FINALS

DISK PARTITIONING
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
SOFTWARE TROUBLESHOOTING
DISK PARTITIONING
 How to install the Win XP?
 SIMULATOR
COMPARING FAT16, FAT32 AND NTFS

 Things to be considered in using the File systems:

 How the computer is used.

 The hardware platform.
 The size and number of hard disks.
 Security considerations.
UNDERSTANDING THE FAT FILE
SYSTEM
 The FAT file system was initially introduced with the
MS- DOS when hard disks were generally much smaller,
and the structure of folders was not as intricate as it is in
networks today.
 The initial FAT file system could only support a
maximum partition size of 2GB.
 The FAT file system protects files by storing two copies
of the file allocation table on the FAT volume.
 In cases where one copy of the file allocation table is corrupt,
the other copy of the file allocation table is utilized
 The file allocation table's location is specified in the
BIOS Parameter Block (BPB) of the FAT boot sector. It
is also stored on the volume in a specified byte offset.
This ensures that any files necessary to start the system
can be found.

 The actual numbers in the names of the different FAT file

systems are associated with the number of bits utilized
for a file allocation table entry
FILE ALLOCATION TABLE
 File Allocation Table is a log that records the location of each file
and the status of each sector.
 When you write a file to a disk, the OS checks the FAT
for an open area, stores the file, and then identifies the
file and its location in the FAT.
 When new data must be added to a file and there is no
more room next to the cluster (the smallest unit that the
OS utilizes when it assigns space on the partition; also at
times referred to as an allocation unit) where the original
data is stored, the OS records the new information in an
unused cluster on the disk. The FAT lists both clusters,
and a pointer at the end of the first cluster connects it to
the second.
DIFFERENT FILE SYSTEM
 FAT12 utilizes a 12-bit file allocation table entry.

 FAT16 utilizes a 16-bit file allocation table entry

 FAT32 utilizes a 32-bit file allocation table entry

THE FAT 16 FILE SYSTEM
 works effectively on small disks and uncomplicated folder
structures.
 compatible with the majority of operating systems. This is
evident by MS DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me,
Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP being able to
utilize the FAT16 file system.
 generally works well in managing disk space when the size of
the volume is less than 256MB
 you should refrain from using FAT16 on volumes that are larger
than 512MB. FAT16 cannot be utilized on volumes that exceed 4
GB.
 The file allocation table identifies a cluster in the FAT
partition as either:
 Unused
 Cluster in use by a file
 Bad cluster
 Last cluster in a file

 The FAT16 volume is structured as follows:

 Boot sector on the system partition
 The primary file allocation table
 The copy or duplicate file allocation table
 A root folder
 Other folders and all files
A FEW DISADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED
WITH THE FAT16 FILE SYSTEM
 The FAT16 file system has no local security for the file
system or compression features.
 The boot sector is not backed up.

 The root folder can only have a maximum of 512 entries

which means that files which have long names can
greatly decrease the number of entries available.
 FAT16 does not work well with volume sizes that are
large.
THE FAT32 FILE SYSTEM
 can handle larger partitions than what the FAT16 file
system can handle
 works effectively on large disks that have intricate folder
structures
 was introduced with Windows 98's second release
(OSR2). FAT32 operates the same in the Windows 98
OSR2 and Windows 2000
 can support partitions up to 2047 GB in size compared to
FAT16's 4 GB. With FAT32, there is no restriction on the
number of entries that the root folder can contain
 The boot sector is also backed up on FAT32 volumes. A
FAT32 volume must however have a minimum of 65,527
clusters.
 The FAT32 architecture is very much like the
architecture of the FAT16 file system. FAT32 was
designed with little architectural changes to ensure
compatibility with existing programs and device drivers.
What this means is that device drivers and FAT tools
used for FAT16 partitions would continue to work for
FAT32 partitions.
A FEW DISADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED
WITH THE FAT32 FILE SYSTEM
 Like the FAT16 file system, the FAT32 file system
includes no local security for the files system or
compression features.
 The MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows NT 4.0 OSs
are unable to access or read FAT32 partitions.
 Both FAT16 and FAT32 partitions do not scale well - the
file allocation table increases in size as the volume
grows.
THE NTFS
 a high performance file system that replaces the older
FAT file system introduced by MSDOS.
 includes security features required for file servers and
high-end personal computers in a corporate environment,
and data access control and ownership privileges
important for data integrity.
 supports multiple data streams, where the stream name
identifies a new data attribute on the file. A handle can
be opened to each data stream. A data stream, then, is a
unique set of file attributes. Streams have separate
opportunistic locks, file locks, and sizes, but common
permissions.
 The first information found on an NTFS volume is the
boot sector. The boot sector starts at sector 0 and can be
up to 16 sectors long. It consists of two structures:
 The BIOS parameter block, which contains information on
the volume layout and file system structures.
 Code that describes how to find and load the startup files for
the operating system being loaded

(Boot sector is a special area of a disk that stores essential files

the computer accesses during start-up)
NTFS FILE ATTRIBUTES
 Every allocated sector on an NTFS volume belongs to a
file. Even the file system metadata is part of a file. NTFS
views each file (or folder) as a set of file attributes.
 Elements such as the file's name, its security
information, and even its data, are all file attributes. Each
attribute is identified by an attribute type code and,
optionally, an attribute name.
ex. Standard information, attribute list, filename,, security
descriptor, data, object ID, index root, index allocation,
bitmap etc.