Lesson 10 Chapter 2 - Formatting Flashcards
What is a file system?
is like a big _______ that tracks what
A filesystem is like a big spreadsheet that tracks what piece of data is stored where
What are the 3 of the several different file systems Windows versions supports?
F, N, e
- FAT32
- NTFS
- exFAT
What file system does Linux use natively and which does it support? (4)
Linux is super flexible
1. ext file systems are native to Linux
2. supports reading/writing NTFS
3. supports all versions of FAT (12, 16, 32)
4. supports reading of HFS+ (older FS on Macs)
[It can’t read/write Apple File System (APFS) the modern FS for Macs but utilities are available for macOS that will enable it]
What is FAT an acronym for?
File Allocation Table
Which FAT was the original FAT?
FAT16
If you have an old hard drive formatted with FAT16, how would you read what’s on it since Windows 10 + 11 don’t support it? (2)
- Install an OS that supports FAT16 in a virtual machine
- Use an old PC with OS that supports it
(then copy its data to another drive with a format that Windows 10 + 11 do support)
FAT32 supports partitions up to what size? And files can be no larger than what size? (2)
- Supports partitions up to 2 TB
- Individual files can be no larger than 4GB
What’s the difference between MBR’s size limit and FAT32’s size limit?
MBR = 2.2 TB per physical storage device limit
FAT32 = 2 TB per partition limit
Most operating systems support ______, which makes it a good choice if you’re going to share a (external) drive between different OS
FAT32
What do you do if you need to use FAT32 on a drive that has more than 2TB capacity?
You can partition the drive into 2TB volume sizes
All versions of ___ lack any security features
FAT
What are 5 things that NTFS supports (on Windows)?
supports _____ up to ____, built-in c and e, disk ___, expanding d…., local file ___
- Supports partitions up to 16 TB
- Built-in compression and encryption
- Disk quotas
- Expanding dynamic partitions on the fly
- Local file security
What happens if you try to create a 4 TB NTFS volume using MBR?
*NTFS supports up to 16 TB partitions
*MBR supports up to ____ partitions
*GPT supports up to 9.7 ZB partitions
You would be limited to 2.2TB as MBR doesn’t support anything over that.
The partition could be 4TB if using GPT! :)
In the Disk Management utility, partition = _____
partition = volume
same term used
What type of table does NTFS use to keep track of the locations of files and folders?
Master File Table (MFT)
All modern versions of Windows use ____ as the default file system
NTFS
Where does an NTFS partition store the backup copy it makes of the critical parts of the MFT?
In the middle of the disk to reduce the chance a serious drive error can wipe out both the MFT and MFT partial copy
What is the Windows utility EFS stand for? In what edition of Windows is it not available? (2)
EFS = encrypting file system [encrypts files and folders, unreadable w/o key]
It’s not available in the Home edition of Windows
What does the encrypting file system (EFS) do?
makes them… without a
the EFS encrypts files and folders to make them unreadable without a key
What is another name for exFAT?
FAT64
exFAT supports partitions of up to __ ___ and file sizes up to ___ ____
exFAT supports partitions up to 128 Petabytes (PB) and files up to 16 exabytes (EB)
(no compression or encryption features)
What does ext4 stand for?
Fourth Extended Filesystem
What OS uses ext4?
Linux uses ext4
The ext4 file system supports volumes up to 1 ____ with file sizes up to ___ ___
*on A+ exam
ext4 supports volumes up to 1 exabytes (EB) and file sizes up to 16 TB
(is also backwards compatible with ext 2 and 3)
What does it mean when an ext4 system is backwards compatible with ext2 and 3?
you can mount an ext3 volume as an ext4 volume with no problems
1 petabyte is equal to how many terabytes?
1,000 TB = 1 PB
1 Exabyte = How many Gigabytes?
1 billion Gigabytes = 1 Exabyte
1,000,000,000 GB = 1 Exabyte
What file systems does Linux support besides its native ext file systems? (3)
- read/write NTFS
- All versions of FAT
- Read HFS+ (older FS used on Macs)
What file systems does macOS use? (2)
- Hierarchical File System Plus (HFS+) - classic file system
- Apple File System (APFS) - all new Macs
Like Windows and Linux, macOS can read and write to ____ and _____, but can only read ____ (3)
macOS can read and write to FAT32 and exFAT, but can only read NTFS
What are volume labels?
They are the names you can assign to a volume
32-character limit for NTFS
11 characters with no spaces for all FAT
What’s a benefit of using allocation units (clusters) that isn’t speed?
decreases b
Working with clusters/allocation units instead of individual sectors decreases the administrative burden on the volume’s management
For allocation size units, what is the best choice?
The allocation unit size that is the default as it’s based on the size of the volume being formatted.
What does quick format do?
replaces the
Replaces the existing FAT or MFT with a blank one
When is it appropriate to use the quick format option?
When reformatting a volume that has already been formatted
What are 3 ways you can format a disk?
- From the command prompt with the command format
- From File Explorer (right-click drive on all versions of Windows)
- From Disk Management
What 2 errors would you see from failure to format a drive properly?
- “Drive is not accessible” when trying to access it
- From a C:\ prompt, “invalid media” type error
What’s another reason the “invalid media” type error would appear?
Corrupted files
What tool do you use to check formatting errors?
Error checking utility to check and repair file errors
What does it mean when you see a “Trying to recover lost allocation unit ##,###”?
The drive has run across a bad sector within a cluster and is trying to fix it
What do you do if you see “Trying to recover lost allocation unit ##,###” a lot on a new drive?
If you see this a lot, the drive is dying! Replace it and run the drive manufacturer’s diagnostic to make sure
What are 2 limitations of using the Windows-supplied partitioning and formatting tool?
Can’t delete…. , May need to load…
- Can’t delete a dynamic volume, need to use Disk Management
- May need to load drivers to work with a drive connected through an expansion card (click Load Driver option in install process)
What was the default file system for USB drives for many years?
FAT32
Microsoft developed ____ to replace FAT32
exFAT
1 Exabyte (EB) = ? Petabytes (PB)
1 EB = 1,000 PB
