Troy Harland 1
File Organization Lab Summary
In this lab summary I will explain what a File System is, how a File System
functions, the Windows File Systems, the Macintosh File Systems, and the File Systems
of removable media.
What is a File System? When the computer’s hard disk is formatted, a structure
is built to handle the files that will be stored on it. This structure is the File System.
How a File System Works? When you want to open a file with Microsoft Word,
for example, the request is passed to the Operating System which passes it on to the
File System. The File System knows where the file is stored, retrieves it and delivers it
to the operating system. This is how files are organized on a hard disk. If there isn’t a
contiguous space to store the whole file, it is fragmented and stored in the next
available unused space.
Windows File System. The original DOS File System, called FAT (File
Allocation Table) or FAT16 is still widely used. Windows has many types of File
Systems, and to name a few: fat 16, fat 32, and NTFS. A path is a route through a File
System to a specific file. An absolute path starts with the hard disk, whereas a relative
path is determined in relation to the folder the Operating System is currently viewing.
Macintosh File System. The Macintosh operating system supports two file
systems: the older Macintosh Standard format, sometimes called HFS, and the newer
Mac OS Extended format, popularly known as HFS+.
File Systems of Removable Media. Macintosh CD-ROM’s are HFS, the same
format as the hard drives. HFS CD-ROM’s can not be played on Windows machines.
With Windows 95, Microsoft introduced the 32-bit CD-ROM File System (CDFS)
driver. This driver has an advanced type of cache and protected memory to increase the
stability of CD-ROM playback on Windows.
Many Windows and Macintosh computers have DVD players. The DVD format
is known as the Universal Disk Format (UDF). It is similar to the ISO 9660, HFS and
FAT standards.
A) The default Windows setting are system files that are hidden from the user. B) Slack
refers to wasted space in a cluster if it is not completely occupied by a file. C) System
Files are files that are needed to make a computer run but are hidden from users. User
Files are those programs you install and create.
File Organization Lab
February 14, 2005