Mr. G's Customer Service Guidelines

1. Guidelines for going beyond customer expectations:

• Look for subtle clues
• Make it a daily habit
• Ask for feedback

2. Benefits excellent customer service offers employees:

• The customer directly affects my paycheck
• The customer transaction can be positive or negative

3. Efforts you can make to develop loyal customers:

• Treat the customer fairly
• Listen to the customer
• Act as an Ambassador
• Be knowledgeable about your product or service

4. Guidelines for maintaining a positive attitude when serving customers:

• Develop a plan to act
• Be patient
• View complaints as a benefits
• Use your resources
• Determine the scope

5. Pitfalls you should avoid when providing customer service:

• Getting defensive
• Saying you do not know
• Brushing off the customer
• Patronizing the customer
• Not taking a complaint seriously
• Agreeing with a negative customer

6. Qualities Customers use to evaluate service:
Substance
Value
Efficiency
Empathy
Resourcefulness

7. Guidelines for building rapport with customers:
Go out of your way
Give customer your name
Smile
Keep the customer
Be on time
Follow through with your promise
Offer alternatives
Express understanding

8. External customers basic needs:
Information
Understanding
Friendliness
Fairness
Authority

9. Actions that can help you provide excellent internal customer service:
Communicate clearly and regularly
Follow up with customers
Respect your customer's time
Show your appreciation
Complete documentation

10. Efforts to take internal team approach to external customer service:
Commit to quality
Know what products or services your internal customer offers
Know your product or service
Share a common goal

11. Managerial roles that depend heavily on effective communication
Interpersonal
Informational
Decisional

12. Elements of Communication
Situation

13.First Step of Effective Communication
Identify the receiver

14. Remember:
Asking your subordinates to paraphrase your message helps reduce misunderstandings
Vertical communication follows the chain of command but is subject to distortion
Written confirmation is NOT essential for all verbal messages
It is NOT important that all recipients get their messages phrased the same way so they all receive the same information
Work circles are an example of decentralized networks
It is NOT a good idea to avoid the use of jargon even if it is confusing
When in doubt, you should trust an individuals non verbal cues over verbal ones
The strength of an organization's grapewine is NOT a indication of effectiveness of the official communication channels
Using language that is unfamiliar to the receiver due to inexperience will NOT motivate the person to increase his or her language
An individual is likely to send and receive inaccurate messages unless distractions are removed
A Manger should NOT maintain minimum contact with employees and superiors to avoid becoming overwhelmed with information
The climate of an organization affects the quality of the communication network
Constantly moving while addressing a group will NOT hold their attention
When addressing a large goup you should NEVER focus on one section of the group and make eye contact with them
Communicating additional information to employees about their tasks is not productive when you are under pressure


15.

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Safety & Environmental Issues

1. What safety precaution should be taken prior to working on a CRT monitor?

The capacitor is the monitor component that holds a large electrical charge days after the monitor has been shut off. Working on a monitor prior to discharging the capacitor is very dangerous and is not recommended.

2. The test network portion of your LAN has many Ethernet wires running between the computers, switches, and routers. These wires pose a hazard to employees. You do not have the money for upgrades until you receive the next budget. What solution will BEST resolve this issue?

The best solution is to use floor cable guards to keep wires covered and in place. This will group the wires together, hold them in place, protect them, and greatly reduce the risk of tripping over the cables.

3. What will allow you to clean the inside of a computer without damaging its components?

A grounded nonstatic vacuum cleaner will remove dust and dirt from inside a computer without damaging components. Compressed air will also remove dust and dirt from inside a computer without the risk of electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage.

4. The computer that you are currently trying to troubleshoot is not receiving power. You try another computer and find the same result. You suspect that the wall outlet is the source of the problem. What is the BEST method to correct this problem?

If you suspect that a wall outlet is malfunctioning you should contact a qualified electrician. Electricity should not be taken lightly as serious injury and possibly fatality may result from improper actions.

5. What encryption methods are used in wireless networks?

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) are two encryption options for a wireless connection. WEP is one of the first standards used to secure a wireless network. WPA is the newer standard that is designed to correct the vulnerabilities that are present in WEP.

A Wireless Access Point (WAP) is a device used to connect various wireless components to a wireless network.

6. The test network portion of your LAN has many Ethernet wires running between the computers, switches, and routers. These wires pose a hazard to employees. You do not have the money for upgrades until you receive the next budget. What solution will BEST resolve this issue?

The best solution is to use floor cable guards to keep wires covered and in place. This will group the wires together, hold them in place, protect them, and greatly reduce the risk of tripping over the cables.

7. When changing the battery in your portable computer, what is the BEST method to dispose of the old battery?

Follow hazardous waste guidelines in your area for safe disposal of the battery. This is the correct manner to dispose of the battery so that it does not pose an environmental threat.

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Printers & Scanners

1. To help increase the lifetime of a laser printer, preventive maintenance should be practiced. What steps can be taken to increase the overall performance and reliability of a printer?

Using a surge protector will protect the printer from any power surges that may occur and possibly damage the printer's electronic components. Power surges may cause the printer to not function. Using the recommended weight and paper type is important to avoid paper jams and damage to the printer's paper handling mechanism.

2. A user contacts you and informs you that when he is printing documents the final result is faded. He complains that he can barely see the printed text on the pages. What is the BEST thing you should do to resolve this issue?

When text appears faded on a printed document, it normally relates to the toner cartridge being low or empty. A quick fix is to remove the toner cartridge, shake it, and re-insert it. However, this will only resolve the issue temporarily. To fully resolve the issue a new toner cartridge would need to be installed.

3. You are installing a printer for a new retail clothing store. The printer will be used to print receipts on carbon paper for customer purchases. What type of printer would you install for the clothing store?

Printing receipts on carbon paper requires an impact printer. Dot-Matrix printers are a type of impact printer consisting of either a nine or twenty-four pin print head. The pins form an image on the paper by impacting an ink ribbon leaving the image on the paper.

4. A user is trying to scan a document. When the user attempts to scan the document nothing happens. It appears the scanner does not function. What are some steps you can have the user do to troubleshoot this issue?

Making sure the scanner is receiving power and verifying that the cables are properly connected are two troubleshooting steps that can be taken when a scanner is not functioning. A power cable should be connected to the scanner to provide power, along with the appropriate cables to link the scanner to the computer; for example, a USB cable.

5. You are the network administrator for a company and you are installing a brand new printer locally to a user desktop. Unfortunately, you do not have the drivers for the print device as the driver disk was damaged during shipping. Microsoft does not currently have a compatible driver for this particular model of printer. What would be the MOST efficient solution to this problem?

It is not uncommon for the installation Compact Disc (CD) or driver CD shipped with the printer to be damaged upon arrival. Your first step should involve installing the print device and allowing Windows to search for the appropriate driver. If unsuccessful, you could check Windows Update to see if a compatible driver has been released. Since the question stated that Microsoft does not currently have a compatible driver for this particular model it is safe to assume that you have already checked with Windows Update. The next logical step would be to connect to the manufacturer's web site to download the driver specific to the model.

6. Printer maintenance is an important aspect to consider when you are trying to prolong the life of a printer. What can be used to clean a printer? (Select 2.)

You can use a cloth, lightly dampened with water, to clean the exterior of a printer, removing any dust or dirt that may collect over time. A soft cloth can be used to clean many of the interior printer parts; for example stacker jam sensors and mirrors.

7. You are the junior administrator for a company. All computers in the company are currently using Windows XP Professional. A user in the Finance department received a new computer and you have been assigned the task of installing a printer for them. The print device is connected to a print server named PrintServ01 running Windows Server 2003. You have been given the appropriate permissions to perform this task. What driver installation method would result in the least amount of administrative effort?

Window Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional use a process called Point and Print. This process allows the client computer to connect to a shared network printer and install the drivers without having to manually provide drivers or installation programs. The client machine will install the necessary settings and drivers from the print server automatically.

8. You want to ensure that your scanner is operating at optimal performance. What is the BEST thing you can do to ensure optimal performance of the scanner?

Checking regularly for driver updates and installing them from the manufactures web site will ensure that any small bugs that existed in the previous software will be fixed. Updating drivers will also improve the scanner's performance.

9. Your company currently has two print devices. A print device named Salesprn is installed in the Sales department and the other, named Financeprn, is located in the Finance department. Both departments must be able to print to both of the print devices. One of the users in the Sales department is complaining that every time he prints a document, he has to walk to the Finance department to retrieve the printed document. What would you advise the user to do to fix this problem?

The default printer is the print device that your computer will send documents to be printed by default. If connected to more than one printer, it is not uncommon for an incorrect print device to be configured as your default printer. To correct this issue, enter the Control Panel and double click Printers and Faxes. Right Click the Salesprn printer and click Set as Default Printer.

10. You are the network administrator for Earthfarm. A new employee was recently hired and is not very knowledgeable with computers. The employee needs to be able to print daily, weekly and monthly progress reports. You configured the employee's computer for printing and successfully printed a test page. What should be your next step?

The question stated that the employee was not very knowledgeable with computers. After verifying that you can print successfully from the employee's computer, your next step would be to briefly educate the employee how to print his reports. By taking this proactive approach, you will prevent the employee from having to contact you again for further instructions on how to print his report. This could also possibly prevent the user from changing any default settings.

11. A user contacts you and informs you that when he is printing documents the final result is faded. He complains that he can barely see the printed text on the pages. What is the BEST thing you should do to resolve this issue?

When text appears faded on a printed document, it normally relates to the toner cartridge being low or empty. A quick fix is to remove the toner cartridge, shake it, and re-insert it. However, this will only resolve the issue temporarily. To fully resolve the issue a new toner cartridge would need to be installed.

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Networks

1. You have just finished configuring your Windows XP Outlook Express mail client with your ISP's mail server information. You find that you are able to receive email messages, but you are unable to send email messages. You plan to review your configuration settings. What is the MOST likely problem?

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is responsible for sending email. Typically when you are configuring an email client with ISP specific email servers, you will have a Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) server address and a SMTP server address. POP3 is responsible for receiving email. If you are having trouble sending email, it would be a problem with the SMTP. The problem could simply be that the address was entered incorrectly. SMTP is considered a PUSH protocol as it is responsible for sending (PUSHING) out the email messages.

POP3 is used to receive email messages. If you were having problem receiving email then you would need to check this server address.

With Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), you are able to access the mail on the server without downloading it. With POP3, you have to download the messages to your computer. Both IMAP and POP3 are protocols that are used for receiving mail, not sending mail.

2. You are the network administrator for your company. The company has an external web site that employees use to retrieve customer service reports. There is a script that requires execution whenever employees login to the web site. Users are complaining that they are prompted to run this script every time they login. What should you tell the employees to do without modifying security?

Trusted sites is found within Internet Options of Internet Explorer. This zone provides low security, which is why only sites with trusted content should be added. By adding the company web site to the list of Trusted sites, this will allow any scripts, or downloads that need to be executed when the page is accessed without prompting the user.

The "Change the Local intranet zone security level from Medium to Medium-Low" option would change the security to a lower security state for all internal web sites. The Local intranet zone settings will affect how and what you can access on Intranet web sites.

The "Add the company web site to the list of Restricted sites zone" option provides a high security level. Therefore, web sites added to this zone, will be prohibited from running scripts and downloading and will result in the opposite of what is needed.

The "Change the Internet zone security level from Medium to Medium-Low" option would change the security to a lower state for all external web sites. The Internet zone settings will affect how and what you can access on external web sites.

3. You need to discover if a client's computer is receiving all of the required network configuration information. Which command should you use?

IPCONFIG /ALL will display all TCP/IP configuration information including IP address, default gateway, DNS / WINS servers and MAC address. If there is more than one network adapter installed in the computer, the IPCONFIG /ALL command will provide configuration information for all adapters.

PING is used to test connectivity from one host to another.

TRACERT is used to trace a packet through one or more routers in a network.

NETSTAT is used to display statistical information about TCP/IP transmissions.

4. You work as an outsourced A+ technician. At your headquarters, everyone uses a Windows XP laptop computer that is configured with a static IP address. All of your client offices currently use automatic assignment of IP addresses. You grow tired of always having to re-enter your static IP address when returning to your headquarters. What is the BEST method to resolve this problem?

In Windows XP, you must use the Alternate Configuration tab to assign a separate IP address. This option is useful if you need to connect to multiple networks that use different types of IP address assignment mechanisms. If you needed to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server you would use the General tab and use the Alternate Configuration tab for the static IP address.

5. You work as a desktop support technician at your company. Your DHCP server suffered a major hardware failure and was replaced. The new DHCP server is configured with different scope information. Now Windows XP users are complaining that they have network connectivity issues. What commands can be used to obtain a new IP address?

In the Windows XP operating system, you would use the IPCONFIG /RELEASE command to remove the current IP address assigned from the DHCP server. The IPCONFIG /RENEW command will allow you to obtain a new IP address from the DHCP server.
All other options are incorrect. The Windows 9x series of operating systems used the Windows IP Configuration (WINIPCFG) utility. This utility is not available on Windows XP.

6. Which networking technologies allow for digital data transmission over existing phone lines?

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) both support transmitting digital data over existing phone lines. ISDN is more of an enterprise solution, but has become less common due to service providers introducing cheaper, more efficient technologies. DSL is a home based Internet service. DSL's main competitor is cable companies that offer Internet services.

7. On your Windows XP Professional computer, you have to share a template file with many other users. You share the folder containing the template file and assign permissions to all users who need it. Soon you start to receive reports that some users cannot access the template file while others are accessing it. What is the MOST likely cause of the problem?

Windows XP Professional has a limit of 10 simultaneous network connections and 1 dial-up connection. If more than 10 network connections are required at one time, Windows 2003 server would be a better choice.

8. You have just finished configuring your Windows XP Outlook Express mail client with your ISP's mail server information. You find that you are able to receive email messages, but you are unable to send email messages. You plan to review your configuration settings. What is the MOST likely problem?

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is responsible for sending email. Typically when you are configuring an email client with ISP specific email servers, you will have a Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) server address and a SMTP server address. POP3 is responsible for receiving email. If you are having trouble sending email, it would be a problem with the SMTP. The problem could simply be that the address was entered incorrectly. SMTP is considered a PUSH protocol as it is responsible for sending (PUSHING) out the email messages.

9. You have subscribed to a new ISP which offers greater speeds then your previous provider. Your ISP gives you a static IP address to use. You configure the IP address and subnet mask. What other configurations are required so you can access web pages by URL?

To communicate on a network including the Internet, you are required to input at least an IP Address, subnet mask and a default gateway. The Internet is based upon URLs, so it would be wise to configure a DNS server address as well. This allows the user to input user friendly names, instead of just IP addresses to access the web pages.

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Laptop and Portable Devices

1. You have moved to a newly constructed wing at your work. Your new location is eight meters from where you were previously. Your old location was eight meters from the closest Bluetooth access point on the network. Once you are settled into your new location you find that you are unable to connect to the Internet. What is the most likely cause of the connection issue you are experiencing?

You are too far away from the access point. Your distance from the access point is now 16 meters. The maximum distance is 10 meters for the proper operation of a Bluetooth connection.

2. You are issued a laptop computer to use when you are out of the office. You use a bus powered USB hub to interface with multiple peripherals including an optical mouse and portable hard drive. When you are not running on AC power, the battery power diminishes quickly. What would be the BEST way to conserve battery power in this scenario?

The bus powered USB hub and the numerous peripherals cause the most power consumption. In this setup, the hub and peripherals are drawing power directly from the laptop's battery, thus shortening its life. The bus powered hub should be exchanged with a self-powered hub because it has its own power source that it can draw from in order to provide peripherals with power. By doing this you remove the added stress on the battery, which results in increased life expectancy.

3. Upon booting up your laptop, your LCD remains dark. The AC adapter light is on, the drive and status lights are flashing, and you can hear a fan running. You can also hear the hard drive motor spinning up indicating that the laptop is on and receiving power. What is the BEST method to identify that the LCD display is the cause of the problem?

Try connecting an external LCD or CRT monitor to the laptop. If the external monitor displays properly then the laptop LCD display circuits are the cause of failure.

4. You have just purchased a new laptop that is supposed to have 1 GB of RAM. When viewing the system properties, only 960 MB of RAM is recorded. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

The most likely cause of this issue is that the video card is using 64 MB of the system's memory. With 64 MB of the system memory reserved for the video card, only 960 MB of the 1GB of RAM is left for use by the system.

5. A user has been having trouble with the LCD monitor on her laptop. While the laptop is on, the LCD screen is completely black. As a temporary solution, she has been using an external monitor. This is not a practical solution for her because she travels a lot. She tells you that when the desk lamp next to her laptop is turned on she can see a faint image on the LCD while the external monitor is not connected. What component is MOST likely the cause of the display problem?

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors do not produce their own light. They use a separate fluorescent tube called a Backlight. The light is directed across the LCD making it possible to see the images on the screen. The backlight is an inexpensive component of the LCD and typically can be replaced. A quick way to test to see if the backlight is the problem is to shine a bright light on the LCD. If you are able to see any image on the screen then the backlight is non functional.

6. Which display problems indicate that the Liquid Crystal Display backlight should be replaced?

A flickering image, a non uniform light arrangement or poor data visibility would indicate that the backlight should be replaced. A new backlight will stop display flicker, create evenly balanced lighting and will brighten display improving data visibility.

7. You have just purchased a new laptop that is supposed to have 1 GB of RAM. When viewing the system properties, only 960 MB of RAM is recorded. What is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

The most likely cause of this issue is that the video card is using 64 MB of the system's memory. With 64 MB of the system memory reserved for the video card, only 960 MB of the 1GB of RAM is left for use by the system.

8. At the Helpdesk, you get a call from a laptop user stating that their external hard drive does not seem to be working. You are able to determine that the user has the external hard drive plugged into a USB powered hub with two other devices. However, the hard drive will work when plugged into a desktop system USB port. What is the MOST probable cause of the external hard drive not working?

The hard drive does not work because the laptop cannot supply enough power to the USB hub to run multiple devices connected to the USB hub. A self powered hub would resolve this issue.

9. You are issued a laptop computer to use when you are out of the office. You use a bus powered USB hub to interface with multiple peripherals including an optical mouse and portable hard drive. When you are not running on AC power, the battery power diminishes quickly. What would be the BEST way to conserve battery power in this scenario?

The bus powered USB hub and the numerous peripherals cause the most power consumption. In this setup, the hub and peripherals are drawing power directly from the laptop's battery, thus shortening its life. The bus powered hub should be exchanged with a self-powered hub because it has its own power source that it can draw from in order to provide peripherals with power. By doing this you remove the added stress on the battery, which results in increased life expectancy.

10. A user is attending day long meetings all week for your company. They state that they need their laptop for the meetings, but it will not be in use at all times. They also tell you the battery is going dead before the end of the day. They would like to know if the laptop can be configured to prolong battery life. What suggestion can you give the user to help prolong the laptop's battery life?

Function keys or key combinations can be configured to enter Standby or Hibernation Mode for periods of non-use. This allows you to use a function key or configured key combination to enter into Standby or Hibernation manually versus waiting for the laptop's power management settings to do so automatically.

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Operating Systems

1. You are installing a generic SATA interface card into your computer. You are prompted saying the driver is not digitally signed, but you choose to use it anyway. When the computer restarts you are presented with a Stop Screen. Additionally the computer restarts before you have a chance to see any useful information. The computer successfully boots into the operating system correctly. You would like to research the error that was presented in the Stop Screen. Where can you go to locate this error message?

If you are unable to note the details of the Stop message when it displays because the computer restarted itself immediately, you can check Event Viewer. Event Viewer will log the error within the System Log. Event Viewer provides technicians with a wealth of knowledge that allows them to diagnose and troubleshoot various parts of the operating system.

Device Manager is a utility found in the Microsoft Windows operating system that allows you to control and configure various hardware devices. It will not provide you with system error information.

System Information provides a user with information about a computer system, including hardware and Internet settings. It will not provide you with system error information.

Recovery Console is designed to help you recover when your Windows based computer does not start properly or does not start at all. It will not provide you with system error information.

2. A user has just installed an unsigned video card driver on a Windows XP Professional computer. They do not log in, but instead call you and tell you that the Windows Welcome screen is somewhat distorted. They ask you what they can do to correct this problem. What do you tell the user?

The user has not logged onto the computer since you installed the driver, so they could boot using the Last Known Good Configuration. The Last Known Good Configuration is a group of settings that are stored every time a user successfully logs on to his computer and as long as the user does not log in with corrupted operating system settings, they will be able to use this. Driver Roll-Back is a new option that can be performed from Device Manager. It allows you to revert to a previously used driver. When an unsigned driver is installed System Restore automatically creates a restore point that you can revert to in case of problems.

3. What is the purpose of the DEFRAG utility?

The DEFRAG utility moves files on a hard drive to contiguous clusters so that access time is improved. This will improve hard drive performance by decreasing access times.

4. What type of memory is being used when the system uses space from the hard drive as RAM and what file is it using on a computer running Windows XP Professional?

When the system uses part of the hard drive as RAM is called Virtual Memory. The file used by Windows XP Professional for Virtual Memory is the PAGEFILE.SYS file. The default setting is 1.5 times the amount of RAM installed on the system. You can change this using the Settings button under Performance of the Advanced tab of the System Properties if you want to.

Level One cache is located inside the processor and is used by the processor before other types of cache for quick calculations and storage.

WIN386.SWP is the name of the swap file used in Windows 9x operating systems.

5. On a computer running Windows XP Professional, what tools are available on the Tools tab of the Properties dialog of a hard drive?

In the Properties of a hard drive you will find buttons for Check Now, Defragment Now, and Backup Now. The Check Now button will run the Check Disk utility. The Defragment Now will run the Disk Defragmenter utility. The Backup Now will run the Backup utility.

6. You receive a service call from a very important customer. He tells you that he needs you to install a new database application on his computer. However, it snowed the night before and the roads are not safe to drive on. You decide to remotely access your client's computer to install the application. What utilities found in the Windows XP operating system allow for remote administration?

There are two utilities installed in Windows XP by default that makes remote connections possible. Remote Desktop Connection allows a user to connect remotely from one computer to another computer. It is a great utility to use for remote management and to access personal information on a home computer from work. Remote Assistance allows a user to ask a friend or colleague for help. For example if a user needed help installing an application, Remote Assistance can be used to ask others for help.

VNC Viewer and Symantec pcAnywhere are third party applications that allow a user to connect to another computer remotely. They are not part of the Windows XP operating system by default.

7. What precautions could you take when using REGEDIT.EXE to modify the registry?

You should make a System Restore point if you are using Windows XP or back up the registry before making any changes to the registry. This will allow you to restore a working copy of the registry should you make changes to a setting that causes your computer not to boot into the operating system.

8. What command line utility can you use to temporarily disable the programs or services that start when your computer boots for diagnostic purposes?

You would use the MSCONFIG.EXE command from the command line to disable programs and services. Programs and services may be disabled individually, or several at a time.

SYSTEMINFO.EXE command will show you your computer's configuration information at the command prompt.

MSINFO32.EXE command will show you your computer's configuration information in a window in which you cannot make any changes.

EVENTVWR.MSC command will open the Event Viewer console where you can view the Application, Security, and System logs.

9. What would be the default cluster size for a 20 GB NTFS volume?

The default cluster size for a 20 GB NTFS volume is 4 KB. One of the advantages of NTFS is smaller cluster sizes which results in less wasted space on a volume.

64 KB is the default cluster size for a 2 GB to 4 GB FAT16 file system.

32 Kb is the default cluster size for a 1025 MB to 2 GB FAT16 file system.

16 KB is the default cluster size for a 513 MB to 1024 MB FAT16 file system or a 16 GB to 32 GB FAT32 file system.

10. Which log in the Event Viewer snap-in for a computer running Windows XP Professional would contain events related to device drivers that failed to load?

The System Log contains events that relate to the Windows system components, such as the operating system itself or from installed components. These events could be from a driver not loading, or from other system components that fail during startup or shutdown.

The Application Log contains events that relate to the applications installed on the computer.

The Security Log contains events that relate to security such as events that are audited. These may include logon attempts, changing permissions, or many other areas that can be set up for auditing.

The Directory Services log is only available on a server functioning as a domain controller.

11. You need to use the System Restore utility to restore your computer to the way it was before you installed an update. How can you access the System Restore utility?

One of the ways you can access the System Restore utility to restore your system to an earlier point is by clicking the Start button, selecting All Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and then selecting System Restore.

Another way is to open Help and Support and selecting Undo changes to your computer with System Restore under the Pick Task heading.

12. You need to configure automatic updates on a client's Windows XP computer. Where do you go to configure automatic updates?

Automatic Updates ensure that the most recent updates and security patches are applied to the Windows operating system. There are numerous ways to configure Automatic Updates including these paths:
Control Panel Automatic Updates Applet Automatic Update Tab
Control Panel Security Center Applet Choose Automatic Updates
Control Panel System Applet Automatic Updates Tab
Start Programs Accessories System Tools Security Center Choose Automatic Updates

13. You are asked to diagnose a computer that is having connectivity issues. You need to check all of the configuration information assigned to this computer including MAC address, DNS server address, and whether DHCP is in use. Which command should you use to view this information?

The IPCONFIG /ALL command will display all of the current configuration details. This information includes details such as whether DHCP is being used, MAC address, IP address, subnet mask, and other details.

IPCONFIG command will only display only IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. It will not display the MAC address, DNS server address, or if DHCP is being used.

IPCONFIG /RENEW command is used to renew your IP address.

IPCONFIG /RELEASE command is used to release your current IP address.

14. You are explaining the use of the PING command to a trainee. The trainee wants to know what switch you would use to send the echo request repeatedly until you decide to stop it, and how you would stop it. What would your response be?

You would use the PING -t command to send the packets automatically until you are ready to stop them. To stop the packets from being sent you would need to press CTRL+C.

The -a switch is used to resolve addresses to a hostname.

The -f switch is used to set the Don't Fragment flag in the packets.

15. What is the purpose of the System Restore utility?

The System Restore utility is used to create a copy of the system settings for your computer. This utility will restore all the system settings to what they were when the point was set.

16. You installed a plug-in for your Internet Messaging Software from an un-trusted web site. Now when the computer restarts you are prompted with many popup messages. You are aware of a utility that will allow you to disable applications from running at startup. What utility is this?

MSCONFIG is a utility that allows the user to modify what applications run at startup. MSCONFIG also allows the user to have simple control over services. If a spyware program ran itself every time the computer was restarted, you could disable it using the Startup tab in MSCONFIG.

17. Your brother in-law is excited because he has just bought a brand new pre-built computer system. He calls you and tells you that he is receiving an "Invalid Boot Disk" error message whenever his computer restarts. He tells you that this just started happening after he made some configuration changes in the BIOS. What has most likely occurred?

If a user changes the first boot device, to a device that is not bootable, the computer will alert the user with an "Invalid Boot Disk" error. Also, if your brother in-law changed the boot order to have the FDD boot before the HDD then it would display this error if the drive contained a floppy disk that was not bootable.

18. You are deciding whether to use the NTFS or FAT32 file system when you format your hard drive. What would be the advantages of using the NTFS file system over the FAT32?

The NTFS file system can be used to encrypt files and folders using the Encrypting File System. NTFS allows you to compress individual files and folders. It also allows you to set permissions to decide who can access files or folders, and what actions they are allowed to perform on them.

19. You are installing a second hand motherboard into your friend's computer. However your friend does not have the manual for the motherboard. You finish installing the motherboard and are unable to power up the computer. You believe that a jumper is causing this problem. What should be your next course of action?

When working with any device it is best to consult with the product's documentation. The product documentation contains information about the specific settings and features of the device. If this documentation is not immediately available, it could be accessed on the manufacturer's web site.

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Security

1. What is the correct syntax to convert drive D: from FAT32 to NTFS while displaying all possible information on the screen during the conversion process?

The correct syntax would be: CONVERT D: /FS:NTFS /V. The first part, CONVERT D: tells the system to convert the drive labeled D:. The second part /FS:NTFS indicated that we are converting to the NTFS file system. NTFS is the only file system supported by this command for conversion to in Windows. The last part of the command, /V tells the system to perform this action in verbose mode. Verbose mode displays what is going on during the conversion process.

2. You are directed by your boss to audit successful and unsuccessful logon attempts for a certain computer. You enable auditing for this on the computer. Where can you view the events generated by this audit?

Once auditing is enabled, you can view the events generated by the auditing in the Security Log in Event Viewer. Auditing can be set up to generate events based upon success, failure, or success and failure.

3. You are setting up shared folders on a computer running Windows XP SP2. You want to set Share and NTFS permissions on the folder and the contents within the folder. When you open the properties for folder you do not see a tab for Security. What could be possible causes of this?

The file system is FAT32.
Simple File Sharing is turned on.

If the Security tab is not visible when you view the Properties of a folder or file it could mean that the file system is not NTFS, or that Simple File Sharing is turned on.

4. In Windows XP, which group's membership is controlled by the operating system instead of the Administrator?

The Authenticated Users group in Windows XP SP2 includes all users who authenticate on your domain or computer. This group's membership is controlled by the system; the Administrator cannot add or remove members from this group directly.

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Communication and Professionalism

Scenario1:
You arrive at a client's location to resolve what appears to be a serious problem with one of their critical servers. The manager is noticeably agitated and obviously concerned about this server and the possibility of losing data. The manager constantly comes to check on your progress and is looking over your shoulder while you are trying to recover the server. He swears every time he checks on your progress and realizes you have not yet resolved the problem. This situation is starting to make you uncomfortable. What is the BEST way to handle the situation?

Scenario2:
You are a desktop technician. An employee contacts you and tells you that her Internet connection is not working. You go through several steps with her to resolve the issue. While going through the troubleshooting steps, the employee wants to know what caused the issue. What should you avoid when describing what caused the issue?

Scenario3:
You are called to a site to resolve issues with a client's computer. You are scheduled to meet with the user at 10:30 AM. You arrive at the site at 10:22, but the user is not at their desk and their computer is locked. However, you are able to locate the user's manager. What should you do?

Scenario4:
When troubleshooting an issue with a customer it is important to avoid any distractions that may interrupt the resolution process. What should be practiced to avoid distractions?

Scenario5:
You are a computer technician. You receive a call from a sales representative complaining that they are unable to connect to the network. You respond by saying "Ok, just to make sure I understand, you are attempting to login to the network and are being denied? If this is the case it is probably related to the DC or possibly the DHCP settings; I can certainly take a look at it". What should you have avoided in your response?

Scenario6:
You are attempting to resolve an issue that a customer is experiencing with a program that they use at the office for inventory tracking. You are not familiar with the program and you are attempting to obtain as much information as possible about the program. What are appropriate questions for this scenario?

Scenario7:
You receive a call from a user. You helped this user resolve an issue she was having the day before. The user is impatient and mad. She mentions that the issue needs to be resolved right away and that the issue should have been resolved yesterday. What are the BEST responses to use when dealing with this type of situation?

Scenario8:
You work as a helpdesk analyst and you receive a call from an employee who is having difficulty understanding how to set a printer as the default printer. Communication skills are extremely important when communicating with customers and colleagues. Which communication skills should be practiced in this scenario?

Scenario9:
You are an IT technician for a company and you need to ask the administrator a question concerning a configuration you need to perform for a user. You are on the fifth floor with the user and the IT office is on the first floor. What would be the BEST way to contact your senior technician?

Scenario10:
You are working with a user that is experiencing problems with her e-mail program. While troubleshooting the issue, you keep asking her to repeat the steps she took and the errors received when the issue occurred. What is indicated by this scenario with regard to your communication skills?

Scenario11:
A customer phones you to resolve an issue he is having with an application. While troubleshooting the issue, another co-worker is telling you about a recent trip that he went on. What should you do in this case?

Scenario12:
You are called to restore a server that has supposedly stopped working. When you arrive at the customer's site, the manager appears worried that data may have been lost due to the system failure. What will indicate to the manager that you are listening and that you are taking the problem seriously?

Scenario13:
You work as a helpdesk analyst and you receive a call from an employee who is having difficulty understanding how to set a printer as the default printer. Communication skills are extremely important when communicating with customers and colleagues. Which communication skills should be practiced in this scenario?

Scenario14:
You receive a call from a user. You helped this user resolve an issue she was having the day before. The user is impatient and mad. She mentions that the issue needs to be resolved right away and that the issue should have been resolved yesterday. What are the BEST responses to use when dealing with this type of situation?

Scenario15:
You are a desktop technician. An employee contacts you and tells you that her Internet connection is not working. You go through several steps with her to resolve the issue. While going through the troubleshooting steps, the employee wants to know what caused the issue. What should you avoid when describing what caused the issue?

Senario16:

Mr. G's A+ Technician Review: Personal Computer Components

Hard Drives & Overheating:
Hard drives with 7,200 or higher revolutions per minute (RPM) may require additional cooling. The BEST method to reduce overheating is to ensure the drive is well ventilated. Ventilation devices will blow cool air over all surfaces providing ventilation for the entire disk.

The upper part of the hard drive does not provide the most heat. Adding a fan that directs airflow toward the lower part of the hard drive containing the controller is more effective. Higher revolutions per minute produce additional heat. Disk performance will increase, but overheating will be more likely to occur. Heat sinks are rarely used alone because few drives provide a completely flat surface. They are more effective when used in conjunction with another cooling system.

CPU & Overheating:
If you notice that the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is overheating you may want to ensure that the heat sink fan is functioning normally or add thermal compound between the CPU and heat sink. Although there is a good seal between a CPU and heat sink, there are still small gaps that do not allow for effective heat transfer. Adding thermal compound or paste fills these gaps and provides efficient heat conductivity. Another possible cause is the fan malfunctioning. A malfunctioning fan will significantly increase temperatures to dangerous levels and should be addressed. This may be due to a bad connection or a defective device.

It is not recommended to permanently remove a computer case. After troubleshooting internal problems the case should be closed to protect internal components from damage. Alternate methods of cooling include liquid cooling and phase change cooling.

Irratic Mouse Movement:
You may try cleaning the mouse if you are experiencing erratic cursor movements on your screen. A mechanical mouse contains a ball that is used to control cursor movement. Over time the ball will collect dirt and debris that will cause it to improperly function. It is not necessary to reinstall the operating system if you are experiencing cursor motion problems. You may want to either replace your existing mouse or clean it.

Defragment the hard drive:
The Defragment tool is used to reorganize files into contiguous blocks. This will improve the performance and speed of your computer.

RAM:
Double-Data-Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDR SDRAM) is currently the most widely used RAM type. It nearly doubles the speed that data is transferred compared to Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), thus the name.

Graphics Double Data Rate 3: (GDDR3) is a type of RAM used exclusively in graphics cards. GDDR3 RAM uses less power and produces less heat than the standard Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) RAM that is used in some video cards.

SDRAM: Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM) is the precursor to DDR SDRAM, and it is no longer used in new PCs. It has been replaced by DDR SDRAM.

RDRAM: Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) is an older type of high speed RAM that, like SDRAM, has been effectively replaced by DDR SDRAM.

ESD:
The BEST method of preventing electrostatic discharge (ESD) is to use a combination of an antistatic floor mat and wrist strap. You cannot be over cautious while handling electronic components.

Antistatic bags should be used to contain components while they are not in use. Antistatic bags are only effective if the component is placed inside. Implementing multiple methods of prevention is more effective than a single method.

Use an antistatic wrist strap provide protection against ESD; however, you are limited to the area that the attached cable may reach. If the cable dislodges from the grounding area, the components will be unprotected. Therefore it is better to implement multiple prevention methods.

Use an antistatic spray for your clothing to reduce static charge. It is not as effective as using a combination of an antistatic floor mat and an ESD wrist strap.

Power Supply AC/DC:
The power supply for a PC converts the Alternating Current (AC) that comes from a wall socket (110V in North America) and converts it into the Direct Current (DC) that is used to power the components inside the PC.

Alternating Current (AC) is the current that comes from the wall socket to your PC's power supply. Because the internal components of the PC use Direct Current (DC), the power supply needs to convert the AC current to DC.

Electrical Testing:
An ammeter is used to measure current. Current is defined as the rate of flow of electricity. A multimeter may be used to measure current, voltage, and resistance by adjusting a switch.

A voltmeter is used to measure voltage. Voltage is defined as the amount of electrical potential or energy.

An ohmmeter is used to measure resistance. Resistance is defined as the level an object possesses to oppose electrical current.

Power Conditions:
A brownout is a type of power condition that results in a reduction of power for a short period of time. Sags and brownouts are very similar conditions. Both are identified by a drop in voltage; however, a brownout will last slightly longer.

A surge is a sudden increase of power above acceptable levels. It lasts longer than a spike.

A spike is a sudden increase of power above acceptable levels. It occurs abruptly without warning.

A blackout is a power condition that results in the total loss of power. Using an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) will provide protection from effects of power loss.

Networks:
If you suspect a bad connection with a 10 Base-T Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) network card, you will need a loopback plug designed to insert into a Registered Jack-45 (RJ-45) port. This connector works by crossing transmit and receiving lines of the port so transmitted signals are redirected back into the computer. You may also use a loopback plug to test various ports such as parallel, serial, and Universal Serial Bus (USB).

A 10 Base-T PCI network adapter uses a RJ-45 port that connects to a network cable. Testing other ports will not yield any information regarding the network card.

Guaranty: You Will Make Me Your Personal PC Technician!

I take the hassle out of computer fixes. When your system goes down, it doesn't have to take your lifestyle with it! Pay only for the service you receive! After the Initial Service Call $119 (first thirty minutes & travel), I bill down to the half hour ($25).

Your #1 Benefit:
You will have your PC (s) running in peak condition for rest of their life.

Your #2 Benefit:
You will get the Computer Tune-Up Service FREE with your Second Service Call. (Value $95.00). Recommended Every Quarter.

My Services:
• Repair & Maintenance on PC/Mac Laptops & Desktops
• Home or Office Cable/DSL/Wireless Network Setups
• Removal of Virus, Spyware, Pop-ups & Annoyances
• One-On-One Personal Customized Training
• New PC Installation & Setup
• Hardware/Software Installation & Upgrades
• Backup, Transfer & Recover Data from Crashed Hard Drives
• Install and Maintain New Business Networks
• Business Network Analysis, Selection, Design & Support
• Install Firewalls and Internet Security Devices
• Remote Office, File, Printer and Fax Sharing Set-up
• Applications Consulting and Recommendations
• Website Design, Redesign and Development