Before Formatting an NTFS volume
For better performance of your NTFS volume it is essential to evaluate which type of files will be stored in the volume and how big they will be. This is to decide whether to use the default cluster size for the NTFS partition or manually configure it. Clusters are units in which files of a file system are managed. Choosing an ideal cluster size not only saves the disk space but also improves the performance of the volume.

Choosing a Cluster size
The default cluster size values of NTFS formatting in Windows NT/2000/XP are as follows:

* greater than 2 TB is not supported in Windows NT due to limitations of MBR

A manual partition can be assigned cluster size values as 512 bytes, 1KB, 2KB, 4KB, 8KB, 16KB, 32KB, 64 KB. However a cluster size more than 4 KB does not support compression on volumes (You might have seen that the default cluster size is not exceeding 4 KB in the above table).

If you are going to use your HDD for saving regular working documents like xls, doc, etc., it is good to use small cluster size so that disk space is not wasted. However, if you will be saving large multimedia files than it will be good to use large cluster size. This will help in improving performance of the Logical Volume.

Maximum sizes in NTFS
NTFS has certain limits for file size, volume size and number of files per volume. The limits, according to Microsoft, are as follows…

• The maximum size of an NTFS volume is 256 Terabytes minus 64KB (Thus, even a PC with 1TB of disk space can be formatted into single NTFS volume without any issues).
• The maximum size of a file you can store in an NTFS volume is 16Terabytes minus 64 KB.
• The maximum number of files you can store in a NTFS volume are 4,294,967,295. However, if the number of files is exceeding 300,000, it is recommended to disable automatic short-file name generation (use this link to find the procedure http://support.microsoft.com/kb/210638). This will speed up file and folder access of the system.

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Why to update systems with patches given by Microsoft?
The windows operating system we use in the computer is fundamentally made up of millions of lines of programming code. For example, Windows Vista is made of about fifty million lines of code. Errors are inevitably made, while typing out these 50,000,000 lines, thus making the software vulnerable.

Hackers try to exploit these vulnerabilities created by the mistakes in the software. They use the hacked computer to send spam, steal passwords of the owners/users in order to take over their identities and make online purchases.

In order to repair these errors, Microsoft regularly releases updates/patches for its products. These updates automatically take care of the vulnerable part of the code by repairing or replacing it with safer one.

Quick Facts:
As of 2008, Windows Update has about 500 million clients, processes about 350 million unique scans per day, and maintains an average of 1.5 million simultaneous connections to client machines. On Patch Tuesday, the day Microsoft typically releases new software updates, outbound traffic can exceed 500 gigabits per second. Approximately 90% of all clients use automatic updates to initiate software updates, with the remaining 10% using the Windows Update web site. The web site is built using ASP.NET, and processes an average of 90,000 page requests per second.

How to perform windows update – for Dummies:
There are many ways through which you can update your windows manually.

• Go to all programs in start menu and find “Windows Update” and click on it. (OR)
• Right click on “My Computer”. Go to “Automatic Updates” tab. Click on “Windows Update Website”. (OR)
• Open “Internet Explorer“. Type windowsupdate.microsoft.com in the address bar and hit Enter.

All the above steps will direct you to Windows update site of Microsoft. Click on “Express” button. The site will provide all the recommended updates for your computer. Click on ‘Review and Install Updates’ and then on ‘Install Now.’

Precautions while performing windows updates:

• Log in as Administrator into your system.
• Make sure there is no interruption in power or internet while updates are going on. That may make things messy for later updates.
• Some updates require restarting of your computer. Make sure you save and close all your work and applications before you start installation process.
• Use Internet Explorer only as updates don’t work on other browsers.

PS: The above mentioned process is for people without much idea on “windows updates”.

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There are some advantages along with disadvantages of opting to Windows 7. The following information may help you in deciding whether you really need to upgrade to Windows 7-

Reasons to switch to Windows 7

1. Application compatibility can be achieved by “Windows XP mode” by running virtual windows XP machine.
2. Windows live essentials: It is a free software that make possible to do more things like instant messaging, e-mail, photo editing, and blogging.
3. Improved search operation performance, as results will come instantly as categorized in groups. Moreover, key words are highlighted enabling easy file identification.
4. Supports 64-bit PC that can handle huge amounts of information than a 32-bit system.
5. Power management can be efficiently done by new features such as, running less number of background activities, automatic screen dimming, unused ports are not run and life indicator to battery.
6. Multi touch technology allows to use more than one finger while operating the touch screen either at application level or system level.
7. Protect files with features such as “Use Bit Locker” and “Bit Locker To Go”
8. Continuous access to corporate resources with a broadband connection. No need to get a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection.
9. The feature “Domain Join” allows to connect multiple PCs, with or without a server.
10. Supports 35 languages. So, you can easily switch among them by logging off, again logging on. Moreover, it supports handwriting recognition.
11. System startup, shutdown and resumes are faster.
12. Appearance of the desktop has improved by including fresh wallpapers, retooled task bar and improved gadgets
13. Easy data sharing between two or more PCs by using “Share with” option.
14. Windows 7 can read larger than 131 GB hard drive (unfragmented).
15. Upgrading Vista to Windows7 will get 223% better performance while running IE8.
16. In Action Center you can find information you need regarding system maintenance, trouble shooting, security issues etc.

Reasons to avoid Windows7

1. Older PCs doesn’t have hardware compatibility to achieve ‘Windows XP mode’.
2. Windows7 provides less battery life to the notebooks than Windows XP.
3. Need to do clean install if you want to upgrade from XP to Windows7.
4. If you’re an XP user you need to learn a new user interface.
5. Runs the browser 11.5% slower than Windows XP.
6. Requires high configuration like Vista.
7. Very expensive to buy.

Comparison of System Requirements:

These descriptions and features will help you in learning ins and outs of Windows 7. Windows 7 has fixes to the drawbacks in Vista and it is desirable to move to the new OS. For the XP users, you may need to think twice before moving to Windows 7. Ultimately it is you to decide based on your computer usage and requirements.

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