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Monitoring and management

Unit objectives Identify the stages of the Windows

startup process Use Windows 2000 Professional and

Windows XP utilities to monitor the operating system

Troubleshoot operating system problems

Manage the operating system

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Topic A

Topic A: The Windows boot process Topic B: System monitoring Topic C: System troubleshooting Topic D: System management

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Windows 2000/XP startup files

NTLDR Boot.ini Bootsect.dos Ntdetect.com Ntbootdd.sys Ntoskrnl.exe Hal.dll System Registry hive Smss.exe

continued

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2000/XP startup files, continued

Pagefile.sys Winlogon.exe Lsass.exe

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The Registry

A hierarchical database Created during Windows installation Binary files hold system configuration

information – Security settings– User profiles– Installed applications– Attached hardware– System properties

Files are called hivescontinued

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The Registry, continued

Stored in the folder \%systemroot%\System32\Config– Windows 2000 Professional — C:\Winnt– Windows XP — C:\Windows

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Registry keys

Section of the Registry Contains subkeys and values Keys:

– HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT – HKEY_CURRENT_USER – HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – HKEY_USERS – HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG

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Startup process

1. ROM BIOS bootstrap process

2. Boot phase — using NTLDR

3. Load phase

4. Kernel-initialization phase

5. Services-load phase

6. Win32 subsystem start phase

7. User logon

8. Last Known Good control set created

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Activity A-1

Identifying phases in the startup process

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Activity A-2

Observing the Windows XP startup process

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Topic B

Topic A: The Windows boot process Topic B: System monitoring Topic C: System troubleshooting Topic D: System management

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Windows Diagnostics

MSINFO32 System Information dialog box

– Hardware Resources– Components– Software Environment– Internet Settings

Can also use Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools menu

Connect to a remote computer1. Choose View, Remote Computer 2. Enter network name of the computer

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Activity B-1

Running Windows Diagnostics

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Task Manager

Information on running processes Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete –or–

Right-click an empty space in the taskbar and choose Task Manager

Three tabs – Application– Processes– Performance

Windows XP – two additional tabs– Networking– Users

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Task Manager in Windows XP

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Activity B-2

Observing Task Manager data

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Computer Management

Use to manage a local or a remote computer

Administrative tasks:– Monitor system events– Create and manage shared resources– Determine the users who are connected the

computer you are managing – Start and stop system services– Set properties for storage devices– View device configurations– Add or change device drivers– Manage applications and services

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Event Viewer

Monitor events that occur on your system

Use to determine the cause of problems

Categories– Application– Security– System

Access through Administrative Tools or Computer Management console

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Event information

Type Date Time Source Category Event User Computer

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Event types

Error Warning Information Success Audit (Security Log only) Failure Audit (Security Log only)

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Event properties

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Activity B-3

Viewing the event logs

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Error Reporting

Report system and program errors to Microsoft

Track and address errors with:– Operating system– Windows component– Programs

Can configure error reporting to send only specified information

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Error Reporting choices

Disable error reporting Notify me when critical errors occur Enable error reporting Windows operating system Programs Choose Programs Clicking the Choose Program button

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Activity B-4

Disabling Error Reporting

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Activity B-5

Enabling error reporting for specific programs

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Topic C

Topic A: The Windows boot process Topic B: System monitoring Topic C: System troubleshooting Topic D: System management

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Startup messages

Computer boots successfully but reports an error message when loading the operating system

Messages:– Error in CONFIG.SYS line ## – Himem.sys not loaded – Missing or corrupt Himem.sys – Device/service has failed to start

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Boot messages

Computer doesn’t boot successfully; never gets to the operating-system load phase

Messages:– Invalid boot or non-system disk error – Inaccessible boot device – Missing NTLDR or Couldn’t find NTLDR – Bad or missing Command interpreter

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Operating-system load errors

Computer successfully boots, but operating system interface doesn’t load properly

Messages:– Failure to start GUI – Windows Protection Error—illegal

operation – User-modified settings cause improper

operation at startup

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Activity C-1

Interpreting boot and startup messages

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Startup modes

Use to diagnose and fix problems Press F8 after you hear your

computer’s startup beep Modes:

– Safe mode– Safe mode with networking– Safe mode with command prompt– Enable boot logging– Enable VGA mode– Last Known Good Configuration

continued

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Startup modes, continued

Modes, continued:– Debugging mode– Start Windows normally

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Activity C-2

Booting the computer in differentstartup modes

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Dr. Watson

Use to log errors user.dmp and drwtsn32.log files \Documents and Settings\All Users\

Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson folder

Copy into the Windows Startup folder

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Activity C-3

Managing general protection faults

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System Configuration Utility

Msconfig Use to view, disable, and enable

services and software that run at startup

Quickly test solutions to startup problems

Click Start, choose Run, type msconfig, and click OK

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Services page

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Startup modes

On the General tab:– Normal Startup – Diagnostic Startup – Selective Startup

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Activity C-4

Using the System Configuration Utility

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System Restore

Creates snapshots of your computer’s configuration

Three types of snapshots:– System checkpoints– Manual restore points– Installation restore points

Use to restore your computer to a previous configuration

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System Restore in Windows XP

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Activity C-5

Creating a system restore point

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Activity C-6

Booting to System Restore

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Emergency Repair Disks

Contains basic system configuration files

Use to restore your computer to a bootable state if:– Registry is damaged – NTFS partition isn’t successfully booting

%systemroot%\Repair folder Not bootable; use with the Windows

installation CD-ROM

continued

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Emergency Repair Disks, continued

Use to:– Inspect and repair the boot sector– Inspect and repair the startup

environment– Verify Windows 2000/XP system files

and replace missing or damaged files Update ERD whenever you make

configuration changes to computer Not a substitute for a full Registry

backup ASR in Windows XP

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Windows 2000 ERD

Autoexec.nt Config.nt Setup.log No Registry information

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Automated System Recovery

Creates a backup of your system partition and a floppy disk containing critical system settings

Recover from a system failure caused by problems with the system/boot volume

Not available in Home Edition or Media Center

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ASR tasks

1. Restores the disk configurations

2. Formats your system and boot volumes

3. Installs a bare-bones version of Windows

4. Runs Backup to rebuild your system and boot volumes from your ASR backup set

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Activity C-7

Creating an ASR recovery set

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Recovery Console

Use to recover when your computer doesn’t start properly or at all

Access FAT, FAT32, and NTFS volumes from a command line

Use to:– Repair the boot sector– Replace missing or corrupt operating

system files– Create and format partitions– Enable or disable services or devices

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Folder access in Recovery Console

The root folder The %systemroot% folder and the

subfolders of the Windows XP Professional or Windows 2000 Professional installation you selected when loading the Recovery Console

The Cmdcons folder Removable media drives, such as CD-

ROM and DVD drives

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Activity C-8

Running the Recovery Console

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Microsoft Knowledge Base

Troubleshooting reference Contains problem and solution

references for:– Windows 2000 Professional– Windows XP Professional– Windows XP Home Edition– Many other Microsoft applications

Explains many Microsoft error messages

support.microsoft.com

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Activity C-9

Using Microsoft’s Knowledge Base to research a problem

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Topic D

Topic A: The Windows boot process Topic B: System monitoring Topic C: System troubleshooting Topic D: System management

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Temporary files

Used to keep track of changes in your files as you work on them

Should be deleted automatically Not removed if:

– Application shuts down unexpectedly – Application isn’t programmed correctly to

remove its temporary files

File names:– Begin with tilde (~)– End with .tmp

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Activity D-1

Managing temporary files

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Registry editors

regedit.exe or regedt32.exe regedit.exe — superior search

capabilities regedt32.exe — more powerful editing

tool Click Start, choose Run, type “regedit”

or “regedt32” and click OK

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The regedt32 window

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Activity D-2

Viewing Registry information

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Services and Applications

A Computer Management utility Use to manage the services and

applications running on– Local computer– Remote computer

Three tools:– Services– WMI Control– Indexing Services

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Services

Configure settings relating to how services function and respond to potential problems

Four configuration tabs:– General– Log On– Recovery– Dependencies

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Activity D-3

Managing services

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Environment variables

Tell applications where to find and put files on your hard drive

User variables System variables Temp/tmp variables — most common Access through Advanced tab of My

Computer properties Changes to variables written to

Registry System variables — changes must be

made by Administrator

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Setting environment variables

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Set command

Configure environment variables at the command prompt

set variable=string – variable is the name of the environment

variable – string is the value you want to assign to

the variable

Set command alone to view variables

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Activity D-4

Configuring environment variables

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Unit summary

Identified the stages of the Windows startup process

Used Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP utilities to monitor the operating system

Resolved operating system problems Managed the operating system