Disks, volumes & storage cleanup
Create disk images and partitions, free space with Storage Sense or Storage settings, and verify results.
20 project-authored proposals · taxonomy v1.1 · 0 new benchmark runs. Verifiers and partial-credit rules below are designs, not executed results.
- Typical applications
- Disk Utility · Disk Management · Storage Sense · GNOME Disks
- Class GUI-need label
HY· Hybrid
Task proposals · 20
Expand to inspect the complete original wording and proposed checks. Original proposal text remains English in both interfaces.
R01.02.01.04-T01 Partition a disk image into APFS and exFAT volumes
Original instruction
On macOS 15, use Disk Utility to create a 4 GB blank read/write disk image ~/Images/transfer.dmg with a GUID partition map, then partition it into an APFS volume 'Work' (3 GB) and an exFAT volume 'Share' (the remaining space). Leave both volumes mounted.
- Platforms
mac· macOS- Applications
- Disk Utility · Finder
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & formsgeom· Precise geometry- Work product
WP09· Files & folders- Conditions
- None declared
- Proposed difficulty
- 2 / 5
Proposed verifier
Grader-side hdiutil imageinfo/diskutil list: UDRW image, GUID map, exactly two partitions named Work (APFS, 3 GB ±64 MB) and Share (ExFAT, rest ±64 MB), both mounted. Terminal is withheld; eslogger detects /usr/bin/hdiutil or diskutil exec by any non-grader process -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
35% image type, size and GUID map; 45% two partitions with names, formats and sizes; 20% both mounted
R01.02.01.04-T02 Partition a blank data disk in Windows Disk Management
Original instruction
Disk 1 is a blank 64 GB virtual disk. In Disk Management initialize it as GPT, create a 20 GB NTFS volume 'DATA' at E: with 64 KB allocation units, a 10 GB exFAT volume 'XFER' at F:, and leave the rest unallocated. Do not touch Disk 0.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- Disk Management
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & forms- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 4 / 5
Proposed verifier
Get-Disk 1 PartitionStyle GPT; Get-Volume E: NTFS label DATA 20 GB +/-0.5, cluster 65536; F: exFAT XFER 10 GB +/-0.5; ~34 GB unallocated; Disk 0 layout hash unchanged. Sysmon EID1 detects diskpart.exe, format.com or PowerShell storage cmdlets launched by the agent -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
20% GPT initialized; 40% DATA exact incl. cluster size; 25% XFER exact; 15% Disk 0 untouched and remainder unallocated
R01.02.01.04-T03 Configure and run Storage Sense to a cleanup policy
Original instruction
On Windows 11 turn on Storage Sense to run every week, delete Recycle Bin items older than 14 days and Downloads items older than 60 days, and clean temporary files. Before running it now, move the 12 files in Downloads\keep (all older than 60 days) to Documents\keep so they survive.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- Storage Sense · Windows Settings · File Explorer
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickdrag· Drag & drop- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
Registry StorageSense\Parameters\StoragePolicy: 01=1, 2048=7, 08=1, 256=14, 512=60; seeded old Recycle Bin and Downloads files gone, 12 keep files present in Documents\keep with original hashes. Sysmon detects reg.exe/PowerShell writes and del/Remove-Item by the agent -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
35% policy values exact; 35% cleanup run removed the right files; 30% keep files preserved
R01.02.01.04-T04 LUKS2-encrypted ext4 backup partition with GNOME Disks
Original instruction
Ubuntu 24.04 desktop, second disk /dev/vdb (empty, 32 GB). With GNOME Disks create a GPT table, one LUKS2-encrypted ext4 partition labelled 'backup' using the passphrase in fixtures/luks.txt, and set mount options so it unlocks at boot (crypttab) and mounts at /mnt/backup.
- Platforms
lin· Linux- Applications
- GNOME Disks
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
HY· Hybrid- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & forms- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
cryptsetup luksDump /dev/vdb1: version 2; passphrase in fixtures unlocks; inner fs ext4 label backup; /etc/crypttab and /etc/fstab entries reference the UUIDs; after grader reboot (passphrase fed by grader) /mnt/backup is mounted. Either the GUI or cryptsetup/mkfs is accepted.
Proposed partial credit
35% LUKS2 container with right passphrase; 25% ext4 labelled backup; 40% crypttab+fstab and mounted after reboot
R01.02.01.04-T05 APFS container with quota and reserve volumes
Original instruction
In Disk Utility, erase the external virtual disk 'disk4' (128 GB) as APFS (GUID). Add two volumes to its container: 'Media' with no limits and 'TMBackup' with a 40 GB reserve and 80 GB quota. Leave the internal disk alone.
- Platforms
mac· macOS- Applications
- Disk Utility
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & forms- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
diskutil apfs list: disk4 container holds exactly Media (no reserve/quota) and TMBackup (Reserve 40 GB, Quota 80 GB, +/-0.1 GB); internal container UUID and volume set unchanged. Terminal withheld; eslogger detects diskutil exec by non-Disk-Utility parents -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
25% disk erased as APFS GUID; 25% Media volume; 40% TMBackup reserve and quota exact; 10% internal untouched
R01.02.01.04-T06 Clear specific temporary-file categories only
Original instruction
On Windows 11, open Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files. Clean only 'Delivery Optimization Files', 'Thumbnails' and 'Temporary files'; do not select Downloads or Recycle Bin. Then write the amount Settings reported as freed to C:\out\freed.txt in MB.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- Windows Settings
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
G2· GUI-essential- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickvis· Visual judgment- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
Seeded markers: DO cache and thumbcache files gone, %TEMP% seeded files gone; 9 Downloads files and 6 Recycle Bin items still present; freed.txt within 5 MB of the grader's computed sum. Sysmon detects cleanmgr /sagerun, del or Remove-Item launched by the agent -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
45% three categories cleaned; 35% Downloads and Recycle Bin untouched; 20% freed amount reported
R01.02.01.04-T07 Extend C: past a blocking recovery partition, keeping WinRE
Original instruction
C: cannot be extended because a 600 MB recovery partition sits between it and 20 GB of unallocated space. Extend C: by the full 20 GB minus 1 GB, recreate the recovery partition (1 GB, correct GPT type and attributes) at the end of the disk, and leave WinRE enabled and working.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- Disk Management · diskpart · reagentc
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUIterm· Terminal- GUI need · task setting
HY· Hybrid- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickcode· Code & commands- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 5 / 5
Proposed verifier
Get-Partition: C: grew by 19 GB +/-0.1; last partition is 1 GB with type de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac and attributes 0x8000000000000001; reagentc /info shows Enabled with location on that partition; grader boots into WinRE once via reagentc /boottore.
Proposed partial credit
35% C: extended; 30% recovery partition recreated with right GUID and attributes; 35% WinRE enabled and bootable
R01.02.01.04-T08 Free space on a Mac using Storage recommendations
Original instruction
The test Mac has < 8 GB free. Using System Settings > General > Storage: turn on 'Empty Trash Automatically', delete only the 6 large files listed in fixtures/delete_list.txt from the Documents review list, and delete the iOS device backups dated before 2025. Free space must exceed 25 GB afterwards.
- Platforms
mac· macOS- Applications
- System Settings · Finder
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
G2· GUI-essential- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickvis· Visual judgment- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
com.apple.finder FXRemoveOldTrashItems=1; the 6 listed paths absent and the 9 decoy large files present; MobileSync/Backup lacks the 2 pre-2025 backups, keeps the 2026 one; df shows > 25 GB free. Terminal withheld; eslogger detects rm/defaults exec -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
20% auto-empty Trash on; 40% exactly the listed files deleted; 25% old backups removed; 15% free-space threshold met
R01.02.01.04-T09 Bring /var under 30% usage on a Linux server (CLI control)
Original instruction
Ubuntu server VM: /var is 92% full. Without deleting anything under /var/lib/postgresql or /var/lib/docker/volumes, bring usage below 30%: cap journald at 500M persistently, remove unused Docker images and build cache, and remove disabled old snap revisions. Write what you freed per category to /root/freed.json.
- Platforms
lin· Linux- Applications
- bash · journalctl · docker · snap
- Interfaces
term· Terminal- GUI need · task setting
CL· CLI-sufficient- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
code· Code & commands- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
df /var < 30%; journald.conf drop-in SystemMaxUse=500M and journalctl --disk-usage <= 500M; postgres data checksum and docker volume hashes unchanged; running containers' images present; snap list --all has no disabled revisions; freed.json categories within 10 MB of measured deltas.
Proposed partial credit
30% usage below threshold; 25% journald capped persistently; 30% protected data unchanged; 15% freed.json accurate
R01.02.01.04-T10 Write a boot image to the right USB target
Original instruction
Two identical 16 GB virtual USB sticks are attached; one holds the volume 'DO_NOT_ERASE'. Using GNOME Disks 'Restore Disk Image', write fixtures/alpine-3.20.iso to the other stick, then confirm in GNOME Disks that the written stick shows the ISO's partition layout.
- Platforms
lin· Linux- Applications
- GNOME Disks
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickvis· Visual judgment- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 2 / 5
Proposed verifier
SHA-256 of the first ISO-size bytes of the target stick equals the ISO hash; the DO_NOT_ERASE stick's full-disk hash unchanged. Terminal withheld; auditd detects dd/cp/cat opening /dev/sd* for write from any process other than gnome-disk-image-mounter/udisksd -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
50% image written byte-exact; 50% protected stick untouched
R01.02.01.04-T11 Convert a data disk from MBR to GPT without losing files
Original instruction
Disk 2 (MBR, one NTFS partition 'Projects' with 4.1 GB of files) must become GPT. Back up the files to Disk 3, convert Disk 2 to GPT in Disk Management, recreate one NTFS volume 'Projects' at P:, restore the files, and leave the backup copy on Disk 3.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- Disk Management · File Explorer
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
HY· Hybrid- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickdrag· Drag & drop- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/riskymultiapp· Multi-app- Proposed difficulty
- 4 / 5
Proposed verifier
Get-Disk 2 PartitionStyle GPT; P: NTFS label Projects; manifest of 1,284 files (path + SHA-256) identical on P: and on the Disk 3 backup; ACLs on 3 sample folders preserved. GUI or robocopy/diskpart accepted.
Proposed partial credit
25% backup complete; 30% disk converted to GPT; 20% volume recreated at P:; 25% restored files match manifest
R01.02.01.04-T12 First Aid on a damaged HFS+ volume and report
Original instruction
The attached disk image fixtures/archive.dmg holds an HFS+ volume 'Archive' with catalog errors. Mount it, run First Aid in Disk Utility until it reports the volume OK, and write the number of repaired issues from the First Aid log to ~/Desktop/firstaid.txt.
- Platforms
mac· macOS- Applications
- Disk Utility
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickvis· Visual judgment- Work product
WP12· Answer/decision- Conditions
- None declared
- Proposed difficulty
- 2 / 5
Proposed verifier
fsck_hfs -n on the image returns clean; firstaid.txt integer equals the repair count in the grader's parsed fsck log; 210 known files still readable. Terminal withheld; eslogger detects fsck_hfs exec whose parent is not Disk Utility/StorageKit -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
60% volume repaired clean; 25% files intact; 15% correct repair count
R01.02.01.04-T13 Create a Dev Drive on a new VHDX
Original instruction
On Windows 11 23H2+, create a Dev Drive via Settings > System > Storage > Disks & volumes: new dynamically expanding 50 GB VHDX at D:\DevDrives\dev.vhdx, label 'Dev', drive letter Q:. Then mark Q: as trusted and leave Microsoft Defender in performance mode for it.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- Windows Settings
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & forms- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
- None declared
- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
Get-VHD D:\DevDrives\dev.vhdx: VhdType Dynamic, Size 50 GB; Get-Volume Q: ReFS label Dev; fsutil devdrv query Q: reports trusted developer volume with AV filter in performance mode. Sysmon detects Format-Volume -DevDrive or fsutil devdrv setfiltersallowed by the agent -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
30% VHDX created as specified; 40% ReFS Dev Drive at Q:; 30% trusted with performance mode
R01.02.01.04-T14 Two-way mirror Storage Space from two blank disks
Original instruction
Two blank 40 GB virtual disks are attached. In Settings > Storage > Storage Spaces create a pool 'MirrorPool' from both, then a 30 GB two-way mirror space 'Mirror' formatted NTFS as M:. Copy fixtures\photos into M:\photos.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- Windows Settings · Storage Spaces
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & forms- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
- None declared
- Proposed difficulty
- 4 / 5
Proposed verifier
Get-StoragePool MirrorPool has both disks; Get-VirtualDisk Mirror ResiliencySettingName Mirror, NumberOfDataCopies 2, Size 30 GB; M: NTFS; photo hashes match. Grader detaches one disk and checks M: still reads. Sysmon detects New-StoragePool/New-VirtualDisk cmdlets from the agent -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
25% pool with both disks; 40% mirror space exact; 15% NTFS at M:; 20% data survives one-disk detach
R01.02.01.04-T15 Mirrored RAID set with Disk Utility RAID Assistant
Original instruction
On macOS, use Disk Utility's RAID Assistant to build a Mirrored (RAID 1) set named 'Studio' from the two 64 GB external virtual disks, formatted APFS, with automatic rebuild enabled. Then copy fixtures/sessions into it.
- Platforms
mac· macOS- Applications
- Disk Utility
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & formsdrag· Drag & drop- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 4 / 5
Proposed verifier
diskutil appleRAID list: set 'Studio' type Mirror, 2 members Online, AutoRebuild Yes; volume APFS; session files hash-equal. Grader detaches one member and confirms the set degrades but stays readable. Terminal withheld; eslogger detects diskutil appleRAID exec -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
40% mirror set with both members; 20% auto rebuild on; 15% APFS; 25% data readable when degraded
R01.02.01.04-T16 Shrink ext4 and add an XFS scratch partition
Original instruction
On Ubuntu desktop, /dev/vdc1 is a 40 GB ext4 data partition (unmounted) with 18 GB of files. Shrink it to 25 GB and create a new 15 GB XFS partition labelled 'scratch' after it, using GNOME Disks or GParted. Data must stay intact and fsck clean.
- Platforms
lin· Linux- Applications
- GNOME Disks · GParted
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUIterm· Terminal- GUI need · task setting
HY· Hybrid- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & forms- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 4 / 5
Proposed verifier
lsblk: vdc1 25 GB +/-0.1 ext4, vdc2 ~15 GB xfs label scratch; e2fsck -fn clean; xfs_repair -n clean; 18 GB file manifest hashes identical. GUI or resize2fs/parted accepted.
Proposed partial credit
35% ext4 shrunk and fsck clean; 35% data manifest intact; 30% XFS scratch partition created
R01.02.01.04-T17 Deduplicate large media across two volumes with a report
Original instruction
Volumes /Volumes/Photos and /Volumes/Backup share many large duplicates. Find every file >= 100 MB on Photos whose content is identical to a file on Backup, move those Photos copies to the Trash (keep Backup), and write ~/Desktop/dupes.csv with photos_path,backup_path,bytes. Same-name files with different content must stay.
- Platforms
mac· macOS- Applications
- Finder · dupeGuru · zsh
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUIterm· Terminal- GUI need · task setting
HY· Hybrid- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickcode· Code & commandsmulti· Cross-app- Work product
WP09· Files & folders- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 5 / 5
Proposed verifier
Grader computes content-hash duplicate set (41 pairs, 6 same-name decoys): Trash holds exactly those 41 Photos files, Backup unchanged, decoys present; dupes.csv rows equal the pair set and byte counts match. Tool choice free.
Proposed partial credit
45% exactly the duplicate Photos copies trashed; 20% decoys kept; 35% CSV complete and correct
R01.02.01.04-T18 BitLocker To Go on a removable data drive
Original instruction
Turn on BitLocker To Go for the removable drive E: (label 'FieldData') with the password in fixtures\bl_pw.txt, encrypting used space only in compatible mode, and save the recovery key to C:\out\recovery\. Wait until encryption completes.
- Platforms
win· Windows- Applications
- BitLocker Drive Encryption · File Explorer
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & forms- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
- None declared
- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
manage-bde -status E: Fully Encrypted, method XTS-AES 128 (compatible mode AES-CBC 128), password protector present; key file in C:\out\recovery matches the numerical protector ID; grader unlocks with the password. Sysmon detects manage-bde.exe or Enable-BitLocker from the agent -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
35% encryption complete with right method; 35% password unlocks; 30% recovery key saved and matching
R01.02.01.04-T19 Prune old APFS snapshots from Disk Utility
Original instruction
Local APFS snapshots on the Data volume use about 30 GB. In Disk Utility (View > Show APFS Snapshots) delete every snapshot created before 2026-10-01, keeping the newer ones and any snapshot whose name starts with 'com.apple.os.update'.
- Platforms
mac· macOS- Applications
- Disk Utility
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
G2· GUI-essential- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clickvis· Visual judgmentnav· Pan/zoom/scroll- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
risk· Irreversible/risky- Proposed difficulty
- 3 / 5
Proposed verifier
diskutil apfs listSnapshots on Data: the 7 pre-2026-10-01 user snapshots absent; the 3 newer and the os.update snapshot present (UUID match). Terminal withheld; eslogger detects tmutil deletelocalsnapshots or diskutil apfs deleteSnapshot exec -> 0.
Proposed partial credit
60% exactly the old snapshots deleted; 40% newer and os.update snapshots kept
R01.02.01.04-T20 Cross-platform exFAT stick prepared on Windows, verified on Mac
Original instruction
Format the 128 GB virtual USB stick (attached to the Windows VM) as exFAT with MBR partitioning, label 'SHARE', 128 KB clusters, and copy fixtures\handoff into it. Then pass the stick to the macOS VM, confirm it mounts read-write, and add the file mac_ok.txt containing the volume UUID shown in Disk Utility.
- Platforms
win· Windowsmac· macOS- Applications
- Disk Management · File Explorer · Disk Utility
- Interfaces
desk· Desktop GUI- GUI need · task setting
HY· Hybrid- GUI need · ordinary access
CL· CLI-sufficient- Interaction primitives
click· Point & clicktype· Text & formsmulti· Cross-app- Work product
WP08· App/system state- Conditions
xdevice· Cross-devicemultiapp· Multi-app- Proposed difficulty
- 4 / 5
Proposed verifier
Image of the stick: MBR, one exFAT partition label SHARE, cluster size 131072; handoff hashes match; mac_ok.txt exists and equals the volume UUID reported by diskutil info. GUI or format/diskutil accepted.
Proposed partial credit
35% exFAT MBR with right label and clusters; 25% files copied; 40% mac write and UUID correct
Mapped research references
Existing benchmark-to-class links from the research catalog. They are not record-level annotations, executions or product endorsements.