Essential Tech Utilities

Essential Tech Utilities

1. Control Panel

   • The Control Panel handles most of the maintenance, upgrade, and configuration aspects of Windows. As such, the Control Panel is the first set of tools for every tech to explore. In Windows XP, Vista, and 7, a Control Panel button appears directly on the Start menu by default
   • A large number of programs, called applets, populate the Control Panel. The names and selection of applets vary depending on the version of Windows and whether any installed programs have added applets
   • Device Manager
     • The Device Manager enables techs to examine and configure the hardware and drivers in a Windows PC
     • The Device Manager displays every device that Windows recognizes, organized in special groups called types
   • System Tools
     • The Start menu offers a variety of tech utilities in one place: choose Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools. In the System Tools menu, you’ll find commonly accessed tools, such as System Information and Disk Defragmenter
     • Activate Windows (All)
       • System tool available in all windows versions that allows you to Activate Windows at any time in case we choose not to activate it at install
     • Backup (XP)
       • Available only in XP, that enables you to back up selected files and folders to removable media such as tape drives
     • Backup Status and Configuration (Vista)
       • System Tool available only in Vista, that enables you to only back up personal data
     • Backup and Restore (7)
       • System Tool available only in Windows 7, that enables you to only back up personal data
     • Character Map (All)
       • System tool available in all windows versions, that enables you to copy any Unicode character into the clipboard
     • Disk Cleanup (All)
       • System tool available in all windows versions that looks for unneeded files on your computer, which is handy when your hard drive starts to get full and you need space
     • Disk Defragmenter (All)
       • System tool available in all windows versions that was designed to increase access speed by rearranging files stored on a disk to occupy contiguous storage locations
     • Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (XP)
       • System Tool available only in XP that copies your desktop files and folders, and most conveniently, your settings from Internet Explorer (IE) and Outlook Express
     • Windows Easy Transfer (Vista, 7)
       • - System Tool available only in Windows 7. - It is an updated version of the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. - Adds the ability to copy user accounts and other settings
     • Scheduled Tasks/Task Scheduler (All)
     • Security Center (XP, Vista)
       •  Is the one-stop location for configuring many security features on your computer
     • Resource Monitor (7)
       • Provides a quick overview of allocated resources - This shows you immediately which programs are running and the CPU, memory, hard drive, and network usage for each.
     • System Information (All)
       • shows tons of information about the hardware and software on your PC
     • System Restore (All)
       •  It enables you to take a “snapshot”—a copy of a number of critical files and settings—and return to that state
     • BitLocker (Vista and 7 Enterprise and Ultimate)
       • - It is a tool to encrypt files, folders, or entire hard drives. - It requires the correct version of Windows and a hardware chip on the motherboard called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
     • Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
       • - It is simply a shell program in Windows that holds individual utilities called snap-ins. - You can add as many snap-ins as you like, and you have many from which to choose.
   • Administrative Tools
   • Administrative Tools
     • - It combines the most popular snap-ins into one applet. - It is a folder that stores a number of premade consoles
   • Computer Management
     • - Some of of its components are: System Tools and Storage, System Information, Performance Logs and Alerts, Reliability and Performance, Device Manager, and more.
   • Event Viewer
     • It enables you to see what has happened in the last day, week, or more, including when people logged in and when the PC had problems.
   • Performance (Windows XP)
     • It consists of two snap-ins: System Monitor and Performance Logs and Alerts. You can use these for reading logs—files that record information over time
   • Reliability and Performance Monitor (Vista)
     • - It offers just about everything you can find in the Performance applet of older versions of Windows. - In addition, it includes the Reliability Monitor. The Reliability Monitor shows what’s been done to the computer over a period of time, including software installations and uninstallations, failures of hardware or applications, and general uptime
   • Services
     • - It runs a large number of separate programs. - It shows the status of all services on the system, including services that are not running
   • Action Center (Unique to Windows 7)
     • - It provides a one-page aggregation of event messages, warnings, and maintenance messages. - Unlike Event Viewer, It separates issues into two sections, Security and Maintenance, making it easier to scan a system quickly 
   • Action Center (Unique to Windows 7)

2. Right-Click

   • Right-clicking an object brings up a small pop-up, or context, menu, and it works on almost everything in Windows. What you see when you right-click varies dramatically, depending on the item you click. If you right-click a data file icon on the desktop