Identifying Windows-Based Troubleshooting Utilities 327 By clicking the Tools tab at the top of the dialog box, and then clicking the Check Now button in the Error-checking section, you can start CHKDSK. Exercise 6.3 walks you through starting CHKDSK in Windows XP. DEFRAG.EXE Defragmenting a disk involves analyzing the disk and then consolidating fragmented files and folders so they occupy a contiguous space, thus increasing performance during file retrieval. The command-line DEFRAG utility allows you to run a defrag from a command prompt. You can also run a defrag in Windows through the Disk Defragmenter in the Computer Manage- ment utility or by right-clicking on a hard drive in Windows Explorer, choosing Properties, then the Tools tab, and clicking the Defragment Now button. NTBACKUP.EXE If you want to back up your system, you can run the NTBACKUP.EXE utility located in the \WINDOWS\system32 directory. You can also run it by clicking Start  All Programs  Acces- sories  System Tools  Backup. Back up your files early and often. System Management Tools Windows 2000 and Windows XP are very complicated operating systems, and it’s fortunate that there are plenty of system management tools to help us in our daily computer manage- ment activities. EXERCISE 6.3 Running CHKDSK in Windows XP In this exercise, you will check your hard disk for errors. 1. Open Windows Explorer by holding down the Windows key and pressing E. 2. Right-click C: and choose Properties. 3. Click the Tools tab and then click the Check Now button. 4. Choose your options: You can automatically fix filesystem errors and/or scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. 5. After you have selected your options, click Start. 4831xc06.fm Page 327 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 328 Chapter 6  Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures Device Manager From Windows 9x forward, Microsoft has provided the Device Manager, a tool that analyzes hardware-related problems. The Device Manager displays all of the devices installed in a com- puter (as shown in Figure 6.3). If a device is malfunctioning, a yellow circle with an exclama- tion point inside it is displayed (as with the Iomega Parallel Port Interface in Figure 6.3). With this utility, you can view the devices installed in a system and any of those devices that are failing, and you can also double-click on a device and view and set its properties (as shown in Figure 6.4). On the General tab, you will see the status of the device (whether it’s working), as well as find the Troubleshoot button, which can help you solve problems. The other tabs are used to configure the individual devices, add or update drivers, and verify the version of drivers installed. FIGURE 6.3 The Windows 9x Device Manager FIGURE 6.4 Properties of a network card 4831xc06.fm Page 328 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Identifying Windows-Based Troubleshooting Utilities 329 In Windows 2000 and XP, you can access the Device Manager by right-clicking the My Computer icon, choosing Properties, and then clicking the Hardware tab. On the Hardware tab are many buttons, but to access the Device Manager, click the Device Manager button. Computer Management Windows 2000/XP includes a new piece of software to manage computer settings: the Com- puter Management Console. Because Windows 2000/XP is more advanced as a platform, the Computer Management Console can manage more than just the installed hardware devices. In addition to containing a Device Manager that functions almost identically to the one in Windows 9x, the Computer Management Console can also manage all the services running on that computer. It contains an Event Viewer to show any system errors and events, as well as methods to configure the software components of all the computer’s hardware. Figure 6.5 shows an example of the Computer Management Console running on Windows 2000. FIGURE 6.5 Windows 2000 Computer Management Console To access the Computer Management Console, go to Start  Settings  Control Panel  Administrative Tools  Computer Management. Alternatively, you can right-click My Com- puter and choose Manage. You will see all of the computer management tools, including the Device Manager. You can then use the Computer Management Console to manage hardware devices and software services. Task Manager Another tool you can use to check on and control your Windows 2000/XP environment is the Task Manager. Any time you run a program, it displays as a button on the Taskbar. Some- times, however, you may run into problems with running tasks. For example, a task (program) 4831xc06.fm Page 329 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 330 Chapter 6  Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures may hang. You’ll know this has happened because you won’t be able to use any of the pro- gram’s functions—the program will be unresponsive. To deal with this situation, as well as for other reasons, you can use the Task Manager (see Figure 6.6). FIGURE 6.6 The Task Manager in Windows XP To access the Task Manager, press Ctrl+Alt+Del. In Windows 2000, you then have to click Task Manager on the Windows Security screen. By default, Windows XP does not display the Windows Security screen if you press Ctrl+Alt+Del; instead, Task Manager opens right away. You can change this by opening User Accounts in Control Panel and clicking Change the way users log on or off. To get to the Task Manager directly in any of the Windows versions that include it, you can press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. In Windows 2000, the Task Manager has three tabs: Applications, Processes, and Perfor- mance. In Windows XP, the Task Manager can have two additional tabs: Networking and Users. Let’s look at these tabs in more detail: Applications The Applications tab lets you see what tasks are open on the machine. You also see the status of each task, which can be either Running or Not Responding. If a task or appli- cation has stopped responding (that is, it’s hung), you can select the task in the list and click End Task. Doing so closes the program, and you can try to open it again. Often, although certainly not always, if an application hangs, you’ll have to reboot the computer to prevent the same thing from happening again shortly after you restart the application. You can also use the Applications tab to switch to a different task or create new tasks. 4831xc06.fm Page 330 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Identifying Windows-Based Troubleshooting Utilities 331 Processes The Processes tab lets you see the names of all the processes running on the machine. You also see the user account that’s running the process, as well as how much CPU and RAM resources each process is using. To end a process, select the process in the list and click End Process. Performance The Performance tab contains a variety of information, including overall CPU Usage percentage, a graphical display of CPU usage history, page-file usage in MB, and a graphical display of page-file usage. This tab also provides you with additional memory-related information such as physical and kernel memory usage, as well as the total number of handles, threads, and processes. Total, limit, and peak commit-charge information also displays. Some of the items are beyond the scope of this book, but it’s good to know that you can use the Performance tab to keep track of system performance. Note that the number of processes, CPU usage percentage, and com- mit charge always display at the bottom of the Task Manager window, regardless of which tab you have currently selected. Networking (Windows XP Only) This tab only appears if you are connected to a network. The Networking tab provides you with a graphical display of the performance of your net- work connection. It also tells you the network adapter name, link speed, and state. If you have more than one network adapter installed in the machine, you can select the appropriate adapter to see graphical usage data for that adapter. Users (Windows XP Only) The Users tab, which is available if you have more than one user account on your computer, provides you with information about the users connected to the local machine. You’ll see the username, ID, status, client name, and session type. You can right-click on any connected user to perform a variety of functions, including sending the user a message, disconnecting the user, logging off the user, and initiating a remote control session to the user’s machine. MSCONFIG.EXE (Windows XP Only) A new utility was introduced with Windows 98: MSCONFIG.EXE (aka the System Configura- tion Utility). Windows 2000 does not include it, but it’s back in Windows XP. It allows a user to manage his computer system’s configuration. MSCONFIG.EXE allows a user to boot Win- dows in diagnostic mode, in which he can select which drivers to load interactively. If you sus- pect a certain driver is causing problems during boot, you can use MSCONFIG.EXE to prevent that driver from loading. In addition, each of the major configuration files (CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI) and the programs loaded at startup can be reconfig- ured and reordered using a graphical interface. REGEDIT.EXE and REGEDT32.EXE The most dangerous utility in the Windows troubleshooting arsenal is the Registry Editor, also known by its executable names REGEDIT.EXE and REGEDT32.EXE. The Registry stores all Windows configuration information. If you edit the Registry, you are essentially changing the configuration of Windows. (This is why it’s dangerous. There’s no Save button and any changes made happen immediately, for better or for worse. To undo changes, you must do so manually.) The Registry Editor is used to manually change settings that are usually changed by other means (such as through Setup programs and other Windows utilities). 4831xc06.fm Page 331 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 332 Chapter 6  Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures In addition to changing Windows settings, you can use REGEDIT to back up and restore the Registry. To back up the Registry, choose the Export Registry File command under the Reg- istry menu (or File  Export in later versions). This command allows you to save the Registry file to a backup medium. You can restore it later by choosing the Import Registry File com- mand (or File  Import) under the Registry menu. CMD If you ever need to type in a command, for example, you want to view your environment variables the old-fashioned way or you want to test network connectivity, go to the Start button. From Start, choose Run, type CMD, and press Enter. That will open a command prompt, where you can enter your commands. Event Viewer Windows 2000/XP employs comprehensive error and informational logging routines. Every program and process theoretically could have its own logging utility, but Microsoft has come up with a rather slick utility, Event Viewer, which, through log files, tracks all events on a par- ticular Windows 2000/XP computer. Normally, though, you must be an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to have access to Event Viewer. To start Event Viewer, log in as an administrator (or equivalent) and go to Start  Pro- grams  Administrative Tools  Event Viewer. From here, you can view the System, Appli- cation, and Security log files:  The System log file displays alerts that pertain to the general operation of Windows.  The Application log file logs server application errors.  The Security log file logs security events such as login successes and failures. These log files can give a general indication of a Windows computer’s health. One situation that does occur with the Event Viewer is that the Event Viewer log files get full. Although this isn’t really a problem, it can make viewing log files confusing because there are many entries. Even though each event is time- and date-stamped, you should clear the Event Viewer every so often. To do this, open the Event Viewer and choose Clear All Events from the Log menu. Doing so erases all events in the current log file, allowing you to see new events more easily when they occur. ConfigSafe One utility that has become popular for keeping the stability of Windows in check is ConfigSafe. ConfigSafe, by ImagineLan, is a utility that technicians and IT professionals use when they are installing new, untested software or to keep their systems stable. ConfigSafe works by taking a snapshot of the current system configuration, including file lists, Registry settings, icons, and so on, and storing that information in a file. Then, if you install a new piece of software or a driver or make other configuration changes, and that change causes your system to stop functioning, you can roll back to the last good configuration. 4831xc06.fm Page 332 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Identifying Windows-Based Troubleshooting Utilities 333 File Management Tools Windows comes with several utilities to manage files on your hard drives. Some simply allow you to see what’s out there and move files around, whereas others offer you the ability to make modifications to the contents or properties of those files. Windows Explorer Windows Explorer is a utility that allows you to accomplish a number of important file- related tasks from a single graphical interface. Among the tasks you can accomplish with Win- dows Explorer are viewing files and directories, opening programs or files, creating files and directories, copying or moving objects, deleting files and directories, changing file attributes, and formatting floppy disks. Windows Explorer was discussed in detail in Chapter 4. It’s highly recom- mended that you become very familiar with how to use Windows Explorer, as it will be one of the most common interfaces you use in Windows. ATTRIB.EXE Every OS since DOS provides four attributes that can be set for files to modify their interaction with the system. These attributes are as follows: Read-only Prevents a file from being modified, deleted, or overwritten. Archive Used by backup programs to determine whether the file has changed since the last backup and needs to be backed up. System Used to tell the OS that this file is needed by the system and should not be deleted. Hidden Used to keep files from being seen in a normal directory search. This attribute is use- ful to prevent system files and other important files from being accidentally moved or deleted. While you can use Windows Explorer to set these attributes, you can also set attributes for files using the external DOS command ATTRIB.EXE, which uses the following syntax: ATTRIB <filename> [+ or -][attribute] To set the Read-only attribute on the file TESTFILE.DOC, use the following series of commands: ATTRIB TESTFILE.DOC +r Proper attribute management is important to the well-being of Windows. Many critical system files are marked with the System attribute, which is important to be aware of. The Archive attribute is important as well, so you can tell if the file has been backed up or not. The Hidden attribute is really there for everyone’s own protection. After all, if a user doesn’t know a file exists, how can he accidentally delete it? 4831xc06.fm Page 333 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 334 Chapter 6  Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures If a file is set to read-only, you won’t be able to make changes to it. Some users won’t understand why they can’t change a file (because they don’t know about attributes), but if they for some reason can’t save a file, this is one of the first things to check. EXTRACT.EXE Many versions of Windows have setup files that come compressed in cabinet (CAB) files. These files are extracted during the Windows Setup process by the EXTRACT.EXE utility. You can also use this utility to extract one or multiple files from a CAB file to replace a corrupt file. If you have one Windows file that is corrupt, you can extract a replacement from the Windows setup CAB files. If you don’t know which CAB file contains a particular Windows system file, you can look it up in the CABS.TXT file. For example, to extract the UNIDRV.DLL file from the WIN95_10.CAB file on a CD-ROM in drive D: to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, use the following command syntax: EXTRACT D:\WIN95_10.CAB UNIDRV.DLL /L C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM The new file will be extracted to the new location and replace the old corrupt version in that location. EDIT.COM Occasionally, you need to quickly edit a configuration file or other text file. For this pur- pose, a simple editor named EDIT.COM has been included with all Microsoft OSs since DOS version 6. To edit a file, start a command-line session and type in the following: EDIT <filename> Replace <filename> with the name of the file you wish to edit. Once EDIT comes up, it works like any other word processor or text editor. When you have finished editing the file, save it, and it will be saved as a standard ASCII text file. If you’re in Windows, you can also use the Windows NOTEPAD.EXE editor for the same function. Identifying Diagnostic Resources In addition to the many diagnostic tools you have available, there are some diagnostic resources you should use to make troubleshooting easier. Although most people don’t 4831xc06.fm Page 334 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Identifying Diagnostic Resources 335 necessarily think of these resources as tools, they aid in the troubleshooting process. These resources include the following:  Manuals  Internet resources  Training materials User/Installation Manuals Technicians are the guiltiest of not using this readily available resource when troubleshooting a system. In fact, most often, a technician will rely on his own experience and try to install a new component without reading the manual. Then, when the installation doesn’t work, he might go back and look at the manual after spending time looking for the solution to a prob- lem that might have been avoided in the first place. Typically, in addition to the steps needed to install software or a device, a manual includes a section on the most common problems and the solutions to those problems. This area of the manual would be especially useful for the technician we just described. Internet/Web Resources Possibly the most useful resource to the technician is the Internet. As mentioned throughout this book, a manufacturer’s website is the best place to get the most current drivers, fixes, and technical information. Often, you can search a hardware or software vendor’s website for a problem you might be having with that hardware or software, and find the fix for it. In addi- tion, Microsoft’s website contains a wide variety of known problems and issues with Windows and its interaction with other software. Sometimes a solution that can’t be found at the soft- ware vendor’s website can be found by viewing the Microsoft support website because Microsoft has a larger staff and has been able to document a larger variety of problems. If you can’t find an answer at the manufacturer’s or Microsoft’s website, you might try entering your problem into one of the many search engines, such as Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) or Google (http://www.google.com). There are websites dedicated to communities of technical individuals (such as yourself) that can be a great source of information. Chances are, if you’re having a computer or technical problem, someone else, somewhere in the world, has the solution—and the Internet can bring you together. You can post your problem to any number of website bulletin boards and news- groups and receive a response, possibly within minutes. Training Materials The final resource is one that most people overlook. Individuals do not acquire knowledge magically—they either learn it by themselves with self-study materials or are taught by an experienced instructor. In either case, books and other training materials (like the one you are 4831xc06.fm Page 335 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 336 Chapter 6  Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures reading right now) are excellent sources of information. Although training materials don’t often contain patches or updates, they can and do teach concepts you can apply to help you with troubleshooting. After all, if you had not read this book, you might not have gotten the information you needed to pass the A+ exam. Now ask yourself: Did I learn anything? Will the information I learned be able to help me troubleshoot a computer problem? Performing Preventative Maintenance on Operating Systems For the most part, modern Windows operating systems are pretty resilient. There are a mind- boggling number of ways that systems could crash, but crashes don’t happen often under normal circumstances. However, you do play an important role in the stability of the operating system on your computer. If you neglect to maintain it, you could be in for significant problem that would impact your productivity or someone else’s. In this section we’ll take a look at some preventative steps you can take to help keep Windows 2000 and Windows XP running smoothly. They include the following:  Using hardware that’s in the Windows Catalog  Obtaining the right drivers for your hardware (that’s in the Windows Catalog)  Installing Windows properly  Shutting down properly  Updating Windows regularly  Scheduling backups  Creating restore points  Guarding against viruses and their kin Let’s dive in. Using Recommended Hardware Back in Chapter 5, when we looked at installing Windows, we talked about ensuring that your hardware was in the Windows Catalog (formerly the Hardware Compatibility List). A surefire way to make sure Windows doesn’t work right is to install hardware that Windows won’t play nice with. Realistically, the vast majority of hardware on the market will work fine with Win- dows, considering how ubiquitous the operating system family is. However, don’t just assume that the hardware will work. Always check it against the Windows Catalog to ensure that you won’t have problems after it’s installed. 4831xc06.fm Page 336 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM [...]... detected by NTDETECT.COM is used to create dynamic hardware information in the Registry 4831xc06.fm Page 355 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Answers to Review Questions 355 14 D Pressing F8 during the first phase of the boot process brings up the Advanced Startup Options menu in Windows 2000/XP 15 E Last Known Good Configuration enables you to restore the system to a prior, functional state if a change... are running normally) The easiest way to open Task Manager is to press Ctrl+Alt+Del in Windows 4831xc06.fm Page 356 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 4831x.book Page 357 Tuesday, September 12, 2006 11 :59 AM Chapter 7 Understanding the Basics of Printers and Scanners THE FOLLOWING COMPTIA A+ ESSENTIALS EXAM OBJECTIVES ARE COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER: 4.1 Identify the fundamental principles of using printers... you want to back up (as shown in the graphic), and click Next 4831xc06.fm Page 341 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Performing Preventative Maintenance on Operating Systems 341 EXERCISE 6 .5 (continued) 5 Confirm the backup type and the destination, and give the backup file a name (it will have a BKF extension) For the destination, you can click the Browse button to select the right location, which... confirmation screen with the time, date, and name of your restore point FIGURE 6.8 System Restore options All Programs Accessories System Tools 4831xc06.fm Page 3 45 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Performing Preventative Maintenance on Operating Systems 3 45 Now that you have created a restore point, it’s time to look at how to perform a system restoration To restore your system to a previous state, choose... are scheduled through the Windows Backup utility Know how to create restore points Restore points can be created in Windows XP through the System Restore utility 4831xc06.fm Page 350 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 350 Chapter 6 Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures Review Questions 1 What do you use in Windows XP to create a recovery disk? A Automated System Recovery (ASR)... troubleshooting Windows and applications except A General protection faults B Valid working directory C System lockup D Application will not start or load 4831xc06.fm Page 351 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Review Questions 7 351 What is the first step in the troubleshooting process? A Talk to the customer B Gather information C Eliminate possibilities D Document your work 8 All of the following... program is forced to quit because it did something Windows didn’t like? A General protection fault B Windows protection error C Illegal operation D System lockup 4831xc06.fm Page 352 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 352 Chapter 6 Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures 13 In Windows 2000, NTDETECT.COM A Parses the system for hardware information each time Windows 2000 is... that can be used to roll back the system to a previous state if a configuration error occurs A Restore point B Repair point C Roll back point D Registry 4831xc06.fm Page 353 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM Review Questions 353 19 In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, which of the following files is specifically responsible for enabling communication between the system hardware and the operating system?... Which of the following utilities can you use to forcibly close the nonresponsive application? A Application Manager B Task Manager C Windows Explorer D Device Manager 4831xc06.fm Page 354 Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:31 PM 354 Chapter 6 Identifying OS Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Procedures Answers to Review Questions 1 A Windows XP introduced a new feature for system recovery, Automated System Recovery... avoid needing to install a third time Whenever you reinstall because you think there are problems, make sure to completely wipe out any possibility of an old problem lingering by formatting the hard drive We also talked quite a bit about upgrading from earlier versions of Windows in Chapter 5 Most of the time, upgrades work well and you won’t have any problems However, there is a bigger chance of having . components of all the computer’s hardware. Figure 6 .5 shows an example of the Computer Management Console running on Windows 2000. FIGURE 6 .5 Windows 2000 Computer Management Console To access. the UNIDRV.DLL file from the WIN 95_ 10.CAB file on a CD-ROM in drive D: to the C:WINDOWSSYSTEM directory, use the following command syntax: EXTRACT D:WIN 95_ 10.CAB UNIDRV.DLL /L C:WINDOWSSYSTEM The. themselves with self -study materials or are taught by an experienced instructor. In either case, books and other training materials (like the one you are 4831xc06.fm Page 3 35 Thursday, September