PC Hardware

Lesson Summary

The following points summarize the main elements of this lesson:

  • The maximum storage capacity of a hard disk drive is determined by its geometry.

  • CHS values define the geometry of a hard disk drive.

  • The largest hard disk drive recognized by the BIOS will vary with the age of the system.

  • Proper CMOS settings are required for hard disk drives.

  • There are two types of partitions-primary and extended.

  • A cluster is the basic unit of storage.

  • The FDISK program is used to partition drives.

  • Microsoft ScanDisk is a useful tool for diagnosing and repairing many disk problems.

  • The proper drive information must be held in CMOS for proper drive operation.


Tutorial Summary

The following points summarize the key concepts in this tutorial:

Floppy Disk Drives

  • The first disk drives were floppy disk drives. The technology of floppy disks has changed little in the past decade.

  • Floppy disk drives are designated as A or B. The drive letter designation is determined by the location of the drive on the cable.

  • Floppy disk drives fail more than any other part of a computer system.

Hard Disk Drives

  • The three major steps in installing a hard disk drive are to partition the drive, set the CMOS settings, and format the drive.

  • FDISK is used to partition hard disk drives. A computer technician should be familiar with the use of FDISK and partitioning.

  • The geometry of a hard disk drive (CHS values) determines its storage capacity.

  • There are two type of partitions (primary and extended). MS-DOS must be on the primary partition.

  • The active partition is where the operating system is stored. The active partition is usually (but not always) the primary partition.