Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

Hard Disk

Synopsis

The following settings and tasks relate to using hard disks, typically accessed through My Computer or Windows Explorer. See Figure 5-4. (See also “Folders”.)

Figure 5-4. Open the Properties sheet of a hard disk to view statistics and to access certain hard disk tools

Hard Disk, cache settings for offline access

Explorer → right-click drive icon → Sharing → Caching

Hard Disk, change Chkdsk options at Windows startup

See “Chkntfs” in Chapter 4.

Hard Disk, change drive letters

Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc); see “Microsoft Management Console” in Chapter 4.

Hard Disk, change label

See “Label” in Chapter 4.

Hard Disk, check for errors

Explorer → right-click drive icon → Properties → Tools tab → Check Now

Hard Disk, clean up

Explorer → right-click drive icon → Properties → General tab → Disk Cleanup

Hard Disk, compress drive

Explorer → right-click drive icon → Properties → Compress drive to save disk space

Hard Disk, compression options

See “NTFS Compression Utility” in Chapter 4.

Hard Disk, convert FAT and FAT32 drives to NTFS filesystem

See “FAT to NTFS Conversion Utility” in Chapter 4.

Hard Disk, convert to dynamic disk

Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) → View → Top → Disk List → right-click on drive in top pane → Convert to Dynamic Disk

Hard Disk, defragment

Explorer → right-click drive icon → Properties → Tools tab → Defragment Now

Hard Disk, enable / disable write ...