More Windows Questions and Answers

1. Patrick sends you an email message because he cannot manage a local printer on his computer. The computer runs XP Pro and is part of an Active Directory. After speaking with Patrick's manager, you determine Patrick should be able to manage the printer and share documents on his computer. But, he should not be able to install printer drivers. Which logical group should you add Patrick to?

Power Users. This group is granted permission to manage printers and shared documents, by default.

1. Jo just installed XP Home on her laptop computer. Jo is planning to travel frequently with his laptop in battery mode. When he is not using his laptop, he wants the laptop to go into standby mode. Jo cannot find the standby mode and does not think it is enabled. How do you determine if the laptop is ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) enabled?

Go into Device Manager/click Computer. If the device is ACPI compliant, the device contained in the computer node will likely say ACPI Uniprocessor PC. If the device is not ACPI compliant, it will say Standard PC.

1. Brandon is having problems removing a virus from his computer. He allows Lisa to connect to his computer remotely using Desktop Assistance to troubleshoot the problem. However, when Lisa connects, the computer slows down until it finally stops responding. This has been going on for about a week. Lisa and Brandon call you and you ask them to open Task Manager to see what application is exhausting the CPU. Lisa tells you the CPU Usage shows 98 percent, but cannot tell what process is using it on the Process Tab. What should you tell Lisa to do?

Ensure the "Show processes from all users" checkbox is selected. This checkbox will tell you whether or not the processes from all users or just the user logged on locally should be displayed. In this scenario, Lisa is also logged onto Brandon's computer, so her the CPU Usage might be running in the context of her account.

1. Today you receive and email from a developer, asking what subnet mask he needs to apply to the following IP addresses: 192.168.0.50, 192.168.5.1, 192.168.100.200. What subnet mask should the developer use so these components can communicate?

255.255.0.0. In this scenario, the octets that are the same are 192.168. The subnet mask represent what octets in an IP address are the network number. Therefore, these three IP addresses are part of the 192.168.0.0/16 subnet.

1. Craig is currently testing a new game that supports only a screen resolution of 1024x760 with 16 million colors. Craig changed the screen resolution but complains it is hard for him to read the items on the screen. What should you tell Craig to resolve the problem?

Change fonts dots per inch (DPI) setting. DPI represents the number of dots used to represent the font. The larger the setting is, the easier it is to read the font.

1. Today you receive a call from Jonas saying he cannot install a new printer he purchased for his computer. Jonas says the instruction manual tells him to "Choose the local printer attached to this computer", but Jonas says that option is not available. The only option that is available is "a network printer, or a printer connected to another computer". What is the likely cause of the problem?

Jonas has not been granted permissions to install printers. To install permissions, Jonas must be a member of the Administrators group or the Power Users group.

1. A customer is having problems with Internet Explorer. Whenever she visits a website, old pages seem to appear. At first, she thought the websites were not being updated, but then she checked them on another computer, and saw that the pages were different. What should you tell her to do to correct the problem?

On the General tab of Internet Options, in the Temporary Files section, click on the Settings tab. Four options are available to set for Internet Explorer to check for new web pages: Every visit to the page, Everytime you start Internet Explorer, Automatically, Never. It is likely the customer had it set to Never.

Resolving File and Folder Issues - Questions

1. What is the least permission that a user should grant others that would allow them to delete folders within a share?
   
   

Modify.

1. A user would like to store a large file on a network file server and prevent anyone else from viewing its contents. The file size exceeds its storage capacity. How can he do this?
   
   

He can't. Once storage capacity was reached all further attempts at file creation will fail with an error message. Neither, encrypting or compressing the files will assist.

1. A manager would like to have user folders (like My Documents and My Pictures) automatically backed up by network administrators. What does this manager need?
   
   

Folder Redirection

1. On which drive would you need to enable EFS if you need to transfer 2 GB of encrypted data from a network share to your local computer (which has two drives available C:FAT32, D:NTFS 10GB) while making sure the encryption remains intact and maintain the ability of the local machine to dual boot between Win98 SE and WinXP?
   
   

D drive

1. How would you transfer 2 GB of encrypted documents from in a network share to your local computer which as two drives available: C:NTFS 20 GB and D:FAT32 10GB (The C drive only has 1 GB available while the D drive is empty) while maintaining the encryption of the documents.
   
   

Convert the D drive to NTFS and then deploy EFS

1. A user named Sam uses a Windows XP Professional computer which contains a folder named Information shared as Information Material. Information Material contains files that other users must access and modify. Several users ask Sam to create a simpler name for the shared folder. Sam creates an additional shared folder named Info, which also provides access to the files in Information. The users report that they cannot modify the files when using the Info share name, but are able to modify the files using the Information Material share. How would you ensure users can read and modify the files by using either share name?
   
   

Assign read and write permissions to the everyone group on the Info share

1. What would you need to do in order to list a shared network folder location in My computer for quick access?
   
   

Map a network drive to the shared folder

1. Which situation could be remedied with the use of volume shadow copy, but not with the use of an aggressive backup strategy?
   
   

User accidentally overwrites a presentation he spent all day creating when he tried to use it as a template for a related presentation.

Resolving Hardware Issues - Questions

1. A desktop technician is configuring a desktop computer to maximize the time between recharging for a computer that is used infrequently during the day. What mode should be configured to use most often?
   
   

Hibernation is a feature of laptops that allow them to enter into a low power state. This low power state will ensure that the laptop's battery is not consumed when it is sitting idle. Hibernation can be configured through the Power Options applet in the Control Panel.

1. Which would be the BEST way to explain to a user how to move an external USB hard drive to another computer?
   
   

Dismount the drive by right-clicking the device icon in the system tray. When the system displays that it is safe to remove the drive, unplug the device from the computer and plug it into the other computer.

1. A technician instructs a user to create a striped drive. Why would she do this?
   

To speed access to the storage system.

1. Which would be the BEST way to explain to a user the difference between a printer and a print device?
   
   

A printer is software that converts documents from computers into instructions for a print device to print on paper.

1. Which type of storage device would a technician NOT need to support? Thumb drives, firewire hard drives, floppy or smart media?

All of these.

Troubleshooting Windows XP Questions and Answers

1. You are a DST and today a customer brings you his computer and external hard drive and claims it does not work. His computer runs Windows XP Professional. After examining the hard drive manual, you discover that it is not Plug and Play. A disc containing the driver files is included. The computer is turned on but the external drive is not connected. What steps do you take to safely install the hard drive so it is recognized by the operating system?

Connect the external drive to the computer.
Turn on the computer.
Open Control Panel/Printers and Other Hardware
Click the Add Hardware link.
Choose Add New Hardware device from the list.
Choose Yes I have already connected the hardware option.
Choose the option to select the hardware from a list.
Choose the hard drive from the list of common hardware types.
Specify the location on the disc that contains the driver files.

1. You are a DST and today you receive a call from Matthew. Matthew's computer runs MS Windows XP Pro and he is having problems starting his computer. When Matthew starts his computer, it hangs at the logon screen. Matthew tells you the problem happened when he overwrote a system file. The file is a core system component required by the operating system. Matthew downloaded the correct version of the file from the Internet and saved it to a floppy disc. What instructions should you give Matthew to copy the correct system file to the Winnt directory.

Start the computer from a bootable Windows XP Professional CD-ROM.
Enter R when prompted to repair the Windows installation.
Copy the file you downloaded to the floppy to the Winnt directory.
Restart the computer.

1. You are a DST and today a customer calls you, "I have two Windows XP computers on my home network. One of them is connected to my ISP. The other one connects to the Internet through the first one. I configured TCP/IP filtering so only HTTP traffic comes in from the Web. Now, I cannot use Remote Desktop to connect to that computer. What can be the problem?" What should you instruct the customer to do?

The customer should ensure the filter applies to only the Internet connection. It might be the customer enabled the filter on the local area connection instead.

1. Brian and David run a marketing company. Brian and David use the same computer. The computer runs MS Windows XP Home. Brian and David have different desktop settings. The company targets both English and Spanish markets. Brian is the linguist, and his default input language is Spanish. Today, Brian and David hire Ken to join their team. Brian creates a new user account for Ken. Ken speaks and understands English only. However, when Ken logs on to the computer for the first time, he discovers his input language is Spanish. What is the most likely cause of the problem?

The language settings are configured to be applied to the default user profile. After Brian created the user account for David, Brian must have checked the "Apply all settings to the current user account and to the default user profile" option check box on the Advanced tab of the Regional and Language Options Control Panel Applet. When this option is selected, all new users will be affected by the language settings, and the currently logged-on user who configured the settings will be affected as well. All new users have profiles based on the default user profile.

1. You are on the phone with an employee who is currently away from the office. The employee configured Offline Files so she can work while her computer is disconnected from the network. The employee tells you whenever automatic synchronization occurs, many of the files are not synchronized on her computer. She ends up having older versions of most of the files. She found when she manually chose Make Available Offline from the Properties Dialog box of some of the files, those files were synchronized correctly. What might be the cause of this problem?

Insufficient disk space is allocated to the temporary cache. The amount of space used for temporary caching can be configured on the Offline Files tab in a folder's property dialog box. This setting only applies to automatic synchronization. Manual synchronization does not use this setting.

1. Russell calls you because he cannot log onto his computer. He can log on to any other computer in his department. He must be able to log on today to finish a build of the company's flagship application. The source code for the build is on a file server, but Russell cannot log on locally to that server. He must access the source code from his computer. Russell does not want to use another employee's computer because the build takes one hour to complete. All the computers in the company are members of an Active Directory. The local security policy on Russell's computer is configured with default settings. What should you do first to troubleshoot or temporarily solve the problem?

Determine if Russell is a member of the Users local group on the computer. By default, members of this group can log on to the computer. This is controlled by the local security policy defined on the computer. The local security policy has a user right named "Allow log on locally", which defines the users and groups that can interactively log on to a computer. If Russell is not a member of the Users group or another group that is a member of this group, he will not be able to log on. A user who has Administrative rights on Russell's computer might have removed him from the required local group.

1. Derik is having problems accessing his DVD-ROM and CD-ROM drives. This problem happened after he opened an email attachment. His computer runs MS Windows XP Pro. You ask Derik to ensure his drivers are the correct versions. However, he does not know how to do that. What should you tell Derik to do that will allow you to determine whether correct versions of the drivers are installed?

Run the DRIVERQUERY command-line tool, specifying a text file as a parameter. Email the text file to you. This tool can either display output to the console or to a command-delimited text file. Derick should specify a text file as a parameter, and email the file to you for examination.

1. You are called to a customer's home to troubleshoot access to http://www.torranzo.com/ from the customer's computer, which is running Windows XP Home. All of the customer's friends can access the Web site. The customer tells you a friend configured the computer to allow faster Internet response time. The problem began afterwards. What actions should you perform to diagnose the problem?

Use Internet Explorer to open the IP address of the website. This allows you to determine whether the problem is related to network connectivity or name resolution.
If the IP address can be accessed, the problem is related to name resolution. You should use NSLOOKUP http://www.torranzo.com/. This allows you to determine whether http://www.torranzo.com/ is registered in DNS (Domain Name System). If the resource is properly registered in DNS, the Hosts file on the customer's computer might be configured incorrectly. The computer checks its local Hosts file before contacting DNS for name resolution.

1. You need to install Windows XP Service Pack 2 on five computers. You decide the easiest way to install the service pack is to walk to each of the computers and manually launch the installation. However, you would like the installation to proceed without requiring any input from you. Which commands could you use to install Windows XP Service Pack2 without prompting the user?

Xpxp2.exe/U (shows the progress on the screen)
Xpxp2.exe/Q (displays no information to the user at all)

1. You receive a call from a customer who is trying to remotely monitor a computer in another office. Both the customer's computer and the remote computer runs XP Pro and are part of the same workgroup. The customer is trying to use the Performance Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in to monitor the computer. However, when he specifies the remote computer in the Add Counters dialog box, he is presented with the following error message: Unable to connect to machine. What should you tell the customer?

Ensure you are a member of the Performance Log Users group on the remote computer. To open the Performance MMC snap-in to use remote monitoring, you must use an account that is a member of the Performance Log Users group. This group exists solely to permit remote monitoring.
For detailed instructions on How to Configure Windows Firewall in Windows XP Service Pack 2 to allow remote administration tools:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/840634

1. Mike was recently hired for a temporary assignment while Samantha, the administrative assistant, is on an extended sick leave. Mike uses Samantha's computer, which runs MS Windows XP Pro on an NTFS partition. The firm bills its client each month. Samanta uses a MS Excel document to organize billings. She backs up the document on the first of every month. She then sets read-only attributes on the document to ensure she doesn't accidentally overwrite the document. The day before Samantha went on leave, she encrypted the document using EFS (Encrypting File System). Mike tries to open and read the document, but is denied access. What should Mike do to successfully read the document?

Obtain a copy of the file from a backup made before the file was encrypted. Because the file is changed only on the first day of the month, the latest backup contains the most recent copy of the document.

1. Susan calls you because she is having problems running an application that was installed on her computer by another user. Her computer runs MS Windows XP Pro. When Susan run the application, she receives an error message indicating she must have administrative privileges to run the application. All users in the company have two user accounts, a local computer administrative account and a non-administrative domain account. Susan is currently logged on the computer using her domain account. You instruct Susan to use the Run As command to run the application. However, the Run As command fails. She remembers being able to use the Run As command before with another application. What is the most likely cause of this problem?

The Secondary Logon service is disabled. This service is required for the Run As command to function. The service's startup type should be set to Automatic.

1. Today you receive a call from a customer, "I am trying to allow the computers in my two offices to talk to each other. Someone told me I have to modify a Hosts file. Where can I find the Hosts file?" Where should the customer look for this file?

In the Systemroot%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc directory on each computer. Both the Hosts and Lmhosts files are located in the Systemroot%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc directory on each computer. Hosts files perform fully qualified domain name (FQDN) resolution, while Lmhosts files perform NETBIOS name resolution. Depending on the type of name resolution needed, one of these files must be configured on every computer that must participate in name resolution.

Troubleshooting Questions and Answers

1. How can you find out which version of Windows XP is running on a user's computer?
   

Go to START/RUN/Winver.exe (Windows version identification)

Control Panel/Performance and Maintenance/System (Systems Properties Dialog box)

Go to START/RUN/WinMSD.exe (system information program)

1. You are a DST. A Senior VP complains he is unable to install software using removable media. What do you suspect?
   

Prevent removable media source for any install system policy is enabled.

1. Which types of Windows XP licensing and media require MPA (Windows Activation) after a successful installation?
   

OEM licensing and media

Retail licensing and media

1. You are a DST. Using group policies, you need to provide a way for the user to be able to reset the password and view the Welcome screen rather than be logged on automatically to her computer running Windows XP. The computer is part of a workgroup, not part of a domain. How do you accomplish this task?
   

In Group Policies, choose Always Use Classic Logon.

1. You are a desktop support technician for your company. Which methods enable you to create shared network folders?
   

Right-click a folder in My Computer or Windows Explorer, select Sharing and Security, click the option button Share This Folder, and click OK.

Open the Run dialog box, type fsmgmt.msc, press OK, right-click the Shares node, and click New File Share. Follow onscreen instructions for the Create Shared Folder Wizard. Note: Simple File Sharing must not be enabled to create a New File Share using this command.

Open the Computer Management console, expand Shared Folders, right click the Shares node, and click New File Share. Follow the on-screen instructions for the Create shared Folder Wizard. Note: Simple File Sharing must not be enabled to create a New File Share using this command.

Open a command prompt window. Type Net Share share_name=x:\folder_name, where share_name represents the name you want to assign to the shared folder, x: represents the drive letter where the folder resides, and folder_name represents the actual name of the folder.

1. You are a DST. Users are allowed to edit their own TCP/IP settings, but one user complains she is unable to edit the settings in her TCP/IP configuration. What should you do?
   

Log on with administrative privileges; choose Control Panel, User Accounts; and discover whether the user is a member of the Users group or has Limited User account.

1. A help desk colleague of yours logs on from different machines during the day. He complains Internet favorites created on one computer do not follow him when he logs in from others. How can you configure Internet favorites to remain consistent from login to login for a particular user?
   

Copy the user's local profile to a network share and configure his account for roaming profiles.

1. You are a DST. A user cannot install a network printer on her computer running Windows XP. She needs to print documents soon, and the only printer with sufficient capacity is this printer that will not install. How can you help the user install the network printer?
   

Disable the computer policy that prevents users from installing print drivers for local printers.

1. A user is running Windows XP, previously used by another user in another department, wants to ensure that only he has access to those files. Company policy prohibits encrypting files. How might you make sure former users do not have access to John's files?
   

John needs to delete all former user accounts.

1. A rep arrives in your office needing to print several documents created while on the road. She attaches her laptop to a printer using a USB cable. The four documents she created while out of the office are visible in the print queue, but are not printing. You need to ensure the printer is working properly and prints the four waiting print jobs. What should you do?
   

Click the Print Online option.

1. A user prints a document to a network printer. Where is the document and what is it called?
   
   
   
   Print queue, print job
   
   
   
2. Which of the following features must be supported in a LAN environment if you want to boot new workstations from the network and install Windows XP using an RIS server?
   

Internal DNS servers

Active Directory

1. You are a DST for your company. Users want to manage a printer through a Web page. What is true about IPP?
   

The printer server computer can be running Windows 2000 Professional or later.

You can connect to specific printer by typing the following URL into a Web browser: http://print_server_name/printer_share_name

1. You are a DST, and you use a Windows XP Professional laptop computer to complete tasks and maintain troubleshooting records. You need to create a paper version of troubleshooting records, so you carry a portable printer with you on the job. The printer is designed to connect to the USB port on your Windows XP Pro laptop. You have never connected the portable printer with your laptop. What steps should you take to enable you to use the portable printer?
   

Plug the printer into a USB port

Install a device driver the first time the device is connected

1. You are a DST. Greg calls you because he is having problems with his display. Greg is running XP Home and says someone said to change his refresh rate for a better view. He changed the refresh rate from 60 mhz to 85 mhz. After restarting his computer, he could hardly view anything. He cannot remember anything else he did during the course of the day. How should you tell Greg to resolve his problem?
   

Restart the computer in VGA mode.

Change the screen resolution and refresh rate.

1. You are a DST and are on the phone with Arin who is having problem configuring auditing on his computer. He wants to configure auditing because he believes someone has access to his secure files on his computer. He configured audit settings on his secure documents, but no audit log is generated. Arin is the administrator of his computer and no other users use his computer. What should you tell Arin?
   

The security policy applied to the computer does not allow auditing file access. It is likely the auditing of files is disabled. The security policy could be a local, site, domain, or OU policy. Arin should run the RSOP (Resultant Set of Policy) mode to determine the policy settings applied to the computer. The "Audit Object Access" should be enabled.

1. 
   
   You are a DST for a computer repair shop. A customer brings his computer to your shop because he is unable to start his operating system. He tells you his problem started right after he installed a new CD-ROM and a multifunction device. You examine the boot.ini file. What entry should you add to the operating system section of the boot.ini file to determine what driver is preventing the operating system from starting?

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk0)partition(1)\Winnt="Diagnose"\sos. The sos parameter causes the driver names to be displayed as they are loaded during startup.

1. 
   
   You are a DST for a small company. Michael and Jill use the same computer which runs XP Pro. Michael wants to copy a file named ACCOUNTS.XLS from the documents folder on the C drive to the documents folder on the D drive. Both drives are formatted using NTFS. The documents folder on the C drive has the Modify permission and the documents folder on the D drive had the Read and Execute permission. Which permission will be granted to Jill on the copy?

The Read and Execute permission will be granted. When a file or folder is copied on a drive formatted with NTFS, it inherits permissions from the parent folder.

1. 
   
   You are a DST, and George has a problem with his camcorder. The camera is attached to the computer using a USB cable. When the computer is turned on, the camcorder comes on automatically. But, when the computer is turned off, the camcorder does not turn off. What tool or Control Panel applet will accomplish the goal of turning off the camcorder when the computer shuts down?

Device Manager. Open the Properties dialog box for the camera or the USB root hub, and click the Power Management tab. The tab contains two options. One configures whether to turn off the device when the computer shuts down and the other defines whether the device can bring the computer out of standby mode. Once the root hub is configured, all the devices attached to the USB hub will be affected by the configuration.

1. 
   
   You are a DST and Lorraine is having problems connecting one of her computers to the internet. Both of the computers run XP Professional and one has ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) and has an IP address of 192.168.0.1. You ask Lorraine to run the PING command and it is successful. What is the next step you should ask her to take?

IPCONFIG. This is the IP Configuration utility and allows you to verify the IP address, the default gateway, DNS and DHCP servers. Because Lorraine can connect to the other computers but not the internet, it is likely the default gateway is incorrect.

1. 
   
   You are a DST, and today a customer called with a question, "we use offline files on our file server and computers so that our remote users can access files when they are not connected to the network. I found this one file that should be available only to the CEO, so I am thinking of encrypting it rather than configuring access permissions. Will users be able to access the file?"

Users will continue to be able to access the cached file because the encrypted file will not be synchronized. When a file is encrypted, only the user who encrypted the file, can access it. The encrypted file will not be synchronized. The file will only be synchronized when the person who encrypted it is logged on.

1. 
   
   Today Danielle bought a new hard drive. After she installed the hard drive, Danielle installed Windows XP and all of the other apps that were on her previous hard drive. Afterwards, she noticed her applications were slow to open. The same thing occurred on her previous hard drive, which is the reason she got a new one. What tool can Danielle use to help her determine the cause of the problem?

Performance Logs and Alerts allow you to monitor system performance. Danielle can monitor the physical disk performance counter object. This object contains counters to monitor the rate at which disks requests are being serviced.

Disk Defragmenter. Danielle can use the tool first to determine if file fragmentation is the source of her problem and then run the disk defragmenter to reorganize her disk into contiguous clusters, allowing the operating system to open and close files more quickly.

1. 
   
   You are a DST, and today a customer asks you if they can toggle windows with a remote desktop connection like they normally can with the alt + tab key?

With Remote Desktop, you use the alt + page up key.

1. 
   
   You are a DST, and Sammy, the marketing manager has a shared folder that all salesmen must access. The file is enabled with offline access. Adina, an employee, began working at home Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. She accesses the network with a VPN connection. When she is not on the network, she accesses the offline files. Today is Wednesday. Last Friday, Sammy created a file named client.xls. On Monday, Adina logged onto the network and made changes to the file. On Tuesday, Sammy made more changes to the file. Adina did not access the file on Tuesday. What will happen when Adina logs onto the network today?

Adina will be asked what copy of the file she wants to use. Synchronization checks the state of both the cached and the shared file. If both have changed, the user will be asked which one they want to keep.

1. 
   
   A software developer calls you complaining that when they remotely access their office computer and try to do a code build, the connection drops after about 30 minutes. What is the problem?

A remote access connection is likely to be configured to drop the connection after a period of inactivity.

1. 
   
   You are a DST and a customer calls you about a folder named Sales and a local security group named SalesPersons has Full Control Permissions on the folder. A local sales person, Kate, cannot access a bill-of-sale template in the folder. Kate tells you she could access the template a week ago. No other sales persons are experiencing this problem? What is the likely cause of the problem?

Kate is explicitly denied permissions on the folder. It is likely a person in the SalesPersons group denied Kate access to the folder, since they have Full Control permissions.

1. 
   
   You are a DST. Today, someone called and told you they are trying to use Backup to backup files to their CD-RW drive. In the backup destination disc, only File and Tape are available. What must be done to back up the files to disk?

Backup the files to the hard drive and then copy them to the disc. The Backup utility only supports file and tape medium.

1. 
   
   After a customer installed a Zip Drive on their computer, they are having problems starting their computer. The customer was prompted to restart after installation, but was unable to restart. What should the DST tell the customer to do?
   Last Know Good Configuration. Allows you to start the operating system using the hardware profile the last time the computer was started successfully.
   
2. 
   
   After Service Pack 2, what internet zones allow pop-ups by default?
   Trusted sites
   
   Local Intranet sites (Restricted and Internet sites will have pop-ups blocked by default)
   
3. 
   
   A browser remembers both of your credit card numbers when you fill in forms over the internet. How can you get rid of one of the credit card numbers?
   Select the item in the list
   
   Press the delete key.
   
4. 
   
   You are a DST in a law firm and receive an order to monitor a computer WORK1. This computer contains shared folders that contain billing information for all of the company clients. Today all of the files in the folder were deleted. The manager believes an employee deleted the files in response to termination. You need to examine the audit log before the employee leaves the company. What filter parameters do you use to examine the audit log to determine if the employee deleted the files?

Event id, User, From

1. You are a DST for a help desk and a customer calls you because he needs you to guide him in the process of allowing his users to use RIS (Remote Installation Services) to install Microsoft Windows XP Professional on their computers. The customer wants to test RIS with a new user, first. The user does not currently have an Active Directory Account. The computer the user will install the OS currently runs Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional. It has a network interface adapter that is not Pre-boot Execution (PXE-enabled). The customer has already created a PXE boot disk. The customer needs to know if the user will be able to install the operating system.

The user will not be able to install the OS because she does not yet have a domain

account.

1. You are a DST and Jane introduced several viruses on her pc during the past few months by opening e-mail attachments that she thought were safe. She removed the viruses successfully, but she wants to prevent this problem from happening again. What check box option in Folder Options should she clear to do this?

Hide Extensions for known file types should be unchecked. A file name specified as pics.html.exe will appear as pics.html to make the file appear as an html file when it is really an executable.

1. You run your own business as a DST and Linda, one of your customers, is having a problem configuring Themes for her new computer, which runs Microsoft Windows XP Home. Fast User Switching is enabled to allow Robert to use the computer when Linda is not using it. Linda says the interface on her computer looks different than the one on display at the store. What is the cause of the problem?

The Themes service is disabled or stopped. It must be started to support Windows XP Themes.

1. You are a DST and one of your salespeople, Mary, travels to customer sites with her Windows XP Pro computer that has Service Pack 2 installed. You have configured the computer, as well as the other company computers, with several Windows Firewall exceptions to enable file sharing and remote management on your internal network. When Mary is in the office, she connects to your internal network using a wired Ethernet connection. When she travels, Mary needs to be able to connect to unprotected wireless networks. You would like to configure Windows Firewall to block all unrequested traffic on her wireless network adapter, but still enable the exceptions for the wired network adapter. What is the process you should use?

Open Windows Firewall settings dialog box. Click the Exceptions tab. Disable all exceptions. Click the Advanced tab. Click Select the wired network adapter, then click Settings. Enable the required exceptions.

1. You are a DST and Brian os a developing device drivers for a new camera his company is manufacturing. Brian's computer runs MS Windows XP Pro. While programming, needs to disable device drivers under development. While testing, he needs to enable the devices. He also needs to reboot his computer when switching from programming mode to testing mode. To make life easier, Brian wants to set up an additional hardware profile. However, he does not know what to do, and calls you for help. The device drivers under development are currently enabled. What are the steps you should instruct Brian to create a new hardware profile?

Create a copy of the current hardware profile

Restart the computer.

Select the new hardware profile.

Disable the devices.

1. You are a DST and are on the phone with George who is having problems sharing his DVD-ROM drive with his brother, Sam. Both George and Same work at a small office and have Windows XP Pro computers. Whenever Sam tries to access the share, he receives an "access denied" message. George verifies the DVD-ROM is shared, and the appropriate permissions are granted to Sam. You instruct George to configure his computer's local security policy. What local policy should George configure to allow Sam to access his DVD-ROM drive?

Security Options. This policy contains several policy settings for configuring the local computer, including "Restrict CD-ROM access to locally logged-on user only". When this setting is enabled, only local users can access CD-ROM ad DVD-ROM drives on the computer. George should disable the setting.

1. You run your own business as a DST. Today a customer calls with the following question: "I just bought a brand new Windows XP laptop. I tried to configure it to go into Standby after 15 minutes, but it is not working. What do you think is wrong?" What is the first question you should ask the customer?

Is a screen save configured? If so, is it a 3D screen saver? 3D screen savers sometimes prevent a computer from entering standby mode. This is because a computer goes into standby only when the CPU has been idle for the time that is configured in Power Options. When a 3D screen save runs, the CPU begins processing. This is a known issue in MS Windows XP and a hot fix is available.

1. You are a DST and you receive a call from a customer with the following question: "I bought my Windows XP Pro computer a few months ago. I have installed many applications on it, and now, it is getting slow. Someone told me to adjust Performance Options in System Properties. I have two questions: Should I use Programs or Background services for processing scheduling? And should I use Programs or System cache for memory usage?" How should you instruct the customer to configure her computer for maximum performance?

Choose Programs for processor scheduling and Programs for memory usage. The customer stated she installed many apps on the computer, which indicates she might user the computer primarily for foreground programs. This allows apps to run faster. Background services are necessary for background apps like backup utilities. System cache for memory usage is typically necessary for computers that act as servers.

1. You are a DST for an accounting firm. Kathie and David are responsible for handling all of the company contracts. Kathie created the database, and she is currently the owner of the file. She is currently out of the office, and she will not be back for five days. David needs to make changes to the database. However, David is only granted Read permissions on the file. Kathie must be able to make changes to the database when she returns. She is granted only Modify permissions on the file. Both Kathie and David use the same computer,which runs XP Pro on an NT files system. Neither Kathie or David is a member of the local administrators group. What tasks should you perform to allow David to perform the database?

Take ownership of the file and grant write permissions on the file to David. Only administrators, owners, or users who have the Full permission can modify file and folder permissions. Write permissions will allow David to change the file.

1. You are a DST and a company bought seven new computers running Windows XP PRo that will be part of a workgroup. All the computers must be configured with the same security settings. You want to use the least amount of administrative effort to meet the security guidelines. Which tool should you use?

Security Templates. You can configure the required settings in a single template and import the template into the local security policy on all seven computers. Click Start/Run/enter MMC. Next, choose Add/Remove Snap-In from the File menu. The Add/Remove Snap-in dialog will be displayed. Click the Add button and choose Security Template from the list.

1. You are a DST and are helping a user migrate her files and setting from an old computer running MS Windows 98 to MS Windows XP Home. You instruct her to use FSTW (Files and Settings Transfer Wizard). What tasks should the user perform to migrate her files and settings using FSTW?

Start FSTW on the new computer.

Create a Wizard Disk on a floppy disk.

Insert the Wizard Disk into the floppy disk drive on the old computer.

Start FSTW on the old computer.

Save files and settings to one or more floppy disks.

Resume FSTW on the new computer.

1. You are a DST and Connor calls you because his computer starts to slow down about 30 minutes after he logs on. It happens when he plays his favorite game. He tells you that he can hear a grinding noise coming from the computer. You want to determine if the noise is related to insufficient physical memory. Which Memory performance counter should Connor monitor?

Page faults/sec. A page fault occurs whenever the operating system accesses the hard disk for contents that could not be stored in physical memory. The space on the hard disk that stores the contents is referred to as virtual memory. By having Connor monitor the rate at which page faults occur, you can determine whether the grinding noise, which is likely coming from the hard drive, is related to insufficient memory. When the page fault increases to about 5 per second, there is likely a memory bottleneck.

1. You are a DST for a development company. Many developers in the company are allowed to work from home. From home, they use VPN (Virtual Private Networking) to access the company network. Everyday at 2 P.M., a code build occurs on the build computer, which runs Windows XP Pro. The manager is agitated because he thinks one of the developers who work from home accesses files during the build process. This sometimes causes the build process to fail. The manager wants you to give him the high level tasks he must perform to determine if the developer is accessing files during the build process. What are the tasks the manager must perform?

Enable auditing n the security policy for the build computer.

Configure audit settings on the folder that contains the code files.

Use Event Viewer to examine the security log for object access.

1. You are a DST and a graphics designer calls you to his cubicle because he wants to change the display quality on his MS XP Pro computer so the colors displayed are as accurate as possible. What mode should he use for highest quality?

800 by 600, True Color (32 bit), 120 Hertz

1. 
   
   You are a DST for a help desk. You receive a call from Matthew who is having problems starting his MS XP Pro computer. When Matthew starts the computer, it hangs at the logon screen. Matthew tells you it happened when he overwrote a system file after testing an installation program that he wrote. This file is a core system component required by the operating system. Matthew downloaded a correct version of the system file from the internet and saved it to floppy disk. What instructions should you give Matthew to copy the correct system file to the Winnt directory?

Start the computer from a bootable Windows XP Pro CD-ROM.

Enter R when prompted to repair the Windows installation.

Coyp the file from the floppy disk to the Winnt directory.

Restart the computer.

Desktop Management Issues

Desktop Management Issues

1.1. Types of Accounts.

· Administrator Account. Manages computer.
· System Account. Used by application.
· Guest account. Exists for purpose of letting a user logon to check email or if they need very little access to resources.
· Local. Access to one machine
· Domain. Exists in Active Directory.

1.2. User Profiles.
When a user logs on to the computer, it sets up a profile for them. The computer assigns rights and permissions to resources.
· My Documents folder
· Shortcut
· Registry
· Cookies
· Favorites
Rights give you access and are assigned based on group membership. Permissions give you resources and are assigned through groups.

WINXP has four different accounts:
1. Computer Administrator
2. Limited
3. Guest. Like a Limited Account, but, you can not assign a password.
4. Unknown. Accounts that were carried over from another OS and Windows does not know where to put them.

You can create accounts in User Profiles in Control Panel. However, the best way to create accounts is in Computer Management. Then, you can see all of the accounts and groups. Right click My Computer/manage/expand Local Users and Groups.

To create a new user, right click Users. Double click on the user to see the user properties and what group he is a member of. The network administrator could set the profile path to set the particular computer settings for this user.

1.3 Resetting Passwords.

Reset passwords by going back into Local Users and Groups. Right click the user and click Set Password. If you change the password, the user might not be able to gain access to resources. For example, if the password was encrypted. The password might be needed for certain resources. This is usually the case on domain accounts.

WINXP allows you to backup the password on external media.

1.4. Fast User Switching

Fast User Switching can be used if you are not a member of a domain.

Go to Control Panel/User Accounts/select Change the way Users log on or off/Click Use the Welcome Screen and User Fast User Switching. Note: You must use the Welcome Screen.

1.5. User Configuration

You can copy a user profile, if you have a user that needs a similar profile.

Right click My Computer/Properties/Advanced/User Profiles – Settings

If you are the Administrator, you should change your account name to something else.

Highlight the profile you want, click COPY TO.

Copy to a Profiles folder you create. Enter who is permitted to use this, the computer and user. Click ok.

* If you need to troubleshoot a profile in a hurry, and the profile has similar rights as the other user, the easiest way to troubleshoot problem, is to copy the profile of someone’s profile who is working.

1.6. Start Menu, Taskbar, Desktop

These options are used for customizing the desktop. They are not likely to effect user productivity. They just make them feel more comfortable.

Right click the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, click Properties.
· You can Lock or Unlock the taskbar.
· You can auto-hide the taskbar. This is good if the user has a small monitor.
· Keep the taskbar on top of other windows. This is a default setting.
· Group similar taskbar buttons. This gives you one representation with a little number to indicate how many are open.
· Show Quick Launch. The tiny icons on the bottom of the taskbar on the left hand side. You can add additional quick launch icons by resizing the taskbar and pulling the taskbar when the mouse becomes a two-headed arrow in the quick launch area.
· Show the clock. You can extend the taskbar by unlocking it and using your mouse to make it bigger, then it will show the day and the date.
· Hide inactive icons. If you click on customize, you can choose what you want to do with that particular icon.

The Start menu
You can choose between the regular and the Classic start menu.
· The regular start menu has your most recent documents open to make it easier for the user.
· Classic Start menu is more like Windows 98 or Windows 2000.

· If you click on Customize you can choose whether you want large icons or small icons in the start menu.
· You can choose how many programs you want to show on the start menu.

Desktop configuration is done by right clicking the desktop, click on properties, and you have all the different display properties.

· Themes
· Desktop lets you customize the desktop by letting you select what icons you want to display. Recycle bin always displays.
· Screensaver keeps you from having burnout on the monitor. Flat panel display monitors don’t have that problem. You can indicate whether or not you want the user to enter a password to resume from screensaver.
· Appearance lets you make minor settings as far as what the user sees, text size, color scheme, effects. Clear type is good for flat panel displays.
· Settings have to do with the display properties. Advanced settings let you set based on the video card you have.

1.7. Folder Views
If folder views are improperly configured, it can keep the user from finding their file or folder.
My Computer/Tools/Folder Options/View/Advanced settings
For some users you need to be able to see hidden files and folders, see file extensions, and unhide protected operating system files. Uncheck or check these appropriately. Click Apply.

1.8. Accessibility Options

Start/Control Panel/Accessibility Options

Keyboard.
· Sticky Keys. Allow you to use the computer by being able to save keystrokes if the user has a disability. For example, ctrl, alt, delete, can be customized for one key stroke. Go to Settings to set up shortcuts to allow the user to use the sticky keys. They can hold down the ctrl key, or the alt or delete key.
· FilterKeys ignores a brief or repeated keystroke. You can change the settings for the repeat delay.
· Toggle keys allow you to hear tones when the caps lock, scroll lock, or num lock key is pressed. Settings will allow you to user a shortcut to toggle.

Sound.
· SoundSentry shows the person the sounds made on a computer. You can set that to flash for the Active window, the Active Desktop, or the Active Taskbar.
· ShowSounds can only be used if the programs have the capability by showing a little balloon.

Display.
· High Contrast used for a person having a hard time seeing.
· Curser Options have blink rate and width options.

Mouse.
· Allows the user to use the arrow keys on the numeric keyboard to move the mouse pointer.

General.
· Controls all of these different settings. How long the accessibility options are on, when they turn on, whether they make a sound when they turn on
· Serial keys allow alternative access to the keyboard and mouse features. There are additional devices that can by used for the computer by handicapped individuals.
· Administrative options are how you apply the settings, to the current desktop logon, and/or to all new users.
Accessibility features are tools built into the operating system.

Start/All programs/accessories/accessibility options.

Access the Wizard. Click on next. The wizard will ask you about text size, font size, Microsoft magnifier, disable personalized menus (maybe the font is too small).
Click next. Select the statements that apply to the particular user, whether they are blind or deaf. The system will set these special settings so the user will not have to set them.
Magnifier magnifies part of the screen as the mouse moves.
Narrator allows you to set the system so that the system speaks to you. You set the speed, the volume, the sound. Narrator is a great tool for proof reading documents.

1.9 Multilingual Configuration

Windows XP is available in 24 different languages.
Three different versions of Windows XP:
· English version
· Localized version
· Multi-Language user interface version.

Regional and Language Options allow you to set the computer for different languages.

Start/Control Panel/Regional and Language Options

Regional Options
When you set the specific language, it converts to the format of that particular region.
· Number
· Currency
· Time
· Short date
· Long date

If what you want is not in the list or regional options, you can Customize Regional Options.

Languages
You can add additional languages to the OS. You have to make sure the users have the correct keyboard or keyboard overlay. If the user is having a problem with weird characters showing up on their keyboard, you can check to see if it is set correctly.

Advanced
Lets you set non-Unicode programs. For example, if the program says you need to enable a certain code conversion table, you have to go here to enable it. Most of the time you won’t have to set it because the program already has it set.

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• New Entry In Right Windows XP Start Menu (ghacks.net)

Creating an ASR Disk in Windows XP

The boot.ini file is the file that the OS looks at to determine where the files are to boot the OS. It is in the root of the C drive. You should make sure the VIEW is set in Folder Options to see all of the operating and system files so that you can see the boot.ini file.

Press F8 to access Advance boot options:

1. Safe Mode
   
2. Safe Mode with Networking
   
3. VGA Mode
   

WinXP has a tool that allows you to backup the OS to disk. This disk allows you to use this along with the Windows CD to get you back where you were before the system crashed. This doesn't back up data.

It creates an Automated System Recovery Disk. This allows you to recover from a hard disk system crash. You should create an ASR as soon as you have a system created, especially if you have a complicated configuration.

START/ALL PROGRAMS/ACCESSORIES/SYSTEM TOOLS/BACKUP/ADVANCED MODE/Automated System Recovery Wizard/click NEXT.

Create on floppy or USB external drive.

If you need to recover, insert the windows CD and the ASR recovery disk at the same time so they can talk to each other.

Resolving Printer Issues in Windows XP

Resolving Printer Issues

A MCDST needs to know how to install, manage, troubleshoot, and audit printers.

• Printers are software that includes the drivers.
  
• Print Devices are the hardware, the physical equipment.
  
• Print Job is the data stream that goes through the computer to the print device.
  
• Printer Driver is the actual software that allows the print device to communicate with the operating system.
  
• Print Spooler is where the print job goes when it is waiting for the print device. This is the physical location where the job is held before it is printed out.
  
• Print Queue is a logical list of all of the jobs that are waiting to be printed.
  

1.1 Installing Printers

START/PRINTERS AND FAXES/ADD A PRINTER

This brings up Add a Printer Wizard.

Select the option that describes the printer you want to use:

• Local printer attached to this computer
  
• A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer
  
  

Click Next

Click Next (one more time to browse for the printers). The dialog box pops up and finds the Microsoft Windows Network, where we can browse to find the printer.

If you were to install a Local printer (the other option not highlighted, above), another box would pop up after you select that option.

• Local printer attached to this computer
  
  
  √ Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer (check this if you already have the print device installed.)
  
  
  
  Click Next.
  
  
  
  Select a Printer Port.
  
  It defaults to a LPT1 printer port. You also have the option of printing to a COM serial port, or to a file. You could also create a new port, a local port or a TCP/IP port (a port that prints to a particular IP address over the internet).
  
  
  
  Click next.
  
  
  
  Install Printer Software. XP has a cache of printers so we can choose the printer we want. For our example, we are going to use
  
  AGFA-ACCuSet v52.3.
  
  
  
  Click Next.
  
  
  
  Name Your Printer. For our example, we will call it Printer1.
  
  
  
  Click Next.
  
  
  
  Printer Sharing
  
  
• Do not share this printer
  
• Share name:
  Printer1.
  
  
  Click Next.
  
  Location and Comment
  
  
  • Location: (the Network Administrators can set up the location so that the users can find printers)
    
  • Comment:
    
    
  Print a Test Page
  
  Do you want to print a test page?
  
  
  • Yes (Recommended if you have the print device connected)
    
  • No (In this case we will choose no since we do not have our print device hooked up)
    
  Click Next.
  
  A dialog box opens up that tell you it is 'Completing the Add Printer Wizard'.
  
  Name: Printer1
  
  Share name: Printer1
  
  Model: AGFA-AccuSet v52.3
  
  Default: Yes
  
  Test page: No
  
  Location:
  
  Comment:
  
  Click Finish. The system loads the drivers and creates Printer1.
  
  

1.2 Updating & Troubleshooting Printers

Right click the Printer/Properties and make changes you need to make.

Most print devices allow you to print a test page at the device. If you are able to print a test page from the device, then you know the print device is operational.

If you are able to print a test page from the print device, but you cannot print from the application, then you know the problem is the application.

1.3 Printer Permissions

• Print – You can print and delete your own documents from the queue
  
• Manage documents – Manage the print device itself, i.e., pause and stop the queue
  
• Manage printers – Manage the software settings
  

Right click Printer1/click Properties/click Security (allows you to see what users and groups are allowed to use the printer). This will allow you to troubleshoot why a user might be having problems with the printer. The problem could be related to their permissions with the printer.

Group of user names:

Administrators

Creator Owner

Everyone

Power Users

Add Remove

Permissions for Administrators Allow Deny

Print

Manage Printers √

Manage Documents √

Special Permissions √

Advanced

Administrators have the above permissions. Everyone has the Print permissions. Power Users have the same as Manage permissions for printers.

For an example, if we 'Add' an Executives Group to the Permissions, we can click Add (above) and type in the Executives Group. However, the Executives already had permissions to print to this printer because they are a member of the Everyone Group. So, if we want only the Administrators, Power Users, and the Executives to have permissions to print to this printer, we click on the Everyone Group (above) and click Remove to remove 'Everyone' from the permissions for this printer. So now, the Administrators, Creator Owner, Executives, and the Power Users are the only ones who have any 'permissions' at all for this printer.

1.4 Redirecting Print Jobs

Suppose the user prints and job and the printer is unavailable. You might want to redirect the print job to go to another print device so that it gets printed. For this example, we will use Printer1.

Right click Printer1/click Properties/click Ports/click Add Port/click New Port/Type in the printer server name and the share name where you want to redirect the print job

file://printserver/sharename

Click OK.

All of the jobs will now be redirected to the new print device.

1.5 Resetting the Printer Spooler

If you are having a problem with the print spooler, it probably just needs to be reset. However, it could be that it is running out of space.

First, we need to determine where the print spooler is.

The print spooler is for all of the printers, so you need to right click in an open area in Printers and Faxes/click Print Server Properites/Advanced.

Spool folder: C:\WINNT\System32\spool\PRINTERS (this is were we can make adjustments to where the print spooler is, if needed)

Log spooler error events

Log spooler warning events

Log spooler information events

Beep on error of remote documents

Show informational notifications for local printers

Show informational notifications for network printers

To reset the print spooler, go to My Computer/right click and choose Manage/go to Services and Applications/click on Services/scroll down to Print Spooler.



Right click Print Spooler and you can Stop and Restart the Print Spooler. Most of the time resetting the print spooler will clear your problem with the print spooler.



1.6 Auditing Printers



In this example, we will refer to Printer1 as the printer name.



Right click Printer1/Properties/Security/Advanced/Auditing



We can add the users or groups that we want to audit for this printer.



If we add Executives, the dialog box will ask us what we want to audit:



Name: Executives



Apply onto: This printer and documents



Access: Successful Failed

Print √

Manage Printers √

Manage Documents

Read Permissions √

Change Permissions √

Take Ownership √



Let's pretend we want to audit the executives ability to print, so we need to check out and make sure that no one is changing our security in the manage printers permission.



Click OK.



To view the results of printer audits, click Start/Run.



Type: eventvwr.msc



Press enter.



You can also get there by going to Administrative Tools.



The event viewer has three logs by default.

• Application
  
• Security
  
• System
  

Click on System

Click on View

Click Filter

We are going to Filter by an Event source. Select Print. Click Ok.

Now, click on Security

Click on View

Click Filter

For the Event source, select Security. For category, select Object Access because we want to know if we are having a problem accessing objects. We notice there are a lot of events that show success. Since we don't need to look at the events that are a success, we go back and click on View/Filter. Then, we uncheck Successful Audits and click OK. Afterwards, you will only see the Failure Audits.

Resolving File and Folder Issues in Windows XP

Resolving File and Folder Issues
Three different types of files users might utilize:

1. Local – files stored on the local computer.
2. Shared – files used through a network share.
3. Offline – files stored on the user's laptop when they leave their place of business. For example, when working a home. Offline files are only available in Windows XP Professional.
   

Each file has a name extension. For example, document.doc, tells you this is a work document. .xls is used by Excel. These name extensions go along with applications. So, if a user is having trouble opening up a file, you might want to look at the name extension.

1. CHANGING FILE ASSOCIATIONS
   
   
   
   Go to the Tools menu in Explorer or My Computer, then Folder Options. Look at File Types. For example, if a user is having trouble opening a Word document, go here and check the file extension for the Microsoft Word document, and make sure it is a DOC type of extension. If not, click on change, and choose the program that should be associated with the DOC type, which is WORD in this case.
   
   The way you would know this file extension is the problem, is that the user will probably be able to open the application, and then open the file. But, the user is unable to open the application with the file.
   
   
2. FILE AND FOLDER ATTRIBUTES
   
   
   Each file and folder has its own attributes. It can be HIDDEN, it can be READ only and unable to be deleted. So, this is a potential troubleshooting area.
   
   To demonstrate, go to MY DOCUMENTS. Pretend there is a folder with the extension .MSI. Right click on the file. Select PROPERTIES. At the bottom of the GENERAL tab, you have attributes that you can assign to this file. If you click on HIDDEN, and then APPLY, you see that the folder starts to go away. The reason it hasn't completely gone away is the screen hasn't been refreshed. Press F5 to refresh the screen, and the folder goes completely away. The user would not be able to find this file, if the FOLDER OPTIONS are set to DO NOT SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS. That file is now a hidden file based on its attributes.
   
   
3. FILE COMPRESSION
   
   
   File compression is using software to take out the redundant elements in a file. For example, if you look at a printed page, the most redundant element is a blank space. There are also words that are redundant, such as 'the' and 'a'.
   
   Compression reduces performance. Files that are compressed are not used in that mode. The file has to decompress, use the file, then the file has to be recompressed, again. This takes up resources.
   
   Never compress the Operating System files. This could be a troubleshooting issue. If the system is not performing adequately, it could be the user has decided to compress some files, and compressed some operating system files in the process.
   
   Don't compress files that are just text. There is no need to. The files you need to compress are audio and picture files. But, you need to make sure the application isn't already compressing the file.
   
   Don't compress files that used on a daily basis, because of the resources compression uses. Also, you cannot compress ENCRYPTED files.
   
   Go to a folder. Right click/Properties/General tab/Advanced/Compress contents to save disk space/click OK/click OK. A dialog box pops up to ask you if you want to Apply changes to this folder only, or, to Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files.
   
   It is best to compress the folder, not the individual file. If you compress the folder, the files that go into the folder are automatically compressed.
   
   How can you tell the folder is compressed? It looks the same as the other folders. Go to TOOLS/FOLDER OPTIONS/VIEW/Scroll down and click 'Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color'/ click OK. The folder shows up in BLUE. BLUE means compressed.
   Files and Folders moved within the same NTFS volume, retain the compression attribute in the new location.
   Files and Folders copied within the same NTFS volume, lose the compression attribute in the new location, and take on the parent folder compression attribute.
   Files and Folders moved or copied to a different volume, take on the compression attribute of the parent folder.
   Windows XP has a feature called compressed zipped folders. You can create these folders on a FAT, FAT32, or NTFS volume, including floppy disks. Explorer/File/New/Compressed Zipped Folder
   
   
   
4. ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM
   
   
   Encryption is very important in today's world. If you lose your laptop, and someone gets access to your hard drive, all they have to do is reinstall the operating system, and make themselves the administrator. They would have access to everything on your computer. Or, they could remove the hard drive and install it into something else to read the data.
   
   EFS is a service that is available in Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Servers, Windows 2003 Servers. EFS encrypts files and folders so that only users with the correct name and password can gain access to that information. What if you have something encrypted, and your key to it is corrupted, you need a backup. The system has a Recovery Agent that creates another key to decrypt the encryption.
   
   Compressed files cannot be encrypted.
   
   Go to your folder. Right click the folder/Properties/General tab/Advanced Attributes/Click on 'Encrypt contents to secure data'/ click OK/click OK again. The contents are encrypted. You can tell because the folder shows up in GREEN. This indicates it is encrypted.
   
   
   
5. NTFS PERMISSIONS

NTFS File Permission	Enables Users to :
Read	View, Open, right-click the file, and click on Properties to view its attributes and ownership
Read and Execute	All tasks described above, plus, double click on the file to open the app that can be used to VIEW it
Write	All tasks described above, plus, CHANGE the file and its attributes.
Modify	All tasks described above, plus, DELETE the file
Full Control	All tasks described above, plus, take OWNERSHIP and thereby give other users permission for the file

There are two different types of NTFS permissions: File permissions and folder permissions. The default permissions for users is READ AND EXECUTE.

List Folder contents	View the folder, click on the folder and VIEW the files and folders with in the folder.
Read	All tasks described above, plus, right click the folder VIEW its permissions, attributes, and ownership
Read and Execute	All tasks described above, plus, double click on the folders within the folder to view their contents (traverse the folders, i.e., go to folders within folders)
Write	All tasks described above, plus, create new files and folders within the folder, CHANGE the folders attributes
Modify	All tasks described above, plus, DELETE the folder
Full Control	All tasks described above, plus, take ownership of the folder and thereby give other users permissions for the folder

Most of the time, permissions are assigned to a user, based on group membership. So if a user is assigned to multiple groups and each group has different permissions, how do we determine the actual effective NTFS Permissions?

Windows XP has something called Effective Permissions, allows us to determine what the system is combining from all of the individual permissions a user has, as well as all of the groups the user is a member of.

Example:

Right click FOLDER/PROPERTIES/SECURITY tab.

• Any USER will have Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, and Read Permissions. Basically, they can double click on the folder and view the folder and its permissions, nothing else
  
• Executives have the MODIFY permission. They have Write permission so they can change a folder, and they have the Modify permission, so they can also delete.
  

Click on the ADVANCED button, and select the EFFECTIVE PERMISSIONS tab. Select USERS. We see the Effective permissions for the USERS. It breaks out all of the permissions so we can tell what permissions the USERS group has. If you select the EXECUTIVES group, you will see the EXECUTIVES group has even more permissions.

Go to MY COMPUTER/Click on MANAGE/LOCAL USERS AND GROUPS. For an example, we will look at a particular user, jbrown, double click on jbrown, click on MEMBER OF. Notice jbrown is a member of the EXECUTIVES group and the USERS group. If this user is a member of the Active Directory, and the effective permissions can be calculated, you can expect the following to happen.

Since the effective permissions for the EXECUTIVES is greater than the effective permissions for the USERS, and jbrown is a member of both of those groups, the permissions are combined.

1. SHARED FOLDER PERMISSIONS
   
   
   The true effective permissions are a combination of the NTFS permissions and the SHARED permissions.
   
   If the NTFS permissions are effective locally, but the resource is not effective through the network, the user cannot get to it anyway. The SHARE opens up a gateway to see resources from another computer. When you set up SHARES, you open up a big door. The network Administrator is responsible for setting up permissions.
   
   For Windows XP, there is SIMPLE sharing (a view setting) and there is CLASSIC sharing.
   
   Right click on your FOLDER/PROPERTIES/SHARING. Simple File Sharing is typically done in a home setting. Any folders the user wants to SHARE, would be put into the SHARED DOCUMENTS folder. If you try to share anything else, the system will warn you 'Are you sure you know what you are doing?' There is no security tab. You can't control the PERMISSIONS, you only have the default NTFS permissions.
   
   Go to TOOLS/FOLDER OPTIONS/VIEW/Uncheck USE SIMPLE FILE SHARING/CLICK OK. Now click on the FOLDER/PROPERTIES/SHARING. Now you see an entirely different dialog box. Click on SHARE THIS FOLDER. You can allocate a Share name and put in a Comment to indicate what the resource is used for. You can also indicate a User limit for the resource. For example, if the resource takes up too much of the processor or memory, we can limit the number of users who can access the resource at the same time. We can also control SHARE PERMISSIONS from here. Click on OK and you will see a hand underneath the folder, if it is shared.
   
   
2. MAPPING A NETWORK DRIVE & SHADOW COPY
   
   
   Windows Explorer/Tools/Map a Network Drive
   
   The System will ask you for a user name and password.
   
   There is also a tool called Shadow Copy. Right click the file/click Properties/click Previous version tab/. Shadow Copy is a great tool to retrieve a lost file without having to ask the Network Administrator to restore the file from a backup tape.
   
   
3. OFFLINE FILES AND FOLDERS
   
   
   TOOLS/FOLDER OPTIONS/OFFLINE FILES/ENABLE OFFLINE FILES allows the computer to take advantage of OFFLINE FILES that the administrator has cached. Unless the files are allowed to be cached, this part will not work.
   
   The options for OFFLINE FILES are:
   
   

• Enable Offline Files
  
• Synchronize all offline files when logging on
  
• Synchronize all offline files before logging off
  
• Display a reminder
  
• Create an Offline Files shortcut on the desktop
  
• Encrypt offline files to secure data
  

You can also set the amount of disk space needed for offline files.

Click ADVANCED Settings. You can:

When a network connection is lost

• Notify me and begin working offline
  
• Never allow my computer to go offline
  
  

1. FILE CACHING OR PINNING
   
   
   The first time a user tries to access a resource the computer takes a certain amount of time to bring the resource to the user. After the resource is local, it can be cached. It speeds up the access to the resource the next time.
   
   Resources that are on the server have to be set for caching or pinning by the Network Administrator. Click on the folder/PROPERTIES/SHARING tab/Click on the CACHING button. You can set manual or automatic caching. You have to have Administrator rights for the particular share to set caching.
   
   
2. FOLDER REDIRECTION
   
   
   Network Administrators can use Group Policy to use Folder Redirection and redirect the My Documents, Start Menu, Desktop, and Application data of users. This protects the data. It can be stored on the server where it can be backed up.
   
   In addition, the desktop settings can be standardized through Folder Redirection.