Absolute Beginners Guide to A+ Certification. Covers the Hardware and Operating Systems Exam

Although you probably realize by now that you sometimes need to leave the Windows graphical user interface (GUI) behind to make repairs or perform maintenance, the Windows GUI is where most work gets done. The following sections discuss these elements of the Windows GUI:

• My Computer

• Windows Explorer

• Control Panel

• Taskbar and System Tray (systray)

• Start Menu

• Accessories/System Tools

• Computer Management Console

Network Neighborhood/My Network Places is discussed in Chapter 21, "Networking and Internet Connectivity," and Chapter 22, "Troubleshooting Principles," and Device Manager is discussed in Chapter 19, "Installing and Configuring Hardware in Windows."

My Computer

The My Computer icon might be the single most important icon for maintaining and working with Windows. My Computer provides access to the following features and utilities:

• Open My Computer to view the local drives on your system, available network drives , and the Control Panel folder. Additional options are available in various Windows versions.

• Right-click My Computer to choose options such as Properties (which opens the System properties sheet), the Windows Explorer, Search/Find, drive mapping, and creating shortcuts.

My Computer can open a separate window for each object you open, or you can change the contents of the My Computer window to display the contents for each object. You can change this option by clicking View, Folder Options, and selecting Custom from the Folder tab.

In Windows 95, opening My Computer does not start the Windows Explorer unless Internet Explorer 4.0 or above is installed. When Internet 4.0 or above is installed, Windows 95 will work like Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, which open Windows Explorer when My Computer is opened.

The Windows Explorer

The Windows Explorer is the file-management utility used by Windows (see Figure 18.6). Windows 98/Me/2000/XP can use Explorer to view both local drive/network and Internet content; Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 can view only local or network drives with Explorer unless Internet Explorer (IE) 4.0 or above is installed.

Windows Explorer can be started in any of the following ways:

• From the Start menu, click Start, Programs, Windows Explorer (Windows NT 4.0/9x) or Start, Programs, Accessories, Windows Explorer (Windows Me/2000/XP).

• From the command line, type Explorer and press Enter.

• Open My Computer in Windows 98/Me and 2000/XP to start Explorer automatically.

To start Windows Explorer from My Computer in Windows NT 4.0/95 if Internet Explorer 4.0 or above is not installed, use either of the following options:

• Right-click My Computer and select Explore Use this option to display the contents of My Computer in the right Explorer window.

• Right-click any object in My Computer and select Explore Use this option to display the contents of the object in the right Explorer window.

Classic and Web View

Windows Explorer can be set to display objects in either Classic or Web view. Classic view (refer to Figure 18.6) is similar to the original Windows Explorer in Windows 95; Web view (see Figure 18.7) requires that Internet Explorer 4.0 or above be installed on Windows 95. It's a standard option with Windows 98/Me and Windows 2000. (Windows Me's Web view adds a zoomable preview window for bitmaps and photos below the file properties display.)

Common Tasks View (Windows XP)

The Windows XP version of Windows Explorer uses a supercharged version of Web view known as the Common Tasks view as its default (see Figure 18.8). Like Web view, the Common Tasks view displays the properties of the selected object, but also displays a preview when available. However, the most significant new feature is the changeable task pane in the upper-left side of the display.

tip

The contents and name of the task pane change according to the characteristics of the selected or displayed object. For example, display My Computer, and the task pane is titled System Tasks, with a choice of options such as View System Information, Add or Remove Programs, or Change a Setting. The contents of Other Places also changes to display related objects.

Changing Viewing Options in Windows Explorer

By default, Windows Explorer prevents users from seeing information such as

• File extensions for registered file types ; for example, a file called LETTER.DOC will be displayed as LETTER because WordPad (or Microsoft Word) is associated with .DOC files.

• The full path to the current folder.

• Files with hidden or system attributes, such as Bootlog.txt and Msdos.sys .

• Folders with hidden or system attributes, such as INF (used for hardware installation).

Concealing this information is intended to make it harder for users to "break" Windows, but it makes management and troubleshooting more difficult.

To change these and other viewing options, follow this procedure:

1. Start Windows Explorer.

2. Click View, Folder Options and select the View tab.

3. Select the options you want (see Figure 18.9). I recommend the following changes for experienced end users:

   • Enable the Display the Full Path in the Title Bar option.

   • Disable the Hide File Extensions for Known File Types option.

   Figure 18.9. The Windows Explorer Folder Options, View menu in Windows 98 (left) and Windows XP (right) after selecting recommended options for use by technicians and experienced end users.

   If you are maintaining or troubleshooting a system, I also recommend you change the following:

   • Enable the Show All Files setting.

   • Disable the Hide Protected Operating System Files setting.

   You should probably change these settings back to their defaults before you return the system to normal use.

4. To apply these settings to all folders, click Like Current Folder.

5. Click OK to apply and close the Folder Options menu.

Objects such as files and folders can be displayed in at least four ways within Windows Explorer:

• Large icons The default (refer to Figure 18.6); Windows XP calls this option Tiles.

• Small icons Displays more objects onscreen without scrolling vertically; might require the user to scroll horizontally to view multiple columns . Windows XP calls this option Icons.

• List Displays more objects onscreen than large icons in a single column.

• Details The same size of icons used by Small or List, plus size and last-modified date details (refer to Figure 18.7).

Windows XP adds two new options:

• Thumbnails Displays a thumbnail (small- sized graphic) sample of previewable files and folders (.BMP, .JPG, and some other graphics file formats and folders containing these files) in the selected folder and uses large tiled icons for non-previewable files. Thumbnail view can be used in any folder.

• Filmstrip Displays a larger preview of the selected graphic file at the top of the right window, and smaller thumbnails below it. Buttons below the large preview can be used to rotate the graphic or to move to another graphic. This view is available in the My Pictures folder or other folders that contain digital photos in formats recognized by Windows Preview, such as .TIF or .JPG (see Figure 18.10).

  Figure 18.10. The new Filmstrip view in Windows XP is used for folders containing digital photos (.TIF or .JPG files). Note that the task pane lists Picture Tasks such as printing photos or copying items to a recordable/rewritable CD.

To change the view for the current folder, use the Views button in Figure 18.6 or the View pull-down menu.

Control Panel

The Control Panel is the major starting point for adjusting the hardware and user interface settings in Windows. It contains the following hardware-related icons; open the icon to see and adjust the current settings:

• Add New Hardware (Windows 9x/Me); Add/Remove Hardware (Windows 2000); Add Hardware (Windows XP ) Installs new PnP and legacy hardware. The Windows 2000 Wizard also troubleshoots and removes hardware.

• Display Adjusts monitor, video adapter, and Windows desktop settings.

• Game Controllers Adjusts settings for joysticks, steering wheels, and other game controllers.

• Internet Options Adjusts Internet settings used by Internet Explorer and other Microsoft products.

• Keyboard Adjusts keyboard repeat rate and language.

• Modems Adjusts, installs, and tests modems and serial ports.

• Mouse Adjusts and installs mouse devices and similar pointing devices.

• Multimedia Adjusts multimedia device settings.

• Network Installs and configures network hardware and software.

• Power Management Enables, disables, and adjusts power management settings.

• Printers Installs and removes printers and adjusts printer settings.

• Sounds Configures sound playback during specified system events.

• System Displays and configures Device Manager and other hardware settings including Performance, and general Windows information, performance, and hardware profiles.

• Telephony Configures telephony device drivers and dialing settings used by modems and similar devices.

Other Control Panel icons such as Add/Remove Programs, Administrative Tools, and Accessibility Options are primarily software related; some user-installed software and devices also add icons to the Control Panel.

You can open the Control Panel folder from the Start button, My Computer, or the Windows Explorer:

• Click Start, Settings, Control Panel The Control Panel will open a new window onscreen. (The Control Panel icon is located in the root Start menu in Windows XP.)

• Open My Computer and select the Control Panel The Control Panel's contents will be displayed in the right window or in a new window, depending on the settings you use for My Computer.

• Open the Windows Explorer and select the Control Panel The Control Panel's contents will be displayed in the right Explorer window (see Figure 18.11).

  Figure 18.11. The Windows 98 Control Panel as viewed in Windows Explorer.

Open any Control Panel icon to see current settings and make adjustments for the devices it controls. If the Classic view is used for the Control Panel folder, double-click an icon to open it. If Web view is used, a single click will open an icon.

Windows XP's Category and Classic Views of the Control Panel

The Category view shown in Figure 18.12 is the default in Windows XP. When you click on an icon, it displays various tasks and provides you with a shortcut to classic Control Panel icons (also shown in Figure 18.12). If you're a Windows newcomer, you might prefer the Category view's task-oriented design. However, if you're already familiar with Control Panel, you'll probably prefer to click the Switch to Classic View option in the task pane. The Classic view of the Windows XP Control Panel is very similar to the Windows 98 Control Panel shown in Figure 18.11.

The Switch to Classic View task shown in Figure 18.12 is actually a toggle. No matter which Control Panel view you prefer, the task pane provides the option to switch to the other one.

Shortcuts to Control Panel Icons

Some Control Panel icons can be accessed through properties sheets. If you right-click any of the items in Table 18.3 and select Properties, you will open the Control Panel icon listed.

Table 18.3. Popular Shortcuts to Control Panel Icons

Taskbar and System Tray (systray)

Even before you click on the Start menu, most Windows installations already have several programs running in the System Tray (also known as the systray or SysTray), which is located in the lower-right corner of the screen, next to the clock. Microsoft also likes to refer to this as the Notification area (refer to Figure 18.14).

Although programs you launch manually can wind up in the System Tray, most programs you find there are started automatically from one of these locations:

• The Startup group in the Start menu

• Load= or Run= statements in Win.ini

• Shell=explorer.exe filename in System.ini

• Various Registry keys, such as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices

tip

Figure 18.13 shows the Run key in the Registry of a Windows XP system with over 20 entries. Running so many programs can slow down the Windows startup process, use up memory and, with Windows 9x/Me, can cause the system to be short of free system resources as soon as the system starts. (See "Using the Windows 9x/Me Resource Meter" in Chapter 20 for details.)

tip

Most systray programs wait for an event (such as a disk insertion or a mouse click) after they are started. To see what each icon in the systray does, right-click the icon.

The System Tray is part of the Taskbar , which displays running programs that do not insert themselves into the systray. By default, the Taskbar displays one row of program icons, reducing the amount of space given to each program as more and more programs are run. Figure 18.14 shows a typical Windows XP system's System Tray and Taskbar and their properties sheet. To display the Taskbar's properties sheet, right-click on an empty section of the Taskbar and select Properties.

tip

To make the Taskbar more useful if you have many programs running, you can resize it by dragging its top edge: Drag its top edge up to create additional rows or drag the top edge down to the edge of the screen to make it vanish . You can also drag the Taskbar to any side of the screen.

Start Menu

With all versions of Windows covered on the A+ Certification Exams, you can add items to the Start menu , remove items from it, create or remove folders, move an item from one folder to another, and switch between large icons (default) and small icons.

If Internet Explorer 5.0 or later is installed, you can also right-click on the menu and select Sort by Name.

Windows XP adds additional customization features, including automatic addition of the most frequently used programs to a special section of the Start menu.

Adding, Removing, and Sorting Start Menu Items and Folders

The Start menu is comprised of shortcuts to programs and other objects on your system. The method used to add shortcuts to your Start menu varies with the version of Windows you use.

With Windows 9x and Windows NT 4.0, follow this procedure:

1. Right-click on an empty portion of the Taskbar and select Properties.

2. Click Start Menu Programs.

3. Click Add.

4. You can enter the path to the program (such as C:\Windows\Pbrush.exe ) or click the Browse button to locate the program for which you are making a shortcut. Click Next.

5. Select the folder to place the shortcut in, or click New Folder to create a new folder for the shortcut. Enter a name for the new folder if desired. Click Next.

6. The shortcut name created by Windows is displayed. To keep the name created by Windows, click Finish. You can also change the name as desired and click Finish.

7. Click OK. The new shortcut (and new folder, if any) appears on your Start button menu.

tip

With Windows 2000/Me

1. Right-click on an empty portion of the Taskbar and select Properties.

2. Click Advanced (see Figure 18.15).

3. Follow steps 37 for Windows 9x/NT 4.0.

With Windows XP (if the default Windows XP Start menu is used)

1. Right-click on the Start button.

2. To add a shortcut for the current user only, select Explore. To add a shortcut for all users, select Explore All Users.

3. The Start menu folder is opened in the left window (it resembles Figure 18.15); shortcuts on the Start menu are shown in the right window. To see additional Start menu folders, click the plus sign (+) next to Programs in the left window.

4. To create a new folder for the shortcut, click the folder in the left window where you want to create the shortcut to open it in the right window. Right-click an empty area in the right window and select New, Folder. Name the folder as desired.

5. To select a folder for the shortcut, click the folder in the left window. The folder's contents appear in the right window.

6. Click File, New, Shortcut to start the Shortcut Wizard.

7. You can enter the path to the program (such as C:\Windows\Pbrush.exe ) or click the Browse button to locate the program for which you are making a shortcut. Click Next.

8. The shortcut name created by Windows is displayed. To keep the name created by Windows, click Finish. You can also change the name as desired and click Finish.

9. Click OK. The new shortcut (and new folder, if any) appear on your Start button menu.

If the Classic Start menu is used

1. Right-click on an empty portion of the Taskbar and select Properties.

2. Select the Start Menu tab and click the Customize button.

3. Follow steps 37 for Windows 9x/NT 4.0.

To remove an item from the Start menu, follow the steps to add an item, but instead of adding a new item, click the Remove button and select the shortcut to remove. If you use the Windows Explorer view of the Start menu, press Del to send the shortcut to the Recycle Bin, or Shift-Del to discard the shortcut.

tip

To sort the shortcuts, follow these procedures:

• With Windows 95/NT 4.0, install Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater; then follow the procedure for Windows 98/Me.

• With Windows 98/Me/2000, click Start, Programs, right-click a folder or shortcut, and select Sort by Name.

• With Windows 2000/Me, open the Taskbar and Start Menu properties sheet, click Advanced, and click Re-sort.

• With Windows XP, click Start, All Programs, right-click a folder or shortcut, and select Sort by Name.

Adjusting Advanced Start Menu Properties

You can adjust the appearance of the Start menu in various ways, depending upon the version of Windows in use. These customizations are available from the Taskbar and Start Menu properties sheets described in the previous section.

Table 18.4 lists the customization options available by Windows version.

Table 18.4. Customizing the Start Menu

^[2] In classic Start Windows XP Start Menu mode only .

^[1] In default Windows XP Start Menu mode only. User can also adjust the number of programs to display .

^[3] This option is located on the Taskbar options properties sheet in some versions of Windows .

Windows XP's Start Menu properties sheet (in default mode) offers more customization options than any previous version. The General tab includes options for

• Icon size

• Whether to place frequently used programs on the Start menu

• Choice of which Web browser and email client to place on the Start menu

Click the Advanced menu to select

• Whether to automatically open submenus

• Whether to highlight newly installed programs

• Which standard items to include on the Start button and whether to list them as links or menus

• Whether to list most recently used documents (see Figure 18.16)

  Figure 18.16. The Windows XP General (left) and Advanced (right) Start Menu properties sheets.

Making Desktop Shortcuts

Some Windows programs add shortcuts to your desktop as well as to the Start menu. However, if you don't have a shortcut on the desktop for a program you frequently use, it's easy to create one.

Accessories/System Tools

The Accessories folder in Windows is where to go to find most of the utilities and programs Microsoft supplies with Windows. Of the folders within the Accessories folder, click System Tools to find the utilities and programs you need to prevent and solve problems.

The contents of the System Tools folder can vary with the version of Windows installed and the options used during installation. If you install Windows 9x/Me and Windows NT 4.0 with an option other than Typical, some tools might not be installed.

The following sections examine typical selections in the System Tools menu not covered elsewhere in this book:

• Backup

• Character Map

• Disk Cleanup

• Drive Converter (FAT32)

• DriveSpace

• Maintenance Wizard

• Scheduled Tasks

• System Monitor

• Welcome to Windows

To start these tools, click Start, (All) Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and click the tool desired.

Windows Backup

The Windows Backup programs supplied with Windows are primarily intended to back up your data. Backup and restore programs differ from conventional file copy routines in these ways:

• Backups are typically compressed; file copies performed with COPY or XCOPY/XCOPY32 generally are not.

• Backups can span a large file onto two or more separate pieces of supported media; COPY and XCOPY/XCOPY32 cannot subdivide a large file.

• Backups must be restored by the same or compatible program; files copied by COPY or XCOPY/XCOPY32 can be retrieved by Windows Explorer and standard Windows programs.

• Backups can be stored to tape, floppy disk, or other types of removable storage such as Zip drives (but not rewritable CD or DVD); COPY and XCOPY/XCOPY32 can work only with drives that can be accessed through a drive letter or a UNC (Universal Naming Convention) network path. However, COPY and XCOPY/XCOPY32 can be used with CD-RW rewritable DVD, and CD-R media that have been formatted for UDF (drag-and-drop) file copying.

You can also start the Windows Backup program from the Tools menu of the drive properties sheet:

1. Open the Windows Explorer.

2. Right-click a drive.

3. Select Properties.

4. Select Tools.

5. Click Backup Now to start Backup.

The Windows Backup program supports backups to a wide variety of drive types, including tape drives, floppy disk drives, and removable-media drives such as Zip drives, but not rewritable CD or DVD drives.

During the backup process, you can specify the following:

• Which drive(s) to back up

• Which files to back up, selecting all files or new and changed files only

• Whether to back up the Windows Registry

• Where to create the backupto tape drive, floppy disk, another hard disk, or a removable-media drive

• How to run the backupwhether to use compression, passwords, and other options

Table 18.5 compares the major features of the Windows Backup programs.

Table 18.5. Windows Backup Versions Compared

^[1] Backs up Registry as part of backing up System State data .

^[2] Requires user to perform a special ASR backup, which creates an ASR disk and a special minimal Windows installation that can be used to restore a regular backup. ASR is supported by Windows XP Professional only .

^[3] Uses the command NTBACKUP with various options .

Windows 95 and NT 4.0's versions of Backup lack wizards, but all other versions feature Backup and Restore Wizards to guide you through the backup and restore processes, or you can cancel the wizard and select the options you want.

Windows Backup will prompt you for additional tape or disk media as needed throughout the backup process. Figure 18.17 illustrates the Windows 98 Backup program; other versions have a similar interface.

Character Map

Character Map , which is found in all versions of Windows on the A+ Certification Exams, provides an easy way to add an accented , mathematical, scientific, or iconic character to a document. To use Character Map

1. Start your application; then start Character Map.

2. Select the font you want to use from the pull-down menu.

3. Use the preview mode to view the characters in that font (see Figure 18.18).

   Figure 18.18. Selecting a character with Character Map. Other characters from other fonts have already been selected for copying.

4. Click Select to choose the character.

5. Repeat steps 24 to choose other characters.

6. Click Copy to place the character(s) on the Windows Clipboard.

7. Move the cursor to the desired location in your document.

8. Click Paste to place the character(s).

Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup was introduced in Windows 98 to provide an easy way to reduce disk clutter. Disk Cleanup can be used to

• Compress old (seldom-used) files.

• Remove temporary Internet files and offline Web pages.

• Empty the Recycle Bin.

• Delete other types of temporary files, including those left behind by Microsoft Publisher and the Content Indexer.

Click More Options to remove unused optional Windows components, installed programs, and older System Restore restore points (see Figure 18.19).

Scheduled Tasks

Starting with Windows 98, you can configure Windows to run a program automatically with the Scheduled Tasks Wizard. Start the wizard, select the program you want to run, and specify if you want to run the program daily, weekly, monthly, at startup, when you log on, or one time only. Next, specify what day of the week, what time, and for what period you want to run the task. With Windows 2000 and XP, you can also specify a username and password, which can be used to log onto the system and run the task. At the end of the process, you can display the advanced properties for the task to further customize the process.

Drive Converter

This utility, found only in Windows 98, can convert a drive from the FAT16 file system to the more efficient FAT32 file system.

DriveSpace

Windows 9x features a real-time drive-compression utility called DriveSpace . Windows Me can use DriveSpace-compressed drives, but doesn't include the capability to compress a drive with DriveSpace. Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP don't support DriveSpace, but include their own compression features as part of the NTFS file system.

Maintenance Wizard

Windows 98 and Windows Me's Maintenance Wizard can be used to schedule and configure the disk defragmentation, ScanDisk error checking, and Disk Cleanup utilities. For more information about these utilities, see the individual entries elsewhere in this chapter.

System Monitor

Windows 9x and Me feature a customizable System Monitor , which can be used to monitor the performance of the Dial-Up Adapter, Disk Cache, File System, Kernel, Memory Manager, and Microsoft Network Client. You can select from a variety of measurements in each category, select from line, bar, or numeric charts , adjust the update frequency, and create a logfile. Use System Monitor to help fine-tune the performance of a system or the network (see Figure 18.20).

Computer Management Console

Windows 9x/Me have minimal management features included, because they are designed to be used by home or small-business users who aren't networked or have very simple networks. Windows NT 4.0, 2000, and XP, on the other hand, are designed to work in corporate networks, and have management tools to match.

Windows NT 4.0's management tools are located in the Administrative Tools folder of the Start menu, whereas Windows 2000 and XP's management tools can be started from the Administrative Tools folder in Control Panel or from the Computer Management Console . To open the Computer Management Console, right-click on My Computer and select Manage.

The Computer Management Console is a comprehensive management tool that allows the administrator of a Windows 2000 or XP system access to several different administrative tools that can be used to manage your computer. The major categories in Windows XP (Windows 2000 is similar) include

• System Tools Tools in this category include

  • Event Viewer Tracks system events and problems

  • Performance Displays system performance

  • Services Manages system services

  • Shared Folders Manages network shared folders and users

  • Local Users and Groups Manages groups and users

  • Performance Logs and Alerts Views logs of system performance, events, and problems

  • Device Manager Manages hardware settings

• Storage Tools in this category include

  • Removable Storage Manages flash, disk, and optical removable storage devices

  • Disk Defragmenter Defragments drives

  • Disk Management Prepares hard disks and manages drive letters

• Services Tools in this category include

  • Services Manages services running on the computer

  • WMI Control Manages Windows Management Instrumentation service

  • Indexing Service Manages indexing service

To view details about a managed object, click the object in the left window and the information will appear in the right window. Right-click on an object and select Properties for more detailed information. Figure 18.21 shows the Application event viewer on a Windows XP system being used to view the details of an application error.