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CHAPTER 10 Troubleshooting Windows

This chapter covers the following A+ exam topics: . Repair Environments and Boot Errors . Windows Tools and Errors . -Line Tools You can a master list of A+ exam topics in the “Introduction.” This chapter covers CompTIA A+ 220-701 objectives 2.1, 2.2, and 3.4 and CompTIA A+ 220-702 objectives 2.1, 2.3, and 2.4.

Now for the toughest part of working with Windows: troubleshoot- ing. As I mentioned in Chapter 1, “Introduction to Troubleshooting,” troubleshooting is the most important skill for a technician to possess. There are many different things that can go wrong in a computer; the majority of them are -related. This chapter endeavors to give you the tools, utilities, and skills necessary to trou- bleshoot the various boot errors, stop errors, and other Windows errors that you might encounter.

Repair Environments and Boot Errors

Windows startup errors prevent you from accessing the . Because of this, and XP have various startup tools, menus, and repair environments that you can use to trou- bleshoot these startup and boot errors.

Windows Repair Tools There are many tools included with Windows Vista and XP that are designed to you troubleshoot and repair just about any issue that 266 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows might come up. Before we get into the exact issues you might face, let’s dis- cuss some of these repair tools, what they do, and where you can access them. Let’s with the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Advanced Boot Options Menu If Windows Vista/XP/2000 won’t start and you don’t see an error message, the culprit might be a video driver, new configuration, or other system issues. There are several startup options that can aid in fixing the problem. To access these startup options, press the F8 key immediately after the computer starts up; this brings up the Windows Advanced Boot Options menu, as shown in Figure 10.1.

FIGURE 10.1 Windows Vista Advanced Boot Options menu

The following options are included in the Advanced Boot Options menu: . : Starts system with a minimal set of drivers; used in case one of the drivers fails. Safe Mode is a good option when attempting to use . . Safe Mode with Networking: Starts system with a minimal set of driv- ers and enables network support. . Safe Mode with Command Prompt: Starts system with a minimal set of drivers but loads command prompt instead of Windows GUI. 267 Repair Environments and Boot Errors

. Enable Boot Logging: Creates a ntbtlog.txt file. . Enable low-resolution video (640x480): Uses a standard VGA driver in place of a GPU-specific display driver, but uses all other drivers as normal. (This is called Enable VGA Mode in Windows XP/2000.) . Last Known Good Configuration: Starts the system with the last con- figuration known to work; useful for solving problems caused by newly installed hardware or software. . Directory Services Restore Mode: This is used to restore a domain controller’s (Windows ). Even though it is listed, it is not used in Windows Vista/XP/2000. . Debugging Mode: Enables the use of a program to examine the system kernel for troubleshooting. . Disable automatic system on system failure (Vista only): Prevents Windows from automatically restarting, if an error causes Windows to fail. Choose this option only, if Windows is stuck in a loop in which Windows fails, attempts to restart, and fails again repeatedly. . Disable driver signature enforcement (Vista only): Enables drivers containing improper signatures to be installed. . Start Windows Normally: This can be used to boot to regular Windows. This option is listed in case a person inadvertently pressed F8, but did not want to use any of the Advanced Boot Options.

ExamAlert Know the Advanced Boot Options for the exam.

If Windows Vista fails to start properly, and then restarts automatically, it nor- mally displays the Windows Error Recovery screen and gives you the follow- ing options: Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, Safe Mode with Command Prompt, Last Known Good Configuration, and Start Windows Normally. This means that Windows has acknowledged some sort of error or improper shut down and offers a truncated version of the Advanced Options Boot menu. 268 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

Note

There is a small window of available to press F8; it’s right between the BIOS and when the normal operating system boots. Press F8 repeatedly right after the BIOS POST begins.

Note

It is recommended that you attempt to repair a computer with the Advanced Boot Options before using Windows Vista’s System Recovery Options or Windows XP/2000’s .

Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) WinRE is a set of tools included in Windows Vista, 2008, and other upcoming Windows operating systems. It takes the place of the Recovery Console used in Windows XP/2000. Also known as System Recovery Options, WinRE’s purpose is to Windows from errors that prevent it from ; it can also be instrumental in fixing issues causing a computer to “freeze” up. There are two possible ways to access WinRE: . Booting to the Windows Vista DVD: This option is common with an individual computer that had Windows Vista installed; for exam- ple, if you performed a clean installation with the standard Windows Vista DVD and made no modifications to it. To start WinRE, make sure that the DVD drive is first in the boot order of the BIOS, boot to the Windows Vista DVD (as if you were starting the installation), choose your language and click next, and then select Repair Your Computer, which you can find the lower-left corner of the screen.

Note Important! Do not select Install Now because that would begin the process of rein- stalling Windows Vista on your hard drive.

. Booting to a special partition on the hard drive that has WinRE installed: This option is used by OEMs (original equipment manufac- turers) so that users can access WinRE without having to search for and boot off of a Windows Vista DVD. These OEMs (computer builders and system integrators) will preinstall WinRE into a special partition on 269 Repair Environments and Boot Errors

the hard drive, separate from the operating system, so that the can boot into it at any time. Compare this to the older Recovery Console that was installed into the same partition as the operating system. To access WinRE that has been preinstalled, press F8 to bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu, highlight Repair Your Computer, and press Enter. If you don’t see Repair Your Computer in the Advanced Boot Options menu, then it wasn’t installed to the hard drive, and you have to use option 1, booting from the Vista DVD. Note that you can still use option 1, even if WinRE was installed to the hard drive; for example, in a scenario where the hard drive installation of WinRE has failed.

Note The process to install WinRE to the hard drive is a rather complicated one and is not covered on the A+ exam. However, if you are interested, here is a link that gives the basics of installing WinRE: http://blogs.msdn.com/winre/archive/2007/01/ 12/how-to-install-winre-on-the-hard-disk.aspx.

Regardless of which option you selected, at this point a window named System Recovery Options should appear, prompting you to select an operat- ing system to repair. Most users will only have one listed. Highlight the appropriate operating system in need of repair and click Next. This displays the options at your disposal, as shown in Figure 10.2. Table 10.1 describes these options in more depth.

FIGURE 10.2 Windows Vista System Recovery Options window 270 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

TABLE 10.1 Description of the Windows Vista System Recovery Options System Recovery Option Description Startup Repair When clicked, this automatically fixes certain problems, such as missing or damaged system files that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. When you run Startup Repair, it scans your computer for the problem and then tries to fix it so your computer can start correctly. System Restore Restores the computer’s system files to an earli- er point in time. It’s a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as email, documents, or photos. Note: If you use System Restore when the computer is in safe mode, you cannot undo the restore operation. However, you can run System Restore again and choose a different restore point, if one exists. Windows Complete PC Restore This restores the contents of a hard disk from a backup. Windows Complete PC is only included with Vista Business and Vista Ultimate. Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool Scans the computer’s memory for errors. Command Prompt Advanced users can use the Command Prompt (Replaces the Recovery to perform recovery-related operations and also Console in XP/2000) run other command-line tools for diagnosing and troubleshooting problems. Puts the user into a directory called X:\Sources. Works very much like the previous Recovery Console in Windows XP/2000, with the addition of a few new com- mands.

Recovery Console The Windows XP/2000 Recovery Console is the command-line interface used for repairs. It is included on the Windows XP and 2000 -ROMs. The Recovery Console can be invaluable when the system cannot start from the hard drive due to missing or corrupted files. These missing files could very well block the Advanced Boot Options menu. To start Windows XP’s Recovery Console, you have two options: Option 1: Boot the computer to the Windows XP CD-ROM and run the Recovery Console. Option 2: Boot from a previously installed Recovery Console. This appears as part of the operating system boot menu but not if startup files have been affected. 271 Repair Environments and Boot Errors

To run the Recovery Console from CD-ROM: 1. Boot the system from the Windows XP CD. 2. When prompted, press R to start the Recovery Console. (In , you would press R for Repair and then for the Recovery Console.) 3. Log into Recovery Console by selecting the installation to log into and providing the Administrator password for the operating system.

To install the Recovery Console to hard disk: 1. While in Windows, insert the Windows CD-ROM into the drive. (Close any pop-up install windows.) 2. Open the Run prompt and x:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons. (For this scenario, x is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive, this is usually D:, but will vary from system to system.) 3. Confirm the installation by clicking Yes and restart the computer. Now, Windows Recovery Console should appear on the boot menu. Select it to start Recovery Console.

ExamAlert

Memorize the different WinRE options in Vista, and know how to use the Recovery Console in XP.

Boot Errors There are various reasons why a computer will fail to boot. If it is operating system-related, you will usually get some type of message that can help you to troubleshoot the problem. Windows Vista and Windows XP have different boot files, so it stands to reason that they have different boot error messages.

Windows Vista Boot Errors Windows Vista uses the bootmgr and BCD files during the startup process. If these files are corrupted or missing, you see corresponding error messages: . BOOTMGR is missing: This message is displayed if the bootmgr file is missing or corrupt. This black screen will probably also say Press Ctrl+Alt+ to Restart; however doing so will probably have the same results. 272 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

There are two methods to repair this error. The first is to boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Startup Repair option. This should automatically repair the system and require you to reboot. If this doesn’t work, try the second method, which is to boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Command Prompt option. Type the command bootrec /fixboot, as shown in Figure 10.3.

FIGURE 10.3 Repairing BOOTMGR.exe with Windows Vista’s WinRE Command Prompt

Note A hard drive’s lifespan is not infinite. In some cases, it is not possible to repair this file, and unfortunately the hard drive will need to be replaced.

. The Windows Boot Configuration Data file is missing required information: This message means that either the Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr) entry is not present in the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store; or the Boot\BCD file on the active partition is damaged or missing. Additional information you might see on the screen includes File: \Boot\BCD, and Status: 0xc0000034. Unfortunately, this means that the BCD store needs to be repaired or rebuilt. Hold on to your hats; there are three methods of repair for this error: The first method of repair is to boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Startup Repair option. This should automatically repair the system and require you to reboot. If not, on to method 2. The second method of repair is to boot to the System Recovery Options and select the Command Prompt option. Type bootrec /rebuildbcd. At this point the bootrec.exe tool either succeeds or fails. If the Bootrec.exe tool runs successfully, it displays an installation 273 Repair Environments and Boot Errors

to a Windows directory. To add this entry to the BCD store, type Yes. A confirmation message appears that indicates the entry was added successfully. If the Bootrec.exe tool can’t locate any missing Windows installations, you’ll have to remove the BCD store and then re-create it. To do this, type the following commands: Bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup c:\boot\bcd bcd.old Bootrec /rebuildbcd

Methods one and two will usually work, but if not, there is a third method which is more in depth and requires rebuilding the BCD store manually. For more information this step-by-step process can be found at the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927391.

Windows XP/2000 Boot Errors Windows XP and 2000 use the NTLDR (boot loader), Boot.ini, NTDETECT.COM, and Ntoskrnl.exe files during startup. If any of these files are corrupted or missing, you see one of the following error messages: . NTDETECT failed: This is displayed if the NTDETECT.COM file is missing or corrupt. . NTLDR is missing: This is displayed if the NTLDR file is missing or corrupt. . Invalid boot.ini: This is displayed if the boot. is missing or cor- rupt. In some cases, the operating system will boot anyway because there is usually only one disk partition on the hard disk. If not, the file will need to be recopied to the hard disk.

To repair these issues, you can . Reboot to the Windows CD and access the Recovery Console (XP/2000); then recopy the file from the Windows CD-ROM or from backup media. . Reboot to the Windows CD, select Repair, and run the Emergency Repair option (Windows 2000). . Repair the installation or restore of Windows. (More on restoring Windows later in this chapter). CramQuiz Repair Environments and Boot Errors

ExamAlert

Know how to recover from Windows Vista and XP boot errors.

Cram Quiz Answer these questions. The answers follow the last question. If you cannot answer these questions correctly, consider reading this section again until you can. 1. Which option starts the system with a minimal set of drivers? ❍ A. Last Known Good Configuration ❍ B. System Restore ❍ C. Safe Mode ❍ D. Debugging Mode

2. Which tool should be used if a person wanted to do Startup Repair in Windows Vista? ❍ A. Recovery Console ❍ B. WinRE ❍ C. System Restore ❍ D. Safe Mode

3. What switch should be used to install the Recovery Console to a hard drive? ❍ A. /recovery ❍ B. /winnt32 ❍ C. /console ❍ D. /cmdcons

4. What command repairs the bootmgr.exe file in Windows Vista? ❍ A. bootrec /fixboot ❍ B. bootrec /fixmbr ❍ C. bootrec /rebuildbcd ❍ D. boot\bcd

5. Which tool should be used to fix the NTLDR if it is missing or corrupt? ❍ A. Safe Mode ❍ B. bootrec /fixmbr ❍ C. Recovery Console ❍ D. WinRE 276 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

Windows Tools and Errors

Windows could fail while you are working within the operating system. Quite often, error messages will accompany these failures. There are various Windows repair tools you can use to troubleshoot these issues. The worst possible scenario is when Windows fails and cannot be repaired. In these cases, a restoration is necessary. There are several types of restoration tech- niques available to you in Windows as well. But before restoring the system, since it can be very time-consuming and possibly unnecessary, you should attempt to troubleshoot with Windows repair tools first.

Troubleshooting Within Windows If there are not any boot errors, then Windows should start and operate prop- erly. However, errors (recoverable ones) can occur while Windows is running. Devices can fail, applications can terminate for various reasons, and hardware could suffer performance issues.

Device Manager The can detect if a device is malfunctioning, if it has the wrong driver installed, if it has a conflicting resource (like an IRQ or I/O set- ting), or if it has been disabled. Figure 10.4 shows a malfunctioning PCMCIA adapter. You know it’s malfunctioning because of the exclamation mark (!) within a yellow circle. The figure also shows a disabled IEEE 1394 adapter, the proof is indicated by the red X. These devices won’t work properly until they are fixed. Of course, we can’t just leave these devices this way! A clean Device Manager is a good sign of a healthy computer. When a user opens this program, they should see nothing but collapsed categories; none of them should be open. Conflicting resources like IRQs and I/O settings are really a thing of the past and are controlled automatically. But it is certainly possible for a issue. Perhaps the driver failed, or the wrong one was installed initially, or a device was updated with the wrong type of driver. Either way, we would need to repair it by opening the Device Manager, right-clicking on the device with the exclamation point, and selecting Properties. Take a look at Figure 10.5. Notice the at the top of the screen: It says Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller. Then underneath where it says Manufacturer, you see the name Vadem. Well, that’s a different manufacturer altogether, so something went wrong along the way. (Really, I broke it for demonstration purposes!) 277 Windows Tools and Errors

FIGURE 10.4 Device Manager window in Windows XP showing a disabled device and a malfunctioning device

FIGURE 10.5 PCMCIA Device Properties window

To repair this, install the correct Texas Instruments driver. This might be on the hard drive already, or maybe the user has a disc that came with the com- puter containing this driver. Perhaps it needs to be downloaded from the 278 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

Internet. Internet installs are usually quite easy; download the .exe (or .zip) file and double-click it to install. But if the driver is already on the computer, it might be a bit more detailed. For example, you might need to find a specific .inf file, or you might need to search for the driver within Windows’ driver database (a manual install), which is what we will do in the following steps: 1. In the Properties window of the device, click the Driver tab. 2. Click Update Driver. The wizard appears. 3. Click the Install from a List or Specific Location radio button and click next. 4. The next screen tries to find the driver automatically; you can try this, but chances are it will just reinstall the same driver that was already there. Instead, click the Don’t Search. I Will Choose the Driver to Install radio button and click Next. 5. On the next screen, you see compatible hardware. If the list of compati- ble hardware does not match with the name of your device, deselect the Show Compatible Hardware check box. Then, you get a list of manufac- turers and models. If the manufacturer/model that you want is not on the list, you need to click Have Disk and search for the driver that could be elsewhere on the system, on removable media, or is something that you downloaded, or will download from the Internet. Figure 10.6 shows the correct driver being selected. This driver is served up by Windows, so it is a Microsoft driver. However, for other devices, you might want to use the manufacturer’s driver, which would have to be downloaded from their website. Click next and then finish to complete the installa- tion. Sometimes a restart of the computer is necessary.

As mentioned, a red X on a device means that it has been disabled. To enable it, simply right-click it and select Enable. You can also enable it on the General tab of its Properties sheet. It is possible to create a hardware profile that disables certain devices. To find out if a hardware profile is used, restart the computer and watch for a hardware profile menu when the computer first boots. Codes can be helpful when troubleshooting issues with devices. If a device is malfunctioning or is configured incorrectly, it should show a code number within its Properties sheet on the General tab. Table 10.2 gives a few exam- ples of these codes. 279 Windows Tools and Errors

FIGURE 10.6 Driver selection by manufacturer and model

TABLE 10.2 Description of Codes in the Device Manager Device Manager Recommended Code Number Problem Solutions Code 1 This device is not configured correctly. Update the driver. Code 3 The driver for this device might be Close some open corrupted, or your system might be applications. running low on memory or other Uninstall and reinstall resources. the driver. Install additional RAM. Code 10 Device cannot start. Update the driver. View MSKB article 943104 for more informa- tion. Code 12 This device cannot find enough free You can use the resources that it can use. If you want to Troubleshooting Wizard use this device, you need to disable one in Device Manager to of the other devices on this system. determine where the con- flict is, and then disable the conflicting device. Disable the device.

Note These are just a few examples of the codes you might see in the Device Manager. For a complete list, see the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310123. 280 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

Event Viewer Applications are a boon and a bane to mankind. They serve a purpose, but sometimes they are prone to failure. The operating system itself can cause you grief as well by underperforming, locking up, or causing other intermittent issues. One good tool for analyzing applications and the system is the . The Event Viewer tells a technician a lot about the status of the operating - tem and programs. It informs as to informational events, warns about possible issues, and displays errors as they occur. It can be accessed from Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools, or through within the System Tools node in the Computer Management console window. Information, warnings, and errors are stored in log files. In Vista they are inside a folder called Windows Logs; in XP they are directly within the Event Viewer. There are three log files located inside the Event Viewer that you should know for the exam: . System: The System log contains information, warnings, and errors about hardware, device drivers, system files, and so on. This log deals primarily with the operating system. . Application: The Application log contains events about programs that are built into Windows, such as the Command Prompt or Windows Explorer, and might contain information about applications that have been loaded after the operating system was installed. . Security: The Security log holds information that was gathered for auditing and security purposes; for example, it might log who logged on to the computer, or who tried to gain access to a particular file.

An event can be viewed by double-clicking on it, as shown in Figure 10.7. In Figure 10.7, you can see an Event with a simple description: The Windows Security Center Service Has Started. It’s self-explanatory and is a typical example of an informational event. The fact that this service started is stan- dard procedure. However, if you are getting any warnings (indicated by an exclamation point), they should be investigated when time is available. And if errors are received (indicated by an X), they should be investigated right away; an example of an error is shown in Figure 10.8. 281 Windows Tools and Errors

FIGURE 10.7 Event Properties windows

FIGURE 10.8 Event Properties Windows showing an error

The error in Figure 10.8 is showing that the operating system was expecting a transaction from the stisvc service but never received it due to a . This service is installed by Windows to help interact with digital cameras and 282 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows graphical input devices. If something like this happens only once, it isn’t usu- ally a big deal, but if you see it regularly, you would want to investigate fur- ther. Perhaps a device that uses the service is not working properly or needs a new driver, or maybe the service that the stisvc service is dependent on needs to be restarted. You can find more information by either typing in the code number for the event or the description into Microsoft Help and Support: http://support.microsoft.com. Sometimes you can find out information about these types of services just by running a search, but it is best to go to the source that is Microsoft. You never know when an error can occur, so the Event Viewer logs should be reviewed regularly. Entire logs can be erased by right-clicking on the log file (for example System) and selecting Clear all events. The system asks if you want to save the log for future viewing. By right-clicking a log and selecting Properties, you can modify the size of the log, and in Vista, can disable logging altogether.

ExamAlert Be able to describe the System, Application, and Security log files for the exam.

Problem Reports and Solutions, and Dr. Watson Problem Reports and Solutions is a new program in Windows Vista that can be accessed directly within the Classic view of the . Problem Reports and Solutions enables you to check for solutions to hardware and software problems. Windows can be set to report problems and check for solutions automatically, or solutions can be checked for manually when a problem occurs. To modify how problems will be reported, click the Change settings link. Problem descriptions and solutions are saved, for later viewing. This program took the place of Dr. Watson in Windows XP/2000 that was used as a system and application failure analysis tool. Dr. Watson can be accessed in XP/2000 by opening the Run prompt and typing drwtsn32. Application failures that are listed in Dr. Watson are rare and are often listed in the Application log of the Event Viewer as well.

Performance Another tool that you can use to analyze and troubleshoot applications is called Performance in Windows XP and is known specifically as the Reliability and in Windows Vista. This program tracks how much your devices are utilized; for example, what percentage of the processor is used, or how much RAM. 283 Windows Tools and Errors

This tool can be accessed within Administrative Tools. When you open the Reliability and Performance Monitor in Windows Vista, it opens to a window that graphs the usage of the CPU, disks, network, and memory, as shown in Figure 10.9; these are ActiveX graphs like the ones used in the Performance tab of the .

FIGURE 10.9 Resource overview within the Reliability and Performance Monitor of Windows Vista

By clicking on Performance Monitor, you can track the usage of any device in the computer (known as objects), in a variety of measurements (known as counters). By default this screen tracks only the CPU. This screen is similar to the default screen that comes up in Windows XP’s Performance window. In XP, this screen automatically tracks the Processor, RAM, and hard disk. By clicking the + sign toward the top of the window, you can add devices to track, and in a myriad of ways. Information can be viewed in different formats like line charts and histograms and can also be viewed in Report view. They can be exported as well. However, any objects that are added in this program are not saved when you close the window. But it is possible to configure the program so that it saves your additions; enter the MMC. (You remember the MMC from Chapter 9, “Maintaining Windows.”) From an MMC a user can add the ActiveX Control called System Monitor that is the Performance Monitor. You can also add Performance Logs and Alerts to log your findings and alert you to any changes or tripped thresholds. The MMC saves its contents and 284 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows remembers the last place you were working in, which works great if you are going to be analyzing the same things day in and day out.

Msconfig Msconfig can help troubleshoot various things, from operating system startup issues to application and service problems. From Msconfig (open the Run prompt and type ), one can select different modes of startup, for example loading only basic devices, or diagnostic startup. A user can also shut down individual services and programs that would normally be loaded at start- up, an invaluable tool. Aside from that, some of the Advanced Boot Options can be accessed, which normally are accessed by pressing F8 when the system starts up.

Stop Errors A stop error (also known as a or BSOD) is the worst type of error that can happen while Windows is operating. It completely halts the operating system and displays a blue screen with various text and code. Anything you were working on is for the most part lost. In some cases, it reboots the computer after a memory dump has been initiated. (This is also known as auto-restart.) If not, you need to physically turn the computer off at the power button and turn it back on. Some BSODs happen only once, and if that is the case, then you need not worry too much. But if they happen two or three times or more, you should investigate why. Quite often they are due to a corrupt driver file. If you see two columns of information with a list of drivers and other files, that is probably the case. Look at the bottom of the second (or last) column and identify the driver that has failed, for example cdrom.sys. These drivers can become corrupt for a variety of reasons and would need to be replaced when you boot into Windows, or if you can’t boot into Windows, replaced from within WinRE’s Command Prompt (Vista) or the Recovery Console (XP/2000). Less commonly a BSOD might be caused by a memory error that will have additional code that you can research on Microsoft’s web- sites (MSKB and TechNet). By default, two things happen when a Stop error occurs: . An event will usually be written to the System Log within the Event Viewer, if that option has been selected in the Startup and Recovery window, as shown in Figure 10.10. When a STOP error is written to the System Log, it is listed as an Information entry, not as an Error entry. The STOP error will be listed as “The System Has Rebooted from a Bugcheck. The Bugcheck was (Error Number).” Use the error number 285 Windows Tools and Errors

to look up the problem, and hopefully find a solution, on the MSKB and/or TechNet.

FIGURE 10.10 Startup and Recovery window

The settings shown in Figure 10.10 can be accessed in the following ways: . In Windows Vista: Click Start, right-click Computer, select Properties, click the link for Advanced system settings, select the Advanced tab, and click the Settings button in the Startup and Recovery box. . In Windows XP: Click Start, right-click My Computer, select Properties, select the Advanced tab, and click the Settings button in the Startup and Recovery box. . Windows will write debugging information to the hard drive for later analyses with programs such as Dumpchk.exe; this debugging informa- tion is essentially the contents of RAM. The default setting in Windows XP is to only write a portion of the contents of RAM, known as a Small Memory Dump; this is written to %systemroot%\Minidump, as shown in Figure 10.10. Or you could configure Windows to do a Kernel mem- ory dump, which is the default in Windows Vista. The Kernel memory 286 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

dump is saved as the file %systemroot\MEMORY.DMP that is larger than the minidump file. Both operating systems support the option for a Complete Memory Dump, which dumps the entire contents of RAM to a file once again named MEMORY.DMP. This must be where the phrase “My computer just took a dump…” comes from! For more infor- mation on how to analyze the debugging information resulting from these stop errors, see the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315263.

ExamAlert Know how to make configuration changes in the Startup and Recovery window.

Additional Windows Errors and Error Reporting Windows errors less serious than STOP errors might display a pop-up win- dow like the one shown in Figure 10.11 after the application has closed. Figure 10.12 shows a critical error (runaway loop) that caused an application to close. However, the operating system and other applications still function. Figure 10.13 displays a critical application error known as a general protection fault (GPF) that also caused the application to fail, but again, without crashing the operating system.

FIGURE 10.11 An error 287 Windows Tools and Errors

FIGURE 10.12 A critical error

FIGURE 10.13 A General Protection Fault (GPF)

As you can see, Windows Vista/XP/2000 can recover from these types of errors and continue to function. More information can be found about the error in the Event Viewer, and in the case of Figure 10.11, the error report information can be viewed just by clicking on the link Click Here within the error window. You also have the option of sending an error report to Microsoft, in the hopes of acquiring a solution or fix. To enable/disable error reporting in Windows Vista, navigate to Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Problem Reports and Solutions > Change settings > Advanced settings. To find out if any new solutions are available, click the Check for New Solutions link within Problem Reports and Solutions. To enable/disable error reporting in Windows XP, navigate to the System Properties window, Advanced tab, and click the Error Reporting button.

Restoring Windows Beyond even stop errors, a complete system failure is when a system cannot be repaired. When this happens, the only options are to reinstall or to restore Windows. There are several methods for restoring Windows. Chapter 9 showed how to back up the system and create System Restore points. Now let’s show how to restore entire system backups, restore data, and restore the computer to an earlier point in time. 288 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

Restoring from Windows Vista’s Complete PC Backup To restore a system from the backup: 1. Insert the installation disc, and then restart the computer. (Make sure that the DVD drive is listed first in the BIOS boot order.) 2. Press any key when prompted to do so to boot off of the DVD. 3. Choose your language settings, and then click Next. 4. Click Repair your computer. 5. Select the operating system you want to repair (usually there will be only one), and then click Next.

Note If you are restoring a 64-bit system using a 32-bit Complete PC backup or a 32-bit system using a 64-bit Complete PC backup and have more than one operating sys- tem installed, do not select an operating system. If an operating system is selected by default, clear the selection by clicking a blank area of the window, and then click Next.

6. On the System Recovery Options menu, click Windows Complete PC Restore, and then follow the instructions. Insert the last DVD of the backup set when prompted to do so.

Restoring from Windows XP’s ASR Backup To restore a system with ASR, you need the Windows XP Professional CD, the ASR backup media, the ASR floppy disk, and the computer must have a floppy drive. Follow these steps to restore the system: 1. Boot to the Windows XP CD. 2. Press F2 to start Automated System Recovery. 3. Insert the ASR floppy disk. 4. Provide the backup media when asked for it.

When ASR is finished, applications need to be reinstalled and any data back- ups need to be restored. 289 Windows Tools and Errors

Restoring to an Earlier Condition in Windows Vista and XP To restore your system to an earlier condition in Windows Vista 1. Access the System Protection tab again, and this time click the System Restore button. This opens the System Restore window. 2. Select either Recommended restore, or Choose a different restore point. 3. The Recommended restore point asks you to confirm. If you choose a different restore point, you will need to select the appropriate one and confirm. 4. The system initiates the restore and automatically restarts.

Windows Vista also enables you to undo a system restore, if it did not repair the problem. To restore your system to an earlier condition in Windows XP 1. Close any open programs and save your work before you start the process. 2. Navigate to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. This opens the System Restore window. 3. Click Restore My Computer to an Earlier Time and click Next. 4. Select a date from the . (Dates that have restore points are in bold text.) 5. Select a restore point and click Next. The system will shut down, restart, and start the restore.

Using System Restore with Advanced Boot Options If you cannot boot into Windows XP, try starting your computer using the Safe Mode option; then start System Restore . Click Restore My Computer to an earlier time, and click next. This returns your system to a previous state. You can also start a System Restore with Safe Mode with Command Prompt option. If you are prompted to select an operating system, use the arrow keys to select the appropriate operating system for your computer, and then press enter. Log on as an administrator or with an account that has administrator 290 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows credentials. At the command prompt, type %systemroot%\system32\ restore\rstrui.exe, and then press Enter. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer to a functional state. If System Restore is not available, it might be turned off. Within Windows Vista you can enable or disable System Restore on any from the System Properties window > System Protection tab. Simply check or uncheck any volume that you want to enable or disable. Within Windows XP, the state of System Restore affects all drives; you can only turn the utility on and off. This is done from the System Properties window > System Restore tab. You can also change the amount of disk space it uses here. Be aware that System Restore is not necessarily the first thing you should try when troubleshooting a computer. Simply restarting the computer has been known to “fix” all kinds of issues. It’s also a good idea to try the Last Known Good Configuration. This can be accessed within the Windows Advanced Boot Options menu by pressing F8 when the computer first boots.

Note

Third-party programs such as Ghost and Acronis True Image can be used to restore a system from an image file, but the end result all depends on how long ago you imaged the machine in the first place. Factory recovery discs can also be used, but these usually return the operating system back to its original state. Any data would have to be restored afterward from some sort of backup.

ExamAlert

Know the various ways a system can be restored.

The Six-Step Troubleshooting Process Revisited Remember to try to use the CompTIA six-step troubleshooting process when troubleshooting software issues. They are Windows Tools and Errors CramQuiz

Step 1: Identify the problem. Step 2: Establish a theory of probable cause. (Question the obvious.) Step 3: Test the theory to determine the cause. Step 4: Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and imple- ment the solution. Step 5: Verify full system functionality and if applicable implement pre- ventative measures. Step 6: Document findings, actions, and outcomes.

By using a methodical troubleshooting process like this one, you are organiz- ing your thoughts and actions, and probably, saving time and effort in the long run.

ExamAlert

Memorize the six-step CompTIA troubleshooting process for the exam.

Cram Quiz Answer these questions. The answers follow the last question. If you cannot answer these questions correctly, consider reading this section again until you can. 1. What could a yellow exclamation point in the Device Manager indicate? ❍ A. Disabled device ❍ B. Event Viewer error ❍ C. Incorrect driver ❍ D. Device is not installed

2. Which log file in the Event Viewer contains information concerning auditing? ❍ A. System ❍ B. Application ❍ C. Internet Explorer ❍ D. Security 293 Command-Line Tools

Command-Line Tools

Let’s face it; the command-line interface, or CLI, is where the extreme techs live. Some things are just easier to do in the command line, or the functionali- ty needed might be accessible only in the command line. In this section we cover two groups of commands: First, ones that run from within Windows, and second, ones that should be run within the Recovery Console (XP) or the Command Prompt option in WinRE’s System Recovery Options (Vista). Commands use what are known as switches. For example, if you typed /?, the switch would be /?. Switches are also referred to as parameters or options.

Windows Command Prompt Microsoft’s name for the command line is the Command Prompt. The Command Prompt can be found in Start > All Programs > Accessories. However, if you troubleshoot Windows Vista, you probably need to run the Command Prompt in elevated mode (as an administrator), which can be done in one of two ways: 1. Click Start > All Programs > Accessories; then right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. 2. Click Start and type cmd in the search field, and instead of pressing Enter, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

Chkdsk By running the command , this tool checks a disk, fixes basic issues like lost files, and displays a status report; it can also fix some errors on the disk by using the /F switch. Here’s an example of the three stages of results when running the chkdsk command: The type of the is NTFS. Volume is WinXPC. WARNING! F parameter not specified. Running CHKDSK in read-only mode. CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)... File verification completed. CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)... Index verification completed. CHKDSK is recovering lost files. Recovering orphaned file ~WRL3090.tmp (59880) into directory file 28570. 294 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

Recovering orphaned file ~DFA188.tmp (59881) into directory file 28138. CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)... Security descriptor verification completed. Correcting errors in the master file table’s (MFT) BITMAP attribute. Correcting errors in the Volume Bitmap. Windows found problems with the file system. Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these. 31471300 KB total disk space. 13053492 KB in 56091 files. 16340 KB in 4576 indexes. 0 KB in bad sectors. 133116 KB in use by the system. 65536 KB occupied by the log file. 18268352 KB available on disk. 4096 bytes in each allocation unit. 7867825 total allocation units on disk. 4567088 allocation units available on disk.

Notice that the utility warned us that the /F switch was not specified, and because of this it ran in read-only mode. Also notice that the orphaned files were recovered, although they are just .tmp files, and most likely not neces- sary for the functionality of Windows. Finally, the program found issues with the file system; if we wanted to repair these, we would have to use the /F option. Be sure that you really need to run chkdsk with the /F parameter before doing so. For example, if the system seems to function properly, but the standard chkdsk command gave an error, it might not be absolutely neces- sary to run chkdsk with the /F parameter.

SFC (SFC) is a Windows Vista/XP/2000 utility that checks protected system files. It replaces incorrect versions or missing files with the correct files. SFC can be used to fix problems with Internet Explorer or other Windows applications. To run SFC, open the command prompt and type SFC with the appropriate switch. A typical option is SFC /scannow, which scans all protected files immediately. Another is SFC /scanonce, which scans all protected files at the next boot. If SFC finds that some files are missing, you are prompted to reinsert the original operating system disc, so the files can be copied to the DLL cache.

Convert The command enables you to convert a volume that was previously formatted as FAT32 over to NTFS, without losing any data. An example of 295 Command-Line Tools the convert command would be convert d: /FS:NTFS, which would con- vert the hard disk volume D: to NTFS. Sometimes you might encounter older ’ hard drives (or flash media) that require being formatted as NTFS for compatibility with other devices and networked computers.

Format is a command used to format magnetic media such as hard drives and solid-state media such as USB flash drives to the FAT, FAT32 or NTFS file systems. An example of formatting a USB flash drive in the command line would be format F:. The type of file system that the media will be format- ted to can be specified with the switch /FS:filesystem, where file system will equal either FAT, FAT32, or NTFS. For more information on the various switches available with format, type format /?.

Diskpart The utility is the command-line counterpart of Windows’ Disk Management program. This program needs to be run by typing diskpart before any of the diskpart actions can be implemented. This brings the user into the DISKPART> prompt. From here you can create, delete, and extend volumes, assign drive letters, make a partition active, and so on. Essentially, everything that was covered in the Disk Management portion of Chapter 9 can be done with Diskpart. When you finish using Diskpart, type to return back to the standard command prompt.

Defrag This is the command-line version of the Disk Defragmenter. To analyze a disk, type the command defrag –a. If a volume needs to be defragmented, but has less than 15 percent free space, use the –f parameter.

Xcopy The Xcopy command is meant to large amounts of data from one location to another; entire directory trees even. One example of it’s usage would be to copy the contents of a Windows Vista DVD-ROM over to a USB flash drive so that you can use the USB flash drive as installation media. The command for this would be d:\*.* /E/F e:\. This is assuming that D: is the DVD-ROM drive, and E: is the USB flash drive. *.* means all files with all extensions within the D: drive. /E indicates that all folders and subfolders will be copied including empty ones. /F displays full source and destination files while copying. For more information about Xcopy type xcopy /?. 296 CHAPTER 10: Troubleshooting Windows

ExamAlert

Memorize as many of the commands mentioned in this section as you can!

Recovery Command Prompt Windows Vista’s System Recovery Options Command Prompt and Windows XP’s Recovery Console are used to repair issues with the operating system. For example, a system file causing the system to fail at startup can be copied from installation media. This environment can also be used to edit files and run commands that can fix the and . In this section I refer to both Windows Vista’s System Recovery Options Command Prompt and Windows XP’s Recovery Console collectively as “recovery Command Prompts” for easier reading.

Edit The edit command can be used to create and modify text files within Windows or within a recovery Command Prompt. For example, maybe the boot.ini file in Windows XP needs to be modified. Within the root of C: the command to modify this would be simply edit boot.ini. Here is an exam- ple of a default Windows XP boot.ini file that has some incorrect information: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=” XP Professional” /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

Did you notice the error? The default %systemroot% folder name in Windows XP is \Windows, not \Winnt, as is incorrectly shown in line 3. Line 3 contains what is called an Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) path. It tells us the type of disk being used, which disk and partition the operating is installed to, and finally the installation folder. Errors within an ARC path can be easily fixed with the edit command, or you could simply delete the file, and Windows XP would re-create a default boot.ini automatically upon restart. However, the file that XP re-creates automatically would be a default file, assuming one hard drive with the operating system installed to the C: drive. Any other configurations would require the boot.ini be modified. For example, if Windows was installed to D: instead of C:, the “partition” section of the ARC path would have to be modified to partition(2). If using SATA or IDE hard drives, the default setting for rdisk is 0, which means the first hard 297 Command-Line Tools drive; the default setting for partition is 1, which means the first partition on the drive. Note that the partition setting does not start with 0. For more infor- mation on ARC paths, an older but still valid article can be found at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/102873.

Copy The copy command obviously copies files from one location to another. An example of its usage in a recovery-based Command Prompt would be to a missing NTLDR file in Windows XP. To do this, the file would have to be copied from the CD-ROM to the hard disk. Assuming that all drive let- ters are standard (hard disk is C: and CD-ROM drive is D:), the syntax for this would be copy d:\i386\ c:\. This copies the NTLDR file from the I386 folder on the CD-ROM to the root of C: on the hard drive.

Expand Sometimes you can’t just copy files from a DVD/CD to the hard drive. Many of these files are compressed. If a file ends with an underscore, for example ntoskrnl.ex_ then it is a compressed file and has to be expanded. Let’s just say that it was a dark day and that ntoskrnl.exe had failed. You can’t do much without that core operating system file. To fix the problem in the recovery Command Prompt, you would expand the file from DVD/CD to the hard drive. In a standard environment where the hard drive is C: and the DVD/CD drive is D:, the syntax would be expand D:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe. This decompresses the file and places a copy of the decompressed version on the hard drive. Be sure to type the entire name of the file in the destination; otherwise, you will need to rename the file.

Note The edit, copy, and expand commands can also be used within Windows in the Command Prompt.

Other Recovery Environment Commands If Windows Vista has startup issues, you can use several commands: . bootrec /fixboot—Replaces the bootmgr file and writes a new Windows Vista compatible boot sector to the system partition. CramQuiz Command-Line Tools

. bootrec /fixmbr—Rewrites the Windows Vista compatible master boot record to the system partition. . bootrec /rebuildbcd—Repairs the BCD store. . bootrec /ScanOs—This scans all disks for installations compatible with Windows Vista. This option also displays the entries that are cur- rently not included in the BCD store. Use this command if there are Windows Vista installations that the Boot Manager menu does not list.

If Windows XP has startup issues, there are a couple of commands that you can use: . FIXMBR—Use this command to repair the MBR of the system partition. Use this command if a virus has damaged the MBR and Windows can- not start. . FIXBOOT—Use this command to write new Windows boot sector code to the system partition.

Note For an advanced description of the Recovery Console and all its commands, see the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058.

Cram Quiz Answer these questions. The answers follow the last question. If you cannot answer these questions correctly, consider reading this section again until you can. 1. Which command can fix lost files? ❍ A. Defrag ❍ B. Diskpart ❍ C. Chkdsk ❍ D. FIXMBR

2. Which Recovery Console command will decompress a file as it copies it to the hard drive? ❍ A. Extract ❍ B. Expand ❍ C. Compress ❍ D. Encrypt

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