Microsoft Press Windows Vista Administrator's Pocket Consultant ebook

by MS

  Remote Desktop is not enabled by default. You must specifically enable it, thereby allowing remote access to the workstation. When it is enabled, any members of the administrators group can connect to the workstation. Other users must be specifically placed on a remote access list to gain access to the workstation. To configure remote access, follow these steps:

  In Control Panel, click System And Maintenance and then click System.

  On the System page, click Remote Settings in the left pane. This opens the System Properties dialog box to the Remote tab.

  To disable Remote Desktop, select Don't Allow Connections To This Computer and then click OK. Skip the remaining steps.

  To enable Remote Desktop, you have two options. You can:

  q Select Allow Connections From Computers Running Any Version Of Remote Desktop to allow connections from any version of Windows.

  q Select Allow Connections Only From Computers Running Remote Desktop With Network Level Authentication to allow connections only from Windows Vista or later computers (and computers with secure network authentication).

  Click Select Users. This displays the Remote Desktop Users dialog box, shown in Figure 6-10.

  Figure 6-10: Specify the additional users allowed to make Remote Desktop connections.

  To grant Remote Desktop access to a user, click Add. This opens the Select Users dialog box. In the Select Users dialog box, click Locations to select the computer or domain in which the users you want to work with are located. Type the name of a user you want to work with in the Enter The Object Names To Select field and then click Check Names. If matches are found, select the account you want to use and then click OK. If no matches are found, update the name you entered and try searching again. Repeat this step as necessary and click OK when finished.

  To revoke remote access permissions for a user account, select the account and then click Remove.

  Click OK twice when you are finished.

  Making Remote Desktop Connections

  As an administrator, you can make Remote Desktop connections to Windows servers and workstations. With Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Remote Desktop connections are enabled by installing Terminal Services and then configuring Terminal Services in remote access mode. With Microsoft Windows XP Professional and later, Remote Desktop is installed automatically but not enabled until you specifically do so as discussed in the preceding section of this chapter. Once remote access is enabled on a computer, all administrators have remote access to that computer. Other users can be granted remote access as well.

  To make a Remote Desktop connection to a server or workstation, follow these steps:

  At a command prompt, type mstsc or click Start, point to All Programs, Accessories, Remote Desktop Connection. This displays the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, shown in Figure 6-11.

  Figure 6-11: In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, type the name of the computer to which you want to connect and then click Connect.

  In the Computer field, type the name of the computer to which you want to connect. If you don't know the name of the computer, use the drop-down list provided to choose an available computer, or select Browse For More on the drop-down list to display a list of domains and computers in those domains.

  Click Connect. Type your credentials when prompted and then click OK. If the connection is successful, you'll see the Remote Desktop window on the selected computer and you'll be able to work with resources on the computer. In the case of a failed connection, check the information you provided and then try to connect again.

  Note

  Clicking Options in the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box displays additional options for creating and saving connections. These advanced options enable you to change display size for the Remote Desktop; manage connections to local resources, such as printers, serial ports, and disk drives; run programs automatically on connection; and enable or disable local caching and data compression.

  Chapter 7: Managing Laptops and Traveling Users

  In this chapter, I'll focus on management and support issues for laptop computers and traveling users. Laptop computers have a different set of core features and require different support techniques than desktop computers do. Additional features on laptops include power management extensions and mobility options accessible through Microsoft Windows Mobility Center, Windows Vista's new central console for accessing key mobility features. In addition to performing normal management tasks, administrators must perform support tasks for laptops, such as modifying a laptop's network configuration so it can be used in the office and at home or connecting a laptop to a networked projector.

  Laptop administration might also extend to maintaining offline files, configuring additional network connections, wireless networking, and remote access. You'll find a discussion of offline files in Chapter 11, "Configuring Advanced Windows Explorer Options, Offline Files, and Disk Quotas." You'll find coverage of Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networking in Chapter 12, "Configuring and Troubleshooting TCP/IP Networking." Wireless networking and remote access is covered in Chapter 13, "Managing Mobile Networking and Remote Access."

  Working with Windows Mobility Center

  Windows Mobility Center provides a single location for managing mobile PC settings. As shown in Figure 7-1, Windows Mobility Center includes a series of control tiles that provide quick access to the most commonly used mobile PC settings. On a laptop or Tablet PC, you can access Windows Mobility Center by right-clicking the Power icon in the taskbar's notification area and then selecting Mobility Center or by clicking Start, Control Panel, Mobile PC, Mobility Center.

  Figure 7-1: Windows Mobility Center provides quick access to the most commonly used mobile PC settings.

  Windows Mobility Center's control tiles enable you to directly adjust your mobile PC settings by using available options such as sliders to adjust the brightness, a selection list to change the power plan, and a toggle button to turn presentation settings on or off. Although the exact set of control tiles available depends on the type of mobile PC and the manufacturer, following are the most common control tiles:

  Battery Status Shows the status of the computer's battery. You can use the selection list provided to quickly change from one power plan to another. If you've created custom power plans, these are available as well.

  Brightness Enables you to manage the brightness setting of the display. If brightness is configurable on the computer, use the slider provided to adjust the brightness.

  External Display Enables you to connect to a secondary display, such as might be necessary to give a presentation. Click Connect Display to access a secondary display connected through a cable.

  Presentation Settings Enables you to turn presentation mode on or off. In presentation mode, the mobile PC's display and hard disk do not go into sleep mode due to inactivity. Click Turn On to enter presentation mode.

  Sync Center Enables you to view the status of file syncing and initiate syncing. Click Sync to start a new sync using Sync Center.

  Tablet Display Enables you to view and change the current display orientation. Click Change Orientation to change from landscape to portrait display or vice versa.

  Volume Enables you to manage the current volume setting. If volume is configurable on your computer, use the slider provided to adjust the volume.

  Wireless Network Enables you to view and manage the status of your wireless network connection. Click Turn Wireless On to enable your wireless connection.

  Configuring Power Management Settings

  Power management settings control the behavior of a computer in different power use situations, such as when it is plugged in or running on a battery. Although all computers should be configured with power management settings to save energy, power management settings on laptops help to balance performance against energy usage. In some cases, you'll want to reduce laptop responsiveness and overall performance to increase the battery life, enabling the laptop user
to run the laptop on battery for longer periods of time. In other cases, you might want to ensure moderate performance and a moderate battery life or you might want to ensure maximum performance regardless of how this impacts battery life.

  In Windows Vista, the core aspects of power management are streamlined significantly and are managed using power plans. Like power schemes in earlier versions of Windows, power plans are collections of power management settings that control power usage and consumption. A laptop can have multiple power plans, but only one can be active at any given time. In addition to power plans, most laptops have preset behaviors for when the laptop is closed, for when the power button is pressed, and for when the sleep button is pressed. Typically, closing a laptop's lid puts it into sleep mode, pressing and holding the power button shuts down a laptop, and pressing the sleep button puts it into sleep mode. Through system-wide settings for power options, you can customize the power button and password protection on wake behavior to meet the needs of individual users or groups of users.

  Working with Power Plans

  On laptops and Tablet PCs, the notification area of the taskbar includes a Power icon. Moving the mouse pointer over this icon shows the battery state and the power plan you are using. You can right-click the Power icon to display a shortcut menu with options for quickly accessing the Power Options utility and Windows Mobility Center. Windows Vista has three default preferred power plans:

  Balanced A power usage plan that balances energy consumption and system performance. The processor speeds up when more resources are used and slows down when less are needed. This is the default power plan. Use this plan for users who work with a wide variety of applications, including those that are moderately graphics intensive, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, and those that are not graphics intensive, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook.

  High Performance A high-power usage plan that optimizes the computer for performance at a direct cost to battery life. This plan ensures that you always have enough power for using graphics-intensive programs or playing multimedia games. Use this plan when performance is essential and users work primarily with graphics-intensive applications or applications that perform complex arithmetic calculations.

  Power Saver A low-power usage plan designed to reduce power consumption. This plan slows down the processor to maximize the battery life. Use this plan for users who work primarily with non–graphics intensive applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook.

  Power plan settings are divided into two general categories: basic and advanced.

  Basic power settings control when a computer turns off its display and when it turns off. By default, with the Balanced plan and the Power Saver plan, Windows Vista turns off the display after 20 minutes of inactivity and puts the computer in sleep mode after an hour of inactivity. With the High Performance plan, Windows Vista turns off the display after 20 minutes of inactivity but never automatically puts the computer in sleep mode.

  Advanced power settings determine precisely whether and when power manageable components on a computer are shut down and how those components are configured for performance. Following are the advanced power settings you can configure:

  Additional SettingsRequire A Password On Wakeup Determines whether a password is required when a computer wakes from sleep. You can set this option to Do Not Lock Console When System Wakes or Require A Password On Wakeup.

  Hard DiskTurn Off Hard Disk After Determines whether and when a computer's hard disk is turned off to conserve power. Use a setting of Never to disable turning off the hard disk. Use a specific value in minutes to determine how long the computer must be inactive before the hard disk is turned off. Windows Vista provides a combo box for setting numeric values. Clicking and holding the up or down arrow enables you to rapidly scroll through values. If you scroll down from 1, the next value is Never. You can also type values directly. If you enter a value of 0, this is interpreted as Never.

  Wireless Adapter SettingsPower Saving Mode Specifies the power saving mode to use with any wireless adapters connected to the computer. You can set this option to Maximum Performance, Low Power Saving, Medium Power Saving, or Maximum Power Saving.

  SleepSleep After Determines whether and when a computer enters a sleep state to conserve power. Use a setting of Never to disable this feature. Use a specific value in minutes to determine how long the computer must be inactive before the computer enters a sleep state.

  SleepAllow Hybrid Sleep Specifies whether the computer uses Windows Vista's sleep mode rather than the sleep mode used in earlier versions of Windows. You can set this value to On or Off. Windows Vista's hybrid sleep mode puts the computer in a low power consumption state until the user resumes using the computer. When running on battery, laptops and Tablet PCs continue to use battery power in the sleep state, but at a very low rate. If the battery runs low on power while the computer is in the sleep state, the current working environment is saved to the hard disk and then the computer is shut down completely. This final state is similar to the hibernate state used with Windows XP.

  SleepHibernate After Determines whether and when a computer hibernates to conserve power. When a computer goes into hibernation, a snapshot of the user workspace and the current operating environment is taken by writing the current memory to disk. When a user turns the computer back on, reading the memory from disk restores the user workspace and operating environment. In Windows Vista, this setting isn't normally used because the standard configuration is to sleep after a period of inactivity. Use a setting of Never to disable this feature. Use a specific value in minutes to determine how long the computer must be inactive before the computer hibernates.

  SleepAllow Programs To Prevent Sleep Determines whether programs can prevent a computer from entering sleep mode. If you set this option to Do Not Query Applications And Services, applications and services with active processes do not prevent the computer from entering sleep mode. If you set this option to Query Applications And Services, applications and services with active processes can prevent the computer from entering sleep mode.

  Power Buttons And LidPower Button Action Specifies the action to take when someone pushes and holds the computer's power button. You can set this option to Sleep, Hibernate, or Shutdown.

  Power Buttons And LidStart Menu Power Button Sets the default action for the Start menu's power button. Use this setting to override the computer's default action. You can set this option to Sleep, Hibernate, or Shutdown. You cannot, however, use an option that is not supported by the computer.

  PCI ExpressLink State Power Management Determines the power saving mode to use with Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Express devices connected to the computer. You can set this option to Off, Moderate Power Savings, or Maximum Power Savings.

  Processor Power ManagementMinimum Processor State Sets a minimum performance state for the computer's processor. To save power and reduce energy consumption, lower the permitted minimum performance state. But you lower the performance state at a direct cost to responsiveness and computational speed. For example, a value of 5% would lengthen the time required to respond to requests and process data while offering substantial power savings. A value of 50% helps to balance responsiveness and processing performance while offering a moderate power savings. A value of 100% would maximize responsiveness and processing performance while offering no power savings.

  Processor Power ManagementMaximum Processor State Sets a maximum or peak performance state for the computer's processor. To save power and reduce energy consumption, lower the permitted maximum performance state. But you lower the performance state at a direct cost to responsiveness and computational speed. Although reducing the maximum processing power to 50 percent or below can cause a significant reduction in performance and responsiveness, it can also provide a significant power savings.

  DisplayTurn Off Display After Determines whether and when a computer's display is turned off to conserve power. Use a set
ting of Never to disable this feature. Use a specific value in minutes to determine how long the computer must be inactive before the display is turned off.

  DisplayAdaptive Display Specifies whether Windows Vista automatically adjusts when the display is turned off based on mouse and keyboard usage. You can set this option to On or Off.

  Multimedia SettingsMedia Sharing Action Determines whether media sharing can prevent a computer from entering sleep mode. If you set this option to Prevent My Computer From Sleeping After A Period Of Inactivity, the computer will not enter sleep mode when sharing media with other computers or devices. If you set this option to Take No Action, the computer can enter sleep mode after an appropriate period of inactivity regardless of whether media is being shared with other computers or devices.

  As you can see, 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, while the High Performance plan ensures performance by allowing the computer's processor to always run at 100 percent power consumption, the Power Saver plan reduces energy consumption by configuring the processor to use a minimum power consumption rate of 5 percent and a maximum rate of 50 percent. The Balanced plan, on the other hand, configures the processor to use a minimum power consumption rate of 0 percent and a maximum rate of 100 percent.

  When configuring power plans, it is 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 computers are switched off so that the laptop 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.