Windows VistaInside Out :Windows VistaInside Out Chapter 28 - Managing Disks and Drives Last modified 11-12-07


Editions :Editions Disk management is the same in all editions of Windows Vista


Disk Management Tools :Disk Management Tools Disk Management console in Computer Management Command-line program DISKPART


New Features in Vista :New Features in Vista Can now shrink partitions as well as expand them Universal Disk Format (UDF) support for writeable CDs and DVDs Dynamic disk for USB or IEEE 1394 removable hard drives


Running Disk Management :Running Disk Management At any command prompt, enter DISKMGMT.MSC, or Right-click the My Computer icon on the Start menu, choose Manage And then select Disk Management on the left side of the Computer Management window Control Panel, System and Maintenance Under "Administrative Tools", choose "Create And Format Hard Disk Partitions"


Disk Management Lets You :Disk Management Lets You Check the size, file system, status, and other properties of disks and volumes Create, format, and delete partitions, logical drives, and dynamic volumes Assign drive letters Create mounted drives


Disk Management Lets You :Disk Management Lets You Convert basic disks to dynamic disks, and vice versa Create spanned volumes and striped volumes Extend or shrink partitions


Managing Disks from the Command Prompt :Managing Disks from the Command Prompt Enter DISKPART at a Command Prompt Now enter further commands at the DISKPART> prompt FSUTIL allows more esoteric disk management tasks


Why Use the Command Prompt? :Why Use the Command Prompt? To automate disk management tasks with scripts To manage disks from the Windows Recovery Environment Disk Management is not available there (Also to manage disks in Windows 2008 Server Core, which has no Graphical User Interface (GUI))


Disk Management Terminology :Disk Management Terminology Volume A disk or subdivision of a disk that is formatted and available for storage Usually assigned a drive letter, like C: Mounted drive A volume mapped to an empty folder on an NTFS-formatted disk Has no drive letter


Disk Management Terminology :Disk Management Terminology Format To prepare a disk for storage Using a particular file system, such as NTFS File System A method for organizing folders (directories) and files on a storage medium Vista supports FAT (File Allocation Table) NTFS (NT File System) CDFS (Compact Disc File System) (also called ISO-9660) UDF (Universal Disk Format)


Disk Management Terminology :Disk Management Terminology Basic Disk and Dynamic Disk A hard disk in Vista is either basic disk or a dynamic disk Basic Disk Subdivided into partitions Usually a maximum of 4 partitions The first three partitions are primary partitions The last partition is an extended partition The extended partition can be subdivided into logical disks


Disk Management Terminology :Disk Management Terminology Dynamic Disk allows these disk structures Simple volume A volume contained entirely on a single physical disk On a basic disk, a simple volume is also known as a partition Spanned volume Combines space from physically separate disks Only available on dynamic disks Striped volume Data is stored in 64 KB strips across physically separate disks in order to improve performance Only available on dynamic disks


Simple Volumes :Simple Volumes All the storage in a simple volume must be on the same physical disk A simple volume can be on either a basic disk or a dynamic disk


Spanned Volume :Spanned Volume Combines space from two or more disks to make a single larger volume Only possible on dynamic disks


Striped Volume :Striped Volume Data is stored in 64 KB strips on each physical disk Faster read and write times Only possible on dynamic disks


Mirrored and RAID-5 volumes :Mirrored and RAID-5 volumes Not available in Windows Vista Combinations of disks that provide fault tolerance Data is not lost when disks fail See link Ch 28a


Active Partition :Active Partition The active partition on a basic disk is the one from which an x86-based computer boots The Master Boot Record on the physical disk containing the active partition is used to begin startup The active partition is usually on the first physical hard disk (Disk 0)


System and Boot Partitions :System and Boot Partitions The system partition Contains the bootstrap files that Windows XP uses to start your system and display the boot menu The boot partition The partition where the Windows system files are located


Formatting Disks :Formatting Disks Right-click a volume in Explorer or Disk Management, Format File System FAT, FAT32, or NTFS Only NTFS allowed for volumes larger than 4 GB Allocation Unit Size Leave at Default Quick Format Skips Disk Check


Formatting Doesn't Erase Data :Formatting Doesn't Erase Data It just makes it inaccessible It can still be recovered with third-party utilities like "Recover My Files" Link Ch 28b To really erase data, use FORMAT /P:x x is the number of passes, or CIPHER /W


Choosing a File System :Choosing a File System Usually you want NTFS for hard disks FAT and FAT32 are old and limited The only reason for FAT and FAT32 is for machines that multiboot with Win 9x Removable devices like floppies and USB flash drives often use FAT


Choosing the Right UDF Version for Optical Media :Choosing the Right UDF Version for Optical Media Universal Disk Format (UDF) Version 1.5 Can be read on systems running Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 Version 2.00 or 2.01 Cannot be read on Windows 2000. Can be read on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Version 2.50 Cannot be read on earlier versions of Windows


Mastered Optical Disk Format :Mastered Optical Disk Format Live File System lets you add and erase files, but can only be used with Vista Mastered writes a group of files at once, and can be read by all computers See link Ch 28d


Advantages of NTFS over FAT and FAT32 :Advantages of NTFS over FAT and FAT32 Security NTFS Permissions EFS (Encrypting File System) Reliability Recovers from disk errors better, because it is a journaling file system Expandability Volumes can be expanded


Advantages of NTFS over FAT and FAT32 :Advantages of NTFS over FAT and FAT32 Efficiency More efficient than FAT32 for partitions larger than 8 GB Vista cannot create a FAT32 partition larger than 32 GB Optimized Storage of Small Files Small files are stored more efficiently See links Ch 28e and 28f for more details


Converting a FAT32 Disk to NTFS :Converting a FAT32 Disk to NTFS At a Command Prompt convert d: /fs:ntfs d: is the drive you want to convert


Creating a New Simple Volume :Creating a New Simple Volume In Computer Management, right-click the Unallocated Space and select "New Simple Volume" In the New Simple Volume Wizard, choose Size, Drive Letter, and Format


Creating a New Spanned Volume :Creating a New Spanned Volume In Computer Management, right-click the Unallocated Space and select "New Spanned Volume" Select the disks to use They will be converted to dynamic disks


Creating a New Striped Volume :Creating a New Striped Volume Similar process as Spanned Volume Warning! If either disk fails, all data on a spanned or striped disk is lost


Assigning or Changing a Volume Label :Assigning or Changing a Volume Label In Disk Management, or Windows Explorer Right-click a Volume, Rename


Assigning and Changing Drive Letters :Assigning and Changing Drive Letters In Computer Management Right-click, "Change Drive Letter and Paths…"


Mapping a Volume to an NTFS Folder :Mapping a Volume to an NTFS Folder Suppose C: is full, but you don't want to bother moving the system to a new drive You could add a drive and map it to C:\Programs In Computer Management Right-click, "Change Drive Letter and Paths…", Add, "Mount In The Following Empty NTFS Folder"


Extending a Volume :Extending a Volume An NTFS volume can be extended, as long as there is space available In Disk Management, right-click the volume, "Extend Volume" If you extend a volume using space on another disk, or noncontiguous space on the same disk, the disk(s) will be converted to Dynamic Disk


Volume Extension Limitations :Volume Extension Limitations Only NTFS-formatted volumes can be extended A logical drive can be extended only within the extended partition that contains it The system and boot partitions can be extended only into contiguous unallocated space You cannot extend a striped volume.


Shrinking a Volume :Shrinking a Volume You can shrink an NTFS volume, as long as it's not full of files In Disk Management, right-click the volume, "Shrink Volume" Disk Management defragments the disk, and then performs the shrink


Deleting a Volume :Deleting a Volume In Disk Management, right-click the volume, "Delete Volume" Deleting a volume is easy—and irreversible All data is lost in the process The volume reverts to unallocated space,


Properties and Status of Disks and Volumes :Properties and Status of Disks and Volumes Using Windows Explorer Start, Computer Right-click volume, Properties


Properties and Status of Disks and Volumes :Properties and Status of Disks and Volumes Computer Management shows status of volumes in top pane, and status of disks on the lower left side


Disk Status :Disk Status Online No problems Offline (Errors) A dynamic disk with read or write errors Offline A dynamic disk that is unavailable, possibly unplugged Foreign A dynamic disk moved in from another computer


Disk Status :Disk Status Unreadable Physical damage, or a corrupt dynamic database Missing Corrupted, disconnected, or not powered on Not Initialized Disk is brand new, or from a non-Microsoft system such as Linux No Media Removable media is not inserted (only for drives with removable media, such as CD and DVD drives)


Volume Status :Volume Status Healthy No problems Healthy (At Risk) Read or write errors on this disk Healthy (Unknown Partition) Windows does not recognize the partition; it may be from Linux, or a manufacturer's recovery partition


Volume Status :Volume Status Initializing Disk management is preparing a dynamic disk for use Failed The dynamic disk is damaged or the file system is corrupted