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GCFA · Question #34

You work as a Network Administrator for Net World International. You have configured the hard disk drive of your computer as shown in the image below: The computer is configured to dual-boot with…

The correct answer is C. Windows 98 does not support the NTFS file system. Windows 98 cannot read NTFS-formatted partitions, so a file saved on an NTFS volume in Windows 2000 is completely inaccessible from Windows 98.

File System & Registry Forensics

Question

You work as a Network Administrator for Net World International. You have configured the hard disk drive of your computer as shown in the image below:

The computer is configured to dual-boot with Windows 2000 Server and Windows 98. While working on Windows 2000 Server, you save a file on the 6GB partition. You are unable to find the file while working on Windows 98. You are not even able to access the partition on which the file is saved. What is the most likely cause?

Options

  • AThe file is corrupt.
  • BThe 6GB partition is corrupt.
  • CWindows 98 does not support the NTFS file system.
  • DFiles saved in Windows 98 are not supported by Windows 2000.

How the community answered

(25 responses)
  • A
    8% (2)
  • B
    4% (1)
  • C
    72% (18)
  • D
    16% (4)

Why each option

Windows 98 cannot read NTFS-formatted partitions, so a file saved on an NTFS volume in Windows 2000 is completely inaccessible from Windows 98.

AThe file is corrupt.

File corruption would affect only the specific file, not prevent access to the entire 6 GB partition from Windows 98.

BThe 6GB partition is corrupt.

Partition corruption would cause access failures in both operating systems, not exclusively in Windows 98.

CWindows 98 does not support the NTFS file system.Correct

Windows 98 natively supports only FAT16 and FAT32 file systems and has no built-in ability to mount or read NTFS volumes. Because Windows 2000 Server formats partitions as NTFS by default, any partition created or used under Windows 2000 with NTFS will be invisible and inaccessible when the machine is booted into Windows 98. This is a fundamental file system compatibility limitation, not a data corruption issue.

DFiles saved in Windows 98 are not supported by Windows 2000.

This reverses the relationship incorrectly - Windows 2000 can read FAT partitions created under Windows 98, so cross-OS file compatibility is not the issue here.

Concept tested: NTFS file system compatibility with legacy Windows versions

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/backup-and-storage/fat-hpfs-and-ntfs-file-systems

Topics

#NTFS#FAT#dual-boot#file system compatibility

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