What the 70-270 Exam Covers

The "Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional" exam covers six major topic areas: "Installing Windows XP Professional," "Implementing and Conducting Administration of Resources," "Implementing, Managing, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers," "Monitoring and Optimizing System Performance and Reliability," "Configuring and Troubleshooting the Desktop Environment," and "Configuring, Managing, and Troubleshooting Security." The exam objectives are listed by topic area in the following sections.

Installing Windows XP Professional

Perform and troubleshoot an attended installation of Windows XP Professional.

Perform and troubleshoot an unattended installation of Windows XP Professional.

• Install Windows XP Professional by using Remote Installation Services (RIS).

• Install Windows XP Professional by using the System Preparation Tool.

• Create unattended answer files by using Setup Manager to automate the installation of Windows XP Professional.

Upgrade from a previous version of Windows to Windows XP Professional.

• Prepare a computer to meet upgrade requirements.

• Migrate existing user environments to a new installation.

Perform post-installation updates and product activation.

Troubleshoot failed installations.

Implementing and Conducting Administration of Resources

Monitor, manage, and troubleshoot access to files and folders.

• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot file compression.

• Control access to files and folders by using permissions.

• Optimize access to files and folders.

Manage and troubleshoot access to shared folders.

• Create and remove shared folders.

• Control access to shared folders by using permissions.

• Manage and troubleshoot Web server resources.

Connect to local and network print devices.

• Manage printers and print jobs.

• Control access to printers by using permissions.

• Connect to an Internet printer.

• Connect to a local print device.

Configure and manage file systems.

• Convert from one file system to another file system.

• Configure NTFS, FAT32, or FAT file systems.

Manage and troubleshoot access to and synchronization of offline files.

Implementing, Managing, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers

Implement, manage, and troubleshoot disk devices.

• Install, configure, and manage DVD and CD-ROM devices.

• Monitor and configure disks.

• Monitor, configure, and troubleshoot volumes.

• Monitor and configure removable media, such as tape devices.

Implement, manage, and troubleshoot display devices.

• Configure multiple-display support.

• Install, configure, and troubleshoot a video adapter.

Configure Advanced Configuration Power Interface (ACPI).

Implement, manage, and troubleshoot input and output (I/O) devices.

• Monitor, configure, and troubleshoot I/O devices, such as printers, scanners, multimedia devices, mouse, keyboard, and smart card reader.

• Monitor, configure, and troubleshoot multimedia hardware, such as cameras.

• Install, configure, and manage modems.

• Install, configure, and manage Infrared Data Association (IrDA) devices.

• Install, configure, and manage wireless devices.

• Install, configure, and manage USB devices.

• Install, configure, and manage hand held devices.

• Install, configure, and manage network adapters.

Manage and troubleshoot drivers and driver signing.

Monitor and configure multiprocessor computers.

Monitoring and Optimizing System Performance and Reliability

Monitor, optimize, and troubleshoot performance of the Windows XP Professional desktop.

• Optimize and troubleshoot memory performance.

• Optimize and troubleshoot processor utilization.

• Optimize and troubleshoot disk performance.

• Optimize and troubleshoot application performance.

• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot Scheduled Tasks.

Manage, monitor, and optimize system performance for mobile users.

Restore and back up the operating system, System State data, and user data.

• Recover System State data and user data by using Windows Backup.

• Troubleshoot system restoration by starting in safe mode.

• Recover System State data and user data by using the Recovery console.

Configuring and Troubleshooting the Desktop Environment

Configure and manage user profiles and desktop settings.

Configure support for multiple languages or multiple locations.

• Enable multiple-language support.

• Configure multiple-language support for users.

• Configure local settings.

• Configure Windows XP Professional for multiple locations.

Manage applications by using Windows Installer packages.

Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Network Protocols and Services

Configure and troubleshoot the TCP/IP protocol.

Connect to computers by using dial-up networking.

• Connect to computers by using a virtual private network (VPN) connection.

• Create a dial-up connection to connect to a remote access server.

• Connect to the Internet by using dial-up networking.

• Configure and troubleshoot Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).

Connect to resources by using Internet Explorer.

Configure, manage, and implement Internet Information Services (IIS).

Configure, manage, and troubleshoot Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance.

Configure, manage, and troubleshoot an Internet Connection Firewall (ICF).

Configuring, Managing, and Troubleshooting Security

Configure, manage, and troubleshoot Encrypting File System (EFS).

Configure, manage, and troubleshoot a security configuration and local security policy.

Configure, manage, and troubleshoot local user and group accounts.

• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot auditing.

• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot account settings.

• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot account policy.

• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot user and group rights.

• Troubleshoot cache credentials.

Configure, manage, and troubleshoot Internet Explorer security settings.

Note

The exam objectives are taken verbatim from the Microsoft Web page titled "Preparation Guide for Exam 70-270," at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-270.asp.

Exam Alert

There's no substitute for experience The single best study tip that anyone can give you is to actually work with the product that you're learning! Even if you could become a "paper MCSE" simply by reading books, you wouldn't get the real-world skills that you need to be a Windows XP Professional success.