System Fundamentals Week 6 - CameronProvost/Tech-Journal GitHub Wiki

System Utilities

Utility programs are software that allows the user to perform maintenance tasks and manage a computer and its devices and programs. Some examples include, file managers which organize and manage files, search utility which locates files on a computer, Image viewers which allow the user to find and view the contents of a graphic file. Other examples include, Disk clean up utilities which remove unnecessary files from the system to speed things up, an Uninstaller which removes unneeded or unwanted programs, a disk defragmenter which reorganizes the data on the disk, and back up utilities which allows the user to back up selected files or an entire disk to protect the data in the event of a crash leading to data loss. Screensaver utilities control the display that the user views as well as the visuals that result from the movement of the mouse or input of keys, Personal firewall and antivirus programs protect the system from potentially harmful software and malware. File compression utilities shrink the size of certain files to make more space on the disk for more data, and finally, media players which allow the user to view images and animations as well as listen to audio and watch video files.

Microsoft Management Console

The Microsoft management console holds utilities that are used to maintain a computer, and it can be accessed through System and Security through the control panel. This allows a person to manage shared folders and drives, start and stop services, look at performance logs, troubleshoot hardware problems. The three major tools are System tools, storage and service and applications.

Managing Services and Applications

Computers contain a number of services and applications that allow the computer to function, and they can be used to better system performance. Through the services and applications section a user can view the available services and view issues if something went wrong.

Overview of Windows Boot Process

There are a variety of ways windows can be booted, some examples include an internal hard drive petition, USB, and external hot swappable drive. The system volume is the active partition that contains the data required to load the operating system. The boot volume is where the files of the operating system are located. Every operating system requires certain files to boot, these files are known as system files.

Advanced Boot Options

If windows does not boot correctly a user can use the advanced boot options menu to solve the issue. This menu includes tools that allow the user to troubleshoot any ongoing issues and allows the user to revert back to the last known good boot configuration and gain access back to the system. To access this menu press F8 when windows is booting.

System Configuration Utility

This utility is used to troubleshoot issues when Windows is booting. It disables certain services or applications when booting that may cause problems. The boot tab allows the user to manipulate the boot process to simplify it and streamline the services the computer and boot process uses. The advanced tabs allow the user to choose the number of processors and memory the boot system uses. The startup tab allows the user to enable and disable programs in the boot menu and startup programs.

Task Manager

Task manager is a utility that displays applications that are currently loaded into system memory.

Pick one of these tools available in the System Management console (Task Scheduler, Event Viewer, Shared Folders). Do you think you would find it useful when doing your day-to-day computing tasks? Why or why not? I think that Task Scheduler is most useful when it comes to my daily tasks. I have used it in the past to launch applications at certain times of the day as well as to run virus scans and system backups on a regular schedule.

What is the usefulness of a tool like Windows Task Manager? Have you ever used this tool in the past, and for what purposes?

I have found in the past when my system is running slower then normal I can use task manager to find the potential issue. I have discovered viruses running in the background and I have found systems that are running in the background that are unnecessary and slowing down the system.