Guide to Operating Systems - Chapter 4

Briefly describe the concept of inodes used in native Linux file system.

The inode is a data structure used to represent a file system object. Each inode stores the attributes and disk block location of the file system object's data

An area of a hard disk in MS-DIS and Windows that stores partition information about that disk

MBR

What is NOT an element of the MBR on a Windows system?

Master file table

In a folder hierarchy, the top level is referred to as which of the following?

Root

On Mac OS X 10.5, _______________ indexes files and allows you to search by typing in the first few letters of the file name.

Spotlight

The native file system in Linux is called ufs. T/F

False

File characteristics stored with the filename in the disk directory which specify certain storage and operational parameters associated with the file

File Attributes

UNIX/Linux, a system for storing key information about files

Inode

Which feature of the NTFS file system keeps a log of file system activity to help prevent loss of information if there is a power outage while your disk is in use?

Journaling

In Mac OS, what is the catalog b-tree?

The catalog b-tree is the list of all files on the volume. It keeps track of a file's name, its logical location in the folder structure, its physical location on the disk surface, and the locations and sizes of the file's data fork and resource forks

Concentric rings that cover an entire disk like grooves on a phonograph record

Track

One of the tasks of a file system is to secure the information contained in user's files. T/F

True

What PC systems call clusters, Mac systems refer to as allocation blocks. T/F

True

Describe the problem that occurs when a disk becomes fragmented

Unused space develops between files and other information written on a disk. When a disk is highly fragmented, the read heads have to work harder to obtain data, wasting time and creating more wear

On a Mac-formatted disk, the sector after the boot blocks

Volume information block

Which of the following statements is true about file storage on a FAT file system? a. the clusters are organized as a linked-list b. if a file only uses part of a cluster, the next file uses the rest of the cluster c. the filename is stored in the first cluster occupied by the file d. the final cluster is filled in with all 0's to indicate the end of file

a. the clusters are organized as a linked-list

Which of the following statements is true about how disk drives are organized? a. tracks are divided into sectors b. cylinders are divided into tracks c. each platter has one read/write head d. sectors are divided into clusters

a. tracks are divided into sectors

Apple uses the term ______ where Linux uses symbolic link and Windows uses shortcut.

alias

What command can you use to make the file named private.txt read-only? a. set private.txt read-only b. attrib +r private.txt c. format -read-only private.txt d. status -r private.txt

b. attrib +r private.txt

You have just purchased a new hard drive to install in your Linux system. Before you can begin using the drive to store files, which of the following task must you complete? a. high-level format then partition b. partition then high-level format c. low-level format then partition d. partition then low-level format

b. partition then high-level format

On a Mac-formatted disk the ________ blocks identify the filing system and names of important system files.

boot

You are troubleshooting a friend's computer and your diagnostic software reports a problem with the MFT. What file system is your friend's computer using? a. FAT12 b. FAT16 c. NTFS d. EXT3

c. NTFS

Which of the following statements is true about the FAT directory structure? a. two copies of the root directory are kept for each partition b. only 512 entries are allowed in the root on a FAT32 partition c. a backup of the FAT table is kept for each partition d. the FAT tables and root directory are always stored at the end of each partition

c. a backup of the FAT table is kept for each partition

Which of the following is NOT a task typically performed by an OS's file system? a. partition and format disks b. establish file naming conventions c. convert files between image formats d. provide for file and data integrity

c. convert files between image formats

You have created a movie that is on a file that is almost 6 GB in size. You want to put the movie file on a flash drive so you can bring it to a friend's house to show him. Your computer and your friend's computer are both running Windows 7. Which file system should you use to format your 16 GB thumb drive? a. FAT128 b. FAT32 c. EXT3 d. exFAT

d. exFAT

What command should you use to change the name of an existing volume? a. setvol b. attrib /volname c. volname d. format /v

d. format /v

You have a new hard disk that you want to put two different OSs on but each OS requires a different file system. What procedure must you perform before you can install the two OSs? a. low-level format the disk and create two separate directory structures b. install the first OS and then create a new folder off the root to install the second OS c. this is not possible; you need a second physical hard disk d. partition the disk into two logical drives and install an OS on each logical drive

d. partition the disk into two logical drives and install an OS on each logical drive

What element of a file system connects the names of files to the file data stored on the disk?

directory

You have just partitioned a new disk into three partitions and formatted them NTFS 5. You want to be able to access these partitions as folders on the current C: drive. What feature can you use?

disk quotas

A colleague of yours uses Windows 7 and wants to organize her files so that files stored in several different folders can be easily grouped together and accessed as if they were in a single location. What feature of the Windows 7 file system do you suggest she use?

folder nesting

A process that prepares a disk partition (or removable media) for a specific file system

high-level formatting

In Linux, you make a new volume accessible in the file system by using the ________ command.

mount

In Linux, the ______________ contains information about the layout of blocks, sectors, and cylinder groups on the file system.

superblock

10. While Unix/Lunux and Windows OSs use filename extensions to identify file types, what does the Mac OS use?

type codes creator codes

List three features of the NTFS 4 and 5 file systems that are not found in the FAT file system

- Journaling - Rather than using a structure of FAT tables and directories, NTFS uses MFT - NTFS is less prone to file corruption than FAT in part because it has a hot fix capability, which means that if a bad disk area is detected, NTFS automatically copies the information from the bad area to another disk area that is not damaged

Describe three advantages of FAT32 over FAT16

-FAT32 allows the root directory to grow (FAT16 holds a maximum of 512 entries, and the limit can be even lower due to the use of long file names in the root folder). -FAT32 is more robust than FAT16, providing for the use of more clusters and larger partitions -FAT32 is designed to accommodate larger capacity disks than FAT16 and avoid the problem of cluster size limitations

List three tasks performed by a typical file system

-Partition and format disks to store and retrieve information -Secure the information in files -Enable files to be organized through directories and folders

List three folders normally found at the root of a Linux file system and what the folder is typically used for

/bin - Holds many of binaries running on your machine /boot - These are files that your computer need to boot /dev - Files related to the hardware in your machine, such as CPU and various hard drives

Briefly discuss what block allocation is and how it is organized

A hard disk configuration scheme in which the disk is divided into logical blocks, which in tum are mapped to sectors, heads, and tracks. Whenever the operating system needs to allocate some disk space, it allocates it based on a block address

In a PC system, the partition that contains the bootable operating system is?

Active partition

In Windows-based file systems, a logical block of information on a disk containing one or more sectors.

Cluster

That portion of a file in the Macintosh file system that stores the variable data associated with the file.

Data fork

Allocation of a specific amount of disk space to a user

Disk quota

Which of the following folders in a Windows file system is NOT typically located directly off the root? a. Windows b. Users c. Documents d. Program Files

Documents

Originally, FAT-16 supported comparatively short filenames, referred to as 6.3 filenames. T/F

False

Since FAT-16 had a number of limitations, FAT-32 is now the dominant Windows file system since it supports built-in security features and better file compression. T/F

False