tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359Sun, 18 May 2008 17:36:04 +0000http://www.pc-technician.net/noreply@blogger.com (Nik)Blogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-114123736732326120Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:22:00 +00002006-07-14T12:41:02.786ZThe internet uses the TCP/IP protocol. TCP/IP however is actually a suite of protocols that contains specialised protocols to allow both connected and connectionless communication over both the internet and private networks. One of the most important protocols in the suite is Internet Protocol or IP, which is essentially a hierarchical addressing system designed to provide each network device http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/03/tcpip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-114064280814384284Wed, 22 Feb 2006 20:47:00 +00002006-02-22T21:13:29.013ZYou can access shared resources in Windows via "My Network Places" in Windows 2000/XP or "Network Neighborhood" in Windows 9x and NT. Through this screen you can navigate through shared resources on network servers, other computers and printers etc. If you know a computer name on the network you can use the "Find" or "Search" tool (depending on what version of Windows you're using) from the http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/finding-and-using-shared-resources-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-114055356614888172Tue, 21 Feb 2006 20:03:00 +00002006-02-21T21:44:04.240ZNetBIOS - This is also called the "Computer Name" in Windows. It is essentially a name resolution system which allows the computer to be found by name from another machine on the same network. To test this follow these steps in Windows XP. You'll need access to another computer on the network. Right-click My ComputerSelect PropertiesClick the Change button next to the text that says "To renamehttp://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/netbios-and-netbeui.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-114044366831505762Mon, 20 Feb 2006 13:21:00 +00002006-02-21T13:32:35.606ZThe A+ course does not go into any great depth where networks are concerned, it concentrates on configuration of client machines in order to access LAN and the Internet and basic networking protocols. Much of the configuration in Windows is the same across all Windows operating systems. You'll need a Network Operating System NOS to access resources on a server. Luckily Windows 9x/NT/2000 and http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/windows-networking-basics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-114035000810409359Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:01:00 +00002006-02-19T11:53:28.216ZLaptops are designed to be portable machines and as such their main source of power comes from batteries. There are several different types of battery technology: Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) - These are popular because they are cheap, they last about 700 charge cycles, but suffer from what's known as the memory effect, this eventually makes the charge cycle so short they become unusable. Nickel http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/how-can-i-get-extend-my-laptop-battery.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-114012405443743862Thu, 16 Feb 2006 20:42:00 +00002006-02-16T21:07:34.606ZWindows XP features an advanced startup screen, the options available here are only really needed when you're having difficulties booting into Windows. One of the options which helps diagnose problems with Windows is the "Logged" mode. This mode essentially starts Windows normally but logs all the actions Windows takes on boot up to a text file (ntbtlog.txt located in the Windows folder in http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/windows-xp-advanced-startup-options.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113992398831582095Tue, 14 Feb 2006 13:15:00 +00002006-02-16T20:03:43.466ZThe Windows startup routine for Windows NT/2000 and XP differs considerably from Windows 9x, not only are the procedures different, but the files used to boot the system are different too. NTLDR - This is the bootstrap file that begins loading the operating system.BOOT.INI - This file holds details of all operating systems installed on the machine.BOOTSECT.DOS - This file is for dual-boot http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/windows-nt2000xp-key-boot-files.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113986498687314996Mon, 13 Feb 2006 20:09:00 +00002006-02-13T21:09:55.886ZThe Windows boot process is a complex process which involves a number of different steps. The Windows 9x sequence differs markedly from the Windows NT/2000/XP boot procedure. I've drawn up a table showing the processes side-by-side. You'll notice the first two processes are identical, but that's where the similarities end. Click here for explanations of the Windows 9x Startup files. WINDOWS http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/windows-9xnt2000xp-boot-sequences-side.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113983754214813222Mon, 13 Feb 2006 13:14:00 +00002006-02-13T19:59:05.980ZYou need to know the important system files that are involved in the system configuration in order to be able to diagnose problems with Windows machines. Windows 9x and Windows Me have similarities so most things here apply to Windows 95/98 and Me unless stated otherwise. Important files in Windows are usually hidden by the operating system by default. To view these files in Windows Explorer http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/windows-9x-startup-files.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113976259151421863Sun, 12 Feb 2006 16:34:00 +00002006-02-12T16:43:11.556ZHard disks contain several disks called platters, these platters are mounted on a spindle. The platters rotate at speeds between 2000 and 10000 rpm. The data stored on the platters is read by several read/write heads, which are all mounted on a single actuator. Each side of each platter has its own head which floats above the platters surface. Each platter is divided up into sectors and tracks. http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/overview-of-hard-disk-technology.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113952150165949748Thu, 09 Feb 2006 21:12:00 +00002006-02-09T21:45:01.876ZAs Windows has evolved, so has the way it stores data. Advances in the file systems have come about primarily due to limitations of their predecessors. FAT - File Allocation Table, was introduced with DOS and is named after the file used to keep track of all the other files on the disk the file allocation table. FAT was later renamed FAT16 so as to differentiate it from its successor FAT32. http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/windows-file-system-types.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113949305222705419Thu, 09 Feb 2006 13:41:00 +00002006-02-09T21:07:32.616ZAccording to the A+ exam objectives you need to be able to verify hardware compatibility against Microsoft's minimum requirements. Probably the best way to remember these specifications would surely be to see them side by side for comparision, so I've tabulated Microsoft's own minimum requirements below side-by-side. Remember these are the absolute minimum specifications. Running Windows withhttp://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/windows-hardware-minimum-requirements.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113949100499600780Thu, 09 Feb 2006 13:04:00 +00002006-02-09T13:16:45.026ZWhether you are installing Windows from scratch or performing an upgrade you'll need to prepare your computer and determine methods, options and requirements. The A+ exam focuses on Windows 98, Me, NT Workstation, 2000 Professional and XP Professional operating systems. The following tasks need to be performed before you begin installation. Hardware compatibilityInstallation optionsInstallationhttp://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/preparing-to-install-microsoft-windows.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113940540411940708Wed, 08 Feb 2006 13:10:00 +00002006-02-08T13:30:04.146ZWith the number of Windows viruses and worms increasing year-on-year, a number of anti-virus companies have published infection times for unprotected and unpatched Windows machines, all are within an hour of being connected to the internet. It's no longer necessary to visit a website hosting a nasty script to get infected, there are scripts which find vulnerable machines using techniques like http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/preparing-windows-pc-before-connecting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113931849731100064Tue, 07 Feb 2006 13:00:00 +00002006-02-07T13:21:37.383ZMS-DOS has a few commands to check what version of Windows/MS-DOS you are running. There is also a command to help with compatibility issues with applications running in DOS. VER - Prior to Windows the VER command would return the version of MS-DOS you were running, however running the VER command in Windows returns the version of Windows you're running. The following output is from a Windows http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/ver-winver-setver-and-mem-ms-dos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113925027682325475Mon, 06 Feb 2006 18:24:00 +00002006-02-06T18:24:36.903ZThis DOS command displays the attributes of a file and can be used to modify attributes of files too. A file can be set to a number of different states such as read-only, which as the name suggests only allows the file to be read NOT modified or deleted. A file can also be set to a hidden or system so it can't be seen and deleted in Windows Explorer unless the user has specified to view hidden http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/ms-dos-attrib-command.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113923263639344446Mon, 06 Feb 2006 13:11:00 +00002006-02-06T13:30:36.656ZThe world of PC's can be daunting to anyone who doesn't come into contact with them on a regular basis. Even if you use a computer at work it can still be daunting going into a computer shop and trying to look beyond the marketing hype to find a machine that's suitable for your needs. This is no doubt a question you'll be asked more than once in the computer profession, so what's the best way tohttp://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/what-pc-should-i-buy-real-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113897355998456341Fri, 03 Feb 2006 13:18:00 +00002006-02-05T12:13:22.016ZDEFRAG - Microsoft includes a Disc Defragmenter utility with its operating systems. Disc fragmenters are used to help arrange the data on hard discs in chronological order, this makes reading data from disc faster due to the way the hard drive read-write heads need to pass over the disc to read the data stored. An update was made in Windows 98, which placed most commonly accessed data nearer http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/dos-system-tools.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113882956474999437Wed, 01 Feb 2006 20:48:00 +00002006-06-28T17:15:27.356ZThere are several important DOS commands which are very useful for troubleshooting network problems. WINIPCFG - This command is used on Windows 9x systems to display network adapter information such as IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, MAC address, DNS and DHCP settings. You can also release and renew DHCP settings with this Windows graphical user interface. This command was replaced http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/dos-network-utilities.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113881946238034840Wed, 01 Feb 2006 18:44:00 +00002006-02-01T18:44:22.430ZCHKDSK and SCANDISK are disk-checking utilities. CHKDSK was replaced with SCANDISK in MS-DOS 6.2 and features a Windows graphical user interface. It is much more powerful than CHKDSK. Where CHKDSK could report or fix lost clusters by referencing the File Allocation Table (FAT), SCANDISK can also repair these errors for compressed and uncompressed discs. SCANDISK can also perform a disc surface http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/chkdsk-and-scandisk-dos-commands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113880169109885702Wed, 01 Feb 2006 13:10:00 +00002006-02-01T13:48:11.146ZThere's a handy DOS utility called DOSKEY in MS-DOS 5 and above, which allows you to keep a history of typed commands in DOS. It also saves the administrator time typing commands that have recently been issued. If you need to run a command you issued previously you can simple navigate through this history of commands and re-run the command. You can do this by using the up and down arrow keys http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/02/retrieving-typed-commands-with-doskey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113873146947977301Tue, 31 Jan 2006 18:17:00 +00002006-01-31T18:17:49.536ZMS-DOS includes several commands for copying data. DISKCOPY was used primarily used for copying floppy disks, both formatting and copying can be achieved by the command. DISKCOPY however tries to make an identical copy of the data sector by sector, which will result in an unsuccessful copy if their are any bad sectors present on the destination disk. The XCOPY command differs from the COPY http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/01/copy-diskcopy-and-xcopy-dos-commands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113871482471479537Tue, 31 Jan 2006 13:17:00 +00002006-01-31T21:51:08.163ZA friend of mine asked me to help set-up their wireless router for them. I soon found out it was going to be more than just a normal wireless set-up configuration when I discovered it had been configured previously and locked down. The set-up as I found it consisted of: ADSL wired router with built-in switch, DHCP server (functioning correctly) Wireless router with built-in switch, DHCP server, http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/01/wireless-router-configuration-real.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113853029230867484Sun, 29 Jan 2006 09:37:00 +00002006-01-30T13:34:08.960ZIn modern versions of Windows opening the command prompt can be achieved by navigating Start > Run and typing CMD and hitting return. When the MS-DOS command prompt opens, your "logged" path will probably look something like the one below. C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator> We're going to want to change that to C:\>. To change your logged path to the root of the current drive use the CD http://www.pc-technician.net/2006/01/ms-dos-managing-files-folders-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21003359.post-113839364557887747Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:27:00 +00002006-01-27T20:27:25.643ZTo view the contents of a disc or drive in DOS you need to use the DIR command at the command prompt. To see the contents of C: make sure you have navigated to the C> prompt, using the CD command. Then type DIR and return. You should see the contents of the C drive. If the contents go over more than one page the use the DIR /P command to page the results. To view the contents of subdirectories ofhttp://www.pc-technician.net/2006/01/files-directories-switches-and-filters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nik)