Support for Windows 7
Chapter 2
Securing and Troubleshooting
Windows 7
Chapter Objectives
• In this chapter, you will learn
– About Windows utilities and tools you can use that
support Windows 7
– How to secure Windows 7 and the resources it
shares on a network
– How to solve problems with Windows 7 startup
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to
Support the OS
• Windows 7 utilities and tools used to support the
OS are similar or the same as those used in
Windows Vista
• Windows Vista Software Explorer is not included in
Windows 7
• Use the System Configuration Utility (Msconfig)
instead when you want to control the processes
that launch at startup
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to Support the OS
Tool
How to Access
Purpose
Action Center
Taskbar and Control Panel
Central location for security and maintenance tools
Advanced Boot Options
F8 key as Windows loads
Troubleshoot boot problems
Backup and Restore
Start menu
Back up and restore data or system image
Boot logging
F8 key as Windows loads
Examine ntbtlog.txt to investigate startup error
Bootcfg (bootcfg.exe)
Enter bootcfg at command prompt
View contents of boot.ini file
Chkdsk (chkdsk.exe)
Enter chkdsk with parameters at command prompt
Check and repair drive errors
Command prompt
Start menu
Enter command line commands
Compatibility mode
Action Center or program file’s shortcut menu
Resolve issues with legacy programs
Computer Management
(compmgmt.msc)
Control Panel or compmgmt.msc
Access snap-ins to manage system
Control Panel
Start menu
Change many settings that affect Windows
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to Support the OS
Tool
How to Access
Purpose
Defrag.exe
Enter defrag with parameters at command prompt
Defragment a drive
Device Driver Roll Back
Device Manager
Replace driver with one that worked before
Device Manager
(devmgmt.msc)
System or System Properties window
Manage and troubleshoot devices and device drivers
Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe)
Drive’s properties
Delete unused files
Disk Defragmenter
Drive’s properties
Defragment a drive
Disk Management
(diskmgmt.msc)
Computer Management Console or diskmgmt.msc
View and change partitions on hard drives
Driver Verifier
Enter verifier.exe at command prompt
Identify driver that is causing problems
Error Reporting
Control Panel or Action Center
Displays software or hardware error messages
Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc)
Computer Management Console
Check event logs for error messages
File Signature Verification Tool
(sigverif.exe)
Enter sigverif with parameters at command prompt
Search for unsigned installed drivers
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to Support the OS
Tool
How to Access
Purpose
Group Policy (gpedit.msc)
Enter gpedit.msc at command prompt
Display and change policies controlling users
Last Know Good Configuration
F8 as Windows loads and select from menu
Revert system to an earlier state
Memory Diagnostics
(mdsched.exe)
Enter mdsched at command prompt
Test memory
Microsoft Management Console
(mmc.exe)
Enter mmc.exe at command prompt
Create customized consoles from snap-in tools
Network and Sharing Center
Taskbar or Control Panel
Manage network connections and security
Performance monitor
(perfmon.exe)
Action Center or enter perfmon at command prompt
View performance information, identify bottlenecks
Programs and Features
Control Panel
Install, repair, or update software
Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
Enter regedit at command prompt
View and edit the registry
Resource Monitor (resmon.exe)
Action Center or enter resmon at command prompt
View information about processes using hardware
Safe Mode
F8 as Windows loads and select from menu
Boot Windows and repair problems
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to Support the OS
Tool
How to Access
Purpose
Services Console
(services.msc)
Enter services.msc at command prompt
Start or stop a background service
System Configuration Utility
(msconfig.exe)
Enter msconfig.exe at command prompt
Troubleshoot the startup process
System File Checker (sfc.exe)
Enter sfc with parameters at command prompt
Verify version of system files used as Windows loads
System image
Use Backup and Restore to create
Reinstall the OS
System Information
(msinfo32.exe)
Enter msinfo32 at command prompt
Display information about hardware and software
System Information
(systeminfo.exe)
Enter systeminfo.exe at command prompt
Display text-only version of System Information
System repair disc
Use Backup and Restore to create
Us to boot to Windows RE and then restore image
System Restore
Start Menu or in Safe Mode
Restore system to previous working condition
Task Killing Utility (tskill.exe)
Enter tskill with parameters at command prompt
Stop a process or currently running program
Task Lister (tasklist.exe)
Enter tasklist with parameters at command prompt
List currently running processes
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to Support the OS
Tool
How to Access
Purpose
Task Manager (taskman.exe)
Right click on taskbar
List and stop currently running processes
Task Scheduler
Control Panel
Schedule program to run at specific times
User Account Control (UAC) box
Control Panel or Action Center
Prevent malware, protect Windows settings
Windows Defender
Control Panel
Monitor program activity, alert if suspicious behavior
Windows Firewall
Control Panel or Network and Sharing Center
Prevent or filter uninvited communications
Windows Recovery Environment
(Windows RE)
System repair disc or Windows 7 setup DVD
Solve Windows startup problems
Windows Update (wupdmgr.exe)
Start Menu
Update Windows, download latest patches
Windows XP Mode
Installed in a virtual machine and then accessed
from Start Menu
Run legacy applications that do not work in
Compatibility Mode
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to
Support the OS (cont’d.)
• Windows 7 uses the same command prompt
utilities as does Vista
• Command prompt utilities:
– Telnet:
• A Windows command-line client/server application
• Allows an administrator or other user to control a
computer remotely
– Ping: a command used to troubleshoot network
connections by verifying that the host can
communicate with another host on the network
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to
Support the OS (cont’d.)
• Command prompt utilities:
– Ipconfig: displays the IP address of the host and
other configuration information
– Dxdiag: displays information about hardware and
diagnoses problems with DirectX.
– Cmd: launches a command prompt window.
– Xcopy: used to copy files and folders and has many
options to control how the copy operation will
proceed
– Net: collection of commands used to display
information about network connections, make
connections, and solve problems
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to
Support the OS (cont’d.)
– Tracert: Traces the route from the host to a
destination host and displays each hop to the
destination
– Netstat: displays statistics about network activity. It
can be used to identify a program hogging network
resources
– Nslookup: reads and displays information from the
Internet name space used to resolve domain names
and their corresponding IP addresses kept by a DNS
server
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to
Support the OS (cont’d.)
• Startup folders are the same as they are in
Windows Vista
– For individual users:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Win
dows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
– For all users:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start
Menu\Programs\Startup
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to
Support the OS (cont’d.)
• Windows 7 is:
– Engineered to make fewer reads and writes to the
hard drive to improve performance
– Designed to perform better when using solid state
drives (SSDs)
• For USB flash drives
– Consider using the exFAT file system
– exFAT file system
• Also called the FAT64 file system
• Structured the same as the older FAT32 file system
Supporting Windows 7
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Windows 7 Utilities and Tools to
Support the OS (cont’d.)
• When you format an internal drive using Disk
Management, the partitioning and formatting wizard
offers the option to use the exFAT or the NTFS file
system
• Use NTFS for very large hard drives or drives that
will contain the Windows installation
Supporting Windows 7
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Securing Windows 7 Resources
• In a small office, home office, or small business
– Networks are most likely set up as a peer-to-peer
network rather than a domain
– Security on a domain is controlled by a domain
controller
– Security for each PC is maintained at the local level
by Windows installed on each PC
• To control access to resources on the computer:
– User accounts
– Permissions
Supporting Windows 7
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Securing Windows 7 Resources
(cont’d.)
• To control access to resources on the network:
– Homegroup security
– Workgroup security with user accounts and
passwords
– Shared permissions
– User Account Control (UAC) box
– Windows Firewall
– Antivirus and antispyware software
– Hardware firewall
– Advanced encryption technologies
– Scheduled backups and user training
Supporting Windows 7
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Securing Windows 7 Resources
(cont’d.)
• Two approaches to sharing resources on a small
peer-to-peer network:
– A Windows 7 homegroup
– A workgroup with user accounts and passwords
• A homegroup is an easy way to share resources on
a network of Windows 7 computers when strict
measures are not required
Supporting Windows 7
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Securing Windows 7 Resources
(cont’d.)
• Windows determines if a homegroup exists on the
network and if the computer has already joined it
• Depending on the situation, three things can
happen
– A homegroup exists and the computer has not yet
joined the homegroup
– A homegroup has not yet been set up on the
network
– The computer has already joined a homegroup
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-1 Network and Sharing Center
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-2 Set the network location
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-3 The computer does not belong to a homegroup
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-6 Create a homegroup
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Securing Windows 7 Resources
(cont’d.)
• Windows Firewall in Windows 7 functions about the
same way as it does in Vista
• The windows in Windows Firewall are organized
differently
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-14 Customize settings for a private or public network
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-15 Allow programs to communicate through the firewall
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Solving Windows 7 Startup Problems
• Windows 7 and Vista use
– The same startup files and processes
– The same two main tools for solving problems with
startup processes
• The Advanced Boot Options menu
• The Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)
• Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) is
– Installed on the hard drive by default in Windows 7
– Available to you from the Advanced Boot Options
menu
Supporting Windows 7
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Solving Windows 7 Startup Problems
(cont’d.)
• Windows RE
– Is a lean operating system
– Can be launched to solve Windows startup problems
after other tools available on the Advanced Boot
Options menu have failed
• In Windows 7, Windows RE is installed on the hard
drive and available on the Advanced Boot Options
menu
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-16 Press F8 during the boot to launch the Windows 7
Advanced Boot Options menu
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Solving Windows 7 Startup Problems
(cont’d.)
• When deciding which recovery tool to use, always
use the least intrusive tool first
• Fix the problem while making as few changes to
the system as possible
Supporting Windows 7
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Figure 2-19 Recovery tools in Windows RE
Courtesy: Course Technology/Cengage Learning
Supporting Windows 7
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Solving Windows 7 Startup Problems
(cont’d.)
• System repair disk
– Used to launch Windows RWE
– Can be created during some installations of
Windows 7 and any time after installation
– Can be useful if Windows 7 will not start, you cannot
launch Windows RE from the hard drive, and you do
not have a Windows 7 setup DVD to launch
Windows RE
– A 32-bit installation creates a 32-bit version of the
repair disc
– A 64-bit installation creates a 64-bit version
Supporting Windows 7
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Summary
• Many commands and tools from Windows Vista
work the same as they did in Windows 7
• The exFAT filesystem is recommended for
removable drives and NTFS is recommended for all
fixed storage devices
• The Action Center is more powerful than the
Security Center
• Backup and Restore is more fine grained in
Windows 7
• A system image is equal to a Complete PC Backup
in Vista
Supporting Windows 7
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Summary (cont’d.)
• Performance Monitor and Resource Monitor are
now two separate tools
• Administrative control over UAC is much more
tunable than in Vista
• System Configuration Utility replaces Software
Explorer
• Firewall is functionally equivalent to Vista but
organized differently
• Addition of Windows Security essential antivirus, to
complement Windows Defender antispyware
Supporting Windows 7
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Summary (cont’d.)
• Boot options remain the same as Vista with
Windows Recovery Environment (RE) added as a
new option.
• Multiple methods of starting Windows RE, including
original installation media.
• Windows repair disc (a method of launching
Windows RE) created from Backup and Restore
utility.
• Repair disc can be used for any edition as long as
the version (32-bit or 64-bit) is the same.
Supporting Windows 7
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