Comptia A+, Understanding Windows

Front 1

What are the 3 main 'families' of Windows?

Back 1

The three main 'families' of Windows are 2000, XP, and Vista.

Front 2

Name the two 32-bit versions of Windows 2000.

Back 2

The two 32-bit versions of Windows 2000 are Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server.

Front 3

Name four versions of Windows XP that are 32-bit and two that are 64-bit.

Back 3

The four versions of Windows XP that are 32-bit are Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional,
Windows XP Tablet, and Windows Media Center.

The two 64-bit versions of Windows XP are Windows XP 64-bit version and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

Front 4

Name the four versions of Windows Vista that are all 32-bit and 64-bit.

Back 4

Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Ultimate

Front 5

What are the names of two other types of Windows Vista that you are not likely to encounter?

Back 5

Windows Vista Starter Edition which is not sold in developed countries and Windows Vista Enterprise which is a version Vista Business but only sold to Window's large-volume enterprise customers.

Front 6

What are some of the older versions of windows you may encounter?

Back 6

Some older versions of Windows are Windows 95, Windows Me and Windows 3.x

Front 7

Microsoft entered the operating system game in the early (year)s with a command line OS called MS-DOS. What does MS-DOS stand for?

Back 7

Microsoft entered the operating system game in the early 1980s with a command line OS called MS-DOS. MS-DOS stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System

Front 8

Microsoft soon invented Windows 1.0 in (year) which ran on top of DOS and provided a GUI, the most popular version of Windows was Windows for Workgroups version (version) .

Back 8

Microsoft soon invented Windows 1.0 in 1985 which ran on top of DOS and provided a GUI, the most popular version of Windows was Windows for Workgroups version 3.1

Front 9

Microsoft released several versions of Windows 3.1, techs collectively call them Windows ___.

Back 9

Microsoft released several versions of Windows 3.1, techs collectively call them Windows 3.x

Front 10

In (year) Microsoft offerred a completely seperate version of Windows called Windows NT which was a true graphical operating system that was dramatically more powerful than the other Windows overlay versions.

Back 10

In 1989 Microsoft offerred a completely seperate version of Windows called Windows NT which was a true graphical operating system that was dramatically more powerful than the other Windows overlay versions.

Front 11

Windows NT cost more than the other versions of Windows and was used mostly with s______ and on systems where users needed a lot of p____. Windows NT 4.0 was the last version to be released in (year).

Back 11

Windows NT cost more than the other versions of Windows and was used mostly with servers and on systems where users needed a lot of power. Windows NT 4.0 was the last version to be released in 1996.

Front 12

Windows NT had so many new features that it would take days to cover them all but one is important. NT came with a new way to organize hard drives and files called the __ ____ ______ (NTFS). Before NTFS all versions of windows used an ancient file system ____ __________ _____ (FAT)

Back 12

Windows NT had so many new features that it would take days to cover them all but one is important. NT came with a new way to organize hard drives and files called the NT file system (NTFS). Before NTFS all versions of windows used an ancient file system file allocation table (FAT)

Front 13

FAT was invented in the late (year)s, but by the mid-80's it was showing it's age, NTFS took care of many problems the biggest of which was ________. FAT had no security, NTFS was built with security in mind from the ground up.

Back 13

FAT was invented in the late 1970's, but by the mid-80's it was showing it's age, NTFS took care of many problems the biggest of which was security. FAT had no security, NTFS was built with security in mind from the ground up.

Front 14

It was not until (year) that Microsoft dumped the overlay concept and came out with Windows (version) the first edition with a full blown OS for standard users. They eventually released Windows __, Windows __ __, and Windows __ which all continued to use the FAT file system.

Back 14

It was not until 1995 that Microsoft dumped the overlay concept and came out with Windows 95 the first edition with a full blown OS for standard users. They eventually released Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows Me which all continued to use the FAT file system.

Front 15

When Techs descibe Windows 95, 98, 98 SE and Me from a historical standpoint we collectively refer to them using the term Windows __.

Back 15

When Techs descibe Windows 95, 98, 98 SE and Me from a historical standpoint we collectively refer to them using the term Windows 9x.

Front 16

Before Windows 2000 was released in (year), Windows was bit of a mess, and had two totally different OSs aimed at two different markets. Windows 9x was sold to h___ u____ and s____ o_____ Windows NT was aimed at c________ e___________.

Back 16

Before Windows 2000 was released in (year), Windows was bit of a mess, and had two totally different OSs aimed at two different markets. Windows 9x was sold to home users and small office and the more powerful Windows NT was aimed at corporate environments.

Front 17

Windows 2000 was based on Windows __, had a great interface and supported almost any program and was much easier to use than NT. Many 9x users upgraded to Windows 2000 and it became the most popular version in use.

Back 17

Windows 2000 was based on Windows NT, had a great interface and supported almost any program and was much easier to use than NT. Many 9x users upgraded to Windows 2000 and it became the most popular version in use.

Front 18

Windows 2000 came in two versions ____________ and ______.

Back 18

Windows 2000 came in two versions Professional and Server.

Server looks almost the same as Professional but came with software and features for running a server, and it was expensive, costing about $200 per PC connected to a server.

Front 19

Windows 2000 was the last version of Windows to come in both Server and Professional versions. After Windows __ was released the next version of Windows Server was named Server (year), Server (year) is the latest version.

Back 19

Windows 2000 was the last version of Windows to come in both Server and Professional versions. After Windows XP was released the next version of Windows Server was named Server 2003, Server 2008 is the latest version.

Front 20

Windows XP came right after Windows 2000, it had a dramatically improved interface and new features such as a built-in CD Writer, and stopped making one OS for all, and came out with 3 flavors of XP. What are they?

Back 20

Windows XP Professional (for professionals)
Windows XP Home (for home users)
Windows XP Media Center (for media junkies)

Front 21

Of all the versions of Windows XP which is the beleived to be the most versatile and therefore the most popular?

Hint: This is the only version of XP that enables users to login to a special Windows Server-controlled network called a domain.

Back 21

Windows XP Professional is the most popular and most versatile version of XP, and it is the only version of XP that provides the capability of logging into a Windows Server-controlled network called a domain.

Front 22

What is the definition of a Windows domain?

Back 22

A Windows domain is a group of networked computers all under the control of a single computer running some version of Windows Server. Users on a domain can make a single login to their computer that defines everything they can do on every other computer on the domain.

Front 23

Windows XP Home is designed for the home and small office user and is basically a stripped down version XP Professional. What are six things that XP Home lacks that are included in XP Professional?

Back 23

1. The ability to login into a domain. Windows XP Home can login into any single server, but needs a login for each server, with a domain you can login from any computer on the domain with the same login credentials.
2. Encrypting file system. You can encrypt any file or folder so that only you can read it.
3. Support for up to two CPUs
4. Support for remote desktop, any XP Professional PC can be accessed from another computer running remote desktop.
5. Support for NTFS. NTFS provides powerful controls on what users can do with files and folders. XP Home does not have a security tab option in the properties screen. Instead XP Homes sharing tab only allows for one folder to be shared which is the Shared Documents folder.
6. Support for group policies. XP Pro can allow you to prevent users from running a certain program, changing a screen saver, or even do something when they fail login 3 times.

Front 24

Which version of XP allows for serious control of folders, files, users and networking.

Back 24

Windows XP Professional is the only version of XP that allows for serious control of folders, files, users and networking.

Front 25

Windows XP Media Center edition is a special version of XP that includes the 'Windows Media Center' program. What does this program allow you to do?

Back 25

Windows Media Center is a Personal Video Recorder(PVR)program that allows you to watch and record television(you will need to install a TV tuner card though), it also allows you to organize all of your media from photos to music.

Note: Microsoft's website says that Windows XP Media Center is based on XP Pro but in reality it is identical to XP Home apart from the Media Center program.

Front 26

Windows Vista Home Basic is roughly equivalent to Windows XP ____ and geared at home users that don't need a_______ m_________ s______.

Back 26

Windows Vista Home Basic is roughly equivalent to Windows XP Home and geared at home users that don't need advanced multimedia support.

Front 27

Windows Vista Home Premium is the same as Windows Vista H___ B____ but adds an upgraded W______ M____ C_____ PVR application similar to the one found in Windows XP M____ C_____.

Back 27

Windows Vista Home Premium is the same as Windows Vista Home Basic but adds an upgraded Windows Media Center PVR application similar to the one found in Windows XP Media Center.

Front 28

Windows Vista Business is the basic b_______ version and has all the security, file-sharing, and access controls seen in Windows XP P___________.

Back 28

Windows Vista Business is the basic business version and has all the security, file-sharing, and access controls seen in Windows XP Professional.

Front 29

Windows Vista Ultimate combines all the features of every other Vista version and includes some extra features such as a g___ p__________ t______ and ___ ripping capability.

Back 29

Windows Vista Ultimate combines all the features of every other Vista version and includes some extra features such as a game performance tweaker and DVD ripping capability.

Front 30

You can determine your Windows version by r____-c_______ M_ C_______ in Windows 2000 or XP, or C_______ in V____ and Windows (number) and selecting p__________.

Back 30

You can determine your Windows version by right-clicking 'My Computer' in Windows 2000 or XP, or 'Computer' in Vista and Windows 7 and selecting properties.

Front 31

From roughly ____ to around ____ all CPUs were (number)-bit. The main difference between a 32-bit and a 64-bit CPU is that a 32-bit CPU can only use a maximum of (number) gigabytes (GB) of RAM. 64-bit CPUs are extremely common now.

Back 31

From roughly 1986 to around 2001 all CPUs were 32-bit. The main difference between a 32-bit and a 64-bit CPU is that a 32-bit CPU can only use a maximum of 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. 64-bit CPUs are extremely common now.

Front 32

64-bit CPUs can use more than 4 GB or RAM. This is a compelling reason to switch to a 64-bit CPU. What does being able to use more RAM equate to as far as the end user is concerned?

Back 32

Put simply, the more RAM you have, the more programs, and the bigger the programs your system will run.

Front 33

How many GB of RAM can a 32-bit CPU support and how much can a 64-bit CPU?

Back 33

A 32-bit CPU can support up to 4 GB or RAM and a 64-bit CPU can support up to 16 terabytes of memory? (RAM and memory are synonymous terms)

Front 34

How big is one megabyte and how big in one terabyte?

Back 34

Note: Drive manafactures use 1000 instead of 1024 when describing size, so you may here that a terabyte is equal to 1000 gigabytes but it is actually 1024 gigabytes. Both are acceptable.

1 Bit = Binary Digit
8 Bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte
1024 Kilobytes = 1 Megabyte
1024 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte
1024 Gigabytes = 1 Terabyte
1024 Terabytes = 1 Petabyte
1024 Petabytes = 1 Exabyte
1024 Exabytes = 1 Zettabyte
1024 Zettabytes = 1 Yottabyte
1024 Yottabytes = 1 Brontobyte
1024 Brontobytes = 1 Geopbyte

Front 35

64-bit CPUs first showed up in (year) with the I____ I______, but OSs that could support them were rare, and Microsoft answered with 64-bit versions of Windows ____ and Windows __.

Back 35

64-bit CPUs first showed up in 2001 with the Intel Itanium, but OSs that could support them were rare, and Microsoft answered with 64-bit versions of Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Front 36

All 32-bit versions of Windows support a maximum of 4 GB of RAM, will your 32-bit Windows OS still be functional if you install more than 4 GB of RAM?

Back 36

Yes, your sytem and OS will run fine, but you should remove that extra memory since it will not be used, and can be used later if some of your memory goes bad.

Front 37

Windows XP 64-bit Edition is rare since it only worked with I____ I______ processors, you are much more likely to encounter Windows XP ____________ ___ Edition as it runs on any AMD or Intel processor that supports both 32 and 64 bits.

Back 37

Windows XP 64-bit Edition is rare since it only worked with Intel Itanium processors, you are much more likely to encounter Windows XP Professional x64 Edition as it runs on any AMD or Intel processor that supports both 32 and 64 bits.

Front 38

Windows XP 64-bit versions were the first versions of windows that truly supported 64-bit processing, but it was Windows _____ that really started the movement from 32 to 64 bits.

Back 38

Windows XP 64-bit versions were the first versions of windows that truly supported 64-bit processing, but it was Windows Vista that really started the movement from 32 to 64 bits.

Front 39

All versions of Windows Vista support both 32 and 64 bit processing, therefore it is important to make sure that the version of Windows you choose is a 64-bit version if you intend to use more than (number) GB of RAM.

Back 39

All versions of Windows Vista support both 32 and 64 bit processing, therefore it is important to make sure that the version of Windows you choose is a 64-bit version if you intend to use more than 4 GB of RAM.

Front 40

With regard to Windows 7, does it come in both 32 and 64 bit versions and do they come on the same installation disc?

Back 40

Yes and Yes. Windows 7 comes in both 32 and 64 bit versions on the same installation disc.

Front 41

Intel originally used numbers to name its CPUs such as 8086,80286 and 80386, and so on. To talk about them collectively techs replaced the leading numbers with an 'x' and refer them now as x__ and x__. All 32-bit versions of Windows were designed to run on x86 architecture.

Back 41

Intel originally used numbers to name its CPUs such as 8086,80286 and 80386, and so on. To talk about them collectively techs replaced the leading numbers with an 'x' and refer them now as <strong>x86</strong> and <strong>x64</strong>. All 32-bit versions of Windows were designed to run on x86 architecture.

Front 42

Most 32-bit software and applications will still run on 64-bit versions of windows, if they don't you can explicitly tell the program to run using W______ c___________ m___ by bringing up the p_________ screen on the actual e_________ file and then using the c___________ t__. You simply check the box and select the OS of choice. It will s___ the changes an try to run it in the selected mode from then on.

Back 42

Most 32-bit software and applications will still run on 64-bit versions of windows, if they don't you can explicitly tell the program to run using <strong>Windows compatibitly mode</strong> by bringing up the <strong>properties</strong> screen on the actual <strong>executable</strong> file and then using the <strong>compatibilty tab</strong>. You simply check the box and select the OS of choice. It will <strong>save</strong> the changes an try to run it in the selected mode from then on.

Front 43

True or false? All versions of windows share certain characteristics, configuration files, and general look and feel, and you will find the same or almost the same utilities in most versions of Windows and this is also true for both GUI and command line interfaces.

Back 43

true, once you master one version you'll pretty much have them all covered as there are only slight differences.

Front 44

Every version of Windows support multiple users on a single machine. True or false?

Back 44

true

Front 45

In most cases you will see a special login screen called a 'w______ s_____' instead of the 'classic login screen' from Windows 2000, but if you are using Windows XP P___________ that connects to a Windows domain you will see the 'classic login screen' that asks for username, password and possibly a domain.

However Windows V____ does not use the c______ login screen at all and has an improved version of XP's 'welcome screen'

Back 45

In most cases you will see a special login screen called a <strong>'welcome screen'</strong> instead of the <strong>'classic login screen'</strong> from Windows 2000, but if you are using Windows <strong>Professional</strong> that connects to a Windows domain you will see the 'classic login screen' that asks for username, password and possibly a domain.

However Windows <strong>Vista</strong> does not use the <strong>classic</strong> login screen at all and has an improved version of XP's 'welcome screen'

Front 46

Windows Vista desktop uses something called the Aero Desktop that has two interesting features. What are they and what do they do?

Back 46

Transparency allows you adjust the transparency of the edges of your windowed programs.

Flip 3D enables you to view all open windows in a 3D format and also allows you to select between them.

Front 47

How do you use Flip 3D in Vista?

Back 47

To use Flip 3D in Vista you press and hold the windows key + tab repeatedly to cycle the windows, once the window you want is in the front you release the keys to switch to that window. You can scroll in reverse using window key + shift + tab

Front 48

What are the four requirements to use the Aero Desktop in Vista?

You can test if Aero is enabled easily by using the windows key + tab, if Flip 3D appears you have Aero, if it does not Aero is not active.

Note: when you install Vista it checks to see if you can support Aero and enables it automatically.

Back 48

The requirements for enabling Aero Desktop in Windows Vista are...

1. a video card with at least 128 MB of video RAM
2. Direct X 9 or higher
3. Pixel Shader 2.0
4. The Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver.

Front 49

How do you turn on Aero in Windows Vista?

Back 49

To turn on Aero, you should:

1. right-click on your desktop
2. select the Personalize menu option
3. select Window Color and Appearance
4. select the Windows Aero color scheme to activate the Aero desktop.

Front 50

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) started shipping the popular A_____ (number) CPU in (year) which could run in either 32-bit or 64 bit mode.

Back 50

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) started shipping the popular Athlon 64 CPU in 2003 which could run in either 32-bit or 64 bit mode.

Front 51

In (year) Intel followed AMD with P______ (number) CPUs that were also capable of 32 and 64 bit processing.

Back 51

In 2004 Intel followed AMD with Pentium 4 CPUs that were also capable of 32 and 64 bit processing.

Front 52

Since what year did almost every CPU manafactured by both AMD and Intel support both 32 and 64 bit processing?

Back 52

Since 2001 almost every CPU manafactured by both AMD and Intel support both 32 and 64 bit processing.