Problem Steps Recorder
Problem Steps Recorder
You can use Problem Steps Recorder to automatically capture the steps you take on a computer, including a text description of where you clicked and a picture of the screen during each click (called a screen shot). After you capture these steps, you can save them to a file that can be used by a support profes- sional or someone else helping you with a computer problem.
When you record steps on your computer, anything you type is not recorded. If what you type is an important part of re-creating the problem you’re trying to solve, use the comment feature described later in the chapter to highlight where the problem is occurring.
To record and save steps on your computer, do the following:
1. Click the Start button and search for problem steps recorder in the Search Programs and Files text box. When it finds record steps to
reproduce a problem, select the link under Control Panel.
Looking at Events
2. Click Start Record, as shown in Figure 16.11.
3. On your computer, go through the steps on your computer to reproduce the problem. You can pause the recording at any time and then resume
it later.
4. Click Stop Record.
5. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the file and then click Save (the file is saved with the .zip filename extension).
6. To view the record of the steps you recorded, open the .zip file you just saved and then double-click the file. The document opens in your
browser.
FIGURE 16.11 Problem Steps Recorder.
After recording and saving a .zip file, click the help down arrow and then click Send to E-mail recipient. This opens an email message in your default email program with the last recorded file attached to it. Note: You won’t be able to click the Send to E-mail recipient option until you’ve recorded and saved a file.
When you want to add a comment, click Add Comment. Use your mouse to highlight the part of the screen that you want to comment on, type your text in the Highlight Problem and Comment box, and then click OK.
If you select the down arrow, you can configure the recorder settings. If you don’t want to capture the screen shots along with each click that you per- formed, select No. This might be a consideration if you are taking screen shots of a program that contains personal information, such as bank state- ments, and you are sharing the screen shots with someone else.
The default is 25 screens, but you can increase or decrease the number of screen shots. Problem Steps Recorder only records the default number of screen shots. For example, if you took 30 screen shots during a recording but only had 25 screen shots as the default, the first five screen shots would be missing. In this case, you would want to increase the number of default screen shots.
Looking at Events
Cram Quiz
1. Which tool can you use to increase the number of processors used during boot?
❍ A. Computer Management Console ❍ B. System Information ❍ C. System Configuration ❍ D. IIS
2. Windows fails to start. What can you use to load the minimal set of Windows drivers and services so that you can troubleshoot the problem?
❍ A. Safe Mode ❍ B. WinPE ❍ C. Windows Backup ❍ D. System Information
3. What tool can be used to thoroughly test memory?
❍ A. Computer Management Console ❍ B. System Information ❍ C. Memory Diagnostic tool ❍ D. Safe Mode
Cram Quiz Answers
1. C is correct. To increase the performance during bootup, you can select Windows to use multiple processors (assuming your system has multiple proces- sors) by starting System Configuration, clicking the Boot tab, and clicking the Advanced Options button. Answer A is incorrect because the Computer Management Console includes multiple Microsoft Management Consoles but none that allows you to modify the number of processors used during boot. Answer B is incorrect because System Information is used view the configuration of Windows. Answer D is incorrect because IIS, short for Internet Information Services, is Microsoft’s web server.
2. A is correct. Safe Mode starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and servic- es. While in Safe Mode, you can access the Control Panel, Device Manager, Event Viewer, System Information, Command Prompt, and Registry Editor. Answer B is incorrect because although WinPE is a very useful troubleshooting tool, it does not load the Windows minimal set of drivers and services. Answer C is incorrect because Windows Backup is used to back up and restore data, not to specify what is loaded during bootup. Answer D is incorrect because System Information is a tool used to view a system’s configuration.
Looking at Events
3. C is correct. Windows 7 has multiple diagnostic tools, including a Memory Diagnostic tool and Network Diagnostic tool. The Memory Diagnostic tool can diagnose physical memory, including memory leaks and failing memory. Answer
A is incorrect because the Computer Management Console has multiple MMC add-ins that help you manage your computer. Answer B is incorrect because the System Information gives you a single place to look to see what computer hard- ware and software a computer has. Answer D is incorrect because Safe Mode is
a bootup option that loads minimum drivers and services, primarily used for troubleshooting and fixing boot problems.
CHAPTER 16: Backups and System Recovery