Disk Optimization/Troubleshooting

Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF)

A measurement of a hardware component's reliability generally stated in hours or thousands of hours.

Bad sector

A portion of the disk that is unable to store data reliably

Disk maintenance utilities optimizes the performance of your hard drive by verifying the file system integrity of a hard disk and fixing the errors it detects?

Check Disk

Application Crash

If an application you are using crashes, an error has occurred that gives you no choice except to exit the application. Sometimes you can fix the problem by rebooting the computer. You may need to debug your system. Check log files for errors that provide clues about what might have caused the crash.

Crash Screens

If you experience a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on a Windows machine or Spinning Pinwheel of Death (SPOD) on a MAC, several events may have occurred. You could have a fatal system error that is preventing the system from operating safely, or just one application may have failed. Often, rebooting the computer solves the problem. If that doesn't work, you can attempt to revert the system to a previous state to undo any software or hardware changes that are causing problems. Scan your computer for viruses, roll back drivers, update drivers, update your operating system, update BIOS or return them to their factory settings, repair permissions, or clear the dyld cache.

TRIM

One method for extending an SSD device's life is to enable TRIM functionality. TRIM configures the operating system to communicate with an SSD device and to tell it which blocks of data on the device are no longer required and can be wiped clean. This prevents the SSD device from storing unnecessary data and being overused.

/rebuildbcd

Rebuilds the boot configuration data

/fixboot

Repairs the boot sector

/fixmbr

Repairs the master boot record

If the BIOS can't detect your drive, it's usually caused by one of three things.

The power connector is unplugged. The SATA cable is unplugged. The drive is malfunctioning

What utility would you use to correct cross-linked clusters within the file system on a Windows workstation?

Use the chkdsk utility to check the disk for errors and repair them

Lost clusters

a series of used clusters on the hard disk drive that are not associated with a specific file

Disk Management

a tool for viewing, modifying, and creating partitions

Use _____to toggle attributes on individual files.

attrib

You are an IT administrator troubleshooting a computer from within the Windows command prompt. You are trying to execute the chdsk command line tool, but it keeps failing. What command switch would give you the BEST information or help on how to run this command?

chkdsk /?

Utility checks the disk for bad clusters?

chkdsk or scandisk to check a disk for bad clusters

Orphaned files

files that exist on the hard drive, but are not associated with a directory in the index. Normally, Check Disk can re-associate the file with the correct directory

Disk Cleanup

helps manage disks by locating and disposing of files that can be safely removed from the disk.

cross-linked file

occurs when two files claim the same cluster. Check Disk identifies cross-linked files and correct their cluster associations

Disk Defragmenter

optimizes the performance of your hard drive by joining fragments of files that are in different locations on your hard drive into a single location.

fdisk

used to create and delete partitions on older versions of Windows