 43

Hard drive error detection and, to a certain extent, correction utility in Windows, launched from the command-line interface. Originally, a DOS command; also the executable for the graphical Error Checking tool

Answer 43

chkdsk

Question 44

Procedure in which all the files in a hard disk drive are rewritten on disk so that all parts of each file reside in contiguous clusters. The result is an improvement in disk speed during retrieval operations

Answer 44

Defragmentationt

Question 45

Utility built into Windows that can help users clean up their hard drives by removing temp Internet files, deleting unused program files, and more

Answer 45

Disk Cleanup