Administering IT Systems

Basic terms around setting up and managing computer systems, from firmware at startup to the file system on the hard drive.

Last updated: September 1, 2026

BIOSOlder firmware interface that controls a computer's startup

UEFIModern successor to BIOS, supports larger drives and faster startup

Boot orderDetermines which drive is started from first

Secure BootOnly allows trusted, signed software to run at startup

PartitionAn independently usable section of a hard drive

MBROlder partition scheme, supports a maximum of four primary partitions

GPTMore modern partition scheme, supports far more partitions and larger drives

FormattingPrepares a partition with a file system for use

NTFSThe standard file system on Windows

ext4Widely used file system on Linux

FAT32Older, cross platform compatible file system, with a file size limit

exFATMore modern, cross platform file system without FAT32's limit

DriverSoftware that teaches the operating system how to work with a piece of hardware

System restoreResets a system back to an earlier, working state

System imageA complete copy of a system, including the operating system and settings

RAIDSpreads or mirrors data across several drives, for more speed or fault tolerance

HardwareThe physical parts of a computer, everything you can actually touch

SoftwarePrograms and data that run on the hardware, not something you can touch

IPO principleInput, processing, output, the basic pattern behind every computer operation

ExampleInput via keyboard, processing by the processor, output on the monitor

Worth a look

What happens during system startup

The rough stages until a computer is ready for use.

Turn on the device

BIOS or UEFI starts

Bootloader is loaded

Operating system starts

System ready for use