2. Chapter Objectives In this chapter, you will learn:
About maintaining your PC, including how to make backups
How to protect against viruses, Trojan horses, and worms
About approaches for troubleshooting a PC
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

3. Maintaining Your PC
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

4. Performing Routine Maintenance Tasks
Organize the hard drive root directory
Organizing the files and folders on your hard drive makes it easier to find files and can help you back up and recover files more easily
Keep all of your documents and other files in your My Documents folder
Do not store files on the desktop
Keep application software files and their data in separate directories
The root directory of the hard drive should contain only folders and system startup files or initialization files for software
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

5. Performing Routine Maintenance Tasks
Create rescue disks
Document all setup changes, problems, and solutions
Record setup data
Take practical precautions to protect software and data
Backup the system state and create a restore point before installing a new software package
Do not store data files in the same directory as the software
Enable settings to hide protected files from the user
Back up original software
Back up data on the hard drive
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

6. Backup Approaches
A full backup backs up all data from the hard drive or a directory or folder of the hard drive
An incremental backup backs up only files that have changed or been created since the last backup
Differential backups backs up files that have changed or been created since the last full backup
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

7. Creating a Backup Plan and Schedule
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

8. Creating a Backup Plan and Schedule
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

9. Disk Cloning Software
Disk cloning is the creation of a complete image or copy of a computer’s hard drive, usually used to deploy a new operating system with application software on multiple computers in a corporate network or educational computer lab
Norton Ghost
Drive Image
ImageCast
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

10. Creating a Preventative Maintenance Plan
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

11. Protecting against Viruses, Trojan Horses, and Worms
A malicious logic program is any program that acts without a user’s knowledge, deliberately changes the computer’s operations, and does varying degrees of damage to data and software
Antivirus software protects a computer against infection by identifying and removing any malicious logic programs in memory, in storage, or on files coming in as attachments
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

12. Computer Viruses
A computer virus is a program designed to infect a computer and replicate itself by attaching itself to other programs
The payload is the destructive event or prank the virus was created to deliver
All viruses have three characteristics:
Has an incubation period
Performs an unwanted function
Replicates itself
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

13. Types of Viruses
A file virus inserts virus code into program files or executable files
A macro virus uses the macro language of an application to hide virus code
A boot sector virus replaces the boot program used to start the computer system with a modified, infected version of the boot program
Master Boot Record (MBR) viruses attack disks in the same manner as boot sector viruses
MBR viruses typically save a legitimate copy of the master boot record in a different location on the hard disk
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

14. Types of Viruses
A multipartite virus has characteristics of a boot sector virus and a file virus
A logic bomb is a program that is activated when a certain condition is detected
A time bomb is a type of logic bomb that is activated on a particular date
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

15. How Viruses Hide
Antivirus software detects a known virus by looking for distinguishing characteristics called a virus signature, which is a known pattern of virus code
A polymorphic virus changes its distinguishing characteristics as it replicates
An encrypting virus can transform itself into a nonreplicating program to avoid destruction by antivirus program
A stealth virus actively conceals itself
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

16. How a Virus Replicates
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

17. Trojan Horses
A Trojan horse is a destructive program disguised as a real application, such as a screen saver
Trojan horses can delete files, capture information from your system, or open up a back door that allows a hacker to control your computer remotely
AOL4FREE
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

18. Worms
A worm is a malicious logic program that replicates by creating copies of itself, either on one computer or any number of computers on a network
Eventually, no memory or disk space remains because the worm is using up all system resources
Worms on the Internet routinely perform port scanning
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

19. Worms
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

20. Hoaxes
A virus hoax is an message that spreads a false virus warning, usually in chain letter fashion, from person to person
Before ignoring a virus warning, you should check with reputable references to determine if a virus warning is legitimate or a hoax
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

21. Hoaxes
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

22. Protecting against Computer Viruses
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

23. Using Antivirus Software
Install an antivirus program on your computer and update it frequently
Perform routine system scans on your computer
Most antivirus programs contain an auto-update feature that regularly prompts users to download the new virus signature or definition files
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

24. Handling an Infection
Run a virus scan using your antivirus software to detect and delete the malicious logic program
If the antivirus program cannot remove the infection, it often quarantines the infected file
Using a recovery disk, the antivirus program can attempt to repair damaged files
In extreme cases, you may need to reformat the hard disk to remove a virus
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

25. Troubleshooting Tools: Building a PC Toolkit
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

26. Troubleshooting Tools: Building a PC Toolkit
Other tools that are helpful to have in a PC toolkit include:
Antistatic bags
Needle-nose pliers
Flashlight
AC outlet ground tester and multimeter
Small cups, bags, or plastic containers
Pen and paper
Utility software
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

27. Utility and Diagnostic Software
Utility software is a program that performs a specific task, usually related to managing system resources or identifying a problem with a PC
Diagnostic software generally is used to identify hardware problems
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

28. Utility and Diagnostic Software
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

29. Utility and Diagnostic Software
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

30. Approaches for Troubleshooting a PC: Fundamental Rules
Make backups before making changes
Follow the important safety precautions
Approach the problem systematically
Isolate the problem
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

31. Approaches for Troubleshooting a PC: Fundamental Rules
Do not assume the worst
Check simple things first
Become a researcher
Know your starting point
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

32. Approaches for Troubleshooting a PC: Fundamental Rules
Establish your priorities
Do not rush
Write things down
Take a break
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

33. Gathering Information: Investigating the Problem
What operating system is installed?
What physical components are installed?
What is the nature of the problem?
Can you duplicate the problem?
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

34. Gathering Information: Isolating the Problem
Consider the possibilities
Eliminate simple things first
Eliminate the unnecessary
Trade good for suspected bad
Trade suspected bad for good
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

35. Gathering Information: Intermittent Problems
The trick in diagnosing problems that come and go is to look for patterns or clues as to when the problems occur
If you cannot reproduce the problem, keep a log of when the problems occur and exactly what messages appear
Take a screen capture
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

36. Chapter Summary In this chapter, you learned:
About maintaining your PC, including how to make backups
How to protect against viruses, Trojan horses, and worms
About approaches for troubleshooting a PC
Chapter 12: Maintenance and Troubleshooting Fundamentals

37. Chapter 12 Complete