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Lab Manual Windows Network Infra 70-291

2009-11-23T20:35:00.001-08:00

Download very usefull and well defined Lab Manual for Windows Server Network Infrastructure 2003 (70-291).

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Windows XP and 2003 Lab Manual

2009-11-23T20:19:00.000-08:00

Download usefull and well defined Lab Manual for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

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Windows XP Exam Questions

2009-10-19T22:23:00.001-07:00

kindly download upataed(October 2009) dumps for 070-270 Exam.

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How to block IM using ISA 2004?

2009-10-15T23:08:00.001-07:00

Based on my experience, you can try the following steps for Block IM:

1. Open ISA mangement console, navigate to Firewall Policy, on the right pane, click Toolbox.
2. Choose Network Objects, and click New->Domain Name Set.
3. Enter a descriptive name for the new domain name set. Click New, and type the corresponding URL, then click OK. For your convenience, I list the URLs as following: *.messenger.hotmail.com //for Windows Messenger or MSN Messenger *.screenname.aol.com //for AOL *.messenger.yahoo.com //These 2 sites are for Yahoo Instant Messenger *.msg.yahoo.com
4. Then right click Firewall Policy, choose New->Access Rule.
5. Type a descriptive name for the new rule, and click Next. 6. Choose Deny and click Next.
7. Select All outbound traffic, and click Next.
8. On the Access Rule Sources page, add "Internal" to the source and click Next.
9. On the Access Rule Destinations page, add the domain name created before to the destination and click Next.
10. On the User Sets page, apply this rul to the specified user groups. For example: All Users.
11. Click Finish. Then the corresponding IM traffic initiated from the workstations will be blocked by the ISA.

I hope the above information helps.

FinalData Enterprise

2009-10-03T03:48:00.000-07:00

FinalData, a world-class Data Recovery Utility, recovers files quickly and effectively. Using the latest in data recovery technology, it recovers files that may have been accidentally deleted, erased, damaged, or emptied from the Recycle Bin. FinalData can also recover data after formatting or loss of partition on the hard drive, and can recover files destroyed by the CIH, Worm, and Love virus. It can even recover data from damaged sectors of CD-RW and CD-R media. If you need to recover important email or Microsoft Office files that are vital for your business or pleasure, FinalData can recover them for you. Plus, it has the ability to permanently delete unwanted files from your hard drive.With FinalData, data recovery is only "3 clicks" away. This Do-it-Yourself Software can retrieve data effortlessly in minutes without the need for expensive data recovery experts. It has been rigorously tested against the highest standards of reliability and quality assurance. The application is powerful, easy-to-use, and convenient for any Windows user. With FinalData, computer novices and computer savvy individuals alike will be recovering data like data recovery professionals. FinalData, the true Windows-based data recovery solution will recover files that have been lost by quick formatting, FDISK, FAT damage, MBR damage or directory destruction. It will even recover files after emptying from the Recycle Bin. It recovers data from FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. When time is money and you need your data back now, FinalData is a must.

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Recover My Files

2009-09-29T03:50:00.000-07:00

Recover My Files data recovery software will easily recover deleted files emptied from the Windows Recycle Bin, or lost due to the format or corruption of a hard drive, virus or Trojan infection, unexpected system shutdown or software failure.

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Server 2003 70-290 Exam Questions

2009-09-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Access the latest Exam Questions for Server 2003 70-290 last updated 20 Sep 2009 in VCE format.

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CCNA 640-802 v7.73 - 473 questions-update 3rd Sep-NEW

2009-09-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Access the latest Exam Questions for CCNA 640-802 last updated 3rd Sep 2009.

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ISA Server 2004 Configuration Guide

2009-09-13T04:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the ISA Server 2004 Configuration Guide! This guide was designed to help you get started using ISA Server 2004 firewalls to protect your network and allow more secure remote access to your network. While the Guide isn’t a comprehensive set of documentation of all network scenarios, it will expose you to many of the most commonly used features of ISA Server 2004.

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Windows 2003/2000/XP Security Architecture

2009-09-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

Overview:

Windows 2003 Server, its workstation cousin Windows XP, and its predecessor, Windows
2000, all bring substantial advances in both reliability and security compared to Windows NT
4.0. However, Windows security has so many different components that just learning them all
can be a major conceptual challenge. Additionally, the number and variety of threats to computer
security are increasing daily, and the cost of lost, damaged, or compromised data can be
very high.
This briefing lays out the main security features in the Windows 2003 operating system family,
and puts them all into a “big picture” context. It is intended for any person who must plan,
implement, manage, or administer Windows 2003 family security for networked desktop computers,
notebook computers, or stand-alone systems. It is not intended as an exhaustive treatment
of all the possible security breaches that a Windows network administrator may face, but
rather as a framework for understanding, planning, and discussing specific security features,
as well as organizational policies and procedures.

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Windows XP: How to decrease my user's profile size

2009-09-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

If you need to free up disk space, then you need to consider various things like,

1] System Restore backup files. Do you need them all, or can you remove all but the latest one using the Windows Disk Cleanup utility?

2] Music and Video files. Video files in particular take up a lot of disk space. Can you move any of these files to other storage media?

3] Unwanted programs and applications. Inspect your Add/Remove Programs to consider what applications you don't use/never use, and whether it is safe to remove/uninstall them.

4] Use a general file cleaner like CCleaner, from http://www.ccleaner.com to clean out all temporary files and temporary internet files, and other rubbish that builds up over time.

5] Obtain additional disk space, like an external or another internal hard drive.

6] Delete Temporary Internet Files

7] Delete User's Local settings/Temp folder

8] Delete Hidden Files in Windows Folder like $Uninstall folder

Network Topologies

2009-09-07T01:38:00.000-07:00

Network topology is one of the very important topics to learn when it comes to build up computer network. There are many Network Topologies on which network administrator decide to build the network on. Topology is basically defined as layout or design of network, and computers are connected using the design of the topology. These topologies can be either physical or logical design. Physical topology refers to physical design of network which includes devices, cables, location and installation of network where as in logical topology it is the amount of data to be transferred with in the network as apposed in its design.

There are five different Networking Topologies :
a) Bus b) Star c) Ringd) Mesh e) Tree.
When networks are design using multiple topologies it is called Hybrid Networks, this concept is usually utilized in complex networks were larger number of computer clients are required.

Bus Topology

Bus topology is one the easiest topologies to install, it does not require lots of cabling. There are two most popular Ethernet cable types which are used in this topology they are 10Base-2 and 10BaseT. Bus topology based networks works with very limited devices. It performs fine as long as computer count remain with in 12 – 15, problems occurs when number of computer increases.Bus topology uses one common cable (backbone) to connect all devices in the network in linear shape. Network interface cards of all network devices are attached to single communication medium backbone cable. When any computer sends out message in the network it is broadcasted in the entire network but only intended computer accepts the message and process it. Bus topology provide simplicity to the network, however there is big disadvantage of this topology, if main single network cable some how gets damaged, it will shut down the entire network no computer will run on network and no communication can be made among computers until backbone cable is replaced.

Ring Topology

Ring topology is one of the old ways of building computer network design and it is pretty much obsolete. FDDI, SONET or Token Ring technologies are used to build ring technology. It is not widely popular in terms of usability but incase if you find it any where it will mostly be in schools or office buildings. In ring network topology computers and other networking devices are attached to each other in such a way that they have devices adjacent to each other (Left and right side). All messages are travelled in the same directory either clockwise or anticlockwise. In case of failure of any device or cable the whole network will be down and communication will not be possible.

Star Topology

This is the most commonly used network topology design you will come across in LAN computer networks. In Star, all computers are connected to central device called hub, router or switches using Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or Shielded Twisted Pair cables.In star topology, we require more connecting devices like routers, cables unlike in bus topology where entire network is supported by single backbone. The most practical point of Star topology success is that the entire network does not go down incase of failure of a computer or cable or device, it will only affect the computer whose wire failed rest of the network will be working fine. However, incase of failure of central communication device such as Hub, Router or Switch the entire network will collapse.

Tree Topology

Just as name suggest, the network design is little confusing and complex to understand at first but if we have better understanding of Star and Bus topologies then Tree is very simple. Tree topology is basically the mixture of many Star topology designs connected together using bus topology. Devices like Hub can be directly connected to Tree bus and each hub performs as root of a tree of the network devices. Tree topology is very dynamic in nature and it holds potential of expandability of networks far better than other topologies like Bus and Star.

Mesh Topology

Mesh topology is designed over the concept of routing. Basically it uses router to choose the shortest distance for the destination. In topologies like star, bus etc, message is broadcasted to entire network and only intended computer accepts the message, but in mesh the message is only sent to the destination computer which finds its route it self with the help of router. Internet is based on mesh topology. Routers plays important role in mesh topology, routers are responsible to route the message to its destination address or computer. When every device is connected to every other device it is known as full mesh topology and if every device is connected indirectly to each other then it is called partial mesh topology.

Type Computer Network

2009-09-07T01:35:00.000-07:00

Networks are all about sharing resources of computers, servers, printers, scanners etc to each other. There are two different types with which network between computers can be formed. Networking formation completely depends on the requirement of the organization scale and usability. We should always study requirements and needs before we decide to choose any type of network. Picking wrong set of options can cost you waste of money, time and resources.Two types of networks are Peer to Peer networking also known to be p2p, the other one is Client and Server networks.

Peer to peer (p2p)

P2p networking type is most commonly used computer networks. This type of network is very cost effective but supports lesser number of computers in network. Ten to fifteen computers can be connected to each other using p2p networking model without problem, more number of computers often create problems. All computers possesses same status within the network and no computer control any other computer but it self, this network does not have server to control and monitor. Security level is not towards higher side and each work station it self is responsible for security. Using p2p models files can be shared among computers. Files like, videos, audios, pictures, spreadsheets and all digital media can be sent or received with in the network. Printers, scanners and internet can be shared with in all computers. Below is the picture showing three computers connected to each other with hub and switch. All computers are connected to hub through Network adaptor card using Cable and hub or switch is connected to internet to pass it on to connected computers.. You can see there is no server involved in this diagram but all individual computers are connecting to hub forming P2P network.

Limitation of P2P networking model

Before deciding to implement P2P model one must know the limitations of this type. Getting to know later can be frustrating big time. It would highly be recommended to get your organizational people site together and discuss the needs. Peer to Peer looks very simple, quite cost effective and attractive, yet it can keep progress very limited.

Peer-To-Peer networks are designed for limited number computers, it will start creating issues when exceed 15 number of computers
High security levels can not be achieved using p2p networks, so if organization have concerns with security p2p will not be that great.
Organizational growth will outgrow p2p networks; it will not support growing number of computers when increased above fifteen.
Regular training is required for computer users of p2p network. p2p network is control by computers and computers are controlled by human, small mistake by one of the user can hold the work for other users on same p2p network.

Client Server Network Model

Choosing right kind of networking model is very important for organization. If you are using lesser number of computer and do not see any need to increase the numbers of computers to more than 15 then you are fine with peer to peer networking model, but if you are bigger organization or seeing growth in network, client and server model is designed for it.

The difference in p2p and client server model is that p2p does not have any device or computer that controls computers on network whereas; client / server model has one dedicated computer which is called server. It is called dedicated server. All computers are connected to hub and hub is connected to dedicated server. Server is responsible to perform according to the request sent to it by clients. For example server can act as print server, if client request a print of document server will send print command to printer and it will be printed. Same way all the files are stored on the server and not on client computer, same client can retrieve data by using any other computer on the same network. This concept is known as centralization, this enables server to keep profile of users, data, and software etc completely in tacked and organized.

Normal computer can also be configured as server and it should be alright and perform server tasks efficiently, but if network growth is on seen and many computers are required to attach to network that’s where we might need proper server to take over the network.

You can see in diagram below. All the workstations (Clients) are attached on server, some times there is hub involved but in this case it is just clients and server.

Features of Server

Servers are powerful machines when they are compared to normal desktop computers. They are meant to provide strength to computing power within the entire network. Controlling developed network can only be done by dedicated servers as they have higher specifications to support network. Servers can have better processing speed with multiple p\rocessors capability available. Server machine have higher RAM to load and execute software with ease. They have more advance network cards installed for faster data transfer. Hard drives are way bigger to store the data for entire clients. Hardware can be plugged in and plugged out while server is on, this helps network stable, and hardware like hard disk can be removed and attached accordingly.

Server Os

Operating systems are also specially designed for servers. Server Os have much more features file serving, print serving, backing up data, enhanced security features etc. There are few major Server Os which are used commonly in servers, Windows server NT. 2000 , 2003,Linux and Novell NetWare. Windows server 2003 is more powerful and enhanced for much higher security levels, Linux servers provide the maximum security to networks.

DHCP Video Tutorial

2009-09-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

This vidoe tutorial describes how to set up a DHCP server (ISC-DHCP) for your local network. DHCP is short for "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol", it's a protocol that handles the assignment of IP addresses, subnet masks, default routers, and other IP parameters to client PCs that don't have a static IP address. Such computers try to find a DHCP server in their local network which in turn assigns them an IP address, gateway, etc. so that they can connect to the internet or other computers from the local network.

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Setting up a DHCP server in Windows 2003

2009-09-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

"Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is an IP standard designed to reduce the complexity of administering IP address configurations." - Microsoft's definition. A DHCP server would be set up with the appropriate settings for a given network. Such settings would include a set of fundamental parameters such as the gateway, DNS, subnet masks, and a range of IP addresses. Using DHCP on a network means administrators don't need to configure these settings individually for each client on the network. The DHCP would automatically distribute them to the clients itself.

The DHCP server assigns a client an IP address taken from a predefined scope for a given amount of time. If an IP address is required for longer than the lease has been set for, the client must request an extension before the lease expires. If the client has not requested an extension on the lease time, the IP address will be considered free and can be assigned to another client. If the user wishes to change IP address then they can do so by typing "ipconfig /release", followed by "ipconfig /renew" in the command prompt. This will remove the current IP address and request a new one. Reservations can be defined on the DHCP server to allow certain clients to have their own IP address (this will be discussed a little later on). Addresses can be reserved for a MAC address or a host name so these clients will have a fixed IP address that is configured automatically. Most Internet Service Providers use DHCP to assign new IP addresses to client computers when a customer connects to the internet - this simplifies things at user level.

The above diagram diplays a simple structure consisting of a DHCP server and a number of client computers on a network.

The DHCP Server itself contains an IP Address Database which holds all the IP addresses available for distribution. If the client (a member of the network with a Windows 2000 Professional/XP operating system, for example) has "obtain an IP address automatically" enabled in TCP/IP settings, then it is able to receive an IP address from the DHCP server.

Setting up a DHCP Server

This will serve as a step-by-step guide on how to setup a DHCP server.

Installing the DHCP server is made quite easy in Windows 2003. By using the "Manage your server" wizard, you are able to enter the details you require and have the wizard set the basics for you. Open to "Manage your server" wizard, select the DHCP server option for the list of server roles and press Next.
You will be asked to enter the name and description of your scope.

Scope: A scope is a collection of IP addresses for computers on a subnet that use DHCP.

The next window will ask you to define the range of addresses that the scope will distribute across the network and the subnet mask for the IP address. Enter the appropriate details and click next.

You are shown a window in which you must add any exclusions to the range of IP addresses you specified in the previous window. If for example, the IP address 10.0.0.150 is that of the company router then you won't want the DHCP server to be able to distribute that address as well. In this example I have excluded a range of IP addresses, 10.0.0.100 to 10.0.0.110, and a single address, 10.0.0.150. In this case, eleven IP's will be reserved and not distributed amongst the network clients.

It is now time to set the lease duration for how long a client can use an IP address assigned to it from this scope. It is recommended to add longer leases for a fixed network (in the office for example) and shorter leases for remote connections or laptop computers. In this example I have set a lease duration of twelve hours since the network clients would be a fixed desktop computer in a local office and the usual working time is eight hours.

You are given a choice of whether or not you wish to configure the DHCP options for the scope now or later. If you choose Yes then the upcoming screenshots will be of use to you. Choosing No will allow you to configure these options at a later stage.

The router, or gateway, IP address may be entered in next. The client computers will then know which router to use.

In the following window, the DNS and domain name settings can be entered. The DNS server IP address will be distributed by the DHCP server and given to the client.

If you have WINS setup then here is where to enter the IP Address of the WINS server. You can just input the server name into the appropriate box and press "Resolve" to allow it to find the IP address itself.

The last step is to activate the scope - just press next when you see the window below. The DHCP server will not work unless you do this.

The DHCP server has now been installed with the basic settings in place. The next stage is to configure it to the needs of your network structure.

Configuring a DHCP server

Hereunder is a simple explanation of how to configure a DHCP server.

The address pool displays a list of IP ranges assigned for distribution and IP address exclusions. You are able to add an exclusion by right clicking the address pool text on the left hand side of the mmc window and selecting "new exclusion range". This will bring up a window (as seen below) which will allow you to enter an address range to be added. Entering only the start IP will add a single IP address.

DHCP servers permit you to reserve an IP address for a client. This means that the specific network client will have the same IP for as long as you wanted it to. To do this you will have to know the physical address (MAC) of each network card. Enter the reservation name, desired IP address, MAC address and description - choose whether you want to support DHCP or BOOTP and press add. The new reservation will be added to the list. As an example, I have reserved an IP address (10.0.0.115) for a client computer called Andrew.

If you right click scope options and press "configure options" you will be taken to a window in which you can configure more servers and their parameters. These settings will be distributed by the DHCP server along with the IP address. Server options act as a default for all the scopes in the DHCP server. However, scope options take preference over server options.

In my opinion, the DHCP server in Windows 2003 is excellent! It has been improved from the Windows 2000 version and is classified as essential for large networks. Imagine having to configure each and every client manually - it would take up a lot of time and require far more troubleshooting if a problem was to arise. Before touching any settings related to DHCP, it is best to make a plan of your network and think about the range of IPs to use for the computers.

NETWORK ERRORS

2009-09-06T06:09:00.000-07:00

... is not accessible:

Message: "....is not accessible. You may not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. Network path was not found."

Resolutions:
1) make sure no any firewall blocks the LAN traffic.
2) make sure you have created the same workgroup, and the same username on w2k/xp for logging on a remote computer.
3) check user's rights.
4) you may want to enable guest account on w2k/xp.
5) if you are using simple file sharing, you may try to disable it and re-share the drive manually.
6) if it is mixed OS (win98, NT, ME and W2K/XP) network, enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.
7) make sure the Computer Browser service is started if all computers are w2k/xp.
8) stop Computer Browser service on win9x, ME and NT if this is a mixed OS network.
9) cache credential by using net use \\computername\share /user:username command (it is better to have the username logon shared computer).
10) if you have tried enabling netbios over tcp/ip but doesn't work, you may try to load netbeui (loading netbeui may slow your network).
11) Make sure the server service is running.
12) If you can see the share in Network Neighborhood but not access it, this issue may be resolved by verifying that both the share permissions and the NTFS partition permissions are correctly configured for individual user or group access.

For step by step troubleshooting "no accessible", visit this web site: http://www.howtonetworking.com/Troubleshooting/notaccessibale0.htm

"... not accessible. Logon failure: account current disabled:

Symptom: When browsing a network drive in Windows Explorer, you may receive above error message.
Resolutions: this is cache credentials issue. To fix this problem and cache the credentials, use net use \\computername /user:username command

"... not accessible. Access Denied ":

SYMPTOMS: When you attempt to connect to a network share, you may receive the following error message: \\Servername\share is not accessible. Access Denied. If you are accessing a share in another domain, this message may appear even though you have verified that the trust is configured correctly. Also, the share may be visible in Network Neighborhood.
RESOLUTION: This issue may be resolved by verifying that both the share permissions and the NTFS partition permissions are correctly configured for individual user or group access.
For step by step troubleshooting "no accessible", visit this web site: http://www.howtonetworking.com/Troubleshooting/notaccessibale0.htm.

"...not available. The server is not configured for transactions":

Symptom: when trying to browse My Network Places, you may receive this message "...not available. Server is not configured for transactions".
Resolution: 1. Use "net share" command on the shared computer to check share status. If there is not a share named "IPC$" in the share list, use "net share ipc$" command to create it.
2. Check your the network administrator if he/she may choose to not share the server's resource.
3. Case Study - Server is not configured for transactions - it may be a virus

"A domain controller for your domain could not be contacted. You have been logged on using cached account information. Changes made to your profile since you last logged on may not be available":

Resolutions: 1. Check the DNS settings and make sure the client points to correct DNS.2. Make the computer have correct TCP/IP settings and can ping the domain controller.

"A ccess is denied":

Symptoms: 1. When attempting to create a folder or copy a folder on a network drive, you may receive "Cannot create or replace xxxxx: Access is denied. Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use".2. When attempting to save a file on a network drive, you may receive "Cannot save or create xxxxx: Access is denied. Make sure the disk you want to save the file on is not full or write-protected or damaged".
Resolutions: go to the properties of the drive>Sharing, add the the user and give Change permission.2. Make sure everyone has Change permission.
For step by step troubleshooting "no accessible", visit this web site: http://www.howtonetworking.com/Troubleshooting/notaccessibale0.htm

"Access Denied" Message When Opening from or Saving to a Network Folder:

Symptom: When opening a network folder in Windows Explorer and then try to open a file from or save a file to that folder, the associated program may report a sharing violation, return an "access denied" message, or open the document as read-only. Typically, this problem occurs when you open a network folder and then double-click to open a Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel file. The document opens as read-only.
Resolution: To fix this problem, go to Windows Explorer, open the network folder that contains the file that you are trying to open or save. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options. Click Use Windows classic folders, and then click OK.
For step by step troubleshooting "no accessible", visit this web site: http://www.howtonetworking.com/Troubleshooting/notaccessibale0.htm.

"An extended error has occurred" or "Access Denied":

Symptoms: When mapping a network drive using net use or using the net view command to view a different computer in the domain, you may receive: "An extended error has occurred" or "Access Denied" error messages.
Resolutions: 1) This issue may occur if the workstation doesn't synchronize the time with the server. After verifying that basic network connectivity exists, you can force time synchronization on the client computer manually. To do this, run net time /domain /set command.2) Make sure you have granted enough licenses for clients accessing.

" computername is not accessible. No permission to access the resources":

If both win2000/XP and win9x can see the workgroup but only win2000/XP can access a win 2000/XP computer, and win9x gets the above error, check the group name. If they are the same name,
Check these: 1) are you sure the logon user has permission to the shared folder? 2) have you tried to logon using the same user name and password of the accessed win2k/XP computer? 3) the last and risky one, if you enable guest account in the accessed win2000/XP computer, can you access now?

Logon unsuccessful: The user name you typed is the same as the user name you logged in with:

Cause: it could be the name resolution issue, especially DNS issue.
Logon Message: You do not have access to logon to this session
Symptom: When attempting to logon using the Terminal Services client, you may receive the following error message: "Logon Message: You do not have access to logon to this session".
Resolution: By default, TS connection security setting allows only administrators to log on. To set custom TS connection permissions, go to Terminal Services Configuration>Connections folder. Right-click the connection (RDP-TCP)>Properties>Permissions, add the users or/and groups that needs access to this connection.

More Connections Can Be Made At This Time:

Symptoms: When attempting access a shared folder on a remote computer, you may receive this message “No more connections can be made at this remote computer at this time because there are already as many connections as the computer can accept” or “This request is not accepted by the network. Try again later”.
Causes: 1) The share that is configured to allows a specific number of connections, and that number of connections has been reached. 2) The 10 user connection limit has been reached if the remote computer is w2k/XP.3. If you have Per Server licensing, the license limit has been reached

"Multiple connections to the server or shared resource are not allowed":

Symptom: when attempting to join a domain, you may receive "Multiple connections to the server or shared resource are not allowed. Please disconnect all previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again."
Resolution: try using net use /d from a command to clear all your mapped connections before joining the domain. You can also disconnect the mapped drive in Windows Explorer by right-click the mapped drive and select disconnection.

"Network path not found" in a domain network 1

SYMPTOMS: When trying to join a W2K/XP to a Windows 2000 domain by using he NetBIOS domain name, you are successful but not the FQDN and you may receive one of the following error messages:1) The following error occurred attempting to join domain "example.com": The network location cannot be reached. For information about network troubleshooting, see Windows Help. 2) Network path not found.
RESOLUTION: This issue may occur if the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service is not running on the client computer. To start the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service, go to MMS>Services, double-click TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service.

"Network path not found" in a domain network 2

Symptom: some w2k/xp can't join the domain randomly. The DNS server is multihomed server..
Resolution: You can find some computer browser errors on the DNS server. Disable one of two NICs will work. More resolutions can be found in browser Issue page.

"Network path not found" in a workgroup network - error 53

RESOLUTIONS: 1) Make sure that File and Printer Sharing is enabled on on the shared computer. 2) Make sure that shared machine has something shared. 3) Make sure that you have created the same workgroup and logon the same username if you try to access w2k/xp network. 4) Make sure that you have enabled NetBIOS over TCP/IP if this is a mixed OS network.

"Not accessible. You may not have permission to use this network resource":

Symptom: Your WinXP, in a peer-to-peer network, may receive the following error when you double-click My Network Places/Computers Near Me: is not accessible. You may not have permission to use this network resource. Resolution: 1) Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on one or more computers in the workgroup. To do that, go to properties of Local Area Connection>properties of Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)>General> Advanced>WINS, check Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP (If you have a DHCP-assigned IP address, select Use NetBIOS setting from the DHCP server ). 2) Make sure the Computer Browser service is started.
For step by step troubleshooting "no accessible", visit this web site: http://www.howtonetworking.com/Troubleshooting/notaccessibale0.htm.

"Not enough server storage is available to process this command." error:

SYMPTOMS: When accessing shares on a server from a client, you may receive "Not enough server storage is available to process this command." error. You may receive this message and Event ID: 2011 after you install Norton Antivirus for Windows.
Resolution: 1) The registry value IRPstackSize may be not explicitly present. To increase the value of the parameter, go to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ LanmanServer\Parameters. If the key is not present, choose Add Value in the Registry Editor. The Value Name should be IRPStackSize and the Data Type is REG_DWORD. 2) Remove any unnecessary entries from this value in the registry, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\NullSessionPipes.3) If the machine has a non-zero PagedPoolSize in the Registry, you need to re-set it by going to HKEY_LOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management and double-click on PagedPoolSize and set to 0.4) Disable Norton antivirus to see if that will fix the problem.
For consultants, refer to Not enough server storage is available page.

"Not Enough Storage to Complete Operation":

SYMPTOMS: When you try to open the Printers folder, you may receive the following error message "There is not enough storage to complete this operation". This is because the size of the registry has exceeded the maximum size set in the virtual memory settings.
RESOLUTION: Increase the maximum registry size. To do that, go to Start>Control Panel>System>Performance> Change (In Windows 2000, click the Advanced tab, click Performance Options, and then Change). Type a larger value in the Maximum Registry Size box.

"No logon server available":

Symptoms: you can ping the server by ip and name but can't map the shared drive by using net use \\ip or \\servername. If you try, you may receive the "No logon server available".
Resolutions: This sounds like cache credential issue. 1) make sure the computers in the same network, the same workgroup/domain and have created the same username. 2) use net to cache the credential. 3) The user profiles may been damaged.

"No domain server was available to validate your password"

Symptoms: when trying to logon a domain from win9x, you may receive a message "The following error occurred while loading protocol number 0. Error 38: The computer name you specified is already in use..." and then "No domain server was available to validate your password".
Resolution: 1) make no two host name in the network. 2) check WINS and make sure no one host uses two IPs. If it does, delete all of them and reboot the computer.

"No domain server was available..." while the dialup connection is active:

Symptom: you have windows 2000 domain controller with DNS, DHCP, WINS and Dialup connection. Whenever the dialup connection is active, none client can't logon and gets a message "No domain server was available to to validate your password. You may not be able to gain access to some network resources"
Resolution: Make sure you don't have "Register this connection's addresses in DNS" checked under TCP/IP Advanced DNS settings. To check this, go to the Properties of the connection> the Properties of the TCP/IP>Advanced>DNS, uncheck "Register this connection's addresses in DNS"

Resource: \\computername\IPC$ - An extended error has occurred :

Symptoms: When you attempt to connect to w2k/xp computer over the network, you may receive one of the following error messages: "You must supply a password to make this connection: Resource: \\computername\IPC$" -or- "computername An extended error has occurred"
Resolutions: 1. make sure netlogon service is running.2. Make sure you have created logon ID and password for remote computer logon.3. Or enable guest account.
Remote Procedure call terminated unexpectedly - ...NT authority must shut down your computer in 30 seconds."
Symptoms: 1. Your computer reboots every few minutes without user input. 2. The computer become unresponsive. 3. You may receive "Remote Procedure Call terminated unexpectedly" and ...NT authority must shut down your computer in 30 seconds." 4. There is msblasr.exe running on Task ManagerCause: "W32.Blaster.Worm" or "MSBlast."
RPC Server is Unavailable
Symptoms: When running Replication, Winlogon, Terminal Server, User authentication, enabling trusted relationships, Connecting to domain controllers and trusted domains, you may receive the above error.
Causes: 1. The RPC service may not be started.
2. You are unable to resolve a DNS or NetBIOS name.
3. An RPC channel cannot be established.
4. This issue occurs because the DNS service cannot locate server resources on the domain with which you are trying to establish the trust.
Resolution: Run the Netdiag /debug command on the server in question to check any errors. Also check these articles - .RPC Server is Unavailable
"Spooler Subsystem Application Needs to Close" - "Operation Could Not Be Completed" Error Messages
Causes: 1. Bad printer driver. 2. New MS update conflicts with the printer driver. 3. ICF conflicts with the printer driver.
For consultants, refer to EL072304
The system cannot log you on to this domain because the system's computer account in its primary domain is missing or the password on that account is incorrect.
Causes: 1. incorrect password.2. This behavior may occur if the password for the computer account and the local security authority (LSA) secret are not synchronized. 3. Computer names conflict.
For consultants, refer to the case 082104RL
This account is the same as the one logged on to the system and that this account was tried before to logonThere is no domain controller available to validate this account.There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request.Event ID 5719
Symptoms: 1. In client, you may receive Event ID 5719: "No Windows NT or Windows 2000 Domain Controller is available for domain Domain. The following error occurred: There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request."2. In DC, you may receive Event ID 5719: "No Windows NT or Windows 2000 Domain Controller is available for domain chicagotech.net. The following error occurred: There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request. 3. You logon domain user in a domain network, the mapping logon script displays this message: "There is no domain controller available to validate this account."4. You use a office laptop to connect the office VPN, when you map a network drive using this command line: net use \\chicagotech\shared /u:chicagotech.net/blin, you may receive this message: "This account is the same as the one logged on to the system and that this account was tried before to logon. There is no domain controller available to validate this account"
Causes: 1.The DC is down.2. Can't access the DC.3. The DNS issue.4. Run out of buffer space in the NetBT datagram buffer.

'TCP/IP transport not installed
Causes: 1. TCP/IP is not enabled.2. Installed too many TCP/IP protocols.3. Old NIC driver.4. Winsock issue.
"The computer account already exists"
Symptoms: When joining w2k/xp into a domain, you may receive "The computer account already exists". You may be able to ping the computer account, for example ABC, but ping -a ip address (the same ip of ABC) shows different computer name like XYZ.
Resolution: Go to the DNS ad WINS to find and delete the ABC account and wait for while to re-join the domain.
The network folder specified is currently mapped using a different user name and password
Symptom: If you use the Map Network Drive Wizard to connect to a network share by using different user credentials and you use the browse functionality to locate the network share, you may receive the following error message: The network folder specified is currently mapped using a different user name and password. To connect using a different user name and password, first disconnect any existing mappings to this network share.
Resolutions: 1. Disconnect the existing mapped drive. 2. Apply latest SP.
"The password is incorrect. Try again"
Symptom: While trying to access a win2000/XP computer and type administrator password on Enter Network Password screen in the same peer-to-peer workgroup, you may get Error: The password is incorrect. Try again.
Resolution: 1) You need to setup every user that needs access to the shared folder on every computer they have to connect to. Then give the proper user proper permission to the shared folder. 2) logon the same user and password. 3) as always, you can try to enable a guest account on the accessed machine.
"There are no entries on the list"
Symptom: when using net view \\remotecomputer command, you may receive "There are no entries on the list". And you may have a problem to access the remote computer.
Resolution: 1) If there are no file or print shares on the computer, the net view command displays a "There are no entries in the list" message. So, make sure there are file or print shares on the computer. Or to use net share command to check sharing status.2) Make sure no firewall running because the firewall may block sharing.3) Make sure client for ms network is enabled.
"There is not enough memory available to print your document"
If you receive all following message, you may have firewall running on the LAN connection and you should disable it. "computer is not accessible...", "There was an error writing to \\XP computer for printer..." and "There is not enough memory available to print your document. Quit one or more programs and try again. ..."
Transmit failed, error code 65 or 10050
Symptom: When attempting to verify network connectivity with a remote computer by using the Ping.exe command, you may receive a command-line error message similar to the following: Ping: transmit failed, error code 65 or 10050.
Resolutions: This behavior can occur if the following conditions are true: 1) ICS is enabled; 2) a firewall software is running on the computer; 3) The ZoneLabs program is not correctly configured for ICS. To fix the problem: 1) re-configure ZoneAlarm for ICS. 2) Remove the Zone Labs firewall software from the computer.
"Unable to access Computers Near Me" or "Workgroup is not accessible" errors
Symptom: When several Win2000/XP computers are configured as members of a workgroup in a peer-to-peer network environment and you click on Computers Near Me in My Network Places or workgroup name Entire Network, the following error message may appear: "Cannot Access 'Computers Near Me' " or "Workgroup is not accessible" errors.
Resolution: 1) NetBIOS over TCP/IP. To do that, go to the properties of TCP/IP>Advanced>WINS. If you are using a static Internet Protocol (IP) address, click Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP. If you have a DHCP-assigned IP address, click Use NetBIOS setting from the DHCP server. 2) No Master Browser or too many browsers may cause this issue. Check Browser issue.
"Unable to Browse Network"
Symptom: When you attempt to browse your network by opening Entire Network in My Network Places/Network Neighborhood, you may receive the following error message: "Unable to Browse Network."
Check Lists: 1) have you loaded the NIC or is it working? 2) have you loaded common protocol, TCP/IP? 3) does the Computer browser work? 4) have you enable file and printer sharing in the accessed computer?5) is the workstation service running?
Still need help, contact consultant
"You may not have permission to use this network resource"
Refer to ... is not accessible
and "Resource: \\\ipc$"
"You must provide a password to make this connection." and "Resource: \\\ipc$"
Whenever you receive "Enter network password. You must provide a password to make this connection." and "Resource: \\\ipc$", it is permission and workgroup issues.
This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons: 1) The Windows 9x computer is not a client of a domain environment but the Log On To Windows Domain option is enabled. 2) The user name and password you are using to log in to the Windows 9x are not contained in the local user accounts database of the Windows NT/2000/XP computer you are attempting to browse. 3) The Windows 9x host is configured with user-level authentication to a domain.
Resolutions: To resolve this issue, use the appropriate method: 1) Disable the Log On To Windows Domain Option. 2) Log on to the Windows 9x with the local user accounts database of the Windows NT/2000/XP computer you are attempting to browse. 3) Disable User-level Authentication on the Windows 9x.
Windows needs your current credentials to ensure network connectivity"Windows needs your current credentials to ensure network connectivity. Please lock this computer, then unlock it using your most recent password or smart card. To lock your computer, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, and then press Enter."Cause: you are logging on mutiple computer using the same logon ID and password while changing the password.

640-802 CCNA EXAM

2009-09-06T05:22:00.000-07:00

Cisco Certified Network Associate Exam

Exam Number: 640-802
Associated Certifications: CCNA
Duration: 90 minutes (50-60 questions)
Available Languages: English

Exam Description:

The 640-802 Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) is the composite exam associated with the Cisco Certified Network Associate certification. Candidates can prepare for this exam by taking the Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1) v1.0 and the Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2) v1.0 courses. This exam tests a candidate's knowledge and skills required to install, operate, and troubleshoot a small to medium size enterprise branch network. The topics include connecting to a WAN; implementing network security; network types; network media; routing and switching fundamentals; the TCP/IP and OSI models; IP addressing; WAN technologies; operating and configuring IOS devices; extending switched networks with VLANs; determining IP routes; managing IP traffic with access lists; establishing point-to-point connections; and establishing Frame Relay connections.

Exam Topics:

The following topics are general guidelines for the content likely to be included on the Cisco Certified Network Associate exam. However, other related topics may also appear on any specific delivery of the exam. In order to better reflect the contents of the exam and for clarity purposes, the guidelines below may change at any time without notice.

Describe how a network works :

Describe the purpose and functions of various network devices
Select the components required to meet a network specification
Use the OSI and TCP/IP models and their associated protocols to explain how data flows in a network
Describe common networked applications including web applications
Describe the purpose and basic operation of the protocols in the OSI and TCP models
Describe the impact of applications (Voice Over IP and Video Over IP) on a network
Interpret network diagrams
Determine the path between two hosts across a network
Describe the components required for network and Internet communications
Identify and correct common network problems at layers 1, 2, 3 and 7 using a layered model approach
Differentiate between LAN/WAN operation and features

Configure, verify and troubleshoot a switch with VLANs and interswitch communications:

Select the appropriate media, cables, ports, and connectors to connect switches to other network devices and hosts
Explain the technology and media access control method for Ethernet networks
Explain network segmentation and basic traffic management concepts
Explain basic switching concepts and the operation of Cisco switches
Perform and verify initial switch configuration tasks including remote access management
Verify network status and switch operation using basic utilities (including: ping, traceroute, telnet, SSH, arp, ipconfig), SHOW & DEBUG commands
Identify, prescribe, and resolve common switched network media issues, configuration issues, auto negotiation, and switch hardware failures
Describe enhanced switching technologies (including: VTP, RSTP, VLAN, PVSTP, 802.1q)
Describe how VLANs create logically separate networks and the need for routing between them
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot VLANs
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot trunking on Cisco switches
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot interVLAN routing
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot VTP
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot RSTP operation
Interpret the output of various show and debug commands to verify the operational status of a Cisco switched network
Implement basic switch security (including: port security, trunk access, management vlan other than vlan1, etc.)

Implement an IP addressing scheme and IP Services to meet network requirements in a medium-size Enterprise branch office network:

Describe the operation and benefits of using private and public IP addressing
Explain the operation and benefits of using DHCP and DNS
Configure, verify and troubleshoot DHCP and DNS operation on a router.(including: CLI/SDM)
Implement static and dynamic addressing services for hosts in a LAN environment
Calculate and apply an addressing scheme including VLSM IP addressing design to a network
Determine the appropriate classless addressing scheme using VLSM and summarization to satisfy addressing requirements in a LAN/WAN environment
Describe the technological requirements for running IPv6 in conjunction with IPv4 (including: protocols, dual stack, tunneling, etc).
Describe IPv6 addresses
Identify and correct common problems associated with IP addressing and host configurations

Configure, verify, and troubleshoot basic router operation and routing on Cisco devices:

Describe basic routing concepts (including: packet forwarding, router lookup process)
Describe the operation of Cisco routers (including: router bootup process, POST, router components)
Select the appropriate media, cables, ports, and connectors to connect routers to other network devices and hosts
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot RIPv2
Access and utilize the router to set basic parameters.(including: CLI/SDM)
Connect, configure, and verify operation status of a device interface
Verify device configuration and network connectivity using ping, traceroute, telnet, SSH or other utilities
Perform and verify routing configuration tasks for a static or default route given specific routing requirements
Manage IOS configuration files. (including: save, edit, upgrade, restore)
Manage Cisco IOS
Compare and contrast methods of routing and routing protocols
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot OSPF
Configure, verify, and troubleshoot EIGRP
Verify network connectivity (including: using ping, traceroute, and telnet or SSH)
Troubleshoot routing issues
Verify router hardware and software operation using SHOW & DEBUG commands
Implement basic router security

Explain and select the appropriate administrative tasks required for a WLAN:

Describe standards associated with wireless media (including: IEEE WI-FI Alliance, ITU/FCC)
Identify and describe the purpose of the components in a small wireless network. (Including: SSID, BSS, ESS)
Identify the basic parameters to configure on a wireless network to ensure that devices connect to the correct access point
Compare and contrast wireless security features and capabilities of WPA security (including: open, WEP, WPA-1/2)
Identify common issues with implementing wireless networks. (Including: Interface, missconfiguration)

Identify security threats to a network and describe general methods to mitigate those threats:

Describe today's increasing network security threats and explain the need to implement a comprehensive security policy to mitigate the threats
Explain general methods to mitigate common security threats to network devices, hosts, and applications

Describe the functions of common security appliances and applications
Describe security recommended practices including initial steps to secure network devices

Implement, verify, and troubleshoot NAT and ACLs in a medium-size Enterprise branch office network :

Describe the purpose and types of ACLs
Configure and apply ACLs based on network filtering requirements.(including: CLI/SDM)
Configure and apply an ACLs to limit telnet and SSH access to the router using (including: SDM/CLI)
Verify and monitor ACLs in a network environment
Troubleshoot ACL issues
Explain the basic operation of NAT
Configure NAT for given network requirements using (including: CLI/SDM)
Troubleshoot NAT issues

Implement and verify WAN links

Describe different methods for connecting to a WAN
Configure and verify a basic WAN serial connection
Configure and verify Frame Relay on Cisco routers
Troubleshoot WAN implementation issues
Describe VPN technology (including: importance, benefits, role, impact, components)
Configure and verify a PPP connection between Cisco routers

Recommended Training:

The following courses are the recommended training for this exam.
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1) v1.0
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2) v1.0

How to troubleshoot TCP/IP connectivity with Windows XP

2009-09-06T03:50:00.000-07:00

TCP/IP troubleshooting tools

The following list shows some of the TCP/IP diagnostic tools that are included with Windows XP:
Basic tools :

• Network Diagnostics in Help and Support
Contains detailed information about the network configuration and the results of automated tests.

• Network Connections folder
Contains information and configuration for all network connections on the computer. To locate the Network Connections folder, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Network and Internet Connections.

• IPConfig command
Displays current TCP/IP network configuration values, updates, or releases, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allocated leases, and display, register, or flush Domain Name System (DNS) names.

• Ping command
Sends ICMP Echo Request messages to verify that TCP/IP is configured correctly and that a TCP/IP host is available.
Advanced tools

• Hostname command
Displays the name of the host computer.

• Nbtstat command
Displays the status of current NetBIOS over TCP/IP connections, updates the NetBIOS name cache, and displays the registered names and scope ID.

• PathPing command
Displays a path of a TCP/IP host and packet losses at each router along the way.

• Route command
Displays the IP routing table and adds or deletes IP routes.

• Tracert command
Displays the path of a TCP/IP host.

To view the correct command syntax to use with each of these tools, type -? at a command prompt after the name of the tool.
Windows XP Professional tools
loadTOCNode(3, 'moreinformation');
Windows XP Professional contains the following additional tools:

• Event viewer
Records system errors and events.

• Computer Management
Changes network interface drivers and other components.

Troubleshooting :

The procedure that you use to troubleshoot TCP/IP issues depends on the type of network connection that you are using and the connectivity problem that you are experiencing.

Automated troubleshooting :

For most issues that involve Internet connectivity, start by using the Network Diagnostics tool to identify the source of the issue. To use Network Diagnostics, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Help and Support.
2. Click the link to Use Tools to view your computer information and diagnose problems, and then click Network Diagnostics in the list on the left.
3. When you click Scan your system, Network Diagnostics gathers configuration information and performs automated troubleshooting of the network connection.
4. When the process is completed, look for any items that are marked "FAILED" in red, expand those categories, and then view the additional details about what the testing showed.

You can either use that information to resolve the issue or you can provide the information to a network support professional for help. If you compare the tests that failed with the documentation in the Manual Troubleshooting section later in this article, you may be able to determine the source of the issue. To interpret the results for TCP/IP, expand the Network Adapters section of the results, and then expand the network adapter that failed the testing.

You can also start the Network Diagnostics interface directly by using the following command:
netsh diag gui

Manual troubleshooting :

To manually troubleshoot your TCP/IP connectivity, use the following methods in the order that they appear:
Method 1: Use the IPConfig tool to verify the configuration

To use the IPConfig tool to verify the TCP/IP configuration on the computer that is experiencing the problem, click Start, click Run, and then type cmd. You can now use the ipconfig command to determine the host computer configuration information, including the IP address, the subnet mask, and the default gateway.The /all parameter for IPConfig generates a detailed configuration report for all interfaces, including any remote access adapters. You can redirect IPConfig output to a file to paste the output into other documents. To do this, type:
ipconfig > \folder_name\file_nameThe output receives the specified file name and is stored in the specified folder.You can review the IPConfig output to identify issues that exist in the computer network configuration. For example, if a computer is manually configured with an IP address that duplicates an existing IP address that is already detected, the subnet mask appears as 0.0.0.0.If your local IP address is returned as 169.254.y.z with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0, the IP address was assigned by the Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) feature of Windows XP Professional. This assignment means that TCP/IP is configured for automatic configuration, that no DHCP server was found, and that no alternative configuration is specified. This configuration has no default gateway for the interface. If your local IP address is returned as 0.0.0.0, the DHCP Media Sensing feature override turned on because the network adapter detected its lack of connection to a network, or TCP/IP detected an IP address that duplicates a manually configured IP address.

If you do not identify any issues in the TCP/IP configuration, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Use the Ping tool to test your connectivity

If you do not identify any issues in the TCP/IP configuration, determine whether the computer can connect to other host computers on the TCP/IP network. To do this, use the Ping tool.The Ping tool helps you verify IP-level connectivity. The ping command sends an ICMP Echo Request message to a destination host. Use Ping whenever you want to verify that a host computer can send IP packets to a destination host. You can also use Ping to isolate network hardware problems and incompatible configurations.

Note If you ran the ipconfig /all command, and the IP configuration appeared, you do not have to ping the loopback address and your own IP address. IPConfig has already performed these tasks to display the configuration. When you troubleshoot, verify that a route exists between the local computer and a network host. To do this, use the following command:

ping IP address

Note IP address is the IP address of the network host that you want to connect to.To use the ping command, follow these steps:

1. Ping the loopback address to verify that TCP/IP is installed and correctly configured on the local computer. To do this, type the following command:
ping

127.0.0.1

If the loopback test fails, the IP stack is not responding. This problem may occur if any one or more of the following conditions is true:

• The TCP drivers are corrupted.
• The network adapter is not working.
• Another service is interfering with IP.

2. Ping the IP address of the local computer to verify that the computer was correctly added to the network. If the routing table is correct, this procedure just forwards the packet to the loopback address of 127.0.0.1. To do this, type the following command:

ping IP address of local host

If the loopback test succeeds but you cannot ping the local IP address, there may be an issue with the routing table or with the network adapter driver.

3. Ping the IP address of the default gateway to verify that the default gateway is working and that you can communicate with a local host on the local network. To do this, type the following command:

ping IP address of default gateway

If the ping fails, you may have an issue with the network adapter, the router or gateway device, the cabling, or other connectivity hardware.

4. Ping the IP address of a remote host to verify that you can communicate through a router. To do this, type the following command:

ping IP address of remote host

If the ping fails, the remote host may not be responding, or there may be a problem with the network hardware between computers. To rule out an unresponsive remote host, use Ping again to a different remote host.

5. Ping the host name of a remote host to verify that you can resolve a remote host name. To do this, type the following command:

ping Host name of remote host

Ping uses name resolution to resolve a computer name into an IP address. Therefore, if you successfully ping an IP address but you cannot ping a computer name, there is a problem with host name resolution, not with network connectivity. Verify that DNS server addresses are configured for the computer, either manually in the properties of TCP/IP, or by automatic assignment. If DNS server addresses are listed when you type the ipconfig /all command, try to ping the server addresses to make sure that they are accessible.

If you cannot use Ping successfully at any point, verify the following configurations:

• Make sure that the local computer's IP address is valid and that it is correct on the General tab of the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box or when it is used with the Ipconfig tool.
• Make sure that a default gateway is configured and that the link between the host and the default gateway is working. For troubleshooting purposes, make sure that only one default gateway is configured. Although you can configure more than one default gateway, gateways after the first gateway are used only if the IP stack determines that the original gateway is not working. The purpose of troubleshooting is to determine the status of the first configured gateway. Therefore, you can delete all the other gateways to simplify your task.
• Make sure that Internet Protocol security (IPSec) is not turned on. Depending on the IPSec policy, Ping packets may be blocked or may require security. For more information about IPSec, go to Method 7: Verify Internet Protocol security (IPSec).

Important If the remote computer that you are pinging is across a high-delay link such as a satellite link, response may take longer. You can use the -w (wait) parameter to specify a longer timeout period than the default timeout of four seconds.

Method 3: Use the PathPing tool to verify a route

The PathPing tool detects packet loss over multiple-hop paths. Run a PathPing analysis to a remote host to verify that the routers on the way to the destination are operating correctly. To do this, type the following command:

pathping IP address of remote host

Method 4: Use the Arp tool to clear the ARP cache

If you can ping both the loopback address (127.0.0.1) and your IP address but you cannot ping any other IP addresses, use the Arp tool to clear out the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache. To view the cache entries, type any one of the following commands:

arp -a

arp -g

To delete the entries, type the following command:

arp -d

IP addressTo flush the ARP cache, type the following command:

netsh interface ip delete arpcache

Method 5: Verify the default gateway

loadTOCNode(4, 'moreinformation');
The gateway address must be on the same network as the local host. Otherwise, messages from the host computer cannot be forwarded outside the local network. If the gateway address is on the same network as the local host, make sure that the default gateway address is correct. Make sure that the default gateway is a router, not just a host. And make sure that the router is enabled to forward IP datagrams.

Method 6: Use the Tracert tool or the Route tool to verify communications

If the default gateway responds correctly, ping a remote host to make sure that network-to-network communications are working correctly. If communications are not working correctly, use the Tracert tool to trace the path of the destination. For IP routers that are Microsoft Windows 2000-based or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based computers, use the Route tool or the Routing and Remote Access snap-in to view the IP routing table. For other IP routers, use the vendor-designated appropriate tool or facility to examine the IP routing table.

Most frequently, you receive the following four error messages when you use Ping during troubleshooting:

TTL Expired in Transit

This error message means that the number of required hops exceeds the Time to Live (TTL). To increase TTL, by use the ping -i command. A routing loop may exist. Use the Tracert command to determine whether misconfigured routers have caused a routing loop.

Destination Host Unreachable

This error message means that no local or remote route exists for a destination host at the sending host or at a router. Troubleshoot the local host or the router's routing table.

Request Timed Out

This error message means that the Echo Reply messages were not received in the designated timeout period. By default, the designated timeout period is four seconds. Use the ping -w command to increase the timeout.

Ping request could not find host

This error message means that the destination host name cannot be resolved. Verify the name and the availability of DNS or WINS servers.

Method 7: Verify Internet Protocol security (Ipsec)

IPSec can improve security on a network, but changing network configurations or troubleshooting problems more difficult. Sometimes, IPSec policies require secured communication on a Windows XP Professional-based computer. These requirements can make it difficult to connect to a remote host. If IPSec is implemented locally, you can turn off the IPSEC Services service in the Services snap-in.

If the difficulties end when you stop the IPSec services, IPSec policies are either blocking the traffic or requiring security for the traffic. Ask the security administrator to modify the IPSec policy.

Method 8: Verify packet filtering

Because of mistakes in packet filtering, address resolution or connectivity may not work. To determine whether packet filtering is the source of a network problem, turn off TCP/IP packet filtering.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.
2. Right-click the local area connection that you want to modify, and then click Properties.
3. On the General tab, in the This connection uses the following items list, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
4. Click Advanced, and then click the Options tab.
5. In the Optional Settings dialog box, click TCP/IP Filtering, and then click the Properties tab.
6. Click to clear the Enable TCP/IP Filtering (All adapters) check box, and then click OK.To ping an address, use its DNS name, its NetBIOS computer name, or its IP address. If the ping succeeds, the packet filtering options may be misconfigured or too restrictive. For example, the filtering can allow the computer to act as a Web server, but, to do this, the filtering may turn off tools such as remote administration. To restore a wider range of permissible filtering options, change the permitted values for the TCP port, the UDP port, and the IP protocol.

Method 9: Verify the connection to a specific server

To determine the cause of connectivity problems when you are trying to connect to a specific server through NetBIOS-based connections, use the nbtstat -n command on the server to determine what name the server registered on the network.

The nbtstat -n output command lists several names that the computer has registered. The list will include a name that looks similar to the computer's name that is configured on the Computer Name tab under System in Control Panel. If not, try one of the other unique names that the nbtstat command displays.

The Nbtstat tool can also display the cached entries for remote computers from #PRE entries in the Lmhosts file or from recently resolved names. If the name that the remote computers are using for the server is the same, and the other computers are on a remote subnet, make sure that the other computers have the computer's name-to-address mapping in their Lmhosts files or WINS servers.

Method 10: Verify remote connections

To determine why a TCP/IP connection to a remote computer stops responding, use the netstat -a command to show the status of all activity for TCP and UDP ports on the local computer.Typically, a good TCP connection shows 0 bytes in the Sent and Received queues. If data is blocked in either queue or the state of the queues is irregular, the connection may be faulty. If data is not blocked, and the state of the queues is typical, you may be experiencing network or program delay.

Method 11: Use the Route tool to examine the routing table

For two hosts to exchange IP datagrams, both hosts must have a route to each other, or they must use default gateways that have a route. To view the routing table on a Windows XP-based host, type the following command:

route print

Method 12: Use the Tracert tool to examine paths

Tracert sends ICMP Echo Request messages that have incrementally higher values in the IP header TTL field to determine the path from one host to another through a network. Then Tracert analyzes the ICMP messages that are returned. With Tracert, you can track the path from router to router for up to 30 hops. If a router has failed, or the packet is routed into a loop, Tracert reveals the problem. After you locate the problem router, you can contact the router administrator if the router is offsite, or you can restore the router to fully functional status if the router is under your control.

Method 13: Troubleshoot gateways

If you receive the following error message during configuration, determine whether the default gateway is located on the same logical network as the computer's network adapter:

Your default gateway does not belong to one of the configured interfaces

Compare the network ID part of the default gateway IP address with the network IDs of the computer's network adapters. Specifically, verify that the bitwise logical AND of the IP address and the subnet mask equals the bitwise logical AND of the default gateway and the subnet mask.For example, a computer that has a single network adapter that is configured with an IP address of 172.16.27.139 and a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 must use a default gateway of the form 172.16.y.z. The network ID for this IP interface is 172.16.0.

Friday, September 4, 2009 The Cisco Three-Layered Hierarchical Model

2009-09-04T02:31:00.000-07:00

Cisco has defined a hierarchical model known as the hierarchical internetworking model. This model simplifies the task of building a reliable, scalable, and less expensive hierarchical internetwork because rather than focusing on packet construction, it focuses on the three functional areas, or layers, of your network:

Core layer: This layer is considered the backbone of the network and includes the high-end switches and high-speed cables such as fiber cables. This layer of the network does not route traffic at the LAN. In addition, no packet manipulation is done by devices in this layer. Rather, this layer is concerned with speed and ensures reliable delivery of packets.

Distribution layer: This layer includes LAN-based routers and layer 3 switches. This layer ensures that packets are properly routed between subnets and VLANs in your enterprise. This layer is also called the Workgroup layer.

Access layer: This layer includes hubs and switches. This layer is also called the desktop layer because it focuses on connecting client nodes, such as workstations to the network. This layer ensures that packets are delivered to end user computers.

Switching & Bridging

2009-09-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

The Switch

A switch is a layer 2 network device that forwards frames using MAC addresses in the header of frames. It is used to improve network performance by:-
• segmenting the network and creating separate collision domains.
• reducing competition for bandwidth.
In a switch frame forwarding is handled by specialized hardware called "Application Specific Integrated Circuit" (ASIC). ASIC technology allows a silicon chip to be programmed to perform specific functions much faster than that of a chip programmed by software.

Steps of Switch Functioning

Learning When switch starts, the MAC address table has no entry. When a node transmits data on its wire the MAC address of the node is learned by Switch Port connected to that node. In this way all the MAC addresses are learned by respective ports and these entries remain in the cache for a specific time. If during this specific time no new frame arrives from a node MAC address entry for that node is dropped from cache.
Forwarding & Filtering
When a MAC address for a port is learnt, packets addressed to that MAC address are forwarded only to the port associated with it, using one of the Switching Methods.
Loop Avoidance
Switches and Bridges use Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), specified by IEEE 802.1d, to prevent

Switching Methods

Store & Forward: In this method complete frame is received by the switch. CRC, source address and destination address are checked. This method has following features:-
• Highest latency (delay in forwarding of frame) but may vary depending upon the length of frame.
• Highest error checking.
• Lowest frame forwarding speed.
Catalyst 500 switch uses this method.

Cut Through: In this method forwarding starts as soon as destination address of the frame is received in header. Also known as WIRE SPEED. This method has following features:-
• Lowest latency.
• Lowest error checking.
• Highest frame forwarding speed.

Fragment Free (Modified Cut Through): In this method forwarding starts as soon as first 64 bytes of the frame are received as fragmentation occurs usually in first 64 bytes. This method has following features:-
• Latency approx 60m Sec.
• Sufficient error checking.
• Moderate frame forwarding speed.

The Bridge

It is a layer 2 device used to connect different network types or networks of the same type. Packets having destination address on the same network segment are dropped. Bridges use "Store and Forward" method to inspect the whole packet.
Advantages: Using a bridge to segment network can provide:-
• Reliability.
• Manageability.
• Scalability.

Disadvantages:
• A bridge cannot filter out broadcast traffic.
• It introduces 20 to 30 % latency.
• Only 2 networks can be linked with a bridge.

Avoid Losing Data In Microsoft Outlook

2009-09-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Outlook is an email client (Mail User Agent to some) which I'm sure you know what it does. If not, let me try to explain it as simply as possible. Email clients are programs or application's which retrieves emails from the web server and downloads it onto your desktop.

Now with that out of the way, did you know that you can lose your mails because of your email client? This is a big deal as email is now a large part of communication both in the corporate world and the private/home user.

How can you lose your emails?

When you use email clients, you risk losing your email just like any other data on your desktop. Here is a list:

- Virus attack
- Corrupted partitions/volumes
- Deletion/Format
- Hard Disk Crash
- Theft/natural disaster

In Microsoft Outlook versions 2003, 2002, 98 and 97, once Outlook's PST file size goes above 2gb, your emails, or rather, the PST file, gets corrupted.

- PST corruption

Installation of anti-virus/anti-spyware

Prevention of viruses, spyware and basically all malware is important as they cause your system and programs to become sluggish, unstable and perform undesirable operations.

And since when you use Microsoft outlook, your emails will get affected as the mails on the server gets downloaded onto your computer.

- Install anti-virus/anti-spyware and update frequently

Anti-virus/anti-spyware is available widely and should often be updated for the latest updates and patches.

Use it to scan you computer, and to scan ALL emails if they contain attachments.

Never download anything directly to your computer unless you are certain of the reliability and credibility of its source.

For a detailed view of how to remove viruses, refer to this article on removing viruses

Backup

The most reliable way to prevent the loss of your Outlook emails is to backup your PST file. To do this, simply copy your PST to another storage media (such as your thumb drive) or another drive on the same computer.

The PST file can be found by simply opening the search function (go to start menu and you can find the search function there) and copy and paste this term into the search box " .pst " without the double quotes.

Wait for the search finish. The default .pst file name is outlook.pst. Then just copy and paste the .pst file onto your backup media. Backup frequently, as you may never know when the outlook files (or any other important files for that matter) gets accidentally deleted, formatted or corrupted.

Computer Maintenance

Although this should already part of your routine, it bears reminding again. You should maintain your system by defragmenting, running scandsk and so on. This is basic maintenance for your computer as it can help prevent file system problems. It also enables your system to run smoothly and prevent system slowdown.

Here is a slew of other maintenance tips for you to look into

Outlook housekeeping

Yes, even in outlook, you need to do some basic maintenance. This is done to prevent your .PST file from getting corrupted.

Before outlook 2003 (and in earlier versions of outlook 2003), the .PST file limit was set at 2GB. If the .PST file size exceeded this limit, it would be very difficult, if at all possible, to retrieve any data from the .PST file as it would get corrupted.

When you are doing housekeeping, you are trying to keep this limit down and at the same time, helps in organising you mails so that they are easier to retrieve when you need to read them again.

How do you do that? Simple.

Delete all the old mails that you do not need, and remember to empty the trash. Categorise all your mails accordingly. For example, all your work folders should be in a separate folder from you personal emails and so on.

Create a NEW pst file

Another way to keep control of your PST file size is to create another .PST file. Of course, don't create a new .PST file for the sake of creating one.

Have separate .PST files for business and personal mails. To create this a new .PST file, simply open outlook and follow these steps:

1.Go to File menu, to New, and then click Outlook Data File
2. In the next window, you should see two options. Simply choose Office Outlook Personal Folders file. In Outlook 2003, there is an option to increase compatibility with older outlook versions, choose the Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File option. Click Ok
3. Then choose an appropriate location to save your new .PST in. Choose a location, and the type in the filename of your new .PST file.

And there you have it. A new .PST file, all ready for use.

In actual fact, prevention of lost Outlook mails is not hard. However, you need to be constantly maintaining your system and backing up your mails which take up precious time. It is a necessary step to take to prevent you from losing all your precious emails.

Installing a Network Printer on Windows XP Vista 2003-2008

2009-09-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

I know this is a lot of information to read and understand. Think of it as an investment and not a burden. I have tried to include what is necessary without writing a whole book about a 5 minute procedure.

Summary of steps to install a network printer.
1. Download the most recent driver from the manufacturer's website.
2. Configure network settings on the printer.
3. Use the Add Printer Wizard to create a local network printer on the pc.
4. (Optional) - share printer to other users.

If you are performing this type of installation for more than a handful of people, it is best to install this once on a Windows Server and share that printer to everyone. Normally it takes between 5 and 10 minutes to perform this type of install on each pc.

1. Download the most recent driver.
Visit the manufacturer's website to obtain the latest driver - print drivers can be found in the support area searching by model number.
( this is important because early problems are fixed and drivers are updated )
For color printers you want to download a PostScript driver.
Black and White - monochrome printers work fine with a PCL driver.
*Run-Unzip-Extract* to a known location on the computer -
c:temp -or- c:*printer model*

2. Configure network settings on the printer
If you are a small business or an at home office you probably have a tiny router that handles what is called DHCP ( this is a service that manages IP addresses ).

The bad thing about these little devices is when they lose power, IP addresses are re-assigned on a first come basis.

I suggest using a static IP for all installations. Log into your printers web interface using the DHCP assigned IP address and change it to a static IP high in the range.

If available, I use 192.168.1.201, since most routers start assigning IPs at 192.168.1.2

If you have IT people who control your network, they should be consulted before making any changes to IP settings.

3. Using the Add Printer wizard
Go to Printers in the Control Panel - there are different ways to get there - just find one

Click the Add a Printer link

Choose - Add a local printer

**Note** - I know you have a network printer and the second choice is network printer and it makes logical sense to choose that - but you have to trust me and not think for yourself on this one.

Choose to Create a new port - select Standard TCP/IP Port in the dropdown list

Fill in the information - IP address you chose to use

If it detects the device type - great - if it doesn't - click OK and Next anyway
( leave it generic or whatever it says )

Next is where we browse to the location you Extracted-unzipped the drivers ( this could also be to the CD you have ). Most of time when you download drivers they are in exe form or zipped and have to be Run and extracted before becoming available for use

Install the printer driver

Click Have Disk

Click Browse

Navigate to the location containing an INF file within the driver directory you created

Double-click the inf file or select it and click Open

Then click the OK button

Select your model and click Next

If it asks you to keep or replace the driver ( make a choice )

Then you will be asked to name the printer - On a server install it is best to make this a general term like - Office Color - or - Department BW.

Then you will be asked to Share the printer ( this is the Optional part for Server installs )

Just click Finish and the driver will be installed

4. Optional sharing the printer

Right-click the printer in Printers and Faxes and select Properties

click on the Sharing tab and choose to share and give it a share name

**Note**
The Network Printer option I told you to ignore earlier is for connecting to shared printers. The fast way to install a *shared* printer is to:

Click Start and select Run ( if you do not have a run just type the UNC name into an address bar )
Here is a link describing what UNC is http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/UNC.html
Type in the UNC name of the PC with the shared printer
Click OK

You will be presented with share folders and printers
Double-click the printer to install

-------------------------
Troubleshooting

1. Some printers need to have the port configured for a different RAW number or with LPR settings

The documentation or support site should cover what special settings are required.
Sometimes the default 9100 needs to be changed to another number, but usually it is an LPR port with a queue name of LPT1 - PORT1 - PS - AUTO - or lp, the LPR Byte Counting is sometimes necessary also.

You can configure these settings by going to the Properties of the printer
Select the Ports tab and click the Configure Port button.

2. The format of the IP address is important - do not use any leading zeroes that you may see on a config page or web screen

i.e. 192.168.001.201 should be programmed into the port as 192.168.1.201

3. IP addresses are important - normally on small networks 192.168.0. networks cannot print to 192.168.1 addresses - If your router changes its settings are has to be reconfigured, be sure to double check that you are an the same *Network ID* (first three sets of numbers), I have seen routers change back and forth between networks and different brands use different defaults.

4. Sometimes the ports on servers and workstations become corrupted and need to be deleted and recreated.

5. Sometimes you might have a *Network Security* application that blocks communication to a new printer - watch for popups when attempting your first print.

Shortcut Secrets of the Windows Superuser

2009-09-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Keyboard Shortcuts:

This article explains how you can become faster, more efficient, and potentially even reduce RSI by using your keyboard more often to do more of the tasks that you normally think only the mouse can do. When testing this article on colleagues, I have yet to find a single person who hasn't learnt at least something new, even 15 year IT veterans!

Keyboard Short Cut - Copy, Cut and Paste: The most common keyboard short cuts used are Copy CTRL+C, and Paste CTRL+V which are used by selecting (or highlighting) text, pressing CTRL+C to Copy this text to the clip board (a Windows temporary storage area that can only remember 1 thing: always the last thing Copied) and then Pasting this text to another Text Box using CTRL+V. Instead of copying however, the original text can be removed using Cut: CTRL+X. This deletes the original text but also copies it to the clip board so it can Pasted somewhere else.

Additionally, highlighting text with the keyboard can be done using the SHIFT key. Hold down SHIFT and use with different combinations of ARROW keys, CTRL key and END and HOME keys. Here are some possible combinations to try: SHIFT+ARROW; SHIFT+CTRL+ARROW; SHIFT+END; SHIFT+HOME; SHIFT+CTRL+END; SHIFT+CTRL+HOME, SHIFT+CTRL+PAGEUP AND SHIFT+CTRL+PAGEDOWN. Try them out, they all make highlighting blocks of text much faster.

Keyboard Short Cut - Switching Between Applications: ALT+TAB: Use this keyboard shortcut (or keyboard combination) to change which of the open applications is the one that's active at the moment. A small window will appear with small icons representing all the applications currently running. Whilst keeping ALT pressed with your left thumb, TAB can be pressed multiple times to cycle along the list to the application required. It is similar to using the mouse and clicking an application in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

Keyboard Short Cut - Tabbing Through Window Controls: TAB: Looking at an application window (or form if you prefer), there are many controls that can be accessed, including Text Boxes (sometimes called "fields" are the usually white areas where text can be typed in), Command Buttons, Tick Boxes, and List Boxes. Normally the mouse would be used to click on a control, however pressing the TAB key cycles through all the accessible controls on the form in what's called the Tab Order, just like clicking each one in turn. This method can be used to activate all the controls on the form, adding text or making selections as appropriate. Note that sometimes the Tab Order can be unintuitive.

SHIFT+TAB activates controls in reverse of the normal Tab Order, useful if you Tab once too often.

CTRL+TAB can be used in the special case where a windows form has a sub-section with tabs at the top to click. Use CTRL+TAB to move to the right between the tabbed sub-forms, and CTRL+SHIFT+TAB to go left up the tab list.

Keyboard Short Cut - Clicking Command Buttons: Command Buttons are the grey rectangles clicked to make things happen. ENTER (or RETURN if you prefer) is the equivalent of clicking a Command Button once it has been Tabbed to and activated. Or indeed the SPACE bar can be used instead.

SHIFT+??? Additionally many command buttons have specific keyboard short cuts that have the effect of clicking them without the need to Tab to them. Some command buttons have a letter underlined, like the Cancel button often has the "C" underlined. However the ESC (Escape) key is often also tied to a Cancel button directly. Cancelling a pop up window for example can often be quickly done using ESC.

Pressing SHIFT+C will often have the effect of clicking a Cancel button. Where SHIFT is the keyboard key with the thick UP arrow that normally gives Capital letters when typing. Note that the underlined letter is not always the first letter.

Keyboard Short Cut - Toggling Tick Boxes: Tick Boxes are small white squares with a tick or cross that can be toggled on or off. SPACE is the equivalent of clicking a Tick Box once it has been TABed to and is the active control.

Keyboard Short Cut - Selecting Radio Buttons: Radio Buttons - like circular tick boxes, except only 1 can be selected in the group. ARROW keys are used to move the selected option in a list of Radio Buttons, once this control is the active control. Up and Down Arrows can be used, or Left and Right as preferred.

Keyboard Short Cut - Selecting Items in List Boxes: List Boxes (sometimes called "Drop Down List Boxes") drop down a list of items when the down triangle is clicked from which a pre-existing value in the list can be selected. ARROW keys are again used here to move the selection. Up and Down Arrows can be used, or Left and Right. However this only moves the selection without actually showing the list. ALT+ARROW will drop down the list, and is the equivalent of clicking the down arrow on the right hand side of the control. Only Up and Down arrows work here to show the list.

Another useful keyboard feature of List Boxes is quickly jumping to an item by typing the first letter of the item being sought. E.g. if the List Box contains the list: Blue, Green, Pink, Purple, Red, Yellow; and the desired selection is Yellow, instead of pressing the DOWN Arrow 5 times, simply pressing the "Y" key will select Yellow immediately. Pressing "P" will select Pink, and pressing "P" for a second time will start moving down the list of P's, hence selecting Purple in our example.

Keyboard Short Cut - Menu Item Short Cuts: CTRL+??? Copy and Paste are examples of Menu shortcuts. Menus are the drop down options in the grey Toolbar at the top of almost all Windows Applications, normally starting with "File". Looking in the Edit menu of a text editor like Word shows the Cut, Copy and Paste commands with their shortcuts (CTRL+X, CTRL+C, CTRL+V) listed next to them.

Take a look around the menus as many useful commands are shown with their short cut keys. Some common ones are listed here:

Open - CTRL+O Print - CTRL+P Save - CTRL+S Save As - F12, (Oddly this is not always shown, Microsoft Word for example doesn't list it, but it works) Find - CTRL+F Replace - CTRL+H or CTRL+R depending on application Undo - CTRL+Z Redo - CTRL+Y Bold - CTRL+B Italic - CTRL+I Underline - CTRL+U

Be careful however as not all applications have the same shortcuts, and worse sometimes applications use the same shortcut keys for different things. For example, most applications use CTRL+F for Find, most that is except Microsoft Outlook which uses CTRL+F for "Forward email" and instead uses F4 for Find.

Keyboard Short Cut - Navigating The Toolbar Menus: ALT+??? As Command Buttons can have specific shortcut keys used with SHIFT and shown as an underlined letter, so too do the Menu's on the Toolbar also have short cut's to access them directly with out clicking. These are accessed not with SHIFT but with ALT. The first 3 menus at the top of Word for example are: File, Edit and View, but as with Command Buttons it's not always the first letter, for example Format. So to access the Format menu, use ALT+O. Once a menu is being displayed, the ARROW keys can be used to navigate around the various menus using Up, Down, Left and Right arrows.

Notice that often the menu items also have underlined letters (sometimes as well as their listed CTRL+??? shortcuts). Now however, the ALT is no longer required as the "Menu mode" is already active. So opening the Tools menu of Word by pressing ALT+T, shows that "Word Count" has an underlined "W". Now pressing W now will perform a word count on your document. This is a quick way of accessing functions that don't have a CTRL+??? shortcut, without the mouse.

Further Tips: If your keyboard is blessed with a Windows Key (normally between CTRL and ALT and has a windows logo on) there are extra shortcuts available, the most useful ones are

Minimise all windows and shows the Desktop - WINDOWS KEY+M Launch the Windows Explorer Application - WINDOWS KEY+E

It can take a little time to get used to some of the shortcut combinations, especially working out when to use CTRL, SHIFT or ALT. Perseverance however will result in less reliance on the mouse and a faster, more efficient working experience. And dare it be said: a more enjoyable one?

Install the Windows XP Recovery Console Like a Pro

2009-09-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

What is the Recovery Console?

The recovery console is a windows command line diagnostic feature of the newer windows operating systems. It can be found in operating systems Windows XP and later. It can be used to repair major windows problems.

It is mainly used for computer repair by restoring or fixing system files. When there is a problem with the system files, the operating system (OS) in most cases, cannot boot. The system files are crucial for the proper functioning of the OS. In this case the 'recovery console' comes to the rescue so you can restore the system files as needed to get your system functioning properly again. With the recovery console you will have limited access to the NTFS file system, FAT32 and FAT file systems.
The recovery console can be pre-installed so that it can be accessed from the boot-up menu.

Uses of the console:

1. Create or format disk partitions.
2. Repair corrupted system files.
3. Repair the MBR. (Master Boot Record)
4. Control services from starting on the next boot.
5. Copy, create, rename or replace the system files and folders.

Installing the console to your hard drive:

1. After you insert your Windows disk click start then run then type cd drive letter:i386winnt32.exe /cmdcons in the run dialog box.
2. Click ok, follow the directions on the screen to complete setup, and then restart your computer.
Note: In order to run recovery console you need the Administrator password and for a domain controller you need admin password for 'directory service restore mode'.

Starting the windows console:

1. Boot your computer from your Windows Disk. At the 'welcome to setup screen' press 'R' Select the corresponding that points to your windows installation you are repairing. When prompted then provide the administrator password. If you have not set up a password just press enter.
2. You can add the windows recovery console to your startup folder by using winnt32.exe with the /cmdcons switch. You need to have 7MB of disk space to accommodate cmdcons folder and files.

Setting up the password for the console:

1. Login with the administrator password.
2. At the command prompt change your current path to %SystemRoot%System32 folder.
3. Use setpwd to change the local SAM-base admin password.
4. To set password for a remote computer use setpwd /s:servername.
5. When you are prompted for the password set the new password for directory service restore mode.

At any time you can always type help for the list of commands. If you need more information on what a command does type Help command name. You exit the console by typing exit.
! Be very careful when using the console! Read the help documentation for the command before you try to use it.

Deleting the console:

1. Boot up your computer. Open windows for the drive you have the recovery console installed.
2. Go to the tools menu then folder options then click on view tab.
3. Click show the hidden files and folders, de select the hide protected operating system files check box, then click ok.
4. At the root folder of your hard drive where windows is installed delete cmdcons folder and cmldr file.
5. Open the properties of boot.ini file at the root folder.
6. Uncheck the read-only attribute.
7. Remove the entry which looks similar to this in your boot.ini file C:cmdconsbootsect.dat="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons. Be very careful while editing this file, make a backup before you edit it.
8. Save and close the file and restore back its ready-only attribute to true.

Windows Vista Top 10 Tips and Tricks

2009-09-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

1. Power button default action

The default action for the Power button on the start menu in Windows Vista is Sleep, which isn’t necessarily useful for everybody. You can configure this setting easily by using the advanced power settings panel, which is a little tricky to get to normally, but we’ll take the shortcut. Open a command prompt (type cmd into the start menu search bar), and then type in the following: powercfg.cpl,1. You could also take the long route (Control Panel Power Options Change Plan Settings Change Advanced Power Settings) Once you get to this dialog, browse down as shown to “Power buttons and lid”

From here, you can change the options:

Power button action - Changes the hardware power button action
Start menu power button - Changes the power button on the Start Menu

You can change the power button to either Sleep, Hibernate or Shut Down, or even nothing for the hardware power button.

2. Hide Desktop Icon Text on Windows Vista

Some icons are just obvious enough that nobody should need text below them to tell them what the icon is for. A good example of this is the icon for Internet Explorer. We’re all really used to it by now, and the text just makes it ugly. Just right-click on the shortcut, and choose Rename. Now hold down the Alt key and type in 255 on the keypad to the right of the keyboard. You can’t use the number keys right above the keyboard, they won’t work. If you have a laptop, you can turn on numlock and then use the little number keys next to the regular letters. (You know you always wondered what they were for)

For the first shortcut on the desktop, a simple Alt+255 will do. For the next shortcut, you’ll have to enter the combination twice (Alt+255, Alt+255). For the third, 3 times… you get the idea. The way this works is that the Alt+255 character is blank, so the shortcut filename is actually just named with a character that is completely blank. Since you can’t have two shortcuts or files named the exact same thing, the second shortcut will have to be named with two blank characters.

Now we have a sweet looking icon on the desktop, with no bothersome text beneath it. If you use this tip to rename a folder, you will not be able to rename the folder back using the right-click rename. I’m not sure why this is. What you’ll have to do is open a command prompt and change directory into the containing folder (For instance, the desktop folder), and run this command: ren “Alt+255” “NewFolderName” You will need to actually type the Alt+255 characters where illustrated in the command. It will appear as a space. Note that the Recycle Bin icon won’t work this way.

3. Enable Hidden BootScreen in Windows Vista

The Windows Vista BootScreen is pointless, but Microsoft decided to hide a more visually appealing boot screen that can easily be enabled with very little trouble. I’m not sure why they didn’t make the boot screen better.

1) Press Win+R, type msconfig and press Enter.

2) If User Account Control prompts you to allow the action, click on Continue.

3) In the "System Configuration" window, click on the Boot tab.

4) Select your Windows Vista installation and under "Boot options", check "No GUI boot". Press OK.

5) In the dialog that appears, check "Don’t show this message again", and then click on Restart.

6) Your computer will now reboot, and you will see the Aurora boot screen with text that says "Starting Windows Vista".

Note: You may get a Windows Defender error on the next startup. You can enable the system config utility using the tray icon and this error will go away.

4. Fix for COM Surrogate Has Stopped Working Error in Vista

If you’ve been getting the error COM Surrogate has stopped working whenever you browse folders containing Divx avi files, it looks like the latest Divx update to codec version 6.5 fixes the issue, but it also seems to remove the thumbnails. If you want to upgrade, just use the divx update checker to grab the new version. Looks like it’s finally fixed, at least the error message is now gone, although I really wish they would have just gotten the thumbnails working instead.

If you are using Nero, you will need to update to version 7.7.5.1 to fix the problem. I think this is the source of the error for most people.
If you’ve upgraded Nero and Divx and still have the problem, you can try renaming the file C:Program FilesCommon FilesAheadDSFilterNeVideo.ax to NeVideo.ax.bak This will break Nero Showtime, however.

5. Stop an Application from Running at Startup in Windows Vista

Back in the old days, there were a lot of places an application could hook itself to run at startup. You had to check the registry in more than one place, as well as your start menu. With Windows Vista, there’s a built-in panel that handles all that for you. To quickly get to this panel, you can open Control Panel, and then type “startup” into the search box. The link for “Stop a program from running at startup” shows up immediately. You could have also opened Windows Defender and fooled around with the menus until you find the right spot, but this seems quicker to me. Now you can see the Windows Defender screen that lets you manage the startup programs. You can choose to Remove or just Disable any startup item using this panel, as well as lots of other useful information so that you can see what each item is.

6. Emptying Windows Vista Temp Files Directory

Windows Vista Disk Cleanup wizard is really not all that bad, but I did find a small problem with it… It doesn’t fully empty your temp folder. It only allows you to delete temporary files that haven’t been modified in a week. If you’ve recently done a lot of editing or something that generates large temporary files, you may want to manually clean up. Just type in %TEMP% into the start menu search box, and hit enter. You’ll immediate be taken to the temporary files folder, where you can delete whatever you feel like.

7. Disable User Account Control(UAC) For Administrators Only

If you can’t stand the User Account Control prompts, but you’d still like to retain a little bit of security, you can disable it for Administrator accounts only. What we’ll be doing is actually changing Windows Vista to automatically elevate the privilege level for administrators without prompting. The nice thing about doing it this way is that regular users as well as Internet Explorer still run as regular users, and would still use the normal security mechanisms. To configure this setting on Windows Vista Business and Ultimate, you can use the Local Security Policy configuration.

Just type in secpol.msc into the Start menu search box and hit enter.
Now browse down to Local Policies Security Options
Find the following in the list: “User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode” and double-click on it.
Change the setting to “Elevate without prompting”. You should be all done.

This is an easier method that you can use to do the same thing from the GUI interface.

Open up Control Panel, and type in user account into the search box.
You’ll see the link for “Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off”. Click it.
Uncheck the box, and reboot your computer. You should be done with obnoxious prompts!

8. Using Windows Vista System Restore

Windows Vista has a feature called System Restore that automatically backs up registry and system files whenever you install new software or drivers. This feature is useful when you install evil software that makes your computer run really slow. But don’t worry, System Restore won’t remove Windows Vista.

Using System Restore in Windows Vista

There are two places that you can use the system restore feature from. From within Windows, you can just type restore into the Start menu search box, and you’ll immediately see System Restore at the top of the start menu, or you can type rstrui into the search box and hit enter. Your choice. You will immediate see a screen where you can choose to roll back the system to the last restore point. You can select “Recommended restore”, and just click next, or you can choose a different restore point. If you do choose a different restore point, you will see a list of restore points that you can choose from. Click one of them, and you will have to confirm and then restart your computer to roll the system back. If your system won’t boot If you can’t even get into windows, you can boot off the installation dvd, and choose the “Repair your computer” option on the lower left hand side. Click next on the next screen. Now choose System Restore from the System Recovery dialog. It will take a few seconds to come up, and you will see the same screen that you would see in Windows. Click next, and on the next screen select the drive that your copy of Windows Vista is installed on. Click Finish, and Vista will roll back to the previous restore point. Really pretty simple stuff. I absolutely recommend keeping the system restore feature on in Vista !

9. Verify the Integrity of Windows Vista System Files Windows Vista includes a utility that will scan your system for corrupt, changed or missing system files. Running this from the command prompt is much easier than booting off the dvd into repair mode. To run this utility, you will need to open a command prompt in administrator mode. You can do that by right clicking the Command Prompt in the list and choose "Run as Administrator" Once you have an administrator command prompt open, you can run the utility by using the following syntax: SFC [/SCANNOW] [/VERIFYONLY] [/SCANFILE=] [/VERIFYFILE=] [/OFFWINDIR= /OFFBOOTDIR=] The most useful command is just to scan immediately, which will scan and attempt to repair any files that are changed or corrupted. You can run that command with this command: sfc /scannow

10. Disable Hibernation & delete the Hibernation file

Windows places a file on your hard drive that it uses when your computer goes into hibernation mode. If you do not use hibernation mode, or your computer does not properly support it, you may want to disable hibernation and clear the file off your hard drive to free up some space (the file will use as much space as you have in physical memory, so if you have 1GB of RAM, it’s going to use 1GB of your hard drive space).

Disable Hibernation:

1. Click Start, All Programs, and then right click on "Command Prompt".

2. From the context menu click on "Run as administrator".

3. If User Account Control prompts you to allow the action, click on Continue.

4. In the command prompt window, type "powercfg –h off" (without the quotes).

5. Close the Command Prompt window.

Delete the Hibernation File:

1. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then click "Disk Cleanup".

2. If prompted to choose a drive, select the drive in which Windows Vista is installed on to and press OK.

3. Disk Cleanup will scan the hard drive and present you with a list of options.

4. Check "Hibernation File Cleaner", and then click OK.

5. When asked "Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files?" click on the Delete Files button .