Download Formatting and Partitioning Hard Drives, and DOS

Brent Murphy
Matt Griffin
Edwin Edwards
Chris Wyatt
 When
a hard drive is ready
for use, it will go through a
process known as formatting.
 Low-Level
Formatting
 High-Level
Formatting
Floppy
disks
Hard disks

Disk drive hardware writes onto floppy
1
disk
 160 tracks (80 on each side)
 18 sectors on each track
512 bytes on each sector



Originally used MFM pattern on disk allows
sectors of bytes to be written on it
RLL encoding is more commonly used.
Embedded systems- low-level formatted disks
at the factory, not subject to user intervention



Over time, hard drive became more complex
Manufacturers now handle virtually all lowlevel formatting of hard disks
End users should rarely ever perform low-level
formatting of an IDE or ATA hard drive.

(its often impossible outside of the factory)


Identifying each sector that cannot be read or
written to and then sparing out those sectors
Zero filing-writing a 0 byte to every
addressable location on the disk

One popular method for performing only the
"zero-fill" operation on a hard disk is by
writing zero-bytes to the drive using the Unix
dd utility (available under Linux as well) with
the "/dev/zero" stream as the input file (if=)
and the drive itself (either the whole disk, or a
specific partition) as the output file (of=)


Process of setting up an empty file system on
the disk
Install boot sector

sometimes referred to as “quick format”


The entire disk can be scanned for any errors if
the user would like
Requires several hours on larger disks



When a high-level format is performed on a
functioning disk to erase the contents of the hard
drive
Sometimes judged easier to erase and start from
scratch than fix a complex malfunction
“wipe and reload”, “nuke and pave”, “reimage”


When data is “erased” during a high-level
format, it is still readable until new data has
written over it
Some file systems don’t write to the same
locations, allowing data to stay on disk until
disk space starts having to be recycled
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Back up data
Insert Win XP disc and turn off pc
Turn on PC and boot from CD
Install Windows
Install any missing drivers
Update Windows


A division of a hard drive that can hold
volumes
Windows can support up to four partitions on
one hard drive, each of which are 16-byte
entries on the Master Boot Record

Beginning and ending location of the partition

Number of sectors in the partition

Whether or not the partition is bootable


A table at the beginning of the hard drive that
contains information about each partition on
the drive
This table is contained in the Master Boot
Record

The first sector on a hard drive, which contains
the partition table and a program the BIOS uses
to boot an OS from the drive

In a process called high-level formatting or
operating system formatting


Formatting performed by the Windows Format
program, the Windows installation program, or the
Disk Management utility
The process creates the boot record, file system, and
root directory on the volume or logical drive and
makes the volume or drive bootable


During this process, you specify the size of the
partition and what file system it will use
There are two types of partitions you can
create:


Primary
Extended




Also called a volume or a simple volume
The volume is assigned a drive letter and is
formatted with a file system (such as NTFS)
The active partition is always the primary
partition
Can be up to three primary partitions



The overall structure an OS uses to name, store,
and organize files on a drive
A cluster is the smallest unit of space on a disk
in a file system for storing a file and is made up
of one or more sectors
Can track how clusters are used for each file
stored on the disk


One of the four partitions on a drive can be an
extended partition
Can be divided into one or more logical drives

Each logical drive is assigned a drive letter (ex - G:)
and is formatted using its own file system

When the drive is first installed

When an OS is first installed



The installation process partitions and formats the
drive, if necessary
You can also use the Disk Management tool to view
and manage partitions after Windows is installed
After an existing partition becomes corrupted


Before a primary partition or volume can be
used, it must be formatted using a file system
For the extended partition, each logical drive
must be formatted with a file system

FAT32

Named after the file allocation table
 A table on the hard drive or floppy disk that tracks how
much space on a disk is used to store files


Has storage limitations concerning hard drive size,
volume size, and file size
Offered with Windows XP Service Pack 1 and newer

NTFS

Named after the New Technology file system
 Designed to provide greater security and more storage
capacity than FAT32


Offered with basic Windows XP install and newer
Recommended for use when partitioning

exFAT



Stands for Extended FAT
Uses a 64-bit file allocation table
Does not:
 Have the storage limitations found in FAT32
 Offer the security features of NTFS
 Require as much overhead as NTFS
Normally used in lower-end systems
 Found in Windows XP if Service Pack 2 and 3 are
installed, or new Windows OS





1. Boot the system to the Windows desktop
2. Click Start, right-click Computer (My
Computer) and select Manage
3. Right-click the new hard drive and select
Initialize Disk
4. Select MBR and click OK. The drive will be
initialized as a Basic Drive

5. To format, right-click the unallocated space
on the drive and select New Simple Volume.

The wizard will appear, which you will follow to:





Choose a volume size
Assign a drive letter to the volume
Assign a volume name
Select the type of file system
Difference in OS used
 Vista will make the first three partitions primary, and
the fourth extended
 XP allows you to decide which partition will be the
extended partition




Stands for Disk Operating System
Originally developed for IBM by Microsoft
Windows 95, 98 and Millennium Edition were
all partially DOS based
There are many versions of DOS such as:
FreeDOS, PC DOS, DR-DOS and MS-DOS.





Most frequently MS-DOS is referred to as DOS
MS-DOS stands for MicroSoft Disk Operating
System
Still in Operating systems today but listed as
Command Prompt
Has a list of commands that are not normally
used by the everyday user
Accessed in XP by typing CMD in the run
dialog box or under the accessories tab on the
program list


In the early days of DOS no programs were
capable of converting files to other program
types or exchanging data since each program
had it’s own way of reading and writing it’s
binary data
ASCII was developed to solve this problem,
ASCII stands for American Standard Code for
Information Interchange.

Defines 256 eight bit characters.








Doom
Duke Nukem
Sim City 2000
Command and Conquer
Warcraft I
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Sid Meier’s Civilization
Transport Tycoon

Then
Now

Then
Now

Then
Now

Then
Now




Microsoft developed (DOS), in 1981. DOS was
designed for the IBM Personal Computer
DOS is a collection of programs and commands used to
control the overall computer operation in a disk-based
system
Three sections make up DOS:
 Boot files
 File management files
 Utility files
A simple operating system
 16- bit operating system
 does not support multiple users or muiltitasking

DOS is useful as a troubleshooting aid when Windows
will not boot. It allows the hard drive to be accessed
without the GUI and provides the ability to run
troubleshooting or diagnostic programs.
DOS is a command line operating system, it is not userfriendly
 DOS can only run one program at a time.
 DOS can only run small programs and has memory
limitations
 DOS is an essential tool for IT professionals and is used
extensively for troubleshooting





Basic commands are
generally internal and more
advanced commands are
usually external.
The command line is the
space immediately following
the DOS prompt, C:\> where
C:\ represents the hard disk
drive root directory, and ">"
is known as the prompt.
A switch is added to the
command by adding a space,
a forward-slash (/), and a
single letter.
DOSKEY

keeps a history of executed
commands so you can use
arrow keys to retrieve them

Over 100 different commands

http://www.easydos.com/dosindex.html


A DOS boot disk is a great tool to use to troubleshoot
when the computer is not booting properly.
A DOS boot disk is just a floppy disk with three
necessary system files on it:
COMMAND.COM
 IO.SYS
 MSDOS.SYS



The COMMAND.COM command interpreter accepts
commands issued through the keyboard, or other input
device, and carries them out according to the
commands definition.
When DOS runs an application, COMMAND.COM
finds the program, loads it into memory, and then
gives it control of the system. When the program is
shut down, it passes control back to the command
interpreter.


The IO.SYS file moves the system’s basic I/O functions
into memory and then implements the MS-DOS default
control programs, referred to as device drivers, for
various hardware components.
These include the following:

The boot disk drive

The console display and keyboard

The system’s time-of-day clock

The parallel and serial communications port


The MSDOS.SYS file provides default support
features for software applications.
These features include the following:

Memory management

Character input and output

Real-time clock access

File and record management

Execution of other programs




In the MS-DOS operating system, there are two
special configuration files, called CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT.
As the system moves through the steps in the boot
procedure, the BIOS first checks in the root
directory of the boot disk for the presence of the
CONFIG.SYS file.
Next, it searches for the COMMAND.COM
interpreter, and finally looks in the root directory
again for the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Both the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files
can play significant roles in optimizing the system
memory.

1. When can primary and extended partitions
be created?
A. When the hard drive is first installed
 B. When an OS is first installed
 C. After an existing partition becomes corrupted
 D. All of the above are correct


When the drive is first installed

When an OS is first installed



The installation process partitions and formats the
drive, if necessary
You can also use the Disk Management tool to view
and manage partitions after Windows is installed
After an existing partition becomes corrupted

2. Which file system is available anywhere
from a basic Windows XP install on and is
recommended when partitioning a hard drive?
A. NTFS
 B. FAT
 C. FAT32
 D. exFAT


NTFS

Named after the New Technology file system
 Designed to provide greater security and more storage
capacity than FAT32


Offered with basic Windows XP install and newer
Recommended for use when partitioning

3. A _________ is the overall structure an OS
uses to name, store, and organize files on a
drive.
A. Volume
 B. Active Partition
 C. File System
 D. Cluster




The overall structure an OS uses to name, store,
and organize files on a drive
A cluster is the smallest unit of space on a disk
in a file system for storing a file and is made up
of one or more sectors
Can track how clusters are used for each file
stored on the disk

4. How many bytes are each partition on the
Master Boot Record?
A. 8
 B. 12
 C. 16
 D. 20



A division of a hard drive that can hold
volumes
Windows can support up to four partitions on
one hard drive, each of which are 16-byte
entries on the Master Boot Record

5. How many bytes are written to each sector
on a hard disk?
A. 64 bytes
 B. 128 bytes
 C. 256 bytes
 D. 512 bytes


Disk drive hardware writes onto floppy
1
disk
 160 tracks (80 on each side)
 18 sectors on each track
512 bytes on each sector

6. Quick formatting occurs during low-level
formatting?


A. True
B. False


Process of setting up an empty file system on
the disk
Install boot sector

sometimes referred to as “quick format”

7. Once data has been deleted, it is impossible
to retrieve it under any circumstances


A. True
B. False


When data is “erased” during a high-level
format, it is still readable until new data has
written over it
Some file systems don’t write to the same
locations, allowing data to stay on disk until
disk space starts having to be recycled

8. What section is not part of DOS?
A. File management files
 B. Boot files
 C. Support files
 D. Utility files





Microsoft developed (DOS), in 1981. DOS was
designed for the IBM Personal Computer
DOS is a collection of programs and commands used to
control the overall computer operation in a disk-based
system
Three sections make up DOS:
 Boot files
 File management files
 Utility files
A simple operating system
 16- bit operating system
 does not support multiple users or muiltitasking

9. DOS is a _______ bit operating system.
A. 8
 B. 32
 C. 16
 D. 64





Microsoft developed (DOS), in 1981. DOS was
designed for the IBM Personal Computer
DOS is a collection of programs and commands used to
control the overall computer operation in a disk-based
system
Three sections make up DOS:
 Boot files
 File management files
 Utility files
A simple operating system
 16- bit operating system
 does not support multiple users or muiltitasking

10. DOS can run multiple programs at one
time.


A. True
B. False

DOS is useful as a troubleshooting aid when Windows
will not boot. It allows the hard drive to be accessed
without the GUI and provides the ability to run
troubleshooting or diagnostic programs.
DOS is a command line operating system, it is not userfriendly
 DOS can only run one program at a time.
 DOS can only run small programs and has memory
limitations
 DOS is an essential tool for IT professionals and is used
extensively for troubleshooting


11. What command do you type at the run
dialog box to access the command-line
interface in Windows XP?
A. CMD
 B. CONAND
 C. MSDOS
 D. CP






Most frequently MS-DOS is referred to as DOS
MS-DOS stands for MicroSoft Disk Operating
System
Still in Operating systems today but listed as
Command Prompt
Has a list of commands that are not normally
used by the everyday user
Accessed in XP by typing CMD in the run
dialog box or under the accessories tab on the
program list

12. The ASCII Standard defines how many 8bit characters?
A. 64
 B. 256
 C. 512
 D. 64,000


Defines 256 eight bit characters

13. What does DOS stand for?
A. Disk Organizing System
 B. Dual Operating Systems
 C. Disk Operating System
 D. Disk Operations Setup





Stands for Disk Operating System
Originally developed for IBM by Microsoft
Windows 95, 98 and Millennium Edition were
all partially DOS based
There are many versions of DOS such as:
FreeDOS, PC DOS, DR-DOS and MS-DOS.





Andrews, Jean "CompTIA A+ 2009 In Depth".
Boston: Cengage Learning, 2010
Docter, Quentin. CompTIA A+ complete study
guide (exams 220-701/220-702). Indianapolis:
Wiley Technology Pub., 2009. Print.
Michael Meyers: A+ Certification All-in-One
Exam Guide, Seventh Edition , Mc Graw
Hill. 2010
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.easydos.com/dosindex.html





http://www.computerhope.com/msdos.htm
http://www.jabzweb.com/tips-andtricks/2009/11/how-to-have-the-complete-listof-ms-dos-commands/
http://lifehacker.com/157578/geek-to-live-how-to-format-your-hard-drive-and-installwindows-xp-from-scratch
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/for
matLow-c.html
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/for
matHigh-c.html