3-1 Hardware Devices and Drivers

> Implement, manage, and troubleshoot disk devices.

You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group in order to install a device using the Add/Remove Hardware wizard.

You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group in order to install a device using the Add/Remove Hardware wizard.

Install, configure, and manage DVD and CD-ROM devices.

If the device is Plug and Play, or it is a necessary startup device like the hard disk, this detection happens automatically. However, for some older devices, after you connect it to your computer, you may have to restart your computer. Windows 2000 then attempts to detect your new device.

If the device is not Plug and Play, you may have to use the Add/Remove Hardware wizard to tell Windows 2000 what type of device you are installing. After the device is detected, or you identify the device using the Add/Remove Hardware wizard, Windows 2000 may ask you to insert the Windows 2000 CD-ROM or the manufacturer's floppy disk so it can load the proper device drivers.

After the device drivers are loaded onto your system, Windows 2000 configures the properties and settings for the device. Although you can manually configure device properties and settings, you should let Windows 2000 do it. When you manually configure properties and settings, the settings become fixed, which means Windows 2000 cannot modify them in the future if there is a problem/conflict with another device.

Monitor and configure disks.

Disk Management supports basic and dynamic disks. When you install Windows 2000, your hard disks are automatically initialized as basic. You can use the upgrade wizard to convert them to dynamic after installation is complete

Dynamic disks

A physical disk that is managed by Disk Management. Dynamic disks can contain only dynamic volumes (that is, volumes created with Disk Management). Dynamic disks cannot contain partitions or logical drives, nor can they be accessed by MS-DOS. Dynamic disks are not supported on portable computers.

Fault tolerance

Iis the ability of a system to continue functioning when part of the system fails. Normally, fault tolerance is used in describing disk subsystems, but it can also apply to other parts of the system or the entire system. Fully fault-tolerant systems use redundant disk controllers and power supplies as well as fault-tolerant disk subsystems. You can also use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to safeguard against local power failure.

Although the data is always available in a fault-tolerant system, you still need to make backups that are stored offsite to protect the data against disasters such as a fire.

Monitor, configure, and troubleshoot volumes.

Basic volumes

Include partitions and logical drives, as well as volumes created using Windows NT 4.0, such as volume sets, stripe sets, mirror sets, and stripe sets with parity. In Windows 2000, these volumes have been renamed to spanned volumes, striped volumes, mirrored volumes, and RAID-5 volumes.

To format a basic volume, Right-click the partition, logical drive, or basic volume you want to format (or reformat), and then click Format. (You cannot format the system or boot partition)

Spanned volumes

A spanned volume is made up of disk space on more than one physical disk. You can add more space to a spanned volume by extending it at any time.

• Can be created only on dynamic disks
• You need at least two dynamic disks to create a spanned volume
• You can extend a spanned volume onto a maximum of 32 dynamic disks
• Can not be mirrored or striped
• You can delete only entire spanned volumes.

Striped volumes

A striped volume stores data in stripes on two or more physical disks. Data in a striped volume is allocated alternately and evenly (in stripes) to the disks of the striped volume. Striped volumes improve the speed of access to your hard disk.

• You need at least two dynamic disks to create a striped volume.
• You can create a striped volume onto a maximum of 32 disks.
• Striped volumes are not fault tolerant and cannot be extended or mirrored

Mirrored volumes

A mirrored volume is a fault-tolerant volume that duplicates your data on two physical disks. It provides data redundancy by using a copy (mirror) of the volume to duplicate the information contained in the volume. The mirror is located on a different disk. If one of the physical disks fails, the data on the failed disk becomes unavailable, but the system continues to operate using the unaffected disk.

• You can create mirrored volumes only on computers running Windows 2000 Server
• You need at least two dynamic disks to create a mirrored volume.
• Mirrored volumes are fault tolerant.
• Mirrored volumes cannot be extended or striped.
• The same drive letter is used for both copies (mirrors) of a mirrored volume.
• Slower than a RAID-5 volume in read operations but faster in write operations.

RAID-5 volumes

A RAID-5 volume is a fault-tolerant volume with data and parity striped intermittently across three or more physical disks. If a portion of a physical disk fails, you can recreate the data that was on the failed portion from the remaining data and parity. RAID-5 volumes are a good solution for data redundancy in a computer environment in which most activity consists of reading data.

• You can create RAID-5 volumes only on computers running Windows 2000 Server.
• You need at least three dynamic disks to create a RAID-5 volume.
• Can span a maximum of 32 disks.
• Provides fault tolerance
• Cannot be extended or mirrored

Monitor and configure removable media, such as tape devices.

Removable media

• In the graphical view, removable media devices are labeled Removable.
• You cannot upgrade removable media devices to dynamic volumes.
• Removable media devices can contain only primary partitions.
• You cannot mark a primary partition on a removable media device as active

> Implement, manage, and troubleshoot display devices.

Configure multiple-display support.

To use the multiple monitor support feature, you need a PCI or AGP video adapter for each monitor. If you have an onboard video adapter (one that is not a plug-in card but is part of the motherboard) that you want to use as part of a multiple-monitor configuration, it must be set as VGA.

To install additional monitors

• Insert your additional Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) or Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) video adapter into an available slot, and plug your additional monitor into the card.
• Turn on your computer. Windows 2000 will detect the new video adapter and install the appropriate drivers.
• Open Display in Control Panel.
• On the Settings tab, click the monitor icon that represents the monitor you want to use in addition to your primary monitor.
• Select the Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor check box, and then click Apply or OK.

Selecting the Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor check box allows you to drag items across your screen onto alternate monitors. Or, you can resize a window to stretch it across more than one monitor.

The monitor that is designated as the primary monitor will display the logon dialog box when you start your computer.

> Implement, manage, and troubleshoot mobile computer hardware.

Configure Advanced Power Management (APM).

Using Power Options in Control Panel, you can adjust any power management option that your computer's hardware configuration supports.

Power Options automatically detects what is available on your computer and shows you only the options that you can control.

To put your computer into hibernation, you must have a computer that is set up by the manufacturer to support this option.

When you put your computer into hibernation, everything in computer memory is saved on your hard disk, and your computer is switched off. When you turn the computer back on, all programs and documents that were open when you turned the computer off are restored on the desktop.

ACPI

Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) enables the operating system to direct power management on a wide range of mobile, desktop and server computers and peripherals. ACPI is the foundation for the OnNow industry initiative that allows system manufacturers to deliver computers that will start at the touch of a key on a keyboard.

To automatically put your computer into hibernation

• Open Power Options in Control Panel
• Click the Hibernate tab, select the Enable hibernate support check box, and then click Apply.(If the Hibernate tab is unavailable, your computer does not support this feature.)
• Click the APM tab, click Enable Advanced Power Management support, and then click Apply. (The APM tab is unavailable on ACPI-compliant computers. ACPI automatically enables Advanced Power Management, which disables the APM tab.)
• Click the Power Schemes tab, and then select a time in System hibernates.