Implementing, Managing, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices

• The tools within the Computer Management console include Event Viewer, Performance Logs and Alerts, Device Manager, Removable Storage, Disk Defragmenter, Disk Management, Services, WMI Control, and Indexing Service.

• A hardware device may exhibit errors because of its separate adapter's configuration, device driver, or general failure. For example, a SCSI device may exhibit errors when the SCSI adapter is not terminated or has an incompatible driver.

• Table 8 describes common problems encountered when installing or using CD/DVD drives, and the appropriate solutions.

Table 8. Troubleshooting CD or DVD Errors

Device	Problem or Process	Utility/Solution	Response
Proprietary non-SCSI interface	Installing	Windows XP Setup, Options menu, Add/Remove SCSI Adapters	Verify/install correct device driver.
CD-ROM drive	Can't play audio CD; can read data CD	Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices utility, Hardware tab	Verify CD drive is listed. Verify audio codecs.
CD or DVD drive	Disc reading problem	Physically inspect the disc	Verify that disc has no defects or scratches. Clean disc.
DVD drive	Can't play DVD	Device Manager, device Properties, General tab	Verify device type is DVD drive, not CD-ROM drive.
CD or DVD drive	Disc reading problem	Alternate CD or DVD drive	Test disc in alternate drive.
CD or DVD drive	Error reading multiple discs	Special CD or DVD drive cleaning disc	Clean drive.
CD or DVD drive	Computer stops responding while reading disc	Task Manager (press Ctrl+Alt+Del), Performance tab	View performance. Exit unnecessary applications.
CD or DVD drive	Computer stops responding while reading disc	Perform a clean boot	Ensure that no unnecessary applications are running. Test the disc in the drive again.
DVD drive	Cannot play a DVD movie disc	Device Manager, display adapter Properties, Driver tab, Update Driver button	Update the video driver. Install a DVD software decoder.
DVD drive	Analog copy protection error	Physical presence of video output cables or older device driver does not support copyright protection on disc. Device Manager, display adapter Properties, Driver tab, Update Driver button	Remove video output cables from video adapter or DVD drive. Update video adapter driver.
DVD drive	Low video memory	Device Manager, display adapter Properties, Driver tab, Update Driver button	Update the video driver.
DVD drive	Low video memory/poor resolution	Control Panel, Display utility, Settings tab, Advanced button, Monitor tab	Lower the refresh rate.
DVD drive	Does not play DVD discs	Firmware version and DVD decoder software versionvalidate compatibility	Update the firmware version. Uninstall the DVD decoder software. Install a version that is compatible with Windows XP. This can happen when a computer was upgraded from an older version of Windows.

• Watch out for questions on the exam that require you to know when to perform a clean boot (press F8 on bootup), as well as the process to do so. You can customize how Windows XP Professional starts up by clicking Start, Run, typing msconfig in the Open text box, and pressing Enter.

• There are several utilities that can help manage the disk partitions. You should be logged in as an administrator-level user to make disk or volume configuration changes, such as when using Fsutil.exe or Disk Management.

  • Chkdsk.exe Command-line utility that verifies and repairs FAT- or NTFS-formatted volumes.

  • Cleanmgr.exe Also known as Disk Cleanup, a GUI utility that deletes unused files.

  • Defrag.exe Also known as Disk Defragmenter, a command-line utility that rearranges files contiguously, recapturing and reorganizing free space in the volume. Optimizes performance.

  • Dfrg.msc Also known as Disk Defragmenter, a GUI utility that performs the same actions as DEFRAG.EXE.

  • Diskpart.exe A command-line utility that can run a script to perform disk-related functions. DISKPART's nearest GUI counterpart is the Disk Management utility.

  • Fsutil.exe A command-line utility that displays information about the file system and can perform disk-related functions.

• Table 9 describes common disk errors and how to resolve them.

  Table 9. Troubleshooting Disk Errors

  Error	Problem or Process	Possible Repairs
  Non-system disk	Computer is trying to boot from a disk without a boot volume.	Remove any non-system disks from the floppy or CD-ROM. Repair the boot volume using Windows Recovery Console.
  There is not enough memory or disk space to complete the operation	Disk is full.	Free up space on the hard disk by deleting files, removing applications, or compressing files. Add another disk and extend the volume to span both disks.
  NTLDR is missing	Primary partition is marked as active but does not contain boot files.	Copy Ntldr, Ntdetect.com, and Boot.ini to the boot volume using Windows Recovery Console. Boot up with a floppy. Use FDISK to mark the boot volume as active.
  Missing Operating System	No active partition is defined.	Boot up with a floppy. Use Diskpart.exe to mark the boot volume as active. Check the BIOS and reconfigure any wrong boot volume settings. Use Windows XP Recovery Console. Reinstall Windows XP.
  Non-System Disk or Disk Error	The BIOS generates this error when the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector is damaged, or when a different device is configured as the boot device in the BIOS.	Check the BIOS and reconfigure, if necessary. Remove any non-bootable floppy disks from the PC. Repair the boot volume with Windows Recovery Console. Reinstall Windows XP. Replace the hard disk.
  Invalid Media Type	Boot sector is damaged.	Repair the boot volume with Windows Recovery Console. Reinstall Windows XP. Replace the hard disk.
  Hard disk controller failure	BIOS's disk controller configuration is invalid, or the hard disk controller has failed.	Check the BIOS and reconfigure controller. Replace the hard disk controller.

  
  

• Table 10 describes various types of dynamic volumes.

Table 10. Dynamic Volume Types

Volume Type	Number of Disks	Configuration	Fault Tolerance
Boot	N/A	The volume that contains the %systemroot% files (usually C:\Windows).	Fault tolerant if Windows XP is installed on a mirrored or RAID-5 volume
System	N/A	The volume that contains the Ntdetect.com, Ntldr, and Boot.ini files (usually C:\).	Fault tolerant only if these files are placed on a mirrored or RAID-5 volume
Simple	1	A single region or multiple concatenated regions of free space on a single disk.	None
Spanned	2 to 32	Two or more regions of free space on 2 to 32 disks linked into a single volume. Can be extended. Cannot be mirrored.	None
Striped	2 or more	Multiple regions of free space from two or more disks. Data is evenly interleaved across the disks, in stripes. Known as RAID Level 0.	None
Mirrored	2	Data on one disk is replicated on the second disk. Cannot be extended. Known as RAID Level 1.	Yes, with maximum capacity of the smallest disk
RAID 5	3 to 32	Data is interleaved equally across all disks, with a parity stripe of data also interleaved across the disks. Known as RAID-5 or striping with parity.	Yes, with maximum capacity of the number of disks minus one (if you have five 100GB disks, 400GB)

• Laptops do not support dynamic disks.

• A dynamic disk cannot be read by other operating systems in a dual-boot configuration.

• For video-related problems, the System Configuration utility enables you to edit the Boot.ini and change the startup parameter /BASEVIDEO.

• Table 11 describes lists common display errors and the appropriate troubleshooting steps.

Table 11. Troubleshooting Display Errors

Problem or Process	Utility/Solution	Response
Computer stops responding recurrently	Display Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button, Troubleshoot tab	Change the hardware acceleration to None.
Images are not drawn correctly	Display Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button, Troubleshoot tab	Change the hardware acceleration to a mid-scale option.
Mouse pointer does not function properly or some images are corrupt	Display Properties Settings tab, Advanced button, Troubleshoot tab	Change the hardware acceleration to the option just to the left of Full.
Screen corruption	Display Properties Settings tab, Advanced button, Troubleshoot tab	Clear the Enable Write Combining check box.
Screen flickers	Display Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button, Monitor tab	Adjust the refresh frequency rate to a higher number.
Game or application will not play without 256 colors	Right-click the application's icon, Properties, Compatibility tab	Select the Run in 256 Colors check box.
Monitor does not sleep	Display Properties, Screen Saver tab, Power button	Change the power scheme according to your activity requirements.

• The Display applet in Control Panel can configure multiple monitor support after the video adapter, driver, and monitor are installed.

• Windows 2000 video drivers are generally compatible with Windows XP. If you have a computer that has been upgraded from Windows 2000 and functions well, but a brand-new computer with the exact same hardware has display problems, you should try installing the Windows 2000 video driver.

• ACPI requires the correct HAL to function. If the wrong HAL is installed, the only way to change to an ACPI HAL is to reinstall the operating system.