A Guide to Jargons


  1. Posts : 20
    Windows 7
       #1

    A Guide to Jargons


    Boot Partition
    The boot partition contains the Windows operating system and its support files. The boot partition can be, but does not have to be, the same as the system partition. There will be one, and only one, system partition, but there will be one boot partition for each operating system in a multi-boot system.

    Note On dynamic disks, this is known as the boot volume.

    Dual-Boot
    A computer configuration that can start two different operating systems.
    See also: Multiple-Boot



    Extended Partition
    Extended partitions were developed in response to the need for more than four partitions per disk drive. An extended partition can itself contain multiple partitions and this extends the number of partitions possible on a single drive. An extended partition is a container for logical drives that are formatted and assigned drive letters. The introduction of extended partitions was driven by increasing capacities of new disk drives.



    FAT (File Allocation Table)
    A file system that is used by MS-DOS and other Windows-based operating systems to organize and manage files. The file allocation table (FAT) is a data structure that Windows creates when you format a volume by using the FAT or FAT32 file systems. Windows stores information about each file in the FAT so that it can retrieve the file later.
    See also: FAT32, File System, NTFS File System



    FAT32
    A derivative of the FAT file system. FAT32 supports smaller cluster sizes and larger volumes than FAT, which results in more efficient space allocation on FAT32 volumes.
    See also: File Allocation Table (FAT), NTFS File System, Volume



    File System
    In an operating system, the file system is the overall structure in which files are named, stored, and organized. NTFS, FAT, and FAT32 are types of file systems.
    See also: NTFS File System, FAT, FAT32



    Logical Partition
    Logical partitions are those partitions contained within an extended partition. In terms of use they are no different than a non-extended primary partition. The number of logical drives that may be created in extended partition is limited by the number of available drive letters and the amount of hard drive space available for creating drives.



    Multiple-Boot
    A computer configuration that can start two different operating systems.
    See also: Dual-Boot



    NTFS File System
    An advanced file system that provides performance, security (i.e.,file and folder permissions), reliability, and advanced features that are not found in any version of FAT. For example, NTFS guarantees volume consistency by using standard transaction logging and recovery techniques. If a system fails, NTFS uses its log file and checkpoint information to restore the consistency of the file system. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, NTFS also provides advanced features such as encryption, Reparse points, Sparse files, USN Journal, and disk quotas.
    See also: FAT32, File Allocation Table (FAT), File System



    Primary Partition
    A partition that is used to start an operating system. Primary partitions are partitions that take up one of the four primary partition slots in the disk drive's partition table. You can also use primary partitions that do not contain the operating system.



    System Partition
    The system partition refers to the disk volume that contains the hardware-specific files that are needed to start Windows, such as Ntldr, Boot.ini, and Ntdetect.com. The system partition can be, but does not have to be, the same volume as the boot partition.

    Note On dynamic disks, this is known as the system volume.

    See also: Boot Partition, Volume



    Volume
    A volume is an area of storage on a hard disk that is either a primary partition or a logical drive in an extended partition.A volume is formatted by using a file system, such as FAT or NTFS, and has a drive letter assigned to it. You can view the contents of a volume by clicking its icon in Windows Explorer or in My Computer. A single hard disk can have multiple volumes, and volumes can also span multiple disks.
    See also: File Allocation Table (FAT), NTFS File System



    I know it is not a Complete guide, those guys who know more can add some more, I was just out time!

    Many Thanks
    Cheers
    LP
      My Computer


  2. Lee
    Posts : 1,796
    Win 7 Pro x64, VM Win XP, Win7 Pro Sandbox, Kubuntu 11
       #2

    Excellent post there L.P. Good info for some of the newbies, who have, yet to even know we out where in the wild. :)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 22
    Win7 Ultimate x64
       #3

    I think people need to start learning how to find information on their own. I'll give you a hint: Search Google, and in the extremely rare case that doesn't work - Search Wikipedia.

    I'd be glad to help people learn to search, I think it's the most important learning tool to have (why isn't it the first thing you learn when you go to school?!?!?!).
      My Computer


 

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