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Preparation Guide for Exam 70-271

Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System

Published: August 8, 2006
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Audience ProfileAudience Profile
Credit Toward CertificationCredit Toward Certification
Preparation Tools and ResourcesPreparation Tools and Resources
Skills Being MeasuredSkills Being Measured

Exam News

Exam 70-271 became available January 12, 2004.

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Audience Profile

Candidates for this exam support end users who run Microsoft Windows XP Professional in a corporate environment or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition in a home environment. They should have experience using applications that are included with the operating system, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook Express, as well as the productivity applications used in a corporate environment, such as Microsoft Office applications.

Candidates should be able to resolve operating system issues by telephone, by connecting to an end user's system remotely, or by visiting an end user's desktop. They should have a working knowledge of operating in a workgroup or Active Directory domain environment and how end users are affected by each environment.

This exam, when combined with 70-272 (the applications exam for desktop support technicians), should validate that a candidate can successfully answer, or escalate, all calls from end users.

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Credit Toward Certification

When you pass the Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System exam, you achieve Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) status. You also earn:

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Core credit toward Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) on Microsoft Windows XP certification

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Preparation Tools and Resources

We make a wealth of preparation tools and resources available to you, including courses, books, practice tests, and Microsoft Web sites. When you are ready to prepare for this exam, here's where you should start.

Instructor-led Course for This Exam

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Course 2261: Supporting Users Running the Microsoft Windows XP Operating System

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Course 2262: Supporting Users Running Applications on a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System

Microsoft Press Self-Paced Training

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Training Kit: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Microsoft Windows XP

Microsoft Certified Practice Tests

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MeasureUp: Visit the MeasureUp Web site to take a practice test.

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Self Test Software: Visit the Self Test Software Web site to take a practice test.

Microsoft Online Resources

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TechNet: Designed for IT professionals, this site includes How-tos, best practices, downloads, technical chats, and much more.

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Training & Certification Newsgroups: A newsgroup exists for every Microsoft certification. By participating in the ongoing dialogue, you take advantage of a unique opportunity to exchange ideas with and ask questions of others, including more than 750 Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) worldwide.

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Skills Being Measured

This certification exam measures your ability to resolve end-user incident requests by configuring and troubleshooting the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. Before taking the exam, you should be proficient in the job skills listed in the following matrix. The matrix shows which Official Microsoft Learning Products may help you reach competency in the skills being tested in the exam.

KEY:The course provides a general introductory overview of this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work. = The course provides a general introductory overview of this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.    The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work. = The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.    The course includes material to prepare you for this task. = The course includes material to prepare you for this task.
Skills Measured by Exam 70-271Course 2261Course 2262
Installing a Windows Desktop Operating System   

Perform and troubleshoot an attended installation of a Windows XP operating system.

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Answer end-user questions related to performing an attended installation of a Windows XP operating system.

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Troubleshoot and complete installations in which an installation does not start. Tasks include configuring the device boot order and ascertaining probable cause of the failure to start.

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Troubleshoot and complete installations in which an installation fails to complete. Tasks include reviewing setup log files and providing needed files.

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Perform postinstallation configuration. Tasks include customizing installations for individual users and applying service packs.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Perform and troubleshoot an unattended installation of a Windows desktop operating system.

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Answer end-user questions related to performing an unattended installation of a Windows XP operating system. Tasks include starting an installation, answering questions asked by an end user during an installation, and performing postinstallation tasks.

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Configure a PC to boot to a network device and start installation of a Windows XP operating system. Tasks include configuring PXE compliant network cards.

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Perform an installation by using unattended installation files.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Upgrade from a previous version of Windows.

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Answer end-user questions related to upgrading from a previous version of Windows. Considerations include available upgrade paths and methods for transferring user state data.

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Verify hardware compatibility for upgrade. Considerations include minimum hardware and system resource requirements.

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Verify application compatibility for upgrade. Tasks include ascertaining which applications can and cannot run, and using the application compatibility tools.

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Migrate user state data from an existing PC to a new PC.

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Install a second instance of an operating system on a computer.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Managing and Troubleshooting Access to Resources   

Monitor, manage, and troubleshoot access to files and folders.

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Answer end-user questions related to managing and troubleshooting access to files and folders.

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Monitor, manage, and troubleshoot NTFS file permissions.

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Manage and troubleshoot simple file sharing.

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Manage and troubleshoot file encryption.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Manage and troubleshoot access to shared folders.

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Answer end-user questions related to managing and troubleshooting access to shared folders.

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Create shared folders.

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Configure access permission for shared folders on NTFS partitions.

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Troubleshoot and interpret Access Denied messages.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Connect to local and network print devices.

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Answer end-user questions related to printing locally.

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Configure and manage local printing.

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Answer end-user questions related to network-based printing.

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Connect to and manage printing to a network-based printer.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Manage and troubleshoot access to and synchronization of offline files.

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Answer end-user questions related to configuring and synchronizing offline files.

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Configure and troubleshoot offline files.

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Configure and troubleshoot offline file synchronization.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configuring and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers   

Configure and troubleshoot storage devices.

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Answer end-user questions related to configuring hard disks and partitions or volumes.

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Manage and troubleshoot disk partitioning.

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Answer end-user questions related to optical drives such as CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, and DVD-R.

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Configure and troubleshoot removable storage devices such as pen drives, flash drives, and memory cards.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configure and troubleshoot display devices.

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Answer end-user questions related to configuring desktop display settings.

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Configure display devices and display settings.

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Troubleshoot display device settings.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configure and troubleshoot Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI).

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Answer end-user questions related to configuring ACPI settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot operating system power settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot system standby and hibernate settings.

The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.


Configure and troubleshoot I/O devices.

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Answer end-user questions related to configuring I/O devices.

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Configure and troubleshoot device settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot device drivers for I/O devices.

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Configure and troubleshoot hardware profiles.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configuring and Troubleshooting the Desktop and User Environments   

Configure the user environment.

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Answer end-user questions related to configuring the desktop and user environment.

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Configure and troubleshoot task and toolbar settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot accessibility options.

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Configure and troubleshoot pointing device settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot fast-use switching.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configure support for multiple languages or multiple locations.

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Answer end-user questions related to regional settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot regional settings.

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Answer end-user questions related to language settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot language settings.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshoot security settings and local security policy.

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Answer end-user questions related to security settings.

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Identify end-user issues caused by local security policies such as Local Security Settings and Security Configuration and Analysis.

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Identify end-user issues caused by network security policies such as Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) and Group Policy.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configure and troubleshoot local user and group accounts.

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Answer end-user questions related to user accounts.

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Configure and troubleshoot local user accounts.

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Answer end-user questions related to local group accounts.

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Configure and troubleshoot local group accounts. Considerations include rights and permissions.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshoot system startup and user logon problems.

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Answer end-user questions related to system startup issues.

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Troubleshoot system startup problems.

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Answer end-user questions related to user logon issues.

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Troubleshoot local user logon issues.

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Troubleshoot domain user logon issues.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Monitor and analyze system performance.

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Answer end-user questions related to system performance.

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Use Help and Support to view and troubleshoot system performance.

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Use Task Manager to view and troubleshoot system performance.

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Use the Performance tool to capture system performance information.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshooting Network Protocols and Services   

Troubleshoot TCP/IP. Tools include ARP; the Repair utility; connection properties; and the ping, ipconfig, pathping, and nslookup commands.

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Answer end-user questions related to configuring TCP/IP settings.

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Configure and troubleshoot manual TCP/IP configuration.

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Configure and troubleshoot automated TCP/IP address configuration.

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Configure and troubleshoot Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) settings such as enable and disable. Considerations include indications of issues related to enabling or disabling ICF.

The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.


Troubleshoot name resolution issues.

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Configure and troubleshoot host name resolution issues on a client computer. Considerations include Hosts files and DNS.

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Configure and troubleshoot NetBIOS name resolution issues on a client computer. Considerations include Lmhosts files and WINS.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configure and troubleshoot remote connections.

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Configure and troubleshoot a remote dialup connection. Tasks include client-side configuration.

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Configure and troubleshoot a remote connection across the Internet. Tasks include client-side configuration.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer.

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Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer connections properties.

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Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer security properties.

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Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer general properties.


The course includes material to prepare you for this task.

Configure and troubleshoot end-user systems by using remote connectivity tools.

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Use Remote Desktop to configure and troubleshoot an end user's desktop.

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Use Remote Assistance to configure and troubleshoot an end user's desktop.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Note: This preparation guide is subject to change at any time without prior notice and at Microsoft's sole discretion. Microsoft exams might include adaptive testing technology and simulation items. Microsoft does not identify the format in which exams are presented. Please use the exam objectives listed in this preparation guide to prepare for the exam, regardless of its format. Learn more, and download samples, on the Testing Innovations page.


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