Exam Prep 2 [Electronic resources] : Windows XP Professional نسخه متنی

Chapter 8. Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Input/Output Devices and Drivers

Objectives

This chapter helps you to prepare for the exam by covering the following Microsoft-specified objectives for the Implementing, Managing, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers section of the Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional exam:

Implement, manage, and smart card reader.

Manage and troubleshoot drivers and driver signing.

• The second objective within this chapter goes hand in hand with the first objective. I/O devices require a software component, called a device driver, to enable them to perform under the Windows XP Professional operating system. An administrator must be able to physically connect a device and implement, upgrade, and roll back its device driver.

Monitor and configure multiprocessor computers.

• Windows XP Professional supports a maximum of two processors, whereas Windows XP Home Edition recognizes only a single processor when installed on a multiprocessor computer. Administrators should be able to identify when a multiprocessor computer is being recognized accurately by the operating system, as well as how to configure the operating system to recognize both processors.

Outline

Study Strategies

• Device Manager is the primary tool for viewing and configuring I/O devices. In addition, Control Panel includes several utilities geared to configuring specific types of devices, such as printers, modems, network adapters, keyboards, mice, and more. Replace or install the various I/O devices in a test computer, and then customize the configuration using each device's specific utility.

• Device drivers are often provided directly from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). To familiarize yourself with how these device drivers function, obtain new device drivers for existing hardware on a test computer. Update the driver and review the changes that appear under Control Panel and in Device Manager. Roll back the device driver, and then review any further changes. Run Performance Monitor (Perfmon) to see the performance differences between the drivers.

• Using a test computer, install it with two monitors and two video adapters. Start the computer to see how the two monitors are treated by Windows XP. Configure multiple-monitor support using the Display utility in Control Panel. Start the computer in Safe Mode, and rename one of the video drivers. Restart normally and see how the computer responds.