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| Healthy Hard Drives |
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Windows Computing November 1998 • Vol.9 Issue 11 |
Healthy Hard Drives Investments In Disk Maintenance Utilities Buy Better Drive Performance | ||
 We tend to think of our hard drives as roomy closets. It might be better to think of them as bodies. Just as your body needs periodic maintenance to work at its best, so does your hard drive. Your PC's operating system already includes some basic hard drive maintenance tools, but they can be a bit underpowered. Sophisticated hard drive maintenance usually comes with the purchase of a dedicated drive utility package. Though the operating system tries to avoid problems when storing data, they do arise, with the three most common being cross-linked files, lost clusters, and disk fragmentation. Cross-linked files occur when the operating system thinks two files are on the same storage unit called a cluster. Lost clusters occur when a cluster contains data but the operating system thinks it's not owned by a file. Disk fragmentation occurs when the clusters that make up a file are scattered. This forces the operating system to access multiple hard drive locations to load the fragmented file. This slows loading and makes it harder to recover the file after a disaster. Drive optimization, also known as defragmentation, rearranges the hard drive so all the clusters of each file are together and in order. Once a drive is optimized, all the free space is together so new files tend to be created automatically in an unfragmented form. This, however, will deteriorate over time, making regular defragmentation a necessity.  Operating System Solutions DOS and Windows 3.1 users can correct these problems by running the ScanDisk utility. This tool finds and corrects cross-linked files and lost clusters, plus it can scan the entire hard drive to make sure it is problem-free. DOS comes with a disk optimization program called DEFRAG. The Windows 95 and 98 (Win95 and 98) version is called Disk Defragmenter.
Utility Packages Large-scale utility packages, such as Nuts & Bolts 98 or Norton Utilities 3.0, provide a complete suite of tools. These packages include a utility to prevent or solve most typical hardware and operating system problems. The advantages of using one troubleshooting suite are that you must learn only one interface and you can shop once for a tool that handles all your maintenance. The major features common to both Nuts & Bolts 98 and the Norton Utilities 3.0 are: • hard drive testing and repair • hard drive defragmentation • Windows crash protection • storing copies of the partition table, file allocation table (FAT), and boot record for easy recovery • creating a bootable rescue diskette • optimizing the Win95 Registry, which holds system configuration information. Nuts & Bolts 98 also offers unique tools for file encryption, secure file erasing, and antivirus protection. Norton Utilities 3.0 adds file unerasing, an Iomega Zip disk rescue disk with a bootable copy of Windows, space wizard to erase or archive unneeded files, and hard drive unformatting. Both Norton Utilities 3.0 and Nuts & Bolts 98 include drive optimization programs that significantly outperform Disk Defragmenter. Both programs use the Win98 file usage information to place commonly used files at the outer edge of the drive. This "reordering" speeds up access to these common files, which are typically programs, while placing lesser-used files near the center of the drive, near the free space. Since these are typically data files, reordering also reduces future fragmentation. In addition to reordering, Nuts & Bolts 98 lets the user specify a custom arrangement. For example, a user could elect to place a large, permanent swap file at the outside edge of the hard drive. (Operating systems use swap files to hold parts of programs too large to fit in main memory.) Norton Utilities optimizes the Windows Registry, in addition to the hard drive, and runs the fastest of any of the optimization programs.
With each new release, utility packages gain new features and become more useful. Major packages still fall short, however, in some areas such as disk mapping, hard drive partitioning, and hard drive installation. For these areas, you'll still need a program specializing in hard drive maintenance. Mapping Your Hard Drive When it's time to free up drive space, it can be difficult to see which folders and subdirectories are taking up too much space. DOS' DIR command and the Windows File Manager or Windows Explorer show you only one subdirectory or folder at a time. DiskMapper 2 shows how much space files and folders take up in a map of your entire drive. Using this map, you can view the entire hard drive or zoom in and out of subdirectories for a more comprehensive inspection. There's no better way to spot those overstuffed subdirectories. You also can use DiskMapper 2 to delete or compress the unnecessary or rarely used items you find without switching to another program. Divide & Conquer Partitioning is the process of treating one physical hard drive as though it were multiple hard drives. Some operating systems require partitioning of large hard drives, but even when that's not the case, there are major advantages to partitioning: •The same file often takes up less storage space on a smaller partition than on a larger partition. •Multiple partitions let you segregate your programs on one partition, your data files on a second partition, and your swap file on a third. •You can boot from multiple operating systems. (The theory and process of partitioning were explained in detail in "Reclaim Storage With Partitions" in our August 1997 issue.) DOS and Win95 include tools for changing your drive's partitioning. You first run FDISK to change the partitioning and then FORMAT to reformat the drives. The disadvantage of using these tools is that all your programs and data files are erased, leaving you with blank partitions. While you then can restore data from a backup, the process is tedious and error-prone, especially with Win95. PartitionMagic 4.0 makes the process quick and painless with features such as the ability to repartition without erasing the hard drive. The program is a DOS utility, so if you are using Win95 or 98, you must first exit to DOS. PartitionMagic simulates a Windows interface so you'll feel comfortable running the program. You tell PartitionMagic how large to make the partitions, either graphically or by typing values. It then moves the free space around and creates the partitions automatically. It will not, however, move files for you. If you want, for example, to create a D: drive for all your data, you must manually move the files after creating the partition. PartitionMagic checks the hard drive for problems and aborts if it finds any, so you should first run a scanning program discussed above. PartitionMagic is simple enough to use that you may find yourself running it occasionally to adjust the sizes of partitions on your system. The program also can convert to and from FAT16 and FAT32, which requires Win95 Original Equipment Manufacturer Service Release 2 if you don't have Win98. (See Using FAT32 in our October 1998 issue of Smart Computing.) PartitionMagic includes BootMagic for managing multiple operating systems installed on multiple partitions. This lets you easily run Windows 3.1 and Win95 or Win95 and Win98 on one PC. Easing The Upgrade Sooner or later, whether your old drive failed or grew too small, you will need to change or add a hard drive. Your choices are to go in and swap out drives or add a second drive. In either case, you can make the job easier with software utilities. Many systems, particularly older systems, limit the size of your hard drive to 504 megabytes (MB). If you want to install a drive larger than this, you have two options: either partition the drive or use a program such as Disk Manager or EZ-Drive to get around this limitation. These utilities are so useful that most hard drive vendors now include one of them with their drives. To use these programs, you set the jumpers (small switches) on the new drive as specified by the manufacturer and install it. If your PC's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) supports auto drive type selection, you use that setting. Otherwise, both programs have options to help you find the correct jumper settings. Now you start the PC from a diskette (instead of the hard drive's startup files) and run the program. Both offer quick installation settings that will create a single partition, format the drive, install special software (if needed), put the DOS boot files on the drive, then prompt you to reboot the PC. After this, you're ready to install your operating system. Once you install a replacement or second hard drive, you need to load it with software. If you're looking to move files among drives, make it easier with the right software utility. DriveCopy 2.0 copies the information from one hard drive to another drive on the same system. If you're upgrading to a larger hard drive, you can install the new drive without removing the existing drive. With both installed, you can use DriveCopy to make the copy. You're then free to remove or reformat the original drive. The opening screen offers the options of copying one entire drive to another drive, copying one partition to another partition, or displaying information on the drive. DriveCopy 2.0 can handle drives and partitions of different sizes, as long as the target has adequate space for all the files. It even can create partitions on the target drive automatically. DriveCopy 2.0 only copies between drives or partitions on the same system. If you want to create a backup image of your hard drive, try Drive Image 2.0. This program creates a compressed image of a partition, such as your C: drive. If disaster strikes, you simply restore the image, which includes all the system's hidden files. In many ways, Drive Image 2.0 is superior to a tape backup. With the latter, you must restore Windows and the backup software before you can use the backup tape. Drive Image 2.0 is a DOS program that runs from a bootable diskette you create, which means you can immediately use it to recover your system. Drive Image 2.0 automatically recognizes and uses Zip, Jaz, and SyQuest drives, and the images it creates are compressed and can span multiple disks. The Ultimate Recovery Disk You should have a bootable diskette to use if problems develop that prevent you from booting from your hard drive. Its small capacity, however, limits what recovery tools you can put on that diskette. Z-pA overcomes that problem. This small $15 utility program lets you optionally boot from a Zip disk. It only works with the older IDE/ATA Zip drives. A separate version of the program (ZppA) works with parallel port Zip drives. DOS, Windows 3.1, and earlier versions of Win95 only support diskette drives up to 32MB. If you have one of these operating systems, Z-pA includes a program that formats a Zip disk as a 32MB disk so the operating system can recognize it. With either 32MB or 100MB of space, there's room for all the disaster recovery tools you might need. Z-pA and ZppA are shareware, and a trial version is available at the author's World Wide Web site at http://www.blueskyinnovations.com. No one user may need all the tools described here. But check them out to determine which utilities are best-suited to your hard drive medicine cabinet. The biggest mistake you could make is to let your drive go untreated.  by Ronny Richardson | ||||
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