Computer Hardware & Troubleshooting II Modules 1-3

Knowledge Base

a collection of articles containing text, images, or video that give information about a network, product, or service.

Asset Management

tracks physical and digital assets, including end-user devices, network devices, IP addresses, software licenses, and related licenses.

Asset Tags

label or sticker that identifies a physical asset, such as a tool, piece of equipment, or vehicle

Barcodes

Barcode sticker that is easily scanned by lazer scanners that aid in theft-protection

Topology

Refers to the pattern in which devices on a network are connected to eachother

Change Managment

a structured process within an organization’s IT department to manage and control changes to their system, infrastructure and applications, aimed to minimize disruption of services while implementing updates following ITIL best practice.

Documented Business Processes

related activities that lead to a desired business goal such as an efficient and cost-effective service, excellent customer satisfaction, or a superior product

Request form

A form that formally states what needs to be changed

CAB (Change Advisory Board)

A board that complex changes are submitted to review

Scope of Change

The extent or boundaries of modifications made to a system, project, or process

Risk Analysis

Process of identifying potential problems so there are so such situations once the change begins

Rollback Plan

needed to recover to the original state in the event of a failed change implementation.

RFC (Request for Comments)

A request for user feedback to a change

Operating System

A software that controls a computer

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

A way for users to interact with a device using visual elements

Device Drivers

Small Programs stored on the hard drive that tells the Computer to communicate with specific hardware.

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

Specification for a software program that connects a computer to its OS

Basic input/output information (BIOS)

A set of computer instructions in firmware which control input and output operations including hardware initialization and runtime services for OS.

Low Level Formatting

Process usually performed at the fact that organizes the space in a long series of logical blocks; this is called LBA (Logical Block Addressing).

Master Boot Record (MBR) Partitions

keep a map of partitions in a partition table stored at the beginning of the hard drive called the Master Boot Record. Can have primary partitions (also called volumes). A fourth partition can hold one or more volumes/logical drives

Primary Partitions

Also known as a volume, a reserved part of the disk that can be used to store an OS. Usually identified by a letter.

Extended Partitions

Also known as a fourth partition, Can be divided into logical drives. Does not need a drive letter assigned.

GPT (GUID Partition Table)

Standard for the layout of partition tables of a physical computer storage drive. Can support 128 partitions.

File System

Overall structure an OS uses to name, store, and organize files and folders on any storage device.

Volume

A hard drive partition assigned with a drive letter

Formatting

Installing a file system on a volume

High-Level formatting

The process of preparing a disk partition for use by an operating system.

Directories

Also known as folders, a list that organizes files on a Computer.

Path

The drive and directories that point to the location of a file

File name

First part of the file name

File extension

Part after the period in a file name. Indicates how the file is organized or formatted including content in the file and what program will use the file.

Clean install

Overwrites the existing OS and applications

Custom Install

Installation customized to user preference.

Upgrade

Installation that is launched from within the existing OS. Upgrades carry forward user settings and applications.

Repair

Used to repair corrupted installation utilizing various tools and commands.

Windows Workgroup

a network that doesn’t have centralized control, called P2P. Windows calls this a ____. This is a logical group of computers and users that share resources controlled by administration.

Domain

forms a logical group of networked computers that share a centralized directory database of user account information and security.

Domain user account

domain-level account that gives access to network resources across a domain.

Network ID

unique identifier assigned to a user or device within a network allowing them to be recognized and authenticated when accessing resources across networking. Typically viewed as login credentials within active directory.

ISO file

Also known as an ISO image, an image of an optical disc, including file systems, and all its files and folders.

Virtual Machine

Software that simulates the hardware of a physical computer.

Hypervisor

Software used to manage VM’s installed on a workstation

Image Deployment

installing windows on a computer via a standard image. Standard images are typically created by drive imaging.

User State Migration Tool (USMT)

used when deploying windows in a windows domain to copy user files and settings from one computer to another

Scanstate

Copies user files and files from the source computer to a safe location in USMT

Loadstate

Applies these settings and files to the destination computers in USMT

Usmtutils

Provides encryption options and hard drive management in USMT

Full backup

Backs up all data designated for backup

Incremental Backup

Backs up only files that have been changed since the last backup

Differential Backup

Backs up files that have changed or been created since the last full backup

Grandfather-father-son (GFS)

common rotation scheme for backup media in which there are three or more backup cycles such as daily weekly or monthly. Grandfather backup typically occurs on last Friday of each month, father on every Monday and son on every other day of the week.

System Image

A back up of the entire Windows volume

File History

Simple Backup utility that gives you limited control over backup

mounted drive

A volume accessible by a folder on another volume so the folder has more available space.

Dynamic Disks

Storage configuration that allows for more flexible volume management than a basic disk

Dynamic Volume

Storage configuration that allows for volumes to span multiple physical disks.

Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID)

Technology to configure two or more hard drives to work together as an array of drives.

Raid 0/Striping

joining hard drives to improve performance. Work is shared between two hard drives but provides no fault tolerance.

Raid 1/Mirroring

copying one hard drive to another as a backup. Improves fault tolerance because if one drive fails, you have another copy.

Software RAID

RAID Implemented using Disk Management

Hardware RAID

RAID Implemented using a BIOS/UEFI setup on a motherboard.

Command Line Interface (CLI)

Two levels of command prompt including standard and elevated.

Wildcard

? and . Used to search for specific Files in Command Prompt. (a*.???? will search for any file that starts with a and has a 4 letter file extension).

Copy

Command that copies a single file or a group of files.

Xcopy

Command that is more powerful than the copy command.

Robocopy

Similar to xcopy but offers more options and is intended to replace xcopy

Lost Clusters

Also known as lost allocation units, a data fragment that does not belong to any file according to FMS/FAT

Cross-Linked Clusters

File Allocation Table (FAT) entries that point to the same cluster that causes errors.