The user is able to view in-depth information on the properties of hard disks. The main tools to extract this information are the
Disk Map and the
List of Partitions. The two represent the actual state of the computer's hard disks.
Generally the hard disks are represented on the map by rectangular bars, which also contain small-sized bars. The small-sized bars represent logical disks (partitions). When the user selects a large-sized bar, the
Explorer bar displays information about the disk in a bright, graphical form.
The model and serial number In the DOS partitioning scheme, every hard disk and every partition has a 32-bit serial number represented by an 8-figure hexadecimal value. It is stored in the MBR and its value is assigned when the MBR sector is initialized by Microsoft standard disk managing tools, such as Windows Disk Administrator and the FDISK utility. In fact, a hard disk's serial number is not important for most operating systems and software. It is known that Windows NT, 2000 and XP store its value in the database of assigned drive letters. A partition's serial number is stored in its boot sector (in FAT16, FAT32 and NFTS file systems). Its value is assigned when the partition is formatted. It does not play an important role for most operating systems and software as well. of the disk serve as the title of the browsed page. The disk layout is shown in form of a circular graph, where the color of a sector corresponds to a file system of an appropriate partition. On the right the user may see a table, which contains the following information:
- Type of hard disk (basic or dynamic),
- Total size (in GB),
- Information on geometry of the disk (amount of sectors per track, heads and cylinders).
Below there is a list of wizards available for the user. If the user clicks a corresponding record the appropriate wizard will be started. All default values for the operation parameters will correspond to the disk's settings. The list of wizards contains a detailed description of tasks that can be performed by the wizard. This nullifies the possibility of selecting the wrong wizard.
When the user selects a small-sized bar (i.e. corresponding to a logical disk), the Explorer bar will display information on it as well. The page title will contain a drive letter, which is assigned to the disk. The disk layout graph will be colored in accordance with the volume ratio of the used space to the free space (the light colored sector).
The table on the right will contain the following information:
- Volume label (if available),
- Type of the logical disk,
- File system (represented by the color of the graph and the selected bar),
- Total size, used space and free space (in GB or MB).
Below there is a list of wizards, which may be called for this disk. All default values of parameters will correspond to the disk settings.