CMP 104 – COMPUTER SYSTEM DESIGN

(3 UNITS)
Module 6; Week 10
TOPIC: Storage Device Setup Procedures: Disk Partitioning and
Disk Formatting

Prepared by: Dr. T. A. Olowookere

Storage Device Setup Procedures

Before an operating system can be installed, a storage media device must be chosen
and prepared. You can choose to install the operating system to a storage media device
that you have selected and prepared on your system. The two main setup procedures
for preparing storage devices are Disk Partitioning and Disk Formatting, in order to
install an Operating System on the storage device.

Several types of storage devices are available and can be used to receive the new
operating system. The two most common types of data storage devices used today are
hard disk drives and flash memory-based drives. It is important to describe these storage
devices before describing the two setup procedures.

I. Hard Disk Drives

Although hard disk drives (HDDs) are considered old technology, these drives are
still common in modern computers and can be used for storing and retrieving data.
HDDs contain a number of magnetic, spinning, rigid steel disks and magnetic heads
mounted to a mobile arm. The magnetic head is responsible for reading and writing
data off the spinning disks.

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 Figure 1: Structure of a Hard Drive

Figure 2: Structure of a Hard Drive Platter

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Table 1 below gives more information on structural components of the hard drive.

II. Flash Memory-Based Drives

Flash memory is a type of non-volatile data storage medium that can be electrically
erased and rewritten. It became popular over the last decade as the flash technology
evolved and became more reliable. Different types of flash memory are used in
different applications:

 USB Flash Drives—USB flash drives are a good solution for storing
operating system installation images. They are fast, reliable, resilient and
inexpensive. USB flash drives are comprised of flash memory and a small
control board to govern data transfer. They are most commonly used to store
operating system installation images, but they can also be used to store a full
installation of an OS, if space allows.

 Solid State Drives (SSD)—Another popular application for flash memory

is the SSD. An alternative to hard disks, SSDs are disks that employ high-
performance flash memory technology to achieve fast data storage without the
moving parts of HDDs. SSDs are faster and less prone to physical problems.
Due the high-performance type of flash memory used, SSDs tend to be more
efficient than USB flash drives and are a great choice for OS hosting.

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  Solid State Hybrid Disks (SSHDs)—A popular and less expensive
option than SSDs, SSHD devices combine the speed of SSDs with the lower
price of HDDs by packing both technologies in the same enclosure. In SSHDs,
data is stored in an HDD, but a small flash memory is used to cache frequently
used data. This allows for frequently used data to be accessed by the operating
system at SSD speeds, whereas other data is transferred at HDD speeds. SSHDs
are a good option for storing operating systems.

 Embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC)—Although slower and less

expensive than SSD, eMMC is very popular in cell phones, PDAs and digital
cameras.

Regardless of the application, flash-memory–based storage devices can be used to

store entire installations of operating systems. With different levels of performance,
flash-memory–based drives allow for flexibility when designing modern computer
hardware.

A. Hard Drive Partitioning

Hard Drive partitioning or disk slicing is the creation of one or more regions on
secondary storage, so that each region can be managed separately. These regions are
called partitions. It is typically the first step of preparing a newly installed disk, before
any file system is created. The disk stores the information about the partitions'
locations and sizes in an area known as the partition table that the operating system
reads before any other part of the disk. Each partition then appears to the operating
system as a distinct "logical" disk that uses part of the actual disk.

Partitioning a drive is a simple a process, but to ensure a successful boot, the firmware
must know what disk and partition on that disk has an operating system installed.

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Partitions

A disk is divided into areas called partitions. Each partition is a logical storage unit
that can be formatted to store information, such as data files or applications. If you
imagine a hard drive as a wooden cabinet, the partitions would be the shelves. During
the installation process, most operating systems automatically partition and format
available hard drive space.

It is important that you should understand the process and terms relating to disk or
hard drive setup, as follows:

 Primary partition - This primary partition containing the operating system files
is usually the first partition. There can be up to four primary partitions per hard
drive. A primary partition cannot be subdivided into smaller sections.
 Active partition - The OS uses the active partition to boot the computer. Only
one primary partition per disk can be marked active. In most cases, the C: drive
is the active partition and contains the boot and system files.
Some users create additional active partitions to organize files or to be able to
dual-boot the computer.
 Extended partition - The extended partition normally uses the remaining free
space on a hard drive or takes the place of a primary partition. There can be
only one extended partition per hard drive, but it can be subdivided into
smaller sections called logical drives.
 Logical drive - A logical drive is a section of an extended partition. It can be
used to separate information for administrative purposes.
 Basic disk - A basic disk (the default) contains primary and extended
partitions, as well as logical drives. A basic disk is limited to four partitions.
 Dynamic disk - A dynamic disk has the ability to create volumes that span
across more than one disk. The size of the partitions can be changed after they
have been set. Free space can be added from the same disk or a different disk,
allowing a user to efficiently store large files. After a partition has been
extended, it cannot be shrunk without deleting the entire partition.

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B. Disk Formatting

Disk formatting is the process of preparing a data storage device such as a hard disk
drive, solid-state drive, floppy disk or USB flash drive for initial use. In some cases,
the formatting operation may also create one or more new file systems. There are
generally, three parts involved in the formatting process:

• The first part of the formatting process that performs basic medium
preparation is often referred to as "low-level formatting".
• Partitioning is the common term for the second part of the process, making the
data storage device visible to an operating system.
• The third part of the process, usually termed "high-level formatting" most often
refers to the process of generating a new file system.

In some operating systems all or parts of these three processes can be combined or
repeated at different levels and the term "format" is understood to mean an operation
in which a new disk medium is fully prepared to store files.

Formatting is therefore the process that prepares a file system in a partition for files
to be stored.

Quick Format versus Full Format

The quick format removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad
sectors. Scanning a disk for bad sectors can prevent data loss in the future. For this
reason, do not use the quick format for disks that have been previously formatted.
Although it is possible to quick format a partition or a disk after the OS is installed,
the quick format option is not available when installing Windows 8.1, Windows 7, or
Windows Vista.

The full format removes files from the partition while scanning the disk for bad
sectors. It is required for all new hard drives. The full format option takes more time
to complete.

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File Systems

A new installation of an OS proceeds as if the disk were brand new. No information

that is currently on the target partition is preserved. The first phase of the installation
process partitions and formats the hard drive. This process prepares the disk to accept
the new file system. The file system provides the directory structure that organizes the
user’s operating system, application, configuration, and data files. There are many
different kinds of file systems, and each one has different structure and logic. Different
file systems also differ in properties of speed, flexibility, security, size, and more.

Here are five common file systems:

 Image File Allocation Table, 32 bit (FAT32)—Supports partition sizes up to 2TB

or 2048GB. The FAT32 file system is used by Windows XP and earlier OS
versions.
 Image New Technology File System (NTFS)—Supports partition sizes up to 16
exabytes, in theory. NTFS incorporates file system security features and
extended attributes. Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and Windows Vista
automatically create a partition using the entire hard drive. If a user does not
create custom partitions by selecting a drive letter with “Unallocated Space”
and clicking the “New” option, the system formats the entire available space as
the partition and begins installing Windows. If users choose to create more than
one partition, they will be able to determine the size of the partition.
 Image exFAT (FAT 64)—Created to address some of the limitations of FAT,
FAT32, and NTFS when formatting USB flash drives, such as file size and
directory size. One of the primary advantages of exFAT is that it can support
files larger than 4GB.
 Image Compact Disc File System (CDFS)—Created specifically for optical disk
media.
 Image NFS (Network File System)—NFS is a network-based file system that
allows file access over the network. From the user’s standpoint, there is no
difference between accessing a file stored locally or on another computer on the
network. NFS is an open standard which allows anyone to implement it.

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