REVIEWING THE BASICS 1. Blue screen errors happen when which type of processes encounter an error? Processes running in kernel mode 2. Which Vista tool keeps a record of STOP errors and allows you to view a history of these errors? Problem Reports and Solutions 3. When you allow Windows XP Error Reporting to send a report to Microsoft of an error, what does Microsoft give in return? Suggestions as to how to deal with the error 4. What is the command to use the Vista Memory Diagnostics tool? Mdsched.exe 5. What method can you use to test memory on a Windows XP system by using the Vista Memory Diagnostics tool without having to install Vista on the system? Boot the system from the Windows Vista DVD and click Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool under the System Recovery Options 6. What is the command to use the System File Checker to immediately verify system files? To verify system files on the next restart? sfc /scannow, sfc /scanonce 7. Why might it not be wise to use the Driver Verifier tool on a computer that serves up files to an office of 10 people? Because the tool degrades performance and can cause a STOP error 8. A blue screen error halts the system while it is booting, and the booting starts over in an endless loop of restarts. How can you solve this problem? Boot the system in Safe Mode, go to the System Properties window, and uncheck the Automatically Restart box. 9. What three Windows tools can be used to verify that a driver is digitally signed?
File Signature Verification, Driver Query, and Device Manager 10. What does Windows call the process of undoing a driver update? Rolling back the driver 11. Is the BootMgr file stored in the boot partition or the system partition? System partition 12. Where is the master boot record (MBR) located? First sector of the hard drive 13. What is the name of the Windows Vista boot loader program? Where is the program located? WinLoad.exe, C:\Windows\System32 14. What is the name of the Vista kernel program? Ntoskrnl.exe 15. What is the name of the program that manages Windows logon? Winlogon.exe 16. Which registry hive is loaded first during Windows startup? The System hive 17. Where does Windows store device driver files? C:\Windows\System32\Drivers 18. What is the first thing that BIOS checks? Startup BIOS first checks all the essential hardware components to make sure they re working. 19. Which key do you press to launch the Advanced Boot Options window during Windows startup? F8 20. What can you assume about the Vista startup when you see the progress bar on screen? The Windows graphics subsystem is running and the kernel has successfully loaded 21. When is the Windows startup process completed?
The Windows startup is officially completed when the Windows desktop appears and the wait circle disappears. 22. At what point in Windows startup are the settings that are called the Last Known Good Configuration saved? When the user logs onto Windows 23. What command in Windows RE can you use to rebuild the BCD file? Bootrec /rebuildbcd 24. What command in Windows RE gives you opportunity to manage partitions and volumes installed on the system? diskpart 25. Which log in Vista Event Viewer only tracks errors and warnings? The Administrative Events log 26. If you are having a problem with a driver, which of the following is the least invasive solution: update the driver or use System Restore? Update the driver 27. What tool can you use to stop a program that is hung? Task Manager 28. If an application works when the system is loaded in Safe Mode, but does not work when Windows is loaded normally, what can you assume? The problem is not with the application but with the OS, device drivers, or other programs loaded at startup. 29. What are the three stages of the Vista startup process? Before the progress bar appears, after the progress bar appears and before logon, after logon 30. What is the name of the log file and its location that is created when you enabled boot logging from the Advanced Boot Options startup menu? C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt
31. In the Windows 2000/XP boot process, what file reads and loads the boot menu? Ntldr 32. Where is the Boot.ini file stored? Root directory of the system partition (usually C:\) 33. What two subfolders in the C:\Windows\system32 folder contain files needed for Windows startup? \config and \drivers THINKING CRITICALLY 1. When the Windows Vista registry is corrupted and you cannot boot from the hard drive, what tool or method is the best option to fix the problem? a. Boot into Safe Mode and use System Restore to repair the registry b. Use the Last Known Good Configuration on the Advanced Boot Options menu c. Use commands from the Windows Recovery Environment to recover the registry from backup d. Reinstall Windows Vista using the Complete PC Restore process Answer: c. Use commands from the Windows Recovery Environment to recover the registry from backup 2. Your Windows XP system boots to a blue screen and no desktop. What do you do first? a. Reinstall Windows XP b. Attempt to boot into the Advanced Options menu c. Attempt to boot into the Recovery Console
d. Attempt to use the Automated System Recovery Answer: b. Attempt to boot into the Advanced Options menu 3. You have important data on your hard drive that is not backed up and your Windows installation is so corrupted you know that you must repair the entire installation. What do you do first? Why? a. Use System Restore b. Make every attempt to recover the data c. Perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Vista d. Reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows Vista Answer: b. Make every attempt to recover the data because the data might or definitely will be destroyed when using any of the other options 4. As a helpdesk technician, list four good detective questions to ask if a user calls to say, My PC won t boot. Answers will vary, but might include: What happens when you push the start button? Is the switch on the rear of the case turned on? Is the power strip turned on? Do you see anything on your screen? Do you see lights on the monitor or computer case? Have you recently installed any new hardware or software? When was the last time your PC booted correctly? What has happened in the meantime? 5. Reword the following questions that might be asked when interviewing a user over the telephone. Your new questions should reflect a more positive attitude toward the user. a. Did you drop your laptop?
b. Did you forget to recharge the laptop battery? c. You say the problem is that Microsoft Word is giving an error, but do you really know how to use that application? Answers will vary, but may include: a. Is it possible that the laptop might have been dropped? b. When was the last time the battery was recharged? c. Could you please tell me exactly what the error message says?