The following was done on Windows XP. For Windows Vista you will see at the bottom of the article direct instructions to view the report log.

An example on how to run CHKDSK that requires scheduling a check on reboot:

-  Using Command Prompt:

1. Click Start, then click Run
2. Type cmd, then click OK, or hit Enter
3. Type chkdsk c: /f
4. Hit the Enter key
5. CHKDSK asks you if you’d like to schedule a check on system restart, type y, then hit the Enter key.
   

   On Reboot Scheduled CHKDSK

6. Restart your computer.

- Using the Graphical User Interface (Error-checking):

1. Double click My Computer.
2. Right click drive C.
3. Click Properties, then click the Tools tab.
4. Under Error-checking section, click the Check Now… button.
5. Check the Automatically fix file system errors checkbox.
6. Click the Start button.
   

   Error-checking (Graphical User Interface)

7. Click Yes for the message that pops up to schedule a check on reboot.
   

   Scheduling disk checking (Error-checking)

8. Restart your computer.

When the system is restarted, the error checking process will begin and you may not want to sit and watch it especially if it takes hours to finish. When it finishes you may miss the report summary because the system won’t pause and wait for you to see it. Fortunately, the process logs an event in the Application Event log that contains the report for the drive checked.

Here is how to view the report log (Windows XP):

1. To open the Event Viewer: click Start, then click Run, then type eventvwr.msc and hit the Enter key. (or Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer).
2. On the left pane and under Event Viewer (local), select Application.
3. On the right pane, search for the first entry in the list that matches Winlogon under the Source Column. (Search top to bottom).
   

   CHKDSK Report Log entry

4. Double click that entry, and there is the log of the disk checking.

And here is how to view the report log on Windows Vista:

1. Click the Vista Start button, and then start typing “Event Viewer” until you see Event Viewer under Programs. Click on it to open the Event Viewer.
2. On the left pane, expand Windows Logs, then select Application.
3. In the middle pane you will see the log entries.  Search for the first entry in the list that matches Wininit under the Source Column. (Search top to bottom).
4. Double click that entry, and there is the log of the disk checking.

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I’ll make it clear from the beginning; When I say physical access, I am not talking about hacking/cracking your computer with password recovery software/disks or using bootable disks to access your data or, worst case, opening your computer’s case and picking up your hard disk. I am also, not referring to any security hole that the technical structure of Windows accounts may pose.

The presumed person who might try to have unauthorized access to your computer might be anyone you know, just having the basic access to your computer; access to the power button and keyboard.

Normally, Windows XP computers have 2 or more accounts that are in the Administrators group. These are: The default Administrator account and another administrator account which is the one that you usually use (you may also have more admin accounts).

What I have seen is that rarely do users have the default Administrator account password protected. This happens because during Windows XP deployment, Windows does not require you to enter a password for that account; you can just keep it blank. With this, the computer is subject to unauthorized access from someone that can get physical access to it.

So how can someone access the computer with the default Administrator Account when it is not password protected (i.e. blank password)?

It depends on how your logon and logoff options are set on your computer, 2 cases:

• Welcome screen is enabled. This is the case where you just click on the user account name to logon. Here, the default Administrator account does not show up. To access it you need to start the computer in Safe Mode. After that, the account will show up on the Welcome screen as Administrator. Since the password is blank, a user needs only to click on that name to have full administrative access to the computer.
  (Please note that if your computer has the default Administrator account as the only admin account, then it will show up in the normal Welcome screen (i.e. not in safe mode) and would probably be the account you are using).
• Welcome screen is disabled. This is the case where you have to type the name of the account as well as the password. Here, the default Administrator account can be accessed by typing Administrator as the account name and leaving the password field blank and then enter. As you have noticed here, the user does not need to enter safe mode to have access.

Now that you know that keeping the default Administrator account password blank is risky, do the following to prevent users from having easy administrative access to your computer:

• Create a password for the account. Login using that account (the above mentions how) and then go to Start, Control Panel, User Accounts. Click on Administrator account and then click Create a password. Fill the fields and click Create Password.
  (You can also create a password for that Account using another account in the Administrators group by using the Computer Management Console).
• Disable the account. If you do not need the default Administrator account, which is usually the case, disable it. To do so,
  1. Logon as your normal admin account and enter the Computer Management Console by right clicking on My Computer then choosing Manage.
  2. Expand System Tools, and then expand Local Users and Groups.
  3. Select Users.
  4. On the right pane, right click on Administrator and choose Properties.
  5. Check the Account is disabled checkbox.
  6. Click OK.

You can do one of the above choices or both. I recommend both (really better and more secure).

(Please note that if the default Administrator account is the only admin account on your computer you DO NOT need to disable anything and would probably be the account your are using).

You may want to see the following:

• To see how to change the log on and off options see the Microsoft KB article, How to change the logon window and the shutdown preferences in Windows XP .
• To see how to start windows in Safe Mode see the Microsoft page, start the computer in safe mode .

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By default, these features are not enabled. However, their associated Keyboard Shortcuts can make them run even if they aren’t enabled. What we are going to do is disable the shortcuts that launch them.

Here is how to completely disable StickyKeys, FilterKeys and ToggleKeys in Windows XP:

1. Choose Start, Control Panel, Accessibility Options. See figure,
   

   Accessibility Options

2. Before you proceed, make sure that Use StickyKeys, Use FilterKeys, and Use ToggleKeys are unchecked.
3. Now, in the StickyKeys section, press the Settings button. Uncheck the Use Shortcut checkbox. See figure,
   

   StickyKeys Settings

4. Click the OK button.
5. Similarly, you can do the same for FilterKeys and ToggleKeys sections (Settings button, uncheck Use Shortcut…)
6. When done, don’t forget to press the OK button in the Accessibility Options dialog to save settings.

Now, these keys should not annoy you again, most likely users get annoyed of them while playing games. They suddenly find themselves kicked out to the Windows desktop. Well, not anymore

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