| Objectives This chapter helps you to prepare for the exam by covering the following Microsoft-specified objectives for the Monitoring and Optimizing System Performance and Reliability section of the Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional exam: Monitor, optimize, and troubleshoot performance of the Windows XP Professional desktop. Optimize and troubleshoot memory performance. Optimize and troubleshoot processor utilization. Optimize and troubleshoot disk performance. Optimize and troubleshoot application performance. Configure, manage, and troubleshoot Scheduled Tasks. The performance of a computer is dependent on several factors, any of which can cause a slowdown. Microsoft includes this objective to measure your understanding of the factors that affect a computer's performance over time, and how they interact with one another. You also need to know how to optimize the computer's performance and troubleshoot problems and bottlenecks that can occur from time to time.
Manage, monitor, and optimize system performance for mobile users. Mobile computers have special demands not commonly associated with desktop computers. Microsoft expects you to be able to configure mobile computers for optimizing power use according to different requirements, and to configure the appropriate options for scenarios such as offices, client locations, and in the field.
Restore and back up the operating system, System State data, and user data. Recover System State data and user data by using Windows Backup. Troubleshoot system restoration by starting in safe mode. Recover System State data and user data by using the Recovery Console. No matter how careful you are in protecting your computers and networks, failures still occur. Microsoft expects you to know how to prepare yourself for potential failures and recover from problems of various types. You need to know which method is appropriate for problems of different magnitudes.
Outline Introduction | 354 | Monitoring, Optimizing, and Troubleshooting Performance of the Windows XP Professional Desktop | 354 | Performance Console | 354 | System Monitor | 356 | Performance Logs and Alerts | 357 | Optimizing and Troubleshooting Memory Performance | 360 | Setting the Paging File | 361 | Optimizing and Troubleshooting Processor Utilization | 363 | Optimizing and Troubleshooting Disk Performance | 364 | Optimizing and Troubleshooting Application Performance | 365 | Task Manager | 365 | Configuring Application Priority | 367 | Configuring the Relative Priority of Foreground and Background Tasks | 367 | Configuring Application Compatibility | 368 | Configuring Multiprocessor Computers | 369 | Configuring, Managing, and Optimizing Scheduled Tasks | 371 | Configuring Advanced Task Properties | 372 | Troubleshooting Scheduled Tasks | 374 | Command-Line Utilities | 374 | Managing, Monitoring, and Optimizing System Performance for Mobile Users | 375 | Managing Multiple Hardware Profiles for Laptop Users | 378 | Restoring and Backing Up the Operating System, System State Data, and User Data | 380 | Recovering System State Data and User Data by Using Windows Backup | 380 | Backup Types | 381 | Backup Permissions | 381 | Performing Backups and Restores | 382 | Using Windows Backup to Recover Data | 385 | Returning to the Last Known Good Configuration | 387 | Troubleshooting System Restoration by Starting in Safe Mode | 388 | Recovering System State Data and User Data by Using the Recovery Console | 389 | Using Automated System Recovery (ASR) | 391 | Restoring Your Computer with ASR | 393 | Using System Restore to Restore Your Computer to an Earlier State | 394 | Chapter Summary | 396 | Apply Your Knowledge | 397 |
Study Strategies Monitor the performance of a Windows XP Professional computer as you perform various tasks such as running memory-intensive programs, copying and moving data, browsing the Internet, and so on. Create a baseline log that you can use later for comparing your computer's performance at different times. If you have access to the Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit, use the Leakyapp.exe and Cpustree.exe programs to create artificial memory and processor loads on your computer and observe the effects. Configure several alerts and leave them running while you are working with your computer so that you become familiar with their actions. Play a few processor-intensive or memory-intensive games to trigger the alerts if you desire. If you have a laptop computer, practice configuring it for different power schemes and observe the results when running on battery power. Also configure the computer for standby and hibernation, and observe what happens when you place the computer into these modes. Even if you have only a desktop computer available, you can still practice these exercises and observe factors such as when certain components of the computer shut down. Back up your computer's data and restore it to a different computer. Try deleting data that you have backed up and then restore it to obtain experience in how to recover data that a user has lost. Boot your computer to each of the various options available from the Advanced Startup Menu. Install the Recovery Console and practice executing its commands so that you are familiar with the more important ones.
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