Chapter Objectives In this chapter, you will learn: About consoles and snap-ins in Windows XP How to use Windows XP features to secure the PC and protect users and their data About the Windows XP registry How to troubleshoot the Windows XP boot process About tools for troubleshooting and maintaining Windows XP Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Computer Management Computer Management is a console that consolidates several Windows XP administrative tools for managing the local computer and other computers on the network To access the Computer Management console, click the Start button and then right-click My Computer on the Start menu. Click Manage on the shortcut menu Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Computer Management Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Security Using Windows XP: User Accounts and Profiles A local user account enables users to log on to a single, specific computer, so that the account has access to resources on that computer Built-in user accounts Limited accounts A domain user account allows users to logon to a computer, just like a local user account, except that the account is recognized by all of the computers in a domain Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Security Using Windows XP: User Accounts and Profiles Each user account on a computer network is associated with a user profile, which stores desktop settings, applications, network and printer connection settings, and more The first time you log on to a computer, the system creates a local user profile, which is stored on the computer’s hard disk A roaming user profile is created by your system administrator and stored on a server on the network, so the profile is available every time you log on to any computer on the network Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Security Using Windows XP: User Accounts and Profiles A mandatory user profile is a roaming user profile that can be used to specify particular settings for individuals or an entire group of users Individual users cannot change a mandatory user profile When defined for a group, a mandatory user profile often is called a group profile Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Security Using Windows XP: User Accounts and Profiles Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Security Using Windows XP: User Accounts and Profiles Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Security Using Windows XP: User Accounts and Profiles Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Controlling How a User Logs On Welcome screen To log on to the computer, a user clicks his or her user name and enters the password if a password has been set The Welcome screen is not an available option if your computer is connected to a domain Fast User Switching Multiple users can share a computer, switching back and forth between users without closing the programs they are running Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

User Groups User groups are an efficient way for an administrator to manage multiple user accounts that require the same privileges and similar profiles Windows XP sets up similar groups: Administrators Backup Operators Power Users Limited Users Guests Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Adding a New User Group Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Group Policy Group Policy defines and controls how programs, network resources, and the operating system behave for users and computers in an organization The Group Policy console is a Microsoft Management Console snap-in Group Policy can be applied using Computer Configuration User Configuration Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Group Policy Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Disk Quotas A disk quota limits how much disk space a user can access Important when multiple users need to share a computer’s storage capacity You can only set disk quotas if you are using NTFS Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

EFS (Encrypted File System) EFS is a technology which allows users to store their data in encrypted format Encryption is the process of putting readable data into code that must be translated before it can be accessed This process typically uses a key that encrypts the data and also provides a way to decrypt it, or translate it back into readable data Decryption is the process of converting data from encrypted format back to its original format Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

EFS (Encrypted File System) Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

The Windows XP Registry Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Logical Organization of the Registry Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Physical Organization of the Registry Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Backing Up and Editing the Registry When you make a change in the Control Panel, Device Manager, or many other places in Windows XP, Windows XP updates the registry To backup the registry, you must select the option to back up the System State data during the backup process in the Windows XP Backup tool The Registry Editor is a tool for viewing and changing settings in your system registry Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Backing Up and Editing the Registry Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Troubleshooting the Boot Process If problems arise with the boot process, try simple things first (power, reboot, cables) Windows XP provides tools to help solve problems with the boot process Advanced Options Menu System Restore Windows XP Boot Disk Recovery Console Automated System Recovery Reinstall Windows XP using the Windows XP CD Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Additional Windows XP Maintenance and Troubleshooting Tools Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Additional Windows XP Maintenance and Troubleshooting Tools Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Event Viewer The Event Viewer tool displays logs about significant system events that occur in Windows XP or in applications running under the operating system The Event Viewer displays three different types of logs: Application log Security log System log Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Event Viewer An information event is recorded when a driver, service, or application functions successfully A warning event is recorded when something happens that may indicate a future problem An error event is recorded when something goes wrong with the system Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Event Viewer Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Task Manager Task Manager allows you to view the applications and processes running on your computer, as well as performance information for the processor and the memory Task manager has several tabs: Applications Processes Performance Networking Users Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Task Manager Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Dr. Watson and Memory Dumps Dr. Watson is used to debug errors in applications by recording error events to a log file Automatically starts behind the scenes when an application error occurs Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Dr. Watson and Memory Dumps A memory dump saves the contents of memory at the time a stop error halts the system, in a file called a dump file A stop error is an error so severe that the operating system stops all processes A stop error also often is called a blue screen Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Windows Update Windows Update provides an automated way to update the OS, applications, and device drivers made available on the Microsoft Web site Administrator privileges are required if an update requires user interaction To start Windows Update, first be sure the computer is connected to the Internet Select Windows Update from the All Programs submenu on the Start menu Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Windows Update Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Additional Help and Support Resources Windows Help and Support Microsoft Web site Windows Newsgroups Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Chapter Summary In this chapter, you learned: About consoles and snap-ins in Windows XP How to use Windows XP features to secure the PC and protect users and their data About the Windows XP registry How to troubleshoot the Windows XP boot process About tools for troubleshooting and maintaining Windows XP Chapter 9: Managing and Supporting Windows XP

Chapter 9 Complete