The A+ Certification & PC Repair Handbook (Charles River Media Networking/Security)

The following information is designed to assist you with last-minute study preparation for the current CompTIA A+ Operating Systems Technologies exam. Not all of these tips are described within this chapter. However, they are very relevant to the exam, and you should review these important Windows NT diagnosing and troubleshooting test tips before taking the test.

Windows NT is a multitasking, multithreaded operating system that can run applications in their own NTVDMs or virtual memory spaces. NTVDMs (NT Virtual DOS Machines) are part of a built-in Windows NT subsystem that allow 16-bit applications to act as if they are running in their own memory-protected DOS environment. If you are running an application or program that interferes with another application or program, you should attempt to run the offending program in its own protected memory space.

It is not possible to upgrade to Windows NT 4.0 from Windows 9x. You can install Windows NT on the same hard drive but not in the same directory as Windows 9x. However, you can upgrade to Windows 4.0 from Windows NT 3.1 or Windows NT 3.51 operating systems.

Dr. Watson is a Windows NT diagnostic tool that takes a picture, or ‘snapshot,’ of a system during an error state or fault. The Windows NT Workstation Dr. Watson log files are stored in C:\WINNT.

Programs and files with the extensions .EXE, .COM, and .BAT can be run from the Windows NT command prompt.

Windows NT supports port replication through the use of hardware profiles. If you want to ensure that the port replicator works on your laptop while at the office but is ignored while out of the office, you will need to enable Hardware Profiles in the System applet of Control Panel.

Windows NT supports FAT16 and NTFS partitions. It does not include support for FAT32.

Windows NT does not have a native Disk Defragmenter utility.

Windows NT does not have the Device Manager utility that was implemented with Windows 9x.

If you ever receive the message “Boot could not find NTLDR. Please insert another disk” while booting into Windows NT, you will need to run the emergency repair process.

The best way to remove a virus from Windows NT, or any other Windows operating system for that matter, is to boot to a virus-free floppy disk and run antivirus software with up-to-date virus definition files.

You need the files NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM, and BOOT.INI on a boot disk for Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

If you are using an Internet browser in Windows NT or any other Windows operating system to access a secure Internet site, Your URL line will most likely begin with HTTPS://.

If you receive an error message stating that a service failed to start upon booting Windows NT, you can check to see what particular service didn’t start in the System Event Log in Event Viewer.

The file NTBOOTDD.SYS is used by the operating systems Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP to support SCSI hard drives. It must be present at Windows boot-up for SCSI to be supported.

The BOOT.INI is a required file used by Windows NT, 2000, and XP at start-up.

If a user can’t log on to the network in a Windows NT or 2000 domain environment, the first thing you should check is the user’s network credentials, such as their user ID and password.

If there is no sound coming from your speakers, you should first check the Volume Control applet and verify that no devices are muted.

There are three easy ways to set the system time: Control Panel > Date/Time; Open the clock in the system tray; and from a command prompt, type in the word Time.

In Windows NT 4.0, the command line utility RDISK.EXE can be used to create an ERD (Emergency Repair Disk).

You can use the PING command to verify the presence of a remote system.

Windows NT does not provide native support for USB, FireWire (IEEE 1394), or plug and play.

PING, TRACERT, and NSLOOKUP are TCP/IP utilities that can be used to determine the IP address of known Internet domain names.

To change a computer name or join a workgroup or domain in Windows NT, right-click on Network Neighborhood, then Select Properties, and under the Identification tab select Change.

After installing a new hard drive, you can prepare the drive for use by accessing the Windows NT utility Disk Administrator and format the drive.