BLOG: Becoming a PC Support Technician

1. A history professor calls you into his office and tells you he thinks the memory on his computer needs upgrading. He wants you to tell him how much RAM is currently installed. What do you do?

The fastest is Win+Break feature if using Windows Vista.

If you are using XP you need to open the System Properties window and right click on My Computer and select Properties and go to the General Tab this will show you the RAM that is currently installed. Another short cut is Go into the Control Panel from Start and go into System.


2. A PE instructor discovers the history professor has Windows XP on his desktop. She thinks she has a version of Windows 9x/Me on her desktop and wants you to tell her exactly which OS she has installed. What do you do?

Follow the instructions for the 1st Question above. The OS system being used is included in the General tab as well.

3. The Office Administrator for Career Education is working from home today. She calls you to say she must connect to the internet but her dial up connection is not working. Walk her through the steps to verify that Windows XP is recognizing her modem correctly. What are these steps?

This will be in your Device Manager. I prefer to use the Run option from Start button and type in Devmgmt.msc. However, you can get there by Start, right click on My Computer and select Properties on the submenu. Click on the Hardware tab and locate her modem. If her modem is listed, click on it and it will tell you if it is working properly. If it is then check her network connection. If her network connection is not listed, add one for this modem.

The question asked the steps to verify that Windows XP is recognizing her modem correctly, but my very first steps would be to make sure connections are all in place, i.e., its plugged in to the wall and the computer.

4. A student in a computer lab is trying to answer a question in the lab about Windows XP automatic Updates. She needs to know if the system is set to receive Windows updates automatically. What steps do you give her to find the answer?

There are two ways, my first choice would be to go to Start and then Programs and select Windows Update this will give her the status on when she will receive updates.

The second way is to go to the System Properties (same steps as Question #1) and choose Automatic Updates. This will also give you the information and choices.

5. A student in the Media Center complains that his monitor is flickering. you suspect the resolution is set too low under Windows XP. List the steps to find out the current resolution on your Windows XP system. What is the highest resolution possible for your monitor?

This will be in the Control Panel to get there you go to Start click Control Panel and then Display. You will choose the tab settings and check the resolution. You adjust by using the slider bar. My computer's highest resolution is 1280x800 Pixels.

6. A student in a computer lab asks you how much space is free on her drive C using Windows XP. What steps do you use?

I would go to Start and then My Computer, Right click on the C drive and go to Properties in the submenu this will display the free space available on the C Drive.

7. Your boss asks you to go down the hall to the Windows XP computer in the break room and find out the path and the name of the device driver for the optical drive (CD drive or DVD Drive ) that is installed. What steps do you use? What is the path and the name of the optical drive device driver on your Windows XP System?

The easiest way I found to retrieve this information is in the System Information. To get to the system information you go to Start, click run and type Msinfo32.exe and press ok. Then you click Components and pull up the CD-ROM. This will give you the information requested.

The path and the name of the optical device driver on my Windows System is:

Name PIONEER DVDRW DR-KD08HB ATA Device

Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys (6.0.6001.18000, 78.00 KB (79,872 bytes), 1/20/2008 5:46 PM)

Please note that you can also get this information through your Device Properties (instructions on Question #3) and choose the Device and then choose Driver Details and there you go.

Name PIONEER DVDRW DR -KD08HB ATA Device

C:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys