Saurabh A+ Hardware Notes email: saurabhdwivedi408@gmail.com
Central Processor Unit (CPU)
Central Processor Unit (CPU)
- The math coprocessor deals with floating-point numeric operations.
- Protected mode is a processor feature that allows two or more programs run without interfering with one-another.
- Superscaler - Two chips inside: one for parallel processing and the other for fault tolerance.
- Intel Atom low-power x86 microprocessors (Silverthorne and Diamondville).
- Core i7 "Bloomfield" (45 nm) are the new Quad Core CPU’s.
- Merom-L (ultra-low-voltage, 65 nm)
- Penryn (Apple iMac specific, 45 nm) E8135, E8235, E8335, and E8435.
Cache:
- L1 and L3 - Internal Cache
- L2 - External Cache on board, Northbridge. Part of Front Side Bus (FSB) – “the golden triangle”
- Southbridge looks after AGP and PCI slots
- FSB – CPU, RAM, Northbridge
- FSB – CPU, RAM, Northbridge
CPU Connectivity:
- Socket 7 – Earlier Pentium CPUs ZIF contact connector
- Socket 8 - Pentium Pro 387-pin
- Slot 1 - Pentium II 242 SEC contact connector
- Slot A - AMD processor, same with Socket A.
- ZIF Socket - Zero Insertion Force
- ZIF Socket - Zero Insertion Force
- Socket 370 - Pentium III and Celeron - Front Bus Frequencies: 66, 100 and 133 MHz
- Socket 423 - Pentium IV (OLGA) - Front Bus Speed: 100 MHz FSB
- Socket 478 - Pentium IV (FC-PGA2)-Front Bus Frequencies: 400MHz-800MHz (100MHz-200MHzQDR)
- Socket 478 - Pentium IV (FC-PGA2)-Front Bus Frequencies: 400MHz-800MHz (100MHz-200MHzQDR)
- LGA - Land Grid Array - 775 Balls.
Sockets:
• Socket 1 - 169 pin holes PGA LIF socket.
• Socket 2 - 238 pin holes PGA ZIF socket.
• Slot 1 - 242 leads. SEC slot.
• Slot 2 - 330 leads. SEC slot.
• Socket 370 - 370 pin holes SPGA ZIF socket.
• Socket 418 - 418 pin holes SPGA ZIF socket, this socket was never released.
• Slot A - 242 leads. SEC slot.
• Socket A - 462 (actually 453) pin holes ZIF socket.
• Socket 423 - 423 pin holes SPGA ZIF socket.
• Socket 478 - 478 pin holes FC-PGA2 ZIF socket.
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• Socket T - 775 balls (30x33) FC-LGA4 socket.
• Socket 775 - 775 balls (30x33) FC-LGA6 socket.
• Socket 603 - 603 pin holes (31x25) µPGA ZIF socket.
• Socket 604 - 604 pin holes (31x25) µPGA ZIF socket.
• PAC418 - 418 pin holes (2x(19x6)) VLIF socket.
• PAC611 - 611 pin holes (25x28) VLIF socket.
• Socket 754 - 754 pin holes (29x29) µPGA ZIF socket.
• Socket 940 - 940 pin holes (31x31) µPGA ZIF socket.
• Socket AM2 - 940 pin holes (31x31) µPGA ZIF socket.
• Micro-FCBGA for Single Core Notebooks
• FCBGA6 or Socket M or Socket P are for Core 2 Duo
• Socket B - LGA 1366 for i7’s.
ROM (Read-Only Memory):
- ROM is a form of non-volatile memory.
- Contains both POST and SETUP.
RAM (Random Access Memory):
- RAM is volatile memory and does not retain data without power.
- RAM contains any active application, including the operating system.
NVRAM (Non-Volatile Memory):
- Can maintain data without the use of power.
HMA (or high memory area) is the first 64K of extended memory.
VRAM – Video RAM
- Conventional memory is the first 640K of memory.
- Upper memory is the memory between 640K and 1024K.
- UMA used to load DOS drivers to allow applications more conventional memory.
- UMA used to load DOS drivers to allow applications more conventional memory.
- Extended memory is the memory above 1024K.
- Expanded memory is addressed in pages of 16K.
General DRAM packaging formats
- DRAM chip (Integrated Circuit or IC)
- Dual in-line Package (DIP)
- DRAM (memory) modules
- Single In-line Pin Package (SIPP)
- Single In-line Memory Module (SIMM)
- Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM)
- Rambus In-line Memory Module (RIMM), technically DIMMs but called RIMMs due to proprietary slot.
- Small outline DIMM (SO-DIMM). Smaller version of DIMM used in laptops. Comes in 72 pins (32-bit), 144 pins (64-bit) and 200 pins (72-bit) .
- Small outline RIMM (SO-RIMM). Smaller version of the RIMM used in laptops.
- Stacked RAM chips use two RAM wafers that are stacked on top of each other. This allows a large module (eg:512mb or 1Gig SO-DIMM) manufactured using cheaper low density wafers. Stacked chips draw more power.
- DIP 18-pin (DRAM chip, usually pre-FPRAM)
- SIPP (usually FPRAM)
- SIMM 30-pin (usually FPRAM)
- SIMM 72-pin (so-called "PS/2 SIMM", usually EDO RAM)
- DIMM 168-pin (SDRAM)
- DIMM 184-pin (DDR SDRAM)
- DIMM 240-pin (DDR2 SDRAM)
- DIMM 240-pin (DDR3 SDRAM or double-data-rate three synchronous dynamic random access memory)
Power Settings:
S1 is the simplest energy-saving state, often used in older systems whose drivers or hardware won't behave well with more sophisticated levels of power management. A system at the S1 power level simply shuts down the hard drive(s) and monitor, but leaves everything else running normally.
S1 is the simplest energy-saving state, often used in older systems whose drivers or hardware won't behave well with more sophisticated levels of power management. A system at the S1 power level simply shuts down the hard drive(s) and monitor, but leaves everything else running normally.
S2 offers greater power savings because it not only powers down the monitor and drives, it also cuts power to the CPU and its cache. Confusingly, this level also is sometimes called sleep or standby.
S3 is a deeper power-savings mode that shuts down almost everything except for the barest trickle of power needed to keep the contents of RAM from fading away and to listen for a wake-up action. In a way, you can think of S3 as a "suspend to RAM" state..
S4 is fundamentally different from levels S1 to S3. It's hibernation, where the system stops all activity, just as if you had shut it off. But S4 is also different from the simple power-off of level S5 because, before powering down, the S4 hibernation system writes the contents of RAM and some CPU settings to a special file on your hard drive (often called something like "hiberfil.sys").
PC Ports
Parallel ports:
- 25 Pin female, "D" connector (IEEE-1284 cable)
- Sends and receives 8 bits of data at a time
Serial ports:
- 25 Pin male, "D" connector or 9 Pin male, "D" connector
- Sends and receives 1 bit of data at a time
Video:
- HDA 15 pin female, 3 rows of pins.
-XGA
-XGA
Cables and Connectors:
- Tape, removable, hard, and optical drives along with scanners can all use SCSI connections.
- Up to seven devices can be chained off of a SCSI port.
- 18 feet is the maximum length that a SCSI-1 cable can support.
- Most external SCSI devices have 50,68, 84 pin female ports.
- Most Controller Cards are set to SCSI ID 7.
- Null modem cables (serial cables) are used to transmit data between 2 DTE devices.
- 15 feet (3m) is the maximum length that a serial (RS-232) cable should be.
- Phone lines (few network) cables use RJ11 connectors. Connector resembles a small phone jack.
- Twisted pair cables use RJ45 connectors. Connector resembles a fat phone jack.
COM Ports:
- COM1 and COM3 use IRQ4.
- COM2 and COM4 use IRQ3.
- The majority of PC's have only 2 COM port connectors.
IRQ (Interrupt Requests)
IRQ 1 Keyboard IRQ 2(9) Video Card IRQ 3 Com2, Com4 IRQ 4 Com1, Com3 IRQ 5 LPT2 or legacy sound card IRQ 6 Floppy Disk Controller IRQ 7 Parallel Port (LPT1) IRQ 8 Real-time clock | IRQ 9 Redirected IRQ2 Bridge IRQ 10 Available SCSI IRQ 11 Available USB IRQ 12 PS/2 Mouse IRQ 13 Math Coprocessor IRQ 14 Hard Disk Controller 1 IRQ 15 Hard Disk Controller 2 |
I/O Ports
COM1 3F8H
COM2 2F8H
COM3 3E8H
COM4 2E8H
LPT1 378H
LPT2 278H
Video Cards
AGP 1x - A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 266 megabytes per second (MB/s), doubled from the 133 MB/s transfer rate of PCI bus 33 MHz / 32-bit; 3.3 V signaling.
AGP 2x - A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz double pumped to an effective 133 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 533 MB/s; signaling voltages the same as AGP 1x;
AGP 4x - A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz quad pumped to an effective 266 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 1066 MB/s (1 GB/s); 1.5 V signaling;
AGP 8x - A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz, strobing eight times per clock, delivering an effective 533 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 2133 MB/s (2 GB/s); 0.8 V signaling.
PCI Express - Abbreviated officially with PCIe (PCI-E is also often used) and should not be mistaken for PCI-X, PCI Express was formerly known as Arapaho or 3GIO for 3rd Generation I/O. PCIe transfers data at 250 MB/s per lane. With a maximum of 32 lanes, PCIe allows for a total combined transfer rate of 8 GB/s.[1] To put these figures into perspective, a single lane has nearly twice the data rate of normal PCI, a four lane slot has a comparable data rate to the fastest version of PCI-X, and an eight lane slot has a data rate comparable to the fastest version of AGP. The full duplex point to point nature of PCIe should further improve its advantage over PCI, particularly in systems with many devices.
PCI-X (Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended) is a computer bus and expansion card standard designed to supersede PCI. It is essentially a faster version of PCI, running at twice the speed, and is otherwise similar in physical implementation and basic design. It has itself been replaced in modern designs by the similar-sounding PCI Express, which features a very different logical design.
- PCI-X was developed jointly by IBM, HP, and Compaq. PCI-X is a revision to the PCI standard that doubles the clock speed (from 66 MHz to 133 MHz) and hence the amount of data exchanged between the computer processor and peripherals. Standard PCI supports up to 64-bit at 66 MHz (though anything above 32-bit at 33 MHz is only seen in high end systems) and additional bus standards move 32 bits at 66 MHz or 64 bits at 33 MHz
Drives
- A cluster is a group of sectors. Sectors are aligned in tracks and shown as pie shaped.
- The seek time is the time that is takes the head to reach the needed track.
- The latency period is the time that it takes the sector to move under the head.
-The access time is the overall time it takes a hard drive to find data.
- The data transfer rate is how fast the hard drive sends data to the PC.
- FORMAT /S is the fastest way to make a bootable disk. The /S switch tells FORMAT to copy system boot files.
- FDD (Floppy Disk Controllers) controllers use DMA channel 2 in most cases, First DMA available is 4.
- HDI = Head to Disk Interference
- CD, CD-ROM, DVD: Read only storage, WORM, used for mass distribution of digital information
- CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R: Write once unique storage, used for tertiary and off-line storage
- CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM: Rewritable disks. The +/- indicates both standards.
- Blu-ray - blue-violet laser used to read and write a shorter wavelength (405 nm) 25GB vs DVD 4.7GB.
- HD DVD - 15GB and dual 30GB.
- HD DVD - 15GB and dual 30GB.
Disc | BD-ROM | HD-DVD ROM | 3X DVD ROM | DVD ROM |
Laser wavelength | 405 Nm | 405 Nm | 650 Nm | 650 Nm |
Numerical aperture | 0.85 | 0.65 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Storage capacity single layer | 25 GB | 15 GB | 4.7 GB | 4.7 GB |
Storage capacity dual layer | 50 GB | 30 GB | 8.5 GB | 8.5 GB |
Playback time on two layers (Standard Definition) | 23 hours | 13.8 hours | N/A | 4 hours |
Playback time on two layers (High Definition) | 9 hours | 5.4 hours | 2 hours | - |
Maximum data transfer rate | 54.0 Mbit/s | 36.55 Mbit/s | 36.55 Mbit/s | 11.08 Mbit/s |
Power Supplies
Yellow: +12 Blue: -12 Red: +5 Orange: 3.3 | White: -5 Voltage for motor: +/- 12 volts Voltage for circuitry: +/- 5 volts |
System Boards
Common form factors include AT, Baby AT, ATX, Mini ATX, LPX, Mini LPX and NLX.
Common form factors include AT, Baby AT, ATX, Mini ATX, LPX, Mini LPX and NLX.
- ATX System Board: 90 degrees, CPU closer to Power Fan, Soft Power, PS/2, onboard connectors
- microATX is a small PC motherboard standard, with a maximum size of 9.6×9.6
Expansion Buses:
- PCI - ransfer rate of 532 MB/s compared to PCI-X is 1.06 GB/s. 32-bit or 64-bit bus width
- PCI-X - doubles clock speed from 66 MHz to 133 MHz
- PCIe - 250 MB/s per lane. With a maximum of 32 lanes and a combined transfer rate of 8 GB/s
- USB - 127 Devices, 7 per hub
- HyperTransport (not HyerThreading)
- CSI (Common System Interface expected in 2008 to replace FSB)
- AGP (being phased out)
- VLB (outdated)
- ISA (outdated)
- EISA (outdated)
- Bus Mastering allows a controller connected to the bus to communicate directly with other devices on the bus without going through the CPU
- SATA 1 or SATA/150 run at 1.5 Gbit/s.
- SATA 3.0 Gbit/s run at 2.4 Gbit/s or 300 MB/s for the wire
- USB 2.0 can theoretically operate at 480 Mbits/s, 5Volts, 5 Meters with a max of 30Meters, 5 Hubs.
- FireWire 1394a can transfer data between devices at 400 Mbit/s and 4.5 meters (about 15 feet).
- FireWire 1394b transfer rate of 786.432 Mbit/s up to 100 meters between devices.
- FireWire 1394a can transfer data between devices at 400 Mbit/s and 4.5 meters (about 15 feet).
- FireWire 1394b transfer rate of 786.432 Mbit/s up to 100 meters between devices.
The most significant technical differences between FireWire and USB include the following:
1. A USB network use a tiered-star topology, while FireWire networks use a repeater-based topology.
2. A USB uses a "speak-when-spoken-to" protocol; peripherals cannot communicate with the host unless the host specifically requests communication. A FireWire device can communicate with any other node at any time, subject to network conditions.
3. A USB network relies on a single host at the top of the tree to control the network. In a FireWire network, any capable node can control the network.
These and other differences reflect the differing design goals of the two buses: USB was designed for simplicity and low cost, while FireWire was designed for high performance, particularly in time-sensitive applications such as audio and video.
PCMCIA
Type 1 3.3mm Memory
Type 2 5mm Modems, Network cards
Type 3 10.5mm Hard Disks
Socket Services - BIOS level software interface for hardware information.
Card Services - I/O, IRQ hardware interface with computers.
CIS (Card ID Structure) - Cards describe themselves to other devices.
PCMCIA cards use very little power and can be hot-swapped.
Printers
Laser Printers:
The order of processes in a laser printer is: Crystal Clear Water Doesn’t Taste Funny
1. Cleaning 2. Charging 3. Writing 4. Developing 5. Transferring 6. Fusing
The primary corona has the highest negative charge in a printer.
Always check where the leading edge of paper is when troubleshooting paper jams, because it can indicate which printer part is causing the jam.
- The photoconductive drum in a laser printer is charged negatively, and loses its charge when light hits it. The transfer corona can cause the print to be too light.
- The ozone filter needs to be replaced on laser printers when performing preventative maintenance.
- For dark spots on a page with a laser printer, it indicates loose toner particles. Running extra paper through will usually resolve it.
- Paper comes out in bunches or smears – high humidity.
Dot Matrix:
A tight ribbon can cause flecks and smudges on the paper. Missing or broken printhead pins causes incomplete characters. Never lubricate the printhead on a printer. If the print density is erratic, then there is probably an error with the ribbon advance.
Modem Commands
Command Function
ATA Answer
ATD Dial
ATDL Redial
ATH Hangs up modem
ATH(1) Hang up (seconds)
ATZ Resets the modem
, (comma) Pause
Networking
- Coaxial, twisted pair, and fiber optic cables are all used in networking.
- A token ring network passes packets of data called tokens to each station in a network.
- LAN - Local Area Network WAN - Wide Area Network MAN - Metropolitan Area Network
- Fiber-Optic - Cables designed for high transfer rates over large distances; carry light pulse
signals through glass core at speeds of between 100Mbps - 200,000Mbps.
- Ethernet use coaxial and twisted pair wiring, and can support speeds of 10mbps -100mpbs.
- 10Base5 - 10 Mbps transfer rate with coaxial wire.
- 10BaseT - 10 Mbps transfer rate, baseband transmission, with twisted pair wire.
- 100BaseT - 100 Mbps transfer rate, baseband transmission, with twisted pair wire.
- 100BaseTX – Two Pairs of Wires, 100BaseT4 – Four pairs of wires or Eight in total.
- 100BaseFL – Fiber Optic.
Honest Tom’s A+ Windows Notes
Windows Hardware Requirements
- Before beginning any installation, you should always check the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
- Before beginning any installation, you should always check the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
Windows XP hardware requirements:
- 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system);
- 64 MB minimum supported
- 64 MB minimum supported
- 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space
- XP Home supports 1 CPU, Professional supports 2
Windows 2003 Server hardware requirements:
- 133-MHz processor required
- 128 MB of RAM required – 4GB max
- 1.25 to 2 GB of disk space.
- Windows 2003 Web supports 2 CPU, Standard (4), Enterprise (8), Datacenter (8-64)
- 133-MHz processor required
- 128 MB of RAM required – 4GB max
- 1.25 to 2 GB of disk space.
- Windows 2003 Web supports 2 CPU, Standard (4), Enterprise (8), Datacenter (8-64)
Windows 2003 Business Edition:
- 750 MHz
- 512 MB
- 16 GB of available hard disk space
- 512 MB
- 16 GB of available hard disk space
Windows Vista system requirements
Vista Capable Vista Premium Ready
Vista Capable Vista Premium Ready
Processor 800 MHz[37] 1 GHz
Memory 512 MB 1 GB
Graphics card DirectX 9.0 DirectX 9.0 capable and WDDM 1.0 driver support
Graphics memory 32 MB 128 MB
HDD capacity 20 GB 40 GB
HDD free space 15GB 15 GB
Other drives DVD-ROM DVD-ROM
Windows 7 is NT 6.1 and has same hardware requirements as Vista.
Filing Systems - The following are common hard disk configurations:
- Partition - A partition is a portion of a physical hard disk. A partition can be primary or extended
- Primary Partition - This is a bootable partition. One primary partition can be made active.
- Extended Partition - An extended partition is made from the free space on a hard disk and can be broken down into smaller logical drives. There can only be one of these per hard disk.
- Logical Drive - These are a primary partition or portions of an extended partition that are assigned a drive letter.
- Volume - This is a disk or part of a disk that is combined with space from the same or another disk to create one larger volume. This volume can be formatted and assigned a drive letter like a logical drive, but can span more than one hard disk. A volume set can be extended without starting over, however to make it smaller, the set must be deleted and re-created.
When discussing Windows file systems you need to understand what File Allocation Tables (FAT) are.
- FAT is a table that an operating system maintains in order to map the clusters (the smallest unit of storage) that a file has been stored in. When files are written to a hard disk, the files are stored in one or more clusters that may be spread out all over the hard disk. The table allows Windows to find the "pieces" of your file and reassemble them when you wish to open it.
- FAT is a table that an operating system maintains in order to map the clusters (the smallest unit of storage) that a file has been stored in. When files are written to a hard disk, the files are stored in one or more clusters that may be spread out all over the hard disk. The table allows Windows to find the "pieces" of your file and reassemble them when you wish to open it.
- FAT32 - Created to allow more efficient use of hard drive space and allowed for partitions up to 8GB using 4KB cluster sizes. In order to format a drive as FAT32, the "Large disk Support " must be enabled when starting FDISK. FAT32 is not compatible with older versions of Windows including Windows 95A and NT. In Windows 9.x, the CVT1.EXE can be used to convert FAT16 partitions to FAT32.
- NTFS4 - NTFS4 is the file system used by Windows NT that provides increased security and reliability over other file systems. On an NTFS partition, you can't boot from a DOS boot disk - this is one of the security features of NTFS. Additionally, a floppy disk cannot be formatted as NTFS.
- NTFS5 - This is the native file system for Windows 2000. NTFS 5.1 For XP and NTFS 5.2 for 2003.
NTFS5 has many new features as follows:
- Encrypted File System(EFS) - Windows 2K NTFS volumes have the ability to encrypt data on the disk.
- CIPHER.EXE is a command line utility that allows for bulk or scripted file encryption.
- CIPHER.EXE is a command line utility that allows for bulk or scripted file encryption.
- Disk Quotas - Provides the ability to set space limitations on users on a per volume basis.
- Defragmentation - Windows 2K now includes a disk defragmenter that can be used on NTFS partitions.
- Volume Mount Points - Provides the ability to add new volumes to the file system without having to assign a drive letter to them. This feature is only available on an NTFS partition using dynamic volumes.
- Compression - In Windows 2000 files, folders and entire drives can be compressed by right clicking on the item to be compressed and selecting "properties" and then "advanced".
- The CONVERT.EXE utility can be used to convert a FAT32 partition to NTFS. (Convert d: /fs:ntfs)
- HPFS - Stands for High Performance File System and is used with OS/2 operating systems. This file system can only be accessed by Windows NT 3.51 and OS/2.
- Windows 9x operating systems also employ VFAT which is a protected-mode FAT file system that prevents DOS and the BIOS from accessing resources. VFAT is the replacement for SMARTDRV.SYS and uses a driver called VCACHE.
- NTFS6 - This is the native file system for Windows Vista. Windows 7 is supposedly 6.1.
In Windows NT4, 2000, XP, 2003 profile files are called NTUSER. In W2K and XP it is found in Document & Settings/Username, in Vista, it is found in USERS folder.
Windows NT Structure
- Windows XP is a 32 bit operating systems that run in 2 different modes which are kernel(protected) and user. Applications use Application Program Interfaces (APIs) to pass threads between the 2 modes. User mode provides no direct access to the system's hardware.
- Windows XP is a 32 bit operating systems that run in 2 different modes which are kernel(protected) and user. Applications use Application Program Interfaces (APIs) to pass threads between the 2 modes. User mode provides no direct access to the system's hardware.
- Multiple execution threads are supported for each process
- Memory Protection - each Win32 application is separated and protected from other applications
- 2GB non-segmented address spaces are assigned to each application
- NT/2000 supports DOS applications via VDMs (Virtual DOS Machines). A VDM is a Win32 application that creates an environment where DOS applications can run. It does this by making the NT Workstation resemble a DOS environment and tricks the DOS applications into thinking that they have unrestricted access to the computer's hardware. NT can only support DOS applications that use VDDs (Virtual Device Drivers) to intercept the applications calls to the computer's hardware.
- NT/2000 also supports Win16 applications with the use of a DOS application called WOW (Windows on Windows). WOW runs within a VDM that runs as a 32-bit process. If a Win16 application crashes it will only corrupt the WOW, but will not affect the rest of the NT operating system.
The boot files used by NTx:
- BOOT.INI - Specifies boot defaults, operating system locations, settings and menu selections.
- BOOTSECT.DOS - A file located in the system partition that allows the option to boot into another operating system such as Win98 or DOS.
- NTDETECT.COM - Hardware detection program that is located on the root of the system partition.
- NTLDR - File that loads the operating system and is located on the root of the system partition.
- NTOSKRNL.EXE - The executable file.
- OSLOADER.EXE - This is the OS loader for RISC based systems.
- NTBOOTDD.SYS - File used when the system or boot partition is located on a SCSI drive and the BIOS is disabled.
The registry editors included with Windows NT/2000 include Regedt32 and Regedit. For Windows XP they are combined into REGEDIT.
Differences between Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional Editions
Windows XP Home Edition
- Contains basic support for security among multiple users.
- Built-in support for peer-to-peer networking, but only for up to five computers.
- The backup utility is not installed by default, but is included on the CD.
Windows XP Professional Edition
- Includes extended support for security between multiple users on the same machine.
- Better support for peer-to-peer networking, plus support for joining a "Windows NT domain."
- The backup utility is installed by default.
The following features are not present in Windows XP Home Edition.
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 | Vista Flavours: Home Basic - bad scene, barebones no areoglass. Home Premium – good movie editing and viewing, along with picture filing. Vista Business – made for road warriors on laptops, but no BITLOCKER. Vista Ultimate – Everything you see in the TV ads and got sued over... Vista Enterprise - is available exclusively to Microsoft Software Assurance customers. |
Microsoft Windows Vista Notes
Windows Vista introduces a breakthrough user experience and is designed to help you feel confident in your ability to view, find, and organize information and to control your computing experience.
The visual sophistication of Windows Vista helps streamline your computing experience by refining common window elements so you can better focus on the content on the screen rather than on how to access it. The desktop experience is more informative, intuitive, and helpful. And new tools bring better clarity to the information on your computer, so you can see what your files contain without opening them, find applications and files instantly, navigate efficiently among open windows, and use wizards and dialog boxes more confidently.
  | Ease of use When you start using Windows Vista, you will recognize familiar elements such as the Start menu, which is now faster, more streamlined, and more helpful than in previous versions of Windows. The Start menu features integrated desktop search through a new feature called Quick Search which can help you find and launch almost anything on your PC. Just type in a word, a name, or a phrase, and Quick Search can find the right file for you. But more than that, the new start menu makes it very easy for you to navigate across all of the installed applications on your PC. Eliminating the slow performing, cascading "All Programs" view, the new start menu can help you get something started faster than ever. Desktop Search With Windows Vista, you no longer have to remember where you store every file. Instead, to find a file, you need to only remember something about it, such as a word contained within a document, the artist of a song, or the date a picture was taken. Powerful, integrated desktop search capabilities help you find just about anything on your computer quickly, without having to search for it by browsing through folders. For example, in the new Start Menu, it is as simple as typing a word, a phrase, a property, or any part of a file name into the embedded Quick Search box to instantly find the file that you want. |
To make searching even more efficient, Windows Vista enables you to add or edit file properties or data associated with a file, like a keyword on a document, the artist of a song, or the event where a picture was taken, to make it easier for you to find in the future. For example, you could add a "graduation" keyword to photos taken at a graduation ceremony when you save them to your computer. Later, just search for "graduation" in the Quick Search box in the start menu or the Windows Photo Gallery, and all the graduation-related pictures will be displayed.
 | Search Folders Windows Vista introduces Search Folders, a powerful new tool that makes it easy to find and organize your files—wherever they may be on your PC. A Search Folder is simply a search that you save. Opening a Search Folder instantly runs that saved search, displaying up-to-date results immediately. For example, you could design a search for all documents that are authored by "John" and that contain the word "project." This search, titled "Author John/Keyword Project" is saved as a Search Folder. When you open this Search Folder, the search runs, and you see the results immediately. As you add more files to your computer that have the author John and contain the word "project," those files will also appear in the Search Folder alongside the other matching files, regardless of where they are physically saved on your PC. It is simple and fast. |
The new Document Explorer makes working with your files a snap. Find your files faster and with the new Live Icon feature, and see what they contain without having to open them.  | Explorers The new Explorers are powerful yet easy-to-use tools for working with files consistently across Windows Vista. Explorers give you more information and control while simplifying how you work with your files. The experience is easy and consistent, whether you're browsing photos or documents or even using the new Control Panel. Key elements of the Explorers in Windows Vista are designed to help you get to the information you need, when you need it. Quick Search is always available to help you find files instantly. The navigation pane contains the new Search Folders found in Windows Vista, as well as traditional folders that you have created on your computer. Command Bars display only the tasks that are most appropriate for the files being displayed. With new Live Icons (scalable thumbnails) used throughout Windows Vista, you can see the first page of documents, the actual image of a photo, or the album art for individual songs in your music collection, making it easier to find exactly what you are looking for. |
 | Windows Aero Windows Vista is the first Windows operating system that has a user experience that can gracefully scale to the hardware capabilities of the computer it is installed on. All computers that meet minimal hardware requirements will see the Windows Vista Basic user experience, which provides the benefits of the refined interface features already mentioned. |
 | Live taskbar thumbnails Resting the mouse pointer over a taskbar item displays a live thumbnail of the window, showing the content of that window. The live thumbnail is displayed whether the window is minimized or not, and whether the content of the window is a document, photo, or even a running video or process |
See thumbnail views of the items in your taskbar by resting your mouse pointer on them. | |
 | Windows Vista provides two entirely new features to manage windows: Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D. Flip allows you to flip through open windows (by using Alt+Tab), providing a live thumbnail of each window, rather than just a generic icon and file name |
Ease of Access
XP Accessibility section now called Ease of Access
Major improvements in Windows Vista include:
* Improved magnification capabilities in Microsoft Magnifier.
* Improved text-to-speech capabilities in Microsoft Narrator.
* The new Speech Recognition experience that lets you interact with your computer by voice.
User Access Control
Windows Vista also builds upon the User Account Protection initiative—by default, limiting Internet Explorer to just enough permission to browse the Web, but not enough to modify your files or settings—keeping your PC safer from Web-based attacks. Vista allows users to run programs under a lesser privileged, non-administrator account. In the long run, this will be much safer.
Many people call User Access Protection and others call it User Access Control or User Account Control.
Enable or Disable UAP/UAC:
1. Click Start
2. Click Control Panel
3. Select System and Maintenance
4. Click Administrative Tools
5. Double-click System Configuration
6. Click Continue (if prompted)
7. Select the Tools tab in the System Configuration window
8. Here you can choose Disable UAP or Enable UAP from the bottom of the listbox
9. Click Launch
10. Reboot to see effect
Gadgets
Gadgets are mini-applications with a wide variety of possible uses. Gadgets can connect to Web services to deliver weather information, news updates, traffic maps, Internet radio streams, and slideshows of online photo albums. Gadgets can also integrate with your applications to streamline your interaction with them. For example, a gadget can give you an at-a-glance view of all your online instant messaging contacts, the day view from your calendar, or an easy way to control your media player. Of course, gadgets can also have any number of dedicated purposes. They can be calculators, games, sticky notes, and more.
 | Windows Sidebar is a pane on the side of the Windows Vista desktop that organizes gadgets and makes them easy to access. Windows Sidebar is the perfect complement to widescreen monitors and also works seamlessly on standard displays. You can easily customize Windows Sidebar to suit how you want to interact with it—whether you want it always on top or resting below maximized windows. You can also move gadgets off the Windows Sidebar and place them anywhere on your desktop. |
Sleep Mode
Sleep is commonly known as Standby in Windows system or S3 in ACPI. In Sleep mode, the power supply to non-essential and non-critical component is withheld, and most system operation is shutdown and stopped. All data in physical memory (RAM module) is still kept in internal memory, and whole system is place in stand-by mode, which can be woke up and used almost immediately. In Sleep mode, the power load reduces considerably, saving a lot of energy. However, the power must not be cut off, and must be continue to supply to the computer. Once out of power, the system will have to start again just like a newly boot computer just started from power off state.
Windows Vista has also has built-in Hybrid Sleep mode which ensure that system state is preserved when there is power lost.
Hibernate, or S4 in ACPI, meanwhile will save the data in physical memory to hard disk drive (HDD), and then power off the computer. In Hibernate mode, a file named hiberfil.sys which has the same file size as the amount of system memory will be created on the local disk. When user wants to use the computer again, the computer will boot up and load back the state at the last hibernation. The advantage of Hibernation mode is that no power is wasted for maximum saving of power. In Hibernation dormancy, no electricity is consumed by system. The disadvantage of Hibernate is that after a period of time, there may have fragmentation of file. Users will need to defragment the volume that stores the hibernation file frequently.
On laptop PCs, you can enter the Sleep state by pressing the Power button or closing the laptop lid. Your data is saved to memory, letting you resume use faster. As battery power winds down, Windows Vista quickly transitions the data to disk to help keep the data safe. Windows Vista lets you resume use of your computer more quickly and reliably than previous versions of Windows.
Network Center
Check your connection status, see your network visually, or troubleshoot a connection problem in the Network Center.  Easily connect to your workplace from home using the Network Center.  | Windows Vista puts you in control of your network experience with the Network Center—the central place for all your networking needs. Network Center informs you about the network your computer is connected to and verifies whether it can successfully reach the Internet. It even presents this information in a summary in the Network Map so you can immediately see your connectivity to the network and Internet. If a PC on the network loses Internet connectivity, you can graphically see that the link is down, and then use Network Diagnostics to help determine the cause of the problem and get a suggestion for a solution. Network Center also allows you to quickly connect to other available networks, or create entirely new connections. You can view and configure your most important network settings in one place. And for less frequently accessed settings, Network Center provides direct links so you can easily find what you're looking for. Network Center also makes it easy to connect your workplace network from home. |
Troubleshooting
Emergency Repair Disks commands:
Win9x – Control Panel/Add Remove
NT4 – At the Command Line – RDISK
W2K – ERD – Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup
W2K – ERD – Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup
XP – ASR - Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup
Creating Boot Disks
- DOS (1) boot disks are created by using the command format a: /s.
- Windows 9X, (1) Add/Remove Programs in control panel, select the "Startup Disk" tab.
- DOS (1) boot disks are created by using the command format a: /s.
- Windows 9X, (1) Add/Remove Programs in control panel, select the "Startup Disk" tab.
- Windows NT4 (3) boot disks can be made from the i386 folder using the WINNT.EXE /OX command.
- Windows 2000 (4) from the installation CD, Bootdisk folder, MAKEBOOT.EXE utility.
- Windows XP (6) use the CD-Rom to boot up or go to Microsoft Website to create boot disks..
- Windows XP (6) use the CD-Rom to boot up or go to Microsoft Website to create boot disks..
Windows Issues
- Windows Protection Errors - Typically caused by the type or speed of the RAM installed in the system.
- Windows Protection Errors - Typically caused by the type or speed of the RAM installed in the system.
- Bad or Missing COMMAND.COM - This means that the OS is unable to locate the file COMMAND.COM. To fix this problem use the make sure that the necessary boot files are located on the hard drive. If not, boot with the startup disk and enter the command SYS C:\ which will copy the system files to the hard drive(Windows 9x only).
- HIMEM.SYS not loaded - Check the CONFIG.SYS file and make sure that the line
- Device=C:\HIMEM.SYS exists and that the path specified to the file is where the file actually is.
- Device=C:\HIMEM.SYS exists and that the path specified to the file is where the file actually is.
- Operating system not found - A common cause of this error is booting a system with a non-bootable floppy in the floppy drive
- Short beeps indicate RAM or Video. Usually Video has numbered short long beeps.
Printing Issues
Print Spooler is stalled - Go to the spool folder which is located in C:\Path to system files\spool\printers directory and delete all files in this location and resend any incomplete print jobs.
- Incorrect print drivers - Having an incorrect driver can cause any number of problems from pages coming out as garbled ASCII text to not having access to the full range of features available for that printer. Drivers can be updated by going to the Printers control panel, right clicking on the printer and select properties.
- Out of memory - Print jobs have to be spooled to hard disk space. If there is not enough hard disk space available this error will occur. Try freeing up hard drive space or move the spool folder to a drive with more free space.
Other Troubleshooting Tools
COMMAND – Windows 9x command line window
CMD – Windows NT4, 2K, XP command line window
REGEDIT – 16 bit registry editor, Windows 2000 uses both.
REGEDT32 – 32 bit registry editor, Windows XP uses both but shows only one screen layout.
DEVICE MANAGER – hardware manager
MSCONFIG – Windows configuration tool. Know difference between Win98 and XP version. 2K none.
MSINFO - Used to view installed devices and drivers. - Windows 9x and MSINFO32 in W2K or XP.
DRWATSON - Will generate an error log when certain types of errors occur. Windows 3.x/9x/NT/2000
GPEDIT.MSC – Group Editor tool for Windows XP
CHKDSK – Check Disk
CMDCONS – Command Console installation
ASD.EXE - Automatic Skip Driver Agent identifies devices that can cause Windows 98 or Windows Me to stop responding (hang) when you start your computer, and then disables them so that they are bypassed when you next restart your computer.
TYPES OF BACKUP: Backup command: ‘ntbackup’. Know the different paths to Backup Windows.
- Full - copies all files and marks them as being backed up.
- Full - copies all files and marks them as being backed up.
- Incremental - copies only files created/changed since last full backup, marks them as being backed up.
- Differential - copies only files created/changed since last full backup, doesn’t mark them.
- Daily - copies only files created/changed today, doesn’t mark them as being backed up.
Viruses – malicious programming.
There are several different categories of viruses as follows:
There are several different categories of viruses as follows:
Trojan Horse - These are files that claim to be something desirable but are destructive and cause loss or theft of data. Trojans are different from viruses as they do not replicate themselves like viruses do.
Worms - These are programs that replicate themselves from system to system without the use of a host file.
Boot sector viruses - Boot sector viruses infect the system area of a disk known as the boot record.
Master boot record viruses - Master boot record viruses are memory resident viruses that infect disks in the same manner as boot sector viruses. The difference between these two virus types is where the viral code is located. These can often be fixed by using FDISK /MBR.
Networking
IPX/SPX - The fastest routable protocol and is used on Novell Netware networks.
IPX/SPX - The fastest routable protocol and is used on Novell Netware networks.
TCP/IP - TCP/IP open source protocol as it is the foundation for communication over the internet.
NETBEUI - The NetBios Extended User Interface is a non-routable protocol using NETBIOS.
NETBIOS – User friendly names to IP addresses in a local network.
HTTP - Exchanging files and multimedia over the Internet. HTTPS (SSL) it the secure version. Port 80
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and is used to reliably send mail over the Internet. Port 25
POP3 - Post Office Protocol and is used for the receiving of email. Port 110
Computers are given unique names to help identify them on the network. In Windows 9x the computer name can be up to 15 characters long and cannot use spaces. In Windows 2000/XP, the name can be up to 63 characters and should only contain letters, numbers and hyphens.
Name Servers
- Name servers such as WINS and DNS are used to make finding resources on large network easier without having to memorize IP addresses. They provide a more "friendly" way of locating things.
- WINS is used to register NetBIOS names & resolve to IP addresses for both local and remote hosts.
- Internet Service Provider (ISP) who provides your connection to the Internet (eg: Shaw, Telus).
Name Servers
- Name servers such as WINS and DNS are used to make finding resources on large network easier without having to memorize IP addresses. They provide a more "friendly" way of locating things.
- WINS is used to register NetBIOS names & resolve to IP addresses for both local and remote hosts.
- Internet Service Provider (ISP) who provides your connection to the Internet (eg: Shaw, Telus).
- DHCP – Dynamic Host Control Protocol – Provides IP addresses to computers.
- Root Level Domains - The top of the tree.
- Top Level Domains - These are divided into different categories. Com, net, mil, edu, org and gov are the most common.
- Second Level Domains - These domains make up the rest of networks as all sub-domains are categorized under this heading. So if you visit Intel's site, you are visiting the sub-domain intel.com.
- Hosts - Hosts are the final level in the hierarchy as they are the individual computers that occupy or comprise a domain and are where the web pages are located.
- Nodes – Computers in a network
Odds-n-Ends
- System Restore needs 12% of HD
- EPP (one way) and ECP (two way) cables
- Boot.ini /sos
- NTBootDD – SCSI
- Recover consol /cmdcons
- winnt32 /checkupgradeonly
- MMC
- When copying NTFS to FAT32 the long filenames and attributes are kept
- %username% is the default setting to enter user names in a string command.
IEEE 802 Specifications
IEEE 802 Specifications
802.1 Internetworking
802.2 LLC (Logical Link Control)
802.3 CSMA/CD - Ethernet
802.4 Token Bus LAN
802.5 Token Ring LAN
802.6 MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
802.7 Broadband Technical Advisory Group
802.8 Fiber-Optic Technical Advisory Group
802.9 Integrated Voice/Data Networks
802.10 Network Security
802.11 Wireless Networks
802.12 Demand Priority Access LAN, 100 Base VG - AnyLAN
802.15 Wireless personal area networks (WPANs)
802.16 Metropolitan area networks (MANs)
Wi-Fi Ensures compatibility among 802.11b and interoperability certification by Wi-Fi Alliance
802.11a
• Enhancement to 802.11 that applies to wireless ATM systems
• Used in access hubs
• Enhanced data speed
• Frequency range 5.725 GHz to 5.850 GHz
802.11b
• Enhancement to 802.11 that employs complementary code keying (CCK)
• High data speed
• Low susceptibility to multipath-propagation interference
• Frequency range 2.400 GHz to 2.4835 GHz
802.11d
• Enhancement to 802.11 that allows for global Roaming
• Attributes similar to 802.11b
• Particulars can be set at Media Access Control (MAC) layer
802.11e
• Enhancement to 802.11 that includes Quality of Service (QoS) features
• Facilitates prioritization of data, voice, and video transmissions
802.11g
• Enhancement to 802.11 that offers wireless transmission over relatively short distances
• Operates at up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps)
802.11h
• Enhancement to 802.11a that resolves interference issues
• Dynamic frequency selection (DFS)
• Transmit power control (TPC)
802.11i
• Enhancement to 802.11 that offers additional security for WLAN applications
802.11j
• Japanese regulatory extensions to 802.11a specification
• Frequency range 4.9 GHz to 5.0 GHz
802.11k
• Radio resource measurements for networks using 802.11 family specifications
802.11m
• Maintenance of 802.11 family specifications
• Corrections and amendments to existing documentation
802.11x
• Generic term for 802.11 family specifications under development
• General term for all 802.11 family specifications
TCP Command Line Utilities
arp- Arp.exe is used to resolve an IP address to its hardware (MAC address).
-a - View the contents of the local ARP cache table
-s - Add a static Arp entry for frequent accessed hosts
-d - Delete a entry
-s - Add a static Arp entry for frequent accessed hosts
-d - Delete a entry
ipconfig - The ipconfig is a command line tool for NT that shows how the computer's IP stack
/all - Extra information is revealed; IP host name, DNS, WINS server
/release - If DHCP is enabled, you release the lease with this switch.
/renew - The renew switch will update and renew DHCP lease information from the DHCP Server.
/release - If DHCP is enabled, you release the lease with this switch.
/renew - The renew switch will update and renew DHCP lease information from the DHCP Server.
winipcfg - The winipcfg is a GUI version for Windows 95 ipconfig
netstat - The netstat tool displays protocol statistics and the state of current TCP/IP connections
NETSTAT [-a] [-e] [-n] [-s] [-p proto] [-r] [interval]
-a Displays all connections and listening ports.
-e Displays Ethernet statistics. This may be combined with the -s
option.
-n Displays addresses and port numbers in numerical form.
-p proto Shows connections for the protocol specified by proto; proto may be TCP or UDP. If used with the -s option to display
per-protocol statistics, proto may be TCP, UDP, or IP.
-r Displays the routing table.
-s Displays per-protocol statistics. By default, statistics are shown for TCP, UDP and IP; the -p option may be used to specify a subset of the default.
interval Redisplays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds between each display. Press CTRL+C to stop redisplaying statistics. If omitted, netstat will print the current configuration information once.
nbtstat The nbtstat checks the state of NetBIOS over TCP/IP connections and returns NetBIOS session and name resolution statistics. This tool can also be used to update the local NetBIOS name cache.
NBTSTAT [-a RemoteName] [-A IP address] [-c] [-n]
[-r] [-R] [-s] [S] [interval] ]
-a (adapter status) Lists the remote machine's name table given its name
-A (Adapter status) Lists the remote machine's name table given its IP address.
-c (cache) Lists the remote name cache including the IP addresses
-n (names) Lists local NetBIOS names.
-r (resolved) Lists names resolved by broadcast and via WINS
-R (Reload) Purges and reloads the remote cache name table
-S (Sessions) Lists sessions table with the destination IP addresses
-s (sessions) Lists sessions table converting destination IP addresses to host names via the hosts file.
RemoteName Remote host machine name.
IP address Dotted decimal representation of the IP address.
interval Redisplays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds between each display.
Note: Netstatworks for TCP/IP connections, and Nbtstat works for NetBIOS connections.
Press Ctrl+C to stop redisplaying statistics.
nslookup The Nslookup tool is used to trace DNS queries from start to finish
ping- Ping.exe verifies configurations and tests connectivity If you can ping a hostname but cannot connect to a share point in Explorer, then the LMHOST file does not have an entry for that hostname or WINS is not working. Conversely, if you CAN connect to a share in Explorer yet cannot ping the hostname, then either the HOST file entry is wrong or DNS is not working.
pathping – Combination of Ping and Tracert
tracert - The tracert tool shows the route a packet will take over a network from one computer to another.
NetBIOS-problems are due to problems with WINS or LMHOST file.
DNS- problems are due to HOST file errors or DNS server problems.
DNS- problems are due to HOST file errors or DNS server problems.
Just in case…
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