Ok, first off. Blogger is pissing me off big time. I've been trying to do updates for weeks now and everytime i get to class, the damn system is down and i can't do shit with it.

Now. I just got a %63 on my mid-term after answering one obvious question wrong and i'm having some issues with other questions being asked and the whole direction of class lectures.

Some questions being asked in tests have 2 possible answers and when the most popular answer isn't given, the mark is deducted, when obviously there should have been 2 options.

The question is : ____ offers several easy-to-use tools to prevent damage to a hard drive, recover data from a damaged hard drive, and improve system performance.

Possible answers : Norton Utilities, Spinrite, Partition Magic or Bootmagic.

Throwing out the obvious partitioning and boot utility tool, i've used both Norton and Spinrite and they both offer the features in question, so how is spinrite the wrong answer?

Next? The instructor goes through a typical lecture on a chapter and during the lecture he makes specific mention to certain parts of chapters and certain topics. You focus on these topics and sections and study them, only to have nothing of the type come into play when exams and tests are given.

Quite frustrating, i must say.

Posted by n00nz |

Finally recovering from the laringitis. Still very tired and getting to the point where i wish i could get my nights back for relaxation.

Notes:

• A Cluster is the smallest storage area on a disk.
• A Sector is the smallest physical area on a disk.
• If a single file is big enough to be saved on multiple clusters, it is called a chain.
• Defragmenting a hard drive with an NTFS file system offers a very minimal performance boost.
• The directory table points to the first cluster that holds the files.

Posted by n00nz |

Ugh... i think i'm gonna pass out on this keyboard. I'm so damn tired now. I haven't really slept well all week with the damn coughing and laringitis. I can't wait till this is over and i can go back to my loathing self.

Starting off with labs today and i can barely keep interest enough to sit straight on my chair.

Nothing more boring than file systems, with the clusters, sectors, blah blah blah....

Posted by n00nz |

Ugh... lost my voice with the damn laringitis.

Test today was ok. Scored a 73% with absolutely no studying. I really need to put more into this class, but again, my work schedule seems to be ramping up and may not let up. Of course, passing the A+ certification requires an 85% mark, so when the test comes, that's cramming time.

Hmm.. i asked the teacher in my Godfather voice, if we could do the test, then the lecture so i could take off and get home, skipping the lab section of the class today. We are covering hard drives and it appears we are moving so slowly through the chapter, the whole class is going to miss the lab and i will still sit through a lecture that lasts until regular class time is over.

Notes:

• PIO - Program Input Output - The CPU needs to get involved as soon as data is introduced to the system. The CPU slightly accesses the data to acknoledge that it's there, and puts it aside while it works on data received earlier.
• DMA - Direct Memory Access - The data introduced is directed to an I/O address in memory where it sits until the CPU is ready. The CPU doesn't need to stop any process to deal with new data until it's ready. Faster.

Posted by n00nz |