| Term | Definition |
|---|
| active partition | partition the OS uses to boot the system |
| actuator arm | the arm that moves the read/write heads over the disk |
| ATA | AT Attachment: a disk drive interface that integrates the controller into the disk drive. Also called IDE or EIDE |
| basic disk | tradition storage systems using FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS |
| benchmark test | tests that compare performance of different hardware or software |
| cluster | made up of two or more sectors - the smallest unit a file can be stored in. Also called allocation units |
| cylinder | a vertical collection of one set of tracks on all hard disk platters |
| defragment | rearranging clusters on the disk so that each file is stored in consecutive (next to each other) clusters |
| dual boot system | a system in which multiple operating systems (OSs) are stored. User chooses OS when computer boots |
| dynamic disk | improved version of NTFS file system |
| FAT16 | a file system where file storage information is recorded with 16 bits of data |
| FAT32 | a file system where file storage information is recorded with 32 bits of data |
| floppy drive | a device that records data to floppy disks (usually 3.5" dual-sided 1.44MB) |
| formatting | prepares a disk to receive data in a systematic, organized manner |
| fragmented | files that are stored in nonconsecutive (scattered) clusters on the hard disk |
| high-level format | a process that creates a boot record, FAT, and the root directory - prepares the disk for storage of files |
| Integrated drive electronics (IDE) | early standard for hard disks that built the HD controller onto the drive itself |
| logical drives | separate storage areas on a single physical drive that simulate separate drives (also called partitions) |
| logical unit number (LUN) | identifier used with SCSI extenders to allow one SCSI ID number to represent up to 8 devices |
| low-level format | process that determines type of encoding done on disk platter and sequence in which the read/write heads access stored data |
| LS-120 drive | high-capacity floppy that can store 120MB of data on a single disk |
| master | the primary drive on an IDE channel. Must be set with a jumper on IDE devices |
| master boot record (MBR) | area of the hard disk that contains information about the physical characteristics of drive, the disk partitions, and boot procedures (also called boot sector) |
| multiple zone recording (MZR) | method of sectoring hard disk tracks so there are twice as many sectors in the outer tracks as there are in the inner tracks |
| new technology file system (NTFS) | file system found in Windows NT and later. Has improved security and storage capacity; backward compatible with FAT16 |
| NTFS5.0 | newer version of NTFS that can use dynamic disks |
| partition | areas on a hard drive that can act as separate drives. also called logical drives |
| read/write head | mechanism that records information to and reads information from a magnetic disk |
| ScanDisk | used in Windows 95/98 to inspect disk surface and identify bad sectors and lost clusters |
| SCSI ID number | unique number (0 - 7) assigned to a device on a SCSI chain and used to identify that device |
| sector | subdivision of tracks on a storage disk, usually about 512 bytes (1/2 KB) in size |
| slave | a secondary drive on an IDE channel. Must be set with a jumper on the device |
| small computer systems interface (SCSI) | the standard used by Macintosh/Apple and Unix systems to connect peripheral devices to a computer |
| track | concentric (one inside the other) circles of data storage areas on a disk |
| virtual file allocation table (VFAT) | a way to program FAT16 file systems to allow long file names sililar to FAT32 |
| volume mount points | allow a volume or additional hard drive to be attached to a directory structure |
| Zip disk | a form of removable data storage that can hold over 100MB of data |
Combine with other sets
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