Software Types and Language Translators: Question 7
Syllabus 4.1
A user notices that their laptop has become slower at opening files, after years of installing and deleting many programs. A technician explains that the data belonging to each file has become scattered across many separate physical locations on the hard disk, instead of being stored together. The user runs a utility program that reorganises the data on the disk so that each file's data is stored in one continuous area, without changing what any of the files actually contain.
Which utility program is being described?
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Worked solution
Step 1: Recall what each utility program does
- Anti-virus software scans files and memory for malicious software and removes or isolates anything it finds. It does not reorganise data on the disk.
- Disk defragmentation software reorganises the data that makes up each file so that it is stored in continuous areas on the disk rather than scattered across many separate locations, which speeds up reading files. It does not change what the files contain.
- File compression software reduces the size of a file (or group of files) so it takes up less storage space, which is a different action from reorganising where data sits on the disk.
- Automatic backup software creates a separate copy of files, usually in another location or on another device, so they can be restored if the originals are lost or damaged.
Step 2: Match the description to a utility
The scenario describes data that has become scattered across the disk being reorganised into continuous areas, without any file’s contents being changed. This matches disk defragmentation, not scanning for malware, reducing file size, or copying files elsewhere.
Step 3: Confirm the match
Only disk defragmentation software reorganises existing data on the disk itself to make files faster to read, which is exactly the effect described.
Final answer
The utility program being described is disk defragmentation software, option B.