70-685 : Enterprise Desktop Support Technician for Windows 7

Explore Windows 7's built-in troubleshooting in Control Panel, prioritizing common issues across programs, hardware, network, and appearance. Access Help, Action Center, and recovery options for quick problem resolution.

Learn to use the Windows 7 troubleshooter, explore the advanced apply repairs automatically option, and review troubleshoot categories from network to printers, plus remote assistance and recovery options.

Learn how to use the problem steps recorder to capture step-by-step actions, background processes, and screenshots, save the results as a zip web page, and email them for troubleshooting.

Learn to use group policy to install software by configuring a distribution point, hidden shares, and correct path mapping. Compare assigning versus publishing, and handle upgrades and add/remove programs prompts.

Apply default enforcement rules to all files, including dynamic link libraries, while excluding administrators who install software to control the network, and note certificate rules may impact performance.

AppLocker competes with software restriction policies; both cannot be on the same system, and AppLocker rules win, with group policy configuration and audit mode testing to ensure legitimate apps run.

AppLocker runs only on Windows 7 ultimate or enterprise, policies created on Windows 7 professional apply only to those editions, requiring Windows Server 2008 RSAT and Group Policy Management Console.

Explore AppLocker rules in local group policy editor, configuring executable, Windows Installer, and script rules. Learn to enforce or audit policies and create rules by publisher, path, or file hash.

Use the control panel to select a program, run compatibility checks, and fix issues. If the results aren’t successful, take the next step by downloading the Application Compatibility Toolkit.

Explore how Windows Installer manages program installation and configuration via MSI files, why upgrading the installer helps, and how to troubleshoot with msiexec and re-register commands.

Evaluate legacy app compatibility by checking UAC, protected mode, and elevated privileges. Assess OS version requirements with the upgrade advisor, Wow64, 16-bit and 32-bit programs, and Windows resource protection redirects.

Manage Windows Update via control panel or quick search, view update history and status, adjust settings to schedule automatic installs, and hide or restore updates, which can update some applications.

Learn to manage updates with a WSUS server administrator, classify critical security updates, configure downstream servers, push approved updates to sites or branches, and review synchronization and update status.

Discover Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) in Windows 7, enabling remote process control, scheduled tasks, remote reboots, software inventory, and event log queries, with AD group policy integration.

Use WMI tasks to enforce software installations via group policy, filter by hardware and prerequisites, and monitor applications such as Microsoft Operations Manager, Exchange, and SQL Server.

Explore group policy restrictions to customize Internet Explorer through local computer policy, including browser titles, logos, toolbar options, proxy settings, favorites, and security configurations for enterprise desktops.

Demonstrates using the Windows recovery environment to troubleshoot Windows 7, including startup repair, system restore, system image recovery, memory diagnostics, and bootrec via the command prompt.

Enable system protection on Windows 7, configure protection settings and disk space, and create restore points to roll back changes with System Restore.

Learn how boot configuration data is stored and modified in Windows 7, including hibernation, startup options, and using bcdedit to edit the registry hive and boot settings.

Enumerate and export boot entries with BCDEDIT, back them up, then delete boot data to demonstrate recovery. Rebuild the boot configuration data from the Windows installation disk and verify startup.

Explore configuring Windows services by using the services console, compare extended versus standard views, set startup types, logon accounts, recovery options, and dependencies to troubleshoot service behavior.

Identify the root cause with WMI checks, write the resolver script, and verify outcomes by re-running the troubleshooter. If multiple issues exist, it offers a choice and continues with resolution.

Explore how the Windows Experience Index rates your system by processor, memory, hard drive transfer rate, and graphics subscores, showing that the lowest subscore limits feature availability.

Explain Windows 7 multilingual deployments by edition, noting single language editions auto-delete language packs after choosing a default language. Ultimate and enterprise allow language switching during setup; default pack kept.

Windows deployment services, or WDS, is a server-based tool to create Windows 7 images and convert images from the reverse remote installation service, using the WDSUTIL command-line interface.

Explore Windows 7 network access using the network and sharing center to control how your device is seen, with network location categories, a network map, and diagnostics.

Assess a wired network issue by determining scope—one user or many—and verify IPv4 and IPv6 settings, hardware adapters, and potential application or server problems.

Lock down wireless security by hiding the network name, applying strong authentication and encryption, and using certificates, access point login, or MAC address filtering to control access.

Enable automatic configuration through group policy and Windows connect now to detect and connect to wireless networks on standalone or Active Directory devices, and import configuration via USB drive.

Explore how gateways and routers connect dissimilar networks using two network cards with matching network IDs, and troubleshoot connectivity by pinging the default gateway to gauge reach.

Explore the tcp/ip utilities suite to diagnose and troubleshoot network connections, including arp, ping, ipconfig, trace route, pathping, DNS, net, and diagnostic commands that reveal routes, hostnames, and DNS status.

Explore name resolution concepts, from hosts files and NetBIOS to DNS, and learn how machines resolve names to IP addresses across Windows and non-Microsoft networks.

Explore Windows internet name service (WINS) and how it resolves NetBIOS names to IPs, the 16-byte BIOS name, and why legacy apps require WINS.

Clear the resolver cache, ping the host by IP and by name to distinguish connectivity from name resolution, and verify or adjust the hosts file and nslookup.

Explore IPsec authentication and compare Kerberos, certificates, and pre-shared keys for securing connections in active directory and non-domain environments.

Compare dial-up, VPN, and direct access remote connections for Windows 7 and Server 2008, explaining secure, encrypted access, bidirectional vs one-way communication, and server-side configuration.

Compare vpn and dial-up authentication protocols, from pap and chap to ms-chapv2 and eap, highlighting security trade-offs and the role of extensible authentication using smart cards and pins.

Discover direct access authentication methods, including ipv6 only, machine authentication that applies group policies even when no user is logged on, and security with smartcards, passwords, and pins.

Explore the basics of networking in Windows 7, including connecting to networks, accessing resources, securing remote work setups, and considerations for enterprise desktop technicians across environments.

Explore how EFS uses a file encryption key protected by the user’s public key, decrypted by private key, with recovery agent’s encrypted copy and color-coded files in Windows Explorer.

Best practices for EFS include sharing encrypted files with multiple users, configuring a recovery agent in Active Directory, decompressing before encryption, and backing up the key for portability.

Configure BitLocker via group policy by selecting from four categories: global settings for all drives, operating system drive settings, fixed data drive settings, and removable drive settings.

Explore creating exceptions within rules and scanner properties, deciding when to enable, allow, or block connections, and applying user-based exclusions for administrators or owners.

Enable logging in Windows Firewall with Advanced Security per network profile, including domain, private, and public, and apply profile-specific rules to monitor attempts on public networks.

Identify common operating system attacks including viruses, spyware, worms, man-in-the-middle, and key loggers, and explain how they damage hardware, software, and data, including address book email propagation.

Explore the registry editor, back up and export registry branches, and navigate hives like local machine and current user to safely configure Windows settings.

Back up your PC with onsite backups and offsite encrypted portal for OS and data, and harden the system by disabling unused services, tightening the firewall, and applying updates.

Learn how spyware differs from viruses, how it spies on you, tracks and records your activities, compromises private data, and uses your web behavior to trigger targeted pop-ups.

Update Internet Explorer through Windows updates and disable unnecessary add-ons or toolbars. Use private browsing and SmartScreen filtering to block phishing and ensure cookies disappear after each session.

Explore how vpn (virtual private networks) enable mobile users and branch offices to securely connect to headquarters and access server resources, email, and file sharing remotely.

Explore the SSTP VPN protocol, which tunnels over https via port 443 to bypass firewalls, delivering confidentiality, integrity, and authentication, plus IKEv2 with IP tunnel mode and mobility support.

Explore how network policies secure Windows networks with conditions, constraints, and settings that govern who can access resources. Learn default deny behavior and how administrators tailor policies for safe authentication.

Identify how network policies flow determines access by evaluating the first matching policy, dialin properties, and explicit allows or denies for VPN and remote access.

Learn how to use remote desktop to connect from a Windows 7 workstation to a server, configure display and local resources, and manage authentication and sessions.

Improve network performance with branch cache by serving file shares from a local cache, reducing bandwidth and delivering a seamless office experience through hosted or distributed cache modes.

Explore physical hardware and driver failures, including accidental damage and overheating, and learn how backup planning and driver updates mitigate risks across Windows 7 environments.

Learn to retrieve hardware information with system information and device manager, inspect hardware resources and cdrom details, and manage drivers through driver details, updates, and inf file options.

Hard drives are the most common hardware to fail, so identify failure with bad sectors and event logs. Also ensure backups, proper drivers, and firmly seated power and data cables.

Learn how to check hard drive space on a Windows 7 workstation, review capacity and free space with properties, and use disk management and tools like check disk and backup.

Use resource monitor to inspect hardware resources across overview, CPQ, memory, disk, and network, isolate activity by process, view network statistics, TCAP connections, open ports, and disk usage.

Explore performance monitor to view current and historical statistics, use data collectors sets and reports, and analyze counters for processor time, memory, disk, and network to diagnose performance.

Create and manage data collector sets in performance monitor on Windows 7, using templates or manual counters to collect performance data, event traces, and save logs for later analysis.

Fine-tune memory, disk, processor, and network configurations to boost Windows 7 performance. Optimize page files across multiple disks, isolate disk-intensive apps, update drivers, and set processor affinity and network settings.

Explore how device drivers connect the operating system to hardware, manage signing and driver store, and use device manager in safe mode on Windows 7 to update or disable drivers.

Driver updates can trigger a blue screen; use safe mode to rollback or uninstall the driver. Use the last known good configuration to revert, but login may negate it.

Navigate Control Panel power options to tune balanced plans and advanced settings, reducing costs and extending battery life for laptops and desktops across a network.

XPS based printing creates a file using a simple, format-neutral document standard. Print from any Windows program to an XPS printer, viewable with the XPS viewer or Internet Explorer.

Explore printer driver issues in Windows 7, including backward compatibility with XP via the gdi-based architecture, and how kernel-mode drivers are blocked for system protection.

Evaluate spooler options that let quick printing for small jobs and full spooling for large ones, depending on user needs and client computers or network printer behavior.

Learn to identify and troubleshoot Windows 7 hardware across diverse components, determine upgrade needs, and use tools to isolate issues affecting printers and networks.

Explore how administrative templates extend group policy to configure the Windows firewall with advanced security and Internet Explorer maintenance, control traffic and logging, and define slow link detection.

Discover how Group Policy applies across local computers, sites, domains, and an organizational unit in Active Directory, and how processing order and precedence shape policy outcomes.

Explore how group policy settings depend on computer or user location, GPO linkage, and permissions, including the impact of dot net versions on policy application.

Explore event viewer to filter and archive system, security, and application logs, pinpointing Active Directory, group policy, and log in failures quickly.

Centralize configurations using group policy fundamentals and event forwarding, focusing on how policies themselves centralize management and the server factors to consider, beyond specific policy rules.

Use DNS in a Windows 7 Active Directory network to enable domain controller discovery and login. Employ DHCP for IP assignment and time synchronization across domain controllers.

Discover how dynamic host configuration protocol assigns IP addresses, subnet masks, and gateways to Windows 7 clients, and how DHCP can update DNS and renew or release them with ipconfig.

Explore how time servers use Kerberos authentication and the PDC emulator role on domain controllers to sync time, manage time critical changes, and configure with net time and W32tm.

Explore how user profiles store personal settings, including desktop, start menu, and favorites, how public profiles share applications, with backups and imports possible, while hidden items may occur.

Roaming user profiles are stored in a file share, so user settings move with the user when the server is backed up, but they increase login time.

Learn how drive mappings create virtual pointers to network shares, comparing manual versus automatic (logon script) mappings, including persistent mappings, user profile impact, and group policy implementation.

Configure offline files on the server side to cache only user-specified items or cache all shared folder content, balancing confidentiality and disk usage for courseware.

Configure shared folders and caching options on Windows Server, then enable offline files on the client and synchronize offline copies with Sync Center.

Explore Windows 7's transparent caching, which doesn't provide offline file access, stores files in a temporary cache for slow networks, and writes changes to the server immediately when you save.

Understand how shared and NTFS permissions determine access across network shares and locally. Favor NTFS restrictions to secure files while using share permissions to extend access where appropriate.