Exam Basics
Unlike the A+ Core Hardware exam -- which, as its name implies, deals with hardware components and related issues -- the A+ OS exam (#220-222) measures the operating system-related skills required of a service technician with at least six months of on-the-job experience. Those of you who may be unfamiliar with Linux/Unix need not worry, however. The OS exam focuses on Windows 9x, Windows NT and Windows 2000, covering issues such as installing, configuring, upgrading and troubleshooting, as well as general networking issues.

The adaptive version of the Operating System Technologies exam goes live Aug. 31. It contains 20 to 30 questions, and is based on a scale from 100 to 1300. The minimum passing score is 596. With the new adaptive format, the maximum time allotted for the exam is 30 minutes (a score determination can be made before the maximum time expires, however, and once your score is determined, the exam will shut itself off). The price of the exam is $82 for CompTIA members, and $132 for non-members. The OS exam can be taken at either VUE or Prometric testing centers.

Following is a list of the domains covered by the A+ Operating System Technologies exam, as well as their respective weighting.
Domain Percentage of Exam:

• OS Fundamentals (30 percent)
• Installation, Configuration and Upgrading (15 percent)
• Diagnosing and Troubleshooting (40 percent)
• Networks (15 percent)

To download the complete list of objectives from CompTIA's Web site, click here.

Get Ready for Win2K
What's new in CompTIA's A+ Operating System Technologies exam? In a word: Win2K. The exam features a number of Win2K-related questions. Although you should certainly understand the Windows 9x and NT versions as well, this section looks at a few components with which you might not be familiar if you're inexperienced using Win2K. (For more information about Win2K, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.asp.)

Win2K Components
This section highlights the Win2K components covered by the A+ exam objective 1.1:

• REGEDT32 -- Originally conceived to edit the Windows NT Registry, REGEDT32 is now used to edit the Win2K Registry. REGEDT32 has a user interface that consists of separate Windows for each Registry tree.
• REGEDIT -- The origins of REDEDIT go back to Windows 3.0, where its purpose was to register applications with the operating system. When Windows 95 was released, its purpose was expanded to be able to store operating system settings, as well as application settings. It now serves the same function in Win2K.
• RUN CMD -- Clicking Start, Run and then entering CMD will bring up the command-line interface. This has the same functionality as COMMAND.COM in Windows 95/98. To view the available commands, type Help. This will bring up a summary page showing some of the most commonly used commands.

The following four files are required in the root directory of the system partition:

• BOOT.INI -- The BOOT.INI file is a text file that is created automatically during the initial Win2K installation. It lists the operating systems that are available to NTLDR, and also tells NTLDR where to find the boot partition. You can edit the BOOT.INI file with a text editor, or by selecting the Control Panel's System applet. Once there, click the Advanced tab and then click the Startup and Recovery button to see the BOOT.INI options.
• NTLDR -- NTLDR is started by the master boot record upon startup. NTLDR reads the BOOT.INI file to determine which operating systems are currently available. Once it determines which operating systems are available, NTLDR launches Win2K (or another operating system).
• NTDETECT.COM -- NTDETECT.COM is the function in Win2K that performs a system hardware test during startup. This test examines the hard drive, serial and parallel ports, memory, the keyboard and mouse bus, and the processor, and then passes that info on to NTLDR.
• NTBOOTDD.SYS -- If the boot partition sits on a SCSI drive that also lacks a ROM chip for BIOS support, you will need NTBOOTDD.SYS. This file allows NTLDR to gain access to the SCSI boot partition.

Win2K Networking Components
This section discusses a few of the Win2K components that aid in networking computers and systems together. Some of them are completely new; others are upgrades of previous components.

• Computer Management -- Computer Management is a snap-in console that makes up the Administrative Tools Control Panel. The Computer Management console enables you to manage local or remote computers from a single desktop. It consolidates many of the Win2K administration utilities into a single console. You can utilize Computer Management to monitor system events, view device configurations, and add new device drivers.
• Microsoft Management Console -- The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is the shell program that contains the various snap-ins used to control and configure Win2K. The MMC starts out as a blank template, through which you can add various snap-in components. From there you can rename it, and save it in a specific location, such as the desktop. Components that can be added to the MMC include Device Manager, Disk Management, Event Viewer, Component Services, ActiveX Control, as well as others.
• Active Directory -- Probably the most significant change to Win2K in regards to networking is the implementation of Active Directory. With Active Directory, the previous functionality of Windows NT domains is extended significantly. Through the use of Active Directory, every network component (client, printer, shared folder and domain, for example) is seen as an object. In the Active Directory system, user, group and computer accounts can be grouped together into organizational units (OUs). In addition, an Active Directory domain structure can be divided into forests and trees for ease of administration.
• NTFS 5.0 -- NTFS first appeared in Windows NT. The latest version, 5.0, ships with Win2K, and offers some improvements over previous iterations of NTFS and older file systems like FAT, FAT16 and FAT32. One of those advantages is that NTFS does not restrict the number of entries in the root folder. NTFS also supports compression on volumes, folders and files, and is also recoverable as a file system. In addition, NTFS 5.0 supports encryption, volume naming, disk quotas and dynamic drives.

And this is just the beginning of your Win2K education. For more on Win2K, I suggest starting with a visit to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.asp.

Let's Play 20 Questions
Here are some sample questions to give you an idea of what you'll see on the A+ Operating System Technologies exam.

1. A fellow Windows 2000 administrator is complaining that she cannot set any NTFS permissions on a folder. What is the first thing you should check?

A. Whether the folder is in an upper memory area
B. Whether the folder is on an NTFS partition
C. Whether the user profiles have been changed
D. The user's password

2. When an attempt to install Windows NT or Windows 2000 fails, which type of error message usually displays?

A. A Stop message
B. A Compatibility message
C. A Configuration message
D. A Reboot message

3. If you find corrupted Windows 98 files in the system, what should you do?

A. Copy new ones onto the drive from the installation CD
B. Run Setup using the distribution CD and the Validate/Restore option
C. Run Setup using your backup medium and the Validate/Restore option
D. Upgrade to Windows 2000

Answers to Sample Questions

1. B. When a Windows 2000 user complains that she cannot set any NTFS permissions, you should first check whether the folder is on an NTFS partition.

2. A. When an attempt to install Windows NT/2000 fails, a Stop screen error normally results. Stop errors occur when Windows NT/2000 detects a condition from which it cannot recover.

3. B. If you find corrupted Windows 98 files in the system, you cannot just copy new ones onto the drive from the CD. Instead, you must run Setup using the distribution CD and the Validate/Restore option.

You'll find the rest of the questions at http://www.certificationcorner.com/ems.html.

Have questions for Jeff about the A+ OS exam or feedback on this column? Post your comments below!