As a PC support technician for a small organization, it’s your job to support the PC’s, the small network, and the users. One of your coworkers, Jason, comes to you in a panic. His Windows XP system won’t boot, and he has lots of important data files on several locations on the drive. He has no idea in which folder some of the files are located. Besides the applications data he’s currently working on, he’s especially concerned about losing e-mail addresses, e-mail, and his Internet Explorer Favorites links.
After trying everything you know about recovering Windows XP, you conclude that the OS is corrupted beyond repair. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, list the steps you would take to reinstall Windows XP and recover all the data that Jason needs.
In answering this I am assuming that this is a Windows domain (a group of networked computers that share a centralized database) in which case Jason’s information is really stored on a server, which also is backed up by back up domain controllers (BDC’s) therefore his data is NOT lost. The domain controller stores and controls the following: 1) User accounts, 2) Group Accounts and 3) Computer Accounts.
With this assumption, all the PC technician would have to do is reinstall the OS system and network it back to the server. Once he signs in using his user name and password; his files, applications, email, are right where they were including his desktop settings! A good technician will also confirm that all network settings including the printer, internet, and scanners also on the network are tested before returning the computer back to Jason. In the meantime Jason could log on to another computer on the system and continue to work using his personal log in. This would eliminate any down time.