3/29/2003 -- In the previous article, we just stared examining the Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional exam (70-210) from Microsoft.

As mentioned then, exam can be used as credit on both the MCSA and MCSE tracks, and consists of seven major objective categories:

• Installing Windows 2000 Professional
• Implementing and Conducting Administration of Resources
• Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers
• Monitoring and Optimizing System Performance and Reliability
• Configuring and Troubleshooting the Desktop Environment
• Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Network Protocols and Services
• Configuring, Managing, and Troubleshooting Security

The complete list of objectives for this exam can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-210.asp.

In this article, we'll finish up the second objective and delve into three and four, with one more article later on the last three. The focus of all these articles is examining the material necessary to know to pass this exam.

Objective #2: Implementing and Conducting Administration of Resources (Continued)

Configuring the File Systems
After a partition/volume has been formatted with a file system, it can be managed with the Computer Management Console -- an Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in.

From the Disk Management portion of the Computer Management Console, you can format and delete partitions, as well as change drive letter assignments and bring up the properties for each volume. If the volume is formatted with NTFS, properties available only within that file system can be accessed on those volumes. The properties of a FAT volume consist of four tabs, whereas the properties of an NTFS volume consist of six tabs (adding Security and Quota).

You can start defragmentation (which is now available for all file systems) from the Computer Management Console. In addition, you can use the disk-scanning feature to determine the health of a hard disk.

FAT/FAT32 File Attributes
Which attributes you can assign to a file varies greatly depending on the file system you choose. In both the FAT and FAT32 file systems, your choices are limited to the following:

• Read-Only
• Hidden (from command-line listings and Explorer, if Explorer is configured to not show all files)
• Archive (included in the next differential or incremental backup)
• System

There is an interesting change between Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 in the way the System attribute is displayed. In Windows NT 4.0, the System attribute was represented by a check box on the General tab of the Properties dialog box for a file. In Windows 2000, that check box does not appear, but the fact that the file is flagged as such is still displayed in the Explorer interface.

NOTE: Explorer recognizes that the System attribute is enabled for this file. In Windows 2000, there is no System check box.

NTFS File Attributes
In NTFS, you can assign the same file attributes you could in FAT/FAT32, but additional choices have been added. You can now perform the following tasks:

• Index the file for faster finding
• Compress the file
• Encrypt the file

Note that the distinction between the file systems does not end with the attributes available from the General tab. Although the General tab is the only tab available under FAT/FAT32, NTFS offers two additional tabs: Summary and Security.

The Summary tab merely allows you to enter or view information about the file's description and origin. Such information can include the author, subject, category, and comments.

The Security tab allows you to assign permissions for the file to individual users or groups or combinations thereof. NTFS offers five distinct rights, each of which you can specifically allow or deny:

• Full Control (everything the others provide, plus the ability to change permissions and take ownership)
• Modify (encompasses the Read and Execute permission and the Write permission, and offers the ability to delete)
• Read and Execute
• Read
• Write

Of crucial importance is the check box in the lower portion of the tab. It is chosen by default, which means permissions applied at one level will be inherited (propagated) by lower levels. By default, permissions accumulate. The exact opposite of normal operations is accomplished by using the Deny permission, which overrides all other accumulated permissions for that right.

NOTE: The No Access permission available in Windows NT does not exist in Windows 2000. Replacing it in functionality is the Deny permission, which can be applied to any specific right but not to all rights (as could No Access).

The Advanced tab contains a slew of additional rights that can be allowed or denied individually. To access them, go to the Advanced tab and double-click on a user or group. You can assign the following rights:

• Traverse Folder / Execute File
• List Folder / Read Data
• Read Attributes
• Read Extended Attributes
• Create Files / Write Data
• Create Folders / Append Data
• Write Attributes
• Write Extended Attributes
• Delete Subfolders and Files
• Delete
• Read Permissions
• Change Permissions
• Take Ownership

These attributes/permissions will be discussed in later articles as the topics apply. For now, it is important that you see two things: 1) None of these is available with any file system other than NTFS. 2) Not only do these attributes/permissions exist, but the ability to see and change them is a permission in and of itself-as noted by the bolded selections in the preceding list.

Finally, NTFS also allows for auditing and ownership-two other features that were completely overlooked in FAT and FAT32.

EXAM TIP: Picking a File System on the Certification Exam
There are three main issues for deciding which file system to choose on the exam. The first issue is dual-booting. Rule of thumb: Select a file system other than NTFS only when dual-booting is needed.

When the system will be dual-booting to DOS, Windows 95a, or OS/2, you must use the FAT file system. FAT is the only file system supported by both Windows 2000 and almost all other operating systems. If the question involves dual-booting with Windows 98 or Windows 95b and using large hard drive support (larger than 2GB), the answer is FAT32. Anytime the partition size is larger than 32GB, NTFS should be chosen over FAT32, if possible, due to size constraints.

NOTE: When Windows 95 is installed after Windows 2000, the 2000 installation must be repaired before 2000 will be accessible again. During the installation of Windows 95, it overwrites the boot sector on the hard drive. Using the Windows 2000 boot disks, however, you can repair the 2000 installation by investigating and fixing the boot sector.

The second issue that the test addresses is security. Security is supported on NTFS only. If the test requires that the solution support file-level security, NTFS is required. If the question deals with access via a network, however, remember that some share-level security can be set up. Share-level security works with FAT, FAT32, and NTFS.

Finally, the test requires you to know that FAT/FAT32 file systems can be automatically converted to NTFS with the CONVERT command, but NTFS file systems can't be converted to FAT. The partition would need to be backed up, deleted, and reformatted as FAT, and then the data would have to be restored.

Objective #3: Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers

3.1: Implement, Manage, and Troubleshoot Disk Devices

The Computer Management utility, within the Administrative Tools folder of the Control Panel, is divided into three sections: System Tools, Storage, and Services and Applications

The Storage component, which provides the basis for working with disk devices, is subdivided into four sections:

1. Disk Management
2. Disk Defragmenter
3. Logical Drives
4. Removable Storage

The following sections examine each of these components.

Disk Management
The heart of most disk operations resides in the Disk Management tool. You must be a member of the Administrators group to access this tool. Replacing the Disk Administrator from previous versions of Windows NT, Disk Management offers a plethora of information and options. Disk Management surpasses Disk Administrator in that it now allows for remote disk management, supports dynamic volumes (except on portable computers), offers wizards for many choices, and allows you to make a number of changes on-the-fly (without requiring a reboot to be active).

Start Disk Management can be started by itself by going to Start, Run, and then entering Diskmgmt.msc.

NOTE: Microsoft has changed its standard for storage significantly with the release of Windows 2000 by turning to dynamic storage. You must first convert the entire disk to dynamic storage, and then you can create and alter volumes without ever needing to shut down and restart the system for the changes to take effect.

Accessing Properties
The Disk Management tool contains two frames. The top frame shows each volume, its file system, status, and capacity. Notice that the status also indicates whether the volume is a System or Boot volume. Contrary to naming logic, the System volume holds the files needed to boot the system (the boot files), and the Boot volume holds the files needed by Windows 2000 Professional (the system files).

The bottom frame shows each disk, including the CD-ROM and the volumes on it. You can right-click any volume and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. This will show the Properties dialog box, which offers six tabs of options for the disk. The six tabs are outlined here:

• The General tab lists the disk label, file system, and capacity (as well as used and free divisions). Clicking the Disk Cleanup command button deletes temporary files and other entities not essential to operation. You can also check boxes at the bottom of the tab to enable compression and indexing (only if the drive is NTFS). Compression can be done at any level from the drive down to a single file. NOTE: Disk Cleanup always prompts the user before removing anything, but defaults to removing downloaded program files, temporary Internet files, and temporary offline files. Other choices you can select include Recycle Bin, temporary (non-Internet) files, older compressed files, and catalog files used by the indexer.
• The Tools tab holds the ScanDisk utility (called Error-Checking here), Backup, and the Disk Defragmenter tool.Use Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to increase performance on a system that is running slow. NOTE: Windows 2000 includes a disk defragmenter. This option appeared in previous versions of the operating system but could never be selected because no such utility was included with the core operating system.
• The Hardware tab shows all disk devices: drives, floppies, DVD, CD-ROM, and so on. Two command buttons appear at the bottom: Troubleshoot and Properties. They allow you to interact with the devices. The Troubleshoot button brings up the Drives Troubleshooter utility within Windows 2000 Help and walks you through the most common problems. All the Troubleshooters (Drives Troubleshooter, Print Troubleshooter, Network Troubleshooter, etc.) are invaluable aids in systematically walking through common problems and solving them.
• The Sharing tab is used to share the drive. You can limit the number of users allowed concurrently, share the drive multiple times (New Share), set the permissions per share name (Permissions), and configure whether the drive is available for offline access (Caching). Each drive is automatically shared as an administrative share, and the dollar sign ($) is the last character in its name, making it "hidden."
• The Security tab, which allows you to configure permissions, appears only if the drive is NTFS. By default, Everyone has Full Control (including Modify, Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Read, and Write). The Advanced button lets you work not only with the permissions, but with auditing and ownership, as well.
• The Quota tab, which appears only if the drive is NTFS, allows you to configure the storage limits for users. By default, quota management is disabled; you must enable it before you can set any other options. The Deny Disk Space to Users Exceeding Quota Limit check box prevents users from saving their files; when the option is not checked, users merely get a warning. With the last two options, you can specify what happens when a user exceeds the limit: The program can log events or give warnings. (You can configure these two values independently from one another.) If a user cannot save or update files, increase the disk quota for that user or free up space. User quotas can also cause two users to keep different answers to the amount of free space available on a drive. NOTE: If quotas are enabled after user accounts have already been in place, and users are currently exceeding the amount of the quota, warning messages will be generated the next time the users attempt to save and/or they will be prevented from using any additional space.

Interacting with the Drive
In addition to using Disk Management to look at a drive's properties, you can also perform the following functions by right-clicking on the drive and selecting the appropriate option from the pop-up menu:

• Open and explore the contents of the drive. If you choose Open, the display resembles what it would if you went through the My Computer icon on the desktop. If you choose Explore, the resulting screen resembles Windows Explorer.
• Change the drive letter and path. Not only can you change the letter used to access the drive to letters not currently used by other drives, you can add additional letters or paths and choose whether the new entities should be mounted in existing NTFS folders.
• Format the drive. This allows you to assign a volume label; choose between FAT, FAT32, and NTFS; do a quick format; and enable compression (only if NTFS is selected). NOTE: Formatting a drive deletes all the data on it. Converting a drive to NTFS (using the Convert.exe utility) does not delete the data.
• Delete the partition or logical drive. If you do this, all data is lost, and there is no means of recovery (short of resorting to backup tapes).
• Mark the partition as active (assuming there is more than one).
• If the drive selected is a CD-ROM, you can elect to eject the media.

Changing Disk Type
A final option available in Disk Management is the ability to upgrade a disk's drive type to dynamic. By default, every disk starts as the basic type but can be upgraded to dynamic (unless it is removable).

NOTE: Remember that you can convert FAT volumes to NTFS without losing data, but there is no way back. (You must format and lose all data.) Similarly, you can convert a disk's type from basic to dynamic, but there is no easy means of converting it back. Should you need to convert back for some reason, you must first delete the volumes and then use the Revert to Basic Disk command that becomes available.

The following are advantages of converting to dynamic disks:

• Existing partitions become simple volumes.
• All fault-tolerant volumes become dynamic volumes.

Of course, conversion also has its disadvantages and limitations:

• The disk cannot contain partitions or logical drives.
• The disk cannot be accessed by operating systems other than Windows 2000.
• Dynamic disks are not supported on portable computers.

To perform the upgrade, close all applications that could be accessing the disks and verify that there is a minimum of 1MB unallocated space on the disk. Although no data is actually affected, you should always make a backup before undertaking any major system change. Make the appropriate selection from the pop-up menu and move past several warnings that attempt to make certain you understand the ramifications of what you are doing. A reboot is required. After the reboot, each of the drives will be converted individually, and a second reboot will be needed. Before each reboot, you are prompted to confirm the action. When the system comes back up, the view will have changed from Primary and Logical partitions to one of Simple Volumes and unallocated space.

The pop-up menu for each volume contains the same choices it did before, but now has the following options, as well:

• Extend Volume. This option allows you to dynamically change the size of the volume (available only on NTFS volumes). If the volume was originally created on a basic disk, it cannot be extended. If the volume was first created on a dynamic disk, it can be extended.
• Add Mirror. With this option, you can enable fault tolerance via mirroring if more than one drive is installed.
• Reactivate Volume. This option is available only if the volume is not currently activated.
• Delete Volume. This option forces the loss of all data, and the space becomes unallocated.

The pop-up menu for unallocated space contains only one usable option: Create Volume. This option starts the Create Volume Wizard, which allows you to choose from one or more disks to create the volume. By default, the wizard attempts to use all available free space for the volume, but you can reduce the amount to any size you want.

The wizard allows you to assign a drive letter to the volume, leave it unassigned, or choose that it be mounted within an empty folder. A Format dialog box allows you to choose the file system to use, allocation unit size, and volume label. You can also specify whether to do a quick format and whether compression will be allowed (NTFS only). When the wizard is complete, you can see the formatting taking place within Disk Management.

When you choose to extend a volume, the Extend Volume Wizard appears, which again tries to take all the available unallocated space. One volume can constitute as many different simple volumes as desired

Disk Defragmenter
As mentioned earlier, the Disk Defragmenter utility is available on the Tools tab of the Properties dialog box for any volume. You can also access it directly from Computer Management.

The concept is a simple one, but it is worthy of discussion. When files initially are saved on a drive, they take up contiguous allocation units. As the files grow, additional allocation units need to be used for the new data, but other files may have been written into the allocation units that would come next. Therefore, the new data is written to the next set of free units. As time goes on, it is possible for portions of an individual file to be stored in different areas all over the drive. This slows down processing because more areas of the disk must be read in read and write operations.

Disk Defragmenter is a utility that analyzes the amount of fragmentation and can rewrite files back to the disk in contiguous units, thus enhancing performance. Typically, if the fragmentation is low (less than approximately 5%), the amount of time it takes to do the fragmentation outweighs the benefit. Therefore, it is recommended that you not run the utility on such a disk.

When viewing the analysis, note that different colors are used to signify different entities:

• Fragmented files appear in red.
• Contiguous files appear in blue.
• System files appear in green.
• Free space appears in white.

Green entries are important because they are often marked in such a way that they cannot be moved. At the conclusion of a defragmentation session, no red should remain in the display; rather, blue and white should dominate the display.

The report will show any files that could not be defragmented; these are often temporary or cached files. Open files can also present a problem, and all applications, if possible, should be closed prior to running the defragmenter.

Logical Drives
Choosing the Logical Drives selection in Computer Management shows all drives, floppies, and removable media, in ascending order from A: to Z:. From here, you can right-click on the drive and choose only one option from the pop-up menu: Properties. The Properties dialog box shows only the General tab and the Security tab (if NTFS).

The General tab does not offer choices for the Cleanup command button, compression, or indexing. The only data shown is the volume label, type, file system, and capacity (including used and free space calculations).

Removable Storage
The Removable Storage component is subdivided into four additional items: Media Pools, Physical Locations, Work Queue, and Operator Requests. These subcomponents are examined in the following sections.

NOTE: You can use Removable Storage to manage libraries (multiple media sets), jukeboxes, and the like. There are two types of recognized libraries: standalone (where you manually change sets) and robotic (automated).

Removable Storage works in conjunction with Backup and other data-management programs. A more advanced form of Removable Storage is Remote Storage, which is not included with Windows 2000 Professional.

Media Pools
A media pool is a collection of removable media grouped into a single management policy. The Media Pools area is divided into Free, Import, Unrecognized, and Application-Specific. For example, you can group all floppy disks or tape disks into a category and then assign security permissions for who can use, modify, and control the devices.

Physical Locations
The Physical Locations item allows you to configure aspects of your removable media and drives. The number of tabs can differ per device, but commonly there are five:

• The General tab contains the name and description of the device. Additionally, you can specify an inventory method of None, Fast, or Full.
• The Media tab tells what type of media the device is (CD-R, CD-RW, and so on).
• The Components tab shows timeout variables and barcode settings.
• The Device Info tab gives read-only information about the manufacturer, model, serial number, and so on.
• The Security tab indicates who can use the device.

Offline media settings are located here as well, and you can configure security for them.

NOTE: Windows 2000 Professional ships with a DVD Player utility as well as the usual CD Player. Like the CD Player, when a disc is placed into a DVD drive and closed, the DVD Player automatically starts.

A DVD decoder is needed to play movies. The Hardware Compatibility List contains a list of all compatible decoders and device drivers.

You can access the DVD and CD-ROM properties via the Device Manager option in Computer Management, and configure them beneath the DVD/CD-ROM drives option there.

Work Queue
The Work Queue shows the status of media jobs. Right-click and choose Properties to configure the cleaning parameters for the queue. By default, completed requests and failed requests are deleted automatically from the queue. You can choose to keep them for a specified time, however. (The default is 72 hours.)

Operator Requests
Like the Work Queue, Operator Requests shows the status of current requests. Right-click and choose Properties to configure the cleaning parameters for the queue. By default, completed requests and failed requests are deleted automatically from the queue. However, you can choose to keep them for a specified time. (The default is 72 hours.)

3.2: Implement, Manage, and Troubleshoot Display Devices

The Device Manager component of Computer Management is the primary interface for interacting with the display adapter. To access it, expand Display Adapters, right-click on an individual one, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The Properties dialog box appears. The following are the three tabs of the adapter's Properties dialog box:

• General. This tab displays the device type, manufacturer, and location. It also includes text regarding whether the device is currently working properly, and a command button Troubleshooter to walk you through diagnostics.
• Driver. Access this tab to view information on the current driver and digital signer. Three command buttons allow you to see driver details, and uninstall or update the driver.
• Resources. This tab shows the system resources in use (I/O, IRQ, and so on) and whether there are conflicts.

Within Device Manager, you can also expand the Monitors tree: right-click on Shown Monitors, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. This shows the General and Driver tabs discussed in the preceding list, but not Resources.

Working from the Desktop
Right-click on the desktop and choose Properties from the pop-up menu (or access the Display applet in Control Panel) to view the information on the Settings tab. You can click the Advanced command button on this tab to see five additional tabs.

The following five tabs appear in the monitor's Properties dialog box:

• General. This tab indicates the font size and whether rebooting is required for changes to take place.
• Adapter. This tab shows the adapter type and its properties (General, Driver, and Resources). (This information was described earlier.)
• Monitor. This tab specifies the monitor type and refresh frequency.
• Troubleshooting. From this tab, you can slow down the hardware acceleration. This is useful only if your software (such as old games) is incapable of keeping up with the speed of your hardware.
• Color Management. The options on this tab allow you to create a color profile to be associated strictly with this device. Color depths can differ per adapters (particularly in the case of legacy equipment); this option allows you to configure for that.

Working with Multiple Monitors
Windows 2000 Professional, like Windows 98, supports the use of more than one monitor for creating the output display. You can combine up to 10 monitors and divide the desktop display among them-even if each one has different resolution and color depth.

One monitor is the primary display that is used for the logon dialog box. Although this is the monitor that most programs default to when started, you can switch it to another one. You can use individual graphics adapters or a single adapter that handles multiple outputs.
To add monitors, follow these steps:

1. With the computer off, add the PCI or AGP video adapter, and connect the monitor(s) to the card.
2. Turn the system back on. The new monitors should be recognized by Plug and Play, and the drivers should be installed. If they are not, go to the Add/Remove Hardware Wizard and choose the Add a New Device option. From the list of Hardware Types, choose Display Adapters.
3. Go to the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box and choose the monitor you want for the primary display. Check the box labeled Extend My Windows Desktop onto This Monitor.
4. Click Apply, and then click OK.

3.3: Implement, Manage, and Troubleshoot Mobile Computer Hardware

When dealing with mobile computers and Windows 2000 Professional, you need to be aware of two issues: ACPI and card services. ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is a standard for supplying power management features of the hardware through the operating system. Together, ACPI and APM (Automatic Power Management) are used to turn off hard disk and monitor displays after timing out (defined periods of inactivity).

Windows 2000 uses ACPI for all power management, from shutdown when the system is low on battery power to startup at the touch of a keyboard key. You can configure the available options from the Power Options applet in Control Panel, which contains the following five tabs:

• Power Schemes. This tab allows you to choose the role of the machine. The default is often Home/Office Desk, but other choices include Portable/Laptop, Presentation, Always On, Minimal Power Management, and Max Battery. To save power, you can choose the timeframe in which to turn off the monitor and/or hard disks.
• Advanced. From this tab, you can choose whether power-related icons

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  Emmett Dulaney () holds, or has held, 18 certifications from vendors such as Cisco, Microsoft, Novell, CompTIA and others. Over the past 10 years, he has authored/co-authored almost 40 books on computing and certification. His latest entry, "Secrets of 70-210 Exam," can be found at http://www.certificationcorner.com/secrets.htm.

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