Lab Check off Sheet and Report

 

Certification Tests and Objectives Covered in Labs

A+ Operating System

A+ Hardware

Network+

Windows 2000 Professional 70-210

Windows 2003 Server 70-290

CISCO 640-801

X

1.0 OS Fundamentals

X

1.0 Installation, Configuration, and Upgrading

 

1.0 Media and Topologies

 

Installation

 

Managing and Maintaining Physical and Logical Devices

 

Planning and Designing

X

2.0 Installation, Configuration and Upgrading

X

2.0 Diagnosing and Troubleshooting

 

2.0 Protocols and Standards

 

Implementing and Conducting Administration of Resources

 

Managing Users, Computers, and Groups

 

Implementation and Operations

X

3.0 Diagnosing and Troubleshooting

X

3.0 Preventative Maintenance

 

3.0 Network Implementation

 

Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers

 

Managing and Maintaining Accesses to Resources

 

Troubleshooting

 

4.0 Networks

 

4.0 Motherboards, Processors, and Memory

 

4.0 Network Support

 

Monitoring and Optimizing System Performance and Reliability

 

Managing and Maintaining a Server Environment

 

Technology

 

 

 

5.0 Printers

 

 

 

Configuring and Troubleshooting the Desktop Environment

 

Managing and Implementing Disaster Recovery

 

 

 

 

 

6.0 Basic Networking

 

 

 

Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Network Protocols and Services

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Implementing, Monitoring, and  Troubleshooting Security

 

 

 

 

 

Check off each of the labs as you complete them below. Turn this in with your lab reports.

 

Requirement

Completed

Filled Out Lab Sheet

Not Attempted (0 on labs for unit)

Lab 4-1 Installing RAM

 

 

 

Lab 4-2 Understanding the Config.sys File

 

 

 

Lab 4-3 Memory Management in DOS

 

 

 

Lab 4-4 Loading mouse drivers in DOS

 

 

 

Lab 4-5 Planning and Pricing Memory

 

 

 

Lab 4-6 Using MSD to view memory

 

 

 

Lab 4-7 DDR SDRAM

 

 

 

Lab 4-8 Memory Management in Windows 2000

 

 

 

Lab 4-9 Memory Management in Windows NT

 

 

 

Lab 4-10 Memory Management in Windows 98

 

 

 

 

LAB 4-1 INSTALLING RAM

Materials Required

À        Windows 98

À        Toolkit

À        Grounding strap

À        Grounding mat

À        DOS floppy

 

ACTIVITY

1.      Check out a grounding strap and toolkit from me.

2.      Clear your workstation area and shut down and unplug the computer.

3.      Ground yourself and remove the cover.

 

Removing RAM (DIMMS)

4.      Locate the DIMM banks on your system board.

5.      On either end of the DIMM, gently pull the latches open and press down on them until you see the DIMM chip begin to move.

6.      Gently and evenly, pull the DIMM chip straight up and free from the system board.

7.      Repeat these steps until you have completely emptied the system board.

8.      Plug in and restart the computer. What happens?

 

Installing RAM (DIMMS)

1.      Locate the DIMM banks on your system board.

2.      Gently and evenly slide the DIMM into one of the slots on the bank.

3.      Firmly and evenly press on the top edge of the DIMM with your thumbs until it slides into place. (The latches should close when the DIMM is properly installed. If they won’t close, reseat the DIMMS and try again.)

4.      Plug in the power cord.

5.      Power on your lab workstation.

6.      Enter the CMOS Setup program.

7.      Verify that the Setup program recognizes the correct amount of memory.

8.      Save the changes and reboot the workstation.

9.      Allow your lab workstation to boot into Windows 9x.

10.  Right-click the My Computer icon.

11.  Select Properties from the shortcut menu.

12.  On the General tab, locate the Computer heading.

13.  Verify that Windows 9x is using all of the installed memory.

 

 

Installing RAM (SIMMS)

SIMMS install much the same as DIMMS with a few exceptions.

1.      The SIMM modules must be installed in pairs.

2.      The first module must be in the first SIMM slot. The slot should be marked SIMM1.

3.      Both SIMMs should be the same size and speed.

4.      The DIMMs are installed by lining them up with the slot perpendicularly and pushing straight down. A SIMM is installed by sliding it into the slot at an angle, sliding it in, then straightening it until it clicks into space (see below).

 

 

Loosen a memory module on a system board and boot the PC. What error do you get?

 
 
 

 


Recording the characteristics of RAM

In the following section, write the full description of each type of RAM; be sure to include the most common usages for each type of memory, typical memory speed, and a brief description of the physical characteristics. You will find the definitions online! Just Google it! Finding and copying the information will help you memorize it; once you are out in the field, you will be expected to know this information from memory.

 

 

Module Type

Description

Speeds

Sizes (in MB or GB)

Special Features

SRAM

 

 

 

 

DRAM

 

 

 

 

DIMM

 

 

 

 

Parity RAM

 

 

 

 

Nonparity RAM

 

 

 

 

EDO RAM

 

 

 

 

FPM RAM

 

 

 

 

Flash Memory

 

 

 

 

SDRAM

 

 

 

 

DDR

 

 

 

 

Thumb drives

 

 

 

 

COAST

 

 

 

 

RDRAM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lab 4-2 Examining the CONFIG.SYS

1.       Start your lab workstation in MS-DOS mode.

2.       At the command prompt in the root directory, type EDIT CONFIG.SYS and press Enter. Your lab workstation should respond by launching the EDIT program and opening the CONFIG.SYS file.

3.       On the following lines copy the contents of your CONFIG.SYS; then next to each command, write how your lab workstation should respond. Every CONFIG.SYS can be different; the purpose of this exercise is to teach you how to interpret the commands that you find in the CONFIG.SYS file on your workstation. You will find the command definitions online at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=232557

 

Command

Syntax

Description

BUFFERS

BUFFERS=40

This command tells DOS how many buffers to maintain when transferring data to and from secondary storage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review Questions

Circle True or False.

1.       When you install memory into a Pentium-class system board that uses 72-pin SIMMs, the memory must always be installed in pairs. True / False

2.       Conventional memory includes the first 128K of RAM. True / False

3.       EDO stands for extended data output. True / False

4.       EDO RAM is faster than FPM RAM. True / False

5.       Flash memory is commonly used as a cache for desktop PCs. True / False

6.       If the following line were added to your CONFIG.SYS file, what would it tell your computer to do? DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS

 

 

 

7.       What would the following command tell your PC to do?  EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT

 

 

 

 

 

8.       If the following line were added to your CONFIG.SYS file, what would it tell your computer to do?  Dos=high,umb

 

 

 

Lab Notes

What is conventional memory?—Conventional memory, or base memory, is the first 640K of RAM.

What is upper memory?—Upper memory includes memory addresses starting at 641K and going up to 1024K.

What is extended memory?—Memory addresses above 1024K are referred to as residing in extended memory.

What is expanded memory?—Expanded memory is memory that falls outside the linear memory addressing scheme. Note that expanded memory normally is accessed via upper memory. Refer to your textbook for more information about expanded memory.

What is virtual memory?—Virtual memory is an area of secondary storage that is set aside to be used as an area of RAM. Note that because it is secondary storage the access time is considerably slower than that of RAM.

What is ECC?—ECC (Error checking and correction) is a chip set feature on the system board that checks the integrity of data stored on DIMMs and can correct single-bit errors in a byte. More advanced ECC schemas can detect, but not correct, double-bit errors in a byte.

 

 

Lab 4-3 MEMORY MANAGEMENT IN DOS

Objective

The objective of this lab is to make you familiar with some common methods of memory management available in DOS. After completing this lab exercise, you will be able to:

_ Load TSRs from AUTOEXEC.BAT.

_ Use the MEM command to view your workstation’s current memory configuration.

ACTIVITY

Loading a TSR high

1.   Allow your lab workstation to boot to DOS.

2.   Insert the TSR disk provided by your instructor. The program is called addit.

3.   Use the COPY command to copy the TSR and all related files from the disk to the root directory of your lab workstation.

4.   Make C:\ your current directory. What is the name of the TSR you just copied over? ____________________

5.   Type EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT and press Enter.

6.   Add the following to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: LH C:\tsr.tsr. (Note: The TSR.TSR should be replaced with the name of the TSR on the disk.)

7.   Press the Alt key.

8.   Use the down arrow [↓] to select Save from the File menu.

9.   Press the Alt key.

10.  Use the down arrow [↓] to select Exit from the File menu.

11.  Reboot your lab workstation.

12.  To verify that the TSR loaded, attempt to use its function.

 

 

Using the MEM command

1.   Allow your lab workstation to boot to DOS.

2.   Type MEM at the command prompt and press Enter.

3.   Compare the information provided by the MEM command to Table 4-1.

 

 

Review Questions

Circle True or False.

1.       TSR stands for terminate safety return. True / False

2.       TSRs are programs that stay in memory even when they are not being used. True / False

3.       TSRs can be loaded into memory only via the CONFIG.SYS. True / False

4.       You can use the MEM command to view the amount of available hard drive space.

1.       True / False

5.       The HIMEM.SYS file is used primarily to test conventional memory. True / False

6.       If the following line were added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, what would it tell your computer to do?

LH c:\myfile

Lab Notes

 

 

What is a TSR?—A TSR is any program or device driver that resides in memory even though it is not active. TSR stands for terminate and stay resident.

What is HIMEM.SYS?—HIMEM.SYS is a device driver used to manage expanded memory in the DOS environment. If HIMEM.SYS fails to load, reboot the PC and check your CONFIG.SYS to verify that the path is specified correctly.

 

Lab 4-4 Installing Mouse drivers

1.       Get a floppy disk from me.

2.       Format the floppy by typing format a:\ at the DOS prompt.

3.       Take the disk into the software lab and go to our site. In this unit you’ll find a link that reads mouse drivers. Download the drivers to your folder.

4.       Unzip the files. Save the drivers to the disk.

5.       Read the “readme” file on the disk. (You may want to print it from the other lab to make it easier.)

6.       Load the driver as instructed. (Note, if you cannot use the setup program, manually copy over the files and manually change AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS.

7.       Open AUTOEXEC.BAT. What line has been added?

 

 

8.       What line has been added to CONFIG.SYS?

 

 

9.       Demonstrate moving the mouse in DOS. (Open Edit and use the mouse in that program.)

10.   Get checked off.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lab 4-5 Planning and Pricing Memory

Look up the following system boards on the internet and answer the questions below. (Hint: Go to www.motherboards.org).

 

Ž      eVGA nForce 4

Ž      Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe

Ž     Abit AN8 SLI

 

What is the maximum amount of memory the banks on your system board can accommodate? Look in a computer catalog, such as Computer Shopper, or on the Internet and determine how much it costs to fill the banks to full capacity. Don’t forget to match the speed of the modules, and plan to use only the size modules your computer can accommodate.

 

Motherboard

Speeds mobo will accommodate

Price per module

eVGA nForce 4

 

 

Asus P5ND2-SLI

 

 

Abit AN8 SLI

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lab 4-6: Using MSD to View Memory

  1. Complete this lab in Windows 98.
  2. Access MSD by typing MSD in the run command.
  3. Access its view of memory on your computer. Get a printout of the MSD memory report.
  4. How much RAM is installed on your machine?

 

 

  1. How much virtual memory is installed?

 

 

  1. What is the swap file space being used?

 

 

Now reboot into Windows 2000

 

Windows 2000 does not have MSD, it does however have a similar program.

 

  1. In the run box type msinfo32.
  2. Access its view of memory on your computer. Get a printout of the MSD memory report.
  3. How much RAM is installed on your machine?

 

 

  1. How much virtual memory is installed?

 

 

  1. What is the page file space being used?

 

 

Lab 4-7 DDR-SDRAM

 

  1. Go to the following page on Tom’s Hardware Website (this is an awesome site). http://www4.tomshardware.com/mainboard/00q4/001030/
  2. Read the article and answer the questions below:
    1. Which motherboards support DDR-SDRAM?
    2. What was one of the first components that used a DDR chip?
    3. List three vendors of DDR RAM.
    4. How is DDR an improvement over SDRAM DIMMs?
    5. How many pins on a DDR chip?
    6. Is DDR compatible with SDRAM?
    7. What are the maximum operating frequencies of the CAS 2 latency?
    8. What are the maximum operating frequencies of the CAS 2.5 latency chips?
    9. What are current speeds and prices? (Do not use the information in this article, which is a couple of years old. Look up prices on www.pricewatch.com.)

 

Size of Module

Speed

Price

Vendor

128 MB

 

 

 

256 MB

 

 

 

512 MB

 

 

 

1 GB

 

 

 

 

 

Lab 4-8 Memory Management in Windows 2000

 

ACTIVITY

Configuring the Windows 2000 swap file

  1. Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.
  2. Click the Advanced tab.
  3. Click the Performance Options button.
  4. Click the Change button.
  5. Click in the Initial Size box and set the value to 150.
  6. Click in the Maximum size box and set the value to 250.
  7. Click the Set button.
  8. Click the OK button on the virtual memory property sheet.
  9. Click the OK button in the alert window.
  10. Click the OK button in Performance Options.
  11. Click the OK button in the System Properties window.
  12. Click Yes when prompted to restart your lab workstation.

  

Controlling the Windows 2000 registry size

  1. Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.
  2. Click the Advanced tab.
  3. Click the Performance Options button.
  4. Click the Change button.
  5. Click in the Maximum Registry Size box and set the value to 55.
  6. Click the OK button.
  7. Click the OK button in Performance Options.
  8. Click the OK button in the System Properties window.
  9. Click the Yes button when prompted to restart your lab workstation.

 

Lab Notes

What are the ideal virtual memory settings for Windows 2000?—To obtain optimum performance from the Windows 2000 operating system, it is recommended that you place one swap file (pagefile.sys) on each physical hard drive except for the boot volume (unless it is the only physical drive).

 

Review Questions

Circle True or False.

  1. Pagefile.sys is the name of the Windows 2000 swap file. True / False
  2. For optimum performance you should always configure a swap file on every partition. True / False
  3. The largest swap file Windows 2000 Professional supports is 125MB. True / False
  4. The Maximum registry size of Windows 2000 Professional is 5.4 MB. True / False
  5. You have just finished installing Windows 2000 Advanced Server for Ronda. Her computer has 3 physical hard drives and 6 logical drives. Windows 2000 is installed on Ronda’s first physical drive (C:\). For Ronda’s computer to be configured for optimum performance, how many swap files would you configure on her server and why?
  6. Linda is attempting to install a new application on her Windows 2000 Professional computer, but it isn’t working. When Linda attempts the installation, her computer says something about “registry quota too low.” Write instructions, in the form of an e-mail to Linda, describing how she can change her registry quota.

 

Lab 4-9 Memory Management in Windows NT

ACTIVITY

Complete this lab in Windows NT

Configuring the Windows NT swap file

1. Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Performance tab.

3. Click the Change button.

4. Click in the Initial Size box and set the value to 85.

5. Click in the Maximum Size box and set the value to 100.

6. Click the Set button.

7. Click the OK button.

8. Click the Close button.

9. Click the Yes button to restart your lab workstation.

 

Controlling the Windows NT registry size

1. Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Performance tab.

3. Click the Change button.

4. Click in the Maximum Registry Size box and set the value to 10.

5. Click the OK button.

6. Click the Close button.

7. Click the Yes button to restart your lab workstation.

 

Lab 4-10 Memory Management in Windows 9x.

 

Complete this lab in Windows 98

Disabling the Windows 9x swap file

1. Allow your lab workstation to boot into Windows 9x.

2. Right-click the My Computer icon.

3. Select Properties from the shortcut menu.

4. Click the Performance tab, as shown in Figure 4-3.

5. Click the Virtual Memory button.

6. Click the Let me specify my own virtual memory settings option button.

7. Place a check mark in the Disable virtual memory check box.

8. Click OK.

9. Click the Yes button on the confirmation message.

10. Click the Close button.

11. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.

12. Observe and describe the performance results:

 

 

 

Specifying a permanent swap file

1. Allow your lab workstation to boot into Windows 9x.

2. Right-click the My Computer icon.

3. Select Properties from the shortcut menu.

4. Click the Performance tab.

5. Click the Virtual Memory button.

6. Click the Let me specify my own virtual memory settings option button.

7. Clear the check mark from the Disable virtual memory check box.

8. Set the minimum swap file size to 150MB.

9. Set the maximum swap file size to 150MB.

10. Click OK.

11. Click the Yes button on the confirmation message.

12. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.

13. Observe and describe the performance results:

4

Allowing Windows to manage its virtual memory

1. Allow your lab workstation to boot into Windows 9x.

2. Right-click the My Computer icon.

3. Select Properties from the shortcut menu.

4. Click the Performance tab.

5. Click the Virtual Memory button.

6. Click the Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings option button, as

shown in Figure 4-4.

 

 

 

7. Click the OK button on the Virtual Memory dialog box.

8. Click the Yes button if you receive a confirmation message.

9. Click the Close button.

10. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.

11. Observe and describe the results:

 

Lab Notes

What is Windows doing when it manages my virtual memory?—By default, Windows 9x will manage your virtual memory. This means that it will size and resize your Swap file as it sees fit. In most circumstances this is the recommended memory-management method.

What are multiple swap files?—Some Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows NT, support multiple swap files to improve the virtual memory management speed and capabilities. However,Windows 95 and Windows 98 do not support that configuration.

What is a memory conflict, and how does it occur?—A memory conflict occurs when two or more applications attempt to use the same memory address or address range.

What is an illegal operation?—These errors vary depending on the situation. You can find out exactly which applications were involved by clicking the Details button. Many times these errors are GPFs (General Protection Fault) and should be handled accordingly.

 

Review Questions

Circle True or False.

    1. Windows 9x has the ability to manage its own swap files. True / False
    2. If you have a new computer, it is always recommended that you disable your virtual memory because it isn’t needed. True / False
    3. The swap file is a folder on the hard drive, and is used by the operating system for virtual memory management. True / False
    4. In Windows 9x each program has its own swap file. True / False
    5. How many swap files can Windows 9x use at the same time?
    6. You are employed as a desktop PC support technician at the Sweet Town Hot Water Company. Billy, one of your customers, has asked that you show him how to disable the swap file on his Windows 95 laptop. In the space below, write instructions for Billy.

 

 

Unit Project

 

You get an email from a frantic customer. He has built his own computer.

 

"I just put together a new system with a Gigabyte 8IPE1000 pro, P4 2.6c, 1 gig of 2700 RAM from Crucial, nVidia 5900se, western digital 80 GB hard drive with 8 meg of cache, and win xp. I also put my old hard drive (Maxtor 30 GB drive) as my second hard drive. My problem comes sometimes when I turn the computer on.

After POST but before win xp starts up I hear two beeps and the computer never gets past detecting the drives (the hard drives and dvd-rom). Some times it gets there but doesn’t recognize the second hard drive.

 

Most of the time it boots fine. Then when I shut the system down sometimes I get the two beeps again and it never shuts off... I just get two beeps every so often. What the heck is going on? Is my RAM bad? Could my old hard drive be screwing things up? Do I not have enough power (I have an Antec true380)? Help please."

 

 

Task One: Create a list of words that must be defined in order to answer the customer’s question.

 

Task Two: Develop a list of questions that must be answered before you can begin fulfilling the customer needs.

 

Task Three: Research the requirements for his motherboard.

 

Task Four: Develop a step by step list of troubleshooting steps to take.

 

Task Five: Research the requirements for the specific kind of RAM he should be/is using on his system. What’s going on?

 

Task Six: Create a package to send back to him that explains what he is doing wrong and how to rectify the situation. (Note: There is a specific answer to this problem, but it isn’t an easy one.)

 

Task Seven: Create a complete proposal that outlines what you can do for the customer. Include drawings and images, price quotes, and other items as applicable.