CompTIA A_ Certification All-In-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition - Michael Meyers [56]
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NOTE There is one other “problem” icon you might see on a device in Device Manager—a blue i on a white field. According to Microsoft, this means you turned off automatic configuration for a device.
Figure 4-69 Problem device
A red X in Windows 2000 or XP means Windows (or you) disabled the device—right-click on the device to enable it. The tough one is the black exclamation point. If you see this, right-click on the device and select Properties. Read the error code in the Device Status pane, and then look up Microsoft Knowledge Base article 310123 to see what to do. There are around 40 different errors—nobody bothers to memorize them! (The knowledge base article is for Windows XP, but these error codes are the same in all versions of Windows.)
Vista and Windows 7 use the same icons and add one very handy one. If a device is working but you manually disable it, you get a down-arrow (Figure 4-70). Just as in previous versions, right-click the down-arrow and select Properties. You’ll see a nice dialog box explaining the issue (Figure 4-71).
Figure 4-70 Hmm…could be a problem.
The Device Manager isn’t just for dealing with problems. It also enables you to update drivers with a simple click of the mouse (assuming you have a replacement driver on your computer.) Right-click a device and select Update Driver from the menu to get the process started. Figure 4-72 shows the options in Windows Vista.
Figure 4-71 Problem device properties
Figure 4-72 Selecting Update Driver Software in the Windows Vista Device Manager
Make sure you can get to Device Manager! You will come back to it again and again in subsequent chapters, because it is the first tool you should access when you have a hardware problem.
System Tools
The Start menu offers a variety of tech utilities collected in one place: select Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools. In the System Tools menu, you’ll find commonly accessed tools such as System Information and Disk Defragmenter (Figure 4-73).
Figure 4-73 System Tools menu options
Many techs overlook memorizing how to find the appropriate Windows tool to diagnose problems, but nothing hurts your credibility with a client like fumbling around, clicking a variety of menus and applets, while mumbling, “I know it’s around here somewhere.” The CompTIA A+ certification exams, therefore, test you on a variety of paths to appropriate tools. One of those paths is Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools. Windows XP has all the same tools as Windows 2000, plus a few more. Vista adds a few beyond XP. I’ll say what version of Windows has the particular system tool.
Activate Windows (XP, Vista)
Windows XP unveiled a copy-protection scheme called activation. Activation is a process where your computer sends Microsoft a unique code generated on your machine based on the Install CD/DVD’s product key and a number of hardware features, such as the amount of RAM, the CPU processor model, and other ones and zeros in your PC. Normally, activation is done at install time, but if you choose not to activate at install or if you make “substantial” changes to the hardware, you’ll need to use the Activate Windows utility (Figure 4-74). With the Activate Windows utility, you can activate over the Internet or over the telephone.
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NOTE Once you’ve activated Windows, this applet goes away.
Figure 4-74 Activate Windows
Backup (2000, XP)
The Backup utility enables you to back up selected files and folders to removable media such as tape drives. Backing up is an important function that’s covered in detail in Chapters 16, “Securing Windows Resources,” and 26, “Securing Computers.”
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NOTE Neither Windows XP Home nor Windows XP Media Center Edition includes Backup during installation. You must install the Backup program from the Windows installation CD by running the \Valueadd\MSFT\Ntbackup \NTbackup.msi program.
Backup Status and