7.1 Introduction to Windows

Question 1

While many IT professionals prefer Mac OS and Linux, _________ is still the leader for desktop operating systems.

Answer 1

While many IT professionals prefer Mac OS and Linux, Windows is still the leader for desktop operating systems.

Question 2

_________ is one of the most important Windows tools for troubleshooting resource usage.

Answer 2

Task Manager is one of the most important Windows tools for troubleshooting resource usage.

Question 3

True or False Command Prompt uses / like Linux

Answer 3

False

False Command Prompt uses ****

Question 4

Linux variables are designated with a ___, while Windows ENV variables are enclosed with ___ signs.

Answer 4

Linux variables are designated with a $, while Windows ENV variables are enclosed with % signs.

Question 5

_____________ is a tool used to query system information and diagnostics, such as OS and hard disk info.

Answer 5

Windows Management Instrumentation Command (wmic) is a tool used to query system information and diagnostics, such as OS and hard disk info.

Question 6

wmic Structure and Conventions

Explain [global switches]

Answer 6

[global switches] are global commands called on by wmic. For example: wmic /APPEND:report.txt os get caption will append the Windows build number to report.txt file. This will add the output content to the file and not overwrite the file.

Question 7

wmic Structure and Conventions

Explain [alias]

Answer 7

[alias] is the Windows component that wmic queries. Common aliases include: os (operating system): Contains properties specific to the operating system, such as the Windows edition name and build number. Logicaldisk: Contains properties specific to the disk drives, such as drive name, filesystem, free space, size, and volume serial number.

Question 8

wmic Structure and Conventions

Explain [verbs]

Answer 8

[verbs] are actions we want to complete with the wmic command. For example, if we are using wmic os to find operating system information, we can then use the get verb, followed by the various [properties] we want to find.

Question 9

wmic Structure and Conventions

Explain [properties]

Answer 9

Common [properties] to retrieve using get: get caption: Returns a one-line description of the given alias. get /value: Gets all of the properties and values of an alias and lists each on separate line.

Question 10

Explain what this command will do:

wmic /APPEND:report.txt os get caption

Answer 10

It will append the Windows build number to report.txt file. This will add the output content to the file, and **not** overwrite the file.

Question 11

What does this command do: wmic /APPEND:report.txt useraccount get name, sid, description

Answer 11

Finds all user’s last login information, and all user info, SID, important directories, and files.

Question 12

How would you list all the different values that can be retrieved from the os wmic alias.

Answer 12

wmic os get /value

Question 13

Use net user to:

Answer 13

Add, remove and manage users

Question 14

Use net localgroup to:

Answer 14

Add, remove and manage groups

Question 15

Use net accounts to:

Answer 15

View password and logon requirments for users to enforce password security policies

Question 16

net lets us set the following password policies:

Answer 16

Time before a password expires. Minimum number of characters required for password. Minimum number of days before a password can be changed. Number of times a password must be unique before it can be reused again. E.g., if using the PW apples2apples, you’ll have to change it to two new passwords before you can use apples2apples again.

Question 17

Common and Important Windows Directories

C:\

Answer 17

C:\ (or whichever root drive Windows is installed on) : is a root drive

Question 18

Common and Important Windows Directories

C:\Program Files\

Answer 18

C:\Program Files\ is where 64-bit applications are installed.

Question 19

Common and Important Windows Directories

C:\Program Files (x86)\

Answer 19

C:\Program Files (x86)\ is where 32-bit applications are installed.

Question 20

Common and Important Windows Directories

C:\ProgramData\

Answer 20

C:\ProgramData\ [hidden] is a hidden directory where application-specific settings reside.

Question 21

Common and Important Windows Directories

C:\Users\

Answer 21

C:\Users` is the directory for all users, including our sysadmin user. This is similar to Linux’s /home directory.

Question 22

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is cd or chdir?

Answer 22

cd or chdir is to change directories, just like with Linux’s cd

Question 23

Common and Important Windows Directories

C:\Windows\System32\

Answer 23

C:\Windows\System32\ is where (counterintuitively) 64-bit main component Windows system applications configuration settings are located.

Question 24

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is dir?

Answer 24

Lists the contents of a directory, similarly to Linux’s ls

Question 25

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is md or mkdir?

Answer 25

Creates directories.

Question 26

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is del or erase?

Answer 26

Deletes files and directories. Directories will prompt a user to confirm. Note that files deleted with this command do not go to the Recycle Bin, unlike when they are deleted with the GUI.

Question 27

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is rd or rmdir?

Answer 27

rd or rmdir removes a directory if it's empty. Non-empty directories must be removed with rmdir /S or rd /S`.

Question 28

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is find?

Answer 28

find will search a file for whatever is defined. For example, find "hello" greeting.txt will search the greeting.txt file for the string hello.

Question 29

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is type?

Answer 29

type followed by a file name will show the contents of a file. Similar to cat in Linux.

Question 30

CMD Interaction and Navigation

What is | more?

Answer 30

more` or “pipe more” shows contents of the command-line in a per-screen format.

Question 31

Provide the corresponding Default Value :

%CD%
%DATE%
%OS%
%ProgramFiles%
%ProgramFiles(x86)%
%TIME%
%USERPROFILE%
%SYSTEMDRIVE%
%SYSTEMROOT%

Answer 31

%CD% ———————-Current directory
%DATE% ——————–Current date
%OS%————————Windows
%ProgramFiles%———Program Files
%ProgramFiles(x86)%–Program Files (x86)
%TIME% ——————–Current Time
%USERPROFILE%——-C:\Users{username}
%SYSTEMDRIVE%——C:\
%SYSTEMROOT%——C:\Windows

Question 32

Was does WMIC stand for?

Answer 32

WMIC Windows Management Instrumentation Command

Question 33

What is the WMIC query structure?

Answer 33

wmic [global switches] [alias] [verbs] [properties]