Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST)

Prerequisites

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Support end users who run Microsoft XP in both a business and leisure environment
• Use Windows-included applications such as Internet Explorer and Office
• Resolve issues by telephone, remote access or visiting an user’s desktop
• Understand operating in a workgroup or Active Directory domain environment

Who is this course for?

This course is for those looking to succeed in a job role that demands skills in successfully troubleshooting desktop environments that run on Microsoft Windows. Such jobs include help desk technician, customer support representative, computer support specialist, and technical support specialist.

What will I learn?

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

Windows XP

• Install a Windows desktop operating system
• Manage and troubleshoot access to resources
• Configure and troubleshoot hardware devices and drivers
• Configure and troubleshoot the desktop and user environments
• Troubleshoot network protocols and services

Desktop Applications on Windows XP

• Configure and troubleshoot applications
• Resolve issues related to usability
• Resolve issues related to application customisation
• Configure and troubleshoot connectivity for applications
• Configure application security

What certificate will I get?

After passing this course, you will receive the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician certification.

You will also have passed two of five exams necessary to gain the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator certification.

What course materials do I get?

To help you excel in your examinations through effective and efficient learning, ICS will provide you with all the learning materials necessary:

• Flash video tutorials led by a virtual instructor
• Interactive simulations and resources
• E-books
• Practice exams
• Microsoft-branded supporting textbook
• Course and assessment guide to help you pass your exams.

What support do I get?

You will have access to our dedicated ICS Technology Student Community, which will allow you to share and collaborate with your peers, get interactive and expert feedback from tutors and browse our resource library.

You will also receive 6 months of email tutorial support.

Sample Course Material

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Related Courses

• Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
  

Desktop Support (MCSST) Course Outline

EXAM 70-271

Installing a Windows Desktop Operating System    

• Perform and troubleshoot an attended installation of a Windows XP operating system.
• Answer end-user questions related to performing an attended installation of a Windows XP operating system.
• Troubleshoot and complete installations in which an installation does not start. 
• Troubleshoot and complete installations in which an installation fails to complete. Perform postinstallation configuration.
• Perform and troubleshoot an unattended installation of a Windows desktop operating system.
• Answer end-user questions related to performing an unattended installation of a Windows XP operating system.
• Configure a PC to boot to a network device and start installation of a Windows XP operating system.
• Upgrade from a previous version of Windows.
• Answer end-user questions related to upgrading from a previous version of Windows. Verify hardware compatibility for upgrade.
• Verify application compatibility for upgrade.
• Migrate user state data from an existing PC to a new PC.
• Install a second instance of an operating system on a computer.

Managing and Troubleshooting Access to Resources    

• Monitor, manage, and troubleshoot access to files and folders.
• Answer end-user questions related to managing and troubleshooting access to files and folders.
• Monitor, manage, and troubleshoot NTFS file permissions.
• Manage and troubleshoot simple file sharing.
• Manage and troubleshoot file encryption.
• Manage and troubleshoot access to shared folders.
• Answer end-user questions related to managing and troubleshooting access to shared folders.
• Create shared folders.
• Configure access permission for shared folders on NTFS partitions.
• Troubleshoot and interpret Access Denied messages.
• Connect to local and network print devices.
• Answer end-user questions related to printing locally.
• Configure and manage local printing.
• Answer end-user questions related to network-based printing.
• Connect to and manage printing to a network-based printer.
• Manage and troubleshoot access to and synchronization of offline files.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring and synchronizing offline files.
• Configure and troubleshoot offline files.
• Configure and troubleshoot offline file synchronization.

Configuring and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers

• Configure and troubleshoot storage devices.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring hard disks and partitions or volumes.
• Manage and troubleshoot disk partitioning.
• Answer end-user questions related to optical drives such as CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, and DVD-R.
• Configure and troubleshoot removable storage devices such as pen drives, flash drives, and memory cards.
• Configure and troubleshoot display devices.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring desktop display settings.
• Configure display devices and display settings.
• Troubleshoot display device settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI).
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring ACPI settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot operating system power settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot system standby and hibernate settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot I/O devices.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring I/O devices.
• Configure and troubleshoot device settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot device drivers for I/O devices.
• Configure and troubleshoot hardware profiles.

Configuring and Troubleshooting the Desktop and User Environments    

• Configure the user environment.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring the desktop and user environment.
• Configure and troubleshoot task and toolbar settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot accessibility options.
• Configure and troubleshoot pointing device settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot fast-use switching.
• Configure support for multiple languages or multiple locations.
• Answer end-user questions related to regional settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot regional settings.
• Answer end-user questions related to language settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot language settings.
• Troubleshoot security settings and local security policy.
• Answer end-user questions related to security settings.
• Identify end-user issues caused by local security policies such as Local Security Settings and Security Configuration and Analysis.
• Identify end-user issues caused by network security policies such as Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) and Group Policy.
• Configure and troubleshoot local user and group accounts.
• Answer end-user questions related to user accounts.
• Configure and troubleshoot local user accounts.
• Answer end-user questions related to local group accounts.
• Configure and troubleshoot local group accounts.
• Troubleshoot system startup and user logon problems.
• Answer end-user questions related to system startup issues.
• Troubleshoot system startup problems.
• Answer end-user questions related to user logon issues.
• Troubleshoot local user logon issues.
• Troubleshoot domain user logon issues.
• Monitor and analyze system performance.
• Answer end-user questions related to system performance.
• Use Help and Support to view and troubleshoot system performance.
• Use Task Manager to view and troubleshoot system performance.
• Use the Performance tool to capture system performance information.

Troubleshooting Network Protocols and Services    

• Troubleshoot TCP/IP. Tools include ARP; the Repair utility; connection properties; and the ping, ipconfig, pathping, and nslookup commands.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring TCP/IP settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot manual TCP/IP configuration.
• Configure and troubleshoot automated TCP/IP address configuration.
• Configure and troubleshoot Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) settings such as enable and disable.
• Troubleshoot name resolution issues.
• Configure and troubleshoot host name resolution issues on a client computer. Considerations include Hosts files and DNS.
• Configure and troubleshoot NetBIOS name resolution issues on a client computer. Considerations include Lmhosts files and WINS.
• Configure and troubleshoot remote connections.
• Configure and troubleshoot a remote dialup connection.
• Configure and troubleshoot a remote connection across the Internet.
• Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer.
• Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer connections properties.
• Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer security properties.
• Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer general properties.
• Configure and troubleshoot end-user systems by using remote connectivity tools.
• Use Remote Desktop to configure and troubleshoot an end user's desktop.
• Use Remote Assistance to configure and troubleshoot an end user's desktop.

EXAM 70-272

Configuring and Troubleshooting Applications

• Configure and troubleshoot Office applications.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring Office applications.
• Set application compatibility settings.
• Troubleshoot application installation problems.
• Configure and troubleshoot e-mail account settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot Internet Explorer.
• Configure and troubleshoot Outlook Express.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring Outlook Express.
• Configure and troubleshoot newsreader account settings.
• Configure and troubleshoot e-mail account settings.
• Configure the operating system to support applications.
• Answer end-user questions related to configuring the operating system to support an application.
• Configure and troubleshoot file system access and file permission problems on multiboot computers.
• Configure access to applications on multiuser computers.
• Configure and troubleshoot application access on a multiple user client computer.

Resolving Issues Related to Usability

• Resolve issues related to Office application support features.
• Resolve issues related to Internet Explorer support features.
• Resolve issues related to Outlook Express features.
• Resolve issues related to operating system features.

Resolving Issues Related to Application Customization

• Resolve issues related to customizing an Office application.
• Answer end-user questions related to customizing Office applications.
• Customize toolbars.
• Configure proofing tools.
• Manage Outlook data, including configuring, importing, and exporting data, and repairing corrupted data.
• Personalize Office features.
• Resolve issues related to customizing Internet Explorer.
• Resolve issues related to customizing Outlook Express.
• Resolve issues related to customizing the operating system to support applications.
• Answer end-user questions related to customizing the operating system to support an application.
• Customize the Start menu and taskbar.
• Customize regional settings.
• Customize fonts.
• Customize folder settings.

Configuring and Troubleshooting Connectivity for Applications

• Identify and troubleshoot name resolution problems.
• Identify and troubleshoot network adapter configuration problems.
• Identify and troubleshoot LAN and Routing and Remote Access configuration problems.
• Identify and troubleshoot network connectivity problems caused by the firewall configuration.
• Identify and troubleshoot problems with locally attached devices.

Configuring Application Security

• Identify and troubleshoot problems related to security permissions.
• Answer end-user questions related to application security settings.
• Troubleshoot access to local resources.
• Troubleshoot access to network resources.
• Troubleshoot insufficient user permissions and rights.
• Identify and respond to security incidents.
• Answer end-user questions related to security incidents.
• Identify a virus attack.
• Apply critical updates.
• Manage application security settings.

Assessment

Your knowledge of the course materials will be assessed by two examinations. These can be sat at your local authorised Prometric test centre:

• Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Windows XP Operating System: Exam 70-271
• Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Windows XP Operating System: Exam 70-272

Please note that examination fees are additional to course fees.

More Information – Hours of Study

75 hours

Minimum System Requirements

• 600MHz Intel Pentium III processor or equivalent
• Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista
• 128MB RAM (256MB RAM recommended)
• 128MB available disc space
• CD-ROM drive
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01SP2.