System Utilities( Comptia Objective 1.5)

Question 1

What is the Run line and what can it be used for?

Answer 1

• Can be used to start an application by typing the command name for that application after hitting the Run key( Windows key +R) instead of using the graphical interface.
• You simply type the name of the application you want to run inside of the run window and hit enter( Note you have to be more specific than using the actual search bar

Question 2

You can use the search bar, run or command prompt to?

Answer 2

• Specify applications/utilities to open instead of using the GUI. Personally i find the search bar the best as you don’t need to be exact with the name of the application or utility or it’s file extension. Both Run and command line are very specific in their syntax used.

Question 3

How can you open the Windows command prompt ?

Answer 3

• search “cmd” in the search bar or under RUN.
• There is a lot of power and options inside of the command line if you know the appropriate commands to complete your desired actions.
• can be much faster to complete a bunch of tasks inside of the command line as opposed to using the GUI.

Question 4

Where can you configure various parts of the operating system or various applications and file settings inside of Windows?

Answer 4

• The Windows Registry(“regedit”)
• Is a big huge master database
• Has a hierarchical structure
• Used by almost everything ( kernel, device drivers, services, security account manager, user interface, applications etc)
• To make changes to an application or a service inside of windows you would commonly use the registry to achieve this.
• Before making changes to the registry it is extremely important to Backup you existing registry in case something goes wrong you can always revert back to the original settings.

Question 5

Outside of the GUI what are a couple of other ways to start up the services utility?

Answer 5

• Either hit the windows key then hit r( for Run) and type “services.msc” or go into command prompt and type “ services.msc.
• Can also be accessed with the graphical user interface under the control panel then going into administrative tools and then services.
• This is useful when troubleshooting the startup process.
• You can control background applications
• *** NOTE some services are dependent on other applications/services to run. So if you disable something it may break something else. But if you go into the services window and double click on the service you want to find out info on and go to the dependencies tab it will show any other services/compontents that that service is dependent on as well any other services/components that are dependent on the selected service.

Question 6

How can you access the Microsoft Management Console?

Answer 6

• type mmc into either the search bar, run window or command prompt.

Question 7

What is the Microsoft Management Console used for?

Answer 7

• Used to build your own management framework. You choose a bunch of admin tools used on a regular basis such as event viewer, task manager, device manager, local users and groups etc and add them as a snap into one single utility.
• Framework used for many built-in management tools.
• You can then save your console with your added snapins so that each time you boot up mmc it will have all of the tools you added from before.

Question 8

What is the name of the utility used for the Remote Desktop Connection and what is it used for?

Answer 8

• “mstsc” or Microsoft Terminal Services Client( Remote Desktop Connection)
• Can be accessed by typing into the command line “ mstsc” or in the run or search window as well.
• Can be used to type in the name of a remote computer e.g. “ remote.professormesser.com” and then access a desktop on another computer or connect to a Terminal Server.
• Commonly used in management for use with “ headless servers”( a Device that doesn’t have a monitor, keyboard/mouse etc)

Question 9

What is the Notepad and what is it used for?

Answer 9

• Used to easily view and edit text files
• You’ll use a lot of text files and it’s a handy utility to view text from things such as log files and edit them etc.
• Can be accessed by typing notepad in the command line, run window or into the searchbar itself.

Question 10

What is the new name for Windows Explorer in Windows 10? And what is it used for?

Answer 10

• Now known as File Explorer in Windows 10 but formally Windows explorer in prior versions of windows.
• Used for file management and navigating directories, folders, drives, files etc.
• Hierarchal based using folders/drives.
• Can view, copy, remove, move files all within one place and provides granular control.
• Also provides a way to access network resources( browse and view).

Question 11

If you ever not sure what type of System you are working on or it’s built in hardware what utility can you use to view this info?

Answer 11

• “msinfo32” otherwise known as the Windows System Information or just “ System Information”
• Provides a wealth of knowledge including:
• CPU, version of windows, other hardware resources
• Under the components menu can see multimedia info, display info and input and network info as well.
• Also provides DMA, IRQs, confict info as well.
• Software environment menu provides info such as drivers, print jobs, running tasks etc.

Question 12

What is “dxdiag” what is it and how can it be accessed?

Answer 12

• DirectX Diagnostic Tool used to manage your DirectX installation this API (application programming interface) that many developers use to create applications that deal with multimedia or graphics inside Windows operating system.
• If you are having any video related issues you can boot up the tool by typing “dxdiag” into the search bar, run window or command line.
• Allows you view direcx overview for things such as 3d graphics, audio and input options will automatically run a test and tell you if it finds any errors.

Question 13

What is the defrag utility? What is it used for and how can it be accessed?

Answer 13

• Used for Disk defragmentation
• Move file fragments so they are contiguous and not spread out over the system making read and write speeds faster for spinning hard disk drives.
• ** Note disk defragmentation is not necessary on SSD’s as there are not moving parts associated with those types of drives.
• Disk defragmentation can be accessed by either typing “defrag” into the search bar, run window or command line or going into the control panel under Administrative tools and selecting “ Defragment and optimize drives”
• Note in order to run the defrag utility at the command line you must have elevated permissions and be in administrator mode in the command line in order to operate it. an example of defragging a hard drive in the command line would be to type “ defrag “ or defrag C:

Question 14

If you ever wanted to take your system configuration and go back in time to a prior configuration to correct problems what utility could you use?

Answer 14

• System Restore
• Creates frequent restore points and provides a way to go back in time to correct problems and to a time where the system was more stable.
• Can be accessed by hitting F8 during the bootup process choosing the advanced boot options and then selecting “repair”
• Can also be accessed in Windows 7/8/8.1 and Windows 10 inside of the control panel under “ Recovery”
• *** NOte performing a system restore doesn’t guarantee recovery from viruses and spyware as these often infect the restore points as well.

Question 15

What is the Windows Update utility used for?

Answer 15

• Keep your OS up to date with security patches, drivers bug fixes etc.
• Usually performs updates automatically but can be configured to download and then wait for you to confirm when to install it. ( You control the time) .
• Or can be configured to check for an update for not download or install until you say so. This can save bandwidth
• Windows update can configured to never check for updates but this is just simply something you should never do.