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

Windows 2000 introduced many changes to the operating system world. It is much more robust than its predecessors. For that reason, you will face a vast array of questions regarding Windows 2000 technology when you take the current A+ Operating Systems Technologies exam. This chapter is designed to prepare you with as many diagnosing and troubleshooting test tips as possible to prepare you for the test. Please use the following items, as well as the review questions and A+ Operating Systems Technologies Cumulative Practice Exam, to sharpen your skills in final preparation for the Windows 2000 portion of the exam:

Windows 2000 components can be added to the operating system from the Windows 2000 Installation CD-ROM by using the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel.

If you are trying to connect to an ISP through a dial-up connection and receive the error message “Server cannot negotiate an appropriate protocol,” this is most likely the result of an improperly configured or corrupt TCP/IP configuration.

By default, files with the extensions .INI, .INF, and .DLL not are displayed in Windows 2000 Explorer. If you want hidden files and folders to be displayed, choose Tools > Folder Options > View, and select “Show Hidden Files and Folders” in the Advanced Settings box of the View section.

To assign or ‘map’ a drive letter to a network folder in Windows 2000, simply right-click My Network Places or My Computer and select Map Network Drive.

Windows 2000 provides network protocols for communication with other networked systems. Remember for the exam that Windows 2000 supports TCP/IP, NWLINK, NetBEUI, and AppleTalk. TCP/IP is used for most networks, including the Internet. NWLINK is used for communication with Novell Networks. NetBEUI is a fast, efficient Microsoft network protocol. AppleTalk is used for communicating with Apple Macintosh systems.

If you have the ability to send e-mail and attachments over the Internet, but cannot receive e-mail and attachments from others, you should verify that your SMTP settings and mail server settings are accurate.

If you want to connect to a specific news group on the Internet via an ISP, you will need to acquire the IP address associated with the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) server for that ISP.

In Windows 2000, a hidden Start Menu can be displayed by pressing Ctrl+Esc.

You can create a shortcut for a program from within Windows Explorer by right-clicking the program and selecting Create Shortcut. To create a shortcut that will be placed on the Windows Desktop, right-click the program from within Windows Explorer, select Send to, and select Desktop (create shortcut).

You can use the Alt+Tab keyboard sequence to switch between applications running in Windows 2000.

In Windows 2000, your network interface card type can be displayed in Device Manager. Device Manager can be accessed through the System applet in the Windows 2000 Control Panel.

To set a default printer in Windows 2000, navigate to Start > Settings > Printers, right-click on the printer, and check “Set as Default Printer”.

You can prevent Windows 2000 users from installing unsigned device drivers by navigating to System Properties > Hardware > Driver Signing. You may then select from the Ignore, Warn, or Block options.

Virtual memory uses swap file space on a hard drive for storage.

If you are running out of memory while running multiple programs in Windows 2000, you can increase the size of your paging file by navigating to System Properties > Advanced > Performance Options > Change...

If you delete files that are stored on removable media such as a floppy disk, CD-RW, or removable hard drive, the files will be immediately deleted. They will not go into the Recycle Bin.

If you restore data to a FAT32 partition that was originally backed up from an NTFS partition, you will only retain file attributes and the long file names. You will lose any file-level permissions, compressions, or encryption. These are only supported under NTFS.

The Windows 2000 operating system provides support for FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, and CDFS file systems.

You can use the Disk Cleanup Wizard or navigate to Internet Explorer > Tools > Internet Options to clean up temporary Internet files.

In Windows 2000, user profiles are stored in C:\Documents and Settings.

Hypertext Transport Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a very popular, secure protocol used to transmit messages over the Internet.

FTP sessions by default are not encrypted. User names and passwords are transmitted in clear text. FTP user IDs and passwords can be easily grabbed with a network packet sniffer.

Adding a DNS server’s IP address to a local system’s DNS server search order will tell the local system where the DNS server is located.

If you have an application that ran just fine and under Windows 95 but won’t run after upgrading to Windows 2000, you should reinstall the application.