QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. How would you Enable or Disable the Firewall in Windows XP?

Click Start, click Run, type Firewall.cpl, and then click OK. On the General tab, click Off (not recommended). Click OK.

Open Services. In the details panel, do one of the following: Click the service, and then, on the Action menu, click Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, or Restart. Right-click the service, and then click Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, or Restart.

2. How would you Start or Stop a Windows Service?

3.

Click on the start menu button and then on run (or hold down the windows key and R) Type "cmd" (without quotes) and hit enter Once the box opens type "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) and hit enter

How can you check the IP address of your computer?

4. 5.

Click add to favorites.

How to Bookmark a webpage? How to access the Windows System Registry?

Registry Editor can be accessed by executing regedit from the Command Prompt or from the search or run box from the Start menu.

7. Name some difference between Windows XP and Windows 7. What are their System Requirements? 8.
Safe Mode is a special way for Windows to load when there is a system-critical problem that interferes with the normal operation of Windows. The purpose of Safe Mode is to allow you to troubleshoot Windows and try to determine what is causing it to not function correctly. Once you have corrected the problem, then you can reboot and Windows will load normally.

What is Safe Mode?

9.

Modems are networking devices that convert analog and digital data for computerto-computer communication. Several kinds of modem devices exist for dial-up, broadband and cellular networking.

What is a MODEM?

10.

What is SMPS?

A Switched-mode power supply (also Switching-mode power supply, SMPS, or simply Switcher) is an electronic Power Supply Unit (PSU) that incorporates a switching regulator in order to provide the required output voltage. An SMPS is actually a power converter that transmits power from a source (e.g., a battery or the electrical power grid) to a load (e.g., a personal computer) with ideally no loss. The function of the converter is to provide a reliable output voltage often at a different level than the input voltage.

11.

What is SDRAM

SDRAM stands for Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, and it is a fast method of delivering computing capacity. It can run at 133 Mhz, which is much faster than earlier RAM technologies.

12.

What is an Operating System?

An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer system. Application programs usually require an operating system to function.

13.

Name a few ports in your computer?

VGA Port: Acronym for Video Graphic Array. Use this for external monitors HDMI: High Definition Multimedia Interface is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data DVI: Digital Video Interface is a video interface standard designed to provide very high visual quality on digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors Ethernet/RJ45: Martins illustration calls this RJ45, however according to Wikipedia, this is incorrect and should be called 8P8C (8 Position 8 Contact.) They are usedtypically used to terminate twisted pair cable USB-A: This kind of plug is most frequently seen on cables that are permanently attached to a device, such as one on a cable that connects a keyboard or mouse to the computer

14.

What is a Dial-up internet connection?

Dial-up Internet access is a connection type that operates through a standard telephone line. By running the telephone line to a modem device in the computer and configuring it to dial a specific phone number, the computer can connect to the Internet. This connection type is usually inexpensive, but slow, and may not be adequate for users who use the web for multimedia and other high-bandwidth applications.

15.

What is a Broadband internet connection?

A broadband service can transmit information at up to 40 times the speed of a dial-up modem connection. As the connection is always on, like water or electricity, users don't need to dial up every time they want to log on.

16.

Wireless Internet enables wireless connectivity to the Internet via radio waves rather than wires on a person's home computer, laptop, smartphone or similar mobile device. Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless LANs are also options for wireless Internet connectivity. In these cases, Internet connectivity is typically delivered to a network hub via a wired connection like satellite, cable, DSL or fiber optics and then made available to wireless devices via a wireless access point.

What is a Wireless Internet Connection?

17.

In versions NT and later of the Windows operating system (OS), a copy of a system's hardware configuration and driver settings taken from the system's registry when the OS successfully boots. This copy is stored in case a subsequent boot process fails, and the OS can use the record of the Last Known Good configuration to perform a successful boot. If Windows detects a problem in the boot process, it will add the Last Known Good configuration option to the start up menu.

What is Last Known Good Configuration?

The Device Manager is a Control Panel applet in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It allows users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. When a piece of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted for the user to deal with. The list of hardware can be sorted by various criteria. For each device, users can: Supply device drivers Enable or disable devices Tell Windows to ignore malfunctioning devices View other technical properties

18. What is Device Manager?

19.

Cookies are messages that web servers pass to your web browser when you visit Internet sites. Your browser stores each message in a small file, called cookie.txt. When you request another page from the server, your browser sends the cookie back to the server. These files typically contain information about your visit to the web page, as well as any information you've volunteered, such as your name and interests.

What are Cookies?

23.

What is MSConfig?

icrosoft software utility first introduced with Windows 98 and included with all later versions of Windows that enables users to configure how their computer starts and what programs or services automatically load each time the computer starts. Users

running these versions of Windows can open msconfig by following the below steps.

24. What is the Blue Screen of Death and what could be it's causes?
The 'blue screen of death' is very simply a critical system error which prevents the system from turning on to restrain further damage. Bluescreens on NT-based Windows systems can be caused by poorly written device drivers or malfunctioning hardware. In the Win9x era, incompatible DLLs or bugs in the kernel of the operating system could also cause bluescreens. Bluescreens can also be caused by physical faults such as faulty memory, power supply issues, overheating of components, or hardware running beyond its specification limits. Bluescreens have been present in all Windows-based operating systems since Windows 3.1; earlier, OS/2 and MS-DOS suffered the Black Screen of Death, and early builds of Windows Vista displayed the Red Screen of Death after a boot loader error. Unfortunately there is no fixed cure. you must find the source and repair it, however this can be only done in safe mode and even then it is hard to find. However, if it is not physically strained then the following has always been proven sucessful;

26.

What is Cold Boot and Warm Boot?

A warm boot is a reboot with the computer power placed in the on position. A cold boot is a reboot with the computer power being off. A cold boot is better because it completes the boot-up sequence. Having had the power off, your computer has cleaned out data that has been placed in different caches or memory holding areas. A cold boot runs the Power On Self Test otherwise known as POST. A warm boot is less stressful though on electrical components.

28.

What are PCI Slots?

PCI slots are general purpose slots that take a wide variety of cards, such as network cards and sound cards. They only run at 33MHz and are slowly becoming obsolete as more cards are now being made for the newer and faster PCI Express slots instead. When PCI slots appeared in computers they replaced ISA slots, which you will only find in older PCs.

29.

What are the types of Printers?

Advantages of inkjet printers: 1) Low cost

2) High quality of output, capable of printing fine and smooth details 3) Capable of printing in vivid color, good for printing pictures 4) Easy to use 5) Reasonably fast 6) Quieter than dot matrix printer 7) No warm up time Disadvantages of inkjet printers: 1) Print head is less durable, prone to clogging and damage 2) Expensive replacement ink cartridges 3) Not good for high volume printing 4) Printing speed is not as fast as laser printers 5) Ink bleeding, ink carried sideways causing blurred effects on some papers 6) Aqueous ink is sensitive to water, even a small drop of water can cause blurring 7) Cannot use highlighter marker on inkjet printouts Advantages of laser printers: 1) High resolution 2) High print speed 3) No smearing 4) Low cost per page (compared to inkjet printers) 5) Printout is not sensitive to water 6) Good for high volume printing Disadvantages of laser printers: 1) More expensive than inkjet printers 2) Except for high end machines, laser printers are less capable of printing vivid colors and high quality images such as photos. 3) The cost of toner replacement and drum replacement is high 4) Bulkier than inkjet printers 5) Warm up time needed Advantages of dot matrix printer: 1) Can print on multi-part forms or carbon copies 2) Low printing cost per page 3) Can be used on continuous form paper, useful for data logging 4) Reliable, durable Disadvantages of dot matrix printer: 1) Noisy 2) Limited print quality 3) Low printing speed 4) Limited color printing

31.
1.

There is no sound. How can you fix this?

Adjust the sound settings

o o

You will find a Sound icon in the task bar, right click on it and select Adjust Audio Properties and ensure that the checkbox beside Mute is unchecked. If this box is checked, uncheck it and click on Advanced and move the sliders so that all the Settings are set to their maximum. In windows vista and Windows 7, we have Volume Mixer. Make sure that mute is not enabled and slider is at is maximum position. If the audio icon is missing from the task bar, click on Start menu and select Control Panel. If you are Classic View, double click on Sounds and Audio devices and select the checkbox beside Place Volume icon in the taskbar and click on OK. 2. 2

Test with different audio applications such as Real Player or VLC player.

3. Install Audio Codecs

You may face sound problems when the required codecs are missing, therefore I recommend you to install audio codecs that are required for your windows. 4. 4

Visit the link to download audio codecs for free.

5. Try System Restore.

If the issue persists after adjusting the audio settings then perform System Restore 1. In windows xp, Click on Start menu and select All Programs 2. Click on Accessories and System Tools, select System Restore to open it. 3. In windows 7 and Vista, click on Start button and just type system restore in Search. 4. Select System Restore from the results. 5. Follow the System Restore wizard by selecting the first option Restore my computer to an earlier time. 6. 6

After you have restored your notebook to a previous time, check the sound in the notebook .

7.

If restoring the System will not fix the issue, try the following steps: Windows Audio Service 1. Check with the audio service i.e Windows Audio Service, 2. Hold Windows Key and R simultaneously which will open Run window. 3. Enter services.msc and click on OK. If the operating system is Vista enter services.msc in the Start Search and double click on services.msc from the results. The services window opens, move down to Windows Audio service, check if the Startup Type is Automatic and if not, change it to Automatic. 8. 8

Right click on the Windows Audio and choose Properties and in the change the Startup Type to Automatic and select Start to start the service and click on OK.

9.

Reinstall Audio drivers from Device Manager If the above procedure does not resolve the issue, proceed by checking the audio driver or device in Device Manager. 1. In Windows XP, right click on My Computer and select Properties. 2. In the System Properties window, select the Hardware tab. 3. Click on Device Manager. 4. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, click on Start button and type Device Manager in the Search. 5. Select Device Manager from the search results. 6. In Device Manager window, click on + sign next to Sound, video and game controllers 7. Right click on High Definition Audio Codec and select Uninstall. 8. This will uninstall the audio drivers; Now click on Scan for Hardware changes to reinstall the audio drivers. Windows may prompt to restart the computer, in this case restart your system. Windows will automatically detect the changes and reinstall the sound drivers. 10. 10

It would be better to reinstall the latest audio drivers from your computer support website. The computer manufacturer website will have the latest drivers available.

11.

11

You can update or install drivers from these websites to fix the sound issues. Reinstalling or updating the sound drivers can fix this no sound issues in windows computer. If the audio device is not shown under Sound, video and game controllers, it will be present under unknown devices. Make sure that it is enabled if it is disabled. Right click on the device and select Enable to enable the device and perform the reinstalling steps to resolve the no sound in windows problem. If Sound device is not present under Sound, video and game controllers, you can check it by clicking on Action menu in Device Manager and Selecting Scan for Hardware Changes. You can even try be removing and replacing the sound card by following the steps in the manuals for your computer model if the sound device is not detected. 12. 12

o o

Check cable connections and controls Laptops have their own volume control, make sure that they are enabled. Usually laptop have Fn + F(key number) key number changes for each laptop model. If you are experiencing the issue in desktop computer, verify that connections between the computer and speakers are properly connected. 13. 13

Check if the sound cables are working, you can test the issue by using other cables if available.

33.

DDR (double-data-rate synchronous dynamic random access memory) DDR achieves greater bandwidth than the preceding single data rate SDRAM by transferring data on the rising and falling edges of the clock signal (double

Difference Between DDR1, DDR2 and DDR3 memories.

pumped). Effectively, it doubles the transfer rate without increasing the frequency of the clock.

34.

What are the types of Hard-disk drives?

1. Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) These types of drives are also known as Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) and Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics (EIDE) drives. The labels relate to the type of interface that is employed to connect the disk drive to the CPU board. These drives utilize either a 40 or a 80 wire cable with a broad 40-pin connector. 40 wire cables are utilized in older and slower hard disks, whereas 80 wire cables are used in faster ones. Nowadays, these types of hard disks are being substituted by SATA hard disks. EIDE hard drives were introduced after some advancements in IDE hard disks, however, the term IDE refers to both IDE and EIDE disk drives. 2. Serial ATA (SATA) These hard disks use a totally different connector than their PATA counterparts. Moreover, they also employ a different power adapter than IDE ones, though adapters are easily attainable. The main difference between a SATA and a PATA hard disk is that the former is thinner and purportedly have a faster data interface than the latter. Nevertheless, this speed dissimilarity is not distinguishable in PATA and SATA drives which have the same rpm rating. SATA drives are more efficient, and use less power than PATA ones. 3. Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) These hard disks are similar to IDE hard drives. They also spin at a higher rate in comparison to IDE and SATA ones. IDE and SATA drives generally spin at 7,200 rpm, whereas SCSI ones spin at 10,000 to 15,000 rpm. Today, SATA drives featuring a speed of 10,000 rpm are also manufactured. The higher the rpm, faster is the data access, but it may also lead to a faster breakdown. SCSI hard disks need a controller that operates the interface between the drives and the computer motherboard. 4. Solid State Drives (SSD) These hard disks, unlike the other types, don't consist of moving components. Typical hard drives comprise of a spinning magnetic disk that performs the function of data storage, but SSDs use semiconductors for this purpose. Since there are no moving components, these hard disks are much faster and less likely to break down than other drives. However, their price is a bit more than other hard disks.

37.

If a mouse is not working, how will you troubleshoot?

Make sure the computer is not frozen by pressing the num lock key on the keyboard. When pressing the num lock key the num lock indicator LED on your keyboard should turn on and off. If this indicator does not change, your computer

is frozen, and all hardware on the computer including the mouse will not work. Reboot the computer to resolve this issue. Windows freezes or stops responding frequently. Mouse conflict If any new hardware has been recently installed in the computer, remove that hardware before following the below troubleshooting steps to help verify the new hardware is not causing the issue. Not connected properly Pictures of computer green and purple PS/2 ports.PS/2 mouse If you are using a PS/2 mouse, verify that it is connected into the PS/2 mouse port and not the PS/2 keyboard port located on the back of the computer. If the mouse has worked properly in the past, turn off the computer and disconnect and reconnect the mouse. Note: A PS/2 mouse should not be disconnected and reconnected while the computer is still turned on. Tip: If the computer keyboard is working you can shutdown Windows properly by using the keyboard. Press the Windows key on the keyboard, and then use the arrow keys to move to the shut down option on the start menu. USB mouse If you are using a USB mouse disconnect and reconnect the mouse cable to another USB port. If the mouse still does not work after it has been reconnected and is connected to a USB hub, connect the mouse to a USB port on the back of the computer. Wireless mouse 1.Make sure it is turned on and that there is a power indicator. The power switch for a mouse is often found on the bottom of the mouse. 2.Make sure the wireless receiver is within range and is not blocked by another object. 3.Replace batteries Mouse software or driver conflict Boot into Windows Safe Mode. If the mouse is working in Safe Mode, there is likely a driver conflict or other software conflict. To resolve this conflict follow the below steps. 1.Open Windows Device Manager.

2.Expand the mouse (mice) option in Device Manager by clicking the '+' symbol. 3.Remove all mice listed by highlighting each device and pressing the delete key on the keyboard. If the mouse still does not work in Normal Windows, follow your operating system basic troubleshooting steps for your version of Windows. Bad Mouse If the above steps do not solve the problem, try another mouse. If the another mouse works, try the mouse that is not working with another computer. If multiple mice do not work, the computer port is bad. If your using PS/2 or USB port on the back of the computer, the motherboard is bad and would need to be replaced. If the mouse does not work with more than one computer, the mouse is bad and should be replaced.

40.

What is Disk Cleanup?

Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free up disk space on a computer's hard drive. The utility first searches and analyzes the hard drive for files that are no longer of any use, and then removes the unnecessary files.

41.

What is Disk Defragmentation?

Disk Defragmenter is a utility in Microsoft Windows designed to increase access speed by rearranging files stored on a disk to occupy contiguous storage locations, a technique called defragmentation. Defragmenting a disk minimizes head travel, which reduces the time it takes to read files from and write files to the disk.[1] Beginning with Windows XP, Disk Defragmenter also reduces system startup times.
[citation

42.

What would you do if a PC is not turning on?

External inspection, internal inspection, clear the CMOS, clean bad contacts, test parts on another PC

45.

What is a Heat Sink?

A heat sink is an electronic device that incorporates either a fan or a peltier device to keep a hot component such as a processor cool. There are two heat sink types: active and passive.

46.

What is a UPS?

A battery backup, or uninterruptible power supply (UPS), is primarily used to provide a backup power source to the parts in the computer case, the monitor, and any other device plugged in to the battery backup.

47. What is the difference between SATA and PATA Hard-Disk Drives?
The cables that connect hard drives to computers -- and the ports on both the hard drives and the motherboards themselves -- are the product of standards. In the early 2000s, one of the fundamental standards for connecting hard drives to computers changed, from IDE hard drives later called PATA, standing for Parallel AT Attachment to SATA, standing for Serial AT Attachment. In both acronyms, "AT" stands for the AT form factor of PC motherboards.

48.

What would you do if your system is running slow?

Reboot If your computer has not been reboot recently make sure to reboot it before following any of the below steps. Background programs One of the most common reasons for a slow computer are programs running in the background. Remove or disable any TSRs and startup programs that automatically start each time the computer boots. Tip: To see what programs are running in the background and how much memory and CPU they are using open Task Manager. If you are running Windows 7 or higher run Resmon to get a better understanding of how your computer is being used. If you've got an antivirus scanner on the computer, spyware protection program, or other security utility make sure it's not scanning your computer in the background. If a scan is in progress it can decrease the overall performance of your computer. Free hard drive space Verify that there is at least 200-500MB of free hard drive space. This available space allows the computer to have room for the swap file to increase in size as well as room for temporary files.

Determining available hard drive space. Regaining computer hard drive space.

Bad, corrupted or fragmented hard drive

Run ScanDisk, chkdsk, or something equivalent to verify there is nothing physically wrong with the computer hard drive.

Run Defrag to help ensure that data is arranged in the best possible order.

Scan for malware Today, spyware and other malware is a big cause of many computer problems including a slow computer. Even if an antivirus scanner is installed on the computer we recommend running a malware scan on the computer. Use the free version of Malwarebytes to scan your computer for malware. Hardware conflicts

Verify that the Device Manager has no conflicts. If any exist resolve these issues as they could be the cause of your problem.

Update Windows

Make sure you have all the latest Windows updates installed in the computer. If you are on the Internet when your computer is slow also make sure all browser plugins are up-to-date.

Update your drivers Make sure you've got the latest drivers for your computer, especially the latest video drivers. Having out-of-date drivers can cause an assortment of issues. Memory upgrade If you've had your computer for more than two years it's likely you're computer is not meeting the memory requirements for today. Today, we suggest a minimum of 1GB of memory (RAM). By having enough memory for programs to run within memory your computer will not need to swap information stored within memory to the swap file. If your computer hard drive light is constantly active, its a good indication of your computer is swapping information betewen your memory and hard drive because of the lack of space in memory.

Determining how much RAM is installed and available. What type of computer memory to use in a memory upgrade?

Hard drive upgrade

One of the biggest bottlenecks of a computer is the hard disk drive. For anyone with a slow computer or just looking for something to upgrade in the computer to improve overall system performance going from a traditional HDD to a Solid State Drive (SSD) will significantly improve the overall system performance. Run registry cleaner We normally do not recommend registry cleaners. However, if you have followed all of the above steps and your computer is still slow try running a registry cleaner on the computer. Computer or processor is overheating Make sure your computer and processor is not overheating. Excessive heat can cause a significant decrease in computer performance since most processors automatically step the speed of the processor down to help compensate compensate for the heat related issues.

What temperature should my processor be running at?

Dust, dirt, and hair can also constrict a proper air flow on your computer, which can also cause a computer to overheat. Make sure your computer case is clean and fans are not obstructed.

Steps on cleaning your computer.

Erase computer and start over If none of the above solutions resolve your issues, it is recommended that you either reinstall Windows or erase everything and then start over. Old computer If your computer is older than five years come to terms that it is likely the age of the computer that is causing it to be slow. Computers progress at an alarming rate as new programs and updates for programs come out their minimum requirements increase and will cause older computers to slow down. If your computer is older than five years we suggest purchasing a new computer or just realize after following the above steps it is going to run slower than a newer computer.

How often should I buy a new computer?

Hardware issues Finally, if your computer continues to be slower than normal after going over each of the above recommendations (including erasing and starting over) it's possible that your computer is experiencing a more serious hardware related issue such as a failing component in the computer. This could be a failing or bad hard drive, CPU, RAM, motherboard, or other component.

50.

What are Plug & Play devices?

Plug and Play, sometimes, abbreviated PnP, is a catchy phrase used to describe devices that work with a computer system as soon as they are connected. The user does not have to manually install drivers for the device or even tell the computer that a new device has been added. Instead the computer automatically recognizes the device, loads new drivers for the hardware if needed, and begins to work with the newly connected device. For example, if you connect a Plug-and-Play mouse to the USB port on your computer, it will begin to work within a few seconds of being plugged in. A non plug-and-play device would require you to go through several steps of installing drivers and setting up the device before it would work.

51.

What are Device Drivers?

More commonly known as a driver, a device driver is a group of files that enable one or more hardware devices to communicate with the computer's operating system. Without drivers, a hardware device such as a computer printer would not be able to work with the computer.

57.

What is a Web-Browser?

A web browser (commonly referred to as a browser) is a software application for retrieving, presenting and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and may be a web page, image, video or other piece of content.[1] Hyperlinks present in resources enable users easily to navigate their browsers to related resources.

59.

Explain the Windows XP Boot Process

A.The Power-On Self Test Phase As soon as you power up your computer, a self-test is performed by the power supply to ensure that the volume and current levels are correct before the Power Good signal is sent to the processor. When this first stage is cleared, the microprocessor will then trigger the BIOS to perform a series of operations.

B. BIOS ROM Phase The BIOS, also known as the Basic Input Output System is a firmware or set of instructions that resides on a ROM chip as contained in the motherboard. It first carries out the P.O.S.T that performs and verifies all initial hardware checks, such as checking if the system is initialized by a warm or cold start, detecting the presence of peripheral devices and the amount of memory present. It then accesses the information stored in the CMOS chip, DIP switches, jumpers and assigns the necessary system resources. After this, the hardware' firmware will individually carry out its own diagnostic test such as S.M.A.R.T. The system will now attempt to determine the sequence of devices to load based on the settings stored in the BIOS to start the operating system. It will start by reading from the first bootup device. If it points to the floppy drive, it then searches for a floppy disk. If it does not detect a bootable diskette in the floppy drive, the system displays an error message. If the floppy drive does not contain a diskette, it bypasses the first bootup device and detects the second device, which is usually the hard disk. It'll then start by reading the boot code instructions located in the master boot record and copies all execution into the memory when the instructions are validated and no errors are found. C. Boot Loader Phase Control is then passed on to the partition loader code which accesses the partition table to identify the primary partition, extended partitions and active partition which is needed to determine the file system and locate the operating system loader file - NTLDR. NTLDR will then switch the processor from real-mode to 32 bit protected mode which memory paging is enabled. NTLDR will call upon the boot.ini file which is located at the root directory to determine the location and entries of the operating system boot partition. At this point in time, the bootup menu is displayed on the screen to allow you to select an operating system to start from if you have more than 2 operating systems installed in your computer. NTLDR will pass all information from the Windows registry and Boot.ini file into Ntoskrnl.exe. D. Operating System Configuration Phase Ntoskrnl will begin to load the XP kernel, hardware abstraction layer and registry information.

After this is completed, the control is passed over to the DOS based Ntdetect.com program which collects and configures all installed hardware devices such as the video adapters and communication ports. Ntdetect.com then searches for hardware profiles information and load the essential software drivers to control the hardware devices. E. Security & Logon Phase Lastly, Ntoskrnl.exe will start up Winlogon.exe which triggers the Lsass.exe or Local Security Administration which is the logon dialog interface that prompts you to select your user profile and verifies your necessary credentials before you are transferred to the Windows desktop.

60.

What do you know about the PING Command?

The ping command is a Command Prompt command used to test the ability of the source computer to reach a specified destination computer. The ping command is usually used as a simple way verify that a computer can communicate over the network with another computer or network device. The ping command operates by sending Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Request messages to the destination computer and waiting for a response. How many of those responses are returned, and how long it takes for them to return, are the two major pieces of information that the ping command provides.

64.
DDR3

What is the latest RAM in the market today?

67. What are the important port numbers in Windows? (Eg. SMTP, HTTP, POP3...)
15 21 23 25 42 53 67 68 80 88 101 Netstat FTP Telnet SMTP WINS DNS Bootp DHCP HTTP Kerberos HOSTNAME

443 220 3268 3269 500

110 119 123 139 161 180 389 443 520 79 37 3389

POP3 NNTP NTP (Network time protocol) NetBIOS SNMP RIS LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) HTTPS (HTTP over SSL/TLS) RIP FINGER Time Terminal services SSL (https) (http protocol over TLS/SSL) IMAP3 AD Global Catalog AD Global Catalog over SSL Internet Key Exchange, IKE (IPSec) (UDP 500)

68.

How would you setup a VLAN Connectivity?

a VLAN is a virtual LAN. In technical terms, a VLAN is a broadcast domain created by switches. Normally, it is a router creating that broadcast domain. With VLANs, a switch can create the broadcast domain. This works by, you, the administrator, putting some switch ports in a VLAN other than 1, the default VLAN. All ports in a single VLAN are in a single broadcast domain. Because switches can talk to each other, some ports on switch A can be in VLAN 10 and other ports on switch B can be in VLAN 10. Broadcasts between these devices will not be seen on any other port in any other VLAN, other than 10. However, these devices can all communicate because they are on the same VLAN. Without additional configuration, they would not be able to communicate with any other devices, not in their VLAN.

69. What would you check first if a user is not able to connect to VPN?
Virtual private networking provides a secure and networks, but plenty of things can go wrong. Here connections and what you can do about them.

1.

Users can't access file servers If the user can access the file server using an IP address but not a name, then the most likely reason for failure to connect is a name resolution problem. Name resolution can fail for NetBIOS or DNS host names. If the client operating system is NetBIOS dependent, the VPN clients should be assigned a WINS server address by the VPN server. If the client operating system uses DNS preferentially, VPN clients should be assigned an internal DNS server that can resolve internal network host names. When using DNS to resolve internal network host names for VPN clients, make sure that these clients are able to correctly resolve unqualified fully qualified domain names used on the corporate network. This problem is seen most often when non-domain computers attempt to use DNS to resolve server names on the internal network behind the VPN server.

2.

Users can't access anything on the corporate network Sometimes users will be able to connect to the remote access VPN server but are unable to connect to any resources on the corporate network. They are unable to resolve host names and unable to even ping resources on the corporate network. The most common reason for this problem is that users are connected to a network on the same network ID as the corporate network located behind the VPN server. For example, the user is connected to a hotel broadband network and is assigned a private IP address on network ID 10.0.0.0/24. If the corporate network is also on network ID 10.0.0.0/24, they won't able to connect because the VPN client machine sees the destination as being on the local network and will not send the connection to the remote network through the VPN interface. Another common reason for communications failures is that the VPN clients are not allowed access to resources on the corporate network due to firewall rules on the colocated VPN server/firewall device to which they are connected. The solution is to configure the firewall to allow the VPN clients access to the appropriate network resources.

3.

Users can't connect to VPN server from behind NAT devices

Most firewalls and NAT routers support the PPTP VPN protocol from behind a NAT. However, some high profile network equipment vendors don't include a NAT editor for the PPTP VPN protocol. If the user is located behind such a device, the VPN connection will fail for PPTP attempts but may work for alternate VPN protocols. All NAT devices and firewalls support IPSecpassthrough for IPSecbased VPN protocols. These VPN protocols include proprietary implementations of IPSec tunnel mode and RFC compliant L2TP/IPSec. These VPN protocols can support NAT traversal by encapsulating the IPSec communications in a UDP header. If your VPN client and server support NAT traversal and the client attempts to use L2TP/IPSec to connect to a NAT-T compliant VPN server from across a NAT, the most likely reason for this failure is that the client is running Windows XP Service Pack 2. Service Pack 2 "broke" NAT traversal for L2TP/IPSec VPN clients. You can solve this problem with a Registry entry on the VPN client computer, as described in a Microsoft Knowledge Base article 885407.

4.

Users complain of slow performance Slow performance is one of the most difficult problems to troubleshoot. There are a number of reasons for why VPN clients appear to perform poorly and its critical to have the users describe exactly what they are doing when they experience poor performance. One of the more common reasons for poor performance for VPN clients is when those clients are located behind DSL networks employing PPPoE. These network connections often encounter MTU problems that can cause both connectivity and performance issues. For more information on MTU issues for Windows clients, check out Microsoft Knowledge Base article 283165.

5.

Users can connect via PPTP but not L2TP/IPSec PPTP is a simple protocol to set up on both the VPN server and client. All the user requires is the built-in VPN client software included with all versions of Microsoft operating system and a valid user name and password for an account that has remote access permissions. The VPN server component, if based on Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (and just about any other VPN server supporting PPTP remote access VPN client connections) is

easy to set up and usually works automatically after running a short configuration wizard. L2TP/IPSec is more complex. Both the user and the user's machine must be able to authenticate with the VPN server. Machine authentication can use either a pre-shared key or machine certificate. If you use pre-shared keys (not recommended for security reasons), check that the VPN client is configured to use the same pre-shared key as the server. If you use machine certificates, confirm that the VPN client machine has a machine certificate and that is also trusts the certificate authority that issued the VPN server's machine certificate.

6.

Site-to-site VPNs connect but no traffic passes between the VPN gateways When creating site-to-site VPN connections between Windows RRAS servers, you may find that the VPN connection seems to be established, but traffic does not move between the connected networks. Name resolution fails between the networks and hosts are unable to even ping hosts on the remote site network. The most common reason for this failure is that both sides of the site-to-site network connection are on the same network ID. The solution is to change the IP addressing scheme on one or more networks so that all networks joined by the site-to-site VPN are on different network IDs.

7.

Users can't establish IPSec tunnel mode connections from behind some firewalls Often, the VPN server and clients are correctly configured to use IPSec tunnel mode or L2TP/IPSec NAT-T connection to connect to a remote VPN server and the connection fails. Sometimes, you'll see this happen after a first client makes a successful connection, but subsequent clients from behind the same NAT device fail. The reason for this problem is that not all IPSec NAT-T VPN servers are RFC compliant. RFC compliance requires that the destination NAT-T VPN server support IKE negotiations from source port UDP 500 and that they be able to multiplex connections from multiple clients behind the same VPN gateway.

The solution to this problem is to contact your VPN server vendor and confirm that their implementation of VPN IPSec NAT-T is RFC compliant. If not, ask if there is a firmware update.

8.

Users can't reach some network IDs on the corporate network Users sometimes report that they can connect to some servers after establishing the VPN connection but not to other servers to which they should have access. When they test the connection, they can't ping the destination server using either a name or IP address. A common reason for this problem is that the VPN server does not have routing table entries for all network IDs that the VPN clients need to connect to. Users are able to connect to servers that are on-subnet with the VPN server but are unable to connect to network IDs remote from the VPN server. The solution to this problem is to populate the routing table on the VPN server so that it has a gateway address for all network IDs that VPN must be able to connect.

9.

Users can't connect to the Internet when connected to the VPN server Sometimes, users are unable to connect to the Internet after the VPN link is established. Once the VPN link is disconnected, the users have no problem connecting to the Internet. This problem arises when the VPN client software is configured to use the VPN server as its default gateway. This is the default setting for the Microsoft VPN client software. Since all Internet hosts are remote from the VPN client's location, Internet connections are routed to the VPN server. If the VPN server is not configured to allow Internet connections from VPN clients, the Internet connection attempts fail. The solution to this problem is to configure the VPN server to allow VPN clients access to the Internet. The Windows RRAS server supports this configuration, and so do many firewalls. Resist the urge to disable the setting configuring the VPN client to use the VPN server as its default gateway, as this enables split tunneling, which is a well-known VPN client security risk.

10. Multiple users connect to the VPN server using the same PPP authentication credentials A risk for all organizations implementing remote access VPN servers is that users will share username and password information with one another. Most VPN server implementations enable you to not only authenticate users before allowing a VPN connection, but also to authorize a VPN connection. A user might be able to successfully authenticate, but if that user is not authorized to access the network via VPN, the connection request is dropped. If users share credentials, this creates a situation where an unauthorized user can access the network with an authorized user's credentials. A solution to this problem is to use an extended authentication scheme. For example, you can assign users client (user) certificates for authentication, so that user credentials are never entered by the user. Other schemes include smart card authentication, biometric authentication, and other forms of twofactor authentication.

70.

What is LDAP?
LDAP, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, is an Internet protocol that email and other programs use to look up information from a server. Every email program has a personal address book, but how do you look up an address for someone who's never sent you email? How can an organization keep one centralized up-to-date phone book that everybody has access to? That question led software companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Lotus, and Netscape to support a standard called LDAP. "LDAP-aware" client programs can ask LDAP servers to look up entries in a wide variety of ways. LDAP servers index all the data in their entries, and "filters" may be used to select just the person or group you want, and return just the information you want. For example, here's an LDAP search translated into plain English: "Search for all people located in Chicago whose name contains "Fred" that have an email address. Please return their full name, email, title, and description." LDAP is not limited to contact information, or even information about people. LDAP is used to look up encryption certificates, pointers to

printers and other services on a network, and provide "single signon" where one password for a user is shared between many services. LDAP is appropriate for any kind of directory-like information, where fast lookups and less-frequent updates are the norm. As a protocol, LDAP does not define how programs work on either the client or server side. It defines the "language" used for client programs to talk to servers (and servers to servers, too). On the client side, a client may be an email program, a printer browser, or an address book. The server may speak only LDAP, or have other methods of sending and receiving dataLDAP may just be an add-on method. If you have an email program (as opposed to web-based email), it probably supports LDAP. Most LDAP clients can only read from a server. Search abilities of clients (as seen in email programs) vary widely. A few can write or update information, but LDAP does not include security or encryption, so updates usually requre additional protection such as an encrypted SSL connection to the LDAP server. LDAP also defines: Permissions, set by the administrator to allow only certain people to access the LDAP database, and optionally keep certain data private. Schema: a way to describe the format and attributes of data in the server. For example: a schema entered in an LDAP server might define a "groovyPerson" entry type, which has attributes of "instantMessageAddress", and "coffeeRoastPreference". The normal attributes of name, email address, etc., would be inherited from one of the standard schemas, which are rooted in X.500 (see below). LDAP was designed at the University of Michigan to adapt a complex enterprise directory system (called X.500) to the modern Internet. X.500 is too complex to support on desktops and over the Internet, so LDAP was created to provide this service "for the rest of us." LDAP servers exist at three levels: There are big public servers, large organizational servers at universities and corporations, and smaller LDAP servers for workgroups. Most public servers from around year 2000 have disappeared, although directory.verisign.com exists for looking up X.509 certificates. The idea of publicly listing your email address for the world to see, of course, has been crushed by spam. While LDAP didn't bring us the worldwide email address book, it continues to be a popular standard for communicating record-based, directory-like data between programs.

71.

What is Active Directory?

Active Directory is Microsoft's Directory Server. It provides authentication and authorization mechanisms as well as a framework within which other related services can be deployed (AD Certificate Services, AD Federated Services, etc). It is an LDAP compliant database that contains objects. The most commonly used objects are users, computers, and groups. These objects can be organized into organizational units (OUs) by any number of logical or business needs. Group Policy Objects (GPOs) can then be linked to OUs to centralize the settings for various users or computers across an organization.

72. When a user starts up a Computer, it goes through the POST and displays a black sceen with a cursor blinking at one corner of the screen. What do you think it could be due to? 73. What is the Maximum Distance that can be covered in a LAN?
A typical LAN technology can span, at most, a few hundred meters. LANs are not designed for long distances

75.

What is the difference between a Switch and a Hub?

Hub A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets. Switch In networks, a device that filters and forwards packets between LAN segments. Switches operate at the data link layer (layer 2) and sometimes the network layer (layer 3) of the OSI Reference Model and therefore support any packet protocol. LANs that use switches to join segments are called switched LANs or, in the case of Ethernet networks, switched Ethernet LANs. Router A device that forwards data packets along networks. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP.s network. Routers are located at gateways, the places

where two or more networks connect. Routers use headers and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the packets, and they use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts.

76. I want to have an account in AD but I do not want to let that user logon to the Server. What do I need to do?
Ans: Disable the "Allow Logon Locally" option

78.

What is APIPA?
Short for Automatic Private IP Addressing, a feature of later Windows operating systems. With APIPA, DHCP clients can automatically selfconfigure an IP address and subnet mask when a DHCP server isn't available. When a DHCP client boots up, it first looks for a DHCP server in order to obtain an IP address and subnet mask. If the client is unable to find the information, it uses APIPA to automatically configure itself with an IP address from a range that has been reserved especially for Microsoft. The IP address range is 169.254.0.1 through 169.254.255.254. The client also configures itself with a default class B subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. A client uses the self-configured IP address until a DHCP server becomes available. The APIPA service also checks regularly for the presence of a DHCP server (every five minutes, according to Microsoft). If it detects a DHCP server on the network, APIPA stops, and the DHCP server replaces the APIPA networking addresses with dynamically assigned addresses. APIPA is meant for nonrouted small business environments, usually less than 25 clients.

79.

What is an IP Address?
Every machine on a network has a unique identifier. Just as you would address a letter to send in the mail, computers use the unique identifier to send data to specific computers on a network. Most networks today, including all computers on the Internet, use the TCP/IP protocol as the standard for how to communicate on the network. In the TCP/IP protocol, the unique identifier for a computer is called its IP address.

There are two standards for IP addresses: IP Version 4 (IPv4) and IP Version 6 (IPv6). All computers with IP addresses have an IPv4 address, and many are starting to use the new IPv6 address system as well. Here's what these two address types mean:

IPv4 uses 32 binary bits to create a single unique address on the network. An IPv4 address is expressed by four numbers separated by dots. Each number is the decimal (base-10) representation for an eight-digit binary (base-2) number, also called an octet. For example: 216.27.61.137 IPv6 uses 128 binary bits to create a single unique address on the network. An IPv6 address is expressed by eight groups of hexadecimal (base-16) numbers separated by colons, as in 2001:cdba:0000:0000:0000:0000:3257:9652. Groups of numbers that contain all zeros are often omitted to save space, leaving a colon separator to mark the gap (as in 2001:cdba::3257:9652).

At the dawn of IPv4 addressing, the Internet was not the large commercial sensation it is today, and most networks were private and closed off from other networks around the world. When the Internet exploded, having only 32 bits to identify a unique Internet address caused people to panic that we'd run out of IP addresses. Under IPv4, there are 232 possible combinations, which offers just under 4.3 billion unique addresses. IPv6 raised that to a panic-relieving 2128 possible addresses. Later, we'll take a closer look at how to understand your computer's IPv4 or IPv6 addresses. How does your computer get its IP address? An IP address can be either dynamic or static. A static address is one that you configure yourself by editing your computer's network settings. This type of address is rare, and it can create network issues if you use it without a good understanding of TCP/IP. Dynamic addresses are the most common. They're assigned by the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), a service running on the network. DHCP typically runs on network hardware such as routers or dedicated DHCP servers. Dynamic IP addresses are issued using a leasing system, meaning that the IP address is only active for a limited time. If the lease expires, the computer will automatically request a new lease. Sometimes, this means the computer will get a new IP address, too, especially if the computer was unplugged from the network between leases. This process is usually transparent to the user unless the computer warns about an IP address conflict on the network (two computers with the same IP address). An address conflict is rare, and today's technology typically fixes the problem automatically.

Next, let's take a closer look at the important parts of an IP address and the special roles of certain addresses. Earlier, you read that IPv4 addresses represent four eight-digit binary numbers. That means that each number could be 00000000 to 11111111 in binary, or 0 to 255 in decimal (base-10). In other words, 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255. However, some numbers in that range are reserved for specific purposes on TCP/IP networks. These reservations are recognized by the authority on TCP/IP addressing, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Four specific reservations include the following:

0.0.0.0 -- This represents the default network, which is the abstract concept of just being connected to a TCP/IP network. 255.255.255.255 -- This address is reserved for network broadcasts, or messages that should go to all computers on the network. 127.0.0.1 -- This is called the loopback address, meaning your computer's way of identifying itself, whether or not it has an assigned IP address. 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254 -- This is the Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) range of addresses assigned automatically when a computer's unsuccessful getting an address from a DHCP server.

The other IP address reservations are for subnet classes. A subnet is a smaller network of computers connected to a larger network through a router. The subnet can have its own address system so computers on the same subnet can communicate quickly without sending data across the larger network. A router on a TCP/IP network, including the Internet, is configured to recognize one or more subnets and route network traffic appropriately. The following are the IP addresses reserved for subnets:

10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255 -- This falls within the Class A address range of 1.0.0.0 to 127.0.0.0, in which the first bit is 0. 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 -- This falls within the Class B address range of 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.0.0, in which the first two bits are 10. 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 -- This falls within the Class C range of 192.0.0.0 through 223.255.255.0, in which the first three bits are 110. Multicast (formerly called Class D) -- The first four bits in the address are 1110, with addresses ranging from 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255.

Reserved for future/experimental use (formerly called Class E) -addresses 240.0.0.0 to 254.255.255.254.

The first three (within Classes A, B and C) are those most used in creating subnets. Later, we'll see how a subnet uses these addresses. The IANA has outlined specific uses for multicast addresses within Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) document RFC 5771. However, it hasn't designated a purpose or future plan for Class E addresses since it reserved the block in its 1989 document RFC 1112. Before IPv6, the Internet was filled with debate about whether the IANA should release Class E for general use. Next, let's see how subnets work and find out who has those nonreserved IP addresses out on the Internet.

Internet Addresses and Subnets

The following is an example of a subnet IP address you might have on your computer at home if you're using a router (wireless or wired) between your ISP connection and your computer:

IP address: 192.168.1.102 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 Twenty-four bits (three octets) reserved for network identity Eight bits (one octet) reserved for nodes Subnet identity based on subnet mask (first address): 192.168.1.0 The reserved broadcast address for the subnet (last address): 192.168.1.255 Example addresses on the same network: 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.103 Example addresses not on the same network: 192.168.2.1, 192.168.2.103

Besides reserving IP addresses, the IANA is also responsible for assigning blocks of IP addresses to certain entities, usually commercial or government organizations. Your Internet service provider (ISP) may be one of these entities, or it may be part of a larger block under the control of one of those entities. In order for you to connect to the Internet, your ISP will assign you one of these addresses. You can see a full list of IANA assignments and reservations for IPv4 addresses here. If you only connect one computer to the Internet, that computer can use the address from your ISP. Many homes today, though, use routers to share a single Internet connection between multiple computers.

Wireless routers have become especially popular in recent years, avoiding the need to run network cables between rooms. If you use a router to share an Internet connection, the router gets the IP address issued directly from the ISP. Then, it creates and manages a subnet for all the computers connected to that router. If your computer's address falls into one of the reserved subnet ranges listed earlier, you're going through a router rather than connecting directly to the Internet. IP addresses on a subnet have two parts: network and node. The network part identifies the subnet itself. The node, also called the host, is an individual piece of computer equipment connected to the network and requiring a unique address. Each computer knows how to separate the two parts of the IP address by using a subnet mask. A subnet mask looks somewhat like an IP address, but it's actually just a filter used to determine which part of an IP address designates the network and node. A subnet mask consists of a series of 1 bits followed by a series of 0 bits. The 1 bits indicate those that should mask the network bits in the IP address, revealing only those that identify a unique node on that network. In the IPv4 standard, the most commonly used subnet masks have complete octets of 1s and 0s as follows:

255.0.0.0.0 = 11111111.00000000.00000000.00000000 = eight bits for networks, 24 bits for nodes 255.255.0.0 = 11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000 = 16 bits for networks, 16 bits for nodes 255.255.255.0 = 11111111. 11111111.11111111.00000000 = 24 bits for networks, eight bits for nodes

People who set up large networks determine what subnet mask works best based on the number of desired subnets or nodes. For more subnets, use more bits for the network; for more nodes per subnet, use more bits for the nodes. This may mean using non-standard mask values. For instance, if you want to use 10 bits for networks and 22 for nodes, your subnet mask value would require using 11000000 in the second octet, resulting in a subnet mask value of 255.192.0.0. Another important thing to note about IP addresses in a subnet is that the first and last addresses are reserved. The first address identifies the subnet itself, and the last address identifies the broadcast address for systems on that subnet.

See the sidebar on the previous page for a look at how all this information comes together to form your IP address. For even more information about IP addresses, the Internet and related networking topics, head on to the next page.

80.

What is a Subnet Mask?

An IP address has two components, the network address and the host address. A subnet mask separates the IP address into the network and host addresses (<network><host>). Subnetting further divides the host part of an IP address into a subnet and host address (<network><subnet><host>). It is called a subnet mask because it is used to identify network address of an IP address by perfoming bitwise AND operation on the netmask. A Subnet mask is a 32-bit number that masks an IP address, and divides the IP address into network address and host address. Subnet Mask is made by setting network bits to all "1"s and setting host bits to all "0"s. Within a given network, two host addresses are reserved for special purpose. The "0" address is assigned a network address and "255" is assigned to a broadcast address, and they cannot be assigned to a host.

81.

What is ARP?
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a protocol for mapping an Internet Protocol address (IP address) to a physical machine address that is recognized in the local network. For example, in IP Version 4, the most common level of IP in use today, an address is 32 bits long. In an Ethernet local area network, however, addresses for attached devices are 48 bits long. (The physical machine address is also known as a Media Access Control or MAC address.) A table, usually called the ARP cache, is used to maintain a correlation between each MAC address and its corresponding IP address. ARP provides the protocol rules for making this correlation and providing address conversion in both directions. How ARP Works When an incoming packet destined for a host machine on a particular local area network arrives at a gateway, the gateway asks the ARP program to find a physical host or MAC address that matches the IP address. The ARP program looks in the ARP cache and, if it finds the address, provides it so that the packet can be converted to the right packet length and format and sent to the machine. If no entry is found for the IP address, ARP broadcasts a request packet in a special format

to all the machines on the LAN to see if one machine knows that it has that IP address associated with it. A machine that recognizes the IP address as its own returns a reply so indicating. ARP updates the ARP cache for future reference and then sends the packet to the MAC address that replied. Since protocol details differ for each type of local area network, there are separate ARP Requests for Comments (RFC) for Ethernet, ATM, Fiber Distributed-Data Interface, HIPPI, and other protocols. There is a Reverse ARP (RARP) for host machines that don't know their IP address. RARP enables them to request their IP address from the gateway's ARP cache.

83.

What do you understand by the term "Memory Leak" ?

A bug in a program that prevents it from freeing up memory that it no longer needs. As a result, the program grabs more and more memory until it finally crashes because there is no more memory left.

86.

What is LBA (in Hard-Disk Drives) ?

Logical Block Addressing (LBA) Regular addressing of IDE/ATA drives is done by specifying a cylinder, head and sector address where the data that is required resides. Extended CHS addressing adds a translation step that changes the way the geometry appears in order to break the 504 MiB barrier, but the addressing is still done in terms of cylinder, head and sector numbers (they are just translated one or more times before they get to the actual disk itself).

90.

What is SAS?
Serial-attached SCSI (SAS) is a method used in accessing computer peripheral devices that employs a serial (one bit at a time) means of digital data transfer over thin cables. The method is specified in the American National Standard Institute standard called Serial-attached SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), also known as ANSI/INCITS 376-2003. In the business enterprise, serial-attached SCSI is especially of interest for access to mass storage devices, particularly external hard drives. Serial-attached SCSI offers advantages over older parallel technologies. The cables are thinner, and the connectors are less bulky. Serial data transfer allows the use of longer cables than parallel data transfer. Problems related to crosstalk are less likely in serial interfaces than in parallel interfaces, because there are fewer

conductors in the cables. The hardware for serial interfaces is less costly than the hardware for equivalent parallel interfaces. SAS offers data transfer rates in excess of 3 gigabits per second (Gbps) with potential rates of 10 Gbps or more. Serial-attached SCSI is said to offer an ideal solution for businesses with substantial storage, backup, and archiving demands. Devices that employ SAS are compatible with serial ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) devices. In addition, SAS products are compatible with devices that employ earlier SCSI technologies. External disk drives, host adapters, and expanders were the first devices to employ SAS. The technology is expected to expand to printers, scanners, digital cameras, and other peripherals.

91.

What are the three main reasons for using RAID?

1. Increased storage. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. This means that you can get several inexpensive disks and set them into one large volume. 2. The redundancy gives protection. A simple RAID array is a mirrored array or a pair of disks of the same size. What gets written to one, also gets written to the other. This way if one fails, another can be put in to replace it and the mirror rebuilt. In more complicated arrays, you can have several drives giving the protection. You sacrifice one drive in the array to give you protection. A typical array: Disk Disk Disk Disk 1 2 3 4 1|2|3|C 2|3|C|1 3|C|1|2 C|1|2|3

C stands for the checksum. Say drive 2 dies you can replace the drive and the RAID controller and software can figure out the missing bits by doing math. If the checksum is 6 (1+2+3), then it can figure out the 4 bytes I listed by going 6 (or C) -3-1=the missing byte of 2 and so on and so forth to replace the data. 3. having immediate failover. Add a fifth drive to the array and you can sacrifice the capacity of two of those disks to have an

online backup right there in the case of failure. Disk Disk Disk Disk Disk 1 2 3 4 5 1|2|3|C 2|3|C|1 3|C|1|2 C|1|2|3 0|0|0|0

So when disk 2 fails in the middle of the night, the RAID controller will rebuild the missing information from disk 2 onto disk 5 without anyone having to be there. In fact, most RAID controllers can rebuild the information on the fly with the only indication of failure (other than the failure lights on the array) is a slight slow down. In my Compaq ACT class, we pulled (forced a failure of) a drive while Windows was booting up and it continued to boot into Windows and allowed us to log in normally. Other than being a little slow, it acted normally.

96.

What other types of RAID do you know?

RAID 0 is used to boost a server's performance. It's also known as "disk striping." With RAID 0, data is written across multiple disks. This means the work that the computer is doing is handled by multiple disks rather than just one, increasing performance because multiple drives are reading and writing data, improving disk I/O. A minimum of two disks is required. Both software and hardware RAID support RAID 0 as do most controllers. The downside is that there is no fault tolerance. If one disk fails then that affects the entire array and the chances for data loss or corruption increases. RAID 1 is a fault-tolerance configuration known as "disk mirroring." With RAID 1, data is copied seamlessly and simultaneously, from one disk to another, creating a replica, or mirror. If one disk gets fried, the other can keep working. It's the simplest relatively low-cost way to implement faulttolerance. The downside is that RAID 1 causes a slight drag on performance. RAID 1 can be implemented through either software or hardware RAID. A minimum of two disks are required for RAID 1 hardware implementations. With software RAID 1, instead of two physical disks, data is mirrored between

volumes on a single disk. One additional point to remember is that RAID 1 cuts total disk capacity in half: if a server with two 1 TB drives is configured with RAID 1, then total storage capacity will be 1 TB not 2 TB. RAID 5 is by far the most common RAID configuration for business servers and enterprise NAS devices. This RAID level provides better performance than mirroring as well as faulttolerance. With RAID 5, data and parity (which is additional data used for recovery) are striped across three or more disks. Disk drives typically fail in sectors, rather than the entire drive dying. When RAID 5 is configured, if a portion of a disk fails, that data gets recreated from the remaining data and parity, seamlessly and automatically. This is beneficial because RAID 5 allows many NAS and server drives to be "hot-swappable" meaning in case a drive in the array fails, that drive can be swapped with a new drive without shutting down the server or NAS and without having to interrupt users who may be accessing the server or NAS. It's a great solution for data redundancy, because as drives fail (and they eventually will), the data can be re-built to new disks as failing disks are replaced. RAID 5 can be implemented as a software or hardware solution. You'll get better performance with hardware RAID 5, because the work is done by the controller without taxing the system processor. The downside to RAID 5 is the performance hit to servers that perform a lot of write operations. For example, with RAID 5 on a server that has a database that many employees access in a workday, there could be noticeable lag. RAID 10 is a combination of RAID 1 and 0 and is often denoted as RAID 1+0. It combines the mirroring of RAID 1 with the striping of RAID 0. It's the RAID level that gives the best performance, but it is also costly, requiring two times as many disks of other RAID levels, for a minimum of four. This is the RAID level ideal for highly used database servers or any server that's performing many write operations. RAID 10 can be implemented as hardware or software but the general

consensus is that many of the performance advantages are lost when you use software RAID 10. RAID 10 requires a minimum of four disks.

99.

What is REGISTRY in Windows?

The Windows Registry contains information, settings, options, and other values for all versions of Microsoft Windows Operating Systems and programs and hardware installed in Windows. For example, when a program is installed in Windows a new subkey containing settings such as where the program is located, the version, what settings are enabled and disabled, how to start the program, etc. are added into the Windows Registry. When Windows was initially released, it relied heavily on .ini files to store Windows and Windows programs configurations and settings. Although .ini files are still sometimes used, most Windows programs rely off settings made to the Windows Registry after being installed. To view and make changes to the Windows Registry the Windows Registry Editor, as shown in the below picture can be used. In Windows 3.x, the Registry Editor was known as the Registration Info Editor or Registration Editor. The Registry Editor allows you to view all keys and values that are in the Registry as well as change Windows, program, or driver values you feel are necessary.

Registry Root Keys (hive name) When first opening the Windows Registry Editor, it will display root keys that contain all Registry values. Below is a brief description about each of the most common root keys and the values contained in each of them.

Root Key HKEY_CLASSES_RO OT (HKCR) HKEY_CURRENT_US ER (HKCU)

Description Describes file type, file extension, and OLE information. Contains user who is currently logged into Windows and their settings. Contains computer-specific information about the hardware installed, software settings, and other HKEY_LOCAL_MACH information. This information is used for all users INE (HKLM) who log on to this computer and is one of the more commonly accessed areas in the Registry. Contains information about all the users who log HKEY_USERS (HKU) on to the computer, including both generic and user-specific information. HKEY_CURRENT_CO The details about the current configuration of NFIG (HKCC) hardware attached to the computer. Only used in Windows 95, 98, and NT this key contained the dynamic status information and Plug-and-Play information. This information may HKEY_DYN_DATA change as devices are added to or removed from (HKDD) the computer. The information for each device includes the related hardware key and the device's current status, including problems

101. What is the difference between a Workgroup and a Domain?

Key difference: A workgroup is a type of peer-to-peer network. It is essentially the name for a Windows based peer-topeer computer network. Computers in this kind of network can allow each other access to their files, printers, or Internet connection. A domain, on the other hand, is a client/server network in which the security and resource management is centralized. This means that a singular administration has control over the domain and allows which users have access to which files.

Domains and workgroups are two different methods for organizing computers in a network. The main difference between the two is in the manner they operate, chiefly how the computers and other resources on the networks are managed.

A workgroup is a type of peer-to-peer network. It is essentially the name for a Windows based peer-to-peer computer network. Computers in this kind of network can allow each other access to their files, printers, or Internet connection. In order to do this, every user must have an account on each of the workgroups computers that they require access to. These settings and access are managed by each computers user.

A domain, on the other hand, is a client/server network in which the security and resource management is centralized. This means that a singular administration has control over the domain and allows which users have access to which files. In a domain, there is a one single database for domain users. A user can log on at any workstation via their account and access the files.

Advantages of Domain over workgroup:

Centralized administration User can log on at any workstation and access domain resources.

Security of data, user and groups Runs on Windows 2000 and 2003 Server or advance support for server configuration File, folder & user and group permission can be assigned.

A side-to-side comparison of workgroup and domain:

Workgroup Network type Peer-to-peer Windows computer network User needs to have separate log in id and password at each workstation Computers are limited to maximum 10

Domain Client/server network

Log in

User can log on at any workstation via their account and access domain resources There can be up to 2000 computers

Workstations

Administrator

Each user controls the One administrator to resources and security administer the domain locally on their PC's and its users and resources. All computers must be on the same local network or subnet. The computers can be on different local networks, i.e. anywhere in the world. One can make only limited changes to a computer's settings because network administrators often want to ensure

Location

Computer's settings

Each user controls the settings on their own computer. No central settings.

consistency among computers. Changes Each computer must be Changes made to one changed manually or are automatically made once changed must be to all computers transferred to each computer. User needs to have separate log in id and password at each workstation, but once logged in can access the computer. Domain users must provide a password or other credentials each time they access the domain.

Security

103. What are the different methods to install an Operating System?

Attended installation[edit]
On Windows systems, this is the most common form of installation. An installation process usually needs a user who attends it to make choices, such as accepting or declining an end-user license agreement (EULA), specifying preferences such as the installation location, supplying passwords or assisting in product activation. In graphical environments, installers that offer a wizard-based interface are common. Attended installers may ask users to help mitigate the errors. For instance, if the disk in which the computer program is be installed was full, the installer may ask the user to specify another target path. Silent installation[edit] Installation that does not display messages or windows during its progress. "Silent installation" is not the same as "unattended installation" (see below): All silent installations are unattended but not all unattended installations are silent. The reason behind a silent installation may be convenience or subterfuge. Malware is almost always installed silently.[citation needed]

Unattended installation[edit] Installation that is performed without user interaction during its progress or with no user present at all. One of the reasons to use this approach is to automate the installation of a large number of systems. An unattended installation either does not require the user to supply anything or has received all necessary input prior to the start of installation. Such input may be in the form of command line switches or an answer file, a file that contains all the necessary parameters. Windows XP and most Linux distributions are examples of operating systems that can be installed with an answer file. In unattended installation, it is assumed that there is no user to help mitigate errors. For instance, if the installation medium was faulty, the installer should fail the installation, as there is no user to fix the fault or replace the medium. Unattended installers may record errors in a computer log for later review. Headless installation[edit] Installation performed without using a computer monitor connected. In attended forms of headless installation, another machine connects to the target machine (for instance, via a local area network) and takes over the display output. Since a headless installation does not need a user at the location of the target computer, unattended headless installers may be used to install a computer software on multiple machines at the same time. Scheduled or automated installation[edit] An installation process that runs on a preset time or when a predefined condition transpires, as opposed to an installation process that starts explicitly on a user's command. For instance, a system administrator willing to install a later version of a computer program that is being used can schedule that installation to occur when that program is not running. An operating system may automatically install a device driver for a device that the user connects. (See plug and play.) Malware may also be installed automatically. For example, the infamous Conficker was installed when the user plugged an infected device to his computer. Clean installation[edit] A clean installation is one that is done in the absence of any interfering elements such as old versions of the computer program being installed or leftovers from a previous installation. In particular, the clean installation of an operating system is an installation in which the target

disk partition is erased before installation. Since the interfering elements are absent, a clean installation may succeed where an unclean installation may fail or may take significantly longer. Network installation[edit] An installation of a program from a shared network resource. This may simply be a copy of the original media but software publishers which offer site licenses for institutional customers may provide a version intended for installation over a network.

104. What is an Answer file?

An "answer file" is an XML-based file that contains setting definitions and values to use during Windows Setup. In an answer file, you specify various setup options, including how to partition disks, the location of the Windows image to install, and the product key to apply. You can also specify values that apply to the Windows installation, such as the names of user accounts, display settings, and Internet Explorer Favorites. The answer file for Setup is typically called Unattend.xml. Answer files created in Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) are associated with a particular Windows image. This enables you to validate the settings in the answer file to the settings available in the Windows image. However, because any answer file can be used to install any Windows image, if there are settings in the answer file for components that do not exist in the Windows image, those settings are ignored

107. What is Sysprep?

The System Preparation tool (Sysprep) is a technology that you can use with other deployment tools to install Microsoft Windows operating systems with minimal intervention by an administrator or technician. Sysprep is typically used during large-scale rollouts when it would be too slow and costly to have administrators or technicians interactively install the operating system on individual computers. You typically use the Sysprep tool in conjunction with a non-Microsoft disk imaging tool or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Automated Deployment Services (ADS) to perform image-based installations. Image-based installation is a method of copying or cloning preconfigured operating systems (and, optionally, software applications) onto destination computers. After you set up a master installation an installation with the operating system, software

applications, and configuration settings that you want to install onto the destination computers in your organization, Sysprep prepares the master installation so that you can create a disk image; that is, a functionally identical replica of the disk containing the master installation, that can be copied onto multiple computers. The diskimaging program creates the disk image of the master installation. After the disk image is copied onto a destination computer, and you start the destination computer, a shortened version of the Windows Setup program runs. The shortened version of Setup configures only user-specific and computer-specific settings, such as computer name, domain membership, and regional options. You can automate this last part of the setup process by using an answer file, a simple text file that instructs the Setup program how to configure the various operating system settings.

109. What is the major difference between Newsid and Sysprep?

NewSID

NewSID is a free Win 32 program that can run on previously cloned systems. The program, on instructions, assigns unique IDs to both the network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) and domain name system (DNS). The software uses a wizard-style interface that allows you to assign security identifiers for systems accessing Windows XP and .NET servers. NewSID can also compact file sizes in the registry and improve system performance. Sponsored Links
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SysPrep

Sysprep, much like NewSID, is compatible to use in conjunction with several disk imaging software. However, it is advisable to use the program alongside an imaging tool called Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Automated Deployment Services (ADS). Once configurations are cloned onto a new workstation, the Sysprep internally automates the process of assigning SIDs and

therefore the program reduces the steps it takes to assign security identifiers to destination computers. Differences

Beginning 2006, Microsoft no longer recommends the use of NewSID. So unlike Sysprep, the use of NewSID may result in serious bugs in newer versions of XP or Windows Vista computers. Further, Sysprep because of its automated process, requires shorter installation time. Also, because it does a better job at minimizing the error rate during the setup process, Sysprep offers greater consistency. All computers in the network can run on exactly the same configuration. However, while NewSID supports changing the SIDs of computers that have applications already installed on them, Sysprep can assign SIDs only during the setup

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_12229827_major-difference-between-newsidsysprep.html#ixzz2ZZLJQWFs

110. What is the function of the pagefile.sys file?

Virtual Memory for Windows: Windows uses this page file to run it as virtual memory Definition: A paging file is a file on the hard disk that Windows uses as if it were RAM PAGEFILE.SYS is the virtual memory file Windows uses. Typically, on install, Windows sets the size of the file at around 1.5 times your physical memory size however this size will vary depending on the amount of free space on the disk when the file is established and other factors. Most will find the default size works fine but it can be changed. Windows uses this file for its normal operation however if you really need the space you can delete it after turning the virtual memory option off but be aware that this can cause extreme instability in Windows to the point where it might stop

111. What is the function of the hiberfil.sys file?

HIBERFIL.SYS is a file the system creates when the computer goes into hibernation mode. Windows uses the file when it is turned back on. If you don't need hibernation mode and want to delete the file you need to turn the hibernation option off before Windows will allow you to delete the file. The procedure for turning hibernation off differs markedly between Windows XP and Vista. The file size depends largely on

the size of active RAM in the computer as the contents of the file are basically a RAM image

113. When should you use each of the following tools: System Restore, LKGC and Recovery Console?
System Restore is a recovery tool in Windows that allows you to reverse certain kinds of changes made to the operating system. What is System Restore Used For?: System Restore is used to return important Windows files and settings - like drivers, registry keys, system files, installed programs, and more - back to previous versions and settings. Think of System Restore as an "undo" feature for the most important parts of Microsoft Windows. How To Access System Restore: System Restore can be accessed from the System Tools program folder in Windows. See the How To Use System Restore section below for detailed steps. If you can't access Windows normally, System Restore can also be started from Safe Mode in all versions of Windows and from outside Windows completely via System Recovery Options in Windows 7 and Windows Vista. How To Use System Restore: The System Restore utility is designed as a step-by-step wizard, making it really easy to choose a point in the past, called a restore point, to return your important files and settings to: The Recovery Console is a command line based, advanced diagnostic feature available in some versions of the Windows operating system. What is the Recovery Console Used For?: The Recovery Console is used to help resolve a number of major system problems. The Recovery Console is particularly useful for repairing or replacing important operating system files. When these files aren't working like

they should, Windows will sometimes not startup at all. In these cases, you must start the Recovery Console to restore the files. How To Access Recovery Console: The Recovery Console is usually accessed from the original Windows installation CD. Alternatively, Recovery Console can be accessed from the boot menu but only if it has been preinstalled on your system. How To Enter Recovery Console From the Windows XP CD How To Use Recovery Console: A number of commands, unsurprisingly called Recovery Console commands, are available from within Recovery Console. Using these commands in specific ways can help solve specific problems. Here are some examples where executing a particular command in the Recovery Console is necessary to fix a serious Windows issue:

Repair the Master Boot Record in Windows XP Restore Hal.dll From the Windows XP CD Restore NTLDR and Ntdetect.com From the Windows XP CD

114. How do you set different Print Priority for different users?
1. Open Printers and Faxes. 2. Right-click the printer you want to set, click Properties, and then click the Advanced tab. 3. In Priority, click the up or down arrows, and then click OK. Or, type a priority level, where 1 is the lowest level and 99 is the highest, and then click OK. 4. Click Add Printer to add a second logical printer for the same physical printer. For instructions. 5. Click the Advanced tab. 6. In Priority, set a priority higher than that of the first logical printer. 7. Instruct the regular group of users to use the first logical printer name and the group with higher priority to use the second logical printer name. Set the appropriate permissions for the different groups. Notes

To open Printers and Faxes, click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.

You gain no benefits just from setting a priority to a printer. You need to set at least two different logical printers for the same physical printer to take advantage of this opti

115. How can you reset user's passwords if you don't know his current password? 116. What's the difference between changing a user's password and resetting it? 117. You want to grant a user the right to perform backups should you add him to the Administrators Group? 118. What is MMC?
The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is an application that provides a graphical-user interface (GUI) and a programming framework in which consoles (collections of administrative tools) can be created, saved, and opened. MMC was originally released as part of the Windows 98 Resource Kit, and is included on all later versions. It uses a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) in an environment similar to Microsoft's Windows Explorer. MMC is considered to be a container for the actual operations, and is known as a "tools host." It does not, itself, provide management, but rather a framework in which management tools can operate. Consoles are used to manage Windows-based hardware, software, and networking components, and include items such as controls, wizards, tasks, documentation, and snap-ins which may be from Microsoft or other software vendors, or user-defined. To create a console, the administrator runs the MMC executable file to open an empty console and chooses from among a list of all the tools installed on the system (such as, for example, certificate server manager, device manager, and DNS manager). Because consoles exist as files, an administrator can create them and then send them as e-mail attachments to developers responsible for specific tasks.

119. What is gpedit.msc?

It is a group policy editor. Group Policies are rules that can be applied to a machine every time the operating system starts up.

120. How would you use the MMC to manage other servers on your network?

121. You set a local policy for your Stand-alone XP Professional - would the local policy effects the administrators group? 123. What is the difference between User Privileges and User Permissions?
User rights generally refer to logon capabilities: who can logon interactively, as a batch job, as a service, over the network, over Terminal Services, etc. These all require a certain "right" and these rights can also be denied to groups or individual users. Permissions relate to the capability of accessing an object, such as a file, a registry entry, a service, a printer, a share, etc. Again these can be granted or denied but there is more granularity here as there are several permission types: read, write, delete, etc. Permissions are collected into Access Control Lists (ACLs) with each entry being termed an Access Control Entry (ACE).

125. Which logs can be found in Event Viewer?

Application (program) events. Events are classified as error, warning, or information, depending on the severity of the event. An error is a significant problem, such as loss of data. A warning is an event that isn't necessarily significant, but might indicate a possible future problem. An information event describes the successful operation of a program, driver, or service. Security-related events. These events are called audits and are described as successful or failed depending on the event, such as whether a user trying to log on to Windows was successful. Setup events. Computers that are configured as domain controllers will have additional logs displayed here. System events. System events are logged by Windows and Windows system services, and are classified as error, warning, or information. Forwarded events. These events are forwarded to this log by other computers.

128. Which permission will you grant a user for a folder he need to be able to create and delete files in, if you do not want him to be able to change permissions for the folder? 129. What is the difference between clearing the "allow" permission and checking the "deny"?

When establishing permissions, you need to specify whether the entry should have access (Allow) or not have access (not Allow) to the resource. After permissions have been set, the LSASS (Local Security Authority) controls access to the resource. LSASS compares the SID (Security ID) that you placed on the ACL (Access Control List) with the SID placed on the security access token that is given to the user at logon. If the SID associated with the user is on the ACL, the LSASS must determine whether the access is set to Allow or Deny. The Allow and Deny permissions inherit down through the structure. Use the Deny permission sparingly, because of the fact that restrictive permissions override lenient permissions. It is more common to clear all the Allow check box for a group, thereby removing the group from the ACL. This has the same result, giving no access to the resource. "Not-Allow" access in this way is easier to troubleshoot, manage and configure. It is easy to forget that you have used the Deny option. You deny permissions (using explicit Deny) only to a specific user when it is necessary to override permissions that are otherwise allowed for the group to which this user belongs.

1.What are the types of Operating System ?

A network operating system (NOS) is a computer operating system system that is designed primarily to support workstation, personal computer, and, in some instances, older terminal that are connected on a local area network (LAN). Artisoft's LANtastic, Banyan VINES, Novell's NetWare, and Microsoft's LAN Manager are examples of network operating systems. In addition, some multi-purpose operating systems, such as Windows NT and Digital's OpenVMS come with capabilities that enable them to be described as a network operating system. A network operating system provides printer sharing, common file system and database sharing, application sharing, and the ability to manage a network name directory, security, and other housekeeping aspects of a network. Server-oriented operating systems tend to have certain features that make them more suitable for the server environment, such as[citation needed] GUI not available or optional ability to reconfigure and update both hardware and software to some extent without restart, advanced backup facilities to permit regular and frequent online backups of critical data, transparent data transfer between different volumes or devices, flexible and advanced networking capabilities, automation capabilities such as daemons in UNIX and services in Windows

tight system security, with advanced user, resource, data, and memory protection. Server-oriented operating systems can, in many cases, interact with hardware sensors to detect conditions such as overheating, processor and disk failure, and consequently alert an operator or take remedial measures themselves[citation needed]. Because servers must supply a restricted range of services to perhaps many users while a desktop computer must carry out a wide range of functions required by its user, the requirements of an operating system for a server are different from those of a desktop machine. While it is possible for an operating system to make a machine both provide services and respond quickly to the requirements of a user, it is common to use different operating systems on servers and desktop machines. Some operating systems are supplied in both server and desktop versions with similar user interface[citation needed]. Windows and Mac OS X server operating systems are deployed on a minority of servers, as are other proprietary mainframe operating systems, such as z/OS. The dominant operating systems among servers are UNIX-like open source distributions, such as those based on Linux and FreeBSD.[citation needed] The rise of the microprocessor-based server was facilitated by the development of Unix to run on the x86 microprocessor architecture. The Microsoft Windows family of operating systems also runs on x86 hardware and, since Windows NT, have been available in versions suitable for server use[citation needed]. While the role of server and desktop operating systems remains distinct, improvements in the reliability of both hardware and operating systems have blurred the distinction between the two classes. Today, many desktop and server operating systems share similar code bases, differing mostly in configuration. The shift towards web applications and middleware platforms has also lessened the demand for specialist application servers[citation needed].

3.Difference between FAT and NTFS

NTFS NTFS is the preferred file system for this version of Windows. It has many benefits over the earlier FAT32 file system, including: The capability to recover from some disk-related errors automatically, which FAT32 cannot. Improved support for larger hard disks. Better security because you can use permissions and encryption to restrict access to specific files to approved users.

FAT32 FAT32, and the lesser-used FAT, were used in earlier versions of Windows operating systems, including Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition. FAT32 does not have the security that NTFS provides, so if you have a FAT32 partition or volume on your computer, any user who has access to your computer can read any file on it. FAT32 also has size limitations. You cannot create a FAT32 partition greater than 32GB in this version of Windows, and you cannot store a file larger than 4GB on a FAT32 partition. The main reason to use FAT32 is because you have a computer that will sometimes run Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition and at other times run this version of Windows, known as a multiboot configuration. If that is the case, you will need to install the earlier operating system on a FAT32 or FAT partition and ensure that it is a primary partition (one that can host an operating system). Any additional partitions you will need to access when using these earlier versions of Windows must also be formatted with FAT32. These earlier versions of Windows can access NTFS partitions or volumes over a network, but not on your computer.

7.Types of Firewall
Network layer or packet filters[edit]Network layer firewalls, also called packet filters, operate at a relatively low level of the TCP/IP protocol stack, not allowing packets to pass through the firewall unless they match the established rule set. The firewall administrator may define the rules; or default rules may apply. The term "packet filter" originated in the context of BSD operating systems. Network layer firewalls generally fall into two sub-categories, stateful and stateless. Stateful firewalls maintain context about active sessions, and use that "state information" to speed packet processing. Any existing network connection can be described by several properties, including source and destination IP address, UDP or TCP ports, and the current stage of the connection's lifetime (including session initiation, handshaking, data transfer, or completion connection). If a packet does not match an existing connection, it will be evaluated according to the ruleset for new connections. If a packet matches an existing connection based on comparison with the firewall's state table, it will be allowed to pass without further processing. Stateless firewalls require less memory, and can be faster for simple filters that require less time to filter than to look up a session. They may also be necessary for filtering stateless network protocols that have no concept of a session. However, they cannot make more complex decisions based on what stage communications between hosts have reached. Modern firewalls can filter traffic based on many packet attributes like source IP address, source port, destination IP address or port, destination service like WWW

or FTP. They can filter based on protocols, TTL values, netblock of originator, of the source, and many other attributes. Commonly used packet filters on various versions of Unix are IPFilter (various), ipfw (FreeBSD/Mac OS X), NPF (NetBSD), PF (OpenBSD, and some other BSDs), iptables/ipchains (Linux). Application-layer[edit]Main article: Application layer firewall Application-layer firewalls work on the application level of the TCP/IP stack (i.e., all browser traffic, or all telnet or ftp traffic), and may intercept all packets traveling to or from an application. They block other packets (usually dropping them without acknowledgment to the sender). On inspecting all packets for improper content, firewalls can restrict or prevent outright the spread of networked computer worms and trojans. The additional inspection criteria can add extra latency to the forwarding of packets to their destination. Application firewalls function by determining whether a process should accept any given connection. Application firewalls accomplish their function by hooking into socket calls to filter the connections between the application layer and the lower layers of the OSI model. Application firewalls that hook into socket calls are also referred to as socket filters. Application firewalls work much like a packet filter but application filters apply filtering rules (allow/block) on a per process basis instead of filtering connections on a per port basis. Generally, prompts are used to define rules for processes that have not yet received a connection. It is rare to find application firewalls not combined or used in conjunction with a packet filter.[15] Also, application firewalls further filter connections by examining the process ID of data packets against a ruleset for the local process involved in the data transmission. The extent of the filtering that occurs is defined by the provided ruleset. Given the variety of software that exists, application firewalls only have more complex rulesets for the standard services, such as sharing services. These per process rulesets have limited efficacy in filtering every possible association that may occur with other processes. Also, these per process rulesets cannot defend against modification of the process via exploitation, such as memory corruption exploits. Because of these limitations, application firewalls are beginning to be supplanted by a new generation of application firewalls that rely on mandatory access control (MAC), also referred to as sandboxing, to protect vulnerable services. Proxies[edit]Main article: Proxy server A proxy server (running either on dedicated hardware or as software on a generalpurpose machine) may act as a firewall by responding to input packets (connection requests, for example) in the manner of an application, while blocking other packets. A proxy server is a gateway from one network to another for a specific

network application, in the sense that it functions as a proxy on behalf of the network user.[1] Proxies make tampering with an internal system from the external network more difficult and misuse of one internal system would not necessarily cause a security breach exploitable from outside the firewall (as long as the application proxy remains intact and properly configured). Conversely, intruders may hijack a publicly reachable system and use it as a proxy for their own purposes; the proxy then masquerades as that system to other internal machines. While use of internal address spaces enhances security, crackers may still employ methods such as IP spoofing to attempt to pass packets to a target network. Network address translation[edit]Main article: Network address translation Firewalls often have network address translation (NAT) functionality, and the hosts protected behind a firewall commonly have addresses in the "private address range", as defined in RFC 1918. Firewalls often have such functionality to hide the true address of protected hosts. Originally, the NAT function was developed to address the limited number of IPv4 routable addresses that could be used or assigned to companies or individuals as well as reduce both the amount and therefore cost of obtaining enough public addresses for every computer in an organization. Hiding the addresses of protected devices has become an increasingly important defense against network reconnaissance.

8.Difference between Hardware and Software Firewall

Hardware Firewalls Hardware firewalls can be purchased as a stand-alone product but more recently hardware firewalls are typically found in broadband routers, and should be considered an important part of your system and network set-up, especially for anyone on a broadband connection. Hardware firewalls can be effective with little or no configuration, and they can protect every machine on a local network. Most hardware firewalls will have a minimum of four network ports to connect other computers, but for larger networks, business networking firewall solutions are available. A hardware firewall uses packet filtering to examine the header of a packet to determine its source and destination. This information is compared to a set of predefined or user-created rules that determine whether the packet is to be forwarded or dropped. As with any electronic equipment, a computer user with general computer knowledge can plug in a firewall, adjust a few settings and have it work. To ensure that your firewall is configured for optimal security and protect however, consumers will no doubt need to learn the specific features of their hardware firewall, how to enable them, and how to test the firewall to ensure its doing a good job of protecting your network.

Not all firewalls are created equal, and to this end it is important to read the manual and documentation that comes with your product. Additionally the manufacturer's Web site will usually provide a knowledgebase or FAQ to help you get started. If the terminology is a bit too tech-oriented, you can also use the Webopedia search to help you get a better understanding of some of the tech and computer terms you will encounter while setting up your hardware firewall. To test your hardware firewall security, you can purchase third-party test software or search the Internet for a free online-based firewall testing service. Firewall testing is an important part of maintenance to ensure your system is always configured for optimal protection. Software Firewalls For individual home users, the most popular firewall choice is a software firewall. Software firewalls are installed on your computer (like any software) and you can customize it; allowing you some control over its function and protection features. A software firewall will protect your computer from outside attempts to control or gain access your computer, and, depending on your choice of software firewall, it could also provide protection against the most common Trojan programs or e-mail worms. Many software firewalls have user defined controls for setting up safe file and printer sharing and to block unsafe applications from running on your system. Additionally, software firewalls may also incorporate privacy controls, web filtering and more. The downside to software firewalls is that they will only protect the computer they are installed on, not a network, so each computer will need to have a software firewall installed on it. Like hardware firewalls there is a vast number of software firewalls to choose from. To get started you may wish to read reviews of software firewalls and search out the product Web site to glean some information first. Because your software firewall will always be running on your computer, you should make note of the system resources it will require to run and any incompatibilities with your operating system. A good software firewall will run in the background on your system and use only a small amount of system resources. It is important to monitor a software firewall once installed and to download any updates available from the developer. The differences between a software and hardware firewall are vast, and the best protection for your computer and network is to use both, as each offers different but much-needed security features and benefits. Updating your firewall and your operating system is essential to maintaining optimal protection, as is testing your firewall to ensure it is connected and working correctly.

9.Name the seven layers of OSI model

The OSI, or Open System Interconnection, model defines a networking framework to implement protocols in seven layers. This article explains the 7 Layers of the OSI Model. The OSI, or Open System Interconnection, model defines a networking framework to implement protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer in one station, and proceeding to the bottom layer, over the channel to the next station and back up the hierarchy. Application (Layer 7) This layer supports application and end-user processes. Communication partners are identified, quality of service is identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, and any constraints on data syntax are identified. Everything at this layer is application-specific. This layer provides application services for file transfers, e-mail, and other network software services. Telnet and FTP are applications that exist entirely in the application level. Tiered application architectures are part of this layer. ZLTO Meets 5 Minute RPO with Silver Peak and Dell EqualLogic Download Now 100% Presentation (Layer 6) This layer provides independence from differences in data representation (e.g., encryption) by translating from application to network format, and vice versa. The presentation layer works to transform data into the form that the application layer can accept. This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent across a network, providing freedom from compatibility problems. It is sometimes called the syntax layer. Session (Layer 5) This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. The session layer sets up, coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges, and dialogues between the applications at each end. It deals with session and connection coordination. Transport (Layer 4) This layer provides transparent transfer of data between end systems, or hosts, and is responsible for end-to-end error recovery and flow control. It ensures complete data transfer. Network (Layer 3) This layer provides switching and routing technologies, creating logical paths, known as virtual circuits, for transmitting data from node to node. Routing and forwarding are functions of this layer, as well as addressing, internetworking, error handling, congestion control and packet sequencing. Data Link (Layer 2)

At this layer, data packets are encoded and decoded into bits. It furnishes transmission protocol knowledge and management and handles errors in the physical layer, flow control and frame synchronization. The data link layer is divided into two sub layers: The Media Access Control (MAC) layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The MAC sub layer controls how a computer on the network gains access to the data and permission to transmit it. The LLC layer controls frame synchronization, flow control and error checking. Physical (Layer 1) This layer conveys the bit stream - electrical impulse, light or radio signal -through the network at the electrical and mechanical level. It provides the hardware means of sending and receiving data on a carrier, including defining cables, cards and physical aspects. Fast Ethernet, RS232, and ATM are protocols with physical layer components.

12.Minimum System requirement of Windows XP, Vista, 2003 and 2008 20.How to install a printer in Windows XP?
Once you have physically connected the printer, you will also need to install the software needed to allow the computer to send print jobs to it. This software is often supplied on a disk by the printers manufacturer, but most printers will work with the drivers supplied with Windows XP. The driver software provided by the manufacturer may add extra features, such as giving you information about the ink levels. To install a new printer with Windows XPs Add Printer Wizard, follow these steps: 1.Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar and then click Control Panel on the right side of the Start menu. 2.Click the Printers and Other Hardware hyperlink if the Control Panel window is in Category View. Otherwise, double-click the Printers and Faxes icon if the Control Panel window is in Classic View. 3.Click on the Add a Printer hyperlink in the Printers and Other Hardware window to start the Add Printer Wizard and then click the Next button or press Enter to advance to the Local Printer or Printer Connection dialog box. If you are in Classic View, start the wizard by clicking on the Add a Printer option on the left, under Printer Tasks.

4.Make sure that the Add Printer Wizard selects the Local Printer radio button, and that the Automatically Detect and Install my Plug and Play Printer check box beneath this radio button is also selected before you click the Next button. 5.If the wizard is unable to detect your printer in the New Printer Detection dialog box, click Next to install the printer manually. 6.Select the port for the printer to use in the Use the Following Port drop-down menu in the Select a Printer Port dialog box and then click the Next button. You should select either LPT1 (if you are connecting your printer using a parallel connector) or USB. 7.Click the manufacturer and the model of the printer in the Manufacturers and Printers list boxes, respectively. If you have a disk with the software for the printer, put it into your floppy or CD-ROM drive and then click the Have Disk button: Select the drive that contains this disk in the Copy Manufacturers Files drop-down menu and then click OK. 8.Click the Next button to advance to the Name Your Printer dialog box. If you want, edit the name for the printer in the Printer Name text box. If you want to make the printer that youre installing the default printer that is automatically used whenever you print from Windows or from within a Windows program, leave the Yes radio button selected beneath the heading, Do you want your Windows-based programs to use this printer as the default printer? 9.Click the Next button to advance to the Printer Sharing dialog box. If you want to share this printer with other users on the network, click the Share Name radio button and then, if you want, edit the share name that the wizard gives the printer in the Share Name text box (this is the name that the other users on the network will see when they go to select this printer for printing their documents). 10.Click the Next button to advance to the Print Test Page dialog box. To print a test page from your newly installed printer, make sure the Yes radio button is selected in this dialog box. 11.Click the Next button to advance to the Completing the Add Printer Wizard dialog box, where you can review the settings for your new printer before you click the Finish button or press Enter to finish installing the new printer.

24.Where is the HOSTS file located?

SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts The hosts file is a computer file used by an operating system to map hostnames to IP addresses. The hosts file is a plain text file, and is conventionally named hosts.

27.Difference between IP v4 and IP v6

What is Internet Protocol -- IP? IP (short for Internet Protocol) specifies the technical format of packets and the addressing scheme for computers to communicate over a network. Most networks combine IP with a higher-level protocol called Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which establishes a virtual connection between a destination and a source. IP by itself can be compared to something like the postal system. It allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there's no direct link between you and the recipient. TCP/IP, on the other hand, establishes a connection between two hosts so that they can send messages back and forth for a period of time. There are currently two version of Internet Protocol (IP): IPv4 and a new version called IPv6. IPv6 is an evolutionary upgrade to the Internet Protocol. IPv6 will coexist with the older IPv4 for some time. What is IPv4 -- Internet Protocol Version 4? IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) is the fourth revision of the Internet Protocol (IP) used to to identify devices on a network through an addressing system. The Internet Protocol is designed for use in interconnected systems of packet-switched computer communication networks (see RFC:791). IPv4 is the most widely deployed Internet protocol used to connect devices to the Internet. IPv4 uses a 32-bit address scheme allowing for a total of 2^32 addresses (just over 4 billion addresses). With the growth of the Internet it is expected that the number of unused IPv4 addresses will eventually run out because every device -- including computers, smartphones and game consoles -- that connects to the Internet requires an address. A new Internet addressing system Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is being deployed to fulfill the need for more Internet addresses. What is IPv6 -- Internet Protocol Version 6? IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) is also called IPng (Internet Protocol next generation) and it is the newest version of the Internet Protocol (IP) reviewed in the IETF standards committees to replace the current version of IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4). IPv6 is the successor to Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4). It was designed as an evolutionary upgrade to the Internet Protocol and will, in fact, coexist with the older IPv4 for some time. IPv6 is designed to allow the Internet to grow steadily,

both in terms of the number of hosts connected and the total amount of data traffic transmitted. IPv6 is often referred to as the "next generation" Internet standard and has been under development now since the mid-1990s. IPv6 was born out of concern that the demand for IP addresses would exceed the available supply. While increasing the pool of addresses is one of the most often-talked about benefit of IPv6, there are other important technological changes in IPv6 that will improve the IP protocol: No more NAT (Network Address Translation) Auto-configuration No more private address collisions Better multicast routing Simpler header format Simplified, more efficient routing True quality of service (QoS), also called "flow labeling" Built-in authentication and privacy support Flexible options and extensions Easier administration (say good-bye to DHCP) Recommended Reading: IPv6: Preparing for the Migration The Difference Between IPv6 and IPv4 IP Addresses An IP address is binary numbers but can be stored as text for human readers. For example, a 32-bit numeric address (IPv4) is written in decimal as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address. IPv6 addresses are 128-bit IP address written in hexadecimal and separated by colons. An example IPv6 address could be written like this: 3ffe:1900:4545:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf (see "What does an IPv6 address look like?")

37.Types of backups in Window OS

Many Windows 3.1-based backup programs use the archive bit to mark files that have been backed up. Backup does not use the archive bit in any way. The decision as to whether or not a file should be backed up in an incremental backup is based on the filename, its last modified date, and the date of the last incremental backup, all of which are stored in the file set. Full Backup (or Reference Backup) When you set the Backup Type setting to Full, all the files and folders on the drive are backed up every time you use that file set. To set the backup type, click Options on the Settings menu, and then click the Backup tab. Example: 1.In Backup, click the drives, files, or folders to back up, and then click Next Step.

2.Click the destination (where you want the files backed up to). 3.On the Settings menu, click Options, click the Backup tab, click "Full: backup of all selected files," and then click OK. 4.On the File menu, click Save As and name your backup set. Once saved, click Start Backup. 5.Provide a name for the selected drive, files, or folders in the Backup Set Label dialog box, and then click OK. Advantages: All files from the selected drives and folders are backed up to one backup set. In the event you need to restore files, they are easily restored from the single backup set. Disadvantages: A full backup is more time consuming than other backup options. Full backups require more disk, tape, or network drive space. Incremental Backup An incremental backup provides a backup of files that have changed or are new since the last incremental backup. To start the process, a file set with the incremental option selected is used to perform a backup. You can select the backup type by clicking Options on the Settings menu, and then clicking the Backup tab. For the first incremental backup, all files in the file set are backed up (just as in a full backup). If you use the same file set to perform a incremental backup later, only the files that have changed are backed up. If you use the same file set for a third backup, only the files that have changed since the second backup are backed up, and so on. In Backup, you can select files and/or folders to be backed up. If you select a folder, all the files and folders within that folder are selected. In an incremental backup, if you select a folder, files that are added to the folder are included during the next backup. If you select specific files, files that are added to the folder are not included during the next backup. Example: Monday - Perform the first incremental backup of selected files and/or folders using a file set with the Incremental option enabled. Tuesday - Perform another backup with the backup file set you created Monday. Only files that have changed since Monday's backup are backed up. Wednesday - Perform another backup with the backup file set you created Monday. Only files that have changed since Tuesday's incremental backup are backed up. To reset a file set so that the next backup backs up all files, and not just files that are new or have changed, follow these steps:

1.On the File menu, click Open File Set. Click the file set you want to use, and then click Open. Click Next Step. 2.Click the destination (where you want the files backed up to). 3.On the Settings menu, click Options, click the Backup tab, click "Full: backup of all selected files," and then click OK. 4.On the File menu, click Save to save your backup set. 5.Repeat steps 1 and 2. 6.On the Settings menu, click Options, click the Backup tab, click "Incremental: backup of selected files that have changed since the last full backup," and then click OK. Advantages: Backup time is faster than full backups. Incremental backups require less disk, tape, or network drive space. You can keep several versions of the same files on different backup sets. Disadvantages: In order to restore all the files, you must have all of the incremental backups available. It may take longer to restore a specific file since you must search more than one backup set to find the latest version of a file. Differential Backup (Not Supported in Backup) A differential backup provides a backup of files that have changed since a full backup was performed. A differential backup typically saves only the files that are different or new since the last full backup, but this can vary in different backup programs. Together, a full backup and a differential backup include all the files on your computer, changed and unchanged. Example: Monday - Perform a full backup and save the file set. Tuesday - Perform a differential backup using the same file set. All files that have changed since the full backup are backed up in the differential backup. Wednesday - Perform a differential backup using the same file set. All the files that have changed since Monday's full backup are backed up. Advantages: Differential backups require even less disk, tape, or network drive space than incremental backups. Backup time is faster than full or incremental backups. Disadvantages: Restoring all your files may take considerably longer since you may have to restore both the last differential and full backup. Restoring an individual file may take longer since you have to locate the file on either the differential or full backup.

41.What is NTLDR file?

NTLDR (abbreviation of NT loader) is the boot loader for all releases of Windows NT operating system up to and including Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. NTLDR is typically run from the primary hard disk drive, but it can also run from portable storage devices such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, or floppy disk. NTLDR can also load a non NT-based operating system given the appropriate boot sector in a file. NTLDR requires, at the minimum, the following two files to be on the system volume: ntldr, the main boot loader itself NTDETECT.COM, required for booting an NT-based OS, detects basic hardware information needed for successful boot An additional important file is boot.ini, which contains boot configuration (if missing, NTLDR will default to \Windows on the first partition of the first hard drive). NTLDR is launched by the volume boot record of system partition, which is typically written to the disk by the Windows FORMAT or SYS command.

42.How to tackle "missing NTLDR file" error? 49.Difference between Preferred DNS and Alternate DNS server

What questions would you ask to help isolate a users problem?

A. This question is used by the hiring manger to assess your problem-solving abilities. The following represent some of the common questions that you would ask the end-user to help diagnose a situation: When did the problem first start? Has the system ever worked properly? What was the last thing done to the system prior to the failure? Is the issue intermittent or ongoing/constant? Are there any error messages? If so, what are the specific error messages?

Has any new hardware been added to the system? Has any new software been added to the system, including downloads from the Internet? Has anything changed with the system (for example, has it been moved) since the issue presented itself? Has anyone else had access to the system? Are there any environmental factors that could be causing the issue? Have you done any troubleshooting on the system on your own? Have you checked all the cables/connections for a tight fit?

Q. What desktop operating systems are you familiar with?

A. Before you answer this question, you should have some background information on what operating systems are used within the organization you are interviewing with. Undoubtedly, you will be asked to elaborate on your skill set with each of these operating systems so its best to tailor your elaboration to the operating systems that are relevant to the hiring manager. This being said, dont leave out mentioning experience in other operating systems. You never know whether the company may be evaluating the migration to a different OS.

Q. Have you used imaging software before? How do you find these tools useful?
A. Automation tools are an important part of your job as a desktop support technician. Elaborate on the tools that youve used. Hiring managers want to assess your in-depth knowledge and experience with using these tools. This means talking about how you use their various feature sets. (If you have an opinion, you probably know the product pretty well.)

Q. What are the pitfalls of using imaging software?

A. This question is meant to assess how well you know these products. For example, discussing the importance of testing the image demonstrates that you use these tools on a regular basis.

Q. Have you used any software distribution tools? If so, which ones and how were they used?
A. Like imaging software, software distribution tools are an important part of your job. Hiring managers are looking for knowledge that these tools exist and how they can be used to support your organization.

Q. What do you like most about desktop support?

A. Hiring managers are looking for what motivates you. Hopefully your answer will match the characteristics of the job: being busy, working with different people, and the challenges of learning new operating systems and configurations.

Q. What do you like least about desktop support?

A. The hiring manager is testing whether you will fit in with the existing team. An appropriate answer here would be not being able to resolve a problem in a timely manner for reasons outside your control, such as hardware failure. Stick to things outside of your control for the best response.

Q. When solving a desktop problem, do you prefer to work with the end-user, your peers, or on your own?
A. This is another question to determine your fit within the organization. Hiring managers understand that to be successful as a support technician you will have to work in a team environment. This means working with other employees, vendors, and end-users on a constant basis.

Q. Can you describe a situation where you have had to deal with a difficult person? How did you handle it? Would you do anything differently?
A. Desktop support can be very demanding some days. End-users only see their own priority needs and often are not interested in other demands on your time. This question explores how you deal with a difficult end-user by understanding their problem, assessing priorities, and communicating a timeframe for resolution. Often good communication can help both sides come to an agreement. Make sure you have an example with a successful outcome.

Q. How would you say you are able to handle stress?

A. Hiring managers are looking to see what coping techniques you can draw on to deal with stress. Sometimes from the answer, they can also determine whether you are prone to stress. When responding, some techniques for handling stress that you may want to talk about include continually evaluating whats on your plate and prioritizing, communicating with your manager on what your priorities are, and making sure that you take a break to reenergize, particularly at lunch time.

Q. What do you see yourself doing two or three years from now?
A. Hiring managers want you to stick around. They realize that you will not be in this position forever, and they want to make sure theres a desire to move up within the organization as well as the right fit. They ask this question to see whether theres a growth path for you possible within the organization. As a desktop technician, natural growth paths are team leads, quality assurance, engineering positions, and entry-level development. Be honest about where you want to be in two to three years, and ask the interviewer whether they see your career path as a possibility.

Q. How do you learn new technologies?

A. Learning is an inherent part of the job. Hiring managers are looking for someone who enjoys learning technology on their own and who has the foresight to look for training opportunities. Besides the traditional books and manuals, dont forget to include user groups, eLearning subscriptions, and IT professional sites such as CramSession.

Q. How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time?

A. What hiring managers want to know is whether you have time-management skills. Everyone manages their time differently, but think about how you handle email, when you check voice mail, how you respond to pages, when you research and document, and how you pick up new trouble tickets.

Q. Imagine the following situation: you receive three simultaneous calls from three vicepresidents who need assistance immediately. How do you manage these conflicting priorities?
A. Obviously this is a trick question. What the hiring manager is trying to assess is how you set expectations with each of the individuals, knowing very well that you wont be able to assist all of them at the same time. They are also looking for how you will prioritize each of these incidents, including seeking assistance from peers and supervisors in order to meet user expectations. Dont allow the tyranny of the urgent to divert you from managementestablished support priorities.

Q. How would you handle a user who continually misdiagnoses their PC issues?
A. By asking this question, the hiring manager is assessing your customer service skills. In this situation, you may want to discuss that the key is to not offend the user and turn them off to your support services. In handling this situation, you would pay particular attention to ways you can build trust with the user and lead them to the right resolution to their problem. These components may include: Acknowledging the users diagnosis Asking the user to reproduce the problem Finding a solution that works

Q. How do you handle setting up new employees?

A. This question is used by the hiring manager to assess your knowledge of common practices within the IT department, such as setting up new users. Obviously, the IT department plays a critical role in the productivity of the new employee. The role of the desktop technician is to help ease the new employee into the resources available to them and get them up to speed quickly. In responding to this question, you may want to talk about some of the tools youve used in

the past to help users acquaint themselves with their new environment. Some tools that help are: A new-user welcome letter that is customized to the specific user with all their relevant information including telephone extension, how to access voice mail, and how to log in. It might also include a FAQ on getting help. A Getting to Know Your Helpdesk document that provides an orientation to helpdesk service, such as how to contact the helpdesk, its hours of operation, what is and what is not supported by the helpdesk, and answers to common new-user questions.

1) What is Active Directory?

A central component of the Windows platform, Active Directory directory service provides the means to manage the identities and relationships that make up network environments. For example we can create, manage and administrator users, computers and printers in the network from active directory.

2) What is DNS? Why it is used? What is "forward lookup" and "reverse lookup" in DNS? What are A records and mx records?
DNS is domain naming service and is used for resolving names to IP address and IP addresses to names. The computer understands only numbers while we can easily remember names. So to make it easier for us what we do is we assign names to computers and websites. When we use these names (Like yahoo.com) the computer uses DNS to convert to IP address (number) and it executes our request. Forward lookup: Converting names to IP address is called forward lookup. Reverse lookup: Resolving IP address to names is called reverse lookup. 'A' record: Its called host record and it has the mapping of a name to IP address. This is the record in DNS with the help of which DNS can find out the IP address of a name. 'MX' Record: its called mail exchanger record. Its the record needed to locate the mail servers in the network. This record is also found in DNS.

3) What id DHCP? Why it is used? What are scopes and super scopes?
DHCP: Dynamic host configuration protocol. Its used to allocate IP addresses to large number of PCs in a network environment. This makes the IP management very easy.

Scope: Scope contains IP address like subnet mask, gateway IP, DNS server IP and exclusion range which a client can use to communicate with the other PCs in the network. Superscope: When we combine two or more scopes together its called super scope.

4) What are the types of LAN cables used? What is a cross cable?
Types of LAN cables that are in use are "Cat 5" and "Cat 6". "Cat 5" can support 100 Mbps of speed and "CAT 6" can support 1Gbps of speed.Cross cable: Its used to connect same type of devices without using a switch/hub so that they can communicate.

5) What is the difference between a normal LAN cable and cross cable? What could be the maximum length of the LAN cable?
The way the paired wires are connected to the connector (RJ45) is different in cross cable and normal LAN cable. The theoritical length is 100 meters but after 80 meters you may see drop in speed.

6) What would you use to connect two computers without using switches?
Cross cable.

7) What is IPCONFIG command? Why it is used?

IPCONFIG command is used to display the IP information assigned to a computer. From the output we can find out the IP address, DNS IP address, gateway IP address assigned to that computer.

8) What is APIPA IP address? Or what IP address is assigned to the computer when the DHCP server is not available?
When DHCP server is not available the Windows client computer assigns an automatic IP address to itself so that it can communicate with the network computers. This ip address is called APIPA. ITs in the range of 169.254.X.X. APIPA stands for Automatic private IP addressing.

9) What is a DOMAIN? What is the difference between a domain and a workgroup?

Domain is created when we install Active Directory. ITs a security boundary which is used to manage computers inside the boundary. Domain can be used to centrally administer computers and we can govern them using commo policies called group policies. We can't do the same with workgroup.

10) Do you know how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003 for a user?
Please visit the link below to find out how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003.http://www.it.cmich.edu/quickguides/qg_outlook2003_server.asp

11) What is a PST file and what is the difference between a PST file and OST file? What file is used by outlook express?
PST file is used to store the mails locally when using outlook 2000 or 2003. OST file is used when we use outlook in cached exchanged mode. Outlook express useds odb file.

12) What is BSOD? What do you do when you get blue screen in a computer? How do you troubleshoot it?
BSOD stands for blue screen of Death. when there is a hardware or OS fault due to which the windows OS can run it give a blue screen with a code. Best way to resolve it is to boot the computer is "Last known good configuration". If this doesn't work than boot the computer in safe mode. If it boots up than the problems with one of the devices or drivers.

13) What is RIS? What is Imaging/ghosting?

RIS stands for remote installation services. You save the installed image on a windows server and then we use RIS to install the configured on in the new hardware. We can use it to deploy both server and client OS. Imaging or ghosting also does the same job of capturing an installed image and then install it on a new hardware when there is a need. We go for RIS or imaging/ghosting because installing OS every time using a CD can be a very time consuming task. So to save that time we can go for RIS/Ghosting/imaging.

14) What is VPN and how to configure it?

VPN stands for Virtual private network. VPN is used to connect to the corporate network to access the resources like mail and files in the LAN. VPN can be configured using the steps mentioned in the KB: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305550

15) Your computer slowly drops out of network. A reboot of the computer fixes the problem. What to do to resolve this issue?
Update the network card driver.

16) Your system is infected with Virus? How to recover the data?
Install another system. Install the OS with the latets patches, Antivirus with latest updates. Connect the infected HDD as secondary drive in the system. Once done scan and clean the secondary HDD. Once done copy the files to the new system.

17) How to join a system to the domain? What type of user can add a system to the domain?
Please visit the article below and read "Adding the Workstation to the Domain"http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/techno logies/directory/activedirectory/stepbystep/domxppro.mspx

18) What is the difference between a switch and a hub?

Switch sends the traffic to the port to which its meant for. Hub sends the traffic to all the ports.

19) What is a router? Why we use it?

Router is a switch which uses routing protocols to process and send the traffic. It also receives the traffic and sends it across but it uses the routing protocols to do so.

20) What are manageable and non manageable switches?

Switches which can be administered are called manageable switches. For example we can create VLAN for on such switch. On no manageable switches we can't do so.

21) What is bootloader? Answer: Boot loader facilitates loading of operating

system on the system. It enables the booting process and gives OS options to the user while starting the system.

22) Which is better - Windows 7 or Windows XP? Support your answers with examples.
Answer: Windows 7 boasts of better features and is recommended over Windows XP. The looks and graphics of windows 7 are impressive and features better

secured system. It is better equipped to defend virus and malware attacks. Speech recognitions, backup and restore functions, application compatibility, quick installation, etc., are some of the features that give advantage to Windows 7 than windows XP.

23) How to recover files if the system detects virus?

Answer: Firstly, install another operating system with latest patches and upgraded antivirus protection. Now, connect the main infected hard disk to the system. Run the antivirus and scan the secondary HDD. Once the hard disk is cleaned, copy the files to another system.

24) Differentiate between firewall and proxy server

Answer: Firewall is used to protect the internal IT infrastructure from hackers. Proxy servers allow sharing internet connections and protecting IP addresses. Firewall is a networking based technology and proxy server is an application based technology.

25) What measures are taken to improve the security of the desktop system?
Answer: First step is to install and upgrade the anti-virus for the system. Secondly, ask all users to not give out or write down passwords, include special characters, and it must be at least 8 characters long. Thirdly, for desktop security, ensure the screen is locked and password secured during the day, and logged off during the night. Situational Questions These questions are based on a situation that requires actions from your side. Since your profile is of a desktop support, you are required to constantly answer queries. There are several situations that require your assistance. We have listed a few as examples. 1.What steps will you follow if you have to install same operating system on over 70 computers at the same time? 2.Describe the process for adding a new user to a network of 15 computers? 3.How would you retrieve passwords if one of the users have forgotten their password and can no longer access their official account? 4.How would you resolve a problem if the complainant says that whenever she tries to use internet explorer, the page does not load and instead gives a prompt, 'virus detected'? 5.Give example of an instance where you have explained a complex technical term or procedure to a layman? Which examples you gave to solve their queries?

1. A Customer running Windows XP (Home Edition) with an Antivirus application installed reports that he has downloaded a program from the internet and installed it in his computer. After installing the program, he started receiving emails from people he never knew. The Customer removed the program

from his computer but he is still getting those emails. How would you help this customer?
Ans: Download the most recent virus signature files and scan his computer for viruses. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. You are configuring Power Management on your Windows XP Computer. With ACPI, Power Management should be under the exclusive control of:
Ans: The Operating System --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Which file must be located in the root folder of the Active Partition for Dual Booting of Windows XP and Windows ME to boot?
Ans: Boot.ini --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. A Customer calls and says he is unable to get online. He uses a cable connection to connect to the internet on a Windows XP Computer. You ping 127.0.0.1 on his computer and get the results that All the packets are Lost. What should you do next?
Ans: Rebuild the TCP/IP Stack in the users computer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Very frequently, users in your office put floppy disks in the drives and forget to take them out. This results in boot-up problems and results in support requests. How would you stop this computer from looking in the A: drive for boot files first.

Ans: Change the Boot Order in BIOS. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. After Restarting your Windows XP (Professional) computer, your monitor shows a Blank, Blue screen. You remember that a new Video driver was just installed. What would be the best way to fix this problem?
Ans: Restart the Computer, Keep tapping on the F8 Key to go to the Windows Advanced Options Menu and select the option Last Known Good Configuration and hit the <Enter> key. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. You need to Dual-Boot a computer with Windows XP and Windows Me. You need all the Partitions to be accesible from both the Operating Systems. Which File System would you use in this scenario?
Ans: FAT32 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. What is the command to convert a FAT32 file system to NTFS? Would there be any loss of data?
Ans: The command is: CONVERT <Drive Letter>: /fs:NTFS. There will be no effect on the data. (Data will be safe).But remember this: if you want to convert NTFS partition back to FAT32, you will have to re-format that partition and select the FAT32 file system. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. What are the features of the Disk Defragmenter Tool in Windows XP and Windows 2000? Does the Windows XP version have any more features than the Windows 2000 version?
Ans: The features of the Disk Defragmenter Tool are the same in both Windows XP and Windows 2000. They are: 1. Enhanced Analysis Functionality 2. A Compression

option 3. Increased Defragmentation Option and an Automatic Defrag-Scheduling Option. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. You are a Desktop Support Technician at EQS. One of the customers has just installed a Brand New Printer for himself. This customer calls you after some time and says that every time he tries to print something, all he gets is some garbled text. However, the printer prints the Test Page fine. What do you think is the problem here?
Ans: The customer has installed an Incorrect Device Driver for the Printer. I would uninstall the driver, from the WIndows Device Manager and install the correct Device Driver for the Printer from the Disk that came with the Printer. (If the Disk is not available, I can still download the correct device driver from the manufacturers website) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11. If, upon Booting up a Computer, you see the error message Keyboard Error What do you think could be the problem?
Ans: It could be that 1. The keyboard is not attached to the PC or 2. The keyboard has failed --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12. If you turn on a PC and the boot-up process halts and you get the error message Non-System Disk or Disk Error Replace and Press any Key when Ready What do you think could be the problem?
Ans: A non-bootable Floppy Disk is in the Floppy-disk drive and it should be removed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13. If, upon booting up a PC, you see a message which says Invalid Drive Configuration.. What do you think is causing this?
Ans: This problem could be due to any of the following situations: 1. The Hard-Disk cable within the System Unit is not attached to the Controller 2. The Hard Disk Drive has failed 3. The Hard Disk Drive has not been partitioned. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14. If you turn on a PC and the boot process halts and you get the error message C:\System32\Config file missing or Corrupt What is this due to?
Ans: The Registry Hives are corrupted. They need to be repaired. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

15. A Customer complains that he keeps getting the error message HAL.DLL missing or Corrupt. Which file needs to be repaired/rebuilt to rectify the issue?
Ans: BOOT.INI --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16. You have Norton 360. When the Firewall is turned on, you are unable to browse the internet. But if you turn off the firewall, you are able to browse. What is the first thing you would do to fix this problem?
Ans: Reconfigure Norton Firewall to allow Internet Explorer to access the internet. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

17. Which utility is used to do a Software Clean Boot?

Ans: Msconfig --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18. What does a ? sign in device manager signify?

Ans: The device is not installed. ( You can refer to this article for more details). For more information on Device Manager check this article from Microsoft. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

19. What is the command to start Windows System Restore from the Command Line?
Ans: rstrui.exe --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20. What does the term UAC stand for?

Ans: UAC stands for User Access Control. For more information read this article. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21. You are a Desktop Support Technician. A user calls and complains that till yesterday he was able to view his CD drive in his computer. But today when he turned on his computer, he is not able to view the CD-ROM drive in My Computer. What can be done to fix this problem?
Ans: Open the Windows Registery Editor and Delete the Upper and Lower Filter Keys. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

22. A user calls and says that whenever he starts his computer, it boots up only in Safe Mode. There is no other error message. What would you do to fix this problem?

Ans: Go to Msconfig and select Normal Mode and Restart the Computer. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

23. A user complains that whenever he connects any USB 2.0 device to his computer, he gets the error message USB device not recognized What could be the possible reason for this?
Ans: The USB Port could be faulty. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24. A user complains that he is no longer able to hear any sound from his computer after he downloaded some updates from the Microsoft Website. What could be the possible reason for this?
Ans: The Windows Audio Service is Disabled. Enable it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25. Mark uses Windows XP Professional and is connected to the internet directly through a DSL line. He wants to know how he could enable the filtering of packets and get rid of the harmful incomming data. What would you tell him?
Ans: Enable the Firewall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

26. A Customer reports that his Windows XP Professional portable computer is not able to connect to any network resource and is also not able to authenticate on the networks Active Directory Domain. The computer was fine yesterday. No other person in the organization is facing this problem. What is the first thing you would do to fix this problem?
Ans: Ask the user to Right-Click on the Network Connection icon and select Repair from the Menu.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

27. A customer has recently upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows XP Professional. After the upgrade, it takes longer for Windows, Menus, Sub-Menus and other use interface features to open. She wants them to open faster. How can you help this customer?
Ans: Use System in Control Panel and select the option Adjust for Best Performance in the Performance Options dialogue box. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

28. You suspect that your computer is failing because of a Corrupt Master Boot Record. Which utility is the best to fix this problem?
Ans: Recovery Console (By Using the fixmbr command) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

29. You performed a Parallel installation of Windows XP (Home Edition) to resolve certain problems on a Customers Computer. After installation, the customer says she can see the previous profile folders in Documents & Settings but when she tries to open then, she gets an Access Denied error. What can you do to remove the Access Denied Problem?
Ans: Boot into Safe Mode, Right-Click on the Old Profile Folder, Go to Security Advanced and give Ownership to the new user. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

30. A Customer calls in and says that her copy of Windows XP went corrupt and the previous Technician installed it again without losing any data. Now when the computer boots up, it shows a menu for a few seconds and then it boots normally.She wants to get rid of this menu. You asked her

about the menu options and the customer tells you that both the options in the Menu Read the same thing Windows XP Home. How will you fix this problem so that the Menu does not appear again?
Ans: Edit the Boot.ini file and set the Timeout as 0 (Zero) or Edit the Boot.ini file and Remove the Second Option and set the Timeout as 0 (Zero)

1) What is Active Directory?

A central component of the Windows platform, Active Directory directory service provides the means to manage the identities and relationships that make up network environments. For example we can create, manage and administor users, computers and printers in the network from active directory.

2) What is DNS? Why it is used? What is "forward lookup" and "reverse lookup" in DNS? What are A records and mx records?
DNS is domain naming service and is used for resolving names to IP address and IP addresses to names. The computer understands only numbers while we can easily remember names. So to make it easier for us what we do is we assign names to computers and websites. When we use these names (Like yahoo.com) the computer uses DNS to convert to IP address (number) and it executes our request. Forward lookup: Converting names to IP address is called forward lookup. Reverse lookup: Resolving IP address to names is called reverse lookup. 'A' record: Its called host record and it has the mapping of a name to IP address. This is the record in DNS with the help of which DNS can find out the IP address of a name. 'MX' Record: its called mail exchanger record. Its the record needed to locate the mail servers in the network. This record is also found in DNS.

3) What id DHCP? Why it is used? What are scopes and super scopes? DHCP: Dynamic host configuration protocol. Its used to allocate IP
addresses to large number of PCs in a network environment. This makes the IP management very easy. Scope: Scope contains IP address like subnet mask, gateway IP, DNS server IP and exclusion range which a client can use to communicate with the other PCs in the network. Superscope: When we combine two or more scopes together its called super scope.

4) What are the types of LAN cables used? What is a cross cable?
Types of LAN cables that are in use are "Cat 5" and "Cat 6". "Cat 5" can support 100 Mbps of speed and "CAT 6" can support 1Gbps of speed. Cross cable: Its used to connect same type of devices without using a switch/hub so that they can communicate.

5) What is the difference between a normal LAN cable and cross cable? What could be the maximum length of the LAN cable?
The way the paired wires are connected to the connector (RJ45) is different in cross cable and normal LAN cable. The theoritical length is 100 meters but after 80 meters you may see drop in speed due to loss of signal.

6) What would you use to connect two computers without using switches? Cross cable. 7) What is IPCONFIG command? Why it is used?
IPCONFIG command is used to display the IP information assigned to a computer. Fromthe output we can find out the IP address, DNS IP address, gateway IP address assigned to that computer.

8) What is APIPA IP address? Or what IP address is assigned to the computer when the DHCP server is not available?
When DHCP server is not available the Windows client computer assignes an automatic IP address to itself so that it can communicate with the network cmputers. This ip address is called APIPA. ITs in the range of 169.254.X.X. APIPA stands for Automatic private IP addressing. Its in the range of 169.254.X.X.

9) What is a DOMAIN? What is the difference between a domain and a workgroup? Domain is created when we install Active
Directory. It's a security boundary which is used to manage computers inside the boundary. Domain can be used to centrally administor computers and we can govern them using common policies called group policies. We can't do the same with workgroup.

10) Do you know how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003 for a user?

Please visit the link below to find out how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003.http://www.it.cmich.edu/quickguides/qg_outlook2003_server.asp

11) What is a PST file and what is the difference between a PST file and OST file? What file is used by outlook express?
PST file is used to store the mails locally when using outlook 2000 or 2003. OST file is used when we use outlook in cached exchanged mode. Outlook express useds odb file.

12) What is BSOD? What do you do when you get blue screen in a computer? How do you troubleshoot it?
BSOD stands for blue screen of Death. when there is a hardware or OS fault due to which the windows OS can run it give a blue screen with a code. Best way to resolve it is to boot the computer is "LAst known good configuration". If this doesn't work than boot the computer in safe mode. If it boots up than the problemis with one of the devices or drivers.

13) What is RIS? What is Imaging/ghosting?

RIS stands for remote installation services. You save the installed image on a windows server and then we use RIS to install the configured on in the new hardware. We can use it to deploy both server and client OS. Imaging or ghosting also does the same job of capturing an installed image and then install it on a new hardware when there is a need. We go for RIS or iamging/ghosting because installing OS everytime using a CD can be a very time consuming task. So to save that time we can go for RIS/Ghosting/imaging.

14) What is VPN and how to configure it?

VPN stands for Virtual private network. VPN is used to connect to the corporate network to access the resources like mail and files in the LAN. VPN can be configured using the stepsmentioned in the KB: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305550

15) Your computer slowly drops out of network. A reboot of the computer fixes the problem. What to do to resolve this issue?
Update the network card driver.

16) Your system is infected with Virus? How to recover the data?

Install another system. Insall the OS with the lates pathces, Antivirus with latest updates. Connect the infected HDD as secondary drive in the system. Once done scan and clean the secondary HDD. Once done copy the files to the new system.

17) How to join a system to the domain? What type of user can add a system to the domain?
Please visit the article below and read "Adding the Workstation to the Domain" http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/di rectory/activedirectory/stepbystep/domxppro.mspx

18) What is the difference between a switch and a hub?

Switch sends the traffic to the port to which its meant for. Hub sends the traffic to all the ports.

19) What is a router? Why we use it?

Router is a switch which uses routing protocols to process and send the traffic. It also receives the traffic and sends it across but it uses the routing protocols to do so.

20) What are manageable and non manageable switches?

Switches which can be administered are called manageable switches. For example we can create VLAN for on such switch. On no manageable switches we can't do so.

1. What desktop operating systems are you familiar with?

Well! I am familiar with Windows operating system on my desktop computer. Basically I am using Windows 8 on my desktop pc and this version of windows is the latest and best version of Windows operating system.

2. Have you used any software distribution tools? If so, which ones and how were they used?
Yes I use WinInstall the latest software distribution tool for my windows operating system. Basically WinInstall provides latest features for better and consistent user interaction. It is a perfect easy to use windows application that can package .exe files (Executable Files) for distribution. 3. Can you describe to me the extent of your experience, if any, as a desktop support? What do you like most about desktop support? What do you like the least about it? If you do not have desktop support experience, what do you think are the important skills one must have in order to be successful in it? By having the access to the company whom computer products we are using like it may be software or hardware etc. is called desktop support. What really the good thing about desktop management for me is to perform all the challenging tasks

impressively like working with new people in different domains and to understand their problems and the environment where they are working. Also through this we can be able to learn new operating systems and their configurations. What I feel a least thing about desktop management is the following: Sometimes we totally understand the users system configuration, operating system and the fault in the system but suddenly we fail to resolve the systems fault or trouble just because of any hardware failure like assume the hard disk of the system will be heat up and cant be able to load anything on your PC.

4. When you solve a desktop problem, do you prefer to work with the end-user, your peers, or on your own?

Well! Definitely Ill first of all prefer myself to solve the desktop problem as I will apply all my experience and skills to solve that specific desktop issue and I believe that a person should first try his/her best to solve the desktop problem if he/she really knows how to solve the matter? But when Ill feel that now I cant solve it myself then Ill prefer to work with a group with end users, vendors and peers.

5. How important is lifelong learning to you and how do you apply this in learning new technologies?

Lifelong learning is always of real importance for a technical person who wants to become successful in his field. So for me its always of 100% importance. And I dont only learn new technologies but more importantly I apply all my new learning technologies in solving various matters and issues of peoples desktop pc. For me theory is nothing without practical so I prefer practical work with new learning.

6. If you receive three simultaneous calls from three Senior Vice Presidents of the company needing immediate IT assistance, how will you handle this situation? Which one will you prioritize?

Well as a matter of fact I am always a good time manager. I always perform all my dailys task by prioritizing my daily activities. So definitely Ill look at all 3 Senior Vice Presidents issues then I will prioritize all three tasks in a way so that I can save time and in a better way I can solve the problems of all these 3 people. But it depends upon the problems. Like my 1st priority is to solve an easy and trivial task, then 2nd slightly tough task then as compare with the 1st one and similarly Ill do the 3rd one which Ill think that it will take much time.

7. How do you deal with users who keep on misdiagnosing their PC issues?

In this situation I will need to be extremely attentive while acknowledging the users diagnosis. Then I will ask them to produce the same problem again and this way judging my user very carefully I will surely find a meaningful and definite solution that perfectly works.

8. When isolating or troubleshooting a users PC problem, what questions do you usually ask?
Well based on my skills and previous practice I usually ask the following described some of the questions: - Who uses this system?

- When the problem did exactly starts? - Did the system work properly before the problem occurred? - What new hardware or software you have installed recently?

9. What kind of virus issues have you encountered before? What did you do to prevent these virus attacks?
Well based on my previous work experience I have encountered with different viruses like some virus affect the system by means of inserting a flash drive usb (universal serial bus), infected memory card reader, internet downloads and such other factors etc. To overcome such troubles I always use an anti-virus program. I have separate antivirus for u.s.b and card readers and also for secure internet download. I always update my antivirus software so it can not only detect the viruses but also remove all those viruses which causes great disturbances for our computers.

10. If I were to ask you to come up with a set of guidelines for implementing security at user level, what would be your suggestions?

Well then there will be many suggestions from my side like to maintain the user level security there should be strong mechanisms for storing the password and there should be finger print sensors as well within the users pc. Only authorized operating system user can logged in to use the system and there will be many others etc. Remember that aside from your technical know-how, your ability to work with others and your customer service skills will also be evaluated. IT Technicians interview questions may also include behavioral questions and questions intended to determine your attitude towards working others. Do not memorize your answers as it will come out contrived. Come prepared, answer intelligently and be natural.

Q. What is an operating system?

A. Operating system works as an interpreter between computer Hardware and application. Operation system works as a user interface.

Q. Types of Operating systems?

A. There are two types of operating systems 1. SOS: Simple Operating System as for example- Windows 95,98, ME 2. NOS: Network Operating System as for example- Windows NT, 2000, 2003.

Q. What is server?
A. Server are computer that provides the services. As for Example:1. DNS Server 2. WINS Server 3. DHCP Server 4. RAS Server 5. VPN Server

Q. What is RAS Server?

A. RAS stands for Remote Access Server. It is basically use for mobile user in the network. This server provides the access connectivity for mobile user. In this way all of the mobile users are connected to server through telephone line. This server also provides the connectivity between two more offices in the network.

Q. What is VPN Server?

A. VPN Stands for Virtual Private Network. It is basically use for mobile user in the network. This server provides the remote access connectivity for mobile user. In this way all of the mobile users are connected to server through internet. This server also provides the connectivity between two or more office in the network. VPN is cost effective (No Costly).

Q. What is IAS Server?

A. IAS stands for Internet Authentication Services. IAS server is also known as RADIUS Server. IAS Server provides the centralized management of multiple RAS & VPN Server in the Network. On this Server Remote Access Policy and Remote Access logging options are available.

Q. FAT/NTFS?
A. there is major difference are available between FAT and NTFS file systems Such as: FAT: FAT Stands for File Allocation Table There are three categories in FAT file system. FAT FAT-16 FAT-32 In FAT Not up to folder level security is available Compression option is not available Encryption Option is not available Disk Quota Option is not available FAT supported by all of the Microsoft Based Operating Systems. NTFS: NTFS stands for New Technology File Systems There are three categories in NTFS file systems NTFS 4.0- NT Operating Systems NTFS 5.0- 2000 Operating Systems NTFS 6.0- 2003 Operating Systems In NTFS up to File level security is available Compression option is available

 Encryption option is available Disk Quota Option is available NTFS supported by only limited Microsoft Based Operating System

Q. What is the difference between Windows NT/2000/2003?

A. There is many differences are available between Windows NT, 2000 and 2003 O/S, such as NT: There is no active directory There is no tree/forest hierarchical structure is available There is no site relationship There is no parent domain and child domain concepts are available in the network/ NT support NTFS 4.0 file system NT support NTLM version 2 LAN Authentication Protocol In NT by default no trust relationship are configured In NT we will use System Policy In NT specific Client site Operation system is available i.e. NT Workstation 4.0 Edition In NT we will use Exchange 5.5 Server In NT we can create only one way trust relationship inside the network 2000: There is Active Directory Tree/Forest Hierarchical Structure are available There is Site Relationship is available There is parent domain and child domain concept are available 2000 Support NTFS 5.0 file system 2000 Support Kerberos version 5.0 authentication protocol In 2000 by default Two-way Trust Relationship are configured In 2000 we will use Group Policy 2000 support maximum 32 Processor and 64 GB Ram In 2000 Specific client site operating system is available i.e. 2000 Professional In 2000 we will use Exchange 2000 server In 2000 no stub zone is available in DNS In 2000 Resultant Setup Policy is not available In 2000 GPMC is not available In 2000 Conditional forwarding option is not available In 2000 Effective Permission option is not available In 2000 only some Administrative Command Line Tools are available Active Directory saved query option is not available Shadow copy Option is not available in windows 2000 Operating System ASR Option is not available in Windows 2000 operating System In Windows 2000 we can create Maximum 1 DFS Root on a single DFS Server in the network. In 2000 we can create two way trust relationship inside the network 2003: There is Active Directory

 Tree/Forest Hierarchical Structure are available There is site relationship is available There is parent domain and child domain concept are available 2003 support NTFS 6.0 File system 2003 support Kerberos 5.0 Authentication Protocol In 2003 we will use group policy 2003 support maximum 64 Processor and 64 GB RAM In 2003 no specific client site Operating System is available you can use either windows 2000 Professional either Windows XP Professional in the network In 2003 we will use Exchange 2003 Server In 2003 Stub Zone is available in DNS In 2003 GPMC is available In 2003 Resultant Setup Policy is available In 2003 Conditional Forwarding option is available In 2003 Effective Permission option is available Active Directory Saved Query option is available Shadow Copy option is available in Windows 2003 Operating System ASR Option is available in Windows 2003 Operating System In Windows 2003, we can create more than 1 DFS Root on A single DFS Server in the Network In 2003 we can create two way Trust Relationship inside the network

Q. What is tree?
A. A group of domain is called tree and sharing a contiguous Name Space.

Q. What is forest?
A. A group of tree is called forest and does not sharing a contiguous name space but sharing a common configuration (Schema).

Q. Difference between D.C. and A.D.C.?

A. D.C. stands for Domain Controller and A.D.C. stands for Additional Domain Controller. A.D.C. is a backup of D.C. Only one different is available between D.C. and A.D.C. i.e. Operation master Role. On D.C. all of five Operation Master Roles are available1. Schema Master 2. Domain Naming Master 3. RID Master 4. PDC Emulator 5. Infrastructure Master But on A.D.C. only Three Operation Master Role are Available: 1. RID Master 2. PDC Emulator 3. Infrastructure Master

Q. What is the benefit of Child Domain?

A. There are many benefits of Child Domain Such As: 1. Security Boundary 2. Administrative Overhead Low 3. Network Traffic Low Q. What is Group? A. Group is a collection of user account. It provides the simplified administration in the network.

Q. What is OU?
A. OU stands for Organizational Unit. On OU we define group Policy in the network. Group policy is basically assigned on active directory container i.e. Site, domain, OU. When ever we want some users then we put that user in the OU and assign the appropriate Group Policy on that OU.

Q. What is Group Policy?

A. Group Policy provides the stream line access to all of the users in the network. Group policy is basically assigned on active directory container i.e. Site, Domain and O.U. When ever we want some users in the network do not use shut down the system, do not use run command, do not use Control Panel, then we put that user in the OU and assign the appropriate Group Policy on that OU.

Q. Difference between permission, rights and policy?

A. Permission: permission is basically assigned on network resources as for example file, folder, share folder, printer. Right: Right is basically assign to users and groups. Policy: Policy is basically assigned on active directory container i.e. Site, Domain, OU.

Q What is ISA Server?

A. ISA stands for Internet Security Acceleration. ISA server provides the internet connectivity for all of the users in network ISA Server also works as proxy Server in the network. With the help of ISA Server Administrator can filtering a client request for a specific web site in the network.

Q. What is Default Gateway?

A. Default Gateway is the IP address of router in the network. When ever any clients want to go to another network that query will forward to default gateway.

Q. What is site?
A. A site is a geographical area where all of the domains are available. Site manages the replication traffic between two or more different sites in the network.

Q. What is Operation Master Role?

A. Operation Master Role is available on Domain Controller in the Network. There are five types of operation master roles:1. Schema master 2. Domain Naming Master 3. RID Master 4. PDC Emulator 5. Infrastructure Master

Q. Difference between Mixed Mode and Native Mode?

A. There are two types of domain mode: 1. Mixed Mode: In this mode NT, win 2000 and win 2003 D.C. are available. 2. Native Mode: there are two types of native mode. i. Win 2000 Native Mode: In this mode win 2000 and win 2003 DC are available. ii. Win 2003 Native mode: in this mode only win 2003 DC are available.

Q. What is SCSI?
A. SCSI stands for Small Computer System Interface. In SCSI the rate of data transmission is fast. SCSI Hard Disk Speed R.P.M. is fast in SCSI Data Transmission speed is 320 MBPS in the Network. In SCSI Controller We can connect Maximum 15 Physical Devices in the System.

Q. What are A-Host Record and PTR Record?

A. A record is also called host record. This record is basically created in forward lookup Zone PTR record is also called a Pointer record. This record is basically created in reverse lookup Zone

Q. What is reservation?
A. Reservation is basically used in DHCP Server. When Ever we want this computer is always received this IP address from DHCP Server in the network, in the network, in that case we create a reservation in DHCP Server of that particular computer in the network.

Q. IP Address Range/Classes?
A. There are two types of IP address:1. Class Full IP Address 2. Class Less IP Address

Class Full IP Address There are five classes: 1. Class A - 0 - 126(127 is reserved for Loop back) 2. Class B - 128 191 3. Class C - 192 223 4. Class D - 224 - 239 5. Class E - 240 255

Q. Difference between Hardware Router & Software Router?

A. Hardware Router: Hardware Router is a dedicated Router. Its having a lot of feature such as Security, dedicated routing in the networking. As for Example Cisco Router. Software Router: Software Router is not a dedicated router. It provides the different services also such as DNS Server, DHCP Server i.e. Windows Based Router.

Q. Difference between Hardware Firewall and Software Firewall?

A. Hardware Firewall: It is a dedicated firewall. A lots of security features are available on hardware based firewall. As for Example- Cisco Pix Firewall. Software Firewall: It is a dedicated firewall. It provides the normal security in the network- Check Point.

Q. What is Domain Controller?

A. D.C. stands for Domain Controller. It provides the centralized management of entire domain in the network. When ever we will install active directory database on a server side operating system, then after that system becomes a D.C. Domain controller manages all security related interaction between users and computers in the network.

Q. What is B Router?
A. B Router stands for Bridge Router. We can say this is a layer three bridge that provides the communication between two or more different network ID.

Q. What is a Bridge?
A. Bridge is a layer 2 network device that provides the communication within the same network ID. In bridge maximum 16 ports are available.

Q. Difference between Gateway and Router?

A. Router works on same network architecture but Gateway works on different network architecture.

Q. What is POP Server/SMTP Server?

A. POP Stands for Post Office Protocol. It is basically use for mail receiving purpose in the network. SMTP Stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is basically use for sending a mail as well as receiving a mail in the network.

Q. What is the function of Ping Command?

A. Ping provides to check the Physical IP Connectivity between two or more devices in the network. Ping sends an ICMP request from source Computer to destination computer and destination computer sends an ICMP reply.

Q. What are Broadcasting, Multicasting and unicasting?

A. Broadcasting one to all Multicasting - one to many not all Unicasting - One to One.

Q. What is Group Nesting?

A. When we add two or more Groups within a Single Group. It is called Group Nesting.

Q. What is FIXMBR?
A. FIXMBR Repair the Master boot record of the Partition Boot Sector.

Q. What is FIXBOOT?
A. FIXBOOT write a new partition boot sector on to the system partition.

Q. What is SID?
A. SID stands for Security Identifier. Every object has a unique ID, it is called SID.

Q. What is RADIUS Server?

A. RADIUS Stands for Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service, RADIUS Server Provides the Centralized Management of Multiple RAS & VPN Server in the network. On this Server Remote Access Policy and Remote Access Logging Options are available.

Q. What is Trusting Domain?

A. In Trusting Domain Resources are available.

Q. What is Trusted Domain?

A. In Trusted Domain User Accounts are available.

Q. What is Microsoft Exchange Server?

A. Microsoft Exchange Server is Software that provides the services such as sending & receiving the Mail.

Q. What is Printer?
A. Printer is a Software that Governing the print Device. There are two types of Printer: 1. Local Printer Chatting is a Real Time Conversation between two or more people in the network. 2. Network Printer

Q. What is Directory Services restore mode?

A. When our Active Directory Database is not working properly, then we restart the domain Controller and press f8 key. Then after Selecting the Directory services restore mode and then after restoring the active directory database from the last backup.

Q. What is Normal Backup?

A. Just like a normal backup by default Backup.

Q. What is incremental backup?

A. In incremental backup only incremental parts are backup not full backup.

Q. What is differential backup?

A. In differential backup, we take full backup after the normal backup.

Q. What is packet?
A. A packet is a logical grouping of information that includes a header which contains location information and user data.

Q. What is forwarder?
A. It is basically use in DNS Server. When client query to the DNS Server. In that case if the DNS is having a best results then DNS Server give the best result. To the client computer in the network otherwise DNS Windows Topics on http://www2.isupportyou.net

Q) What is Active Directory?

A central component of the Windows platform, Active Directory directory service provides the means to manage the identities and relationships that make up network environments. For example we can create, manage and administrator users, computers and printers in the network from active directory.

Q) What is DNS? Why it is used? What is "forward lookup" and "reverse lookup" in DNS? What are A records and mx records?

DNS is domain naming service and is used for resolving names to IP address and IP addresses to names. The computer understands only numbers while we can easily remember names. So to make it easier for us what we do is we assign names to computers and websites. When we use these names (Like yahoo.com) the computer uses DNS to convert to IP address (number) and it executes our request. Forward lookup: Converting names to IP address is called forward lookup. Reverse lookup: Resolving IP address to names is called reverse lookup. 'A' record: Its called host record and it has the mapping of a name to IP address. This is the record in DNS with the help of which DNS can find out the IP address of a name. 'MX' Record: its called mail exchanger record. Its the record needed to locate the mail servers in the network. This record is also found in DNS.

Q) What id DHCP? Why it is used? What are scopes and super scopes?
DHCP: Dynamic host configuration protocol. Its used to allocate IP addresses to large number of PCs in a network environment. This makes the IP management very easy. Scope: Scope contains IP address like subnet mask, gateway IP, DNS server IP and exclusion range which a client can use to communicate with the other PCs in the network. Superscope: When we combine two or more scopes together its called super scope.

Q) What are the types of LAN cables used? What is a cross cable?
Types of LAN cables that are in use are "Cat 5" and "Cat 6". "Cat 5" can support 100 Mbps of speed and "CAT 6" can support 1Gbps of speed. Cross cable: Its used to connect same type of devices without using a switch/hub so that they can communicate.

Q) What is the difference between a normal LAN cable and cross cable? What could be the maximum length of the LAN cable?
The way the paired wires are connected to the connector (RJ45) is different in cross cable and normal LAN cable.

The theoretical length is 100 meters but after 80 meters you may see drop in speed due to loss of signal.

Q) What would you use to connect two computers without using switches?
Cross cable.

Q) What is IPCONFIG command? Why it is used?

IPCONFIG command is used to display the IP information assigned to a computer. From the output we can find out the IP address, DNS IP address, gateway IP address assigned to that computer.

Q) What is APIPA IP address? Or what IP address is assigned to the computer when the DHCP server is not available?
When DHCP server is not available the Windows client computer assigns an automatic IP address to itself so that it can communicate with the network computers. This ip address is called APIPA. ITs in the range of 169.254.X.X. APIPA stands for Automatic private IP addressing. Its in the range of 169.254.X.X.

Q) What is a DOMAIN? What is the difference between a domain and a workgroup?

Domain is created when we install Active Directory. It's a security boundary which is used to manage computers inside the boundary. Domain can be used to centrally administrator computers and we can govern them using common policies called group policies. We can't do the same with workgroup.

Q) Do you know how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003 for a user?
Please visit the link below to find out how to configure outlook 2000 and outlook 2003. IT: Help Desk: Quick Guide: Configuring Outlook 2003 for Exchange Server

Q) What is a PST file and what is the difference between a PST file and OST file? What file is used by outlook express?
PST file is used to store the mails locally when using outlook 2000 or 2003. OST file is used when we use outlook in cached exchanged mode. Outlook express used odb file.

Q) What is BSOD? What do you do when you get blue screen in a computer? How do you troubleshoot it?
BSOD stands for blue screen of Death. when there is a hardware or OS fault due to which the windows OS can run it give a blue screen with a code. Best way to resolve it is to boot the computer is "Last known good configuration".

If this doesn't work than boot the computer in safe mode. If it boots up than the problems with one of the devices or drivers.

Q) What is RIS? What is Imaging/ghosting?

RIS stands for remote installation services. You save the installed image on a windows server and then we use RIS to install the configured on in the new hardware. We can use it to deploy both server and client OS. Imaging or ghosting also does the same job of capturing an installed image and then install it on a new hardware when there is a need. We go for RIS or imaging/ghosting because installing OS every time using a CD can be a very time consuming task. So to save that time we can go for RIS/Ghosting/imaging.

Q) What is VPN and how to configure it?

VPN stands for Virtual private network. VPN is used to connect to the corporate network to access the resources like mail and files in the LAN. VPN can be configured using the steps mentioned in the KB: How to configure a VPN connection to your corporate network in Windows XP Professional

Q) Your computer slowly drops out of network. A reboot of the computer fixes the problem. What to do to resolve this issue?
Update the network card driver.

Q) Your system is infected with Virus? How to recover the data?

Install another system. Install the OS with the lates patches, Antivirus with latest updates. Connect the infected HDD as secondary drive in the system. Once done scan and clean the secondary HDD. Once done copy the files to the new system.

Q) What is the difference between a switch and a hub?

Switch sends the traffic to the port to which its meant for. Hub sends the traffic to all the ports.

Q) What is a router? Why we use it?

Router is a switch which uses routing protocols to process and send the traffic. It also receives the traffic and sends it across but it uses the routing protocols to do so.

Q) What are manageable and non manageable switches?

Switches which can be administered are called manageable switches. For example we can create VLAN for on such switch. On no manageable switches we can't do so.