CHAPTER 6
MANAGING DISKS
You can access the management tools in:
Start/Programs/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Storage/Disk
Management
Tasks in Setting up a Hard Disk
Before you can store data on a new hard disk, you must perform the following tasks to
prepare the disk:
hard disk.
Windows 2000 supports basic storage and dynamic storage. But once you have
converted to dynamic there is no going back without reinstalling.
file system, NTFS, FAT or FAT32.
The file system that you choose affects the disk operation.
Storage Types
Windows 2000 supports the following two types of disk storage: basic and dynamic. A physical
disk must be one or the other you cannot have both types on one disk. But, you can have both
ypes of disk storage if you have a multidisk system.
Basic Storage
The traditional is basic storage. It breaks the disk into partitions and a partition is a portion of the
disk that functions
as a physically separate unit of storage.
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Windows 2000 recognizes primary and extended partitions.
A disk that is initialized for basic storage is called a basic disk. A basic disk can contain primary
partitions,
In Windows 2000 P basic storage is the default.
Dynamic Storage
Only Windows 2000 supports dynamic storage, which is a standard that creates a single partition
that includes the entire disk. A disk that you initialize for dynamic storage is a dynamic disk.
You divide dynamic disks into volumes, which can consist of a portion, or portions of one or more
physical disks. On a dynamic disk, you can create simple volumes, spanned volumes, and striped
volumes. You create a dynamic disk by upgrading a basic disk.
Dynamic storage doesn’t have the restrictions of basic storage; for example, you can size and
resize a dynamic disk without restarting Windows 2000.
NOTE: Removable storage devices contain primary partitions only. You can’t
Create extended partitions, logical drives, or dynamic volumes on removable storage devices.
You can’t mark a primary partition on a removable storage
device as active.
Partition Types (Basic Disks)
You can divide a basic disk into primary and extended partitions. Partitions function as a physically
separate storage units. This allow you to separate different types of information, such as user data
on one partition and applications on another.
A basic disk can contain four primary partitions, or up to three primary partitions and one extended
partition, for a maximum of four partitions. Only one partition can be an extended partition.
Primary Partitions
Windows 2000 can use the parts of a disk called primary partitions to start the computer. Only
a primary partition can be marked as the active partition. The active partition is where the
hardware looks for the boot files to start the operating
system. Only one partition on a single
hard disk can be active at a time. Multiple primary partitions allow you to isolate different
operating systems or types of data.
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To dual boot windows 2000 with Microsoft Windows 95 or MS-DOS, the active partition must
be formatted as FAT because Windows 95 can’t read a partition formatted as FAT32 or NTFS.
To dual boot with Microsoft Windows 95 OSR2 (a later release of Windows 95 that contained
enhancements to Windows 95, such as the ability to read partitions formatted with FAT32) or
Windows 95, the active partition must be formatted as FAT or FAT32.
Extended Partitions
An extended partition is created from free space. There can be only one extended partition on a
hard disk, so you should include all remaining free space in the extended partition. Unlike primary
partitions, you don’t format extended partitions or assign drive letters to them. You divide
extended partitions into segments. Each segment is a logical drive. You assign a drive letter to
each logical drive and format it with a file system.
NOTE: The Windows 2000 system partition is the active partition that contains the hardware-specific
files required to load the operating system. The Windows 2000 boot partition is the primary partition
or logical drive where the operating system files are installed. The boot partition and the system
partition can be the same partition. However, the system partition must be on the active partition,
typically drive C, while the boot partition could be on another primary partition or on an extended
partition.
Volume Types (Dynamic Disks) **** IMPORTANT ****
You can convert basic disks to dynamic storage and then create Windows 2000 volumes.
Consider which volume type best suits your needs for efficient use of disk space and
performance.
A simple volume contains disk space from a single disk and is not fault tolerant.
A spanned volume includes disk space from multiple disks (up to 32). Windows 2000 writes
data to a spanned volume on the first disk, completely filling the space, and continues in this
manner through each disk that you include in the spanned volume.
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A spanned volume is not fault tolerant. If any disk is a spanned volume fails, the data in the
entire volume is lost. A striped volume combines areas of free space from multiple hard disks,
up to 32, into one logical volume. In a striped volume, Windows 2000 optimizes performance
by adding data to all disks at the same time. If a disk in a striped volume fails, the data in the
entire volume is lost.
NOTE: The Windows 2000 Server products provide fault tolerance on dynamic disks. Fault
tolerance is the ability of a computer or operating system to respond to a catastrophic event
without loss of data. The Windows 2000 Server products provide mirrored volumes and
RAID-5 volumes that are fault tolerant. Windows 2000 Professional does not provide
fault tolerance.
Creating multiple partitions or volumes on a single hard disk allows you to efficiently organize
data for tasks such as backing up. For
example, partition one-third of a hard disk for the
perating system, one-third for applications, and one-third for data. Then when you backup
your data, you can back up the entire partition instead of just a specific folder.
File Systems
Windows 2000 supports the NTFS, FAT and FAT32 File systems. Use NTFS when you require
a partition to have file and folder-level security, disk compression, disk quotas, or encryption. Only
Windows 2000 and Windows NT can access data on a local hard disk that is formatted with NTFS.
If you plan to promote a server to a domain controller, format the installation partition to NTFS.
FAT and FAT32 allow access by, and compatibility with other operating systems. To dual boot
Windows 2000 and another operating system, format the system partition with either FAT or
FAT32. FAT and FAT32 don’t offer many of the features that NTFS supports, for example,
file-level security. Therefore, in most situations, you should format the hard disk with NTFS.
The only reason to
use FAT or FAT32 is for dual booting.
If you have a volume that is formatted with FAT or FAT32, Win2000P provides the Convert
command to allow you to convert it from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS without having to reformat
your volume. To do this you enter the following command in a Command Prompt Window:
Convert^volume^/FS:NTFS^/V
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NOTE: that volume is replaced by the drive letter followed by a colon. The /V indicated
the command should be run in verbose mode. For example, if you wanted to convert drive
C from FAT to NTFS you would type the following command:
Convert^C:^/FS:NTFS^/V
It will convert at the reboot and update the registry too!
The Disk Management Snap-in
Use the Disk Management snap-in to configure and manage your network storage space. The
Disk Management snap-in can display your storage system in either a graphical view or a list
view.
Lesson Summary:
initialize the disk with a storage type.
them to dynamic storage.
or more physical disk.
Dynamic storage doesn’t have the restrictions of basic storage.
space.
Lesson 2:
Common Disk Management Tasks
The Disk Management snap-in provides a central location for disk information and management
tasks, such as creating and deleting partitions and volumes. With the proper permissions, you
can manage disk locally and on remote computers.
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Working with Simple Volumes:
A simple volume contains disk space from a single disk. You can extend a simple volume to
include unallocated space on the same disk.
You can create a simple volume and format it with NTFS, FAT
or FAT32. You can extend
a simple volume only
if it is formatted with NTFS.
You can create a
simple volume by following these steps:
1) Select Disk Management in the Storage section of the Computer Management snap-in.
2) On the dynamic disk where you want to create the volume, right-click the unallocated space
and then click Create Volume. This launched the Create Volume Wizard.
3 In the Create Volume Wizard, click Next.
4) Click Simple Volume, and then follow the instructions on your screen.
To extend an NTFS simple volume, right-click the simple volume that you want to extend,
click Extend Volume, and then follow the instructions on your screen. When you extend a
simple volume to another disk, it becomes a spanned volume.
Working with Spanned Volumes
A spanned volume consists of disk space from multiple disks; spanned volumes enable you to
use the total available free space on multiple disks more effectively. You can create spanned
volumes only on dynamic disks, and you need at least two dynamic disks to create a spanned
volume. Spanned volumes can’t be part of a striped volume and are not fault tolerant.
Combining free space
Extending and deleting
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Combining Free Space to Create a Spanned Volume
You create spanned volumes by combining various-sized areas of free space from 2-32 disks
into one large logical volume.
The areas of free space that comprise a spanned volume can be different sizes. Windows 2000
organizes spanned volumes so that data is stored in the space on one disk until it is full, and then
starting at the beginning of the next disk, data is stored in the space on the second disk.
Windows 2000 continues this process in the same way on each subsequent disk up to a maximum
of 32 disks.
By deleting smaller volumes and combining them into one spanned volume, you can free drive
letters for other uses and create a large volume for file system use.
Extending and Deleting Spanned Volumes
You can extend existing spanned volumes formatted with NTFS by adding free space. Disk
Management format the new area without affecting any existing files on the original volume.
You can’t extend volumes formatted with FAT or FAT32.
You can extend spanned volumes on dynamic disks onto a maximum of 32 dynamic disks. After
a volume is extended onto multiple disks (spanned), it can’t be part of a striped volume. After
a spanned volume is extended, no portion of it can be deleted without deleting the entire spanned
volume. You can’t extend a system volume or a boot volume.
Working with Striped Volumes
Striped volumes offer the best performance of all the Windows 2000 disk management strategies.
In a striped volume, data is written evenly across all physical disks in 64KB units. Striped volumes
can increase the speed of system I/O.
You create striped volumes by combining areas of free space from multiple disks (from 2-32) into
one logical volume. With a striped volume, Windows 2000 writes data to multiple disks, similar
to spanned volumes. However on a striped volume, Windows 2000 writes files across all disks
so that data is added to all disks at the same rate. Like
spanned volumes, striped volumes don’t
provide fault
tolerance. If a disk in a striped volume
fails, the data in the entire volume is lost.
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Adding Disks
When you install new disks in a computer running Windows 2000, they are added as basic storage.
Adding New Disks
To add a new disk, install or attach the new physical disk (or disks), and then click Rescan Disks
on the Action menu of the Disk management snap-in. See figure 6.6.
Go into BIOS, you can label as Primary or Slave. You should need to restart your computer
every time you add or remove hardware. You should also have 1MG of free unallocated space.
Changing Storage Type
You can upgrade a disk from basic storage to dynamic storage at any time, with no loss of data.
When you upgrade a basic disk to a dynamic disk, any existing partitions on the basic disk
become simple volumes. Any existing striped or spanned volume sets created with Windows
NT 4 become dynamic striped or spanned volumes, respectively.
Any disks to be upgraded must contain at least 1 MB of unallocated space for the upgrade to
succeed.
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Basic disk
organization Dynamic Disk
Organization
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System Partition Simple volume
Boot Partition Simple volume
Primary Partition Simple volume
Extended Partition Simple volume for each logical drive and any
Remaining unallocated space
Volume Set Spanned volume
Stripe Set Striped volume
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Reverting to a Basic Disk from a Dynamic Disk
Mr. E. said you cannot do this with reinstalling. Must verify with him.
You must remove all volumes from the dynamic disk before you can change it back to a basic
disk. To change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk, right-click the dynamic disk that you
want to change back to a basic disk, and then click Revert to Basic Disk.
NOTE: Converting a dynamic disk to a basic disk causes all data to be lost.
Refresh and Rescan
When you are working with Disk Management, you might need to update the information
in the display. The two commands for updating the display are Refresh and Rescan.
Refresh updates drive letter, file system, volume, and removable media information, and
determines whether unreadable volumes are now readable. To update drive letter, file
system, and volume information, click Action and then click Refresh.
Rescan Disks updates hardware information. When Disk Management rescans disks, it
scans all attached disks for disk configuration changes. It also updates information on
emovable media, CD-ROM drives, basic volumes, file systems, and drive letters.
Lesson Summary
and management tasks, such as creating and deleting partitions and volumes.
spanned volumes and striped volumes.