QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1. How would you Enable or Disable the Firewall in Windows XP? Click Start, click Run, type Firewall.cpl, and then click OK. On the General tab, click Off (not recommended). Click OK. 2. How would you Start or Stop a Windows Service? Open Services. In the details panel, do one of the following: Click the service, and then, on the Action menu, click Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, or Restart. Right-click the service, and then click Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, or Restart. 3. How can you check the IP address of your computer? Click on the start menu button and then on run (or hold down the windows key and R) Type "cmd" (without quotes) and hit enter Once the box opens type "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) and hit enter 4. How to Bookmark a webpage? Click add to favorites. 5. How to access the Windows System Registry? Registry Editor can be accessed by executing regedit from the Command Prompt or from the search or run box from the Start menu. 7. Name some difference between Windows XP and Windows 7. What are their System Requirements? 8. What is Safe Mode? Safe Mode is a special way for Windows to load when there is a system-critical problem that interferes with the normal operation of Windows. The purpose of Safe Mode is to allow you to troubleshoot Windows and try to determine what is causing it to not function correctly. Once you have corrected the problem, then you can reboot and Windows will load normally. 9. What is a MODEM? Modems are networking devices that convert analog and digital data for computer- to-computer communication. Several kinds of modem devices exist for dial-up, broadband and cellular networking. 10. What is SMPS? A Switched-mode power supply (also Switching-mode power supply, SMPS, or simply Switcher) is an electronic Power Supply Unit (PSU) that incorporates a switching regulator in order to provide the required output voltage. An SMPS is actually a power converter that transmits power from a source (e.g., a battery or the electrical power grid) to a load (e.g., a personal computer) with ideally no loss. The function of the converter is to provide a reliable output voltage often at a different level than the input voltage. 11. What is SDRAM SDRAM stands for Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, and it is a fast method of delivering computing capacity. It can run at 133 Mhz, which is much faster than earlier RAM technologies. 12. What is an Operating System? An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer system. Application programs usually require an operating system to function. 13. Name a few ports in your computer? VGA Port: Acronym for Video Graphic Array. Use this for external monitors HDMI: High Definition Multimedia Interface is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data DVI: Digital Video Interface is a video interface standard designed to provide very high visual quality on digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors Ethernet/RJ45: Martin’s illustration calls this RJ45, however according to Wikipedia, this is incorrect and should be called 8P8C (8 Position 8 Contact.) They are usedtypically used to terminate twisted pair cable USB-A: This kind of plug is most frequently seen on cables that are permanently attached to a device, such as one on a cable that connects a keyboard or mouse to the computer 14. What is a Dial-up internet connection? Dial-up Internet access is a connection type that operates through a standard telephone line. By running the telephone line to a modem device in the computer and configuring it to dial a specific phone number, the computer can connect to the Internet. This connection type is usually inexpensive, but slow, and may not be adequate for users who use the web for multimedia and other high-bandwidth applications. 15. What is a Broadband internet connection? A broadband service can transmit information at up to 40 times the speed of a dial-up modem connection. As the connection is always on, like water or electricity, users don't need to dial up every time they want to log on. 16. What is a Wireless Internet Connection? Wireless Internet enables wireless connectivity to the Internet via radio waves rather than wires on a person's home computer, laptop, smartphone or similar mobile device. Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless LANs are also options for wireless Internet connectivity. In these cases, Internet connectivity is typically delivered to a network hub via a wired connection like satellite, cable, DSL or fiber optics and then made available to wireless devices via a wireless access point. 17. What is Last Known Good Configuration? In versions NT and later of the Windows operating system (OS), a copy of a system's hardware configuration and driver settings taken from the system's registry when the OS successfully boots. This copy is stored in case a subsequent boot process fails, and the OS can use the record of the Last Known Good configuration to perform a successful boot. If Windows detects a problem in the boot process, it will add the Last Known Good configuration option to the start up menu. 18. What is Device Manager? The Device Manager is a Control Panel applet in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It allows users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. When a piece of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted for the user to deal with. The list of hardware can be sorted by various criteria. For each device, users can: Supply device drivers Enable or disable devices Tell Windows to ignore malfunctioning devices View other technical properties 19. What are Cookies? Cookies are messages that web servers pass to your web browser when you visit Internet sites. Your browser stores each message in a small file, called cookie.txt. When you request another page from the server, your browser sends the cookie back to the server. These files typically contain information about your visit to the web page, as well as any information you've volunteered, such as your name and interests. 23. What is MSConfig? icrosoft software utility first introduced with Windows 98 and included with all later versions of Windows that enables users to configure how their computer starts and what programs or services automatically load each time the computer starts. Users running these versions of Windows can open msconfig by following the below steps. 24. What is the Blue Screen of Death and what could be it's causes? The 'blue screen of death' is very simply a critical system error which prevents the system from turning on to restrain further damage. Bluescreens on NT-based Windows systems can be caused by poorly written device drivers or malfunctioning hardware. In the Win9x era, incompatible DLLs or bugs in the kernel of the operating system could also cause bluescreens. Bluescreens can also be caused by physical faults such as faulty memory, power supply issues, overheating of components, or hardware running beyond its specification limits. Bluescreens have been present in all Windows-based operating systems since Windows 3.1; earlier, OS/2 and MS-DOS suffered the Black Screen of Death, and early builds of Windows Vista displayed the Red Screen of Death after a boot loader error. Unfortunately there is no fixed cure. you must find the source and repair it, however this can be only done in safe mode and even then it is hard to find. However, if it is not physically strained then the following has always been proven sucessful; 26. What is Cold Boot and Warm Boot? A warm boot is a reboot with the computer power placed in the on position. A cold boot is a reboot with the computer power being off. A cold boot is better because it completes the boot-up sequence. Having had the power off, your computer has cleaned out data that has been placed in different caches or memory holding areas. A cold boot runs the Power On Self Test otherwise known as POST. A warm boot is less stressful though on electrical components. 28. What are PCI Slots? PCI slots are general purpose slots that take a wide variety of cards, such as network cards and sound cards. They only run at 33MHz and are slowly becoming obsolete as more cards are now being made for the newer and faster PCI Express slots instead. When PCI slots appeared in computers they replaced ISA slots, which you will only find in older PCs. 29. What are the types of Printers? Advantages of inkjet printers: 1) Low cost 2) High quality of output, capable of printing fine and smooth details 3) Capable of printing in vivid color, good for printing pictures 4) Easy to use 5) Reasonably fast 6) Quieter than dot matrix printer 7) No warm up time Disadvantages of inkjet printers: 1) Print head is less durable, prone to clogging and damage 2) Expensive replacement ink cartridges 3) Not good for high volume printing 4) Printing speed is not as fast as laser printers 5) Ink bleeding, ink carried sideways causing blurred effects on some papers 6) Aqueous ink is sensitive to water, even a small drop of water can cause blurring 7) Cannot use highlighter marker on inkjet printouts Advantages of laser printers: 1) High resolution 2) High print speed 3) No smearing 4) Low cost per page (compared to inkjet printers) 5) Printout is not sensitive to water 6) Good for high volume printing Disadvantages of laser printers: 1) More expensive than inkjet printers 2) Except for high end machines, laser printers are less capable of printing vivid colors and high quality images such as photos.