Advanced Windows skills

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The Windows Backup utility provides a simple interface for backing up and restoring data. To access the Backup Or Restore Wizard, on the Start menu, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. Alternatively, on the Start menu, you can click Run, type ntbackup, and then click OK.

You can use Backup in two modes:

Wizard mode:
In Wizard mode, Backup steps you through the process of backing up or restoring your data.

Advanced mode:
In Advanced mode, Backup presents a more traditional backup interface for selecting files and backup locations.

The Backup Or Restore Wizard:
In Wizard mode, you will use the Backup Or Restore Wizard, to back up or restore data. By default, Backup launches the Backup Or Restore Wizard when you launch the utility. You can use the Backup Or Restore Wizard to back up data manually or to schedule unattended backup jobs on a regular basis. You can back up data to a file or to a tape. Files can be stored on hard disks, in shared folders on a network, or on drives with removable media (such as Iomega Zip and Jaz drives or tape drives).

Note:
Windows Backup does not support writing directly to a CD-ROM or DVD during the backup process. However, you can back up to a hard drive and then manually copy the backup file to optical media.

On the Welcome To The Backup Or Restore Wizard page, click Next. The Backup Or Restore page allows you to specify whether you want to back up files and settings or restore files and settings.

Advanced Mode:
You can also use the Backup utility in Advanced mode, by clicking Advanced Mode on the Backup Or Restore Wizard’s Welcome page. If you want to have Backup start in Advanced mode each time you start the program, clear the Always Start In Wizard Mode check box on the Welcome Page before clicking Advanced Mode.

Advanced mode provides access to a number of options that you cannot access by using the Backup Or Restore Wizard.

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If you want to share a folder on a remote computer, you use the Computer Management window to connect to the remote computer.

Note Using Computer Management (or the Shared Folders snap-in) is the only way to share a folder on a remote computer. Otherwise, you need to be physically located at the computer where the folder resides to share it.

To share a folder on a remote computer, use these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel window, click Performance And Maintenance.
3. In the Performance And Maintenance window, click Administrative Tools.
4. In the Administrative Tools folder, double-click Computer Management.
5. In the Computer Management window, click Computer Management (Local).
6. Click Action, and then click Connect To Another Computer.
Windows XP displays the Select Computer dialog box.
7. Type the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) of the computer to which you want to connect or click Browse to locate the computer on the network. Click OK when you have specified the computer.
8. Use the Create A Shared Folder Wizard (described in the previous section) to create a new folder and share it.

Note If you want to create and manage shared folders on remote computers and you are not in a domain, you must create the same user account with the same password on each computer. In workgroups, you do not have a central database that contains all user accounts. Instead, each computer in the workgroup has its own local security database.

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Much of the configuration of a LAN connection happens in the Network Connections window. Right-clicking a particular connection provides a shortcut menu with commands for working with the connection.

How to View the Status of a Connection

To view the current status of a connection, right-click the connection, and then click Status. This action opens the Local Area Connection Status dialog box. The General tab of this dialog box shows the connection status and the activity on the connection since it was last enabled (the number of data packets sent and received over the connection).

The Support tab of the Local Area Connection Status dialog box shows you the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) configuration
information (Internet Protocol [IP] address, subnet mask, and so on) for the connection.

Click Details to view extended TCP/IP information, including the physical address of the network adapter, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and lease information, and Domain Name System (DNS) server addresses.

Tip:
You can also view the TCP/IP information for connections using the ipconfig command-line utility. The advantage of using ipconfig is that by typing "ipconfig /all" at the command prompt, you can view information for all connections on the computer at once.

How to Rename a Local Area Connection

If you have more than one network adapter installed, Windows names the first connection Local Area Connection, the second connection Local Area Connection 2, and soon. For clarity, consider using a naming scheme that makes it easy to identify what the different connections are for. To rename a connection, use these steps:
1. In the Network Connections window, right-click the connection, and then click
Rename.
2. Type the new name for the connection, and then press ENTER.
How to Disable and Enable a Local Area Connection
There might be cases in which you will want to temporarily disable a connection without deleting it. To disable and enable a connection, use these steps:
1. In the Network Connections window, right-click the connection, and then click Disable.
Windows disables the connection. The icon for the connection appears dimmed in the Network Connections window.
2. To enable a connection, right-click the connection, and then click Enable.

How to Bridge a Connection

The Network Bridge feature allows you to connect network segments (groups of networked computers) without having to use a router or bridge. The feature essentially turns the computer running Windows XP Professional into a router by allowing it to pass data between network adapters installed on the computer, each of which is attached to a different network segment. Network Bridge allows you to connect different types of network media. Before Network Bridge, if you were using more than one media type, you needed a different subnet for each media type. Packet forwarding would be required because different protocols are used on different media types. Network Bridge automates the configuration that is required to forward information from one media type to another.

To configure Network Bridge, do the following:
1. In the Network Connections window, select each of the network connections that you want to make part of the bridge.
2. Right-click one of the selected network connections, and then click Bridge
Connections.

The following are important Network Bridge considerations:
■ Only Ethernet adapters, IEEE-1394 adapters, or Ethernet-compatible adapters, such as wireless or home phone network adapter (HPNA), can be part of the Network Bridge.
■ Adapters that have Windows Firewall or ICS enabled cannot be included in the Network Bridge.
■ You can add connections to the Network Bridge after it has been created by using the Add To Bridge menu command.
■ Only one bridge can exist on a Windows XP Professional computer, but it can be used to connect as many different media types as the computer can physically accommodate.
■ You cannot create a bridge connection on computers running Windows 2000 or earlier.

How to Repair a Connection

Sometimes LAN connections stop working. This problem can happen for many reasons, including problems with the configuration of the network connection. When you are troubleshooting a networking problem, a good place to start is by using the Repair function provided by Windows XP Professional.

To repair a LAN connection, in the Network Connections window, right-click the connection, and then click Repair. When you use the Repair command, Windows takes the following actions:

1. Attempts to renew the connections DHCP lease, which is equivalent to using the ipconfig /renew command at the command prompt.
2. Flushes the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache, which is equivalent to using the arp -d command at the command prompt.
3. Reloads the NetBIOS name cache, which is equivalent to using the nbtstat -R command at the command prompt. A NetBIOS name update is also sent, which is equivalent to using the nbtstat –RR command.
4. Flushes the Domain Name System (DNS) cache, which is equivalent to using the ipconfig /flushdns command at the command prompt.
5. Registers the computer’s DNS name, which is equivalent to using the ipconfig /registerdns command at the command prompt.
6. Restarts IEEE 802.1x Authentication.