Chapter 15
Working with Windows 8/8.1

THE FOLLOWING COMPTIA A+ 220-902 EXAM OBJECTIVES ARE COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER:

  • ✓ 1.1 Compare and contrast various features and requirements of Microsoft Operating Systems (Windows 8, Windows 8.1).
    • Features: Side-by-side apps; Metro UI, Pinning, One Drive, Windows store, Multimonitor task bars, Charms, Start Screen, Power Shell, Live sign in, Action Center
    • Upgrade paths – differences between in place upgrades, compatibility tools, Windows upgrade OS advisor
  • ✓ 1.2 Given a scenario, install Windows PC operating systems using appropriate methods.
    • Boot methods: Solid state/flash drives, Netboot, External/hot swappable drive, Internal hard drive (partition)
    • Types of installations: Unattended installation, Upgrade, Clean install, Repair installation, Multiboot, Remote network installation, Image deployment, Recovery partition, Refresh/restore

The preceding two chapters looked at Windows operating systems in general, and the focus of this chapter is on Windows 8/8.1. The next two chapters will similarly focus on Windows 7 and then Windows Vista to round out the coverage of the three operating systems you need to know for the 220-902 exam.

The leap from one operating system to another can be either an evolutionary change or a revolutionary change. Windows 8 was a revolutionary change from the operating systems that came before it in the adoption of a tablet-friendly interface implemented on all devices. The interface was designed to accommodate touch gestures on a touchscreen, but it did not make their existence mandatory: you can still navigate with a keyboard, mouse, and touchpad.

Windows 8.1 was released as an update to replace Windows 8 and to make running the operating system on a system without a touchscreen easier. The changes from 8 to 8.1 were evolutionary, as opposed to revolutionary, and they could arguably fall under the category of a patch (or a step backward to adapt to hardware). The biggest noticeable difference is that during boot, the OS checks to see if it is on a touch-capable device. If it is not, it boots to the desktop view (which looks like Windows 7) instead of to the Start screen (which is still there just the same).

Because the differences are minimal, this chapter discusses them as if they are the same and uses “Windows 8” to signify both. We’ll point out where there is a substantial difference between Windows 8 and Windows 8.1; there are only a few areas where they differ.

Windows Editions

Windows 8 was released in four different editions: Windows 8 (commonly called “core”), Windows 8 Pro (similar to Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate in terms of features), Windows 8 Enterprise (for volume licensing), and Windows 8 RT (for preinstallation on tablets). The RT version includes touch-optimized versions of Microsoft Office. All of the versions include the Start screen, Desktop, Windows Store, secure boot, and drive encryption. Only the Pro and Enterprise versions support BitLocker and Encrypting File System (EFS).

The minimum hardware requirements for a 32-bit installation are a 1GHz (or faster) processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of hard drive space, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver. For 64-bit installations, this rises to 2GB of RAM and 20GB of hard drive space. Naturally, for touch capabilities, you need a monitor that supports touch, and you need an Internet connection to be able to access the Windows Store if you should need software from there.

Table 15.1 lists a number of features associated with the Windows 8 operating system that CompTIA wants you to know for the exam, along with a brief description of each.

Table 15.1 Windows 8 features

Feature Significance
Metro UI When the new interface was released with Windows 8, it was called the Metro UI. This name did not last long; it came to be known as the new Windows UI or the Windows 8 UI.
Figure 15.1 shows an example of the interface, in this case the Windows Start screen.
Pinning If you have favorite apps, you can “pin” (add) them to the Start screen or the Desktop so that you can get to them quickly or see updates to their tiles at a glance. To add an app to the Taskbar, right-click and choose Pin To Taskbar (or choose to unpin it if you want to remove it). Choosing Pin To Start places it on the Start screen instead of on the Taskbar.
OneDrive CompTIA refers to this as two words (One Drive), but Microsoft refers to it as one (OneDrive). Either way, it is the online/cloud storage account that comes with your Microsoft account. You can save files there from applications or move them there (and back again) using File Explorer (previously called Windows Explorer). There is a limited amount of storage given to each account for free, and you can purchase more as you need it.
Windows Store The Windows Store is an online site, requiring Windows 8 or higher, from which you can download apps, games, software, and so on. Once they’re downloaded, you can install them, pin them, and use them.
Multimonitor Taskbars Multiple monitors have been available with Windows for some time, but not until Windows 8 has it been possible to have a Taskbar appear in each monitor.
Charms Windows 8 introduced charms to the OS. These are controls that are available on the side of the screen for every Windows Store app. They consist of Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings.
Start screen The Windows Start screen, shown in Figure 15.1, is the central location where you can access your most commonly used data and sites.
PowerShell Windows PowerShell (one word per Microsoft and two per CompTIA) has been around for several years and was available with previous versions of Windows as well. It can be thought of as a greatly enhanced command interface where you can write script files based on the .NET programming framework.
Figure 15.2 shows an example of the interface and the results of the get-process command.
Live sign-in In a non-domain-based environment, it is possible to use your Microsoft account (MSN, Hotmail, Outlook, and so forth) username and password to log in to your Windows 8–based PC. This is intended to serve as a single sign-on, allowing you to not only interact with the OS but also to download apps from the Windows Store, sync files with OneDrive, and so on.
As an alternative to this, you can still create a local account and use it to log in, but you will need to authenticate with cloud-based services when/if you connect to them.
Action Center Also available in Windows 7, Action Center (Control Panel ➢ System and Security ➢ Action Center) is a central dialog for dealing with problems, security, and maintenance.
Figure 15.3 shows an example of the interface on a system with expired virus protection.

Figure 15.1 The Windows 8 UI.

Figure 15.2 Windows PowerShell

Some common that can be used in PowerShell can be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2006.12.powershell.aspx.

Figure 15.3 The Action Center.

The Windows Start screen, with its tiled look, provides a main location where you can access everything. Depending on whether you have a touch-enabled device or not, how you interact with this screen will differ. Table 15.2 lists common actions and ways of navigating the Start screen based on whether you are using touch gestures or a keyboard and mouse.

Table 15.2 Navigating Windows 8 Start screen

Action With Touch Gestures With Keyboard and Mouse
Open an app Tap the app. Figure 15.4 shows the tile representing the Calendar app. Click on the app.
Return to Start screen from an app Tap the Start button in the lower left-corner of the screen. Press the Windows key on the keyboard.
Display the charms Swipe from the right edge of the screen.
Figure 15.5 shows the charms.		 Point to the upper-right or lower-right corner of the Start screen.
Display the Start menu Tap the Desktop tile and then press and release the Start button.
Figure 15.6 shows the Start button.		 Point to the lower-left corner of the Start screen to display the Start button, and then right-click it.
See all apps on your computer Swipe to the left until the down arrow appears, and then tap the arrow in the lower-left corner of the Start screen (shown in Figure 15.7). A list of the apps will appear, by name and in alphabetical order. Point to the lower-left area of the Start screen, and then click the down arrow.
Switch between open apps Swipe in and out from the left edge of the screen to see a list of open apps, and then tap on one. Point to the upper-left corner of the Start screen to see a list of open apps, and then click on one.

Figure 15.4 A tile/icon for an app

Figure 15.5 The Windows 8 charms

Figure 15.6 The Start button

Figure 15.7 The down arrow

On the Start screen, you can start typing the name of any app, setting, or file and the OS will attempt to find what you are looking for and narrow your options to that. You can also search by using the Search icon (which looks like a magnifying glass) in the upper-right corner of the Start Screen, as shown in Figure 15.8.

Image described by surrounding text.

Figure 15.8 The Search icon appears on the Start screen.

Installing Windows 8

As with any operating system installation, the two primary methods of installing Windows 8 are either a clean install or an upgrade. With a clean install, no traces of any previous operating system are kept, and the main concern is that the hardware meets (or preferably, exceeds) the minimum requirements. Clean installs are usually done with new hardware and virtual machines (and, to a limited extent, multiple boot installations).

With an upgrade, the focus is on keeping something from the previous operating system that was installed earlier on the machine. That “something” can be user accounts, data, apps, or almost anything else.

When the upgrade is done without removing the existing operating system (the norm), this is known as an in-place upgrade. Windows 8.1 can do an in-place upgrade only from Windows 7 or Windows 8, and Table 15.3 shows the upgrade possibilities.

Table 15.3 Windows 8 upgrade options

Existing Operating System Windows 8 Core Windows 8 Pro Windows 8 Enterprise
Windows 7 Starter Yes Yes No
Windows 7 Home Basic Yes Yes No
Windows 7 Home Premium Yes Yes No
Windows 7 Professional No Yes Yes
Windows 7 Ultimate No Yes No
Windows 7 Enterprise No No Yes

Since Windows RT 8 is designed for preinstallation on tablets, there is not an upgrade path for it.

The easiest way to see if your current hardware can run Windows 8.1 is to download and run the Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant. Figure 15.9 shows the opening screen, and Figure 15.10 shows an example of the results it found when run on a Windows 7 laptop.

Image described by caption.

Figure 15.9 The opening screen of the Windows Upgrade Assistant

Image described by caption.

Figure 15.10 An example of the Windows Upgrade Assistant results

Clicking to see more information (See Compatibility Details) brings up information similar to that which is shown in Figure 15.11, and it lets you work through each issue individually.

Screenshot shows Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant page which includes Compatibility details; Install an app to play DVDs, Secure boot, Check Point SSL Network Extender and HP Mobile Data Protection Sensor with corresponding icons.

Figure 15.11 The compatibility details offer more information.

A tutorial and link to download the Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant are available at

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-from-windows-7-tutorial.

When it comes to software, the easiest way to see if your current apps work with Windows 8.1 is to visit the Windows Compatibility Center at:

www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/Home

As mentioned, Windows 8 can be installed as an upgrade or a clean installation—accomplished with the Custom option (think custom = clean). When you choose Custom, you can choose whether or not to format the hard disk. If you choose not to format the hard disk, the old operating system is placed in a folder named Windows.old to allow you to attempt to return to the old operating system if needed. After 28 days, any files placed in the Windows.old folder are automatically deleted.

Regardless of whether you are doing an install or an upgrade, there are a number of ways to approach doing it and CompTIA has placed them into several categories, which we will walk through next.

Unattended Installation/Image Deployment

An unattended installation, as the name implies, is one in which you don’t need to be sitting in front of the machine to complete the operation. The heart of an unattended installation is utilizing image deployment, which is sort of like copying an ideal image over from one machine to another. Microsoft makes tools available with which to create images, and the core deployment tools are in the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (usually referred to as the Windows ADK). Expanding on these core tools is the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (commonly called MDT), which simplifies the process and reduces the time each install takes.

With the toolkit, you create a reference image for deployment to the physical machines. Once it’s created, you can edit this image with the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) and create a Windows Imaging (WIM) file to roll out. To simplify matters, the initial image is usually created on a virtual platform to help rule out hardware-related issues.

Complete documentation on using the MDT for Windows deployment can be found at:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn744280.aspx

Remote Network Installation

An install can be started many ways—with a USB drive, a DVD, and so on—and an image and setup files can also be located on and installed from a network, thus saving you from having to keep all of the files on the local machine. Often called a PXE-initiated boot (for Pre-Execution Environment), the workstation involved in the installation can retrieve the files from the network, as needed, and configure variables accordingly.

Multiboot Installation

If there is sufficient space on a machine, and the hardware will support it, you can have more than one operating system and choose which one to run when you boot. A rule of thumb from Microsoft is that you should always install older operating systems first and then work forward (have Windows Vista on before installing Windows 7 and then Windows 8, for example); if you go in the other direction, an earlier version of Windows may not recognize the startup files and will overwrite them, rendering the system inoperable.

To change which operating system to boot to, go to Control Panel ➢ System and Security ➢ System, and click Advanced System Settings. On the Advanced tab, chose Settings (under Startup And Recovery). Under System Start-Up, choose the default operating system that you want to use when the computer restarts.

Repair Installation/Refresh/Restore

When a problem pops up with the Windows 8 operating system, you can boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and repair it by choosing to refresh, reset, or restore it. Refreshing it keeps personal files and settings along with the default apps and those that you installed from the Windows Store.

Resetting reinstalls Windows and deletes all but the default apps (meaning that you lose your personal files and settings). Restoring allows you to just undo recent system changes.

Depending on the type of repair operation that you perform, you may or may not need the Windows 8 product key to continue. This is a 25-character code used for Windows activation (primarily to keep you from installing it on more PCs than you have licenses for).

Recovery Partition

A recovery partition is an area of the hard drive set aside to hold files that can be used to recover the operating system in the event of a failure. You can copy the information from this partition to another location (usually a USB drive) to use in the event that the partition fails. In Exercise 15.1, we will walk through creating a USB recovery drive.

Screenshot shows the drive must have atleast 32 gigabyte memory size to create a recovery drive and all the stored data of the drive will be lost.

Figure 15.12 Creating a recovery drive

Windows 8 Boot Methods

Windows 8 can be booted from a number of sources. To simplify matters, we’ve lumped them into categories constituting the ones that you need to know for the A+ exam.

Internal Hard Drive (Partition)

The most common method of booting the operating system—the traditional method of so doing—is to boot from an internal hard drive. In this case, the files are installed on a partition. A hard drive can be divided into multiple partitions, and it is not uncommon to have one for the system and one for data or recovery. By definition, a system partition is one that contains the Boot (BCD) folder that tells the computer where to look to start Windows, while the boot partition (which can be the same as the system partition) contains the actual files used to start Windows, and a recovery partition includes recovery tools (like Windows RE tools or a recovery image).

The boot files are the same as for Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and they load in the following order:

BOOTMGR The Windows Boot Manager (BOOTMGR) bootstraps the system. In other words, this file starts the loading of an OS on the computer.

BCD The Boot Configuration Data (BCD) holds information about OSs installed on the computer, such as the location of the OS files.

WINLOAD.EXE Loads the operating system kernel (NTOSKRNL.EXE).

WINRESUME.EXE If the system is not starting fresh but resuming a previous session, then WINRESUME.EXE is called by the BOOTMGR.

NTOSKRNL.EXE The Windows OS kernel.

System files In addition to the previously listed files, Windows needs a number of files from its system directories (that is, SYSTEM and SYSTEM32), such as the hardware abstraction layer (HAL.DLL), session manager (SMSS.EXE), user session (WINLOGON.EXE), and security subsystem (LSASS.EXE).

External/Hot Swappable Drive

Rather than booting from an internal drive, it is possible to install and boot Windows from an external drive if your BIOS supports it (and looks for the external drive in the boot order). You need to image/clone the operating system to the external drive and then change the boot order. Since many external drives are USB, one simple solution is to use Windows To Go, which is discussed with flash drives in the next section.

Flash Drives

Microsoft created Windows To Go (WTG) to allow Windows 8/8.1 to be installed on any USB-bootable device: flash drive, external hard drive, and so forth. It is officially included only with the Enterprise version, but workarounds can be found on the Web to work with lesser versions.

With Windows To Go, an image of the OS is known as a workspace, and you can use BitLocker with WTG to secure the workspace further. WTG works with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, but it requires USB 3.0 drives. Because of the size of the OS, it is recommended that USB drives used for WTG not be less than 20GB in size.

One exam-worthy note is that WTG does not support OS upgrades. It was created for use by enterprise departments, and there is no current model for upgrading WTG in place.

Solid-State Drives

Just as Windows 8 can run from USB, internal, and external drives, it can also run on solid-state drives (SSDs), as long as they meet the standard minimum requirements for size (a minimum of 16GB, in this case). Microsoft recommends that WinSAT.exe be used with the formal option to optimize Windows for the SSD (this reduces the number of write operations that Windows makes).

Netboot

The process of booting the OS from the network, performing a netboot, is commonly done with a thin client. This can be done with Windows 8 using Microsoft Desktop Virtualization. This is a useful option for environments where hardware is kept to a minimum.

After using DHCP to obtain network configuration parameters from a server, the thin client can locate a PXE boot server to send it the files that it needs to boot. The PXE server can be the same server as the DHCP server or a different one dedicated to the task.

Summary

This chapter focused on Windows 8/8.1. This is one of the three operating systems covered on the exam, and CompTIA expects you to be familiar with it and able to answer questions on everything from installing it to managing it.

We looked at the various editions of Windows 8, how to install it, and the Windows 8 boot options. The key operating system boot files are the same for this version of Windows, Window 7, and Windows Vista (which are explored in the next two chapters).

Exam Essentials

Know what types of installations are possible with Windows 8. You should know which operating systems can be upgraded to Windows 8 and which require a clean installation.

Understand the difference between an upgrade and a clean install. You should know that a clean installation replaces the operating system that was previously there (if there was one) and often includes a format. An upgrade, on the other hand, keeps some of the existing values, such as user accounts and user files.

Know the editions of Windows 8. Windows 8 was released in four different editions: Windows 8 (commonly called “core”), Windows 8 Pro (similar to Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate in terms of features), Windows 8 Enterprise (for volume licensing), and Windows 8 RT (for preinstallation on tablets).

Review Questions

The answers to the chapter review questions can be found in Appendix A.

  1. When Windows 8 was initially released, what was the interface called?

    1. Starter
    2. Aero
    3. Charm
    4. Metro

  2. Which versions of Windows 8 support EFS? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Enterprise
    2. Pro
    3. RT
    4. Core

  3. What is the minimum amount of hard drive space needed for a 32-bit installation of Windows 8?

    1. 16GB
    2. 20GB
    3. 24GB
    4. 28GB

  4. For a 64-bit installation of Windows 8, how much RAM is considered the minimum requirement?

    1. 1GB
    2. 2GB
    3. 4GB
    4. 8GB

  5. Which of the following is the online/cloud storage account (to which you can save or move files) that comes with your Microsoft account?

    1. eDirectory
    2. Cloud+
    3. OneDrive
    4. PostBox

  6. Previous versions of Windows included Windows Explorer. What is this utility called in Windows 8?

    1. Voyeur
    2. Magellan
    3. Navigator
    4. File Explorer

  7. Which of the following is an online site, requiring Windows 8 or higher, where you can download apps, games, software, and so forth?

    1. Windows Store
    2. Windows Transfer
    3. Windows Anytime
    4. Windows Roller

  8. Which of the following are controls that are available on the side of the screen and consist of Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings?

    1. Ornaments
    2. Sidecars
    3. Gestures
    4. Charms

  9. PowerShell script files are based on which programming framework?

    1. API
    2. PHP
    3. .NET
    4. ASP

  10. Windows 7 Ultimate can be upgraded to which versions of Windows 8? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Enterprise
    2. Pro
    3. RT
    4. Core

  11. Which tool can evaluate your current system and determine if it can be upgraded to Windows 8?

    1. Windows Compatibility Advisor
    2. Windows Upgrade Wizard
    3. Windows Administrative Tools
    4. Windows Upgrade Assistant

  12. Which tool from Microsoft simplifies the process of creating a Windows 8 image for upgrading multiple machines and reduces the time each install takes?

    1. MDT
    2. MAP
    3. MAB
    4. WVE

  13. If Windows is installed on a system with multiple hard drives, what tool can be used to verify that images are pointing to their intended drives?

    1. GRUB
    2. LILO
    3. diskpart
    4. Sysprep

  14. Which of the following was created to allow Windows 8 to boot from flash drives?

    1. BitLocker
    2. Windows To Go
    3. OneDrive
    4. Load2Go

  15. You are installing Windows 8 on a solid-state drive (SSD). Which of the following can be used to reduce the number of write operations Windows makes and thus optimize Windows for the SSD?

    1. MSD tiny
    2. diskpart ssd
    3. WinSAT formal
    4. MCAT now

  16. Which partition is the one that contains the hardware-specific files needed to load Windows?

    1. Recovery
    2. Data
    3. Windows
    4. System

  17. Which versions of Windows 8 include Windows To Go? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Enterprise
    2. Pro
    3. RT
    4. Core

  18. Which repair option keeps personal files and settings along with the default apps and those that you installed from the Windows Store?

    1. Reset
    2. Restore
    3. Refresh
    4. Replace

  19. How many characters are in a Windows 8 product key?

    1. 25
    2. 32
    3. 64
    4. 128

  20. In a drive path, what does the system partition usually appear as?

    1. A
    2. H
    3. 1
    4. 0

Performance-Based Question

You will encounter performance-based questions on the A+ exams. The questions on the exam require you to perform a specific task, and you will be graded on whether or not you were able to complete the task. The following requires you to think creatively in order to measure how well you understand this chapter’s topics. You may or may not see similar questions on the actual A+ exams. To see how your answers compare to the authors’, refer to Appendix B.

You have been assigned to write a PowerShell script that will find other scripts in a user profile directory and all of its subdirectories. Which PowerShell variable should you use since %UserProfile% is an environment variable and will not run in PowerShell?

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