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System Software: Question 6

Syllabus 5.1

Multiple choice AS 1 mark

Aiden has just bought a brand-new external hard disk drive. It has never been used before and currently has no file system on it at all, so his computer's operating system cannot yet use it to store any files.

Which utility program must Aiden run on the new disk before he can start saving files onto it?

Choose an answer to check it, then compare with the worked solution below.
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Worked solution

Why A is correct

Before any storage medium can be used to save files, it needs a file system. A structure the operating system uses to organise, name and keep track of where each file’s data is stored on the disk. Aiden’s disk is brand new and has never had a file system written onto it, so the operating system currently has no way to store or organise files on it at all.

A disk formatting utility is designed to prepare a storage medium for use in exactly this situation: it writes a new, empty file system onto the disk. Only once this has been done can the operating system save files to the disk, since it now has somewhere structured to record what is stored and where.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B: A disk defragmentation utility reorganises data that has already become scattered across a disk because of files being saved, edited and deleted over time. Aiden’s disk has never stored any files, so there is nothing yet to defragment.
  • C: Backup software copies files that already exist onto separate storage, to protect against losing them later. Aiden has no files on this new disk yet, so there is nothing yet to back up.
  • D: An antivirus utility scans existing files and programs for malware. A sealed, never-used disk with no files on it cannot yet contain any malware to detect.

Final answer

A. A disk formatting utility must be run first, to write a new file system onto the brand-new disk, before Aiden can start saving files onto it.