The Computer Management console is designed to handle core system administration tasks on local and remote systems. If you’ve added Administrative Tools to the Start screen, you can start the Computer Management console by tapping or clicking the related tile. You also can start the Computer Management console by typing compmgmt.msc in the Everywhere Search box, and then pressing Enter.

As Figure 2-1 shows, the main window has a multipane view similar to File Explorer. You use the console tree in the left pane for navigation and tool selection. The Actions pane, which can be displayed on the far right, is similar to the shortcut menu that is displayed when you press and hold or right-click an item. To display or close the Actions pane, tap or click the Show/Hide Action Pane button on the console toolbar. Tools are divided into the following three broad categories:

Figure 2-1. Use the Computer Management console to manage network computers and resources.

Within these categories are the following tools:

When working with Computer Management, you can select a remote computer to manage by completing the following steps:

If you want to make it possible to remotely manage a computer running Windows 8.1 by using the WS-Management protocol, enter winrm quickconfig at an elevated prompt, and then, each time you’re prompted to make configuration changes, enter Y. This will start the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service, configure WinRM to accept WS-Management requests on any IP address, create a Windows Firewall exception for Windows Remote Management, and then configure LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy to grant appropriate administrative rights for remote management.

Many other types of remote management tasks depend on other exceptions for Windows Firewall. Keep the following in mind:

You use the System console to view and manage system properties. In Control Panel, you can access the System console by tapping or clicking System And Security, and then tapping or clicking System. As Figure 2-2 shows, the System console is divided into four basic areas that provide links for performing common tasks and a system overview. These four areas are:

Figure 2-2. Use the System console to view and manage system properties.

When you’re working in the System console, links in the left pane provide quick access to key support tools, including the following:

Tapping or clicking Change Settings under Computer Name, Domain, And Workgroup Settings displays the System Properties dialog box. Using System Properties to manage a computer’s configuration is discussed later in this chapter in the section Managing system properties.

When you want to get detailed system information or check computer information on remote systems, use System Information (Msinfo32.exe). You can access system information by tapping or clicking System Information on the Apps screen or by typing msinfo32 into the Everywhere Search box, and then pressing Enter. As shown in Figure 2-3, you can view system summaries by selecting the System Summary node. All the configuration statistics provided are collected by using the WMI service.

Figure 2-3. Advanced system information can help you troubleshoot system configuration problems.

The System Information tool provides detailed information on several major areas of the operating system, including the following:

If you want to browse configuration information for a remote computer, follow these steps:

The account you use must have appropriate administrator access permissions for the domain or the local machine. If you have other problems obtaining information from a remote system, you might need to check the namespace used by the WMI service, as discussed in the following section. You’ll know that you are looking at system information for a remote computer because the System Summary node shows the computer name in parentheses.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a key part of the Windows 8.1 operating system. It is used to gather system statistics, monitor system health, and manage system components. To work properly, WMI relies on the WMI service, which must be running and properly configured for the environment.

You control the configuration of the WMI service through WMI Control, which can be accessed on a local or remote system by using the following steps:

Figure 2-4. WMI Control is used to manage the configuration of the WMI service.

The WMI Control Properties dialog box has the following tabs:

Information gathered by WMI is stored in a collection of system files called a repository. By default, the repository files are stored under %SystemRoot%System32WbemRepository. The repository is the heart of WMI and the Help And Support services framework. Information is moved through the repository by using a staging file. If repository data or the staging file becomes corrupt, WMI might not function properly. This condition is usually temporary, but you can safeguard against it by backing up the repository file manually.

To back up the WMI repository manually, complete the following steps:

If you later need to restore the WMI repository from a backup file, complete these steps:

Support for Server Message Block (SMB) 1.0 and the Computer Browser service is a holdover from the days of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The Computer Browser service periodically performs network broadcasts and collects information about computers on the network. SMB is a client/server technology used for distributing files over networks. Windows desktop operating systems have an SMB client; Windows Server operating systems also have SMB server technology. Current Windows operating systems support SMB 3.0, which supports end-to-end encryption and eliminates the need for IPsec to protect SMB data in transit.

The SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support feature is installed by default on computers running Windows 8.1. However, if you’ve removed all computers running Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 from your organization, support for Server Message Block (SMB) 1.0 is no longer needed, nor is the Computer Browser service that was used by SMB 1.0. To remove the SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support feature, follow these steps:

When you remove the SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support feature, the Computer Browser service also is removed because it’s no longer needed. Removing this feature ensures that the Computer Browser service is no longer used to collect information about computers on the network and prevents SMB clients connecting to file shares from using SMB 1.0.

Disk Cleanup checks disk drives for files that aren’t needed. You can start to work with Disk Cleanup by completing the following steps:

Critical files used by the operating system are digitally signed. Digital signatures help prove the authenticity of these files and ensure that it’s easy to track changes that might cause problems on a system. When you are having problems that cannot easily be explained, such as a system becoming unstable after an application is installed, it’s a good idea to verify that critical system files haven’t been changed. You can do this by using the File Signature Verification utility.

The executable file for the File Signature Verification utility is Sigverif.exe. You can start and work with the File Signature Verification utility by completing the following steps:

Whether you want to update system configuration files or troubleshoot startup problems, your tool of choice should be the System Configuration utility. System Configuration is an integrated tool for managing system configuration information. Using this utility, you can manage the following elements:

The following sections examine key tasks that you can perform with the System Configuration utility. The executable file for the System Configuration utility is Msconfig.exe. You can run the utility by typing msconfig in the Everywhere Search box and then pressing Enter.

Changing boot options

Windows 8.1 uses the Windows Boot Manager and a boot application to start up the operating system. Windows 8.1 doesn’t use Boot.ini or other boot files in a standard configuration. When troubleshooting, you can use the options on the Boot tab of the System Configuration utility to control the boot partition, boot method, and boot options used by the operating system.

As shown in Figure 2-9, when you start the System Configuration utility and tap or click the Boot tab, the operating systems that are bootable on the computer are listed. To specify that an operating system other than the current one should be used, simply tap or click the related operating system entry. When working with operating system entries, you can select the following options:

Figure 2-9. The Boot tab controls the boot partition, boot method, and boot options used by the operating system.

• Set As Default. Sets the currently selected boot partition as the default partition. The default partition is selected automatically if you don’t choose an option before the timeout interval.

• Timeout. Sets the amount of time the computer waits before using the default boot partition.

• Delete. Deletes an operating system entry. The entry cannot be easily re-created, so delete an entry only if absolutely necessary.

Note

On a computer with a single operating system, the Set As Default and Delete buttons are unavailable because there is no other operating system to switch to or from. Similarly, when you select the default operating system, you can’t select Set As Default, and when you select the current operating system, you can’t select Delete.

You can also set the following boot options:

• Safe Boot. Start the computer in Safe mode with additional flags for Minimal, Network, and Alternate Shell minimal boots, as well as the Active Directory Repair state (DsRepair). After you successfully start a system in Safe mode, you can modify system settings to resolve configuration problems.

• No GUI Boot. Starts the computer to the Windows prompt and doesn’t load the graphical components of the operating system. Starting to the prompt is useful when you are having problems with the graphical components of Windows 8.1.

• Boot Log. Turns on boot logging so that key startup events are written to a log.

• Base Video. Forces the computer to use VGA display settings. Use this mode when you are trying to resolve display settings, such as when the display mode is set to a size that the monitor cannot display.

• OS Boot Information. Starts the computer by using verbose output so that you can view the details of startup activities prior to the loading of Windows graphical components.

Any changes you make are stored as modified boot configuration data by the System Configuration utility. After you make changes and tap or click OK, you can restart the computer to apply the temporary changes. To go back to a normal startup after you’ve made and applied changes, you must select Normal Startup on the General tab and then tap or click OK. You must then reboot the system so that the normal settings are used.

If you tap or click the Advanced Options button on the Boot tab, you can set boot options for processors, maximum memory, PCI locking, and debugging by using the BOOT Advanced Options dialog box, shown in Figure 2-10. Use these options for troubleshooting. For example, if you suspect that a problem is related to multiple processors, you can specify 1 as the number of processors to use. If you suspect that a problem is due to memory beyond the first 4 gigabytes (GB), you can specify the maximum memory to use as 4,096 MB. After you are done troubleshooting, you should remove these options to restore normal operations.

Figure 2-10. Set advanced boot options for troubleshooting.

On the Boot tab, to make any of the standard or advanced boot options you select permanent, select the Make All Boot Settings Permanent check box before tapping or clicking OK. In most cases, you won’t want troubleshooting or debugging options to be permanent, so be sure to clear these options first.

The computer’s network identification can be displayed and modified on the Computer Name tab of the System Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 2-12. As the figure shows, the Computer Name tab displays the full computer name of the system and the domain or group membership. The full computer name is essentially the Domain Name System (DNS) name of the computer, which also identifies the computer’s place within an Active Directory hierarchy.

A quick way to open the System Properties dialog box is to press and hold or right-click the hidden button in the lower-left corner of Start or the desktop, tap or click System, and then tap or click the Change Settings link. Alternatively, you can enter sysdm.cpl and then press Enter.

The options on the Computer Name tab enable you to do the following:

Figure 2-12. Use the Computer Name tab to display and configure system identification.

The Hardware tab in the System Properties dialog box provides access to Device Manager and Device Installation Settings.

Open the System Properties dialog box by pressing and holding or right-clicking the hidden button in the lower-left corner of the Start screen or the desktop, tapping or clicking System, and then tapping or clicking the Change Settings link. The main options you might want to work with on the Hardware tab are the device installation settings.

When you connect a new device, Windows 8.1 checks for drivers automatically by using Windows Update. If you don’t want a computer to check for drivers automatically, tap or click Device Installation Settings, and then select either Yes, Do This Automatically or No, Let Me Choose What To Do, and then tap or click Save Changes.

The Advanced tab in the System Properties dialog box provides access to controls for many of the key features of the Windows operating system, including application performance, virtual memory usage, user profiles, environment variables, and startup and recovery.

Performance options are a subset of the advanced configuration settings, which are configured by using the Performance Options dialog box. One way to access this dialog box is by completing the following steps:

To open the Performance Options dialog box directly, in the Everywhere Search box, enter SystemPropertiesPerformance in the Everywhere Search box, and then press Enter.

System and user environment variables are configured by means of the Environment Variables dialog box, as shown in Figure 2-14. One way to access this dialog box is by completing the following steps:

Figure 2-14. The Environment Variables dialog box lets you configure system and user environment variables.

System startup and recovery properties are configured by means of the Startup And Recovery dialog box, shown in Figure 2-15. One way to access this dialog box is by completing the following steps:

Figure 2-15. The Startup And Recovery dialog box lets you configure system startup and recovery procedures.

The System Protection tab in the System Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 2-16, provides options for managing the configuration of System Restore. Access this tab by completing the following steps:

Figure 2-16. System Restore manages restore points on a per-drive basis.

You also can access the System Protection tab in the System Properties dialog box by typing SystemPropertiesProtection in the Everywhere Search box and then pressing Enter.

Unlike in Windows 7, System Restore no longer includes Previous Versions as a subcomponent. With Windows 8.1, you create previous versions of personal files by using File History backups. The sections that follow discuss techniques for working with and configuring System Restore. Chapter 10 discusses using restore points to recover a computer and file history backups.

The Remote tab in the System Properties dialog box controls Remote Assistance invitations and Remote Desktop connections. These options are discussed in Chapter 6.

Windows 8.1 includes the Power Configuration (Powercfg.exe) utility for managing power options from the command line. You can view a list of parameters for this utility by typing powercfg /? at a command prompt. The parameters you’ll work with most often include the following:

The following is a sample listing returned by typing powercfg -l at a command prompt.

Existing Power Schemes (* Active)
-----------------------------------
Power Scheme GUID: 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e (Balanced)
Power Scheme GUID: 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c (High performance)
Power Scheme GUID: a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a (Power saver)
Power Scheme GUID: c1d97820-3148-42a9-a587-75d618a9bb2b (Graphics Dept) *

The active plan is marked with an asterisk. From this listing, you can determine that this computer has four power plans and the active power plan is the Graphics Dept plan.

If you want to configure power plans or modify power settings by using Powercfg, you need to do so by using an elevated command prompt. When a parameter requires a GUID, the easiest way to obtain this value is to enter powercfg -l at an elevated command prompt, and then copy the value for the appropriate power plan. For example, if you want to make the Balanced plan the default plan for the computer in the previous example, you would enter the following at an elevated command prompt.

powercfg -s 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e

You determine the power modes that a computer supports by typing powercfg -a at a command prompt. Powercfg will list exactly what modes are and aren’t supported, such as the following.

The following sleep states are available on this system:
Standby (S1 S3)
Hibernate
Hybrid Sleep
The following sleep states are not available on this system:
Standby (S2)
The system firmware does not support this standby state.

If a computer has problems entering sleep or hibernate mode, you can use powercfg -a to possibly determine what is causing the problem. If the firmware doesn’t support a particular mode, you might in some (limited) cases be able to update the firmware to gain support for a particular mode. If a device that doesn’t support a particular mode is causing a problem, you might be able to remove the device and replace it with a compliant device.

Any time you want to evaluate a computer’s power configuration and device compatibility, you can generate a Power Efficiency Diagnostics report by typing powercfg -energy at a command prompt. When you run powercfg -energy, the report is generated as an HTML document called Energy-Report.html. In the report, you’ll find the results of power management compliance for devices. Any device that doesn’t support power management appropriately will be listed, along with the error details. For example, if a USB device doesn’t properly enter the Suspend state, you’ll get the detailed information about the errors encountered and the device configuration. If a power management capability has been disabled because of a compatibility issue, you’ll find this in the report, too. For example, if the PCI Express Active-State Power Management feature isn’t supported on the hardware and the feature has therefore been disabled, you’ll find this listed in the report. Warnings and additional information about devices and compatibility are also provided, including details on supported sleep states and processor power management capabilities.

To dig even deeper into power management issues, you can get comprehensive power support details for every device on the computer by entering the following command.

powercfg -devicequery all_devices_verbose > power.txt

Power.txt is the name of the file in the current working directory in which the power information will be saved.

When you’ve configured Windows PowerShell for remote access, you can easily execute Powercfg on multiple remote computers. To do this, enter the name of each remote computer to check on a separate line in a file called Computers.txt, and then save this file. Next, open an elevated administrator Windows PowerShell prompt and enter the following commands.

$comp = get-content c:computers.txt
$s = new-pssession -computername $comp
invoke-command -session $s { powercfg.exe -energy }

Here, C:Computers.txt is the path to the Computers.txt file. Update this path as appropriate for the location in which you saved the file. On each computer, an Energy-Report.html file will be created in the default directory for the user account used to access the computer. If you would rather not have to retrieve the HTML document from each computer, you can write the report to a share and base the report name on the computer name, as shown in the following example.

$comp = get-content c:computers.txt
$s = new-pssession -computername $comp
invoke-command -session $s { powercfg.exe -energy -output
"\fileserver46data$env:computername.html"}

Here, you write the report to the \fileserver46data share and name the file by using the value of the ComputerName environment variable. Note that when you work with Windows PowerShell and are referencing commands with executable files, you must specify the .exe file extension with the program name.

On mobile computing devices, the notification area of the taskbar includes a Power icon. Tapping or clicking this icon shows the battery state and the power plan that you are using. Tapping or clicking either of the links provided in the notification status dialog box opens the Power Options page in Control Panel. Out of the box, most configurations of Windows 8.1 have three preferred power plans:

Power plan settings are divided into two general categories: basic and advanced. Basic power settings control when a computer dims or turns off its display, as well as when the computer enters sleep mode. It’s important to note that mobile computing devices have On Battery and Plugged In settings that can be configured independent of each other. For example, you might want a computer’s display to dim after 2 minutes of inactivity when on battery or after 5 minutes of inactivity when plugged in.

Advanced power settings determine precisely whether and when power management components on a computer are shut down and how those components are configured for performance. The advanced power settings available depend on the computer’s configuration and include the following:

As you can tell, the advanced power settings control every facet of power management. The differences in the advanced settings are what really set the power plans apart from each other. For example, whereas the High Performance plan ensures performance by allowing the computer’s processor to always run at 100 percent power consumption, the Power Saver and the Balanced plans reduce energy consumption by configuring the processor to use a minimum power consumption rate of 5 percent and a maximum rate of 100 percent.

When configuring power plans, it’s important to allow components to turn off after periods of inactivity. Turning off components separately enables a computer to progressively go into sleep mode. When a computer is fully in sleep mode, all power-manageable components are switched off so that the computer uses less power. When the computer is brought out of sleep mode, the components, such as the monitor and hard disks, are turned back on, restoring the user workspace. You should configure sleep mode so that when a laptop is running on batteries, it goes into power conservation mode when the user is away from the laptop for a relatively short period of time, such as 20 or 30 minutes.

Because a computer can have multiple power plans, each plan can be optimized for the way a laptop is used at a particular time. You can configure multiple power plans for different situations. At home or in the office, laptops might need different power management configurations than they do when users are giving presentations. In one case, you might want to configure the laptop to quickly conserve energy when running on batteries. In another case, you might want to ensure that the laptop never turns off its hard disk or wireless adapters.

Although computers can have multiple power plans, only one plan can be active at a time. To select or optimize a power plan, follow these steps:

In Group Policy, you can use a preference item to optimize power plans on computers throughout a domain by completing the following steps:

In addition to the preferred power plans included with Windows 8.1, you can create power plans as needed. To create a power plan, follow these steps:

You can access Group Policy and use a preference item to create power plans on computers throughout a domain by completing the following steps:

fSystemwide settings for power options enable you to customize the way that the power button and password protection on wakeup works for all users who log on to the computer. You can configure the power button so that when it is pressed, the system shuts down, hibernates, or enters sleep mode. You can configure the computer so that when it wakes from sleep, a password is required to unlock the screen.

To set systemwide power settings, follow these steps:

In Group Policy, you’ll find policy settings for managing power options in the Administrative Templates for Computer Configuration under SystemPower Management. The following five subnodes are provided:

To apply a policy setting, enable the policy, and then select the appropriate action.

Through Group Policy, you can also specify an active power plan. How you work with Power Management policies depends on whether you want to use a default power plan, an updated preferred plan, or a custom power plan that you’ve created. If you want all computers that process a particular policy to use one of the Windows 8.1 default power plans, follow these steps:

If you want all computers that process a particular policy to use an updated preferred plan or a custom power plan that you’ve created, follow these steps:

Alarms determine whether a laptop sounds an alarm or displays a warning message when its battery reaches a certain level. You can configure three levels of alarms and notifications for laptops:

An alarm action associated with low and critical alarms enables you to dictate what specific actions the operating system should take when the alarm level is reached. Possible actions include shutting down the computer, entering sleep mode, or entering hibernate mode. Starting with Windows Vista, you could turn off low-battery notifications by enabling the Turn Off Low Battery User Notification policy. In Windows 7, the reserve battery alert was added to notify users that batteries were running on reserve power. Because there are different considerations for configuring the alert levels, I’ll examine each separately in the sections that follow.