Chapter 2: Operating System Functions

Exam Objectives

Identifying the primary operating system components

Describing operating system interface features

Using Remote Desktop Connection and Remote Assistance

Just as the engine is the driving force behind an automobile, the operating system (OS) is the driving force behind your computer. Your choice of engine in your automobile affects the performance of its system, and also affects what you can do with your vehicle. In a similar way, you will find that the performance and functionality of your computer are different if you use MS-DOS, Windows XP, Windows 7, or some other OS.

The OS is responsible for several major functions on your computer. To manage your computer, the OS relies on its major components. This chapter examines these components and how they interrelate to effectively manage the computer. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to effectively choose from Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 for your system. And because the A+ exam focuses on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, this chapter focuses on these three OSes.

Identifying Major Operating System Functions

As you can read in the preceding chapter, the OS is responsible for two major functions: managing hardware devices and providing an environment in which applications can execute. One of the major applications that needs to execute is the user interface (UI), which lets the user control all other applications and their execution. In the case of Windows-based computers, this UI — the shell — is Windows Explorer. So together with hardware, this software that makes up the OS is responsible for getting things done. The hardware and software get tied together in the location where everything happens: memory.

Understanding memory management

Memory is the playing field where hardware and software mix. Memory management is the responsibility of the OS. The OS makes sure that the hardware and software components work within their own confines of memory. As memory resources are requested, the OS releases them either to the hardware device driver or to the application. The OS then takes steps to make sure that only the application accesses the memory areas allocated to that particular application. If an application attempts to access memory not allocated to it, the OS has to decide what to do with the application.

In all cases, attempts to access the memory space of other applications are denied. Usually, the denied application does not know what to do when this happens, so you get an application that “hangs” or terminates through a General Protection Fault (GPF). Most applications really never expect to be denied anything. Hangs and GPFs are annoying because the failed application is flushed from memory, and data may be lost. On the positive side, the other application — the one whose memory was almost accessed — should still be working. The goal is to protect the other application by terminating the application that exceeded its boundaries. For more on GPFs, see Book VII, Chapter 2.

As part of memory management, the OS keeps track of physical memory on the computer as well as hard drive space used as extra memory available to the computer. Access time to physical memory is measured in nanoseconds, and access time to disk drives is measured in milliseconds. These scales are widely different, and so is the access time of information from these memory locations. Both types of memory are lumped together to make up virtual memory. Sometimes the term virtual memory is applied to the hard drive space used to simulate memory, but at the OS level, the term is used to refer to all memory available for storage on the system.

As applications launch and get loaded into memory, physical memory is used. When this space becomes limited, the OS moves some data from RAM onto the hard drive. The OS records the change in the actual location so that when the application requests that information again, the information can be moved back into physical memory and accessed.

Checking the OS version

No matter which OS you use, at some point you need to know its exact version number. This is often the case when you install new software, which requires a specific version of the OS. There are many methods for retrieving this information in Windows.

The System Control Panel or System Properties lets you know which version and service pack level of the OS you are running (see Figure 2-1). You can get to the System Properties dialog in the following ways:

Choose Start⇒Control Panel⇒System.

Right-click My Computer and choose Properties.

Prior to Windows XP you see the version number (as opposed to the version name, like Windows Vista or Windows 7) of the OS listed in this System Properties dialog box, which we just looked at, but starting with Windows XP you need the System Information tool to locate the version number. To see this information in the System Information tool, choose Start⇒All Programs⇒Accessories⇒System Tools⇒System Information.

The System Information tool includes the version number in the main window (see Figure 2-2). The System Information tool can be launched through the Start menu, or you can use the Run command and type msinfo32.exe.

Some of the version numbers you might see are listed in Table 2-1. Notice that these version numbers are continuations of Windows NT version 4.0 in version and build numbers.

Table 2-1 OS Version Numbers for Modern Versions of Windows

Operating System	Version Number
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation	4.00.1381 Build 1381
Windows 2000 Professional	5.00.2195 Build 2195
Windows XP Professional	5.10.2600 Build 2600
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise	5.2.3790 Build 3790
Windows Vista Enterprise	6.0.6000 Build 6000.16386
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise	6.0.6000 Build 6000.16386
Windows 7 Enterprise	6.1.7600 Build 7600
Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise	6.1.7600 Build 7600

Windows version numbers have three parts: the version number, the build number, and the Service Pack level (although not all tools will show you the Service Pack level). The version number (5.1 for Windows XP) and the build number (2600 for Windows XP) will not change for the lifetime of the product. As patches and upgrades become available for the OS, Microsoft releases hot fixes. Hot fixes are listed in the Add or Remove Programs Control Panel. When a sufficient number of fixes have been released, Microsoft releases a Service Pack, which incorporates most hot fixes as well as other unreleased fixes or features. The installation of a Service Pack adds an identifier to the end of a build number. The new version number looks like this:

Microsoft Windows XP Professional [5.10.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600]

Windows Vista changes the build number of the OS as you apply service packs. The two major parts of the build number do change, so they will remain as 6.0; the two minor parts of the build number change, so the minor version number for Service Pack 1 is actually 6001.18000.

After you know which version of the software you are running, you can take a look at what makes up your OS.

Understanding Major Operating System Components

In the following sections, you briefly examine how applications actually run on Windows computers. For a more complete description of how applications are supported, see Book VI, Chapter 2.

Getting into the architecture

Windows 2000 was a complete rewrite of the Windows OS, but at a risk of causing compatibility issues. When Windows boots, it immediately enters a 32-bit protected-mode or a 64-bit long-mode state. With a 32-bit processor, the entire OS operates from this 32-bit state, and the kernel is loaded into Ring 0, which Microsoft refers to as kernel mode (see Figure 2-3). All processes running in kernel mode are protected from any processes running in Ring 3, or user mode.

The Intel processor design divides operation of the code into four separate execution levels, called rings. Ring 0 is at the middle of this arrangement, and Ring 3 is at the outside. These are the only two rings that Microsoft implemented during the development of 32-bit Windows OSes.

The kernel is the core part of the OS that controls everything else that happens on the computer. The kernel is responsible for keeping user-mode processes separated. Each application is started in its own area. One application is not directly allowed to interact with other applications and must pass such requests through Executive Services, which operate in kernel mode. This isolation of the applications from each other and from the rest of the OS is one of the keys to the stability of the current Windows system.

Kernel-mode processes are separated from user-mode processes but are vulnerable to corruption by other kernel-mode processes. The processor’s architecture is all that protects kernel-mode processes from each other, and it often fails in its job. This means that Stop events (the ones that cause the infamous Blue Screen of Death), which reboot the system, are usually caused by a conflict of the processes running in kernel mode. For more on Stop events, see Book VII, Chapter 2.

Paging your memory

Windows uses hard drive space to extend the amount of memory available to applications. The total pool of available memory is the virtual memory page pool, or just virtual memory. Virtual memory, composed of physical RAM and hard drive space, is maintained by the Virtual Memory Manager (VMM). Figure 2-4 shows how these systems relate.

The VMM is responsible for keeping track of where different kinds of information are located in memory. As applications request to have information placed in memory, the VMM places the information in an area of RAM. If RAM is getting full, some information is moved from RAM to an area on the hard drive. The location on the hard drive is a swap file (in older version of Windows) or a paging or page file (current versions of Windows). As applications request stored data, the VMM moves information so that the data is available in RAM.

You configure the paging file in the System Properties. You might want to adjust the virtual memory settings because

You are running out of space on your boot partition (the one with the Windows directory).

You want to improve paging performance by

• Reducing disk contention with the OS: In this case, you can move the paging file to a different physical disk if you have one.

• Load balancing the page file between different physical drives: Current Windows systems allow you to have multiple paging files, each on a different disk.

Follow these steps to adjust how much virtual memory your computer uses when using Windows:

1. Open the System Properties dialog box by right-clicking the My Computer icon on the desktop and choosing Properties. For Windows Vista and Windows 7, right-click Computer on the Start menu and choose Properties; then select Advanced System Settings.

2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.

3. Click the Performance Settings button.

The Performance Options dialog box appears.

4. On the Advanced tab, click the Virtual Memory Change button (see Figure 2-5).

In the Virtual Memory dialog box that appears, you can set an initial and a maximum size for the paging file on each logical drive.

5. Adjust the settings as needed.

If you reduce the size of the paging file on your boot partition below the size of the physical RAM on your system, you are warned that some of the recovery options will be disabled. The paging file is used as a storage space for the memory.dmp file that is generated during a Stop error.

6. Click OK on three consecutive dialog boxes to close them all.

Choosing your file systems

Just as many companies have different systems for filing data, with Windows you have several options when choosing a file system. MS-DOS offers the File Allocation Table (FAT), which started out as FAT12 and then became FAT16 in later versions of MS-DOS. Windows 95 then added to that base file system with FAT32. In between this time, the different architecture of Windows NT offers the New Technology File System (NTFS). The latest versions of Windows — Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 — support all three file systems, and you get some control over how to use them.

When using Windows, your choices include FAT, FAT32, and NTFS. Table 2-2 summarizes some of the differences between the file systems.

In most cases, you want to use NTFS because it

Supports security on folders and files

Is a journaling file system, so it offers better recovery in case of power interruptions

Offers a more stable platform for data storage

Although some older applications might have compatibility issues with NTFS, these issues are rare. For more on file systems, see Book II, Chapter 6.

NTFS should always be chosen as the file system for stability and security. Choose FAT, FAT32, or exFAT only if you need to dual-boot a computer with another OS, such as Windows 9x or Linux.

Registry

Windows uses its Registry to record settings for applications and the OS.

When people first started writing applications for Microsoft-driven computers, they usually needed to record a series of per-use or per-computer settings. In most cases, they wrote these settings to a file stored on that computer. This system worked fine most of the time, but the people who needed to manage those computers and applications found that some of these configuration files were binary files and some were text files, and occasionally they would get corrupted and be unusable. To solve some of this confusion, Microsoft came up with a file standard that appeared when Windows was introduced to the world. The new solution was the INI (“innie”) file, which is a text file that uses sections, settings, and values stored in a standardized format. Because data is written and can be retrieved using a standard format, the OS can use standard procedures to store and retrieve the data rather than relying on each application developer to write their own procedures. Listing 2-1 shows a portion of a sample INI file that would have been opened in notepad.exe. For all text-based configuration files, you can make changes with notepad.exe or wordpad.exe.

Listing 2-1: A Sample INI File

[Options]

WordSel=0

Units=0

Maximized=0

FrameRect=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

PageMargin=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

DefaultFormat=5

[Text]

Layout2=CAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAA

LayoutAux2=CAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAA

Wrap=0

BarState0=0

BarState1=0

[RTF]

Layout2=CAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAA

LayoutAux2=CAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAA

Wrap=0

BarState0=0

BarState1=0

Section names are enclosed in square brackets.

Originally, these INI files could be stored in the application directory, in the Windows directory, or anywhere on the file system path. This location variability often led to problems, such as multiple, conflicting INI files and uncertainty as to which file was in use.

With the release of Windows 95 and Windows NT, Microsoft programmers developed a new way to deal with this issue — they created a single location in which to store all configuration information for a computer: the Registry.

Like INI files, the Registry uses a standard format, breaking down settings into two basic categories: for computers and for users. Computer settings are stored in a section named HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and user settings are stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Application developers are encouraged to use this new location to store settings for their applications and have even been given a special software key to store their settings. It is up to the software developer to decide whether settings are user- or computer-based and to manage the settings appropriately.

Even though Microsoft provided the Registry as a location to store program settings, not all programmers use it for their programs, and some still use INI files. You should expect to encounter some programs that are still using INI files.

Remember that Registry stores all settings in either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER, depending on whether the setting is related to the computer or the user.

For detailed information about how to view and manage settings stored in the Registry, read Book VI, Chapter 4.

Navigating Your Computer

Being able to get to the files you need when you need them is crucial. From the command prompt, you can work with cd (change directory) and dir (directory), which I cover at length in Book V, Chapter 5. When you are using Windows, you can choose between Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) and My Computer (or Computer in Windows Vista). Either tool can be used for navigation, and your choice is purely preference. This section looks at these tools in a fresh (default) Windows installation using the default settings. If you have changed your settings, some windows might not be the same as I describe. When possible, I have tried to describe the differences among Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Computer

Computer (or My Computer for Windows XP) is the most common way people access files on their computers because it’s easy to find in the top-left corner of the desktop on Windows XP (unless you have changed your settings on Windows Vista and Windows 7). When you double-click Computer, a large window is displayed (as shown in Figure 2-6), listing the drives on your computer. You can then double-click your C: drive to see what files are located on that drive.

Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft has renamed My Computer to simply Computer.

The navigation buttons on the toolbar at the top of the Computer window allow you to go back to the previous folder or up to the parent folder. Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons allow you to move files between folders.

Several tasks are more easily accomplished with an additional open window, such as copying files from one folder to another. To open an additional window, double-click Computer on the desktop and browse to the correct folder; or, hold down your Ctrl key while you double-click a folder, which leaves the original window in place and opens a new window for the folder that you double-clicked.

If you don’t like how the files in the Computer window are displayed, use the Views button on the toolbar to change the view from Icons to Thumbnails, Tiles, List, or Details. Thumbnails view allows you to see the contents of many files, such as graphics; Details view lists file sizes and modification dates, which is often useful when trying to locate specific files. The choice of viewing style is preference. Windows Vista and Windows 7 add to your choice of views with Content and a variety of icon sizes (from small to extra large). Content will show details about the contents of your files, such as dimensions, file type, or size. The Thumbnails view has disappeared with the newer OSes, but do not fret, because for most graphic files, you can see the contents in the Content, Tiles, or larger Icons views.

In the address line near the top of the Computer window, you can type the name of the folder that you want to go to and directly switch to it. For example, you could type C:Windows to switch to the Windows folder.

When you select an item in the Computer window, you see properties for that item in a panel on the left side of the window in Windows XP, or at the bottom of the window in Windows Vista and Windows 7. With Windows XP, you will also see common tasks that can be performed on the selected item (dependent upon the window being large enough to display the information), while Windows 7 provides you with an optional Preview Pane. To display or hide the Preview, Navigation, or Details panes on Windows Vista or Windows 7, choose them from the Layout submenu of the Organize menu.

To explore many of the options for displaying information in the Computer window, open the Folder Options dialog box from the Tools menu in Windows XP, or the Folder and Search Options from the Organize menu in Windows 7/Vista.

If you open and explore the Folder Options, you will find options for browsing folders and opening folders, and how the Navigation pane will function all on the General tab. Many options are found on the View tab, including how to display files with the hidden attribute set, empty drives, system files, and file extensions. This tab also provides an option to apply these settings to all folders, as well as the option to reset folders to their default settings. Windows Vista and Windows 7 include a Search tab to adjust search settings, which include searching in system directories and displaying partial matches. To prepare for your A+ Certification exam, it is a good idea to review the settings that can be modified in the Folder Options dialog box.

Windows Explorer

By the end of this section, you will see that My Computer (or Computer) as an application does not actually exist. To open this application in Windows, choose Start⇒All Programs⇒Accessories⇒Windows Explorer. This opens a window like the one shown in Figure 2-7 for Windows XP. This window’s right-hand pane resembles My Computer and the left pane hierarchically displays all folders or containers on your computer, starting with Desktop and defaulting to My Documents or Documents in Windows Vista and Windows 7. The left pane — the Navigation pane or Folders Explorer Bar — is what makes Windows Explorer different from My Computer.

Now, you will see why a My Computer application does not really exist. In Windows XP, the top right of the Navigation pane is a small x, which is the close button for the navigation pane. If you select My Computer in the Navigation pane, close the navigation pane, and change the view to Icons for both Windows, you will see that this window is the same as the My Computer window. To show the Navigation pane, select View⇒Explorer Bar⇒Folders. The Navigation pane allows you to quickly move from one folder to another, or to copy files from one folder to another without opening multiple windows. Many Windows users prefer the Explorer view to the My Computer view of their files.

In summary, both views of your files use the same program: Windows Explorer or explorer.exe.

explorer.exe is not only used for My Computer and Windows Explorer. The first time it is run on your computer, it is launched as the desktop. If you close all open windows and check your Processes tab in Task Manager, you will see one copy of explorer.exe still running. If you right-click on explorer.exe in the processes list and choose End Process, your desktop will disappear, and you will see only your wallpaper. If explorer.exe does not automatically reload, choose Task Manager⇒File⇒New Task (Run) to open the Create New Task dialog box, type explorer.exe, and click OK to reload the desktop copy of explorer.exe.

To quickly open Windows Explorer, right-click My Computer and choose Explore from the shortcut menu. This Explore option shows up in the contextual menu for any folder. By default, Explore is not in the context menu of Windows 7. An even faster way to open Explorer: Press Windows key+E.

My Network Places

My Computer is great when you’re working with data stored on your computer, but in the connected world that we live in today, more and more of data that you need to work with is stored elsewhere — say, across a computer network. My Network Places (or Network Neighborhood in earlier versions of Windows) is the most convenient way to find those network resources. You can find My Network Places on your desktop and in your Start menu.

Using Windows XP, regularly visited network locations can be stored in My Network Places, making them easy to locate when returning to those locations. To add items to this list, click Add a Network Place (in the Network Tasks section of the left pane) to open the Add a Network Place Wizard. Then step through the wizard’s instructions.

Microsoft has removed My Network Places starting with Windows Vista.

Command line

The last way to get around on your computer is the oldest of the methods: the command line. Some people refer to this as MS-DOS, but when you’re dealing with Windows, you’re normally running the 32-bit command line application. This application can execute any command found on the system, but is most often used for commands without a Windows GUI component. Microsoft has command line tools available to perform most system management tasks from the command line, which is useful when troubleshooting or when creating scripts or batch files to perform tasks.

You access the command line in Windows XP by choosing Start⇒All Programs⇒Accessories⇒Command Prompt. Windows Vista and Windows 7 have it in the same location as Windows XP, but if you right-click it, you have the option of running it as the Administrator. Windows 7 allows you to hold Shift while right-clicking a folder and choose Open Command Window Here instead of having to navigate to the path from a command prompt.

Using Tools and Configuration Utilities

A computer’s configuration is very important for both cosmetic and functional reasons. In the following sections, you get a good look at the tools that you use to manage your system configuration.

Control panel applets

Most settings for your computer are stored in the Registry, but the Registry is a place where if you make an error while making changes, it can require that you reinstall your OS. To make your actions less prone to major errors, Microsoft created the Control Panel. The Control Panel contains applets that allow you to change many system settings without requiring you to make direct changes to the Registry. Control panel applets are the recommended method of changing most of your system settings. Table 2-3 provides a summary of each Control Panel applet and identifies on which OS(es) you’ll find them.

Table 2-3 Control Panel Applets

Control Panel Applet	Description
Accessibility Options	Changes settings for accessibility features for users with physical limitations.
Add Hardware	Runs a Plug and Play hardware detection of your computer to detect new hardware devices or allows you to manually select devices to install.
Add or Remove Programs (XP) Program and Features (Windows Vista and Windows 7)	Allows you to start the installation of programs, displays a list of installed programs that can be removed, and allows you to add or remove optional OS components (such as games).
Administrative Tools	Opens a folder that contains the Administrative Tools for Windows. These tools allow you to configure, manage, and control your Windows computer.
Automatic Updates	Configures the Automatic Update service on Windows and allows you to choose how and when your updates are installed.
Date and Time	Changes the system date, time, and time zone.
Display (XP) Personalization (Windows Vista and Windows 7)	Configures display options. This includes video card settings, screen resolution, color depth (number of colors), and color scheme.
Folder Options	Changes default folder options. These options are also available through the Windows Explorer Tools⇒Folder Options command.
Fonts	Displays a list of fonts installed on your computer, allows you to see what the fonts look like, and allows you to delete fonts from or copy fonts into the folder.
Game Controllers	Adds or removes game controllers and joysticks.
Internet Options	Configures Internet options and connection settings; clears your Temporary Internet Files and History folders.
Keyboard	Changes the sensitivity settings for your keyboard and the layout for your keyboard.
Licensing (Windows Server)	Available only on Windows servers; sets or changes the number of client access licenses that you have purchased.
Mail	Configures the mail system for the computer.
Mouse	Configures the orientation, motion, and double-click settings for your mouse.
Network Connections (XP) Network and Sharing Center (Windows Vista and Windows 7)	Configures connections to your network or other networks.
Network Setup Wizard	Sets up your computer to run on a small network; often used for home environments.
Phone and Modem Options	Configures dialing rules and modem settings.
Power Options	Configures power management settings for your computer.
Printers and Faxes (XP) Printers (Windows Vista and Windows 7)	Adds, removes, or configures printer settings and queues.
Regional and Language Options	Configures the OS to support different currency, numeric, date, and time settings for specific countries; inputs and displays languages.
Scanners and Cameras	Configures installed scanners and cameras.
Scheduled Tasks	Adds, modifies or deletes scheduled tasks.
Security Center	Configures and reviews security settings for the computer, including antivirus, Windows Firewall, and automatic updates.
Sounds and Audio Devices (XP) Sound (Windows Vista and Windows 7)	Sets sounds for system events, such as “window open” or “new mail”; configures audio or multimedia hardware.
Speech	Changes settings for text-to-speech systems or for voice recognition.
System	Configures advanced system settings for hardware and performance. These settings cover hardware profiles, found in Book VI, Chapter 1; remote settings; and system protection, found in Book VII, Chapter 3.
Taskbar and Start Menu (XP)	Configures settings for items displayed in the taskbar and the Start menu.
User Accounts	Configures user profiles and user settings.
Windows Firewall	Contains configuration settings for the Windows Firewall that comes with Windows XP Service Pack 2.
Windows Media Connect	Configures digital media devices.
Wireless Link	Configures infrared ports on system to send and receive files.
Wireless Network Setup Wizard	Wizard for setting up or adding to a wireless network at a small office or home.

All versions of Windows support several power options:

Power plans: Power plans are preset configuration options for power settings. The plans’ names and settings vary between versions of Windows. Power plans allow you to quickly switch between power configurations.

Sleep/Suspend: Sleep is a low-power configuration that powers down most of the components of the computer, but leaves some power running through the system memory. When the computer is activated again, all devices are powered back up and the system resumes normal operations. When the system is in Sleep mode, if power is lost, the data in memory is lost.

Windows 7 supports a setting called Hybrid Sleep, which puts the computer into Sleep mode and then writes memory data to the hard drive, in the same way as if it were preparing to hibernate, so that if power is lost, the contents of memory are still available. In Hybrid Sleep mode, the computer will resume quickly as in normal Sleep mode.

Standby: Windows XP supports a function called Standby, which operates the same as Sleep on Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Hibernate: To prevent data loss and reduce power requirements, Hibernate writes the contents of memory to a file on the hard drive and completely powers the computer off. In this case, power consumption is equal to that of a powered-off computer. When the computer is powered on, if the memory file exists, the memory information is loaded back into memory, and the computer is in the same operational state as when it went into hibernation.

Windows Vista has the following new Control Panel applets:

Tablet PC settings: These settings determine how tablet PC functions work, such as handwriting recognition operations and screen orientation on your tablet computer.

Pen and input devices: Touchscreen navigation, such as pen, pointer, and hand gesture settings, are controlled in this Control Panel applet.

Offline files: While even Windows XP supports offline files, Windows Vista adds a centralized control panel to control the configuration and monitoring of the offline files service. Monitoring of synchronization is performed through the Open Sync Center on the Tools menu of Windows Explorer.

Problem reports and solutions: When Windows applications or drivers crash, Windows creates a problem report. The Problem Reports and Solutions Control Panel applet allows you to see these reports and proposed solutions.

Windows 7 has the following new Control Panel applets:

Home Group: This Control Panel applet allows you to create or join a Home Group. A Home Group gives Windows 7 a simplified interface to configure sharing of files and resources between computers. Computers must be configured for the Home network location to participate in a Home Group.

Action Center: Windows 7 provides a central location for problem reports, solutions, and key security and maintenance information, and initiates a recovery to an earlier point of time.

RemoteApp and Desktop Connections: Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, through the improved Remote Desktop Services, allow the publishing of remote desktop sessions as well as single applications. This Control Panel applet is a client-side connection manager for these remote applications and sessions. This allows the management of these remote services to be centralized in a single ­location.

Microsoft Management Console

One common complaint about earlier versions of Windows was that you had to use a different management tool for every task. For example, Windows NT 4.0 has tools for managing users or computers in a network domain and locally on the computer, tools for managing performance, and tools for managing disks and disk partitions. With Windows 2000, Microsoft took steps to consolidate these disparate tools with the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), and although it has been upgraded, the MMC remains the main management interface for all newer versions of Windows.

The MMC is a framework into which other tools — snap-ins — can be loaded. All items that you see in your Administrative Tools folder represent MMC sessions configured with preset snap-ins. To see the raw interface, run mmc.exe from the Run command or from the command line.

Taskbar and notification area

To help you keep an eye on programs running on your computer and to allow you to switch quickly between running programs, Microsoft created the taskbar. Its default location is at the bottom of the desktop, but it is ­movable. The left end holds the Start menu, the other end holds has the system tray, or Systray. The space between holds tiles representing running applications. Starting with Windows XP, Microsoft renamed the system tray to the notification area.

Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Properties to modify settings for the taskbar and the notification area, such as auto-hiding the taskbar, displaying the Quick Launch toolbar, grouping buttons, showing the clock, and hiding inactive icons.

Start menu

If all the items on your desktop were missing, you would still be able to accomplish all that you need to do via the Start menu. The Windows 2000 Start menu was always very functional, but Windows XP introduced enhancements that put more resources (such as My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places) at your fingertips. Windows Vista took that a step further by streamlining the menus; providing an integrated Run/Search command; and removing “Start” from menu name (displaying only the Windows logo). With the variety of Start menu customizations that are available to you, you can still make the Windows 7 Start menu operate like the older versions of the Start menu operated.

The Start menu, like its name suggests, can be used to start most applications on your computer. Contrary to its name, you can also use it to shut down your computer.

Remote Desktop Connection

There are a number of tasks that you can perform on a remote computer, such as modifying files, changing printer settings, or editing the registry; but there are times that you want to launch and run applications on that computer, and it is at these times you would use Remote Desktop Connection to connect across a network to another computer and remotely take over the desktop or console. See Figure 2-8. The technology in use is the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) from Microsoft, which defines how to send key strokes and mouse movements across a network from one computer to another computer, and how to have what is displayed on the screen of a computer sent to another computer. Using these mechanisms, you can remotely use another computer on your network, just as if you were sitting in front of that computer.

From a computer running Remote Desktop Connection, you can connect to a virtual desktop on a server running Windows Server, which can support hundreds of remote users simultaneously. Or, you can connect to the desktop of a Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (not Home editions) computer. In either case, you can run applications on the remote computer as if you were sitting at the computer. Your computer passes mouse movements and keystrokes up the remote computer, and you see virtual screen shots of what is happening on the remote computer screen. Note: These are virtual screen shots because what you are seeing does not appear on the remote computer.

You can find Remote Desktop Connection in the Start menu under All Programs⇒Accessories⇒Communications, or you can launch it from the Run command by typing mstsc.exe.

Remote Desktop Connection, through RDP, is a great tool for remotely troubleshooting a variety of problems because it can give you control of a computer on a remote network as if you were sitting right in front of it.

To configure access to your computer from a remote computer, either by a Remote Desktop connection or a Remote Assistance connection, you will use the Remote Settings tab of the System Control Panel applet. To open these settings on Windows Vista or Windows 7, choose Start, right-click Computer, choose Properties, and choose Remote Settings. This dialog box allows you to have Remote Assistance sessions, as well as allows the ability to have Remote Desktop session connections to your computer. The Remote Desktop session can also be restricted to the newer and more secure version of the Remote Desktop Connection client software.

Remote Assistance

Remote Assistance allows you to ask for or provide help to another person using a distant computer by watching what that user is doing, or by taking control of that computer and having the user watch you.

Remote Assistance uses RDP just like Remote Desktop Connection, but the implementation is very different. As a CompTIA A+ Certified Professional, you will often be asked to help a remote user perform a series of tasks. Many users just need a bit of extra guidance to complete a task, or have a question about something onscreen. After being involved in many telephone conversions with remote users, I can honestly say that a picture is worth a thousand words — sometimes even two thousand. Having the user show you exactly what is happening — or being able to show the user exactly what to do — can save a great deal of time.

Here’s how Remote Assistance works:

1. A user who needs help goes to Help and Support in the Start menu and opens the Help and Support Center. (The remote help is here as well.)

2. With Windows XP, in the Ask for Assistance section is the Invite a Friend to Connect to Your Computer with Remote Assistance option; with Windows Vista, you see a link for Windows Remote Assistance; and in Windows 7, click More Support Options to see a link for Windows Remote Assistance. When the user chooses this and invites you to help, the user has the option of sending an invitation through Windows Messenger or e-mail, or by saving the invitation to a file. Windows 7 adds a key-based Easy Connect, where you simply need to provide the helper with your key.

Regardless of the send-message method used, an invitation file is generated, and this invitation is key to the Remote Assistance system.

3. When the tech opens the invitation, he can open the Remote Assistance application and connect to a user’s computer via RDP.

Remote Assistance requests are always initiated by the person requesting help.

The Remote Assistance application also provides a chat section as well as a section where you can see and/or control the remote system, as shown in Figure 2-9. Unlike Remote Desktop Connection, with Remote Assistance, both the local and remote user can see what is going on with the problem computer and can communicate with a built-in Chat application.

Location of Major Files

Many types of files are stored on your Windows computer, and most of these files have standard locations where you can expect to find them. This section looks at the major types of files.

User files

Since Windows NT 4.0 was released, all user-related files have been placed in C:Documents and Settings, with each user having a folder in that directory. This location holds all files related to or that are personal to that user. This user-specific folder is called the user profile, and it includes the following folders:

Desktop

Application Data

Temporary Files

Documents

Start Menu

Windows Vista and Windows 7 have the same basic structure, but they store all this data in the C:Users folder.

System files

In addition to a number of user useful programs, the Windows OS has certain files required to make the computer operate. The files that are required to make the computer operate are found primarily in the Windows directory. Without these files, the OS would not function. For several generations of Windows, these files have been stored in the folder named C:Windows. Two main subdirectories, named System and System32, hold critical files for the OS, such as DLLs.

Fonts

Each font or typeface in use in the OS has its information stored in a file in C:WindowsFonts. There is one file for each version of each typeface. Font files typically have one of two file extensions: .ttf or .fon.

Temporary files

Temporary files are stored separately for each user within their user profile directory. This allows for security to be placed on each user’s temporary files, allowing these temporary files to be kept private and any sensitive data to be kept secure.

Program files

As I mention in the preceding section on System files, some files that ship as part of the OS are critical to the functioning of the OS, but other files that ship as part of the OS are not. For example, Wordpad.exe and MSHearts.exe are part of the OS (and are useful and fun), but the OS would continue to function without issue if these files were missing. The majority of these noncritical files are stored in the Program files directory, which is C:Program Files, but if you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, you will find these files in either C:Program Files or C:Program Files (x86) depending on whether the application is 32-bit or 64-bit.

Offline files and folders

When accessing files on a shared folder of another computer over a network, Windows can sync these files automatically to your hard drive. When this happens, the files are put into a folder, but you can still refer to them using their original path, such as \<Server><Share><Synced File>. These files are stored in a cache, which has a finite size. As total storage reaches the limit of the cache, the oldest nonchanging files are flushed to make room for new files.

Examining Windows Vista and Windows 7 Features

You will find many new features and functions with Windows Vista and Windows 7. The following sections introduce you to some of the features that are most important.

Aero Desktop

Windows Vista introduced the world to the Aero Desktop, which allows visual effects such as animations, glass windows, custom tints, and thumbnail previews, to list just a few.

Sidebar and Gadgets

Windows Vista introduced the Sidebar and Gadgets, which allow small applications to display various types of information in an area on the side of your screen. These applications include calendars, resource monitors, weather apps, slide shows, and currency converters. Windows 7 takes this a step further by not limiting the gadget area to the Sidebar. You find more coverage on the Sidebar and Gadgets in Book V, Chapter 1.

User Account Control

To increase security and reduce the risk of accidental changes happening on your computer, Microsoft has introduced User Account Control (UAC). Many of the changes you make on your computer can have serious implications to the overall system stability. When UAC is enabled, all major system changes require acknowledgment before committing to changes. When configuration applications are launched, or when changes are detected, UAC presents a confirmation dialog box. To find out more about UAC, review Chapter 2 of Book IX.

BitLocker drive encryption

Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise editions include BitLocker, which is a low-level hard drive encryption component that can encrypt the entire contents of a disk volume. After you enable this feature, all files that you save to your hard drive volume are automatically encrypted. While you can access these files without additional effort, others will need to enter your password to gain access to the files. Not only are you able to encrypt volumes on your internal drive, but BitLocker-To-Go also allows you to encrypt a removable flash drive.

ReadyBoost

The ReadyBoost feature is an example of a little going a long way. On a computer with a standard hard drive, there is a penalty every time you read data from the drive, due to the rotational nature of the drive, which means the heads of the drive need to wait for the data that you are looking for to be present under the drive heads. This is called seek time. SSD (Solid State Drives) do not have this problem as data is stored in flash memory rather than on disk platters. Drive manufacturers use small amounts of fast cache memory to offset the issue through a system of read-ahead caching, where the drive guesses what data you want next by using a formula or algorithm.

ReadyBoost take read-ahead caching a step further by allowing you to attach flash media to your computer (in the form of USB flash drives, SD cards, or CompactFlash), and then using that media as additional fast cache memory. By increasing the amount of cache you have available, Windows 7 increases the effectiveness of read-ahead caching.

To enable or disable ReadyBoost on your flash media, use the Ready Boost tab from the media Properties dialog. To open the Properties dialog, right-click the drive in Computer and select Properties.

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

VSS is an application programming interface (API) that supports copying data at a low level of the file system. It offers the benefit of being able to copy files that are open and being accessed, which it does by temporarily placing the files in a locked state. The magic of VSS is how it instantaneously locks the drive, but then creates a copy of any files to which a write or commit data operation is issued. When the write operation is requested for a file, VSS then creates a copy of the file in the VSS cache before actually performing the write operation to the file on the disk. This action is called copy on write.

In addition to the core API, VSS copies of drives can be scheduled, which causes any new file writes to be committed to a new copy of the files. This is managed on the fly at the file system level.

System Restore

Windows client operating systems have a system of restore points that are created automatically or manually. Automatic restore points are created when major events happen, such as application installations, driver installations, or other similar events. The process of reverting to a restore point is called System Restore. Full coverage of recovery points and the System Restore process is found in Book VII, Chapter 3.

Compatibility Mode

With each new version of Windows that arrives on the market, some applications do not operate in the new OS. To assist with getting these applications to work, Microsoft offers a series tweaks that can be enabled for the application through its Properties dialog box. These options have been growing since Windows XP. To increase your knowledge about Compatibility Mode, look at Book VI, Chapter 2.

XP Mode

Taking application compatibility further, Windows 7 offers the addition of the Microsoft Virtual PC with a copy of Windows XP installed. This Virtual PC is used to run Windows XP–compatible applications in a seamless window on a Windows 7 computer. You can read more about XP Mode in Book VI, Chapter 2.

Easy Transfer

Upgrading to a new computer can be a large pain. Windows XP had the File and Settings Transfer Wizard, which has been dramatically improved with Windows 7. The new version makes it easy for you to transfer your files, e-mail, pictures, and settings from your old computer to your new computer. While this tool comes with Windows 7, you can download components for Windows XP and Windows Vista, allowing you to transfer your information to your new Windows 7 computer.

Security Center

As part of the Microsoft tool consolidation process, the Security Center represents Windows Vista’s one-stop security shop. By opening the Security Center, or by paying attention to the warnings in your system tray when you have a problem, the Security Center attempts to keep your computer safe. If any of the four security categories is not functioning correctly, you will get a red shield showing up in the system tray. The four categories of security items are as follows:

Windows Update: The ideal configuration for updating is by configuring automatic updates. If automatic updates are not configured, you will see either a yellow or red warning.

Windows Defender: To protect against malware, Trojans, and unwanted software, Microsoft includes Windows Defender with the Windows OS. This has been superseded by Microsoft Security Essentials, which also includes antivirus functionality. Book IX, Chapter 3 has more information on antivirus and antimalware software.

Windows Firewall: Firewall software is critical in keeping prying eyes away from your computer over the network. Windows provides system firewall software. System Center provides you with a quick insight into its current level of functionality. Firewalls are covered in Book IX, Chapter 2.

Other security settings: In addition to these settings, the last category in System Center currently includes User Account Control settings as well as Internet security settings.

Windows 7 provides all this information in the Action Center under a Security category, with the same data broken down in the categories of Network Firewall, Windows Update, Virus Protection, Spyware and unwanted software protection, Internet security settings, User Account Control, and Network Access Protection (which is additional network-level security that can be controlled at the network level).

Event Viewer

Many components of the Windows OS log information when certain events happen. The events may be informational, warnings, or critical items. Windows logs them to one of three logs: System, Security, or Application. These logs can be viewed with the Event Viewer, which is discussed in depth in Book VI, Chapter 4.

Administrative tools

In addition to the Event Viewer, many administrative tools are covered throughout this book. These tools include Component Services, Computer Management, Data Sources (ODBC), Event Viewer, iSCSI Initiator, Local Security Policy, Performance Monitor, Print Management, Services, System Configuration, Task Scheduler, Windows Firewall, Windows Memory Diagnostics, and Windows PowerShell Modules.

Control Panel views

With every generation of the Windows OS, the number of Control Panel items grows. To deal with this sprawl, Microsoft created Category View for the Control Panel. This view takes all the icons and places them within eight to ten categories (depending on the OS). Windows 7 uses these categories by default: System and Security; Network and Internet; Hardware and Sound; Programs; User Account and Family Safety; Appearance and Personalization; Clock, Language, and Region; and Ease of Access. All the other Control Panel applets are placed into one of these categories.

While the Category view was designed to make Windows easier to use and navigate, users familiar with the old, flat folder structure can be at a loss to find what they are looking for. Because of this, you will find an option in Windows Vista to switch to Classic View, which simply shows all the Control Panel applets. In Windows 7, you find a small menu giving you the options of viewing by Category, Large Icons, or Small Icons (where the icon views are equivalent to Classic View).

Client-Side Virtualization

Virtualization refers to the creation of one or more virtual computers to run software existing on the physical computer. The computer that plays host to these virtual computers runs a piece of software called a hypervisor. The hypervisor manages the virtual computer, which, like a physical computer, is made up of a processor, RAM, hard drive, and other peripherals; but limits exist as to what hardware can be virtualized. The hypervisor starts the virtual machine and allows the installation of an OS onto the virtual computer.

From a management perspective, each of these virtual computers is a full-fledged computer running an OS. But in actuality, all the running virtual computers are sharing the resources of the host computer running the hypervisor. Because this topic is client-side virtualization, some common desktop hypervisors include the following:

Microsoft Virtual PC

VMware Workstation

VMware Player

Boches

Parallels Workstation

Parallels Desktop for Mac

By using virtual computers, you are able to create an entire test lab of servers and workstations on a single computer. While this is possible, remember that each virtual computer you start up is going to attempt to use resources of the host to perform operations. So if I have a computer with 8GB of RAM and I start up three virtual computers, each using all of an allocated 2GB of RAM, I only have 2GB of RAM for operations on my computer. Many hypervisors allow me to oversubscribe, so I could start up six computers, each with 2GB of RAM, on my 8GB computer. But as you can guess, if they all try to use all their memory, my host computer will start paging a substantial amount of data to the hard drive, slowing all of the virtual computers. This issue of resources is not only true about RAM but also CPU cycles, disk access, and network access. Oversubscribing is possible, but you should avoid it if you want good performance.

Many modern processors and motherboard BIOS configurations now have virtualization options that must be enabled if you are going to run a hypervisor on them. In some cases, your software will not install if these options are not enabled, and when this happens, it will usually tell you in the error message that the BIOS settings must be enabled to permit installation or operation.

On the security front, no physical console can be accessed for the virtual computer. But anyone who has access to the console of the host potentially has access to all the virtual computers on the host. While each of the virtual computers has an operating system that is just as susceptible to virus and malware infection, the host OS can be secured, because it only needs to provide the virtualization interface.

Getting an A+

This chapter takes a look at the major functions of an OS; to be prepared for the exam, you should remember the following:

The OS is responsible for managing the interface between all hardware components that make up your computer.

General Protection Faults (GPFs) and Stop errors are often a result of applications trying to cross memory boundaries.

Virtual memory is composed of physical memory or RAM and space on your hard drive, in the form of a paging file.

NTFS is the most robust and stable of the available file systems but is compatible with the fewest other OSes.

System and application settings are stored in the Registry or in INI files.

explorer.exe makes up most graphical navigation of your computer and is represented as both My Computer and the desktop.

Control Panel applets offer interfaces to many system settings for your computer.

Remote access to computers is available through both Remote Desktop Connections and Remote Assistance, both of which rely on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

Prep Test

1 Phil is using a Windows XP computer and has run into a problem. He has called you on the phone and has asked for you to open a Remote Assistance connection to his computer to walk him through the solution. What is the first step that you must take?

A Open the Remote Desktop Connections program.

B Ask Phil to choose Help and Support from the Start menu.

C Ask Phil to run geninvite.exe from Start⇒Run.

D Open the Remote Assistance program on your computer, File⇒Connect to computer, and choose Phil’s computer.

2 Virtual memory is composed of which of the following? (Choose all that apply.)

A Physical memory

B Extended memory

C Hard drive space

D Compressed memory

3 Bill is looking to see whether he has Service Pack 2 installed for Windows XP. He went to the System Information Tool located at Start⇒All Programs⇒Accessories⇒System Tools. Is there a quicker way he could have found out this information?

A He could have used the Run command to run systemtool.exe.

B He could have right-clicked My Computer on the desktop, or from the Start menu, and chosen Properties.

C He could have used the command line tool ver from any command prompt.

D There are no other locations in the OS where this information can be displayed.

4 You launched an MS-DOS application on your Windows computer. When you open Task Manager to see how much processing time the application is taking, you don’t see it listed. Why is that?

A The application is running inside an NTVDM.

B MS-DOS applications are not listed on the Processes tab.

C The application is listed, but the Processes tab list is using the name stored in the header of the application rather than the executable name.

D You should check the list again because all running processes are listed, and you must have missed the name.

5 Your computer has just suffered from a Stop event (also known as the Blue Screen of Death). You are trying to decide what has caused the error. What is the most likely possibility?

A A multimedia application

B A background application

C A network error

D A system device driver

6 Bill is setting up a computer that will be used to boot into several different operating systems. He would like to have one partition used for sharing or transferring data between the OSes. What file system should he use?

A FAT

B FAT32

C NTFS

D Reiser FS

7 What tool combines all Windows configuration and management tools into one place?

A Computer Management

B Administrative Tools

C Microsoft Management Console

D Administrative Command Interface

8 What is the main protocol that is used by both Remote Desktop Connection and Remote Assistance?

A Dec/Net

B 802.11g

C SNMP

D RDP

Answers

1 B. The Remote Assistance process starts with an invitation being generated by the person requesting help. This invitation is created using the Help and Support Center. See “Remote Desktop Connection” and “Remote Assistance.”

2 A, C. Virtual memory is composed of both physical RAM and a swap or paging file on the hard drive. Review “Paging your memory.”

3 B. You can also launch the System Information tool by typing winmsd.exe or msinfo.exe at the Run command. In addition to this, you can find the info on the System Properties, which can be opened by accessing the Properties of My Computer. Check out “Checking the OS version.”

4 A. The application is running inside one of the NTVDMs that are listed. Peruse “Getting into the architecture.”

5 D. Most blue-screen errors are the result of conflicts between processes running kernel mode, which would include device drivers. This is not to say that the multimedia application may not have made some unsupported calls to a sound or video card to cause the problem, but this would have been the second choice. Take a look at “Getting into the architecture.”

6 A. Although it has size limitations of 2 to 4GB depending on the OS used, the FAT system is the most compatible with different operating systems. Peek at “Choosing your file systems.”

7 C. Although Computer Management has a lot of management tools in it, it is itself a snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Administrative Tools are also a collection of preset MMC snap-ins. Look over “Microsoft Management Console.”

8 D. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is used by both of these tools. Study “Remote Desktop Connection” and “Remote Assistance.”