Session 5/6 - Maintenance procedures and Diagnostic Tools

Maintenance Procedures

You work for the Mysty River Regional library Service. Your job is to make sure that the computer equipment used by patrons and staff are maintained and in good working order.

List the things that you think should be on a maintenance checklist for the library and indicate how often you think these procedures should take place.

*** to be completed as a group on whiteboard ***




What other things can be done to protect your computer?

Virus Protection

We have already looked at the many available solutions for virus and security protection.  Do you just install the software and know that it will take care of everything?

Here are some images taken from my desktop

System Tools

Again, using screenshots from my personal desktop running Windows 8.

Look at the screenshots and comment if you see anything that may require maintenance or review.

Session 4 - Configuring Computers and other hardware; Virus and Security protection

Screen/Monitor

The easiest way to access information about the screen is to right-click on the desktop.

 

Windows 8

To troubleshoot the screen display or projector, select Screen Resolution

From this screen, you can change the resolution, check the details of any monitor or projector that may be connected as well as change the text size.

If you choose connect to a projector, you will be able to select the monitor display configuration

If you click on What display settings should I choose, Windows Help will load with some tips about screens

 

You can also access screen information from the Control Panel.

 

Windows 8

 

Printers

To see where your computer thinks it is printing to, you need to access the printer information in the Control Panel. From the Windows Start button or via the Control Panel, choose Devices and Printers.

For example, here are the Devices and Printers attached to my laptop.

The printer with the green tick underneath, is the default printer for my laptop - so if I was to press "the print button" in any application, it is this printer that the print will be sent to. Of course, if that printer is not actually connected or online, then you will not get a printout. If I double-click on my default printer, a screen will display that gives me more information.

If you look at the above image (try clicking on it) you will see that it tells me that the printer is offline. As I am sitting here and actually know that this printer is not connected, it may seem a bit pointless, but sometimes when you connect a printer, Windows will reload the drivers and create a duplicate printer icon, which may not be default and so may not print anything.

Windows 8

My desktop computer does not have any printers attached or even configured.

I randomly located a couple of old printer brands and models. One was a DELL 1130n Laser Printer

ACTIVITY 1

See if you can locate the latest drivers for the following printers:

Give details of the filename and/or website link of where you found the drivers.

• HP Photosmart C5380 (Frankston)
• HP Color Laser Jet CP1215 (Frankston)
• DELL 1130n Laser Printer (Bairnsdale/Lakes Entrance)
• Canon Pixma MG2260 (Cranbourne)
• Brother Monochrome laser printer MFC-1810 (Frankston)

Default Programs

The default programs section allows you to associate a file type with an application. A filename is made up of the actual name plus a file extension. The file extension will tell Windows what type of file it is and also what program should be used to open this file by default. A word document could be called MyResume.docx. The file name is MyResume and the DOCX indicates that it is a Word 2007 or 2010 document. DOCX files will be associated by default with Microsoft Word.

 

If you want to use a different application to open a file type, you can change it here.

 

Windows 8

Other Control Panel Options

 

If you want to get into the nitty gritty of what is attached to your computer, you can use the Device Manager screen.

If you need to Remove or Change the installed options of an application, you use the Programs and Features option in the Control Panel

System will give you all the dirt on what Operating system, CPU and RAM is inside your PC.

AND if all else fails - PHONE A FRIEND.

This will actually allow you to connect remotely to another computer and collaborate with the troubleshooting process.

Virus Protection and Security

There are a range of tools that you can install that offer various levels of virus protection, security protection, malware protection and/or Virus and malware removal. You can install multiple products or you can install a suite that will cover most of the tools necessary.

ACTIVITY 2

Read the following article

http://www.internetbasics.gov.au/all_text_guides/how_to_stay_safe_on_the_internet/protecting_your_computer

What do you currently use for Virus Protection on your computer? Is it a paid version or a free version? What about for Internet Security? Do you use any other tools to help keep your computer free from viruses and malware?

Frankston:

Locate a range of FREE tools that you could install to protect your computer system. Include both virus protection and Internet security. Based on your research, what would you recommend? Include the names of the packages and what services/features are offered by the software.

Cranbourne/Bairnsdale 

Locate a range of PAID tools (can also be paid versions of free tools) that you could install to protect your computer system. Based on your research, what would you recommend? Include the names of the packages and what services/features are offered by the software. How much does each cost?

Conclusion

SO.....if you were to buy a computer tomorrow, which tools would you buy/install on your computer?

Different Operating Systems

I have just upgraded to Windows 10. What virus protection and Internet security would you recommend?

Session 3 - Selecting Peripherals

Peripheral Devices

www.webopedia.com defines peripheral devices as:

Peripheral devices can be external -- such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, monitor, external Zip drive or scanner -- or internal, such as a CD-ROM drive, CD-R drive or internal modem. Internal peripheral devices are often referred to as integrated peripherals.

External Peripheral Devices

When talking about peripheral devices, the main ones that come to mind in today's market are:

• Mouse
• Keyboard
• Printer
• Monitor
• Scanner
• External storage

Some of these may be part of your initial purchase, such as mouse and keyboard or even monitor, but sometimes they need to be replaced or, as a user, you want something a bit better.

Mouse

It might seem like a fairly small thing, and if you are not fussy you can buy a mouse for around $10. BUT, many people are fussy about their mouse. It needs to fit comfortably in your hand and move around with a level of precision (depending on what you use your computer for). Some people need to have extra buttons on their mouse - especially for gaming or multimedia applications. Some mice can also be used to control media devices in your computer, such as optical drives and volume.

http://au.pcmag.com/computer-mice-products/4330/feature/how-to-buy-a-computer-mouse

The following is an example of the range of mice available. Products from JW computers www.jw.com.au

Keyboard

Like the mouse, keyboard choice is also very personal and will depend on things like features, backlighting, progammable buttons, wireless or wired, brand preference. The keyboard is probably the item on your computer that you use most - again it needs to be comfortable but also fit in the space you have available. I hate the keyboard that came with my PC and one day I will replace it with something that is more responsive and that is backlit!!

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2415287,00.asp

Printer

I talked about the different types of printers last week and how they work. What do you look for when buying a printer? Speed, resolution, connectivity, cost of consumables (running costs), colour or monochrome. Lots of decisions to be made and each will have a bearing on cost.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/printer-buying-guide/

http://www.cnet.com/au/topics/printers/best-printers/

The following is a sample of the range of printers that are available

Monitor

How much do you want to spend on a monitor? DO you want HD? What screen size? LED/LCD? Refresh speed?

http://www.cnet.com/au/topics/monitors/best-monitors/

http://reckoner.com.au/2014/12/4k-monitor-buying-guide/

Here are some of your monitor choices!!

Scanner

Resolution/quality, speed or size are just a few of the decisions that you may need to make. Other things include what software is supplied, file types that can be saved, page feeder, adapter for slides. Do you want a separate scanner or is it better to go with a 3 in one or printer/scanner combination?

http://flatbed-scanner-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2355771,00.asp

http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/technology/scanners

Scanner prices and images below from Officeworks.com.au

External storage - hard drives

The main decision here is about size - size matters and the bigger the better!! Connection type may also be a consideration. You might also decide that a solid state drive will be your best option.


http://au.pcmag.com/storage-devices-reviews/4180/feature/how-to-buy-an-external-hard-drive

http://www.harveynorman.com.au/external-hard-drives-buying-guide

Below shows some of the choices available.

Class Activity

What peripherals devices does your own computer have?

What peripheral devices would you like to have?

What device/make/model would you get if money was not an issue? Why?

 

ASSESSMENT TASK

Now is the time to put all that we have learnt over the past few lessons together.

This assessment task will be worth 30%

Let’s now progress back to the future – you have been employed by the Misty River Regional Library Services, selected from a number of candidates because of your qualifications and extra IT skills that are needed in this small community library.

You are to work in pairs (or on your own if you don't want to work with someone) to come up with a hardware and software solution for your scenario. You must compare 2 different hardware solutions and produce a report outlining your purchase recommendations to present to “management” at a special meeting.


There is no right or wrong answer here - so long as it meets the requirements and you can justify your choices.

YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS

Option 1:

The library has been given a Government grant of $20,000 to set up a small computer training lab containing 10 computers plus a printer, shared using a simple Windows network. These will be used to train local residents, including members of the local Senior Citizens group, in basic computer use such as email, Internet, Word Processing and basic digital imaging. As this is a small community library, it is expected that the local pre-school and neighbourhood house will also use the lab. With this in mind, you should also include some educational games (at least one reading game and one counting/maths game) suitable for kids aged up to 6 years of age, as well as any extra hardware that may be required for young users (and older users)

Option 2:
Due to a large windfall from a local resident who has recently passed away, you can purchase a special Multimedia Pod for your library with all the bells and whistles. The pod should include a high end computer system, Photo Quality printer, Dual High Definition 24inch (minimum) monitors, the ability to write to both DVDs and BluRay, 5.1 sound system, webcam and at least 8 USB ports for connecting extra peripherals that may be purchased at a later stage. It needs to be fast, have a large capacity hard drive plus high-end graphics card for 3D and video editing.

Option 3:
The local Senior Citizens need your advice and expertise to recommend a system that they can use to allow their members who are in hospitals and/or nursing homes to also have benefit of some basic computer training in Internet, basic word processing, Social Media, Email and Skype. They are looking at purchasing 2 systems and have a budget of $2500 for the two complete systems.

Option 4:
The library, being a part of the local community, has decide to run a pilot program to offer an after school homework club for the local school. They have been given a budget of $5000 to set up 5 computer systems, complete with a colour laser printer and scanner. Students will mainly use the computers for word processing and Internet access to complete homework and assignments.