Category Archives: A+ Essentials (220-601)

A+ essentials Tutorials

Operating system Basics

Introduction:
This section will provide a brief introduction to UNIX, Linux, Mac OS, and Windows operating systems. The A+ exams will focus mainly on Windows as will this guide.

What is an Operating System:
An operating system is a program that is loaded into the computer on boot up that is responsible for running other applications and provides an interface with which to interact with other programs. This interface can be mainly command-line based like Linux or Unix, or can primarily revolve around a Graphical User Interface (GUI) such as Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

Operating Systems can be divided into 2 groups: Single-process and multiprocess. Single process operating systems are capable of working on 1 task at a time while a multiprocess OS can work on several processes at once by breaking tasks into threads. There are several terms related to multiprocessing systems that you will need to know as follows:

1. Multitasking – This is the ability to work on several different tasks at a time. This is accomplished by switching back and forth between the tasks. There are a few different types of multitasking:
1. Task Switching – Allows for multiple applications to be run at the same time. The window that is in the foreground is the active window while the other applications run in the background. Used in Windows 3.0.
2. Cooperative Multitasking – Applications can control the system resource until they are finished. When the hourglass is displayed on the screen, you would be unable to perform any tasks until the system had finished the task that it was working on. If a task caused faults or other problems, it would cause the system to become unstable and force a reboot. Used in Windows 3.x.
3. Preemptive Multitasking – Applications are allowed to run for a specified period of time depending on how important the application is to the operation of the system(priority basis). This means that even though you may see an hourglass on the screen, you can still launch or use other application at the same time. If a particular task is causing problems or faults, that application can be stopped without the system becoming unstable. Used in Windows 9.x.
2. Multiuser – This is similar to multitasking and is the ability for multiple users to access resources at the same time. The OS switches back and forth between users.
3. Multiprocessor – Having multiple processors installed in a system such that tasks are divided between them.

Introduction to UNIX:
Originally developed in 1969 by AT&T employees, UNIX was the operating system of choice for decades and is the oldest of the bunch. Traditionally, it was command line based although newer versions do have a graphical user interface (GUI) like Windows. Solaris by Sun Microsystems is the most popular version of UNIX in use, although HP-UX and AIX still have some market share. UNIX is used as an operating system on servers and for specialty applications. It is not typically used for personal computing.

Introduction to Linux:
Linux is a UNIX-like operating system, that was invented by Linus Torvalds in 1991. Although it is a lot like UNIX, it is open source which means that the operating system and source code are freely available including most supporting applications which are freely licensed under the GNU public license. Because the source code is freely available, various organizations have modified the code and created their own variations known as “distributions”. Some of the more common ones are Red Hat, SuSE, Debian, and Fedora Core. Linux has become a very popular platform for servers, particularly web servers. It also has a wide variety of GUIs that can be used for personal computing.

Introduction to OS X:
Macintosh computers produced by Apple are proprietary systems that run Mac OS operating systems. Mac OS X is the successor to the original Mac OS, which had been Apple’s primary operating system since 1984. Unlike its predecessor, Mac OS X is a Unix-like OS based on BSD. Beginning in 2006, Macs began running on Intel CPUs for the first time instead of their own proprietary hardware.

Introduction to Windows:
Microsoft leads the operating system market with their Windows series of operating systems. At the time of this writing, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 Server are currently the most widely used versions, although Windows Vista was recently released. The A+ exam probably will not test you on Windows vista. It is also doubtful that you will be tested on Windows 9x or NT with the exception of performing upgrades.

There are several major components that are essentially the same in most versions of Windows(2000/2003/XP) that you should know how to get to and use.

Windows Explorer is the utility used for file management functions in Windows operating systems. It can be used to move, copy, rename, delete files and browse through the directory. Explorer displays the file structure in a hierarchical tree. The figure below shows the explorer interface.

There are several ways in which explorer can be launched including right clicking “My Computer” and selecting explore or clicking the “Start” button and selecting run and type in “explorer”. For the exam, you will need to know how to navigate and use Windows Explorer.

One of the most important parts of My Computer is the folder options that can be accessed from the view menu. Folder options has 3 tabs where various setting can be configured as follows.

The general tab allows you to configure how folders and files appear. The View tab allows you to set a variety of file and folder options. One of the most common of these is to check the “Show All Files” radio button in order to allow hidden files to be shown. You should be familiar with these settings for the exam.

The offline files tab allows you to configure the computer to synchronize files on a network. This is mostly used with laptop computers. The File Types tab allows you to control which applications open specific file types. This is otherwise known as associations which can also be controlled by using the WINFILE.EXE program in Windows 9x.

Shortcuts can be created when browsing the file system from the file menu and selecting “new” then “shortcut”. They can also be created in Windows Explorer or by right clicking a file and selecting “Create Shortcut” from the drop down menu. New folders can be created in the same manners.

The Windows Control Panel is where most hardware, software and networking settings are configured. The Windows XP control panel is shown below. This is the default “Category View” that is new in Windows XP. Notice in the upper left side there is a link to switch to classic view which is the more familiar version found in previous Windows operating systems. You will need to be familiar with using the control panel for the exam and know the various ways to access them. For example, the Network control panel can also be accessed by clicking on the Network Neighborhood (called “My Network Places” in Windows XP) and selecting “Properties” and the Display control panel can also be access by clicking on the Desktop and selecting “Properties”.

The System Properties control panel is one of the key control panels that is used to configure the systems hardware settings. Windows 95/98/2000/XP System Properties contain a portion called “Device Manager” that can be used to update device drivers, modify IRQ and I/O settings and troubleshoot hardware conflicts. A red “X” next to a device denotes that the device is either disabled or is experiencing a conflict. Windows NT did not include a Device Manager which is shown below. Windows NT/2000 system properties are where user and hardware profiles are configured.

Note that you can also get to the System Properties by right clicking on the “My Computer” icon and selecting properties. In Windows 2000 and XP, the Device Manager looks slightly different and can be accessed via the Computer Management Console. Device Manager can be navigated using the arrow keys if the mouse is not working. In the image above, you will also see the Performance tab. This is where file system, virtual memory and graphics settings can be configured.

The desktop is the first “screen” that you see after Windows loads. All of the icons on the desktop are shortcuts to other files and applications. You should be familiar with the Desktop and know that it is actually located in C:\Windows\Desktop for Windows 9x and C:\Documents and Settings\username\Desktop in Windows 2000 and XP. Below the desktop is the taskbar that contains toolbars, the start menu and displays active windows.

If you right click on the Desktop and select Properties, you will bring up the Display Properties for your system as shown below. From here you can customize Windows’ colors and appearance, screensavers, screen resolution, default font sizes, and more.

The start menu is the starting point for most tasks that are performed on a Windows computer. The Windows XP default start menu is different than previous versions of Windows and is pictured below. Like many things in XP, the start menu can be switched to classic mode and will appear like previous start menus. In addition to changing the menu, this setting will also put the My Computer, My Network Places, and My Documents icons on your desktop.

You will need to know how to navigate the start menu and which items can be accessed from here. Also make sure that you know how to use the “Run” feature in the start menu and how to bring up a command or DOS prompt from here. In Windows 9x, you would type COMMAND and enter. For Windows NT/2000/XP the command would be CMD.

There are a number of keyboard shortcuts to know:

1. CTRL + ESC – Brings up the startmenu which can then be navigated with the arrow keys. Many keyboards have a Windows key that performs the same function.
2. ALT + ESC – Cycles through currently open windows.
3. ALT + TAB – Displays a menu of open applications that can be cycled through by continuing to hit the tab key.
4. SHIFT – Will bypass the autorun feature on a CD.

These are just some of the Windows basics, but there is too much to cover all of it here. You need to make sure that you know your way around Windows and where to find various features, customizations and tools.

Communication and Professionalism

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Introduction:
There isn’t much that we can provide for you in this section as it is mostly just common sense, even if you have bad customer service skills (you are in the wrong business though). Fortunately, CompTIA’s exam objectives list most of what you need to know and we have summarized these points below:

Using Good Communication Skills:

Use clear, concise and direct statements.
Don’t interrupt.
Clarify customer statements with relevant questions.
Avoid terms that will confuse the customer (acronyms, jargon).
Always listen to what the customer is saying.

Professional Behavior:

Keep a positive attitude.
Don’t argue or get defensive with a customer.
Do not make light of customer problems.
Do not insult your customer or call them names.
Avoid distractions when talking with customers. Give them your full attention.
Respect the workplace policies and property of your customers.

Not on the list, but I would add: Keep time committments or communicate changes with the customer as soon as possible.

Well, that is it for our study guide. Best of luck to you on your exams!

Safety and Environmental Issues

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Introduction:
There are 2 things you need to remember about computers. First, they are electrical machines made up of many points of failure. Second, they contain a number of components that are not friendly to the environment. In this section, you will learn how to identify potential hazards, how to deal with them, and how to be an eco-friendly technician.

Accidents can be avoided by identifying hazards in advance. One of the best ways to do this is to always read MSDS information when available. Hazardous materials come with Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that provide a variety of information for handling the material. This can include: physical data, toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill/leak procedures. It is important to read this information before using hazardous products. It is also a good idea to keep these documents and make them easily accessible in case of an accident.

Electrostatic Discharge:
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) can be harmful to electronic components and cause them to fail. Low humidity, walking across carpet, and appliance motors are some of the common generators of ESD. Metal oxide semiconductor devices are particularly sensitive to ESD and special care should be taken around them. Below are some of the prevention methods employed to prevent damage:

Use grounding straps when working on the inside of a computer. Grounding straps are connected to a technicians wrist and you can ground the wrist strap to the earth pin on a wall socket.
Remove all metallic jewelery.
Use anti-static mats.
Before working on the inside of a computer, touching the chassis of the computer while plugged into a grounded outlet can prevent ESD.
Anti-static sprays can be applied to floors, computers and work surfaces.
A humidifier can be used to keep the humidity above 50%.

An ESD wriststrap should never be worn when working with high voltage equipment such as monitors.

When transporting or storing them, computer components should be placed in an anti-static foam or an anti-static bag.

Electricity:
A computer needs a “clean” electricity source in order to work properly. By “clean” we mean a source that is not plagued with spikes or dips in current. Spikes are of particular concern because they can not only destroy your computer, they can kill you in some situations.

Electrical spikes (measured in nanoseconds) or surges (measured in milliseconds) can cause damage to system components or even data loss. Surge suppressors (often called “surge protectors”) can prevent minor variances in power and provide a stable stream of electricity to the unit, however, they may not always work against larger surges. For this reason, computer equipment should be unplugged from the wall during electrical storms to prevent equipment damage and injury. Also keep in mind that not all power strips are surge suppressors even though they look the same.

Uninterruptable Power Supplies (UPS) provide power to the devices connected to it for a period of time in the event of power loss or sag for long enough to gracefully shutdown the computer and avoid data loss. Unnecessary peripherals such as scanners and printers should not be connected to a UPS as they can overload it.

Monitors and power supplies (including printers) should not be opened unless you are qualified to work on them. Deadly voltage (up to 30,000 volts) can be stored inside their capacitors for periods long after you turn them off. Leave monitor repair to the professionals or simply replace a bad monitor/power supply. It is not worth your life to try to fix one of these.

In the event that you suffer an electrical fire, you must only use a class C or class ABC fire extinguisher. You should keep one of these handy around computer equipment.

Recycling:
A number of computer components listed below contain toxic chemicals and should be recycled. If the computer isn’t too old and is still working, donating it to an organization provides a good alternative. Here are a few of the most important items to recycle.

Laptop batteries are highly toxic and should always be recycled – do not let old batteries just sit around. If the battery is ruptured or broken do not handle it as the chemicals are dangerous. Computer monitors also contain highly toxic chemicals and they should be recycled as well.

Toner and ink jet cartridges don’t contain any harmful chemicals, but they are not biodegradable and are piling up in landfills. Most printer manufacturers have some sort of cartridge recycling program and some of them will even save you money on your new cartridges. Check with your printer manufacturer for more information. NOTE: Make sure that when you open a laser printer you avoid the fuser until it has had time to cool down as it can result in severe burns.

If you need to recycle components, there are many companies that specialize in this type of disposal and recycling. Sometimes even your local garbage service is equipped to take these items off your hands. Call them and find out.

Protecting Data:
If you are not backing up your data and a hard drive fails, the data is not necessarily lost. Not if you have up to $25,000 to pay a recovery service that may or may not be able to get your data back. This is why it is so important to set up regularly scheduled backups for important data. In the old days this was difficult because Windows NT, for example, could only backup data to an expensive tape drive and scheduling was a complicated command line procedure. Newer operating systems such as Windows 2003, XP, and Vista can backup data to external drives, network drives, and other locations and scheduling is done through the GUI. Your backups should be stored in a fire-proof safe or at a separate location for protection against fire and theft.

Hard drives are vacuum sealed and their covers should never be opened except by professionals in a “clean room”. You will likely ruin the drive and lose your data if you do this.

Because floppy disks are magnetic media, they should not be exposed to magnetic fields that can be produced by TVs, monitors, speakers, power supplies and appliances with motors.

Reporting:
All accidents involving injury or damage should be immediately reported to a supervisor or manager. Furthermore, the incedent should be well-documented. This is important, not only for establishing safety history and trends, but may be an important piece of documentation from a legal standpoint (i.e. workman’s compensation).

Security – Network Security

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Introduction:
The final section for domain 6.0 will focus on network security, which in many ways is the most important. The ability to control the transmission of information and access to remote resources should be the front line of a defensive security strategy.

Firewalls:
In the previous Operating System Security section, we discussed software firewalls a little bit, specifically Windows Firewall. Windows Firewall protects an individual computer from unwanted traffic, but what if we want to block unwanted traffic to an entire network? Windows Firewall can’t help us there because it is host-based or personal firewall as are most software firewalls. When it comes to network firewalls in a corporate setting, we are usually referring to hardware firewalls such as the one pictured to the right.

You should note that many network appliances are combo devices and can perform more than one function (i.e. a router with built-in firewall). When applicable, using hardware firewalls in conjunction with personal software firewalls offers the strongest security.

Encryption:
While firewalls prevent unwanted traffic and attacks from occurring on individual computers, the can’t do anything to protect data as it travels between them. Hackers can monitor and intercept traffic over a network (i.e. the internet) and gain access to the information being transmitted. The best defense against this is to encrypt the data. Encryption is the conversion of data into a form, called a ciphertext, that cannot be easily decoded by unauthorized people. Decryption is the process of converting encrypted data back into its original form, so it can be understood by the intended recipient.

Not only are there different types of encryption, there is also a variety of occasions when it is used. Some encryption is for network traffic, some is for authentication, and others for applications. Let’s look at some of the more common types of encryption and what they are used for.

1. IPSec - This is a framework of open standards for securing data communications over the Internet. Since the Internet protocol has no data security built-in, both application and user data is sent in clear text. This enables others to view or even modify data as it travels the Internet. For example, passwords are sent in the open and can be seen and used to compromise a system. IPSec encrypts this data making it unreadable to others if intercepted. Windows 2000 and newer operating systems provide support for IPSec.
2. SSL - SSL is a protocol developed by Netscape used to secure applications. It is most commonly used for e-commerce applications such as the creating secure HTTP pages (HTTPS) that protect confidential information such as credit card numbers during online purchases. SSL uses the public- and private-key encryption system, which includes the use of a digital certificate.
3. SSH - Stands for Secure Shell and is an application and network protocol used to remotely access a computer, login, and execute commands on it. It is very similar to Telnet, but is better because it provides secure encrypted communications while Telnet has been found to be exploitable and insecure. SSH uses public-key cryptography to authenticate the remote computer.
4. MS-CHAP – Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol is an authentication scheme used by Point to Point Protocol (PPP) servers to validate the identity of remote clients. MS-CHAP is Microsoft’s version of this protocol. There are other types of authentication protocols you may need to be familiar with including PAP and EAP.

User Accounts:
In the Operating System Security section we briefly discussed local user accounts. In a Microsoft network environment, there are also domain user accounts. When these are used, you are actually authenticating with the server(s) when you login. The domain administrator determines what your level of access to the various resources on the network will be, typically by placing you in a group with others who will have the same level of access as you. So while your local user account determines your permissions on the local computer, your domain user account will determine your ability to access other computers via network shares. Once you access a share, your permission levels will determine what abilities you have for interacting with the files and folders on that share. In addition to accessing other computers, your domain user account also determines your abilities in using other network resources such as network printers.

It is outside the scope of this exam, however, if you would like more in-depth information about permissions, read Windows 2000/2003 NTFS and Share Permissions.

It was mentioned somewhere in the security section of this guide that Windows allows you to change security policies on a local computer. This is different than permissions, and I typically refer to these settings as rights. These policies allow you to do things like prevent the user from installing programs on their computer, change the system time, or even turn the computer off. If you have hundreds or even thousands of computers on a network, setting these policies on each individual computer would be a nightmare. In a domain environment with Active Directory, you can set Group Policies which apply the settings that you desire to groups of users (and individuals if necessary). So if we don’t want anyone in the accounting group to be able to install any programs on their computers, we can set this using group policy on the server rather than visiting each of their computers and setting it up.

Wireless Security:
Wireless networks and connections have introduced a whole new lot of security concerns. By default, a wireless connection will allow people from the outside world to easily connect to your wireless network which is a huge security concern. Below are some tips for securing a wireless network:

1. First, change the default username and password for your access point.
2. Set up encryption for your wireless network. WPA2 is currently the best option followed by WPA and WEP. When choosing the key, make it something that cannot easily be guessed just like you would a password.
3. Change the WAP’s default SSID and disable the SSID broadcast.
4. Use MAC filtering to only allow connections from desired computers. You must get the MAC address of each computer that you wish to allow a connection. All others will not be able to connect.
5. If the WAP has a firewall built in, consider using it.
6. It is sometimes recommended to disable DHCP and use static IP addresses. This forces outsiders to guess what IP range and other IP settings you are using in order to connect rather than connecting automatically.

Physical Scurity

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Introduction:
All of the software and network security in the world won’t protect your systems as long as someone can gain physical access to them. This section will discuss some of the various measures that can be taken to ensure your systems and data don’t fall into the wrong hands.

Building Entry:
The best way to prevent unauthorized access to equipment and theft is to not allow people into facilities that don’t belong there. Many companies have a magnetic key card that is swiped over a pad to unlock the door. Smart cards are becoming more commonly used for this purpose. Smart cards are credit card-sized devices with varying capabilities including building entry. The card is typically inserted into a reader device which reads the contents of the ICC chip in the card.

Building entrances may also be accompanied by security cameras. Companies that don’t some sort of card entry system should lock all doors and use a single point of entrance – usually this would be a front desk or lobby. In addition to preventing equipment and data theft, these steps are designed to minimize the risk of social engineering exploits as well.

If you suspect that someone is in the building that does not belong, it should be immediately reported to a supervisor or security team (if applicable). Incedence reporting is an integral part of the security process.

Internal Physical Security:
Access to server rooms and other locations of important equipment should be limited only to those whose job description warrants their access. The door should be locked to everybody else. Security cameras are sometimes used in these locations as well.

The most important way to prevent access to sensitive data is to have a sufficient authentication program in place. For quite some time, the standard authentication method has been for users to enter a username and password that has to be entered correctly in order to login to the computer or network. Unfortunately, many users have usernames and passwords that are easy to guess, or they can be garnered through a brute force attack. Furthermore, many users will write their credentials on a piece of paper and tape it to their monitor, put it in their desk drawer, put it under their mousepad, or other insecure location.

To address this, there is a movement toward other authentication techniques. The first is the use of previously mentioned smart cards and newer operating systems support smart card authentication. Another type of authentication method is biometric using voice recognition, fingerprint scanners, and other devices for authentication. Many new PC keyboards and laptops now come with a smart card reader or fingerprint scanner built right in. More recently, RFID key fobs allow users to scan their biometric information into the fob which transmits the data via radio waves to unlock the system.

When using passwords for authentication, instruct users to choose good passwords. Names of their family members, birthdays, pet’s names are not secure. Passwords should be at least 6 characters and contain a mixture of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. Passwords should be changed periodically.

When not in use, your workstation should be locked at the operating system level or shut down. A workstation can be locked by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and clicking the “Lock Workstation” button on the screen that comes up.

Most laptops come with a lock mechanism that allows you to lock the laptop to your desk or other item to prevent its removal (see right image). These locks look a lot like older bicycle locks. Other types of locks will prevent the laptop from being physically opened, while some laptops have built-in locks that do the same thing.

Garbage and Recycling:
Many companies unwittingly throw sensitive data in the garbage in paper format without shredding it. The same thing often occurs with computer equipment. Often when companies upgrade a computer, they throw away or donate the old one. What they often forget to do is make sure their sensitive data isn’t still located on the drive. For starters, computer equipment shouldn’t be thrown away – people have been known to dumpster dive to get their hands on sensitive data, not to mention the environmental concerns. If you are going to recycle a hard drive, you can either erase the hard drive with a 3rd party disk cleaning software or take a hammer to the drive and completely destroy it. Formatting a drive doesn’t completely erase it and leaves remnants which is why 3rd party software is recommended. If you are going to donate the computer, use the software approach just mentioned.

Protecting Data:
For many companies, their data is the lifeblood of their company and losing could be catastrophic for a variety of reasons. This is why most companies backup their data. There are a variety of backup methods available, but regardless of the type, there are a couple of best practices to follow. First, data should be stored at a separate location (different building) and it should be stored in a safe. Safes prevent the destruction of data during a fire in addition to preventing theft or unauthorized access. The location of the backup data should only be accessible by those who need access to it and kept secure.

Security Threats

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Introduction:
Previous versions of the A+ exams contained very little about security, however, the new exam gives it a weighting of 11%. This is because the incedence and sophistication of attacks continues to increase and may be responsible for many of the issues that a technician deals with. There are a wide variety of security threats out there from hacking to disgruntled employees to poor internal security design. In this section, we will take a look at some of the various threats.

Spam:
If you don’t know what spam is, you haven’t spent enough time with computers to be considering taking this exam. The amount of spam users are receiving continues to grow every year. It costs businesses dearly in employee labor hours, network bandwidth, not to mention the costs if malicious payload is executed.

Viruses:
The most common computer infestation, viruses rely on other programs such as an email client to replicate themselves. There are several different categories of viruses as follows:

File infector viruses – File infector viruses infect executable program files such as .com and .exe files. They can infect other files when an infected program is run from floppy, hard drive, or from the network.
Boot sector viruses – Boot sector viruses infect the system area of a disk known as the boot record.
Master boot record viruses – Master boot record viruses are memory resident viruses that infect disks in the same manner as boot sector viruses. The difference between these two virus types is where the viral code is located. These can often be fixed by using FDISK /MBR.
Multi-partite viruses – Infect both boot records and program files.
Macro viruses: These types of viruses infect data files and are the most common. With the advent of Visual Basic in Microsoft’s Office 97, a macro virus can be written that not only infects data files, but also can infect other files as well.

There are 2 other types of attacks that are common via the use of Trojans and Worms as described below:

Trojan Horse – A Trojan is a type of file that appears to do one thing, but in reality does another. A Trojan can be a file that operates in an expected way, but also has a secret operation that subverts security. Once a Trojan is installed, it can perform a wide variety of destructive tasks and/or provide secure information to the attacker.
Worms – Worms are stand alone programs that do not need other programs in order to replicate themselves like a virus which relies on users to inadvertently spread it.

Most viruses are spread via email and the internet, but can also be spread via removable media (i.e. floppies) or across a network.

Spyware, Adware, and Grayware:
Spyware is software that is installed on your system without you knowing about it and is used to collect sensitive information about you. It is often piggybacked to software that appears to offer a valuable service. This software may often even be free. Spyware can also be installed without the user’s knowledge when visiting certain web pages.

Adware can cause a wide range of problems including excessive popup windows and other forms of unwanted advertising which often causes system problems. Like spyware, Adware can either be piggybacked to software that you download and seems legitimate or installed by visiting some web sites.

Grayware is comprised of applications that may be absolutely harmless in some environments, but cause problems in others. For example, a peer-to-peer file sharing program might not cause any problems in a home environment, but cause bandwidth issues in a corporate one (particularly if a large number of people are using it).

Social Engineering:
This type of threat is the practice of obtaining confidential information (such as passwords, credit cards, confidential information) by manipulation of legitimate users. A social engineer will commonly use the telephone or Internet to trick people into revealing sensitive information or getting them to do something that is against typical policies. By this method, social engineers exploit the natural tendency of a person to trust his or her word, rather than exploiting computer security holes.

A very common form of Social Engineering seen today is called Phishing. The most common form of this involves the exploiter sending you an email pretending to be a legitimate service such as eBay, PayPal, your bank, etc. The email will instruct you to click on a link in the email to perform a necessary function such as updating your account. After clicking on the link, you will be taken to a web site that looks exactly like the real thing, however, you will notice that the URL isn’t right. On this page it typically a form where you need to enter personal information such as your credit card number. This information is submitted directly to the exploiter who will likely go on a shopping spree or commit identity theft.

Hacking:
Hacking is a broad term that refers to a variety of different methods used to attempt to gain unauthorized access to a network or system. This can include Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, Brute Force attacks, Man-in-the-Middle attach, etc. You do not need to know what each of these types of attacks are, just know what hacking generally is and how to combat it (covered in another section).

Internal Threats:
One of the largest security risks comes from internal employees, particularly disgruntled ones. They can steal data, steal equipment, destroy data, destroy equipment, etc. Internal threats, however, don’t just encompass malicious acts. An employee unknowingly disposing of sensitive company data in the garbage or recycling old hard drives without removing data can be just as damaging.

Networks – Installing and Configuring Networks

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Introduction:
In this section, we will take a look at some of the steps in installing and configuring networks. There are several things to Keep in mind while reading this section as follows:

A+ technicians only handle minor things with regards to networking, so we will not go very in depth on this.
The configuration examples below are for Windows XP. The steps involved will likely vary in other operating systems.
In Windows, there are a number of different ways to access a particular window or screen. Many of the windows below can be accessed using the control panel and other methods. This tutorial only shows one possible way to access each of these screens. You should know the other methods as well.

Network Devices:
A network is composed of computers, servers, printers, and other devices. We have already discussed cabling and the types of connectors used on networks, but what do they connect to? The computer, printer, etc. (also known as a client) will have a network interface card (NIC) that one end of the cable plugs into. The NIC can be built into the motherboard or can be an expansion card. In either case, it will need to have the correct driver loaded like any other expansion card.

On most Ethernet networks, there are hubs or switches that serve as the central location that all of the clients plug in to. On very small Ethernet networks, the devices plug into a hub. On larger networks, there is usually a wiring closet with at least one switch. Often, the network devices plug into a wall jack that is wired to the switches in the wiring closet.

On even larger networks, routers are often needed to divide the network into different segments. Routers are also used as a gateway to the outside world (i.e. connection to ISP).

Dial-up Connection:
This type of connection is being used less frequently all the time with the emergence of faster and better broadband options. However, you may still need to know how to deal with this type of network connection. Dial-up and ISDN connection use a modem which converts digital signals from your computer to analog for transmission over phone lines. On the receiving end is another modem which converts the signal back to digital. From a physical standpoint, setting up this type of connection is as simple as connecting a phone cord from your computer to the wall jack.

The easiest way to configure this type of connection is to right click on My Network Places and select Properties. Next, click on Create a New Connection which will launch the New Connection Wizard. This wizard can be used to set up a wide variety of connection types including the ones below that are described manually. Once we complete the wizard, a new icon appears in our Network Connections window as shown below.

The dial-up icon was not there previous to completing the wizard. Now we can go in and configure our dial-up connection. To do this, right click on the dial-up connection icon and select Properties. You should now see a window like below:

From here you can configure the modem itself, the connection options, protocols, security, internet connection sharing (discussed in a later section), and other settings.

Local Area Network Connection:
It should be clear by now that there are a wide variety of network types, connections, and protocols. Too many for us to cover all of the possibilities here, however, we will go through a couple of examples of very common scenarios.

Once your client is physically plugged into the network, you then need to set things up on the software side. In never versions of Windows, this has become pretty simple. For our first example, we are going to set up a connection on a LAN. To get started, right click on the “My Network Places” icon on the desktop and select “Properties”. This will bring up the network connections dialog box shown below.

As you can see in the image, this window lists your current network connections and their status. Here we have a LAN connection that does not have a cable plugged in, a wireless connection that is currently connected, and a 1394 net adapter which is for a firewire network connection.

On the left side, you should see “Create a new connection”. When you click this, Windows launches the Network Connection Wizard which allows you to configure your cable or DSL connection, dial-up or VPN to a corporate network, and peer-to-peer connections such as serial or infrared.

After you have completed the wizard, your new connection should appear in the Network Connections dialogue box. Now the network needs to be configured. To do this, right click on your new connection and click “properties”. You will then see a window that looks like this:

From here, you can configure your network card (NIC) by clicking on the configure button, although in most cases nothing needs to be done here. This will take you to the same place as viewing the NICs properties in Device Manager.

Next we may need to configure our protocol(s). In this case, our network is using TCP/IP, however if you need to use a protocol that isn’t there, click on the “Install” button. This will bring up a list of protocols that can be installed. If you still don’t see the one you need, then you probably need a disk that contains the installation files for that protocol. This should be very rare. In any event, first highlight the “Internet Control Protocol (TCP/IP)” and click the “properties” button and you will see the screen below.

If our network has a DHCP server, then we probably don’t need to configure anything at all and should leave the “Obtain an IP address automatically” radio button selected. Checking the other radio buttons will allow you to manually enter IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS Servers. Once this is done, you should have a connection to your network.

Shared Connection With ICS:
In the above example, we connected to an existing LAN. What if we want to connect a single computer to a DSL or cable connection? This is as simple as connecting the NIC on the computer to the DSL router or cable modem and following the configuration instructions from the broadband vendor. But, what if we need to connect a few computers to a broadband connection? One option is to get a router and run NAT – the other is to let Windows solve the problem. Windows 2000 and XP include a service called Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). This allows one computer to be connected to the internet, and the others to share the connection. One caveat of this configuration is that the host computer must have 2 network cards installed unless you are using dial-up – one to connect to the cable modem or DSL router and the other to connect to the LAN.

To get started, you must have 2 connections in your Network Connections. First, right click on the cable modem or DSL connection and select properties. This will bring up the Local Area Connection Properties window that we saw in our last connection and seen below:

Next, you need to click on the advanced tab. Here you simply check the box that says, “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection”.

Next, we need to configure the clients. This is as easy as going to our TCP/IP properties window shown earlier and making sure that the connection is set to use DHCP. In other words make sure that the “Obtain an IP address automatically” radio button is selected and all other fields are clear.

Wireless Connection:
The next type of connection we are going to look at is a wireless connection. Wireless connections are somewhat plug and play and it is fairly easy to set up a basic connection. The first step is to connect the wireless access point (WAP) to a computer using the ethernet cable that came with the WAP. Almost all WAPs have an internal web page that can be viewed by entering the default IP address that it is programmed with. This is usually something like 192.168.1.1 and the default username is usually something like “admin” and “password” respectively. Check the documentation that comes with the WAP for this information. Once logged into the web page, you can configure a wide variety of settings for the access point including IP settings, SSID, wireless channel, WEP and WPA security, and more. The first thing you should do is change the SSID to a unique identifier for your network. You may need to change the IP settings depending on your situation. Next, it is a good idea to set up security. WPA2 is the best available, although some access points only support WPA. After all of the settings are configured, connect the WAP to the network as appropriate.

Now, we need to configure our wi-fi client to connect to the access point. Windows includes a wizard that simplifies this process, but we are going to look at the manual method. To get started, first right click on My Network Places and select properties. This will bring up the Network Connections window that we saw in previously discussed connections. There should be a wireless connection icon that will appear after you install the wireless network adapter on the computer. Right click on this icon and select properties. This will bring up the Wireless Network Connection Properties window that is very similar to the Local Area Connection Properties window we saw earlier, and you can configure your TCP/IP properties for your wireless connection in the same manner described earlier.

The major difference between this window and the Local Area Connection Properties window is that this one has a Wireless Networks tab that when clicked brings up this window.

Network Protocols

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Introduction:
The function of a network is to share resources between computers. In order for this to happen the computers must be able to “talk” to each other which is accomplished with the use of protocols which are essentially a set of “rules” that govern communication over a network. Computers must be configured with a common protocol in order to be able to communicate. Below are some of the most common protocols:

1. TCP/IP – TCP/IP is the most commonly used protocol today. It is the one used on the internet and most other networks. It will be covered in the next sections.
2. IPX/SPX – These protocols were developed by Novell and are/were used with Novell Netware. IPX is the fastest routable protocol and is not connection oriented. IPX addresses are up to 8 characters in hexadecimal format. SPX is connection oriented.
3. NWLink - Microsoft’s implementation of the Novell NetWare IPX/SPX protocol for Windows NT Server and Workstation. Not very common anymore.
4. NetBeui - Stands for “NetBIOS Extended User Interface”. It was the standard protocol used by older Microsoft operating systems. It is NetBEUI that allowed the “shares’ between machines. In reference to the NetBIOS distinction, NetBIOS is the applications programming interface and NetBEUI is the transport protocol. NetBEUI is a non-routable protocol meaning it will not allow communication through a router. This protocol is not used much anymore.

TCP/IP Protocol Suite:
The TCP/IP protocol suite is made of many other protocols that perform different functions. Below is a list of some of them:

1. TCP - TCP breaks data into manageable packets and tracks information such as source and destination of packets. It is able to reroute packets and is responsible for guaranteed delivery of the data.
2. IP - This is a connectionless protocol, which means that a session is not created before sending data. IP is responsible for addressing and routing of packets between computers. It does not guarantee delivery and does not give acknowledgement of packets that are lost or sent out of order as this is the responsibility of higher layer protocols such as TCP.
3. ICMP - Internet Control Message Protocol enables systems on a TCP/IP network to share status and error information such as with the use of PING and TRACERT utilities.
4. SMTP - Used to reliably send and receive mail over the Internet.
5. FTP - File transfer protocol is used for transferring files between remote systems. Must resolve host name to IP address to establish communication. It is connection oriented (i.e. verifies that packets reach destination).
6. ARP - provides IP-address to MAC address resolution for IP packets. A MAC address is your computer’s unique hardware number and appears in the form 00-A0-F1-27-64-E1 (for example). Each computer stores an ARP cache of other computers ARP-IP combinations.
7. POP3 - Post Office Protocol. A POP3 mail server holds mail until the workstation is ready to receive it.
8. TELNET - Provides a virtual terminal or remote login across the network that is connection-based. The remote server must be running a Telnet service for clients to connect.
9. HTTP - The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the set of rules for exchanging files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. It is the protocol controlling the transfer and addressing of HTTP requests and responses.

TCP/IP Ports:
Ports are what an application uses when communicating between a client and server computer. Some common ports are:

* 21 FTP
* 23 TELNET
* 25 SMTP
* 80 HTTP
* 110 POP3

TCP/IP Addressing:
Every IP address can be broken down into 2 parts, the Network ID(netid) and the Host ID(hostid). All hosts on the same network must have the same netid. Each of these hosts must have a hostid that is unique in relation to the netid. IP addresses are divided into 4 octets with each having a maximum value of 255. We view IP addresses in decimal notation such as 124.35.62.181, but it is actually utilized as binary data.

IP addresses are divided into 3 classes as shown below:

Class Range
A 1-126
B 128-191
C 192-223

NOTE: 127.x.x.x is reserved for loopback testing on the local system and is not used on live systems. The following address ranges are reserved for private networks:
10.0.0.0 – 10.254.254.254
172.16.0.0 – 172.31.254.254
192.168.0.0 – 192.168.254.254

IPv6:
The previous information on TCP/IP has referred to IPv4, however, this addressing scheme has run out of available IP addresses due to the large influx of internet users and expanding networks. As a result, the powers that be had to create a new addressing scheme to deal with this situation and developed IPv6. This new addressing scheme utilizes a 128 bit address (instead of 32) and utilizes a hex numbering method in order to avoid long addresses such as 132.64.34.26.64.156.143.57.1.3.7.44.122.111.201.5. The hex address format will appear in the form of 3FFE:B00:800:2::C for example.

VOIP:
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) – Also known as Internet Telephony, VOIP is the technology that allows voice traffic to be transmitted and routed over a data network using the Internet Protocol. The advantage of VOIP is that it is low cost (in some cases free) in comparison to using tradition POTS (Plain Old Telephone Systems) for voice communications. Companies such as Vonage and Comcast Cable are currently offering VOIP phone services and Skype is a freeware program that provides free long distance communications with other Skype users.

Network Connections And Cabling

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Introduction:
In this section, we will take a look at the various LAN and WAN network types as well as the cables and connectors used in modern networks.

Cabling:
The most common form of LAN uses Ethernet which is a collection of standards and specifications that define wiring and signaling for the network. There are a wide variety of standards and cable types. The most common cable types are discussed below:

Coaxial – Older ethernet technologies such as 10Base5 and 10Base2 used coaxial cable (RG-58). These network types are no longer in use. This type of network connection has made a recent comeback and is being used for broadband cable internet connections (RG-59).

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) – UTP is a cable type that consists of two or more insulated copper conductors in which each pair of conductors are twisted around each other. Category 1 UTP cables are used for telephony connections. Category 3 and higher are used for Ethernet LAN connections. UTP is inexpensive and easy to work with.

Shielded twisted pair (STP) – This type of cable is the same as unshielded twisted pair (UTP), except that it has shielding around it to provide more protection against electromagnetic interference (EMI). Because of its higher cost, it is typically only used in environments where it is necessary.

Fiber Optic – Previously only used for WAN connections, fiber optic cabling is now increasingly being used on LANs as well for its capacity for longer distance and higher speeds. A fiber-optic system is similar to the copper wire system (UTP/STP), however, fiber-optics use light pulses to transmit information down fiber lines instead of using electronic pulses to transmit information down copper lines. Fiber cables are made of transparent glass or plastic fibers which allow light to be guided from one end to the other. There are 2 types of fiber cabling – Single-mode fiber (SMF) and multi-mode fiber (MMF). MMF is the most common type used, however, SMF can support longer distances and higher speeds.

A plenum area is the air return for an air conditioning system. In most buildings, the plenum area above a drop ceiling is used as the source of air for the air conditioning systems. Wire and cable are usually installed in this area, and if that wire burns during a fire, it will emit toxic fumes. The fumes could carry to the rest of the building through the air conditioner, and, as a result, the fumes could harm others. Plenum grade cabling is required in these types of installations because it is resistant to fire and does not emit poisonous gasses when burned. PVC cable (the standard variety), while cheaper, will emit poisonous gases in extreme heat or fire. Plenum grade cabling is quite a bit more expensive.

The various cable types vary in their capacity to transmit data. The definition of the word “bandwidth” can get complicated, but for the purposes of the A+ exam, this term will mean the transmission speed on a network. This next table lists the transmission speeds/bandwidth of the various cable types.

Transmission Medium Transmission Speed
cat 3 twisted pair 10 mbps
cat 5 twisted pair 100 mbps
cat 5e twisted pair 1 gbps
cat 6 twisted pair 10 gbps
Fiber Optic 100 mbps – 1 gbps

Connectors:
Just like their are a variety of cable types, there are a variety of connectors used with these cables. Let’s take a look at the most common ones – please note that the images are not to scale.

BNC – This connector has found uses with both broadcast television equipment and computer networks. With regards to networking, this connector was used on early 10Base-2 (Thinnet) Ethernet networks. It has a center pin connected to the center coaxial cable conductor and a metal tube connected to the outer cable shield. A rotating ring outside the tube locks the cable to the female connector.

F Connector – This connector is the one used for home broadband cable connections with coaxial cable. This male connector screws onto the female counterpart. The connection typically runs coax from the wall outlet to the cable modem. The cable modem will have a RJ-45 jack for connection a computer or wireless access point.

RJ-11 – Short for Registered Jack-11, a four or six-wire connector used primarily to connect telephone equipment in the United States (POTS). The cable itself is called category 1 (Cat 1) and is used for dial-up connections. Modems have rj-11 jacks that connect them to the wall outlet.

RJ-45 – Short for Registered Jack-45, it is an eight-wire connector used commonly to connect devices on Ethernet LANs. RJ-45 connectors look similar to RJ-11 connectors used for connecting telephone equipment, but they are larger.

ST Connector – The ST connector is a fiber optic connector which uses a plug and socket which is locked in place with a half-twist bayonet lock. The ST connector was the first standard for fiber optic cabling. ST Connectors are half-duplex.

SC Connector – The SC connector is a fiber optic connector with a push-pull latching mechanism which provides quick insertion and removal while also ensuring a positive connection. SC Connectors are half-duplex.

LC – The LC connector is just like a SC connector only it is half the size. Like SC connectors, LC connectors are half-duplex.

MT-RJ – Stands for Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack. It is a newer fiber optic connector that somewhat resembles a RJ-45 connector. It has a small size, low cost, easy installation, and supports full-duplex.

Networks – Network Types

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Introduction:
In this section, we will take a look at the various networking technologies that an A+ technician will likely run across and will be tested on the exam.

Network Models:
There are 2 basic network models as follows:

1. Peer-to-Peer – A peer to peer network is one in which lacks a dedicated server and every computer acts as both a client and a server. This is a good networking solution when there are 10 or less users that are in close proximity to each other. A peer to peer network can be a security nightmare, because the people setting permissions for shared resources will typically not be overly savvy. Thus is only recommended in situations where security is not an issue. In recent years, a couple of new peer-to-peer network types have evolved including USB and firewire network connections, infrared via PDAs and cell phones, and Ad Hoc wireless connections.
2. Client/Server – This type of network is designed to support a large Number of users and uses dedicated server(s) to accomplish this. Clients log on to the server(s) in order to run applications or obtain files. Security and permissions can be managed by 1 or more administrators which cuts down on the aforementioned less savvy users from medling with things that they shouldn’t be. This type of network also allows for convenient backup services, reduces network traffic and provides a host of other services that come with the network operating system (NOS).

LANs and WANs:
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that spans a relatively small area, such as a single office or office building, and typically offers high-speed communications. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of closely located buildings. However, one LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines, coaxial cable, satellite, etc. creating a WAN (discussed below). Most LANS of today utilize Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi connections. More about LAN and Ethernet technologies will be discussed in the next section titled, “Network Connections and Cabling”.

A wide area network (WAN) computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area. Typically, a WAN consists of two or more local-area networks (LANs). Computers connected to a wide-area network are often connected through public networks, such as the telephone system, leased lines (ISDN), satellite, microwave, or other connection method. The connected LANS can be on another in a building, or as far away as in another country. The largest WAN in existence is the Internet.

Wireless Networking:
As the name implies, wireless networks allow computers to comunicate without the use of cables. There are 2 main wi-fi standards – IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g. The main difference between the 2 standards is speed; 802.11b operates at 11mbps and 802.11g works at a speed of 54mbps. 802.11 defines two pieces of equipment, a wireless station, which is usually a PC or a Laptop with a wireless network interface card (NIC), and a Wireless Access Point (WAP), which acts as a bridge between the wireless stations and Distribution System (DS) or wired networks. A wireless access point will support up to 32 wireless devices. An 802.11 wireless network adapter can operate in two modes, Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure. In infrastructure mode, all your traffic passes through a wireless ‘access point’. In Ad-hoc mode your computers talk directly to each other in a peer-to-peer mode and do not need an access point at all.

Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), originally developed by Ericsson and later formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), is a specification for wireless personal area networks that facilitates the exchange of data between electronic devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, personal computers, printers and digital cameras. The devices, containing a low-cost transceiver, connect to each other using a short range radio frequency (2.45 gHz) of up to 328 feet. Each Bluetooth enabled device is assigned a unique 48-bit address and a 24-bit class identifier. The class identifier provides information as to the nature of the device (phone, PC, etc.) and is transmitted to other devices performing an inquiry.

Infrared technology uses light beams to transmit data and uses a line-of-sight connection. Line-of-sight means that the devices communicating with each other must have an unobstructed “view” of each other. They can be used for transmitting data between PDAs or cell phones. This technology previously connected at a speed of about 115 kbps while advanced technologies for connecting 2 networks together between buildings can run as high as 10 gbps and extend several miles. Windows XP supports VFIR (Very Fast Infrared) which can transmit at up to 16Mbps and has become common.
Standard Frequency Description Maximum Length Speed
802.11b – WiFi 2.4 Ghz Wireless networking commonly used in homes and SOHO environments. Being replaced by the faster 802.11g standard. Uses a wireless access point (WAP) to connect to other wireless computers. 150+ feet 11 mbps
802.11g – WiFi 2.4 Ghz Wireless networking commonly used in homes and SOHO environments. Uses a wireless access point (WAP) to connect to other wireless computers. Backward compatible with 802.11b 150+ feet 54 mbps
Infrared – IrDA Uses light, not radio frequencies Uses line of sight connections making it useful for sharing data between personal devices. 150+ feet Usually 16mbps – high powered beams can reach 10Gbps
Bluetooth 2.4 Ghz See above Up to 30 feet 721 kbps

Printers and Scanners – Scanners

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Scanners are input devices that are comprised of a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) array. This array is like a series of “eyes” that read and record light intensities and stores them in digital form. This is achieved when the scanners internal light source passes over the image that is being scanned.

Scanners come in three basic types. The simplest type of scanner is the hand held in which the scanning device is moved across images or text. A Page scanner works by inserting a page into the top of the scanner which is pulled via rollers through the scanner. The most common type of scanner is the flatbed scanner which allows you to place a image or document on the top of its surface, much like a photocopier.

Most scanners sold today use a plug-and-play USB or firewire connection. Older scanners typically used a SCSI, parallel, or proprietary connection method depending on the scanner model.

To scan a document, simply place it face down on the scanner’s glass and close the lid. Most scanners will allow you to initiate the scan from the front panel or from the software/driver that is included with it. If you initiate the scan from the front panel, the software will open on the PC anyway. This software will allow you to control important scan settings that are discussed below:

Resolution – Scanner quality is measured in DPI or dots per inch. 300 DPI is usually adequate for normal scanning, however, modern scanners can scan at resolutions of 9600 DPI and higher. The higher the resolution, the larger the resultant scanned file will be.
Color Depth – This describes the number of bits of information that the scanner can use to describe each dot. The higher the bits, such as 36 and 48-bit scanners sold today, the greater the variations in color, shade, hue, etc. the scanner can reproduce.
Grayscale Depth – This is the same as color depth, but is a measure of how many shades of gray the scanner can reproduce. Once again, higher is better.

When buying a scanner, you need to take the above capabilities into consideration along with the scanner’s speed and connection type.

Most scanning problems are the result of the scanner’s glass getting dirty or getting fingerprints on it. The glass should be cleaned with a glass cleaner that does not have ammonia in it and a soft cloth. Do not pour or spray the cleaner onto the glass – spray the cloth lightly. Do not use any type of cloth that might scratch the glass.

Most scanners have a lock for the light assembly. Make sure you lock this when moving a scanner or you may damage the light assembly. Make sure you unlock this before you try to scan again.

Printers and Scanners – Installing and Configuring Printers

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Introduction:
Installing modern printers is very easy as most of them are now plug-and-play. One caveat is in regards to the driver. You need to make sure that Windows loads the correct driver for your printer or you may miss out on some of the features of the printer, or you may run into a variety of problems. Best practice is to use the installation disk that comes with the printer, or download an updated driver from the manufacturer’s web site. Because there really isn’t much to know about printers that install automatically, we are going to walk through the various types of manual printer installation below and then we’ll take a look at how to configure and optimize a printer.

Installing a Printer Connected Via the Parallel Port:
If you need to manually install a printer, first click the Start button and select Printers and Faxes in Windows XP. In Windows 2000, click the Start button, then Settings, then Printers. In both operating systems, this can also be accessed via the control panel.

Notice the printer with a check mark by it. This is known as the default printer.

Now, we simply click Add a Printer to start the installation wizard. Here is what this looks like:

Here you can see that there is an option to add a local printer or a network printer. If the printer is going to be attached with a parallel cable or will be a network printer that doesn’t currently have a print server, then you would select local. While USB printers are also local printers, they should have installed automatically via plug-and-play. If we select a local printer, the next screen looks like this:

Here we select the port. If the printer is going to be connected with a parallel cable, then in most cases this will be LPT1. If it is an old serial connection or you have multiple parallel ports on the PC, then you will have to choose the appropriate port from the drop down menu.

Next, we need to select the driver for our printer. Notice the Have Disk button. You can click this if you need to install the driver from a CD or downloaded driver from the manufacturer.

Next we need to give the printer a name. This name is how your printer will be displayed in the printer folder. We also need to decide if this will be the default printer or not. There can be only 1 default printer at a time.

Next, we need to choose whether the printer will or won’t be shared. If you choose to share it, you need to give it a share name. The share name is how the printer will appear to those trying to connect to it.

The following window only appears if you choose to share the printer. Here you can add details about the printer that will help other users be sure that they are connecting to the right one.

After this, you have the option to print a test page which is recommended, and then the installation is complete.

Installing a Network Printer – No Print Server Exists:
What you are about to learn is rarely discussed in books and tutorials, but is important to know for the job. There are 2 different types of network printer installation. Most network printers need a print server and a port to function. A print server is a host computer or device to which one or more printers are connected and which accepts print jobs from external client computers. It hosts the queue where client print jobs are spooled and it also hosts the printer port. On most networks, this will be a TCP/IP port.

The instructions in this section will describe how to set up a printer when no other computer or device is acting as a print server. When using this installation method, it will make the computer you are installing the printer on the new print server.

As in the last example, we launch the Add Printer Wizard and indicate that we wish to add a local printer. This time, however, we are going to create a new TCP/IP port as shown below.

When you click Next, it will launch the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard. Click next on the first screen and you will see this:

First, you will need to enter the IP address or host name of the printer and then the desired port name. After this, the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard is finished and the window where you choose the printer driver appears. From here on, the steps are exactly the same as adding a parallel printer described above.

Installing a Network Printer – Print Server Already Exists:
In this scenario, we’ll go through the installation of a printer where a print server and port already exists on the network. Just as before, we start by launching the Add Printer Wizard. This time we are going to select the network printer radio button instead of local.

Next, we need to find the printer we want to connect to. The first option allows you to search active directory. Since we know the location of the printer, we are going to use the 2nd option. If you know the path to the printer, you can enter it, or leave the field blank to browse. The 3rd option is for internet printers. Some printers can be accessed over the internet or across a wide area network (WAN). This option will be rarely used.

We chose to browse for our printer and found the CanonMP8. Select the printer and click next.

That completes the installation. So why didn’t we have to install a driver? The drivers are located on the print server and are installed from there.

The Print Queue:
When you print to a printer, the print job is parsed by the driver and the document is converted into the PDL (PCL, PostScript, etc.) that the printer understands. If you want to see the output of a file after it has been converted by the driver, select the Print to File option in the printer preferences and then open the new file in wordpad. Anyway, after the document is converted it is spooled to the print queue. If there are other documents waiting to print, the document you sent will sit and wait, although there are options that can be set to make your documents jump to the head of the line. The queue is not much more than disk space on your computer where the document sits until it is sent off to be ripped by the printer.

With the right permissions, you can manage the documents in the queue. You can pause, restart, and delete print jobs. Sometimes print jobs get stuck in the queue or have errors and these options allow you to take care of the problem.

The easiest way to view the queue is to click Start and select Printers and Faxes (in Windows XP). Then simply double click on the printer icon and the queue will be displayed as follows:

Note that from the Printer menu, you can access the print preferences and properties, both of which are discussed below.

Printer Configuration:
When we talk about printer software, we are mainly referring to the printer’s driver which allows you to take advantage of and configure the various features a printer has. Let’s take a look at an example to see how this works. Let’s say you are using Microsoft Word (or any other application) and click File then Print. This brings up the generic Windows Print dialogue box.

There are a couple of important settings here, but none of them are specific to any printer. If we want to see what our printer is capable of, we need to highlight it, and click the Preferences button on the right. This brings up the setting for our printer from the driver. This is why it is so important to have the correct and latest driver installed. Imagine if you wanted to print from the cassette tray, but the printer driver you have installed doesn’t support that feature. That is one of many problems you might run into with the wrong driver.

After clicking the preferences button, we see a window (above) with several tabs. This particular printer is fairly nice and has a ton of features to choose from. We aren’t going to get into all of those, but you need to know where to find these.

That’s a lot of settings to deal with, but there are even more. If we go to the Printer and Faxes folder (via control panel or start menu), we can right click on our printer and select Properties. This brings up the window below:

Within these tabs, we can configure ports, sharing, permissions, color management, and other items. Two important things to notice here. First, the Print Test Page button. This sends a generic test page to the printer and is an invaluable troubleshooting tool. The second is the Preferences button. If we click on this button, it brings up the properties that we saw when clicking the Preferences button earlier. The difference is that if we change settings here, they become the defaults. That means that when you go to print from an application, the settings you enter here will show as default there. For example, let’s say that you print in monochrome (black and white) 90% of the time and get tired of having to change the settings to monochrome everytime you print. If you change the setting to monochrome by clicking on the Preferences button in the screen shown above, the printer will be set to print monochrome by default when you print from an application.

The next thing to note is that in both of the last 2 screen shots there is a Maintenance tab. Not all printers will have this, or they may have it in a different location. If we click on this tab, we see:

If you recall the section on ink jet printers, you might remember that ink jets are prone to clogged nozzles and that they should be cleaned periodically. This is the place to perform cleaning, printhead alignment, and other tasks. The tasks available will depend on the printer as well as the printer type. In other words, maintenance tasks for an ink jet will not be the same as those for a laser printer. Most printers will allow you to perform these tasks from the front panel as well. In fact, some printers will only allow you to do these types of things from the front panel. It just depends on the printer.

Another thing that you may want to configure for your printer is color matching. Computer monitors display color in red, green, blue (RGB) format and most printers print in cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Inevitably, the colors you see on the screen probably will not match those in your prints. Most printer manufacturers provide an International Color Consortium (ICC) profile which can be used to tell the printer to match what is on the screen. ICC profiles are also used for monitors, digital cameras, scanners, and other devices. Some printers come with their own proprietary color matching software as well.

Printers and Scanners – Printer Overview

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Introduction:
In this section, you will probably learn more about printers than you ever wanted to. There are several different types of printers and you will need to know their print processes and common issues. First we’ll take a look at the common connection types and then dive into the various different types of printers.

Connections:
Very old printers utilized a RS-232 connection that was either a 9 or 25 pin serial port and cable. The cable should be less than 50 feet long (15.25 meters). These connections required that the port be configured with parity type, speed, protocol and character frame.

This connection type was eventually replaced with a higher speed parallel connection which have recently become obselete. Parallel connections utilize a DB-25 port on the computer to connect to the printer. The newest parallel ports were Extended Capability Ports (ECP) which offered increased performance over previous parallel standards. Both the computer’s parallel port and the peripheral’s port had to support ECP in order to take advantage of the higher speeds. Parallel cables are limited to less than 10 feet (3 meters) in length.

Most current printers use USB, firewire, or ethernet (RJ-45) network connections. More expensive models are available that offer WI-Fi or Bluetooth connections. USB and Firewire connected printers can be shared over a network, however, the host computer that it is connected to must be left on in order for others to print to the printer. This is an advantage of the newer network printers which do not have limitation.

Dot Matrix:
Dot Matrix printers for home use are nearly obselete having been replaced with faster, higher quality varieties, however, you may still come across them at some businesses. In fact, most cash registers use a dot matrix printer for printing out receipts. Dot Matrix printers use an impact printing process whereby a matrix of pins imprint an image on a ribbon. The ink from this ribbon is transplanted to the paper. Very old dot matrix printers used a pin feeding system that used paper with a series of holes along the sides of the paper (see image to the right). After printing the perforated edges with the holes are torn off. Newer models of dot matrix printers typically use a friction feed (rollers) mechanism.

Troubleshooting:

1. Smudges can be caused by the ribbon tension being too high.
2. Broken printhead pins can cause incomplete or missing characters.
3. If the tops of characters are missing, the printhead is misaligned with the platen and needs to be reseated or the printhead carriage may need to be adjusted.
4. If the print gets lighter on the page from left to right, the printhead distance from the plate is uneven and will need to be adjusted.

Thermal Wax:
These are not a very common printer type, however, you will run across them in use for specialty applications. Thermal wax printers use a roll of cellophane like film that is made up of colored wax panels. These panels are either cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY) or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). This film is rolled past a printhead containing thousands of heated elements that burn the wax from the film onto the paper. When the roll is all used up, simply replace it with a new one. These printers are very slow because the ribbon prints each color separately so it takes 3 or 4 (depending on the roll type) panels to pass a page to complete it. These printers typically print 300 dpi at about 1 ppm.

Dye-Sublimation:
The print process is very similar to the thermal wax printers, however, there are a couple of differences. Dye-sublimation printers use film that contains dye rather than wax and must be used with specially coated paper. Second, dye-sub printers do not melt wax from the ribbon to the paper; the printhead turns the dye into gas which then solidifies on the paper. Most importantly, they offer extremely high quality due to their continuous tone printing. Continuous tone refers to the fact that the dots put down by the printer can vary in size and intensity depending on the heat output by each element on the printhead. This is in contrast to the use of a dithering process like other print processes. For this reason, dye-sub printers can produce photographic quality output and are used for desktop publishing, medical imaging, and other high-end applications. The image to the right shows an example of a large poster-size dye-sub printer.

Ink Jet:
Ink jet printers are the most common types of printers for home use because of their good quality and affordable price. The image to the right shows the printhead of an ink jet printer. This particular one has an extra black cartridge, however, most have CMYK cartridges. Each of these cartridges contains liquid ink that is sprayed onto the paper through very tiny nozzles in the printhead. The printhead makes a pass across the width of the page printing a strip. Then the paper is fed a little and the printhead passes back across the page printing another strip. This process continues until the whole page is printed. Ink jets can print 2400+ dpi at 24+ ppm which is a big part of their attraction.

Troubleshooting:

1. Occasionally, the nozzles on the printhead can become clogged. Most printers have a software program built into the driver that will tell the printer to do a printhead cleaning. In some cases this can/must be activated from the front panel of the printer. Do not run this process unless necessary as it uses a lot of ink. If the printer has a bin for collecting the excess ink from the cleaning process, make sure you empty it.
2. If the output is disfigured or wavy, make sure that the paper thickness level is in the correct position, if applicable. If it is, then the paper feed rollers probably need to be replaced.

Solid Ink:
Solid Ink printers were invented by Tektronix which is now owned by Xerox. Solid ink printers are very fast and offer vibrant colors because of the inks that they use, and a printing process that produces continuous tone output. These printers use solid blocks of wax ink that are melted down into the printhead that sprays the ink onto a drum. The paper is then rolled over the drum which transfers the ink to the paper. These printers are pretty expensive.

Troubleshooting:

1. Clogged jets – The most common problem with solid ink printer also occurs on ink jets. Occasionally some of the jets on the printhead get clogged. To remedy this, run the cleaning procedure from the front panel or driver of the printer. Like ink jets, this uses a lot of ink.
2. Jams – Most jams are caused by dirty rollers. These can be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth.
3. Waste Ink – Some solid ink printers have an ink waste bin where excess ink goes. This needs to be emptied periodically or it may overflow.

Laser Printers:
Laser printers are very popular in offices, but not so much for home use due to their initial cost and cost of consumables (items which must be periodically replaced). Laser printers use dry ink, called toner, static electricity, and heat to place and bond the ink onto the paper. This is known as the electro-photographic process. Before we exam the steps of this process, let’s first take a look at some of the components of a laser printer:

1. Cleaning Blade – This rubber blade or felt pad removes excess toner off the drum after the print process has completed.
2. Photosensitive Drum – The core of the electro-photographic process. This component should not be exposed to light and needs to be replaced periodically. Also known as an “imaging unit” or “imaging kit”. See image
3. Primary Corona Wire – Highly negatively charged wire erases the charge on the Photosensitive drum to make it ready for another image. Needs to be cleaned periodically.
4. Transfer Corona – A roller that contains a positively charged wire to pull the toner off the photosensitive drum and place it on the page.
5. Toner – Plastic resin that is the ink for a laser printer. Naturally negatively charged. See image
6. Fusing unit – Bonds the toner particles to prevent smearing. Uses heat to bond. Needs to be replaced periodically as the fusing platens (rollers) get worn down. Often the thermal fuse will blow and then you will know it is time to replace the unit because it will no longer heat up. Note: Fusers can reach temperatures over 200 degrees – make sure you let it cool before handling it. See image

Although slightly repetitive, let’s go through the 6 steps of the electro-photographic process:

1. Cleaning – The drum is cleaned by the cleaning blade and the excess toner goes into a waste bin. The drum is electrically erased by the erase lamp leaving the drum electrically neutral.
2. Charging – The photosensitive drum is negatively charged by the primary corona.
3. Writing – The Laser sweeps the length of the drum removing the negative charge where the toner should be applied.
4. Developing – The toner is transferred to the area on the drum which has been swept by the laser. Remember that toner is negatively charged and like charges repel. This means that toner will not be applied to areas where the laser did not remove the negative charge made by the primary corona.
5. Transferring – Once the image is on the drum the paper is fed through. The transfer corona uses a positive electrical charge to attract the negatively charged toner and pull it off the photosensitive drum onto the paper.
6. Fusing – The paper passes through the fuser unit. The non-stick fusing rollers use heat and pressure to bond the toner to the paper.

Troubleshooting:

1. Blank Pages – Can be caused by no toner, transfer corona failure or a power supply failure. If you have installed new toner cartridges, make sure that you remove the seal. If the toner cartridges aren’t empty, try reseating them. If still having the problem, look at the photosensitive drum and if the image is still there, it means the transfer corona or power supply has failed.
2. Speckled Pages – Due to a failure in the cleaning step of the EP process, or a scratch on the photosensitive drum.
3. Ghosted Images – Ghosting usually occurs with images that require a large amount of toner. When the toner cartridge can’t provide sufficient toner, a residual electrical charge can be left on the drum that will repeat down the length of the page. If your printer has a toner density setting, try reducing the density. Laser printers can be very particular about the paper being used. Try higher quality paper. Also make sure that the humidity is reasonable.
4. Smudged Images – The fusing process must have failed. The heating elements in the fusing rollers may be faulty.
5. Dark spots – Can indicate toner buildup at some point in the paper path. If the spots repeat at regular intervals, there may be toner built up on the fuser rollers. Running blank sheets through it may clear problem. It is important to periodically clean the printer. The best way is with a low static vacuum. Canned air will work, but will blow toner everywhere.
6. Unfused Toner – If pages come out with loose toner that can be smudged, it means that the toner isn’t being fused to the paper. First try media that meets the printer’s specifications. If still having a problem, replace the fuser.
7. Jams in laser printers usually occur in the paper pickup area, the fuser or the registration area. They can be caused by dirty rollers, incorrect paper settings, media types, or environmental conditions.

Page Description Languages:
PDLs are programming languages used to “describe” the contents of a page in terms that a printer can understand. Adobe’s PostScript and HP’s Printer Control Language (PCL) are the 2 most common PDLs used in desktop publishing. When sent to the printer, a document is parsed by the driver which converts the document into the language that the printer understands and instructs the printer how to format the document. This is why it is so important to use the correct driver for your printer. If you use a PCL driver for a PostScript printer, most likely a bunch of garbled text or nothing will print out.

Windows 2000 Professional Study Guide

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Installation
The following are the installation requirements for a Windows 2000 Professional workstation:

1. 133 MHz or higher Pentium-compatible processor
2. 64MB minimum; 4GB maximum)
3. 2GB hard drive with a minimum of 650 MB of free space(Additional free hard disk space is required if you are installing over a network).
4. Windows 2000 Professional supports up to 2 processors.

Always check the HCL before beginning any installation. Installations can be created on any type of partition-FAT, FAT32, or NTFS. NTFS is recommended, but use FAT or FAT 32 for dual booting. Upgrades can be performed on Windows 9x machines and NT 3.51 and higher OS’s. To upgrade a Windows 3.1 or NT 3.5, first upgrade to Windows 9x or NT 4.0, respectively. To install over a network, install a distribution server first. Slipstreaming is the ability to install Windows 2000 and the service packs at the same time, and can be done using a distribution image for many computers. There are four logs for troubleshooting failed installations: Setupact.log, Setuperr.log, Setupapi.log and Setuplog.txt.

The following table lists some of the common switches available for use with WINNT.EXE
WINNT.EXE:
/e: command Executes a command before the last phase of setup.
/r: foldername Creates an additional folder in the folder where the Windows 2000 files are installed. The folder IS NOT DELETED after Setup finishes. You can use additional /r switches to install additional folders.
/rx: foldername Creates a folder to be copied as a part of setup – into the Windows 2000 directory, but the folder IS DELETED as setup finishes.

Use Winnt32.exe for a clean installation or upgrade from Windows 9.x or NT Workstation. There are a number of switches that can be used with winnt32.exe. Below are a couple of the important ones:

WINNT32.EXE:
/copydir: foldername Creates an additional folder in the folder where the Windows 2000 files are installed. The folder IS NOT DELETED after Setup finishes. You can use additional /r switches to install additional folders. Same as /r for winnt.exe.
/copysource: foldername Creates a folder to be copied as a part of setup – into the Windows 2000 directory, but the folder IS DELETED as setup finishes. Same as /rx for winnt.exe.
/cmd: Executes a command before the last phase of setup. Same as /e: for winnt.exe.
/cmdcons Installs the appropriate files to restart the system in command-line non-graphical mode for repair purposes.
/syspart Prepares a hard disk to be transferred to another computer system. This switch installs setup files and marks the partition active. Requires the use of /tempdrive switch.
/tempdrive Specifies which drive to install Windows 2000 temporary files during setup.
/makelocalsource Copies all of the Windows 2000 source files to the target drive during installation.
/noreboot Avoids reboot after installation so that another command can be run.
/checkupgradeonly Checks your system for incompatibilities that will prevent a successful upgrade.
/unattend Upgrades your previous version of Windows by using unattended Setup mode. All user settings are taken from the previous installation so that no user intervention is required during Setup. You can also use this command in an unattended installation by specifying the [seconds][:answer_file] variables.

Windows 2000 Professional supports unattended installations. The /U switch is used for unattended installations and is followed by the location of the answer and installation files. Unattended installations can be done for clean installs as well as upgrades. Unattended installations can be fully automated. The default answer file that ships with Win2K is called unattend.txt and can be modified. Setup Manager can also create answer files. For more in depth information about unattended installations, read our tutorial Windows 2000 Unattended Installations.

Windows 2000 comes with a variety of tools that can be helpful during installations. Understand the following concepts:

1. Disk duplication is used when the computers have identical hardware configurations, and is only used for clean installs.
2. Sysprep is used when you need to prepare an image of a computer for cloning but does not provide the actual distribution of this image. That is done with third-party tools.
3. To use Remote Installation Service(RIS), there must be DHCP server service, DNS server service, and AD running on the network.
4. Scripting is used when computers have different hardware configurations and when disk duplication cannot be used. Answer files offer information that is normally manually input into installation dialog boxes like user name, password, domain name, time zones, etc.

Acronyms
Acronyms you really must know(not including the ones you already know!)

1. ACL – access control list
2. ACPI – advanced configuration and power interface
3. AD – active directory
4. APM – advanced power management
5. APIPA – automatic private internet protocol addressing
6. CA – certificate authority
7. CAL – client access license
8. DHCP – dynamic host configuration protocol
9. DNS – domain name system
10. EAP – extensible authentication protocol
11. EFS – encrypting file system
12. FEK – file encryption key
13. GPO – group policy object
14. GPT – group police template
15. HCL – hardware compatibility list
16. IAS – internet authentication services
17. ICS – internet connection sharing
18. IPSec – internet protocol security
19. L2TP – layer two tunneling protocol
20. LDAP – lightweight directory access protocol
21. LPD – line printer daemon
22. MMC – microsoft management console
23. NAT – network address translation
24. NTFS – NT file system
25. ODBC – open database connectivity
26. OSI – open systems interconnection (model)
27. OU – organizational unit
28. PCMCIA – personal computer memory card interface adapter
29. PPP – point to point protocol
30. PPTP – point to point tunneling protocol
31. PXE – preboot execution environment
32. RAS – remote access service
33. RIPrep – remote installation preparation
34. RIS – remote installation services
35. RRAS – routing and remot access service
36. SAM – security accounts manager
37. SMP – symmetric multiprocessing
38. SMS – systems management server
39. Sysprep – system preparation
40. TFTP – trivial file transfer protocol
41. UDF – unique database file
42. UNC – universal naming convention
43. VPN – virtual private network
44. WDM – windows32 driver model

Operating Systems – File Systems

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Introduction:
In an operating system, the file system is the structure by which files are organized, stored, and named. The file system determines what features and controls you have with regards to the organization, maintenance, and security of your data. Different file systems handle this job differently and vary in the features that they support.

Partitions:
Partitions are configurable logical storage units on your hard drive. Partitions and other storage units, allow you to divide a hard drive in order to better manage the organization of your data and applications. The following are common hard disk configurations.

1. Partition – A partition is a portion of a physical hard disk. A partition can be primary or extended
2. Primary Partition – This is a bootable partition. One primary partition can be made active.
3. Extended Partition – An extended partition is made from the free space on a hard disk and can be broken down into smaller logical drives. There can only be one of these per hard disk.
4. Logical Drive – These are a primary partition or portions of an extended partition that are assigned a drive letter.
5. Volume – This is a disk or part of a disk that is combined with space from the same or another disk to create one larger volume. This volume can be formatted and assigned a drive letter like a logical drive, but can span more than one hard disk. A volume set can be extended without starting over, however to make it smaller, the set must be deleted and re-created.

There are various management tools that can be used to configure drives. The Disk Management MMC is a snap-in for the Computer Management Console in Windows 2000 and XP. You can create partitions, volume sets, logical drives, format disks, etc. NT 4.0 had a similar tool called the “Disk Administrator”. DOS and Windows 9x utilize the FDISK utility.

When discussing Windows file systems you need to understand what File Allocation Tables (FAT) are. FAT is a table that an operating system maintains in order to map the clusters (the smallest unit of storage) that a file has been stored in. When files are written to a hard disk, the files are stored in one or more clusters that may be spread out all over the hard disk. The table allows Windows to find the “pieces” of your file and reassemble them when you wish to open it.

File Systems:
Once a drive has been partitioned the way you want, you then need to format it. Formatting is the process that installs the file system on the drive. There are several different types of file systems that are explained below:

1. FAT16 – FAT16 table entries are 16 bits in length limiting hard disk sizes to 2GB. Note that even if the OS supports larger partition sizes, the BIOS must also support logical block addressing (LBA) or the maximum partition that you will be able to create will be either 504 or 528 MB. This file system is no longer used.
2. FAT32 – Created to allow more efficient use of hard drive space. Although the FAT32 file system supports hard disks up to 2 terabytes in size, some hard disks may not be able to contain bootable partitions that are larger than 7.8 GB because of BIOS limitations (must support the INT13 interface). In order to format a drive as FAT32, the “Large disk Support” must be enabled when starting FDISK. FAT32 is not compatible with older versions of Windows including Windows 95A and NT. In Windows 9.x, the CVT1.EXE can be used to convert FAT16 partitions to FAT32.
3. NTFS 4 – NTFS 4 is the file system used by Windows NT that provides increased security and reliability over other file systems. On an NTFS partition, you can’t boot from a DOS boot disk – this is one of the security features of NTFS. Additionally, a floppy disk cannot be formatted as NTFS. For this reason it might not be a bad idea to have a small partition formatted FAT so that you can boot into DOS for recovery purposes. In order to convert a FAT partition to NTFS, NT includes a utility called convert.exe.
4. NTFS 5 – This is the native file system for Windows 2000, 2003, and XP. NTFS 5 has many new features as follows:
1. Encrypted File System(EFS) – Windows 2000, 2003, and XP NTFS volumes have the ability to encrypt data on the disk itself. Cipher.exe is a command line utility that allows for bulk or scripted file encryption.
2. Disk Quotas – Provides the ability to set space limitations on users on a per volume basis.
3. Defragmentation – Windows 2000 and XP include a disk defragmenter that can be used on NTFS partitions. Windows NT did not offer this.
4. Volume Mount Points – Provides the ability to add new volumes to the file system without having to assign a drive letter to them. This feature is only available on an NTFS partition.
5. Compression – In Windows 2000 and XP files, folders and entire drives can be compressed by right clicking on the item to be compressed and selecting “properties” and then “advanced”.

The convert.exe utility can be used to convert a FAT or FAT32 partition to NTFS.
5. HPFS – Stands for High Performance File System and is used with OS/2 operating systems. This file system can only be accessed by Windows NT 3.51 and OS/2.

Operating System Supported File Systems
Windows NT 4 FAT16, NTFS
Windows 2000 FAT16, FAT32, NTFS
Windows 2003 FAT16, FAT32, NTFS
Windows XP FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS

Managing Drives:
In addition to the disk administration utilities previously mentioned, information about a drive can be displayed by right clicking the drive in My Computer or Windows Explorer and selecting “Properties”. In a Windows XP system, a window like the one below will appear.

Here you can view the amount of used and freespace on the drive, the capacity and the file system. The tools tab provides access to defragmentation, scandisk and backup utilities. The Sharing tab is for sharing the drive and setting share-level permissions on it so that it can be accessed across the network. The security tab allows you to configure local file permissions and the quota tab allows you to set disk quotas which limits the amount of disk space that a user can use.

Backing up drives allows you to recover your data or even the entire system if a catastrophe occurs. There are several different types of backup:

1. Full – copies all files and marks them as being backed up.
2. Incremental – copies only files created/changed since last full backup and marks them as being backed up.
3. Differential – copies only files created/changed since last full backup and doesn’t mark them as being backed up.
4. Daily – copies only files created/changed today and doesn’t mark them as being backed up.

In DOS backups can be run with the BACKUP command. There are several switches that can be added to the command.

1. /S – Forces all files and subdirectories to be backed up.
2. /M – Only modified files are backed up.
3. /D – Backs up files modified after a specific date.
4. /T – Backs up files modified after a specific time.

The backup utility can be accessed via Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Backup and also via right clicking on a drive in My Computer and selecting the tools tab as previously mentioned. In Windows 2000/2003/XP, backup can also be launched by entering ntbackup in a “Run” dialogue box.

There are several different hard drive utilities that can be found in the various versions of Windows that are listed below:

1. CHKDSK – Performs the same functions as SCANDISK did in previous Windows versions, but is for Windows 2000/2003/XP.
2. DEFRAG – Reorganizes data on the disk for optimal disk performance. In DOS this utility was run from a DOS prompt. In Windows 2000, 2003, and XP this utility can still be run from a prompt or can be accessed at Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragementer.

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Printers and Scanners – Installing and Configuring Printers

Printers and Scanners – Printer Overview

Windows 2000 Professional Study Guide

Operating Systems – File Systems