Instructor: Prof. Michael P. Harris
Answers to Discussion Questions
Chapter 13
File and Disk Maintenance
Chapter 13
FILE AND DISK MAINTENANCE
ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (p. 779)
1.
What are three occurrences that can cause a loss of data on a hard drive?
Power surges, power outages, improperly closed programs, or a locked system can cause loss
of data on a hard drive. Also, a computer can be infected with a virus from a floppy disk,
unzipping and installing infected programs, or using a data file that has a virus embedded in it.
2.
What is the purpose and function of the Check Disk program that comes with
Windows XP Professional?
Check Disk, a program that comes with Windows XP Professional, can check your hard disk
for problems and repair those problems. It can check and repair local hard drives, floppy disks,
and removable drives, but cannot find/fix errors on CD-ROMS or network drives. Check Disk
can only be used on actual physical drives connected to the computer system, and must have
exclusive access to the disk to complete its job.
3
What is a cache?
A cache is a storage area for often-used data (place in memory) that can be accessed quickly.
4.
What is the purpose of Disk Cleanup? What benefits do you gain from running
it?
You need hard disk space for files (both program and data files), for new files (program
and data), and space for temporary files while you are working. In addition, if you use the
Internet, Web browsers cache files on the hard disk to improve your access speed to sites you
frequently visit. Many programs do not delete their temporary files, or you may forget to
empty the Recycle Bin, or forget to delete cached Internet files. All of these items will not only
cause your hard disk to run out of space, they will also slow down your system’s performance.
Disk Cleanup is a utility tool that helps you maintain your disk. It gives you several
options to assist you in recovering disk space. By recovering disk space you not only gain
needed disk space but also improve your system’s performance. In addition, it offers to
eliminate programs that you are not using
5.
Compare and contrast contiguous and noncontiguous files.
Contiguous files occupy sequential clusters, while noncontiguous files occupy nonsequential
clusters. Contiguous files are always preferred as noncontiguous files slow disk performance.
Carolyn Z. Gillay, Bette A. Peat, WUGXP Command Line
Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc. 2002 ©
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Instructor: Prof. Michael P. Harris
Answers to Discussion Questions
6.
Chapter 13
File and Disk Maintenance
How does Disk Defragmenter help optimize disk performance?
Disk Defragmenter program rearranges files, programs, and empty space on the hard drive.
Individual files are stored as a complete unit on the disk. Files are moved around on the disk
until all files are stored contiguously on the disk with no space between them. Since all files
are now located in one location and each file is contiguous, a file can be located and accessed
easier and faster.
7.
List and explain two factors that should be considered before defragmenting
your disk.
Before defragging your disk, you should make sure that you have plenty of time to wait for the
defragmentation, and you should make a copy of any important files because there is a small
chance that Disk Defragmenter will damage your files. Run ScanDisk and Disk Cleanup prior
to defragging your disk, to remove all lost/cross-linked clusters, and unnecessary files. It
would be wise to also close all open programs.
8.
List and explain two ways that the Task Scheduler wizard could be used.
The Task Scheduler wizard could be used to schedule any program to run at any time.
For example could schedule programs such as Disk Cleanup and Backup to run at a
predetermined time.
Task Scheduler could also be used to dial into an online service during off hours, look
for certain topics, download results, and then hang up.
It is important to remember that any task you schedule to run when you are not around
can operate without user input and can exit cleanly when task is completed.
9.
Why is it important to back up data? Programs?
Backing up any kind of information is important so that if the information on the hard disk is
damaged or lost, you can restore programs and/or data that have been backed up to your hard
drive.
10.
Compare and contrast full and incremental backups.
A full backup creates a copy of everything you currently have on the disk. An incremental
backup only copies the files on your disk that have changed since your last backup.
11.
What is the difference between using a differential backup or using the daily
option for incremental backups?
A differential backup only backs up all selected files that have changed since the last
full or incremental backup and is done whenever the user decides to do a differential backup.
It is also possible to back up incrementally using the Daily option. This option backs
up all files that have been modified only on the day that the backup is performed. To use this
option would require the user to run Backup on a daily basis.
12.
Why is it wise to have more than one copy of your backup?
Having more then one copy of your backup media gives you another chance to restore damaged
or lost files in case your backup media and your hard drive both become damaged. The other
copy is like having a backup for your backup. It is also wise to store copies of your backup
media in different places in order to reduce the chance that both media become damaged.
Carolyn Z. Gillay, Bette A. Peat, WUGXP Command Line
Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc. 2002 ©
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Instructor: Prof. Michael P. Harris
Answers to Discussion Questions
13.
Chapter 13
File and Disk Maintenance
List and explain two ways that the Backup program can be used.
The most important reason for using the Backup program is to back up files for
safekeeping and using these backups to recover files after a disaster. If you have a backup of
your hard disk, and your system crashes in such a way that much of the information of your
hard disk is destroyed, you can restore your system to the condition it was when last you made
a backup. Otherwise, you would lose all of your data files and you would have to spend hours
(or days) reinstalling all of your software. Also, if needed, it is possible to reboot from a
backup.
If your computer was totally destroyed your backup would contain your data files and
these could be copied to your new computer.
Another use of the Backup program is to back up files in order to archive them. When
you archive files, you store several files together in one large file that takes up less space. This
way you can keep files that you do not often use, but still want to keep, without wasting too
much disk space.
The Backup program can also be used to transfer files/programs to other computers, and
if a new computer is purchased the program can be used to make the new computer look like
the old system.
14.
Explain how you can restore files.
You can restore files that you copied to a floppy disk or other media by copying the files back
to the hard disk. Backup has an option called Restore. Choose Restore and the kind of
restoration you want. You can then use the Restore Wizard to lead you through the process of
restoring your system.
15.
The Automated System Recovery (ASR) is not a substitute for backup up data.
Explain.
The Automated System Recovery (ASR) is used for solving system problems. It is used to
restore the system, as it was when the ASR was made. ASR does not save program files or
any data files.
16.
What is the purpose and function of the Automated System Recovery (ASR)?
The ASR is a built-in repair system for a catastrophic failure of the system. ASR saves
information about the arrangement of disk partitions, system files, and detected hardware. The
ASR along with the CD-ROM used to install Windows XP Professional, can be used to fix a
corrupt Registry, allow you to boot your system, or repair a corrupted system. It can only
restore the system, as it was when the ASR was made. For this reason, it is important that any
time a change is made to the system the ASR should be updated.
Carolyn Z. Gillay, Bette A. Peat, WUGXP Command Line
Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc. 2002 ©
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Instructor: Prof. Michael P. Harris
Answers to Discussion Questions
17.
Chapter 13
File and Disk Maintenance
Compare and contrast system and private initialization files found in previous
versions of Windows.
Initialization files were broken into two types: system initialization files and private
initialization files. The system initialization files contained the information that Windows
needed to run itself, as well as run the programs that were installed on a specific computer.
The private initialization files were often added to the Windows directory and kept track
of the state of the application, containing such information as the screen position or the lastused files.
18.
What is the purpose and the function of the Registry?
The Registry is absolutely critical to the operation of Windows XP Professional. It is where
hardware, system software, and application configuration information is found. It also contains
all preferences for each user of the computer system. Every part of Windows XP Professional
uses the Registry.
19.
What is the purpose and function of System Restore?
If a problem occurs with Windows XP System Restore is a utility that allows you to restore
your computer to a previous state when the computer was working properly. System Restore
works with Windows XP system files and the Registry. Restoring a system will not affect data
files.
20.
What is a restore point?
Restore points allow you to “roll back” your computer system to a time when you know that
everything was working correctly.
21.
If you use System Restore, is it still necessary to backup your data files? Why
or why not?
It is necessary to backup data files because System Restore does not save or restore documents,
or data files. System Restore only restores Windows and programs to a restore point.
22.
What is a paging file? Explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of
paging?
The amount of physical memory installed on your computer has the most impact on the
performance of your system other than the processor itself. Windows XP Professional uses
space on the hard drive as virtual memory. As the computer runs out of physical memory, data
is moved from physical memory to a hidden file on the disk. When the data is needed, it is read
back from the hidden file (formally called the swap file and now called the paging file). The
paging file is dynamic and can shrink and grow as needed. Paging files are how virtual
memory prevents the system from running out of memory space (by temporarily storing
information that would normally be in memory.)
Second part of answer will vary.
Carolyn Z. Gillay, Bette A. Peat, WUGXP Command Line
Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc. 2002 ©
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Instructor: Prof. Michael P. Harris
Answers to Discussion Questions
23.
Chapter 13
File and Disk Maintenance
Why would you want to roll back a driver? Where would you accomplish this
task?
If the driver you installed did not work you would want to roll it back to the previous driver
version. You would accomplish this task in the Drivers tab in the Plug Play Software Device
Enumerator properties sheet.
24.
What is system information? Identify two kinds of information you could locate
in this tool.
System Information is a tool that has the ability to collect and display system configuration
information for local and remote computers. If technical support technicians need specific
information System Information can be used to quickly find the necessary information.
System Information includes hardware configuration, computer components, and software
(including driver information)
25.
What is the Microsoft Management Console (MMC)?
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a tool that is used to create, save, and open
collections of administrative tools called consoles. Consoles contain items that are necessary to
manage many of the hardware, software, and networking components of Windows XP
Professional system. MMC can be thought of as a framework that hosts administrative tools.
Carolyn Z. Gillay, Bette A. Peat, WUGXP Command Line
Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc. 2002 ©
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