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3.0 Operating Systems and Software


3.3 Explain the process and steps to install and configure the Windows OS

  • File systems


    • FAT32 vs. NTFS

      • The FAT file system is a better choice than NTFS for volumes that are smaller than approximately 400-500 MB, because of the amount of disk space overhead involved in NTFS, but is very inefficient for volumes larger than 1 gigabyte (GB). This overhead is in the form of NTFS system files and the log file, which can use a large percentage of the total disk space on a small volume.

      Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows Me are the only Microsoft operating systems that can access FAT32 volumes.

      The NTFS file system is best for use on volumes of about 400 MB or more, because performance does not degrade as much on larger NTFS volumes as compared to larger FAT volumes. However, if you want to use features that are available only on NTFS, such as file security or compression, you can use NTFS on smaller volumes.

      NTFS is a proprietary file system for Windows XP, Vista, NT, and Windows 7.


  • Directory structures


    • Create folders


    • Navigate directory structures

      This illustrates the location for different user items between the Windows 2000/XP and Vista/7 operating systems:

      Folder location in
      Windows 2000/XP       		  New location in
      Windows Vista/7
      \Documents and Settings

      		\Users
      \Documents and Settings
      \user name\My Documents


      		\Users\user name\Documents
      \Documents and Settings
      \user name\My Documents\My Pictures


      		\Users\user name\Pictures
      \Documents and Settings
      \user name\My Documents\My Music


      		\Users\user name\Music
      \Documents and Settings
      \user name\My Documents\My Videos


      		\Users\user name\Videos
      \Documents and Settings
      \user name\Desktop


      		\Users\user name\Desktop
      \Documents and Settings
      \user name\Local Settings       		\Users\user name
      \AppData\Local

  • Files


    • Creation


    • Extensions


    • Attributes


    • Permissions


  • Verification of hardware compatibility and minimum requirements


  • Installation methods


    • Boot media such as CD, floppy or USB


    • Network installation


    • Install from image


    • Recover CD


    • Factory recovery partition


  • Operating system installation options


    • File system type

      • The FAT32 file system allows for a default cluster size as small as 4 KB, and includes support for EIDE hard disk sizes larger than 2 gigabytes (GB). However, Microsoft Windows 2000 only supports FAT32 partitions up to a size of 32 GB, and some hard disks may not be able to contain bootable partitions that are larger than 7.8 GB because of limitations in your computer's basic input/output system (BIOS).

      Microsoft bundled disk tools (Format, Fdisk, Defrag, and MS-DOS- based and Windows-based ScanDisk) that were designed to work with FAT or FAT16 file systems were revised to work with FAT32. In addition, many leading device driver and disk tools also gained support for FAT32. FAT32 volumes cannot be compressed by using Microsoft DriveSpace or DriveSpace 3.

      NTFS is a high-performance, reliable, self-healing file system that includes built-in security features such as file and folder permissions and the Encrypting File System (EFS), which is the technology used to store encrypted files on NTFS volumes. NTFS also provides support for volumes up to 256 terabytes in size, support for disk quotas and compression, and support for mounted drives.


    • Network configuration


    • Repair install


  • Disk preparation order


    • Format drive


    • Partition

      • There are two types of partitions, primary and extended. A primary partition is one into which you can install the files needed to load an operating system. A primary partition is formatted for a particular file system and is assigned a drive letter. Having multiple primary partitions enables you to install and start operating systems that do not use the same file system. You can have as many as four primary partitions on a hard disk.

      You can have one extended partition on a hard disk. An extended partition is effectively a logical disk. Unlike a primary partition, you do not format the extended partition, nor does it get assigned a drive letter. Instead, you can create one or more logical drives within the extended partition, and each logical drive is assigned a drive letter. You format each logical drive for a particular file system. An extended partition is a method for configuring a hard disk into more than four logical areas. If you have an extended partition on the disk, you can have up to three primary partitions.


    • Start installation


  • Device Manager

    The Device Manager in Windows systems is used to check the status of installed hardware devices, modify hardware settings, and update drivers for your devices.

    More on the Windows Device Manager


    • Verify


    • Install and update devices drivers


    • Driver signing


  • User data migration - User State Migration Tool (USMT)


  • Virtual memory


  • Configure power manangement


    • Suspend


    • Wake on LAN


    • Sleep timers


    • Hibernate


    • Standby


  • Demonstrate safe removal of peripherals

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