Mac OS X 10.4 is a flexible, powerful operating system that provides support for legacy drive formats and modern file systems. Mac OS X integrates well with the Internet, and provides utilities you can use to troubleshoot and manage your storage devices.
Mac OS X supports several volume formats. Mac OS Extended and UFS are the primary formats. The Mac OS Extended volume format supports file forks and packages.
Mac OS X allows you to securely erase files so that they cannot be recovered.
Mac OS X uses paths to indicate the location of files and folders. The file system has a standard layout. Some folders are hidden until you navigate to them in the Finder by choosing Go > Go to Folder.
Mac OS X has standard top-level folders and standard folders within each user's home folder. System files installed by the operating system are stored in /System. Mac OS X searches for resources in multiple locations in a specific order, known as a search path. Fonts are an example of a resource that uses a search path.
Disk Utility allows you to configure, verify, and repair hard disks.
Disk image files are useful for archiving a folder and its contents. File compression and encryption allow you to conserve storage space and make your images more secure.
The following Knowledge Base documents (located at www.apple.com/support) will provide you with further information regarding file systems in Mac OS X.
106941, "Mac OS X: How to back up and restore your files"
106417, "Mac OS X: Font Locations and Their Purposes"
106737, "Mac OS X: How to Add or Remove Classic Fonts"
25668, "About disk optimization with Mac OS X"
106214, "Using Disk Utility and fsck for file system maintenance in Mac OS X"
107250, "Mac OS X: fsck reports benign errors when journaling is turned on"
107333, "Mac OS X: How to create a password-protected (encrypted) disk image"
107249, "Mac OS X: About file system journaling"
25316, "Mac OS X 10.2 or Earlier: Choosing UFS or Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) Formatting"
61339, "Mac OS X: About burning data onto CDs"
42718, "SuperDrive: About Rewriteable DVD Discs"