A GPT protective partition is a partition on a hard drive that a GUID Partition Table protects. A partition is a continuous area of storage space on a hard drive that is separated from the rest of the hard drive and acts as its own storage device.

The term CDFS (CD File System) is used for both the Linux and Windows Operating Systems (OSs). CDFS is a file system that was created for Linux in 1999 and exports all boot images and tracks on a CD as normal files.

The Microsoft Corporation in conjunction with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) released the exFAT file system. The exFAT file system was produced in order to address the short comings of the FAT32 file system; specifically on portable media such as USB sticks or portable hard drives where NTFS file structure use is inappropriate.

What are Dynamic Disks
A dynamic disk refers to a hard drive that can be altered at any time to include additional partitions or volumes. This differs from basic disks that only include standard and extended partitions that are setup when the disk is first formatted. Dynamic disks can handle all of the following volumes.

Volume Shadow Copies Overview
Volume shadow copies, a new Windows Server 2003 feature, are used to create copies of files at a specific point in time, or set time interval. Shadow copies can only be created on NTFS volumes to create automatic backups of files or data per volume.

Understanding the FAT File Systems
The FAT file system was initially introduced with the MS-DOS operating system (OS) when hard disks were generally much smaller, and the structure of folders was not as intricate as it is in networks today. The FAT file system continues to be supported by each Microsoft OS since its advent.

One feature available when you format a volume with the NTFS file system is file compression. NTFS compression can only be applied to a partition or volume that is formatted with the NTFS file system. Through NTFS, you can create additional storage space for files by compressing either single files, or all files in a NTFS folder.

An Overview of EFS
Encrypting File System (EFS) enables users to encrypt files and folders, and entire data drives on NTFS formatted volumes. NTFS enables you to set permissions on files and folders on an NTFS formatted volume which controls access to these files and folders.

An Overview of NTFS
In order to store data on a local partition on a Windows server, you have to format it with a file system. The system that you use influences the manner in which data is stored on the disk. It also specifies the security that can be defined for folders and files stored on the partitions.

DISCLAIMER: This is a one way process and all steps must be taken to ensure that data is backed up before attempting. The author is in no way responsible for loss of data or damage to disk, data, and the computer as a whole.