File Processing In Windows / Linux

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Windows XP File Processing Within Windows there are two methods that a user or administrator can obtain access to files stored on the hard drive or media source. In the Windows operating system, files that are operating system specific (files needed in order for the operating system to work) are normally on the primary drive which is usually the C: drive. On a Windows based PC during the setup process, a user has the choice of where the operating system files are stored and what file system Windows will be using. With Windows XP/2000 there are two file system types to choose from, FAT and NTFS. FAT is an acronym for file allocation table, and NTFS is an acronym for New Technology File System. Windows XP also supports two types of file systems on CD-ROM and DVD (Compact Disc File systems [CDFS] and Universal Disk Format [UDF]). Primarily the Windows XP/2000operating system uses the NTFS file system. The NTFS file system uses the cluster scheme that is seen in FAT for allocating data, but for a given drive, it has less overhead. A computer system's overhead is its cost of doing business because it must use processing time and memory to run the operating system. If there is a concern with security, performance, and efficiency, or if very large capacity hard drives are being used, then NTFS is the one to choose. With NTFS the security of files and folders can be managed. NTFS also offers other major advantages. These include: • The ability to assign permissions to each file and folder on the disk. • More efficient storage of data on large hard disks. • Faster access to files and folders. • Better data recovery because a log is kept of disk activities so if there is a disk failure; Windows can restore the disk based on the log file. • Ability to compress files, allowing more data to be stored on a disk. • Ability to assign disk quotas, which allow limits to be set on how much disk space a user may have. • Encryption of files for better security. As mentioned before, there are two ways that files may be accessed within Windows. One way is through the Command Line or otherwise known as the DOS (Disk Operating System) Command Prompt. This is the operating systems text-based command line shell program that allows for file access and file manipulation. Files are viewed, accessed, modified, and manipulated by typing text-based commands into the command line or DOS prompt.

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