4. troubleshooting basics - msad tech training (windows®)

Windows New Hire Training

Troubleshooting Basics

Lesson: Fixing Problems – Manual Methods

© 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft Confidential - For Internal and Partner Use Only

This training package content is proprietary and confidential, and is intended only for users described in the training materials. This content and information is provided to you under a Non-Disclosure Agreement and cannot be distributed. Copying or disclosing all or any portion of the content and/or information included in this package is strictly prohibited. Some elements of this document are subject to change. This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. 02/2011

Microsoft Confidential - For Internal and Partner Use Only 2


Overview

The previous module focused on general Windows topics, and tools used to maintain Windows.

This module moves on to the troubleshooting topics. How to find information on problems in Windows, and tools you can use to troubleshoot those problems.

Goals

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

Identify key troubleshooting resources available for use with Windows.

Discuss error types and methods to capture error details.

Discuss the main usage scenarios for System Restore.

Demonstrate the use of key Windows tools for manual troubleshooting.

List considerations and scenarios for in-place OS reinstall as a support method

Discuss usage and impact of Clean Installation as a support method.

Expected Time for this Module

This module takes approximately 7 hours to complete.

Labs in this module take an additional 8 hours to complete.

The assessment for this module takes an additional 30 minutes to complete.



Lesson: Troubleshooting Resources

Before you can fix problems with Windows, it is important to understand the resources available to you for troubleshooting. These resources include informational content, web sites, tools, and communities that can be leveraged to help resolve customer issues.

This module provides an overview of these resources, along with a cautionary message on the importance of safeguarding the data of our customers.

Goals

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Discuss the resources available for researching problems and solutions.

Describe the risks of following unofficial troubleshooting recommendations.

Identify key Microsoft sponsored information resources.

Discuss the interfaces in Windows which provide troubleshooting information.

Identify scenarios where data loss could be a risk.

Discuss recommended methods for avoiding data loss.

Expected Time for this Lesson

This lesson takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Labs in this lesson take an additional 30 minutes to complete.



Information ResourcesInformation is one of the most powerful troubleshooting resources. If you can find information about a specific symptom, it can lead you to possible causes and resolution steps. Consider using the following resources in your troubleshooting.

Windows Help & How-To

Location: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help

This is the main site for Windows help content online. It includes the contents of in-product help, as well as video resources, updated topics, and troubleshooting recommendations for many issues.

Figure 1: Windows Help & How-to

Why is it helpful?

It is impossible for you to know everything about Windows. You may occasionally receive a call about a Windows feature that is unfamiliar. Windows Help & How-to should be your first stop to learn about such features. It could be that your customer’s issue could be resolved by sharing some information on how to use the feature in question.


http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help


Answers Community

Location: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx

Many of the issues you face while supporting customers have already been investigated and fixed by someone else. The Microsoft Answers community brings many of these together in one place.

Figure 2: Microsoft Answers

Why is it helpful?

The site hosts user-to-user discussions, many of which will contain an answer to a problem someone had on their PC. This alone is great, but the Answers community also receives standalone answers from the community support team in Microsoft. This means that when we know about an issue and have a recommended solution, the Answers community is often the first place where the solution is posted.

This is also a great resource to recommend to customers. They can participate in the community as well, and perhaps next time they need help, they will find an answer here.


http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx


Microsoft Support Online and the Knowledge Base

Location: http://support.microsoft.com

Support Online is the site where customers can search for articles on Microsoft product issues. We also have Solution Center pages for many products, including as Windows 7, which is shown below.

Figure 3: Support Online

Why is it helpful?

Support Online groups solutions by product or technology area on the solution center. This can help you quickly browse articles on various Windows topics. For the most part these link to Knowledge Base (KB) articles – the public-facing view of the same articles you may access through VisualKB.

KB articles have been, and are still, some of the best troubleshooting guides available for issues on Windows. As support professionals, we also have the ability to make improvements to these articles through feedback.


http://support.microsoft.com/


Solution Wizard

Solution Wizard is available in some regions as a resource in the Customer Assistance Portal (CAP). Solution Wizard provides step-by-step guidance on handling a variety of issue types.

Why is it helpful?

Support issues in Windows could be approached with a variety of tools and steps. As you go through this training you will often find several approaches that could be employed to troubleshoot any particular problem.

Solution Wizard helps guide you along an efficient path to resolution. As a result it can help you solve issues more quickly.

Internet Resources

Beyond the Microsoft sites listed above, there are other sites on the web where you may find troubleshooting recommendations or resources to fix an issue. You will also need other sites at times as you search for drivers, or software updates for use with a new Windows version.

Some of the sites you may need, along with the information available at each:

PC Manufacturer Websites

o Drivers and BIOS Updates: Some issues you encounter will be resolved by updates in newer drivers or BIOS updates from the PC manufacturer.

o Communities: You may also encounter issues that are reported by other users of a PC model. When you are assisting on an issue that could be peculiar to a make and model of PC, this is a good resource to check for similar problem reports.

Hardware Manufacturer Websites

o Drivers and Firmware Updates: As with the PC, some issues you encounter will be resolved by updates in newer drivers or firmware updates from the device manufacturer.

Application Vendor Websites

o Updates and Compatibility information: When a customer has a problem running a program on Windows, it is often useful to find out what the application vendor says about their program running on the customer’s Windows version. They may need an update to resolve a problem or make their program compatible.

Search Engines, like Bing

o Everywhere else! This is particularly useful when you have a clear error message or distinct keywords describing the symptom.

o Searching the web can let you know whether the problem has been reported before, and if there are possible solutions.



Caution!

What if you find a solution in one of these resources on the Internet?

Proceed with caution. One other user might recommend steps that they used, but we can’t be sure the steps are safe or effective.

We should review the full scope of actions carefully, and use the steps only if they are safe, reasonable for us to do given our support scope, and likely to be effective. If you can find alternate steps on a Microsoft site, that should be your first solution attempt.

What if you find a BIOS or Firmware update that may solve a problem?

If you are delivering support for Microsoft, you should use great caution. If your customer is familiar with update procedures for their PC or device, they could certainly perform the update on their own.

If you offer to guide them through the process though, you could be putting their hardware at risk. It would be best to recommend that the customer seek assistance, if needed, from their PC or device manufacturer.



Troubleshooting Resources in WindowsWindows also includes some resources for troubleshooting. An outline of these resources is presented in the table below.

Table 1: Troubleshooting Resources in Windows

Resource Description

Windows Windows is a resource of its own. When a customer is performing steps and seeing a problem result, one of the most useful things you can do is try those same steps on your test PC. Many times we find that a customer’s expectation of what the result should be does not match with how Windows works.

If you find a mismatch in expectations, it is important to identify it up-front so that you are not looking for a solution. In this case there is not a problem per se, so you should be looking for an alternative approach the customer could use to accomplish their desired result.

Action Center This new troubleshooting Control Panel provides access to messages about the status of the PC and Windows, as well as troubleshooters that can help diagnose and fix many common issues.

Previous Windows versions provide this information in Security Center, and Problem Reports and Solutions.

Reliability History This is a view of the events taking place on the PC, along with an assessment of overall PC reliability. If problems have started recently, you can look here to figure out when the reliability of the system declined, and use that date as a starting point.

This is called Reliability Monitor on Windows Vista. It is not available on Windows XP.

Event Logs Windows provides these special log files for use by applications and system components. This is useful if the data in Reliability History is not detailed enough. If you are trying to figure out what has happened on a PC recently, this is an excellent place to look.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 provide filtering by event type, so you can quickly get a view of recent problem events in both the Application and System Event Logs.

Demo: Windows Troubleshooting Resources

1. Open the Reliability History and browse recorded events.

2. Open Event Viewer and browse recent events in the System and Application logs.

3. Go to Custom Views and create a new view in Event Viewer. Set the filter to show all Critical, Error and Warning events from both the Application and System logs.



Data Loss/Data RecoveryImportant!In order to ensure Microsoft is doing all it can to prevent data loss; you must provide adequate guidance to our customers when data loss is possible. Use the following considerations and warnings to help ensure our customers’ data is not affected by your troubleshooting.

Before Any Troubleshooting

Before proceeding with troubleshooting it is important to establish whether the customer has critical data on the machine that is not backed up.

Top Priority

Preserving the customer’s data is your top priority. There is nothing more damaging to a customer’s experience with support, and to their satisfaction with Windows and with Microsoft, than data loss.

As a result, make sure that you clearly understand the potential consequences of each action before performing your troubleshooting. If you are not sure whether data loss could occur from a troubleshooting step, get assistance to verify the safety of that action before proceeding.

Inform the Customer

Once you understand the scenario and have identified data loss as a possibility – inform the customer. This should be done in a clear fashion, with options for how you might proceed.

Example: The symptom you are seeing could mean that there is a problem with the hard drive. If you have important data on this drive, it would be good to ensure that you have a recent backup of that data before we proceed.

Understanding where Data Loss is Possible

The risk of data loss is highest in the following scenarios:

Errors related to Storage, Processor or Memory

o Faulty hardware in these categories could cause data loss, or data corruption, where the files remain but they are damaged.

Troubleshooting involves disk changes

o Clean installing Windows, performing disk error checks with repair enabled, deleting large numbers of files to free disk space manually, etc.

o If you or the customer makes a misstep during troubleshooting, data may be lost.

Overall system instability



o If the PC is experiencing multiple issues, such as blue screen errors, hangs or unexpected restarts, this could result in damage to the files on the disk. It could also be a symptom of faulty hardware.

BIOS Changes

o If a BIOS update is needed, or the customer needs to change BIOS settings, changes made could result in a no-boot situation or, in extreme cases, in data loss.

Because of these risks it is critical that you understand the potential consequences of your troubleshooting

Setting Expectations

When data loss is a potential, we recommend that the customer backup any data they have before continuing. If they continue and we do indeed lose the data we recommend that they take the computer to a data recovery specialist.

Standard Disclaimers

The table below shows some disclaimers used by Microsoft support to ensure clear expectations are set before performing several specific risky actions.

Table 2: Data Loss Disclaimers

BIOS DISCLAIMER Modifying BIOS/CMOS settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE DISCLAIMER

Using Third Party Software, including hardware drivers can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Third Party Software can be solved. Using Third Party Software is at your own risk.

FORMAT/CLEAN INSTALL DISCLAIMER

Formatting the hard drive will wipe out ALL data, programs and user settings that you have on the computer. If there is any information on this computer that you do not want to lose, or is not backed up, you will need to make backups before proceeding with the FORMAT/CLEAN INSTALL.

Responding to Data Loss

If a customer reports that there is a problem with the data on their PC, we should proceed with caution. Any actions performed on the PC could reduce the chances of data recovery.



Sometimes data loss may be the reported problem, but it is due to files that have been deleted accidentally. Try and determine if the missing files may have been deleted. If so, we could check the Recycle Bin or Previous Versions interfaces in Windows to restore them.

If accidental deletion is not the likely cause, we should recommend that the customer contact a data recovery specialist to restore the data. We can help get Windows running properly, but we do not have tools to assist with data recovery.



Lab: Troubleshooting ResourcesThis lab provides an exploration of resources for troubleshooting.

Expected Time for this Lab

This lab takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Requirements

To perform this lab you will need the following:

A PC with Windows 7 installed

Internet access

Exercise: Explore Troubleshooting Resources

1. Browse to the Windows Help and How-to site.

a. Find and read an article on using Safe Mode to troubleshoot Windows Vista issues.

b. Find and read an article on using Media Center in Windows 7 to watch TV shows.

2. Go to the Answers community site.

a. Review a few recent Windows 7 threads marked as “Answered”.

3. Go to the Microsoft Support Online site:

a. Find the Windows 7 Solution Center.

b. What is the top issue listed for “Hardware and drivers”, under “General hardware”?

c. Is there a special solution offered, something to help make troubleshooting the issue easier?



Lesson: Errors and Problem Events

There are a variety of tools within Windows that are used to maintain the OS. As an intermediate level user of Windows, you should know about all the tools covered in this section of the course. They can be used to troubleshoot problems with Windows, or problems running applications on Windows.

Goals


Demonstrate the usage of key Control Panel interfaces.

Discuss the differences between normal and safe mode startup.

Demonstrate Clean Boot Troubleshooting procedures.






Errors and Problem EventsWhat should you do if you see an error, or the computer behaves strangely?

The first step is understanding what types of problems you might encounter. Each type of problem suggests a different type of resolution. You might also need to see what a customer is seeing to understand their error.

Errors Overview

You may encounter errors or problems when using Windows. These generally fit into one of the following main categories:

Table 3: Error Types

Error Type Description

Kernel Errors These errors are also known as STOP errors, Blue Screen Errors, BSOD errors and Bugchecks. Kernel errors result when the core of the Windows operating system cannot safely continue operation for some reason.

This may be due to corruption in memory, a problem instruction issued by a driver, a hardware failure, a security violation, or other event that impacts the integrity of the operating system. When Windows encounters this type of error OS activities are halted and an error message is displayed on a full-screen with white text on a blue background.

These errors require the computer to be restarted in order to continue operation. Often this happens automatically, so you may encounter these errors reported as a reboot loop.

Fatal Program Errors Program errors are displayed as "The Program Has Stopped Working" or "<program> has encountered a problem>. The error message is provided by Windows, to inform you of what has happened, because the program encountering the error is terminated when such error events occur.

You may also see this as a program not starting, or closing unexpectedly.

Fatal program errors can result from a problem with the coding of the program, an unintended conflict between related programs (such as Internet Explorer and a browser add-on), or because of damaged program inputs, such as from corrupt files or configuration data.

These errors do not require a restart - Windows can continue normal operation, only the program(s) encountering the error must be restarted.

Program-Specific Errors “Program-specific errors” is a term to describe an error you might see in an application that does not result in the termination of the program. An example would be "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page". This error doesn't mean that IE has stopped working, just that it has handled and reported a problem related to displaying a web page.

These errors are very specific to the program, so it is difficult to make generalizations on what could cause them.



Device Errors Device errors can be encountered when you add a device that does not have a driver in Windows, or when you have a device that has failed to work for some reason.

Access Denied Errors Windows provides security permissions properties for various object types. If a user or program attempts to access an object with insufficient permissions, an Access Denied error is shown.

These errors can be encountered when accessing files, registry settings, network resources or when using an application that interacts with one of those objects.

Finding Error Events

If you suspect that a Windows PC has encountered an error, you can typically confirm the error using one of the following tools.

Problem Reports

The Problem Reports interface in Control Panel provides a record of the errors and problem events that have been collected by Windows. These typically include kernel errors, fatal program errors and device or driver errors.

In addition to recording the error, Problem Reports collects relevant configuration information and error state information to upload to Microsoft. This is used to analyze and resolve top issues encountered by Windows users. When a solution is available, you would be notified via the Action Center.



You can see a list of all the previously captured errors on your machine by clicking Start and then typing “All problem reports”. This should give you a shortcut to open the full Problem Reports interface, as shown below.

Figure 4: Problem Reports

If you find any errors here which have a status of “Not reported”, you can right-click the event and then click Check for solution online. You can also do this to check for a solution to a previously reported problem.



When a solution is known for a problem, the status shows “Solution available”. Viewing the problem details gives you a link to a solution, which could be a link to an update, steps to perform, or a referral to a third party for resolution. A sample solution is shown below.

Figure 5: Problem Reports Solution

Event Viewer

The Event Viewer in Windows is the main location for viewing logging details from various components in the OS. You will find Event Viewer in the Computer Management interface, or by starting it by name from Start, search.

For Windows support we generally focus on the Windows Logs section of this interface, and two event logs in this section:

Application: This log captures entries related to programs.

System: This log contains entries related to Windows, OS services, and other components involved with basic functionality in the OS.

Scanning these logs for recent errors can help give you an idea of what has been happening on a PC. This can show the context of a problem, such that you might find an unreported error just before the error your customer saw. The first event may cause the second.

There are a large set of other logs, which you may have cause to use when troubleshooting specific issues.



Administrative Events View

Looking through the logs can take time, and it may not give you a comprehensive view of errors, as they might be in both Application and System logs, or in other less familiar logs.

You can see many of these in one view using the Administrative Events view under Custom Views, as shown below.

Figure 6: Event Viewer

This view gives you a single interface with errors and warnings from a variety of logs.

Demo: Event Viewer Administrative Events

Open Event Viewer and examine events logged in the Administrative Events view.



General Approach to Errors

When dealing with any of these error types, it is recommended that you follow the same general procedure:

1. Note the exact text of the error message.

a. It is very important to get verbatim errors! This greatly aids your search for a solution.

b. If more details or an error code are available, note the exact error code.

c. If a link is available to obtain more information, use it and see what additional help is available.

2. If offered an opportunity to send a problem/error report, send it! If the error matches up with a solution it will be provided as a response.

a. On Windows 7 you can check for events in the “All Problems” interface in Control Panel. This is a part of Action Center, but is found most easily by searching for the words “all problems” from the Start Menu. This provides a history of problems, so that you can re-submit or check for new solutions later.

b. On Window Vista you can find these events in the Problem Reports and Solutions Control Panel interface.

3. Determine the error type.

a. If the error type is Kernel Error, focus on hardware and drivers.

b. If the error type is a Fatal Program Error, focus on simplifying the Windows configuration. This is discussed as Clean Boot Troubleshooting later in this module.

c. If the error type is Program-Specific, check what program is encountering the error.

i. If it is a part of Windows, such as an error installing updates, a network error, etc., check the logs in Event Viewer for details. Also check the Knowledge Base for information on the specific error.

ii. If the program is from Microsoft, check for troubleshooting guidance in the Answers community and the Microsoft KB.

iii. If it is not a Microsoft program, the customer will likely get better help from the program vendor.

d. If the error type is Device Error, focus your attention in Device Manager.

i. Collect details about the device with the error.

ii. On Windows 7 check in “All Problems” in the Control Panel.

iii. On Window Vista check in Problem Reports and Solutions in the Control Panel.

e. If the error type is Access Denied, focus your attention on discovering what is being accessed, and by whom. If the user cannot access a certain file or registry key:



i. Check a test machine to see how the permissions should be set on the object.

ii. Check for security software that could be preventing access to the object.

iii. Verify the user type - test as an administrator. Test as a new user.



Collecting Symptom InformationWhat if you cannot tell exactly what a customer is seeing when they encounter a problem?

Often the best approach is to collect a screenshot of the steps they are using, or the interface showing the problem. You can do this in a few ways:

Print Screen: Most keyboards have a PrtSc key. This was historically used to print text on-screen to a printer. Windows uses it as a signal that you want to copy the current view, to paste it into a program as a picture.

Problem Steps Recorder: This is available on Windows 7 only, but is the easiest way to collect images of multiple steps taken by a customer when they are reproducing a problem.

Snipping Tool: This is on Windows Vista and later. It enables you to easily collect a screenshot of a window.

Print Screen

The PrtSc key on your keyboard captures what is showing on-screen. Use that key, then paste the picture into an email message. This is the easiest way to get a single-image of what is currently showing. If you arrange windows carefully, you can sometimes collect multiple steps in this single view.

Note: You can paste into the “Paint” program in Windows first, to add drawings to the image, if needed. Then save from Paint to an image file (.PNG and .JPG formats are best for use in email), and send that file in email as an attachment.

Problem Steps Recorder

Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) is a tool that is included with Windows 7. You can use this tool to record your actions in Windows. The steps you have taken are saved in a .ZIP file which contains a MIME HTML (.MHT) file with images showing the steps you have taken. You can share this ZIP file with someone to show them what you have done, either to illustrate a problem or perhaps illustrate a solution to a problem.

The PSR interface is shown here:

Figure 7: Problem Steps Recorder

You can start PSR using one of these methods:

Go to Troubleshooting in Action Center, and choose “Get help from a friend”. Then click Problem Steps Recorder at the bottom of the interface.



Run “PSR” from Start, Search or the Run interface.

Type “Problem Steps Recorder” in the Start Menu search bar.

Using PSR

To use PSR, follow these steps:

1. Start PSR.

2. Click “Start Record”

3. Reproduce the problem you want to record.

4. Return to PSR and click “Stop Record”

5. Choose a location and filename for the resulting ZIP file.

While you are reproducing the problem, you can also use the “Add Comment” button to make a note about what is happening at that step. This typed comment will be included as a text caption for the image at that step in the saved file.

Reviewing Recorded Steps

Once the session has been saved you can open the.ZIP file created by PSR to view the recorded session. The .ZIP file contains a .MHT file which contains an image for each mouse click by the customer highlighted in green in the figure below.

Figure 8: Recorded Problem Steps



The recorded steps include Previous and Next links to navigate. On each step, just click the image to view full size. Another option is to view the recording as a slide show.

PSR Considerations

Before using PSR, there are several considerations to ensure that you are capturing all of your steps.

Consideration Description

Windows and UAC You cannot capture an Administrator window unless you run PSR as Administrator.

Program Window PSR captures the contents of a program window. If your program is using nonstandard UI, or is a full screen program like a game, you may not be able to capture the image.

No Keystrokes PSR does not capture keystrokes. This is intentional to prevent the capturing of sensitive information such as passwords. Use mouse actions where possible for the most easily interpreted results.

Number of Screen Captures As shown in the Settings interface, PSR captures the most recent 25 screen captures in the recording. You can change this number if needed to collect more images, but it could result in a very large output file.

Compared with Snipping Tool PSR and the Snipping Tool each provide screen capture capability. Consider using the Snipping Tool when you only need one or two images, or where it is not important to record mouse activities.

Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool is a tool on Windows Vista and later that can help you take a screenshot. You can choose to capture a Window, a rectangle, the entire screen, or a free-form section of the screen that you circle with your mouse pointer.

See this page for usage steps and an example: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Use-Snipping-Tool-to-capture-screen-shots

The interface is shown below.


http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Use-Snipping-Tool-to-capture-screen-shots

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Use-Snipping-Tool-to-capture-screen-shots


Figure 9: Snipping Tool



Lab: Collecting Error InformationThis lab provides hands-on experience collecting screenshots and error steps.



Requirements



Exercise: Collect Error Information

1. Problem Steps Recorder

a. Use Problem Steps Recorder to record a few actions in the Windows user interface.

b. Save the recording to your desktop.

c. Review the resulting recording file.

d. What level of detail is provided for mouse clicks?

2. Snipping Tool

a. Open the Windows Calculator

b. Use the Snipping Tool to capture a screenshot of the Calculator window.

c. Save the screenshot as a file on your desktop.

3. Print Screen

a. Capture a picture of the screen using the Print Screen key.

b. Open Paint and paste the screenshot, then save as an image file on your desktop.

4. How large are these files?

5. Are any of your files too large to send in email? Limits vary depending on the company providing email. They could be anywhere from 2 MB to 50 MB, but it is more common to see limits toward the smaller end of this range. You may find others with higher limits. Discuss your findings and how they relate email attachment size limits with the instructor and your peers.



Exercise: Examine Problem History

1. Open the Problem Reports interface on your PC.

a. Have you experienced any problems since Windows was installed which are recorded here?

b. Have the reports been sent?

c. Send any reports that are unsent.

d. Are there any solutions available for the problems on your PC? If so, view the solutions available.

2. Open Event Viewer.

a. Expand Custom Views and open the Administrative Events View.

b. What are some recent errors or warnings on your PC?

c. Do these coincide with problems that you noticed?

d. Based on this, do you think that errors in this log view are always a significant problem?

3. Discuss your findings with the class.



Lesson: Fixing Problems – Automated Methods

Once you have collected information about the problem – the error, steps that lead to the problem, whether it is a new problem or old – you are ready to start fixing it. There are several automated tools you can use to fix specific problems.

Goals


Identify the automated troubleshooting methods available in Windows.

Discuss the recommended order of use for automated troubleshooting methods.

Discuss why and when to use System Restore for support.

Identify the risks of using System Restore.






Returning to a Previous StateOne of the most straightforward methods to resolve a recent problem is to return to the working condition. When available, this is the fix that is most likely to work, and one that leaves the PC in a state that we know should be functioning properly.

There are two main methods available for returning to an earlier state: System Restore and Restore from Backup. These are discussed in turn below.

System Restore

System Restore helps you restore your computer's system files to an earlier 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.

Sometimes, the installation of a program or a driver can cause an unexpected change to your computer or cause Windows to behave unpredictably. Usually, uninstalling the program or driver corrects the problem. If uninstalling doesn't fix the problem, you can try restoring your computer's system to an earlier date when everything worked correctly.

System Restore isn't intended for backing up personal files, so it cannot help you recover a personal file that has been deleted or damaged. You should regularly back up your personal files and important data using a backup program.

System Protection

System Restore uses a feature called system protection to regularly create and save restore points on your computer. These restore points save information about file changes as they happen, changes to registry settings and other system information that Windows uses. You can also create restore points manually.

Why should you use System Restore?

The issues we troubleshoot in Consumer Windows support are widely varied. The diversity and complexity of hardware and software configurations means that most customers are running in a unique configuration.

As a result of this complexity we tend to see widely varied issues. Investigating the root cause of problems in every case doesn't bring a big benefit compared to the time required, simply because that root cause may not be seen on any other computer in the world.

How can we solve customer issues efficiently given this?

We should aim to return each customer to a working state as efficiently as possible. And we then watch for trends in the types of issues we receive in order to more intelligently apply root cause analysis when that will result in a wide impact.

System Restore is a big part of how we can do this. Whenever a customer indicates that they were previously in a working state in Windows, we should use System Restore to get them up and running quickly.

Why not wait and run System Restore after doing some other troubleshooting?



Restore Points are created based on change tracking that is monitoring the file system all the time. As you make changes to files on the computer, those changes are stored in the current Restore Point so that we can undo them.

When should you use System Restore?

Whenever facing technical issues, normal troubleshooting techniques and procedures should be performed first before attempting to use System Restore. The utility should be used only after normal troubleshooting has failed to resolve the issue. In those situations it can be used to attempt to resolve the following issues:

Recent Change Causes Startup Problem: Your computer is not booting after making system changes.

Note: In Windows XP you must be able to start in Normal Mode or Safe Mode to use System Restore. In later Windows versions you can use System Restore even when Windows won't start.

System Instability: You have a misbehaving application that is causing system instability.

Undo Recent Changes: You need to undo system-wide changes that have caused problems with the system.

Problem after Driver Update: You have a driver that was installed and is causing other problems or is not functioning.

Issue after Update: You have installed a hot fix or service pack that is causing problems and needs to be removed.

Recent Performance Problem: Your system suddenly started to perform slower and you tried other typical performance troubleshooting measures that didn’t solve your problem.

What are the risks?

System Restore is generally safe to use. The restore process returns program and system files back to the state they were in when the restore point was created. Data files, such as photos and music are unaffected by a restore.

The main risk scenario is when a user has program files added or modified since the restore point was created, and they don't want to lose or revert changes to those files. This might happen if they are a developer working on code on the computer, or someone who has recently downloaded a program and cannot re-download for some reason.

Because there is an undo restore point created during online restore, the action can be rolled back in the event of undesired consequences such as these.

What should be done after System Restore is used?

System Restore has been used, and we're up and running again. Great!



Now we need to be smart about how we proceed. If the problem recurs we should have a history of what changes have happened on the system since that restore.

Recommendations for your customer

These tips can help ensure that we can help your customer more quickly should the problem recur:

Keep notes on the changes you make to the computer, and updates you install for the next few days/weeks.

Perform changes such as update installation and application/driver installation individually. If you perform changes in groups it will be much harder to determine what specific action is contributing to the issue.

Watch for and note any changes outside of the computer and software. This could be specific users on the computer when the problem returns, temperature changes, electrical storms, etc.

Check periodically to see if the problem has returned. This means:

o If the problem is a startup failure, restart the computer regularly while keeping notes, and always after making changes/additions/removals on the computer.

o If the problem requires specific steps to be performed to see it, perform those steps regularly while keeping your notes.

o If you see the problem return, identify the last change to the system, and the recent changes preceding that change.

Using these tips you can help ensure that we can help the customer more quickly and identify specific conditions related to the problem.

Demo: Using System Restore

Perform the following tasks:

1. Check the System Protection Settings.

2. Discuss disk space usage of System Protection.

3. Create a new restore point.

4. View current System Restore restore points by starting the System Restore wizard.

5. Start the steps to restore from a restore point – choose an older restore point and view a list of affected programs.



Previous Versions

You can help customers recover accidentally deleted or modified files on any Windows 7 edition using Previous Versions. Previous Versions uses the same underlying volume shadow copy technology as System Protection / System Restore. Instead of tracking system files and offering a one-step restore, Previous Versions enables you to open folder on a protected drive in the state it was in at in a previous shadow copy.

To access Previous Versions, open the Properties of a folder or file, and go to the Previous Versions tab as shown below.

Figure 10: Previous Versions

System Protection settings, such as disk space allocation and enable/disable also apply to Previous Versions.

Windows Vista Note: This feature is available in all editions of Windows 7, but only on premium Windows Vista editions.

Demo: Previous Versions

Delete a sample file in one of the folders in the Public profile. Then view the Previous Versions tab of the folder to access this deleted file.



Restore from Backup

In addition to System Restore, the other option we have to return to a working state is to restore from a backup. When we’re faced with a Windows issue this generally means restoring from a System Image Backup, which contains a copy of the Windows installation.

Note: Windows 7 adds the ability to perform a System Restore from a System Image Backup. If you are doing a scheduled backup that includes a System Image, you will find these in the list of restore points. This is a good option to try before performing a full restore, as this method will only restore the same types of item in scope for System Restore, leaving data files alone.

Why should you Restore from Backup?

Like System Restore, a restore from backup provides an easy way to return to a known functional state. If a customer is using Backup to capture a System Image Backup (Windows 7), or a Complete PC Backup (on Windows Vista), we should use it as a resource.

Is there any harm in performing more troubleshooting before we opt to restore from a backup?

No! Unlike System Restore, backups are not likely to be lost as a result of your troubleshooting. Windows does use a similar method to save older backup versions if you are backing up to an external drive, but your Windows troubleshooting should not affect the options for restore.

When should you Restore from Backup?

Restore from Backup is most useful when a backup is available and any of the following are true:

Your customer is seeking a quick resolution, and there are no other likely rapid resolution options.

You have exhausted other clear troubleshooting approaches to resolve the issue.

You have a set of solution steps that may resolve the issue, but the solution could present other risks.

What are the risks?

The main risk scenario is when a user has data files added or modified, or programs installed since the backup was created. These changes will be reverted by the restore. You can safeguard data by performing a data backup prior to the restore. The Recovery Control Panel in Windows 7 even guides you through this entire process – from a new data backup, through the restart and restore from backup.

What should be done after you restore from a backup?

After the first restore, you should also restore the updated data backup, to return files to the previous state.



Recommendations for your customer

As with System Restore, you should recommend that your customer keep track of changes made on the PC in the near future. It is possible that their problem could recur, so having details on recent changes could help us pinpoint the cause more easily next time.

Demo: Restore in Control Panel

Perform the following tasks:

1. Open the Restore interface in Control Panel.

2. Discuss the options provided for restoring the PC.



Automated Repair ToolsIn addition to the above methods, there are also tools available that can be used to perform diagnosis and repair steps in an automated fashion. These include:

Windows Troubleshooters (Windows 7)

Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT): For Microsoft use only

Microsoft Knowledge Base articles with Fix It solutions

Each of these is described below.

Troubleshooting in Control Panel

Troubleshooting in Windows 7 provides a set of automated diagnose and repair utilities. These are designed to be easy first troubleshooting tools when dealing with problems on your Windows 7 PC.

Windows includes several troubleshooters, and more are available online, configured using the Get the most up-to-date troubleshooters from the Windows Online Troubleshooting service checkbox at the bottom of the Troubleshooting interface. This option is enabled by default.

If the Troubleshooters interface cannot connect to the Internet, you will see a message to that effect at the top to inform you of the problem.



If you click View all in the main Troubleshooting interface, the full list of diagnostics is displayed. This includes both local and online troubleshooters as shown below.

Click one of these troubleshooters to begin a diagnostics session.

Many of these troubleshooters include an Advanced link on their first page. Clicking this adds more choices. The additions depend on the specific troubleshooter. The two most common advanced options are:

Run as administrator: This is helpful in some cases where administrator permissions would widen the scope of possible problems covered by the diagnosis or repair.

Apply repairs automatically: Troubleshooters with repair capability apply relevant repairs automatically by default. If you want to run such a troubleshooter and opt out of repairs, uncheck this option.



Troubleshooters may take you through many steps and recommendations. When you reach the end of a troubleshooter, a results page is provided, to show whether problems have been found. In this example the repairs are applied automatically to enable Aero display capability. You can see the result of this in the change in window borders below.

This completion page includes a summary of problems found, additional options for getting help, and a link for detailed information on the troubleshooting.

MSDT

If you are delivering support for Microsoft, you may also have the option to send MSDT Troubleshooters to a customer’s PC. These work in much the same way as the troubleshooters above. They add abilities to return results to a support-viewable web interface. This can help you collect results to decide on the next troubleshooting step for an issue.

Note: When both an in-box Windows troubleshooter and an MSDT Troubleshooter exist for an issue, it is recommended that you use the MSDT troubleshooter. These may carry additional capabilities, and will provide you with more information on the outcome of the actions performed.

See the separate MSDT training for additional information.



Fix it

Fix it is a name that was first associated with downloadable “fix it for me” tools, which perform steps from a Knowledge Base (KB) article. This was a big help for many home users, who could have trouble with complicated command lines, or multi-step procedures to find and fix a problem.

To see available Fix it solutions in different Windows technology areas, see this Fix It page on Microsoft.com:http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

This page is shown below.

Figure 11: Fix It Solution Center

You will also find Fix It solutions offered in specific KB articles for which the steps have been automated. This makes it much easier to perform the troubleshooting steps from an article on a customer’s PC, as the Fix It can help ensure that the steps are run quickly and accurately.


http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/


Lab: Fixing Problems - Automated MethodsThis lab provides hands-on experience using automated tools for troubleshooting Windows issues.


This lab takes approximately 30-45 minutes to complete, depending on the exercises performed..

Requirements



Internet connection

Exercise: Explore Automated Methods on Windows 7

1. Troubleshooting

a. Explore Aero troubleshooting

i. Stop and disable the “Desktop Window Manager Session Manager” (UxSms) service in Computer Management, Services and Applications, Services.

ii. Run the Aero Troubleshooter and note whether problems are found.

b. Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter and note any issues found.

c. If found, were the issues fixed?

2. Explore the Recovery control panel

a. Open the Recovery control panel and start System Restore.

b. Select the oldest of your available restore points and then Scan for affected programs.

c. Do you have anything in the top list? If so, note the programs or drivers.

d. Do you anything in the bottom list? If so, note the programs or drivers.

Exercise: Explore Automated Methods on Windows XP

1. Start the computer to Windows XP.

2. Open the System Restore interface to begin a restore to an earlier restore point.

3. Select a restore point.

4. Do you have options for seeing what programs will be affected?



5. Restore to the most recent restore point.

Exercise: Mock Call

In this scenario, the instructor is your customer. They are experiencing an upgrade problem. Work as a group to investigate and resolve the problem.




There are a variety of tools within Windows that are used to resolve problems the OS or applications running on the OS. As an intermediate level user of Windows, you should know about all the tools covered in this section of the course.

Goals


Discuss the differences between normal and safe mode startup.

Demonstrate Clean Boot Troubleshooting procedures.

Discuss applicability of other Windows tools for hands-on troubleshooting.


This lesson takes approximately 2.75 hours to complete.

Labs in this lesson take an additional 2.5 hours to complete.



Simplifying the ConfigurationWhat do you do when automated tools are unable to resolve the issue?

One of the first methods to consider is simplifying the configuration. This is helpful to reduce the number of components related to a problem. This can help you determine whether to focus your attention and help you solve problems more quickly.

This part of the lesson focuses on two variants of this approach:

Simplifying the Hardware Configuration

Clean Boot to simplify the Software Configuration

In addition, there is a discussion of how security software factors into your troubleshooting.

Simplifying the Hardware Configuration

When you are faced with setup issues, startup issues, or a problem installing new hardware, it is useful to simplify the set of hardware in use.

This can be done by disconnecting any external devices that you don’t need to run Windows, and by connecting problem devices directly to your PC. Sometimes device conflicts or faulty cables could result in a problem in Windows.

Once extra hardware is disconnected, see if there is a change in the problem. If so, you could try adding a device at a time until the problem reapers. This can help you isolate a problem device.

Simplifying the Software Configuration: Clean Boot

One of the fundamental processes in Windows and Application support is clean boot troubleshooting. This is the procedure you use to isolate a problem on a computer:

1. Start the PC in a simplified configuration to eliminate a symptom

2. Then gradually restore elements of the configuration until the problem returns.

3. Once the problem returns, focus on the most recently restored items as the possible problem cause.

Using these steps you can determine what software is contributing to the problem. The tools you will use to accomplish a clean boot consist primarily of Safe Mode and the System Configuration utility: MSConfig.

Safe Mode

Safe mode is a troubleshooting option for Windows that starts your computer in a limited state. Only the basic files and drivers necessary to run Windows are started. The words "Safe Mode" appear in the corners of



the display to identify which Windows mode you are using. If an existing problem does not reappear when you start in safe mode, you can eliminate the default settings and basic device drivers as possible causes.

To start in Safe Mode:

1. Restart your computer.

2. Press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts.

3. Choose the Safe Mode startup option on the boot menu.

4. Once in Safe Mode, check to see if the problem has gone. If you don’t see the problem here, proceed with the use of MSConfig for clean boot troubleshooting.

You need to press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you will need to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then shutting down and restarting your computer.

System Configuration Utility

The System Configuration Utility (MSConfig.exe) is the next tool available for your clean boot troubleshooting. If Safe Mode shows no problem, run MSConfig to narrow down the problem.

Figure 12: MSConfig

To use MSConfig for a clean boot, follow these steps:

1. Choose Selective startup on the general tab, and then clear the Load startup items check boxes.

2. Click the Services tab.

a. Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.

b. Click Disable All, and then click OK.



3. When you are prompted, click Restart.

4. If the problem returns, MSConfig does not have the ability to help in your situation. You may need to remove software, or use other tools. Troubleshoot based on the specific error.

5. If the problem is absent after restarting, you will need to narrow down the cause of the problem – startup items or services.

a. Enable all Services and restart.

b. If the problem returns, skip to “Narrowing down a Service cause” below.

c. If the problem is absent, enable Normal Startup on the General tab and restart.

d. If the problem returns, skip to “Narrowing down a Startup cause” below.

6. Narrowing down a Service cause:

a. On the Services tab, Hide all Microsoft services again, and disable all others.

b. Enable a few services, then click Ok and restart when prompted.

c. Repeat this, enabling more services each time until the problem returns.

d. When the problem returns you can narrow down the possible cause to the most recently enabled services.

7. Narrowing down a Startup cause:

a. On the Startup tab, disable all startup items.

b. Enable a few startup items, then click Ok and restart when prompted.

c. Repeat this, enabling more startup each time until the problem returns.

d. When the problem returns you can narrow down the possible cause to the most recently enabled services.

Demo: Clean Boot Troubleshooting

Perform the following steps:

1. Demonstrate the use of Safe Mode.

2. While in Safe Mode, run MSConfig and set the computer for Selective Startup.

3. Restart and discuss the next steps if you were performing Clean Boot Troubleshooting.



Security Software

Beyond the basics in Windows, you need antivirus software to help protect your PC. Many customers install security software that includes multiple features, such as:

Antivirus

Network Firewall

Antispyware

Parental Controls

Spam Filtering

In order to provide these features, this type of software must interact with many Windows components. Often this interaction is at a very low level, or using mechanisms not commonly implemented by programs.

What’s the problem?

Typically these programs run without a problem. But there are scenarios where they could conflict with similar software, encounter a problem when Windows updates are installed, or fail to run properly when the security software is changed.

With most applications a failure like this would cause the application to fail. Because security software works by intercepting much of the internal communications across Windows features, a failure with this type of program can cause Windows failures.

How do we handle this in our troubleshooting?

Because of the widespread effects of security software, we disable it as a test when we are faced with problems where it could be a factor. In some cases we may temporarily uninstall this type of software to more completely eliminate it from the set of possible causes. Both of these steps are an extension of our efforts to simplify the configuration for troubleshooting.

Precautions

We mustn’t simply remove security software in all cases, or blindly disable such protections. Before taking any action, we should evaluate the troubleshooting and the customer’s environment.

The following precautions are recommended:

Inform the customer why we may need to temporarily disable or remove this kind of software.

Check whether the customer has documentation on how to reinstall such software, with information about their paid subscription, if applicable.

Check for factors in the environment or troubleshooting plan that raise risks:

o Direct Internet Connection: If a customer’s PC is directly connected to the Internet, not through a home router or broadband modem with security features, then you should not temporarily disable firewall software without first going offline. While offline, disable the



third party firewall, enable the Windows Firewall, and reconnect. Reverse these steps to restore their firewall solution when troubleshooting is complete.

o Malware Risk: This risk might be higher if you plan to download files from a third party site, such as drivers or program updates, as part of the troubleshooting. If so, you should consider keeping the antivirus and antispyware software enabled until any such downloads have been completed.



Collecting System InformationThe next steps in manual troubleshooting may require you to have more information about the software, hardware, and settings in use on the PC. You can use the System Information tool to collect this kind of information.

System Information

The System Information interface, started by running “msinfo32.exe”, provides a large set of information about the Windows installation and PC. This includes the PC make and model, BIOS version, free hard disk space, running programs, startup programs and installed hardware.

This can be used to find clues related to a problem you are troubleshooting.

Figure 13: System Information

To save the information in the System Information interface, use the File, Save option. This creates a .NFO file containing all of the information for review offline. This is generally small enough to send in email.



MSDT

In addition to System Information, you may find troubleshooters in MSDT that collect information about a specific scenario, and analyze that information for you. Check MSDT for relevant options.



Other Windows ToolsBeyond the tools above, you may need the use of additional Windows tools to resolve issues. The pages that follow provide an overview of other useful interfaces and troubleshooting tools in Windows.

Computer Management

Computer Management is the place where several key support tools are collected together. We won't cover each tool here, but when you need to get to one or more of these quickly, Computer Management can be started quickly with these steps:

1. Click Start

2. Right-click Computer

3. Click Manage

4. Try This: Find the Windows Audio service in this interface. Is it running?

5. Try starting, or stopping and then starting the service.

6. What is the short name ("Service name") of this service?

Figure 14: Computer Management Tools

Demo: Using Computer Management


1. Open the Computer Management interface.

2. Briefly discuss the purpose of each tool provided.

3. Demonstrate starting and stopping of system Services.



Task Manager

Task Manager is another tool used frequently in support. This interface provides a list of Applications (programs that have windows open on your desktop), and a list of all running programs. From these lists you can stop a program from running, using the End Task or End Process option.

Figure 15: Task Manager

You can start Task Manager using CTRL+ALT+DEL and clicking the Task Manager option. You can also start it by right-clicking the Taskbar and choosing Task Manager.

Demo: Task Manager


1. Show the process list.

2. Start Notepad and show the process in the list.

3. End the Notepad process, as if it was a misbehaving program.



Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

Another key Windows support tool is the Windows Recovery Environment. This is a separate startup envronment provided with Windows Vista and later, for use when Windows will not start properly. WinRE provides a Startup Repair feature, System Restore, and a command prompt for use to access other commands and the files on your PC.

The main options provided in WinRE are shown below.

Figure 16: WinRE

Some key usage scenarios for WinRE include:

Return to a previous System Restore point when the PC will not start after installing a new driver.

Fix the startup configuration with Startup Repair.

Copy important data files from your hard drive to an external drive, to prepare for a clean install of Windows.

In general it is recommended to use WinRE only when Windows does not start properly, or when there is an important reason to run tools outside the Windows environment.



Starting WinRE

WinRE is offered from the Windows Boot Menu when Windows determines that your PC has a startup problem. If the previous startup failed, you will see an initial offer to start the PC in Safe Mode, shown below.

Figure 17: Windows Error Recovery



If the failure persists, WinRE is offered the second time, as Launch Startup Repair (recommend), shown here.

Figure 18: Windows Error Recovery – Launch Startup Repair

You can also start WinRE manually in one of two ways:

Startup Menu: Press F8 during startup to show the boot menu. In the Advanced Boot Options interface, select “Repair Your Computer”.

Windows DVD: The Windows installation DVD also includes the ability to start WinRE. Simply start from the disc, proceed past the language options interface, and then click “Repair your computer”.

This tool is discussed in more detail in the Startup module of this course.

Demo: Starting WinRE

Restart your PC and show the F8 options during startup. Boot the PC to WinRE.



Command Prompt - CMD.exe

The command prompt, provided by CMD.exe, is the most basic operating system shell interface provided with Windows 7. You can do most of the configuration and management of Windows from this interface, but it requires research and practice. The command prompt is important in support because some support tasks cannot be completed in the normal shell – Windows Explorer.

Figure 19: Command Prompt

Here are some frequently asked questions on the Command Prompt:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/81242f3c-c9bf-442c-a49d-e18b02f72e691033.mspx

Some key tasks you may perform from the command prompt include:

Copying, moving or deleting files.

Checking for or making network file share connections

Running specific repair or recovery commands, as presented in support troubleshooting articles.

Common File Tasks

Here are some commands you will probably use from time to time. If you get lost using any commands, try "<command> /?" - the /? part will usually give you some help on the syntax of the command.

List Files

The Dir command. Run with no parameters to see a list of non-hidden files and directories in the current directory path:

Dir

Try it with the "/s" switch to see files in all subdirectories.

You can also look at something other than the current path, by specifying a path in the dir command:

Dir "C:\Program Files"



Want to see files that are marked as "hidden" in the file system? Use the /A switch. Compare these two commands:

Dir C:\

Dir C:\ /a

See: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/edcbf69b-eaa4-466e-b210-3dd8892f4d931033.mspx

Want to find out more about file system attributes, like the "hidden" attribute? See these articles:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/d26819e3-b258-4589-881c-09fefd424cbe1033.mspx

The Attrib command: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/ library/42e672f6-5bc2-4c16-af25-18e7ed2dd5551033.mspx?mfr=true

Copy Files

The Copy command is the simplest way to copy files at a command prompt. Here's a command that will copy your main setup log file to the desktop:

Copy c:\windows\panther\setupact.log %userprofile%\desktop\setupact.log

Run that command, and then try "dir %userprofile%\desktop". The part between the % marks is a special variable. It gets filled out by CMD to make it the path to your specific user profile folder. You can run the "set" command to see other variables.

For more information on Copy, See:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/9624d4a1-349a-4693-ad00-1d1d4e59e9ac1033.mspx?mfr=true

Or, use Robocopy for whole-directory copying:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/9624d4a1-349a-4693-ad00-1d1d4e59e9ac1033.mspx?mfr=true

Robocopy is faster, and provides more options. Like this command, to copy an entire directory to another location on the disk:

Robocopy c:\users\username1\documents c:\users\username2\documents /s

The "/s" at the end, much like with the "dir" command, causes the command to apply to all subdirectories. So this command copies all of the files in one user's Documents folder to another user's Documents folder.

Move Files

The Move command can be useful for moving a file from one place to another. The syntax is basically the same as you use with Copy.

Moving files can be risky, depending on the kind of file and the reason for the move. It's usually better to copy files around so that if you have a problem, or the operation fails, the original file is still intact where it started.



See: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/fde290a8-d385-450f-8987-ee837fed667d1033.mspx?mfr=true

Delete Files

The Del command removes files from the file system.

Like Move, the Del command can be risky to use while helping customers. Consider renaming files instead of deleting them, unless you are working to free up disk space.

See: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/ 346eede2-2085-44f5-9936-6877b5d5a8331033.mspx?mfr=true

Rename Files

The Ren command renames a file or directory. You can use this command to prevent programs or Windows from using a particular file, or as a test to see if you can safely delete something. This command would rename the directory used by Windows Update to download update files:

Ren c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistributionOld

You might see an error when trying to run this command. See if you can find an article in Visual KB about renaming this directory. Does it provide a clue on what you must do first?

See: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/60398e12-a05d-4524-a73a-0a925943e21d1033.mspx?mfr=true

Change Directory/Folder

The CD command enables you to change the directory for the command prompt. When you open a command prompt as Administrator on Windows 7, it defaults to this prompt:

C:\Windows\System32\>

This is called the current directory path. Any command you try to run against a file will try to find that file in the current path first.

You can change you path with CD, such as with this command, to change to the "root" directory of the drive:

CD\

Now you could change into the Program Files folder:

CD "Program Files"

What if you want to go directly from \Windows\System32 to \Program Files? You can have CD go to the root first, and then to Program Files all in one command:

CD "\Program Files"

Another trick is ".." The "cd .." command takes you one level up in the hierarchy. So if you are in \Windows\System32 and you run "CD ..", it will take you into \Windows.



See: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/ 932d9cc1-3dff-40da-835c-1cb0894874f11033.mspx?mfr=true

Making Directories/Folders

The MD command is used to make new directories. Run it just like CD, and as long as there isn't a directory in the target location it will create a new one for you. Here's a command to create a new "MyDir" in the current path:

MD mydir

If you want to create that same directory in the root, use:

MD \mydir

See: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/edcbf69b-eaa4-466e-b210-3dd8892f4d931033.mspx?mfr=true

Remove Directory/Folder

The RD command is used to remove a directory. Use this to

As with the Del and Move commands, this can be risky. It's usually recommended to rename a directory instead of removing it. Remove it when you are certain that you will never need anything from that directory or it's subdirectories.

See: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/42e672f6-5bc2-4c16-af25-18e7ed2dd5551033.mspx?mfr=true

Registry Editor – Regedit.exe

The Registry is a database in which applications and system components store and retrieve configuration data. In other words, individual applications and the Operating System write settings to the Registry which tells the system how to run programs. Hardware settings are also stored in the Registry.

Table 4: Registry Files

Machine The machine-based files, which are the files that store the pieces of the Registry that define how the operating system is configured, are located in the following directory: %windir%\System32\Config.

User User-based Registry files are stored in each user profile as an NTUser.dat file. This file location depends on the OS version:

Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\<username>

Windows 7: \Users\<username>

In addition there are two special user registry files. The NTUser.dat file in \Users\Default (\Documents and Settings\Default User on Windows XP) is used to generate new user profiles on the computer. The first time a



new user logs on, this file is copied to \Users\<new username> (\Documents and Settings\<new username> on Windows XP) and used subsequently to store that user’s settings.

There is also a registry file that contains user settings general to the machine. While confusing, this means that when no user is logged on, there still must be user-based configuration settings available, such as desktop background, screen saver, etc. The default registry file in %windir%\System32\Config contains these settings.

Registry Structure

The registry consists of top level hives, containing keys, which contain values and other keys.

Hives

The Registry is based on several top level structures known as hives. These hives are:

Table 5: Registry Hives

Hive Description

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Stores information about file types on the computer commonly known as file associations.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER Stores settings for the currently logged-on user

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Stores machine-based settings

HKEY_USERS Stores information about the currently logged on user and also the default user profile, which corresponds to the %windir%\system32\config\default registry file.

HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG Information about the hardware profile that’s currently in use on the computer

Figure 20: Hives in Regedit



Not all of these hives exist as separate files; some are also shown as sub-keys in other hives. For example, “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT” is really a sub-branch of “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” under \Software\Classes, but they are represented in the Registry Editor as top-level hives for convenience.

Keys

Registry keys are containers for values and other keys. They have a nested structure just like a folder structure on a drive. They also have permissions just like file system objects on an NTFS drive. They are displayed in Registry Editor as folders. “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” is highlighted, and you can see the sub-keys beneath it.

Figure 21: Keys in Regedit

Values

Values are containers for value data. Registry values are the terminal elements in the Registry. They are represented as files in the Registry Editor and they actually contain value data, which is the element of the Registry that stores the actual setting. There are some different value types here:

Table 6: Registry Value Types

Type Description

REG_SZ A text string. This is commonly used for things like a path to a file or text that would be represented as a message on screen and other descriptions.

REG_BINARY Stores raw binary data.

REG_DWORD A four-byte number. These are represented typically as a hex number.

REG_MULTI_SX A multiple string value. This contains multiple strings.

REG_EXPAND_SZ A variable length string. So they may contain variables.



They are shown in the type column of Registry Editor on the right-hand side so when you are examining each value, you can see the value type. The types are important because if you insert a Registry value as the wrong type, it may not be processed by the component that you are trying to configure.

Registry Editor

The Registry Editor or RegEdit.exe is the tool in Windows that is used for editing the Registry.

Important: Use caution when editing the Registry. Changes that you make are made immediately—there is no Undo feature in Regedit. Incorrectly editing the Registry can cause your system to become unbootable or cause programs to be unable to run.

The safest way to edit the Registry is to make a backup first. With a backup, you can always recover to the situation that you were in before. (You can also use System Restore to do this. If you save a SR Point just before making a change, you can use SR in Safe Mode or from WinRE to restore your computer, including the Registry, back to the state that you were just in.) Also, use the techniques for testing and modifying the Registry on a test computer for troubleshooting.

Registry Editor Features

Below are some features of the Registry Editor that are useful for support.

Export

Some of the features of the Registry Editor include Import and Export. This is on the File menu. It enables you to save or Export .REG files, which are portable Registry files that can be imported into either another computer or into the same computer after making changes. You can also export files as hive files. These are files with no extension that maintain the native format of the Registry rather than being converted to a text file, as in the case of a .REG file.

Important: Export is a key feature for support. Before making changes to the registry on a customer’s computer, always export the parent key so that you can import the saved file later should problems arise.

Search

You can also Search for text within the Registry. Use the Search feature on the File menu to search for the key you need.

Load Hive

You can also load a registry hive. This is useful to view the contents of a registry file from another PC, or from a Windows installation that does not currently start properly. Once you have exported a hive files or if you simply want to open one of the top level Registry files, you can choose the Load hive option on the File menu. This is only available when “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” or “HKEY_CURRENT_USER” are selected.



Import

There is more to importing Registry files than just understanding how to Import and Export. There are two Export formats and which affect how Imports take effect.

To import a .REG file, you can either use the Import option from the File menu in Regedit, or you can double click the .REG file. The .REG file has an association with Registry Editor that automatically causes the values in that .REG file to be inserted into the Registry. When you do this with a .REG file, it imports the settings into the same key as the original. If you have exported, for example, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion, and then you import that into another computer, it will be imported to the same key as the original computer, HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.

The alternative is to use a hive file for import. If you import a hive file, which can only be done from the Import option in the Registry Editor, it is going to import that hive to the currently selected key. The advantage here is that if you want to compare a branch in the Registry from a customer’s computer with one in a test computer, you can create a new key that is similar in name to the test key.

In the previous example, if you export HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion on the test computer, you can create a CurrentVersionTest key under Windows. When you import the hive with that key selected, instead of being imported to the proper directory, they will be imported to the current version test key. You can compare CurrentVersion with CurrentVersionTest side by side to look for differences. Alternatively, if you want to import a hive file just for simple examination, you can use the Load Hive option even if it is not a complete Registry hive.

When the settings take effect, you will need to be aware that not all Registry values take effect immediately. Some portions of the Registry are processed during startup, during user log on or when an application is started. In these cases, you be aware of when the changes will take effect. To be sure that everything is takes effect, restart the computer.



Lab: Fixing Problems – Manual ToolsThis lab uses Windows tools to explore your computer configuration and perform intermediate user tasks.


This lab takes approximately 2.5 hours to complete.

Requirements



Exercise: Exploring the Computer Configuration

1. Find out the following about your computer, using tools discussed in this and previous sections:

a. How much RAM?

b. What video card?

c. What CPU speed?

d. How much free space on your Windows drive?

e. What non-Microsoft services are configured to start on your computer?

f. What tasks should be performed on your computer, according to the Security Center?

g. When were updates last installed on your computer?

h. What was the most recent update installed?

i. What is the most recent error listed in your System Event Log?

j. What is the most recent error listed in your Application Event Log?

2. Registry Editor – Open the Registry Editor and perform these tasks:

a. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

b. View the values listed in this key.

c. Export the key to a .REG file on your desktop.

d. Delete the first value in this key (not the “default” entry, choose the next entry shown).

e. Go to your desktop and double-click the .REG file you created. Follow the prompts to import these settings .

f. Did the deleted value return?



g. Add a value to the key – create a String type value called “Calculator”. Enter this for the value data:%windir%\system32\calc.exe.

h. When done, verify that the value was created, and is listed as “Calculator” in the Run key.

i. Go to your desktop and double-click the .REG file you created. Follow the prompts to import these settings .

j. Was the Calculator value removed?

k. What does this tell you about .REG files?

l. Restart the computer. When does Calculator appear during startup?

3. Clean Boot:

a. Start the computer in Windows 7 Safe Mode.

b. Did Calculator start this time?

c. Try to use the PC normally. Is there anything you can’t do in Safe Mode?

d. From Safe Mode, use MSConfig to enable a clean boot.

e. Restart your computer into the clean boot configuration.

f. Did Calculator start?

g. Check to see if Windows seems to be running normally. Is there anything you notice that you cannot do in this selective startup?

h. In normal troubleshooting, you might restart several times to isolate a problem. Each time you would enable a few more items to try and create the problem. In our case the problem is that Calculator is starting. How would you remove it permanently? Discuss options with your peers and the instructor.

i. Return to a normal startup in MSConfig.

j. Permanently remove the Calculator startup item. Restart the PC to confirm that it is removed.

4. Command Prompt - Open an Administrator CMD prompt, and perform these tasks:

a. Change to the %temp% directory.

b. Use the “dir” command to see what files are here (if any).

c. Copy a file from your desktop to this folder using only the command line.

d. What command did you use?

e. Change to the Windows directory.

f. Find the most recently changed file here, using the “dir /od” command. This shows the files listed in order of data (newest will be last).



5. WinRE

a. Restart your PC.

b. Press F8 during startup to view the boot menu advanced startup options.

c. Start using the repair option, which will load WinRE.

d. Once in WinRE, explore your options.

e. How far back can you go with System Restore?

f. Open the Command Prompt.

g. What is the current path? Is your Windows directory here?

h. Change to C: with the command:

C:

i. Is there a Windows directory here? What operating system version is this? Hint: Look at the other directory names for a clue.

j. Change to D: and look there as well:

D:

dir

k. Is there a Windows directory here? What operating system version is this?

6. Compare your results with the class.



Lesson: Fixing Problems – When Other Methods Fail

When you exhaust other troubleshooting options, it is sometimes necessary to return Windows to a working state using Setup. This can be done as an in-place upgrade, which preserves your programs; or as a clean install, which requires them to be reinstalled. Each of these methods is covered in this lesson.

Goals


Demonstrate in-place upgrade procedures for restoring functionality in Windows 7.

Demonstrate steps to perform a repair installation of Windows XP.

Discuss clean installation precautions.

Outline the steps to perform a clean installation of Windows to return to a working configuration.






In-Place OS ReinstallIn some cases you may be unable to resolve an issue with Windows. When the issue you are facing results from damaged or incorrectly configured operating system files or components, a reinstall can be the quickest and easiest way to restore a working configuration.

Try this First: SFC and CheckSUR

Before doing a reinstall of Windows 7 or Windows Vista, try running the System File Checker (SFC), and the System Update Readiness Check tool (CheckSUR). These tools can help resolve problems with Windows components, and may help avoid the need to reinstall Windows.

SFC

This tool (SFC.EXE) checks the Windows files in use and, if problems are found, restores a good version of the file. While running Windows 7 in Normal Mode or in Safe Mode, you can use these steps:

1. Open a CMD window as an Administrator.

2. Run this command:sfc /scannow

3. Watch for the results returned by SFC.

Watch carefully for the result SFC shows in the command prompt window. The three possibilities and their conclusions are:

SFC Found No ProblemsThis means Windows Vista is using the correct system file versions, as far as SFC.exe can determine. If you are still encountering problems in Windows it could be from registry issues (SFC checks files, not the registry), software installed on Windows, or hardware.

SFC Found and Fixed ProblemsThis means that SFC may have resolved your issue. Try to reproduce the problem again. If the problem continues, it may be that there were unrelated system file issues. But the presence of these issues could indicate that corruption

SFC Found but Could Not Fix ProblemsThis means that there are more significant issues with Windows system files. It could be that you have corruption in the store SFC uses for recovery. In this situation you may need to continue with the reinstall. Because corruption is a possibility, be sure to run 'chkdsk c: /r' from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) before performing the reinstall.



CheckSUR

CheckSUR also checks Windows files, but it focuses on the files used to update Windows, and install Windows features. If you are facing an issue with one of these scenarios, consider running this tool.

You can download CheckSUR as the update KB 947821. When you install this update, CheckSUR runs automatically to check for problems with Windows files.

To see if CheckSUR found any problems, open C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\Checksur.log. This file shows you if errors were found, and if found, whether they could be fixed.

Before a reinstall

Before reinstalling Windows it is recommended that you do the following:

1. Verify that the product key is available.

2. Locate installation media.

a. Check the media service pack level. You must be running the same service pack on your PC in order to perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 7 or Windows Vista.

b. If you are not running the same service pack as the installation media, you can either install or uninstall service packs on your PC to match the level of the media. If this is not pussible, you must use different media to do the reinstall.

3. Back up your files.

4. Take precautions against corruption: If you are running an in-place reinstall due to corruption on the system, consider the following additional steps:

a. Run Memory Diagnostics, either in Windows from Control Panel, System and Maintenance, Administrative Tools, or from WinRE.

b. Run 'chkdsk c: /r' in WinRE to prevent installing Windows files on damaged disk sectors.

How to Reinstall Windows 7

In Windows 7 you can only reinstall Windows and preserve settings/applications by starting setup within Windows. That means Windows must be mostly functional to proceed.

In Windows XP you could start a repair installation by starting the computer from the installation disc. This option is not available with Windows 7. Rather, Windows 7 provides offline System Restore when you start from the installation disc. This is the recommended first recovery method.

If you have exhausted troubleshooting options and need to reinstall Windows, see “Using the Upgrade installation option” section of this page for steps:



http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Installing-and-reinstalling-Windows-7

1. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc. Setup should start automatically. If it doesn't, start setup.exe on the Windows 7 DVD.

2. On the Install Windows page, click Install now.

3. On the Get important updates for installation page, we recommend getting the latest updates to help ensure a successful installation and to help protect your computer against security threats. You need an Internet connection to get installation updates.

4. On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms, and then click Next.

5. On the “Which type of installation do you want?” page, click Upgrade to begin the upgrade. You might see a compatibility report.

6. Follow the rest of the instructions to install Windows.

At the end of this setup process, you should return to Windows with your files, settings and programs intact.

Demo: Starting a Reinstall


1. Insert the Windows 7 DVD.

2. Discuss the AutoRun prompt, offering to start setup.

3. Open Windows Explorer and show the contents of the DVD.

4. Some OEM media may be different. Key files to locate are setup.exe, and sources\setup.exe. These can be used to launch Setup if the AutoRun interface is not displayed.

5. If a disc doesn’t contain setup.exe to start Windows 7 setup, then it may be an OEM restore disk that does not permit reinstall. The customer would need to contact their system vendor to obtain reinstall-supporting media, or proceed with a clean installation using the original media.

6. Start Setup. Get to the installation options step and discuss Upgrade and Custom.


http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Installing-and-reinstalling-Windows-7


Lab: In-Place OS ReinstallThe actions in this lab are designed to provide experience running an in-place reinstall of Windows 7, and help demonstrate what does/does change during the upgrade.



Requirements



An Internet connection

Exercise: Windows 7 In-Place OS Reinstall

1. Configure some programs, configuration settings, and data:

a. Programs: Download and install Windows Live Essentials

b. Settings:

i. Change your desktop background.

ii. Enable the Mouse Pointer Option to "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key", and verify that it's working.

iii. Go to Windows Update in Control Panel. View installed updates and verify that at least one update is installed. If not, install one important update.

c. Data:

i. Create some text files in your documents folder.

ii. Copy some sample images from the Public\Pictures\Sample Pictures folder to your desktop and your Pictures folder.

iii. Create a new directory at C:\MyFiles and copy text and image files to that folder.

d. Windows Updates:

i. Open Windows Update

ii. Use the "View Update History" on the left to view a list of installed updates.

iii. Note the three most recently installed updates (note the KB number).



iv. If no updates are installed, go back to the Windows Update interface and install at least 2 updates. Note the KB number for each.

2. Start a reinstall of Windows 7 using the DVD provided.

3. Observe the steps and time needed to complete the upgrade.

4. When finished, check to see what/if any changed on your system.

a. Is your program still installed?

b. Did your settings remain?

c. Is your data present?

d. Are your updates still installed?

5. Discuss results with others in the class.



Windows XP: In-Place OS ReinstallIn some cases you may be unable to resolve an issue with Windows XP. When the issue you are facing results from damaged or incorrectly configured operating system files or components, a reinstall can be the easiest way to restore a working configuration.

Before a Reinstall

Before reinstalling Windows it is recommended that you do the following:

1. Verify that the product key is available.

2. Locate installation media.

3. Back up your files.

4. Uninstall Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8. See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964/

5. If your Windows XP CD-ROM is earlier than SP2, disconnect from the Internet before the upgrade.

These final two points are very important. If you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows XP with Internet Explorer 7 or 8 installed, the browser will not function when the repair is complete.

If you install a pre-SP2 version of Windows XP while connected to the Internet or a local unmanaged network, there is a chance of malware infection of your PC during setup. Windows XP versions earlier than SP2 did not enable protection from the built-in firewall by default. SP2 and later corrected this, protecting the PC by default unless you decide to relax the protection.

For more information and the steps for performing a repair installation, see the following KB article:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978788

Check Media Version

View the properties of 'setup.exe' if you are not sure of the version of your CD-ROM. The Version or Details tab provides the file version:

RTM is 5.1.2600.0

SP1 is 5.1.2600.1106

SP2 is 5.1.2600.2180

SP3 is 5.1.2600.5512


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978788

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964/


Windows XP Media and Repair

The recovery methods discussed in this document require a Windows XP® CD that supports a Repair installation.

If the customer does not have a Windows XP CD, or the CD is an OEM version without Repair installation capability, you may need to find alternate media.

How to reinstall Windows XP

Reinstalling Windows XP is different from Windows Vista reinstall. In Windows Vista you can only reinstall and preserve settings/applications by starting setup within Windows. That means Windows Vista must be functional to proceed.

In Windows XP you can start a repair installation by starting the computer from the installation disc. This Repair Installation option preserves your programs and settings like an upgrade.

To perform a repair of Windows XP when you are unable to start in Safe Mode or Normal Mode, use the following steps:

1. Start the computer using the Windows XP CD-ROM.

2. Press a key when you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message.

3. At the first choice asking whether you wish to install Windows or repair using Recovery Console, press ENTER to install Windows.

4. Next accept the License Agreement.

5. Next you should see your installation listed. Select it in the box and then press R to repair Windows XP.

You can also start the repair installation from within Windows XP, by inserting the CD-ROM and starting Setup.exe from the disc.



Lab: Windows XP In-Place OS ReinstallThe actions in this lab are designed to provide experience running a repair install of Windows XP, and help demonstrate what does/does change during the upgrade.



Requirements


A PC with Windows XP installed

Exercise: Windows XP In-Place OS Reinstall

1. Configure some programs, configuration settings, and data:

a. Programs: Download and install Windows Live Essentials for Windows XP.

b. Settings:

i. Change your desktop background.

ii. Enable the Mouse Pointer Option to "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key", and verify that it's working.

iii. Go to Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. View installed updates and verify that at least one update is installed. If not, go to Windows Update and install one important update.

c. Data:

i. Create some text files in your My Documents folder.

ii. Copy some sample images from the Documents and Settings\All Users\Pictures\Sample Pictures folder to your desktop and you’re my Pictures folder.

iii. Create a new directory at C:\MyFiles and copy text and image files to that folder.

2. Prepare for the in-place upgrade:

a. Make sure Internet Explorer 7 is not installed. If it is, uninstall it.

b. Note your current Windows XP version and service pack. You can obtain this by running "winver.exe".

c. Note the service pack of your Windows XP CD-ROM.

d. Based on the versions you find - do you need to disconnect from the Internet?



3. Restart the computer and start a repair installation.

4. Observe the steps and time needed to complete the upgrade.

5. When finished, check to see what/if any changed on your system.

a. Is your program still installed?

b. Did your settings remain?

c. Is your data present?

6. Discuss results with others in the class.

Additional Task for Classes Covering both Windows XP and Windows 7

If you are also covering Windows 7 topics in your delivery of the class, perform these additional steps to restore the Windows 7 boot sector. This is needed because Windows 7 uses different boot files, unknown by Windows XP. As a result the Windows XP Repair install points the boot sector of the hard drive to the older-style Windows XP boot files.

If you do not perform these steps you will be unable to start Windows 7 for the next part of the course.

Tasks: Restore Newer Boot Sector

1. Start the computer with the Windows 7 DVD.

2. Accept the language settings when prompted.

3. At the "Install Now" prompt, select the Repair link in the lower left.

4. Accept the Windows 7 installation found.

5. Click the "Command prompt" option in the Windows Recovery Environment interface.

6. At the command prompt, change to the DVD drive letter. It will probably be E:, so run these commands to verify:

a. e:

b. dir

7. You should see directories named Boot, EFI, Sources and Support. If you don't see these directories, try repeating the above commands with D:, F:, and G: until you find the DVD contents.

8. When you have changed to the correct drive letter for the DVD, run the following command to restore the Windows 7 boot configuration:

9. Boot\bootsect /nt60 sys

10. Verify that the command indicates success updating the boot code.



11. Restart the computer to Windows 7.



Clean Install WindowsAs a last resort, it is sometimes necessary to reinstall Windows without preserving programs and settings. This is called a clean install.

The basic steps for a clean install of Windows are:

1. Backup data files: Make a copy of all the files that are important to you. Some clean install methods result in all the files on C:\ being removed, so this is a very important step.

2. Run Windows setup and choose a Custom/New installation: This can be done by booting from the Windows media, or in some cases by starting setup from inside Windows.

Note: On many OEM PCs, you will start the PC Restore operation rather than setup. This is the action that returns your PC to the original configuration, as if it was newly purchased.

3. Restore data files: Restore your files to the new installation.

4. Reinstall programs: Now that you have a new installation of Windows, you will need to reinstall your programs.

The Windows Help & How-to site has a page with links to specific reinstall guides for each currently-supported Windows version:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/install-reinstall-uninstall

Concerns

Reinstalling Windows in this way can be difficult. This is particularly true when you may need to find the installation media for many applications and devices.

Because of this difficulty, some customers will want to exhaust other options before following this path. As a support professional it is important for you to provide reliable guidance for your customers. How can you do this? Use these tips:

Be honest about the options available.

o If continued troubleshooting efforts are not likely to help, we should be clear about this. Otherwise we waste the customer’s time.

o If there are other options for fixing the issue and they are within your support boundaries, we should inform the customer.

Provide clear evaluations of the difficulty of available paths.

o Many customers perceive a clean installation as difficult, but they may not have a perception of the alternatives.


http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/install-reinstall-uninstall


o Provide a detailed assessment of the length of time and effort that may be required for continued troubleshooting. In many cases this is will be more hours of work, and will have a less certain outcome than a clean Windows installation.

Clean Install via Recovery Interface

Windows 7 provides a directed clean installation interface, which walks you through the steps to reinstall Windows. On a PC which was purchased with Windows 7 preinstalled, you may also find options here to restore to the original configuration of the PC – an OEM version of a clean install.

To access the interface, go to Control Panel, Recovery. The clean install option is shown in the Advanced Recovery interface as Reinstall Windows.

Figure 22: Advanced Recovery



Reinstall Windows

When you click Reinstall Windows in the Advanced Recovery Methods interface, the first step is a check for Windows installation files.

Figure 23: Recovery Clean Install – Media prompt

If you click No here, the reinstall cannot proceed. Note that this step also guides you to use the OEM recovery disc instructions; if that is the Windows media you have available. This Recovery path is not intended to start the OEM restore procedure.

Backup

After you click Yes in the Windows installation disc prompt, you are taken to the User File Backup step, shown below. This gives you a chance to make a backup of your files before this reinstall of Windows.

Figure 24: Recovery Clean Install – Backup Offer



Clicking Back up now opens the Set up backup interface as shown below. This is the same interface as you see when you start the backup from Backup and Restore.

Figure 25: Recovery Clean Install - Backup

Once difference you will find in the backup steps is that you are not given a chance to include a system image in the backup. This is because it is assumed that the current Windows state should not be restored.



Restart

When you have completed your backup, or if you chose Skip at the previous restore step, you are taken to the Restart prompt. Clicking Restart here initiates a reboot into WinRE.

Figure 26: Recovery Clean Install - Restart

Recovery in WinRE

When WinRE starts, you will see an initial input method/language prompt. This is the same prompt shown when using Startup Repair.

Next is a confirmation step asking “Are you sure you want to reinstall Windows?”. This reiterates the consequences of the reinstall – the current installation will be moved to Windows.old, and you will need to reinstall your programs.

Figure 27: Recovery Clean Install - Confirmation



If the Windows installation disc is in the drive, setup proceeds. If the media is not found, you will see the prompt to insert media, as shown below.

Figure 28: Recovery Clean Install – Prompt for media

There are no further prompts until the Windows Welcome steps. There is no need to accept the license terms, or make other install selections in this procedure. The reinstall process leaves the current file system intact and performs a clean install to the current Windows partition, leaving a Windows.old folder with the previous installation.

Completing the Reinstall

The first Windows Welcome step is shown below. This is the next input step for this process.

Figure 29: Recovery Clean Install – Windows Welcome



Once you have completed setup, the first time you log on to Windows, you will see a prompt to restore files from backup. This is shown below.

Figure 30: Recovery Clean Install – Restore Files

Clicking Restore my files opens the restore interface, where you can select a backup form which to restore files.

For more information on file restore, see the Backup module in this course.

Clean Install via Media Boot

Another option to perform a clean installation of Windows, is to boot from the Windows installation media. To do this, insert the installation disc into the drive, and restart the PC.

The first step of setup from DVD boot is to “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD.”

Figure 31: Setup – Press any key to boot

If you do not see this prompt, the PC is not configured to boot from the CD/DVD drive. There may be an option during BIOS startup to choose the boot order. This is commonly the F12 key.

Once you press a key at the prompt above, setup begins loading, and shows the “Windows is loading files” progress indicator, as shown below.

Figure 32: Setup – Windows is loading files



The language selection step follows. Pressing Enter takes you past this, if no changes are needed from the default language shown.

Figure 33: Setup – Language selection

Next are two key options:

Install now: This launches setup.exe.

Repair your computer: This starts WinRE.

Figure 34: Setup – Install now



A “Setup is starting” message appears when you click Install now to indicate that setup.exe has been launched.

The first step in the setup wizard is “Please read the license terms”, showing the End User License Agreement (EULA).

Figure 35: Setup - EULA



Next comes the step asking “Which type of installation do you want?” The Custom option is what you need to perform a clean installation.

Figure 36: Setup – Upgrade or Custom

Our Clean Install via DVD Boot example continues by following the “Custom (advanced)” path.



Next comes the “Where do you want to install Windows?” step. This is an important step for a clean install used for repair. If there is sufficient free space on your current Windows partition (the one shown with a Windows flag icon), then installing to the same partition is recommended. This will move all the old Windows installation folders into a \Windows.old folder in that partition.

Figure 37: Setup – Where to install

Note: You should avoid formatting the partition, or making drive changes here unless these changes are absolutely necessary. It is better to have the option to recover files from the old install folders later.

Clean Install Windows XP

Unlike later versions of Windows, Windows XP does not support a clean installation of Windows to the same partition where Windows is already installed. As a result, your options are:

Format and Install: With this option you format the current Windows partition and install there. This removes all files on the partition, so you should be absolutely certain that a working backup of all important files exists.

Install to an Alternate Partition: If the PC has another disk, or another partition with sufficient free space, you can install Windows there. This leaves the broken installation intact.



Module Review

This module has covered the following main topics.

Troubleshooting Resources

Error Types

Capturing Error Information

Fixing Problems using Automated Methods

Fixing Problems using Manual Methods

Using SFC and CheckSUR

Performing an In-Place Upgrade to Repair Windows

Clean Installation Steps
