Windows 7:
Advanced
Frequently asked questions and instructor notes
All our courses assume that each student has a personal computer to use during the class. Our hands-on approach to learning requires that they do. This topic gives information on how to set up the classroom to teach this course. It includes minimum requirements for the students’ personal computers, setup information for the first time you teach the class, and setup information for each time that you teach after the first time you set up the classroom.
Hardware requirements
Each student’s personal computer should have:
· 1 GHz or faster 32- or 64-bit processor
· At least 1 GB of RAM (for 32-bit version), or 2 GB of RAM (for 64-bit version)
· At least 16 GB of available disk space for 32-bit version, or at least 20 GB of available disk space for 64-bit version (40 GB or more is recommended)
· An XGA monitor set to a minimum resolution of 1024´768
· A video adapter card compatible with DirectX 9 or newer, with at least 64 MB of video memory
· A sound card with a working system speaker (peripheral speakers are also acceptable)
· A keyboard and a mouse
· A DVD drive for installing Windows 7
· A writable DVD drive and a blank, writable
DVD, preferably formatted
(These are needed for activity B-1 in the unit titled “File management and
protection”; alternately, you can use a network location for backup storage.)
· Empty USB memory devices, preferably as small
as 256 MB.
(These are needed for activities A-2 and A-3 in the unit titled “Devices and
printers.” If multiple devices are not obtainable, be prepared to conduct an
instructor demonstration for these activities.)
· A network adapter, either wired or wireless. You will also need appropriate media and network hardware (routers, hubs, etc.) to create a network or to access an existing network.
· Optional: A network storage device for students to use instead of individual DVDs for creating backups in activities B-1 and B-2 in the unit titled “File management and protection.”
· Optional: A notebook computer, for some of the activities in the unit titled “Networks and mobile computing.”
Note: The hardware you use will determine the Windows 7 features that are enabled. For example, the default user interface theme is determined by the type of graphics card in your computer. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you standardize the equipment in your classroom. Furthermore, we recommend that you key through the course before teaching it and be prepared to help students through sections where keystrokes and screenshots might vary from those in this manual.
Software requirements
You will also need the following software:
· Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, or Windows 7 Enterprise edition. You’ll need a copy of the installation DVD for each student computer.
Note: This course was tested using Windows 7 Ultimate. The Ultimate edition or Enterprise edition is required to complete activity B-3 in the unit titled “File management and protection.”
· Microsoft’s free PowerPoint Viewer 2007 (available at www.microsoft.com/powerpoint).
· The latest free version of Ad-Aware, downloaded from Lavasoft’s Web site at www.lavasoftusa.com. You’ll need a copy of the installation file for each student computer.
Network requirements
The following network components and connectivity are also required for this course:
· All student computers must be networked on a LAN for the networking activities in the unit titled “Networks and mobile computing.”
· You will need a printer connected to your
network as a standalone device for activity B-6 in the unit titled “Networks
and mobile computing.”
If a print device is not available, you can simulate having students connect to
a network printer by using a printer shared from your instructor computer.
· Internet access, for the following purposes:
– Downloading the latest critical updates and service packs from www.windowsupdate.com
– Completing activities within the units
– Downloading the Student Data files from www.axzopress.com (if necessary)
First-time setup instructions
The first time you teach this course, you will need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer:
1 Install Windows 7 on an NTFS partition according to the software manufacturer’s instructions, following these additional detail steps:
a In the Set Up Windows dialog box, in the “Type a user name” box, type Admin.
b In the “Type a computer name” box, type Computer01. (You’ll name each subsequent PC Computer02, Computer03, and so on.) Students will need to know the names of their computers, so you might want to put a card with this information on it next to each computer.
c Click Next. In the Type a password box, type !pass. In the second box, retype the password for verification. Then enter Exclamation abbreviation as the password hint. Students will see this hint in activity B-1 of the unit titled “User accounts.”
Note: This password is used several times throughout this course, so it’s important that you enter this password.
d Click Next. Enter your Windows 7 product key, and click Next.
e On the “Help protect your computer and improve Windows automatically” screen, click “Use recommended settings.”
f Click Next. From the Time zone list, select your time zone, and verify the accuracy of the current time. Edit the time if necessary.
g Click Next. Windows completes the setup and displays the desktop.
h On the Windows networking screen, select Work.
2 Open the Control Panel. Under User Accounts and Family Safety, click “Add or remove user accounts.” Then click “Create a new account.”
3 Create a standard user account named User## where ## is the computer number. For example, on Computer01 you would create a user account named User01.
4 In the Control Panel, click Network and Internet, and then Network and Sharing Center. Click “Connect to a network” and select the local network.
5 Click “Change advanced sharing settings” and verify that “Turn on network discovery” is selected. Then scroll down and select “Turn off password protected sharing.” Verify that File and printer sharing is off and that Public folder sharing is off. (Students will change these settings.)
6 If you don’t have the data CD that came with this manual, download the Student Data files for the course. You can download the data directly to student machines, to a central location on your own network, or to a disk.
a Connect to www.axzopress.com.
b Under Downloads, click Instructor-Led Training.
c Browse the subject categories to locate your course. Then click the course title to display a list of available downloads. (You can also access these downloads through our Catalog listings.)
d Click the link(s) for downloading the Student Data files, and follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
7 Move the Student Data folder from C:\ to the My Documents folder of each student’s user account.
8 Download the latest free version of Ad-Aware from www.lavasoftusa.com. Be sure that the executable file is saved in the Downloads folder of the student account. Do not install the program. Students will install this program in Activity B-1 in the unit titled “Programs and utilities.”
9 Download and install the free PowerPoint Viewer on each student computer. You can get the PowerPoint viewer at www.microsoft.com/powerpoint.
10 Close all windows and log off.
11 Log on as User##.
12 Open Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer. Accept the license. In the File Open dialog box, click Cancel.
13 Start Internet Explorer. In the Setup window, click Next. Select “No, don’t turn on” and click Next. Select “Use express settings” and click Finish.
Note: Future versions of Internet Explorer might require different basic setup steps. If you prefer, you can guide students through these steps the first time they start Internet Explorer.
14 Log off.
Note: Set up an instructor computer that you can use for demonstrations and for projecting the accompanying PowerPoint slides. When you install Windows 7 on this computer, when you arrive at the Windows networking screen, select Work to establish a workgroup on your LAN. Students will join this workgroup for sharing files and printers in the unit titled “Networks and mobile computing.”
Setup instructions for every class
Because so many system settings are modified during class, every time you teach this course, you will need to perform the steps in the “First-time setup instructions” section of this document.
CertBlaster pre- and post-assessment software
CertBlaster pre- and post-assessment software is available for this course. To download and install this free software, students should complete the following steps:
1 Go to www.axzopress.com.
2 Under Downloads, click CertBlaster.
3 Click the link for Windows 7.
4 Save the .EXE file to a folder on your hard drive. (Note: If you skip this step, the CertBlaster software will not install correctly.)
5 Click Start and choose Run.
6 Click Browse and then navigate to the folder that contains the .EXE file.
7 Select the .EXE file and click Open.
8 Click OK and follow the on-screen instructions. When prompted for the password, enter c_Win7.
Topic B: Frequently asked questions
There are no frequently asked questions for this course at this time.
Topic C: Course notes
In the Review questions section of Unit 6 (Security), in question 9, one of the two correct answers appears bold due to a formatting error.
Topic D: Additional information
There is no additional information for this course at this time.