Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Repair Mode Provides access to GUI Boot off the Vista installation CD
and command line
recovery tools
Restore points A snap-shot of a systems From the Search in the Start menu, type System
configuration; used to Restore. Select Restore My Computer to an Earlier
revert to a systems state Time and click Next. Choose your desired restore point
before a driver or software and click Next, and then click Next again. Windows will
was installed now boot to that restore point.
Windows 7 and Vista allow you to boot your operating
system to a restore point which allows you to revert
back to that system configuration very useful if your
system has been hit with a virus. In order to boot to a
restore point, you boot off the Windows 7/Vista
Installation CD/DVD and choose Repair Your Computer,
then System Restore from the System Recovery dialog
box.
You can also get to restore points through Safe Mode,
which could prove useful if you have been hit with a
virus.
Safe Mode Loads the operating An advanced startup menu option (F8)
system with minimal
drivers
Last Known Loads the configuration An advanced startup menu option (F8)
Good from the last time you
Configuration successfully booted and
logged on
Automatic An automated installation Press F2 during bootup
System and restore of Windows
Recovery
(ASR)
RAID 0: Disk striping (striped volume). With RAID level 0, the data is split across drives with no
data redundancy. RAID level 0 improves read and write performance by writing to multiple
drives at the same time. You need a minimum of two drives.
RAID 1: Disk mirroring/duplexing (mirrored volume). With disk mirroring, the data is written to
both drives involved in the mirror to provide data redundancy. Windows 7 supports disk
mirroring.
RAID 5: Disk striping with parity (RAID 5 volume). With RAID 5 volumes, the data is written to
multiple drives along with parity information that is used to help recover data if a single drive
fails. RAID 5 volumes need a minimum of three disks.
RAID 10: Mirrored disk striping. RAID level 10 is also known as RAID 1+0 because it is disk
striping while mirroring the data written in the stripe.
Bus Architectures for the A+ Certification Exams
Another term for the expansion slots on a computers motherboard is bus slots. A number of different
bus architectures have been developed over time. For the A+ exams, you need to be able to identify
the differences between each of these bus architectures and know which ones are more popular
today.
ntoskrnl.exe: Core kernel code responsible for tasks such as thread management
bootmgr: Operating system loader code; similar to ntldr in previous versions of Windows
Boot Configuration Database (BCD): Builds the operating system selection menu; similar to
boot.ini in Windows XP, but data resides in the BCD store. You can edit the boot configuration
data with the bcdedit utility.
winload.exe: Loads the Vista operating system if selected from the operating system selection
menu provided by BCD
winresume.exe: Resumes the Vista operating system if the system is started from a hibernate
state
defrag.exe Disk Used from the command line, or graphically through the Microsoft
Defragmenter Management Console (MMC).
sfc.exe System File Verifies that system files have not been modified; or, if they have,
Checker replaces them with the original.
taskman.exe Task Manager See running programs and services, terminate problems, and
view rudimentary performance information about the system.
nslookup: Troubleshoot DNS problems. For example, you can get a listing of all the records in
DNS using nslookup.
arp: Troubleshoot ARP. Shows MAC address. For example, you can use arp -a to view your
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache.
Windows Security Best Practices for the A+ Certification Exams
One of the most important skills to have as an A+ Certified Professional is the capability of securing
Windows systems and networks. And even if you are not working in a networked environment, you
can apply these same skills to your customers with home Internet machines.
Harden the operating system: Uninstall any software you are not using and stop any services
not being used. The more software that is running, the more potential security holes in the
system.
Patch the systems: Keep the operating systems and devices up to date with Service Packs
and security patches.
Use a firewall: Ensure that there is a firewall between your system and the Internet. A firewall
prevents hackers from connecting to your system
Use strong passwords: Ensure that all user accounts use a strong password (at least eight
characters, and uses a mix of uppercase and lowercase characters, numbers, and symbols).
Enable auditing: Log any suspicious activity on the system so you are aware of it.
Secure your wireless routers: If you have no need for wireless, disable this functionality on
your wireless router. If you are using wireless, secure it by changing the SSID, disabling SSID
broadcasting, and encrypting traffic with WEP, WPA, or WPA2 (best option). You should also
secure the wireless router by setting a strong password for the admin account and disable
DHCP on the router. You will then need to configure all your clients with static IP addresses.
Use antivirus software: Install antivirus software on all servers and client machines to help
protect your systems from a virus. Make sure that your virus definition database is frequently
updated.
10 or So Things You Might Have Forgotten for the A+ Certification
Exams
With the massive amount of information youre required to know for the A+ Certification exams, there
are bound to be a few things that might slip past you. Heres a quick list of some things youll need to
know for the A+ Certification exams that you might have easily forgotten or overlooked.
Contrast ratio: A value measuring the brightness of different colors such as white versus black.
The larger the ratio, the better the picture quality on the display.
Native Resolution: The actual resolution of a monitor, as opposed to the display resolution
which may be set lower which scales the image to the display area of the monitor.
Creation of files: You can create a file in any folder on your hard drive by right-clicking in an
empty area and choosing a document type from the New menu. Files can also be created from
applications by choosing the applications save feature.
Grayware: A term used to describe software that performs unwanted actions. Grayware
encompasses malicious software such as adware and spyware. Be sure to have malware
protection software loaded on your system to protect against forms of grayware.
Spam: An unsolicited e-mail message. Todays e-mail servers are being hit with a wealth of
unsolicited e-mail messages a day from companies that are trying to sell services or products.
Be sure to configure spam filters on your e-mail servers and e-mail clients.
KVM switch: A device that allows you share a keyboard, video device (monitor), and mouse
between several computers while being able to quickly switch between them.
Reset page count: A troubleshooting tip for printers if you find the printer reports low toner
and you know there is more than enough toner available then it could be that the printer is
gauging the toner level by the number of pages printed. Find out how to reset the page count on
your printer to get rid of the low toner error.
Avoid trip hazards: You may create trip hazards when doing things like testing a replacement
network cable by using a network jack which is further away or laying out tools and computer
components in a walkway by a desk. Always ensure that you are not needlessly risking the
safety of yourself or others.
Heavy devices: Most computer equipment is light enough for a single person to handle while
many servers and UPSs will require two people to move or place in a server rack. Always
ensure that you have help for these and other heavy items and bend with your knees to prevent
injury.
Hot components: As equipment is used, many components will build up heat, which can injure
you. This is especially true of both computer and printer components. When servicing
equipment, ensure that you exercise proper care when hot components are present.
Odors: When troubleshooting system components be aware of unexpected odors or smells that
may lead you to the source of the problem or signal an immediate danger. For example, burned
smells could identify overheating components or melted connectors.
Taskbar: The bar at bottom of the Windows desktop which displays the Start menu, all open
applications and documents, and contains the system tray (systray).
Systray: The systray (or system tray) is on the right side of the taskbar and displays many
running processes, known as background processes that run in the background but do not have
a visual interface until you click on the icon in the system tray. Most of these processes are
accessed by clicking or right-clicking on the icon in the system tray so that you can change the
settings of the running program or terminate the process by choosing quit or exit from the menu
that appears. If there are too many items to display, they can be shown by clicking on an arrow
on the left of the systray.
Removal of peripherals: One of the processes in the systray is the Safely Remove Hardware
tool. When you insert devices such as a USB flash drive an icon appears in the systray for the
removable hardware. By clicking on this icon you will see a list of devices that can be stopped
and safely removed when you are ready to unplug the drive.