The Complete A+ Guide
to PC Repair 5/e
Chapter 12
Windows XP and Vista
Addison Wesley
is an imprint of
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Chapter 12 Objectives
After completing this chapter you will be able to:
• Distinguish between Windows XP, Vista, and other
operating systems
• Back up and restore the System State
• Configure and use the System Restore utility
• Install, configure, and troubleshoot Windows XP
Professional and Vista
• Use the proper control panel to control Windows
XP and Vista hardware and software
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Chapter 12 Objectives (cont.)
• Install hardware and software on a Windows XP or
Vista computer
• Use the driver roll back feature
• Use Windows XP and Vista’s Administrative tools
including Microsoft Management console
• Explain the boot process and troubleshoot boot
problems including using various boot options
• Define when to access and how to use Computer
Management console, Task Manager, and Event
Viewer
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows XP Professional
Overview
• Windows XP was originally a 32-bit operating
system which became available in a 64-bit version.
• Virtual Memory Manager (VMM) – handles
allocation memory to applications.
• A single block called a page or paging file is 4KB. The
operating system swaps or pages the application to and
from the temporary swap file as needed if enough RAM
is not available to the application.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows Versions
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows XP Professional and
Home
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows File Protection
• WFP (Windows File Protection) is a
Windows feature that protects system
files.
• WRP (Windows Resource Protector) is used in
Vista and 7. It protects system files, registry keys
and specific file types using ACLS (access control
lists).
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows Vista Overview
• Both 32- and 64-bit versions
• Features
– Windows Aero
• Sidebar with gadgets
• Live thumbnails show individual application
documents
• Transparent icons
• Animations
• Narrator text-to-speech
• UAC (User Account Control) to warn of security
risks
• Startup Repair Tool (instead of Recovery Console)
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Minimum Requirements for
Aero
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Vista Home Premium
1GHz 32-bit processor
1GB of RAM
128MB graphics RAM
32-bit color setting for graphics card
Windows theme set to Vista
Display color scheme set to Windows Aero
– Appearance and Personalization control panel ►
Personalization link ► Windows color option ►
Enable transparency enabled
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Vista Versions
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
32- and 64-bit Vista Versions
32-bit
• 32- or 64-bit CPU
• 4GB RAM max
• 32-bits at a time
• Must have 32-bit
drivers
• 32-bit apps (some 16bit)
• DEP prevents security
attach using h/w and
s/w technology
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
64-bit
• Only 64-bit CPU
• 128GB+ RAM (Home
Basic-8GB; Premium16GB; Business,
Enterprise, and
Ultimate-128GB+)
• 64-bits at a time
• Only 64-bit drivers
• 32- or 64-bit apps
(no16-bit)
• “Always on” DEP
Windows XP Basics
• The first screen to appear when a
Windows XP computer is booted is the
welcome screen, which provides security
and allows the user to login.
• A user can log in to:
− The local computer.
− A workgroup (peer-to-peer network).
− A domain ( a network with a server).
• In XP, press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice to
access the local Administrator login.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Pre-Installation of Windows
• When upgrading Windows through an acceptable upgrade path, the
user’s applications and data are preserved if the operating system is
installed in the same folder as the original operating system.
• A clean installation involves loading an operating system on a
computer that does not already have one installed.
• Dual-boot or multi-boot allow the user to boot from one of two or
more installed operating systems.
• Planning and preparation are key to a successful operating system
install. Its important to be ready by having all the necessary hardware
installed, drivers ready, any needed software applications, patches
and upgrades, and an anti-virus program. It’s also necessary to make
decisions about how the operating system will be installed and
configured prior to installation such as what file system will be used
and how the hard drive will be formatted.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Pre-installation
Upgrade or install and determine operating sys. version
Determine file system/partition size
Multiple operating systems?
Scan for viruses and disable anti-virus software
Hardware compatible?
Obtain drivers
Software applications compatible?
Obtain patches and software upgrades
Delete unwanted files/apps
Backup data files
Remove power management
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Vista In-place Upgrades
• Use Upgrade Advisor tool
• Plug any devices that normally attach to
the computer especially USB devices
before starting Upgrade Advisor.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Vista Home Premium, Business, and
Ultimate Recommended Hardware
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
FAT32 or NTFS
• Use the convert command to convert a nonpartition to NTFS.
– convert x: /fs:ntfs (where x: is the drive
partition/volume to be converted to NTFS.
• FAT32 partitions must be 32GB or less.
• FAT16 partitions must be 4GB or less.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Viruses
• When installing a new operating system
on a computer that already has an
operating system loaded, it is a good time
to run a virus scan with the latest virus
scanning software version.
• A virus is a program designed to modify
the computer from the way it originally
operated.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Common Symptoms of a Virus
• Computer does not boot.
• Computer hard drive space is reduced.
• Applications will not load.
• An application takes longer to load than necessary.
• Hard drive activity increases.
• An anti-virus software message appears.
• The number of hard drive sectors marked as bad steadily
increases.
• Unusual graphics or messages appear on the screen.
• Files are missing.
• A message appears that the hard drive cannot be
detected.
• Strange sounds come from the computer.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Virus Types
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Installation/Upgrade of XP/Vista
• Microsoft requires activation of the
Windows XP operating system within
30 days.
− Activation can be completed over the Internet or the
phone.
− Larger companies use a VLK (volume license key)
− Companies using Vista must use a MAK
(multiple activation key activated by phone or the
Internet) or KMS (Key Management Service to
register with a specific computer)
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Corporate Windows Deployment
• Corporate computer installations are
• much more involved than any other type
of operating system deployment. There
are three tools that can help with this.
• Sysprep tool
• Windows Vista/7 WDS (Windows Deployment
Service)
• Microsoft’s Setup Manager
• Symantec’s Ghost program
• SID (Security Identifier) – A unique number
assigned to every Microsoft-based computer.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Verify the Installation
• Re-initialize
power
management
software
Power
Mgmt
Verify
Hardware/
Software
• Check Device
Manager
• Check all
applications
Antivirus
• Re-enable the
anti-virus
software
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting the Windows
Installation
• Most common problems associated with the
Windows XP Installation:
– Incompatible BIOS.
– BIOS needs to be upgraded.
– Incompatible or insufficient hardware.
– Incompatible drivers.
– Minimum hardware requirements have not been met.
– Incorrect key.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Dual-Booting Windows
• The older operating system
should be installed first.
• Each operating system should
be installed on a separate
partition/volume.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Reloading Windows
Re-installation (in-place upgrade or
repair installation) – Reloading Windows
as necessary.
Windows XP can be reloaded:
1. From within a booted XP environment.
2. By booting from the XP CD.
1-26
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Reloading Windows
• Re-installation (in-place upgrade or repair
installation)
• Reloading Windows as necessary.
• Windows XP can be reloaded:
1. From within a booted XP environment.
2. By booting from the XP CD.
• Windows Vista can be reloaded from
original disc, HPA partition, option from
Advanced Boot Options (F8 during
startup).
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
1-27
Windows Updates
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Restoring the System State After
a Failure
• To make a system operational again, you
may have to restore both the registry and
the system state (XP) after a failure.
• Make backups often
− Full version of the Backup tool is only
available in Vista Business, Enterprise, or
Ultimate
− Software provided by the computer
manufacturer
− Software provided by a storage device
manufacturer
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Configuring Windows
Overview
• The control panel is the most common window used by
technicians to configure various Windows components.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Steps to Configure Windows
Adding devices
Removing hardware components
Adding a printer
Installing/removing software
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Adding Devices
• Device driver – software to allow the operating
system to recognize and control a piece of
hardware.
− Requires administrator rights to install
− Windows XP uses DRIVER.CAB
− Windows Vista/7 uses driver packages stored in an
indexed database and stored in the following folder by
default:
C:\Windows\system32\DriverStore\FileRepository
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Adding Devices
• Digital signatures (driver signing) – Used
by some Windows device drivers.
− Digital signatures confirm the devices being
installed are compatible with Windows and
have not been changed.
− Digital signatures are required for 64-bit
kernel mode drivers in Windows Vista and 7.
• Driver roll back – A feature in Windows
which allows an older driver to be
reinstalled if the new driver causes
problems.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
14-33
Adding Devices
• Successful installation of a device includes:
• Using the most up-to-date driver
• Following the directions provided by the device
manufacturer
File signature verification options
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
System Restore Utility
• A program that makes an image, a restore
point, of the registry and backs up certain
system files.
• Does not affect email or personal data
• Similar to using the Last Known Good Configuration
menu item available through Advanced Boot menu
(F8 on boot up)
• Use if the system has problems or you suspect the
registry is corrupt
• rstrui from a command prompt
• Vista/7 use shadow copy which creates a block-level
image of system files and applications
• Backup media can be hard drive, Flash drive, CDs,
DVDs, and server storage; it cannot be tape.
14-35
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Adding a Printer
• To install a printer under
Windows XP, use the Add
Printer wizard. A Windows XP print driver
must be used to install the specific printer.
• In Vista or 7, use the Printers link from the
Hardware and Sound control panel.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Removing Hardware Devices
• Windows normally detects when
hardware has been removed and
the operating system automatically
removes the device’s driver.
− If Windows does not detect the hardware
removal, the drivers must be manually
removed.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Installing/Removing Software
• Use the Add or Remove Programs in
the XP control panel to install or remove
software.
• In Vista or 7, use the Programs control
panel
• This control panel link is also used to control
desktop gadgets in the Aero environment.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Microsoft Management Console
• Microsoft Management Console holds snapins or tools used to maintain the computer.
− System Tools
− Storage
− Services and Applications
• You must be a member of the
Administrators group to
perform any disk management
tasks.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Microsoft Management Console:
System Tools
• Event Viewer – monitor events
• Performance Logs and Alerts (XP)/Performance
Monitor (Vista) – create logs about the computer
performance and create alerts that notify you when a
specific instance being monitored reaches a predefined threshold
• Shared Folders – view shares, sessions, and open
files
• Local Users and Groups – create and manage
accounts for those that use the computer or computer
resources from a remote computer
• Device Manager – view and manage hardware
© 2011 Pearson
Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
devices
Computer Management from
Windows 7
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Event Viewer from Windows 7
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Performance Monitor from
Windows 7
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Shared Folders from
Windows 7
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Local Users and Groups from
Windows 7
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Device Manager from
Windows 7
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
UAC (User Access Control)
• Provides a heightened awareness
to security issues
• A message appears anytime
something occurs that normally would
require an administrator-level decision to
make changes to the system.
– Protects users from themselves as well as
software that is trying to change the system
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Permissions
• There are two types of permissions:
– Shared folder permissions – Provide access
to data across a network.
– NTFS file/folder permissions – Provide
tighter control than shared folder permissions.
• These can only be used on NTFS
partitions/volumes.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Shared Folder Permissions
• To share a folder in XP: Explorer ►rightclick on the folder ► Sharing and Security
► Sharing tab ► Share this folder
• To share a folder in Vista/7
– Use the Public folder (C:\Users\Public)
– Explorer ► right-click on the folder ►
Properties ► Sharing tab ► Advanced
Sharing button ► enable the Share this folder
checkbox
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Share Permissions
• Sharing tab
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
NTFS Permissions
• Security tab ► Advanced button
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
NTFS Permissions
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
The Boot Process
• System partition (XP and lower) or system
volume (Vista and 7) is the active drive partition
that holds files needed to load the operating
system.
– Normally C:
• Boot partition (XP and lower) or boot volume
(Vista and 7) is the partition or logical drive
where the bulk of the operating system files are
located.
– The boot and system partitions or the boot and
system volumes can be the same
partition/volume.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
System/Startup Files
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Boot Process
The HAL (Hardware Abstraction
Layer) is the layer between the
operating system and hardware
devices that allows Windows to run
different hardware configurations and
components without crashing the
operating system.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting the Boot
Process
• Many problems can cause Windows not to boot
correctly.
−
−
−
−
−
−
−
Invalid partition table
Error loading operating system
Missing operating system
Boot: Couldn’t find NTLDR (XP or lower)
NTLDR is missing (XP or lower)
Windows has blocked some startup programs
The Windows boot configuration data file is missing
required information (Vista or higher)
− Windows could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting the Boot
Process
• Hold down the Shift key during the
logon process and keep it held down
until desktop icons appear to disable
startup programs.
• Pressing F8 during the startup process brings up
the Windows Advanced Boot Options menu
used to troubleshoot Windows boot and
operational problems.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Advanced Boot Options Menu
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows Recovery Environment
(WinRE)
• Used in Windows Vista and 7
• Replaced the Recovery Console and ASR
(Automated System Recovery that uses the
Backup tool to backup important system files
(not data files) used to start Windows XP)
• Boot from the installation DVD, select the
language parameters, click Repair your
computer, select an operating system, click
Next.
• Some computers can access this from the
Advanced Boot Options (F8 during startup)
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows Recovery Environment
(WinRE)
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
BOOTREC.EXE Command
• bootrec /FixMbr – Used to
resolve MBR issues; writes a
Windows Vista/7-compatible MBR to the
system partition
• bootrec /FixBoot – Used if the boot
sector has been replaced with a nonWindows Vista or 7 boot sector, if the boot
sector is corrupt, or if an earlier Windows
version has been installed after Vista or 7.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
BOOTREC.EXE Command
• bootrec /ScanOs – Used when
Vista/7 has been isntalled and is
not listed on the Boot Manager
menu
• bootrec /RebuildBcd – Used to
rebuild the BCD file
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
System Configuration Utility
• Used to disable startup programs and services
• msconfig from a command prompt
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Windows Defender
• Program in Windows Vista and 7 that runs
in the background looking for spyware.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting a Service That
Does Not Start
Use the System
Configuration Utility, Event
Viewer, and the Services
snap-in to troubleshoot
services that do not start.
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Shut Down Problems
• Three things associated with Shut
Down problems
Active devices
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Active
services
Active
applications
Supporting Windows Remotely
• Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance can
be used to access a Windows XP PC remotely.
– Remote Desktop is disabled by default in Windows
Vista or 7.
– Remote Assistance displays a prompt asking
permission for the computer to be viewed remotely.
• In Vista or 7, Remote Assistance now supports computers
that use NAT, but you may have to go into the Windows
Firewall (or another vendor’s firewall) and configure it to allow
Remote Assistance to work.
14-67
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Preventive Maintenance
Antivirus Software
Program-Always Use
Frequent Data
Backup
Backup Operating
System—Always Use
Update
Update
Update
© 2010 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
System Restore
Utility-Enabled
Avoiding Burnout
Smile more
Take vacations and do not stay in contact with
work
Set reachable goals
Take a couple of breaks
Learn something new
Have good eating, sleeping, and exercising
routines
Subscribe to a positive saying or joke of the day
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Questions???
Addison Wesley
is an imprint of
© 2011 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.