Are you ready to get moving down the road to Microsoft certification? This intense course gives you the skills you need to pass Microsoft’s 70-270 exam: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional.

Be prepared to roll up your sleeves as we move through the inner workings of Windows XP Professional. By the end of the course, you’ll understand the Windows XP installation process in detail, including the many procedures for unattended and large-scale deployment. You’ll learn how to manage the Windows XP desktop, as well as users, groups, and resources. Other in-depth topics include printing, hardware management, security, system and data restoration, and that all-important aspect of modern Windows computing: networking.

If you’re savvy with PCs and networks but want to get Microsoft certified for today’s hottest operating system, then this is the course for you.

To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:

Recommended Courses:

Students who enrolled in Microsoft Windows Certification Prep: Exam 70-270 were also interested in the following courses:

Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

We'll start off the course with a discussion on Microsoft certification and a look at the objectives for the Microsoft Windows XP Professional certification exam. Then we'll jump right into XP installation: the tasks you must complete before installing, the types of installations you can perform, the main stages of the install process, the steps for a simple attended installation, and finally, the tasks you'll need to perform after installation is complete.

Friday - Lesson 02

In this lesson, we'll take a journey under the glossy skin of Windows XP Professional, where you can start to see how the underpinnings of the OS affect the user interface. You'll walk through the Windows XP Professional desktop environment, and learn how to configure the Windows desktop to suit the way that a particular user works. Finally, we'll review the common desktop settings and features, as well as the Start menu and taskbar.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Managing user and group accounts is one of the most fundamental and important tasks you'll face as an MCP. In today's lesson, I'll give you an overview of the role and scope of user and group accounts, and define the types of accounts that are built into Windows XP Professional. You'll learn about the components and properties of user and group accounts, and discover how to configure and manage them successfully.

Friday - Lesson 04

You'll continue your journey through the wilds of user and group account management in this lesson, starting with the secondary log-on user account feature, also known as RunAs mode. Other topics we'll cover here include a new user account management feature called Fast User Switching, an older command line-based method that uses the NET utility, and built-in user profiles that help you control user account settings. You'll also learn methods for migrating user accounts from one PC to another.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In this lesson, we'll spend some time discussing file systems—which ones are supported by Windows XP Professional, but specifically the file system of choice for this operating system: the New Technology File System, or NTFS. Using NTFS, you can meter out the amount of control you want users to have over your shared resources, both locally and remotely. You'll learn about NTFS security and how to manage local resource access. You'll also discover some of the important resource management mechanisms and concepts, the types of user actions that you can enable or limit using network share and NTFS permissions, and the steps for converting to NTFS and configuring NTFS permissions on local resources.

Friday - Lesson 06

Although Windows has made printer configuration practically a no-brainer in recent years, there's still plenty to discuss when it comes to printing in Windows XP Professional. In today's lesson, we'll go over some of the cooler printing features that Windows XP supports, such as Internet printing, priority printing, and printer pooling, as well as some of the more advanced printer management tasks, such as redirecting and restarting print jobs.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

In this lesson, you'll have a look under the hood of the Windows XP operating system. After reviewing some hardware basics, we'll explore the Windows XP Professional subsystem architecture, and you'll learn how Windows separates hardware functions from the OS. You'll learn to install and manage hardware devices in Windows, examine some of the issues associated with mobile computing, and gain the skills you need to perform common maintenance and troubleshooting tasks.

Friday - Lesson 08

In this lesson, we'll address some of the cooler and geekier hardware management functions that you'll undertake as an MCP. We'll go over mass storage management via Microsoft's Dynamic Disk feature and the Task Manager and Performance Monitor utilities, which can help you analyze and improve system performance. Then we'll talk about advanced hardware configurations, such as multiple displays and CPUs.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Today we'll explore an area where Windows XP Professional really shines: networking. We'll start with networking essentials, such as the devices, protocols, and services that power Windows networks. You'll then learn about connecting your Windows XP Professional PC to networks of both the local and remote variety—including, of course, the biggest remote network of them all: the Internet. Then you'll discover how to turn that connection around and enable other networking clients to connect to your Windows XP Professional system.

Friday - Lesson 10

In this lesson, we'll dive deeper into local and domain authentication in Windows XP, and study the basic security structure of Active Directory domains. You'll discover how to use Group Policy to secure your Windows XP Professional systems, and how to encrypt your data to prevent unauthorized access. You'll learn about security audits, which can help you track which users are accessing which resources, as well as tools you can use to troubleshoot your security configuration.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

In this lesson, we'll unveil the more interesting installation options for Windows XP using answer files, Windows System Preparation (SysPrep) tool, Windows Remote Installation Services (RIS), and Windows Remote Installation Services Preparation (RIPrep). You'll learn the functions of these advanced installation tools, as well as the various deployment techniques. We'll walk through the steps for performing scripted, imaged, and remote installations, and I'll share some troubleshooting tips for those occasions when your advanced installation doesn't go by the book.

Friday - Lesson 12

As robust and reliable as Windows XP is, at some point every system will go down. In our final lesson, I'll show you the various ways that you can prepare for this eventuality. We'll delve into the boot process to help you better understand and troubleshoot boot problems. Then you'll learn about such tools as Windows File Protection and the System File Checker utility. Other important prevention and recovery strategies we'll cover here include Windows XP Backup, Windows Update, System Restore, and Automated System Recovery—all features designed to keep your XP systems up and running, not down and out!

To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Scott Jernigan.

With a Master of Arts degree in Medieval History, Scott Jernigan feels as much at home in the musty archives of London as he does in the warm glow of a computer monitor. Scott teaches A+ Certification and PC hardware classes around the country, including several stints at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, Lucent Technologies in Baltimore, MD, and the United Nations in New York City. Scott has also edited numerous computer books, including the best-selling "All in One A+ Certification Exam Guide" and the "Network+ Certification Exam Guide" from McGraw-Hill. Practicing what he teaches, Scott is an A+ and Network+ Certified Technician.

To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:

Requirements:

CompTIA A+ Certification, either a CompTIA Network+ Certification or equivalent networking experience in a Windows 2000 or Windows XP environment, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).

To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:

Student Reviews:

To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below: