Audioexam.com - For a Limited Time only, download all 25 of our Audio Guides for $99!!!!!
Over 24 Hours of content!! 

A+ Operating System Technologies

A Study Guide by: CERTguide.com

The skills and knowledge measured by this examination are derived from an industry-level and worldwide job task analysis, which was validated through a survey of almost 2,000 A+, certified professionals. The results of the survey are used in weighting the domains and ensuring that the weighting is representative of the relative importance of that content to the job requirements of a service technician with six months on-the-job experience. The intent is to certify individuals in a body of knowledge that is identified and accepted as the baseline or foundation of an entry-level PC technician. It is not intended to measure ‘cutting edge’ technologies. 

The table below lists the sections measured by this examination and the extent to which they are represented.

Percentage Of Examination

• 1.0 OS Fundamentals 30% 
• 2.0 Installation, Configuration and Upgrading 15% 
• 3.0 Diagnosing and Troubleshooting 40% 
• 4.0 Networks 15%

Study Guide:

Operating System Fundamentals

Create folders

You can create a folder by simply naming it and hitting enter. You now have a new folder. This is equal to the MKDIR command

Checking OS Version

You can now view OS type: 

Note this will work for 98 and 2000. For 95 please use the System Applet

Major Operating System components

Explorer

My Computer

This will display the main drives on your computer, a link to control panel, and dialup networking (if installed) You can also access the same information from Windows Explorer

Control Panel

These applets need to be looked at thoroughly and you must be familiar with configuring each one. Remember that they may differ between OS’s and if you have specific applications installed – hence the RealPlayer applet seen above – this of course is not a default Windows applet

Major system files

IO.SYS

• In Windows operating system, IO.SYS is an executable binary file (in other words, a program) that, when the computer is boot (started), processes instruction that tells the operating system how the computer is set up 
• Starting with Windows 95, IO.SYS replaced the older MS-DOS system files, IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS 
• The newer IO.SYS contains all the information needed to start your computer and eliminates the need for the CONFIG.SYS and autoexec.bat files because the values in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are in IO.SYS instead 
• Both of these files still come with Windows for older applications and drivers that need them (Legacy applications)

WIN.COM

• Win.com is the executable file responsible for Windows start-up. It runs after the autoexec.bat file is processed, and it accesses the VMM32.vxd file
• In older versions of Windows, you needed to execute WIN.COM manually or enter it into a autoexec.bat batch file to automate its launch
• With Windows 95 and on, it is launched automatically unless you configure it not to (in the MSDOS.SYS file)

MSDOS.SYS

• In DOS it works with IO.SYS to aid the boot process but in Windows 9x, it is a configuration-based file

AUTOEXEC.BAT

• AUTOEXEC.BAT is a file containing commands that is executable when the computer is started
• The commands in AUTOEXEC.BAT tell the operating system, which application programs are to be automatically started, how memory is to be managed, and initialize other settings
• Each command in AUTOEXEC.BAT could be typed in manually after the computer is started, but that would take too long. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file is, in fact, a command script that is written beforehand so that it can be automatically executed when the operating system is started
• The BAT suffix stands for batch, indicating that this is a file containing a sequence of commands entered from a file rather than interactively by a user

• @ECHO OFF: This command tells DOS not to display on the screen the commands that are being executed in AUTOEXEC.BAT. 
• PATH=: This command tells DOS the path of a command that might be typed at the C prompt DOS looks in the path for the command and then executes it If DOS does not find the command in the path referred to in AUTOEXEC.BAT, an error message is displayed, stating, "Bad command or file name." 
• PROMPT $P$G: This command tells DOS how the C prompt is to appear

CONFIG.SYS

• CONFIG.SYS is a text file containing commands that tell the operating system how the computer is initially set up
• More specifically, CONFIG.SYS commands specify memory device driver and programs that control hardware devices; enable or disable system features; and set limits on system resources

The following are common commands in a CONFIG.SYS file:

FILES=:

• This command tells the operating system how many files can be open at a time
• By default, the setting is eight but most change it to between 20 and 40

BUFFERS=:

• The buffers are 528-byte areas in the RAM used for reading and writing to the hard drive
• By default, the setting is 15
• If you increase the buffer value, reading and writing to the hard drive is faster
• If it is too low, reading and writing to the hard drive is slower and may cause problems when the computer needs to execute tasks that require a lot of memory
• It is common to set the buffers between 20 or 30

DEVICE=:

• This command loads drivers, commonly for the mouse and CD-ROM drive
• Usually a command is automatically added to CONFIG.SYS when a device driver is installed

SHELL=:

• This command tells DOS where to look for its command interpreter, or COMMAND.COM file, and how much memory to set aside for DOS to use to execute commands

LASTDRIVE=:

• This command tells DOS the last drive letter that has been assigned

WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI

MS-DOS read and executed upon startup 2 files: CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Windows 3.x uses files similar to them which are:

• WIN.INI - The WIN.INI file is where a user's customization changes are stored things such as the background screen, and what colors the windows have the position of icons and windows among other things
• SYSTEM.INI - The SYSTEM.INI file is more concerned with system settings, such as the mode that Windows runs under (Standard or 386 Enhanced), any installed drivers, how it handles non-Windows programs, and so on

• The Win.ini file is one of the most important control files found in Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (WFW)
• Win.ini sets the visual appearance and program settings of both versions of Windows to fit your needs; it’s vital to protect this file from damage and to understand how it controls Windows’ appearance
• Win.ini is created when Windows or WFW is installed, and is located in the default WINDOWS directory (usually C:\WINDOWS). It is a plain-text (ASCII) file and can be viewed with the Windows Notepad utility and Windows Sysedit.exe (See below)

SYSEDIT

• Used to edit the above files – type in Start > Run > SYSEDIT

MSCONFIG (98)

• Used to edit the above files in a more controlled “check box” type manner

COMMAND.COM

• The DOS file that contains the DOS command processor or command interpreter

REGEDIT.EXE

• Opens the Registry editor utility, which is used to edit the registry: Start > Run > Regedit

Windows 2000

Computer Management

BOOT.INI

Boot.ini is flagged as a read-only, system file by default and should not require any manual modification 

Boot.ini is located in the SYSTEM partition 

You can change its contents easily from Control Panel by choosing the System icon 

Contents: 

[Boot loader] 

timeout=5 

Default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WIN2000 

[operating systems] 

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WIN2000="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" 

C:\="MS-DOS" 

You need to be familiar with the ARC Naming convention for the exam 

Explained: 

Multi(n)

• For SCSI/IDE Controller
• Where n is initial set to 0 for the first controller

• For SCSI Controller Without BIOS enabled         Where n is initial set to 0 for the first controller disk(n)
• This options is for SCSI controller without SCSI BIOS
• n is usually always 0

Physical Hard Drive Where n is initial set to 0 for the first hard drive 

partition(n)

• Partition 
• Where n is initial set to 1 for the first partition 

\Winnt

• Windows NT %Systemroot%

• Small Business Server - default is WINNT.SBS
• TSE - Terminal Server Edition - default is WTSRV
• Upgraded NT4.0 default is WINNT35

• /SOS List the drivers being loaded in the system 
• /DEBUG 
• /NODEBUG 
• /DEBUGPORT=PORT 
• /BAUDRATE Set NT to use debugging Information, Turns off debug, Specifies a serial port (COM1-COM4)
•  /BASEVIDEO Set NT to use Standard VGA Mode 
• /NOSERIALMICE Disable Serial Ports useful if you have a UPS on a COM Port 
• /MAXMEM:NUMBER Limit the amount memory visible to NT, Useful determine if you have memory problems 
• /HAL= Specific HAL .dll files
• /CRASHDEBUG Debugging is turned on when an error occurs

RUN CMD

Networks

IPCONFIG.EXE

Know what this utility will provide you: 

By going to start run type CMD hit enter > type in ipconfig and hit enter. This will give the basic IP configuration for your machine 

Or you can try to do ipconfig /all 

This will produce ALL IP configuration info that is available:

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:        
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. : DNS.com
Description . . . . . . . . . .. : 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI TX NIC (3C905b)
Physical Address . . . . . . .. . : 00-50-04-AB-42-22
DHCP Enabled . . . . . . . . . .. : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . .. : Yes
IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2.2.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . .. : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . .. . : 10.2.2.254
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . .. : 10.2.3.250
 DNS Servers.....................  10.2.3.192
                                            10.2.3.193 

WINIPCFG.EXE

ISP

An Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. For a monthly fee, the service provider gives you a software package, username, password and access phone number. Equipped with a modem, you can then log on to the Internet and browse the World Wide Web and USENET, and send and receive e-mail. In addition to serving individuals, ISPs also serve large companies, providing a direct connection from the company's networks to the Internet. ISPs themselves are connected to one another through Network Access Points (NAPs)

TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is a suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP. 

TCP/IP is built into the UNIX operating system and is used by the Internet, making it the de facto standard for transmitting data over networks. Even network operating systems that have their own protocols, such as Netware, now support TCP/IP. 

Remember the main Address Ranges: 

• A: 1-126(127) 
• B: 128-191 
• C: 192-223 

Check out out TCP/IP tutorial – Click Here

IPX/SPX

IPX is a networking protocol used by the Novell NetWare operating systems. Like UDP/IP, IPX is a datagram protocol used for connectionless communications. Higher-level protocols and SPX is a transport layer protocol used in Novell Netware networks. The SPX layer sits on top of the IPX layer (layer 3) and provides connection-oriented services between two nodes on the network - the IPX protocol is similar to IP, SPX is similar to TCP. Together, therefore, IPX/SPX provides connection services similar to TCP/IP

NetBEUI

The Transport that takes NetBIOS around a non-routed network – very easy to configure but very chatty and not very functional in today’s highly routed networks

E-mail

Email is the transmission of messages over communications networks. The messages can be notes entered from the keyboard or electronic files stored on disk. Most mainframes, minicomputers, and computer networks have an e-mail system

PING.EXE

PING is a utility used to determine whether a specific IP address is accessible. It works by sending a packet to the specified address and waiting for a reply (ICMP). PING is used primarily to troubleshoot Internet connections. There are many freeware and shareware PING utilities available for personal computers or you can open a DOS prompt and launch the standard one loaded on your machine IF TCP/IP is loaded

HTML

HTML is the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. HTML defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using a variety of tags and attributes. 

There are hundreds of tags but just make sure you understand the BASICS of how a tag is used – you “open a tag” you “close a tag” 

<HTML> </HTML>

HTTP://

HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web. HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web page 

URL = http://www.CERTguide.com

FTP

The protocol used on the Internet for sending files This is a TCP/IP based Application level based service

Copyright 2000 http://www.CERTguide.com/