Cognizant interview Questions Active Directory

Upgrading windows 2003 to windows 2008.

Monitoring and Checking SCOM (System Center Operation manager) Alerts
System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) is a cross-platform data center management
system for operating systems and hypervisors. It uses a single interface that shows state, health
and performance information of computer systems. It also provides alerts generated according
to some availability, performance, configuration or security situation being identified. It works
with Microsoft Windows Server and Unix-based hosts.

Knowledge on windows Cluster

AD Rolls Not FSMO Roles (Feature in 2008)

Active Directory Certificate Services
It provides customized services for creating and managing public key certificates used in
software security systems.
Active Directory Domain Services
It stores the information about users, computers and other devices on the network. ADDS helps
administrators securely manage this information and facilitates resource sharing and
collaboration b/w users.
Active Directory Federation Services.
It provides web-single-sing-on technology to authenticate a user to access multiple web
applications by using a single user account. ADFS accomplishes this by securely federating or
sharing user identities and access rights.
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services.
It provide storage for application specific data, for directory enabled applications that do not
require the infrastructure of ADDS. Multiple interfaces of AD LDS can exist on a single server,
each of which can have its own schema.
Active Directory Rights Management Services.
It helps you to protect information from unauthorized use. AD RMS establishes the identity of
users and provides authorized users with licenses for protected information.

Difference Between AD 2003 & 2008

1. 2008 is the combination of vista and windows server 2003r2.

2. RODC one new domain controller introduced in it. (Read Only Domain Controller).
3. WDS (Windows Deployment Service) instead of RIS in 2003 server.
4. Shadow copy for each and every folders.
5. Boot sequence is changed.
6. Installation is 32 bit where as 2003 it is 16 and 32, thats why installation of 2008 is
faster.
7. Services are known as role in it.
8. Group policy editor is a separate option in ads.
9. The main difference between 2003 and 2008 is Virtualization and Management.
10. 2008 has more inbuilt components and updated third party drivers Microsoft introduced
new feature Hyper-V, Windows 2008 introduces Hyper-V, but only on 64bit versions.
11. In windows Server 2008 version, Microsoft introducing new features and technologies,
some of which were not available in windows server 2003 with service pack 1 (SP1),
that will help to reduce the power consumption of server and client operating systems,
minimize environmental byproducts, and increase server efficiency.
12. Microsoft windows server 2008 has been designed with energy efficiency in mind, to
provide customers with ready and convenient access to a number of new power saving
features.
13. Many features are updated - - - as security, IIS and RODC. IN security it is enable
outbound firewall as well as inbound, IIS 7 release, Read Only Domain Controllers.
14. Virtualization.
15. Server Core provides the minimum installation required to carry out a specific role, such
as for a DHCP, DNS, or Print server.
16. Better Security.
17. Enhanced terminal services.
18. Network Access Protection.
19. Power Shell.
20. Bitlocker.

Editions available in 2003 & 2008

Windows Server 2008

Windows Web Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6002 Service Pack 2)

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition (Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6001 Service Pack
1)

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition

Windows Storage Server 2008

Windows Small Business Server 2008 (codenamed "Cougar") for small businesses

Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (codenamed "Centro") for medium-sized

businesses[1]

Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems

Windows HPC Server 2008 for high Performance supercomputers

Windows Server Foundation 2008

Windows Server 2003

Small Business Server for first server installations (up to 2 processors)

Web Edition for basic Web surfing (up to 2 processors)

Standard Edition for smaller server applications that don't require clustering (up to 4
processors)

Enterprise Edition for larger server applications, and clustering (up to 8 processors)

Datacenter Edition for mainframe like servers (up to 128 processors)

Storage Server for Network Attached Storage Devices (5.2.3790)

FSMO Role Transfer (Roll Seize, Roll Transfer)

There are 5 types of FSMO Roles, They are
Schema Master.
The schema master is responsible for processing the updates to the AD schema.
Once the schema master updates the AD schema, these changes are replicated to
all the DCs in the domain.
Domain Naming Master.

It maintains the name spaces of the domain controllers on the domain.

PDC Emulator.
It maintains the synchronization of Time, password changes, authentication failures.
RID Master.
It is responsible for assigning the pools of RIDs to other DC on the domain.
Infrastructure Master.
When an object in a domain referenced to another object in a different domain,
active directory represents the reference by the GUID (Globally Unique Identifier)
and SID (Security Identifier) and the DN of the active directory object being
referenced.
First Two roles are applicable in entire forest and remaining three roles are
applicable in entire domain level.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc223753.aspx

Steps by Steps to implement AD

Patch updating for all AD servers ( 3 Months once)
Backup Types
There are five types of backups
Daily Backup
Incremental Backup
Copy Backup
Normal Backup
Differential Backup

Managing the security groups using ACL.

Monitor the server heath using support tools (DC diag, Net diag).
DC diag --This command-line tool analyzes the state of domain controllers in a forest or
enterprise and reports any problems to assist in troubleshooting. As an end-user reporting
program, Dcdiag encapsulates detailed knowledge of how to identify abnormal behavior in
the system. Dcdiag displays command output at the command line.
Dcdiag consists of a framework for executing tests and a series of tests to verify different
functional areas of the system. This framework selects which domain controllers are tested
according to scope directives from the user, such as enterprise, site, or single server.

Net diag: This command-line diagnostic tool helps to isolate networking and connectivity
problems by performing a series of tests to determine the state of your network client.

These tests and the key network status information they expose give network administrators
and suppor
t personnel a more direct means of identifying and isolating network problems. Moreover,
because this tool does not require parameters or switches to be specified, support personnel
and network administrators can focus on analyzing the output rather than on training users
how to use the tool.

Steps to Check AD Server Health Checkup

Is it best recommended to do the following test once a month and keep the log files for trend analysis
as well. To make thing easier Ive provided the necessary urls of individual commands pointing to the
TechNet so you can get more compressive details,
Dcdiag.exe /v >> c:\temp\pre_dcdiag.txt
This is a must and will always tell you if there is trouble with your DCs and/or services associated with
it
Netdiag.exe /v >> c:\temp\pre_Netdiag.txt
This will let us know if there are issues with the networking components on the DC. This along with the
post test also is a quick easy way to ensure the patches installed is really installed (just check the top
of the log)
Repadmin /showreps >> c:\temp\pre_rep_partners.txt
This shows all the replication and if it was successful or not. Just be aware that Global Catalogs will
have more info here than a normal domain controller.
repadmin /replsum /errorsonly >> c:\temp\pre_repadmin_err.txt
This is the one that always takes forever but will let you know who you are having issues replicating
with.
Apart from that Microsoft offers another tool called MPSRPT_DirSvc.exe. You can run this tool in the
dcs and itll run most of the above mention commands and provide you the output into log files. Very
handy I would say. You can download it from here.
Hopefully this helps you when you troubleshoot your domain controllers but by no way is this all
encompassing list of things to do. These are the standard steps normally I take but I would love to hear
what you all do as well.

Group Policies (Diff Between Group Policies in 2003 & 2008) ADM
template in 2003 & ADMX Templete in 2008
Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that control the working
environment of user accounts and computer accounts. Group Policy provides the centralized management and
configuration of operating systems, applications, and users' settings in an Active Directory environment.

What is NTDS Util tool?

Ntdsutil.exe is a command-line tool for accessing and managing a Windows

Active Directory (AD) database. Microsoft recommends that Ntdsutil only be
used by experienced administrators and requires that the tool be used from
an elevated command prompt. (Start / Command Prompt / Run as
administrator)

AD Object restore through Active Directory Tombstones.

Tombstone:
When Active Directory deletes an object from the directory, it does not physically remove
the object from the database. Instead, Active Directory marks the object as deleted by
setting the objects is Deleted attribute to TRUE, stripping most of the attributes from the
object, renaming the object, and then moving the object to a special container in the
objects naming context (NC) named CN=Deleted Objects. The object, now called
a tombstone, is invisible to normal directory operations.
Obviously, objects dont remain in the CN=Deleted Objects container forever. The
default tombstone lifetime is 60 days for forests initially built using Windows 2000 and
Windows Server 2003, and 180 days for forests that were initially built with Windows Server
2003 SP1. You can change the tombstone lifetime by setting the tombstoneLifetime
attribute of the CN=Directory Service,CN=Windows NT, CN=Services,CN=Configuration,
DC= object.
Every 12 hours, each domain controller starts a garbage collection process. (This can be
changed by setting a new value for the garbageCollPeriod attribute of the CN=Directory
Service,CN=Windows NT, CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC= object.) This garbage
collection scans all of the tombstones on the DC and physically deletes any that are older
than the tombstone lifetime.
The Deleted Objects container is hidden and can not be viewed by using Active Directory
Users and Computers and ADSIEDIT.MSC. But you can useLDP.EXE.
For example, in this documentation, I delete an account with
distinguishedName: CN=Jenny Gates,OU=Marketing,DC=Microship,DC=com.
That account will be stored in Deleted Objects container in the form:
CN=Jenny GatesADEL:c7f41f06-7f02-42c9-8701-d5ad5ee3a7d0,CN=Deleted
Objects,DC=Microship,DC=com
and with the attribute isDeleted is set TRUE.
To restore the user account, you have to use LDP.EXE to modify the properties of the
deleted objects.

http://dani3lr.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/restore-deleted-objects-in-active-directory-databaseusing-tombstone-reanimation-ldp-exe/

AD Object restore through Authoritative & Non Authoritative restore?

Default Path of AD Database and name of that AD Database file?

Default path of AD Database C:\Windows\system32\NTDS
Name of the AD Database File is NTDS.DIT

What is SYSVOL?
The sysVOL folder stores the server's copy of the domain's public files. The
contents such as group policy, users etc of the sysvol folder are replicated to
all domain controllers in the domain. The sysvol folder must be located on an
NTFS volume.
(Or)

All active directory data base security related information store in SYSVOL
folder and its only created on NTFS partition.

Default SYSVOL path?

C:\Windows\SYSVOL

What is Global Catalog?

The global catalog is a distributed data repository that contains a searchable, partial
representation of every object in every domain in a multidomain Active Directory forest. The
global catalog is stored on domain controllers that have been designated as global catalog
servers and is distributed through multimaster replication. Searches that are directed to the
global catalog are faster because they do not involve referrals to different domain controllers.

What is Forest prep?

Forest Prep
Forestprep is Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 utility use to prepare for Active
Directory for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 installation by updating schema and
configuring partition in Active Directory.

What is Domain Prep?

Domain Prep
Domain prep is Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 utility which is use for Active
Directory domain partition for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 installation

Command to check replication Between AD Servers?

Repadmin

What is GPO?
How GP will apply (GP Hierarchy)?
LSDO (local Site Domain OU Level)
What is Robo Copy ?
Ans: ROBO Copy
Drive to Drive
robocopy D:\ E:\ /e /sec /r:1 /w:1 /log:c:\temp\ExchDatabase.log /eta
robocopy L:\ M:\ /e /sec /r:1 /w:1 /log:c:\temp\Exchlog.log /eta
What is DNS?
What is DHCP?
How to Configure DHCP?

3Time Sync issue Between AD Servers

File Server
DFS: Distributed file system consists of two technologies
DFS Namespace: DFS namespaces enable you to group shared folders
located on different servers in to one or more logically structured
namespaces.DFS namespace can correspond to multiple shared

folders on multiple servers. This structure can provide fault

tolerance and the ability to automatically connect users to local
shared folders, when available.

DFS Replication:DFS replication is a multimaster replication engine that

enables you to synchronize folders on multiple servers across local or wide area
network connections.

AD Sites & Services

AD DFS (Basics on Distributed file system)

AD Domains & trust

AD Site Replication Between ( Intersite & Intra Site )
KCC works for Inter Site & Bridge head for intra Site

Windows:
Server Unexpected reboot
Trouble shooting steps for Server Unexpected reboot
Dump File Configuration
Analyzing Dump Error
Steps to Build new server and yet to implement ADC in this server
What is RAID?
It is a technique that combines multiple disk drives in to a logical unit set and
provides protection, performance, or both.
RAID Configuration RAID 0, RAID1 & RAID 5?
RAID 0: RAID 0 users data striping techniques, where data is striped across all the
disks with in a RAID set. Therefore it utilizes the full storage capacity of RAID
Set. To read data all the stripes are put back together by the controller. When the
number of drives in the RAID set increases, performance improves because more
data can be read or write simultaneously. RAID 0 is a good option for applications
that need high I/O throughput. However, these applications require high
availability during drive failures, RAID 0 does not provide protection and
availability.
RAID 1: RAID 1 is based on the mirroring technique. In this RAID configuration,
data is mirrored to provide fault tolerance. A RAID 1 set consists of two disk
drives and every write is written to both disks. The mirroring is transparent to the
host. During disk failure, the impact on data recovery in RAID 1 is the last among
all RAID implementations. This is because the RAID controller uses the mirror
drive for data recovery. RAID1 is suitable for applications that require high
availability and is no constraint.
RAID 5: RAID 5 is a versatile RAID implementation. It is similar to RAID 4
because it uses striping. The drives are also independently accessible. The
difference between RAID 4 and RAID 5 is parity location. In RAID 4 Parity is
written to a dedicated drive, create a write bottleneck for the parity disk. In RAID 5
parity is distributed across all disks to overcome the write bottleneck of a dedicated
parity disk.
What is ILO?
Definition - What does Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) mean?

Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) is a remote server management processor, embedded on the system
boards of HP ProLiant and Blade servers, that allows controlling and monitoring of HP servers from
a remote location. HP iLO management is a powerful tool that provides multiple ways to configure,
update, monitor, and run servers remotely.
The embedded iLO management card has its own network connection and IP address to which
server administrators can connect via Domain Name System (DNS)/Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) or through a separate dedicated management network. iLO provides a remote
Web-based console, which can be used to administer the server remotely. The iLO port is an
Ethernet port, which can be enabled through the ROM-Based Setup Utility (RBSU).
Techopedia explains Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)
iLO comes preconfigured with proLiant servers of the 300 series and above. A default iLO user
account and password is included. iLO can be configured through several ways including:

Browser-based configuration.

iLO RBSU accessed using the F8 key during power-on self-test (POST).

Remote scripted configuration.

Local on-line and local scripted setup.

The iLO management tool allows a user to perform the following actions on the server remotely:

Power on and power off the server.

Restart the server.

Monitor the server, regardless of the state of the servers operating system.

Measure power usage.

Apply patches, firmware updates, and critical virus updates through virtual media and virtual
folders.
Access system event logs and the HP Integrated Management Log.

HP 100 series servers include the Lights-Out 100 Remote Management Option with limited features.
`HP iLO has now been replaced by Integrated Lights-Out Advanced (known as iLO2 and iLO3). The
latest releases of HP Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO2) and Lights-Out 3 (iLO3) have simplified the
server setup process and enabled remote power and thermal optimization. As of Aug 2011, the
current firmware versions of iLO 2 and iLO 3 are 2.07 and 1.26, respectively.

What is Global Catalog?

Every domain controller in a forest stores three full writable directory partitions: a domain
directory partition, a schema directory partition, and a configuration directory partition. A
Global Catalog is a domain controller that stores these writable directory partitions, as well
as a partial, read-only copy of all other domain directory partitions in the forest. The
additional directory partitions are "partial" because, although they collectively contain every
object in the directory, only a limited set of specific attributes are included for each object.
The Global Catalog is built automatically by the Active Directory replication system.
All of the directory partitions on a Global Catalog server, whether full or partial partitions,
are stored in a single directory database (Ntds.dit) on that server. There is no separate
storage area for Global Catalog attributes; they are treated as additional information in the
domain controller directory database.
When a new domain is added to the forest, the information about the new domain is stored
in the configuration directory partition, which reaches the Global Catalog server (and all
domain controllers) through replication of forest-wide information. When a new Global
Catalog server is designated, this information is also stored in the configuration directory
partition and replicated to all domain controllers in the forest.

A Global Catalog contains Information about objects from

all domains in an Active Directory forest.
http://www.petri.co.il/make-windows-server-2012-domaincontroller-a-global-catalog.htm

What are the different Group Scopes and different group types?
Group scopes are 3 types they are Domain local group scope, Global group
scope, and Universal group scope
Group types are two types they are security group, distribution group.

Domain Local Group scope: Use this group to grant permissions to domain
resources that are located in the same domain in which the domain local
group was created. Domain local groups can exist in all mixed, native and
interim functional level of domains and forests.

Global Group scope: Users with similar functions can be grouped under
global scope and can be given permission to access a resource available in
local or another domain in the same forest. Simply global groups can be use
to grant permissions to gain access to resources that are located in any
domain but in a single forest as their memberships are limited.
Universal group Scope: These groups are precisely used for email distribution
and can be granted access to resources in all trusted domain as these groups
can only be used as a security principal in a windows 2000 native or windows
server 2003 domain functional level domain. Universal group memberships
are not limited like global groups. All domain user accounts and groups can
be a member of universal group.

Group types: Security and Distribution

Security group: Use security groups to grant permission to gain access to
resources. Sending an email message to a group sends the message to all
group members. Therefore security groups share the capabilities of
distributed groups.

Distributed Groups: Distributed Groups are used for sending e-mail messages
to groups of users. Permissions cannot grant to security groups.

Forest Functional Levels

Windows Server 2003 supports three forest functional levels:

Windows 2000 Native -- Required while any Windows Server 2000

domain controllers remain in your forest. Supports domain controllers

running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 server, and Windows Server

2003.
Windows Server 2003 Interim -- A special functional level only

implemented during NT 4.0 to Windows 2003 upgrades.

Windows Server 2003 -- All DCs in the forest must be running

Windows Server 2003, and all domains in the forest must be at the
Windows 2003 Domain functional level before you can raise your forest
functional level to Windows Server 2003.
Windows Server 2008 supports three forest functional levels:
Windows 2000 Native -- Supports Windows 2000, Windows Server

2003, and Windows Server 2008 domain controllers.

Windows Server 2003 -- Allows for a mix of Windows Server 2003 and

Windows Server 2008 functional level domains.

Windows Server 2008 -- Ensures all domain controllers in the forest

are running Windows Server 2008 and all domains have been raised to the
Windows Server 2008 domain functional level.
Note:
To install Exchange Server 2010, the Active Directory forest functional level
MUST be Windows Server 2003 or higher.
Windows 2000 Native and Windows Server 2003 Interim modes are NOT
supported.
Domain Functional Levels
Windows Server 2003 supports four domain functional levels:

Windows 2000 Mixed -- Allows Windows Server 2003 domain

controllers to interoperate with other domain controllers running Windows
Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, and Windows NT 4.0.

Windows 2000 Native -- Allows domain controllers running Windows

Server 2003 to interact with domain controllers running either Windows
Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server.

Windows Server 2003 Interim -- Supports only domain controllers

running Windows Server 2003 and Windows NT 4.0.

Windows Server 2003 -- Supports only Windows Server 2003 domain

controllers.

Windows Server 2008 supports three domain functional levels:

Windows 2000 Native -- Allows domain controllers running Windows

Server 2008 to interact with domain controllers running either Windows
Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, or Windows 2000 Server.

Windows Server 2003 -- Supports an environment comprised of a

mixture of Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 domain
controllers.

Windows Server 2008 -- Only available after all domain controllers in a

domain are running Windows Server 2008.

What is V-Motion?
VMware VMotion enables the live migration of running virtual machines from one
physical server to another with zero downtime, continuous service availability, and
complete transaction integrity. It is transparent to users.

VMware what files make up a virtual machine?

Extensi

File Name

Description

on
.log

<vmname>.log
or
vmware.log

.nvram

<vmname>.nvram
or

This is the file that keeps a log

of key VMware Workstation
activity. This file can be useful in
troubleshooting if you encounter
problems. This file is stored in
the directory that holds the
configuration (.vmx) file of the
virtual machine.
This is the file that stores the
state of the virtual machine's
BIOS.

nvram
vmdk

<vmname>.vmdk

This is a virtual disk file, which

stores the contents of the virtual
machine's hard disk drive.
A virtual disk is made up of one or
more.vmdk files. If you have
specified that the virtual disk
should be split into 2GB chunks,
the number of .vmdk files depends
on the size of the virtual disk. As
data is added to a virtual disk,
the .vmdk files grow in size, to a
maximum of 2GB each. (If you
specify that all space should be
allocated when you create the disk,
these files start at the maximum
size and do not grow.) Almost all of
a .vmdk file's content is the virtual
machine's data, with a small
portion allotted to virtual machine
overhead.
If the virtual machine is connected
directly to a physical disk, rather
than to a virtual disk,
the .vmdk file stores information
about the partitions the virtual
machine is allowed to access.
Earlier VMware products used the
extension.dsk for virtual disk files.

<diskname>-<###>.vmdk

This is a redo-log file, created

automatically when a virtual
machine has one or more
snapshots. This file stores changes
made to a virtual disk while the
virtual machine is running. There
may be more than one such file.
The ### indicates a unique suffix
added automatically by VMware
Workstation to avoid duplicate file
names.

<uuid>.vmem

The virtual machine's paging file,

which backs up the guest main
memory on the host file system.
This file exists only when the
virtual machine is running, or if the
virtual machine has crashed.

<snapshot_name_and_n
umber>

Each snapshot of a virtual

machine that is powered on
has an associated .vmem file,
which contains the guest's
main memory, saved as part
of the snapshot.

.vmsd

<vmname>.vmsd

This is a centralized file for storing

information and metadata about
snapshots.

.vmsn

<vmname>-Snapshot.vmsn

This is the snapshot state file,

which stores the running state of a
virtual machine at the time you
take that snapshot

<vmname>Snapshot<###>.vmsn

This is the file which stores the

state of a snapshot

<vmname>.vmss

This is the suspended state file,

which stores the state of a
suspended virtual machine

.vmem

.vmss

.Some earlier VMware products

used the extension .std for
suspended state files
.vmtm

<vmname>.vmtm

This is the configuration file

containing team data.

.vmx

<vmname>.vmx

This is the primary configuration

file, which stores settings chosen in
the New Virtual Machine Wizard or
virtual machine settings editor. If
you created the virtual machine
under an earlier version of VMware
Workstation on a Linux host, this
file may have a .cfg extension

.vmxf

<vmname>.vmxf

This is a supplemental
configuration file for virtual
machines that are in a team. Note
that the .vmxf file remains if a
virtual machine is removed from
the team.

Main difference between authoritative and non

authoritative restore?
Non-Authoritative : Non-Authoritative method will restore an active
directory to the server in which the restore is being done and will then
receive all of the recent updates from its replication partners in the
domain.
Authoritative : Authoritative method restores the DC directory to the
state that it was in when the backup was made, then overwrites all the
other DC's to match the restored DC.

What is a host file in windows 7/8/10, and where

can it find?

A host file in windows is used to map host names to ip addresses.

The host file is located deep down in the windows folder
(c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc)
It is basically a plain text file and the size of the original default
hosts file is around 824 bytes.

How to activate telnet in windows 7?

Control panel ---programs and features ---turn windows features
on or off---select telnet client
(or)
Open add or remove programs(appwiz.cpl) - turn windows
features on or off---select telnet client

What is ost and pst outlook files?

About Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost) There are two types of Outlook Data Files used
by Outlook. An Outlook Data File (.pst) is used for most accounts. If you are using a Microsoft
Exchange account, your items are usually delivered to and saved on the mail server.
OST Offline Storage Table
PST Personal Storage Table
The max. OST/PST file size differs depending on the version of Outlook
Outlook 2002 2GB
Outlook 2003 20GB
Outlook 2007 20GB
Outlook 2010 & 2013 50GB
By default the OST file is stored in users profile having following path
C:\Users\User Profile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\

What is the main functionality of chkdsk?

Best Answer: A utility program in Windows that looks for lost clusters on the hard disk. It also reports the
command line utility in Windows. Running Chkdsk with the /f parameter (chkdsk /f) reclaims the lost
clusters and turns them into .CHK files, which can generally be discarded. Running without the /f reports
the current condition of the disk without "f"ixing anything.

How to recover data after blue screen on death?

A problem has been detected and windows has been shutdown to prevent
damage to your computer.
If the problem is the first time you have seen this stop error screen,
Restart your computer, if this screen appears again, follow these steps.
Check to make sure any hardware or software is properly installed.
If this is a new installation ask your software or hardware manufacturer for
any windows updates u might need.
If problem continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or
software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If u
need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart ur
computer, press F8 to select advanced start up options, and then select safe
mode.

Data recovery after blue screen of death

The dreaded blue screen of death is often a transitory event and is fixed by rebooting.
Sometimes though it can be more serious and can prevent the system rebooting. It is
not common for this error to cause data loss, but fixing the problem can sometimes
involve having to repair or reload the operating system. To prevent any loss of data,
this is the correct stage to ensure you have a valid backup of your data. The following
steps can be carried out. As it is normally only the system drive causing the problem
then this is the only one we will concentrate on. CnW Recovery software (download
here) will enable data to be recovered before the system is repaired, even from a very
damaged or corrupted disk.

Stage 1

Remove the system drive and set it up as a slave drive on a different PC. It is
often easiest to use a USB caddy to do this. If you are lucky the drive will
display as a logical drive, and all data files can be copied off and stored in a
safe location. If the drive does not display as a logical drive, or the operating
system suggests that it should be reformatted, the proceed with stage 2
Stage 2

As above, set the drive up as a slave drive, eg in a USB caddy, and load CnW
Recovery on to the host PC. Ensure that the host PC has adequate space for the
data to be recovered. Start CnW Recover and on the first screen select the
failed drive and then press the icon of the drive which will start initial analysis
of the drive. A Blue screen is not normally caused by major hardware failure so
one would expect the first physical test to work. The second test does some
basic verification of key sectors on the drive. If these pass, then it is worth
proceeding with the wizard to do a full recovery. However, if the disk is full
and only certain files are required, at this point it may be better to go to the
main program and do a manual recovery allowing for file selection. The file
filter can be used to select or skip certain files.
When recovering a system disk there will be a mix of application files and data
files. Although both types of files can be recovered it is often impossible to just
copy the applications back and expect them to work. This is due to registry
settings being required. Put simply, it is easiest to re-install applications, and
add back user data. The other reason not to recover application and systems
files is that one may be corrupted and could be reason for the blue screen of
death.
Stage 3

Once all user data has been recovered and stored safely it is time to try and take
care of the blue screen problem. Depending on operating system it may be
possible to reboot in SafeMode or use the Microsoft Recovery console. Further
options including doing a repair reload - retaining all data and settings. If this
fails, then a full reload will be necessary which will remove all logical paths to
existing data. At this point it is essential to know that all data is safely stored

elsewhere. NB, if this stage is done without recovering the data first, typically
CnW Recovery can still recover the user files

Difference between FAT & NTFS File

Systems
FAT File system

It provides no security if the user logs in locally. The file and folder level
security permission does not exist.

It supports only 8 characters long file name.

It is suitable for a partition disks that is less than 500 MB.

Partition and file size can be up to 4 GB.

It supports no file compression.

Disk can get fragmented thus slowing down the access.

It is not very reliable since it does not support bad cluster mapping.

NTFS File system

It provides security for both local and remote users. The security is
provided to the level of files and folders.

It supports 255 characters long file name.

It is suitable for partition that is greater than 500 MB.

Partition size can be up to 16 Exabyte.

It supports file compression.

It provides lesser possibility of fragmentation.

It is highly reliable since it supports bad cluster mapping and transaction

logging.

What is DNS & WINS

DNS is a Domain Naming System, which resolves Host names to IP

addresses. It usesfully qualified domain names. DNS is a Internet standard
used to resolve host names
WINS is a Windows Internet Name Service, which resolves Netbios names
to IPAddress. This is proprietary for Windows
Types of DNS Servers
Primary DNS
Secondary DNS
Active Directory Integrated DNS
Forwarder
Caching only DNS