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GEEK SQUADTOOLSET REFERENCEMRI STARTUP MANAGER - INTRODUCTIONJUNE 2010CREATED BY: AGENT IAN BANNERMAN
TABLE OF CONTENTSMAIN TOPICSINTRODUCTION MRI TOOLSET RESOURCES3THE NEW MRI STARTUP MANAGER RIBBON FUNCTIONALITY TASK PANES COLUMNS SEARCH AND FILTERS (INSPECT) NOTIFICATION AND FILTER BARS AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS LOG FILE TOOLS OPTIONS RESOURCES SNAPSHOT 4567810111213141516THE TWO MODES OF MRI SM 17CONCLUSION 19MRI TOOLSET POLICY REMINDERAll agents must use only the Geek Squad-authorizedtools. Previous versions of the MRI Toolset may containunauthorized or deprecated versions of software, andshould be disposed of immediately. Single-write mediashould be destroyed and re-writeable media should beerased. The store servers will keep the previousversion of each toolset in case of emergency.The use of unapproved tools or distributing the MRIdisc outside of Best Buy is not only in violation ofCompany policy, but could result in legal risk toemployees and the Company. Violations of this policywill be treated very seriously and will lead todisciplinary action up to and including termination.For a list of authorized tools, see the MRI ToolsetAuthorized/Unauthorized List on Employee Toolkit'sGeek Squad Job Aids, Guides & Manuals page underTechnical Tools.NEED THE LATEST MRI?You can obtain the latest version of the MRI Toolsetfrom your Precinct’s SY04 server. If you don't knowyour server's address, use the MRI Toolset IP Listing onthe Job Aids, Guides & Manuals page under Technical Tools. If your Precinct's link is down or not updated,contact the Help Desk.LATEST MRI NEWSStay tuned to Employee News, the MRI Toolset ETKWidget, and Geek Squad Forums for the latest in MRIToolset related news.ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TOOLSGeek Squad Forumshttp://forums.geeksquadcental.comGeek Squad Armoryhttp://www.geeksquad.com/armoryBest Buy Learning Loungehttp://www.bestbuylearninglounge.comMRI TOOLSET LINKSMRI Toolset Authorized/Unauthorized Listhttp://infozone/depot/index/docDetail.asp?Doc ID 261240MRI Toolset IP oc ID 280633If you have any additional questions, please contactMRI@GeekSquad.com.2 of 19
INTRODUCTIONWelcome agents! This is the first of 3 Toolset Reference documents. This one will cover the basics before we divedeep in the other documents. Think of this as episode one of a new trilogy of awesomeness.Since the release of FACE, the Technical Tools Team has been hard at work putting together the start of asubstantial upgrade to our MRI toolset. A brand new Startup Manager is this first piece to this, and it has definitelypicked up some amazing functionality.We should first take a quick look at the current MRI. MRI.exe has the entire top portion of its window dedicatedsolely to navigation. You have a File menu, some categories, and then specific components below that. You have amini title bar that details the current component and under it a quick set of buttons for various actions before you’refinally at the main part of the window. Some basic integration between components exists, but for the most parteach is locked away within its own part of MRI.exe.Now that said, this interface has worked well for a long time. It is simple, easy to use, and its good looks wouldstand out in a crowd. But as the MRI itself grew more complex and agents needed stronger functionality, weapproached a point where change was needed. The new MRI Startup Manager is that change – it represents thebeginning of a complete shift away from the current MRI.exe interface, into something completely new, yet still veryfamiliar.Without further ado, let’s meet the new MRI Startup Manager!MRI Startup Manager – EULA and About3 of 19
THE NEW MRI STARTUP MANAGERThe new MRI Startup Manager brings with it the same ribbon user interface introduced with Office 2007, and sinceintegrated into many core Windows 7 applications. Everything in it has been completely overhauled with a ton ofnew functionality, including powerful filters, flexible columns, more startup locations, and so much more.With this change, the MRI.exe is being broken down into separate applications. MRI Startup Manager is nowrunning via its own executable, outside of the main MRI window. In the coming year, you can expect to see the restof the toolset begin to migrate in this same direction.4 of 19
RIBBON FUNCTIONALITYThe Ribbon UI organizes the different actions available in MRI Startup Manager. Things are no longer buried incontext menus and can now always be seen in the ribbon. Six tabs frame the feature set in the form of Home,Inspect, Tools, Options, and Resources. Additional Quick Access buttons are in the top left corner and a mainapplication Menu button lies just below represented by the Geek Squad logo.MRI Startup Manager – Ribbon UI (Home)You can hover over any button for a super tooltip on what it does, and you can use alt key shortcuts to keyboardthroughout the ribbon. The Ribbon UI is fully functional all the way back to Windows 2000 SP4, our oldestsupported Operating System. It exposes more functionality than was ever available before while remaining intuitiveto use.MRI Startup Manager – InspectMRI Startup Manager – ToolsMRI Startup Manager – OptionsMRI Startup Manager – Resources5 of 19
TASK PANESBeyond just the ribbon, MRI Startup Manager has seen several other UI improvements. To keep things flexible atvarying resolutions, MRI Startup Manager now uses Task Panes to hold previously locked content. For example, thefamiliar tree view containing the startup locations now lies within a Task Pane. The different sections can beexpanded and collapsed as needed, and the pane itself can be move from the left to ride side or completelydetached from the main MRI Startup Manager window. A new Properties window makes use of a task pane as well,benefiting from the same flexibility. Both task panes can even be turned on or off in the Options tab of the ribbon tomaximize the viewing area.MRI Startup Manager – Old Task pane vs. New Task PaneThe new Properties task pane is able to display much more information than ever before. This functionality allowsyou to copy or search online for anything displayed within. Information is power, so the tabs at the bottom of thepane will update dynamically to give agents visibility to as much detail as possible about an entry.MRI Startup Manager – Dockable Startup List Task Pane and Properties Task Pane6 of 19
COLUMNSMirroring the goal of task panes, columns in MRI Startup Manager have been unstuck as well. You can now dragcolumns around to reorder them and dynamically add / remove additional columns with complete flexibility.Furthermore, the leftmost column in Startup List is now locked, meaning you can scroll horizontally without everlosing sight of the Entry Name! And just wait until you see how these columns play in with Search and Filtering.MRI Startup Manager – ColumnsMRI Startup Manager – Columns “Right Click” OptionsMRI Startup Manager – Drag and Drop Columns7 of 19
SEARCH AND FILTERS (INSPECT)With the old Startup Manager you had two basic filters – Hide Microsoft Items and Hide File Not Found. If youwanted to turn on signature verification, that was an extra step. Furthermore, it was never obvious when a particularvalue that should always exist was broken. The new Startup Manager takes several steps to solve these issues,making the renew experience much smoother.MRI Startup Manager – Using Filters from the RibbonFor starters, verification is now handled automagically by MRI Startup Manager – each and every file is checked fora digital signature. Not only is this process now automatic, it is substantially faster than before. Files which aresigned have their entry highlighted in the familiar blue and will display a Certificate icon under the “Signed"column. The certificate icons will contain information about who signed the file, displayed in a tooltip by hoveringover the icon; a much expanded upon version of this information can also be seen in the Certificate tab in theProperties pane. Long story short, you don’t ever have to worry about remembering to turn on Verification now.With all the extra information being acquired by MRI Startup Manager, building out a powerful search and filterplatform was a must. Every view in MRI Startup Manager is completely searchable and filterable, with support forcreating custom filters and the simple inclusion / exclusion of a specific piece of information seen in the view. Fivepredefined filters cover most situations, and are always available from the Filter button on the Home Tab. Nearby,search and the custom filters dialog are accessible in the Inspect tab. Search is hotkeyed to Ctrl F, which performsa near instantaneous search of every one of those columns we listed before, regardless of whether they’re visible ornot.MRI Startup Manager – Using “Right Click” Filter Options8 of 19
MRI Startup Manager – Using Search to find “atapi” under the Inspect tab of the Ribbon9 of 19
NOTIFICATION AND FILTER BARSSearches and filters are represented by filter bars situated below the ribbon. These bars offer line of sight to whatfilters are currently active and provide the means to disable a filter via the x on the right hand side. Multiple filtersare supported at the same time, and will lead to stacked filter bars. The Total, Visible, and Hidden counts at thebottom on the Status bar update dynamically with accurate counts for the view.MRI Startup Manager – Filter BarBeyond just displaying currently active searches or filters, MRI Startup Manager has Notification Bars that pop upwhen Startup Manager needs to alert you to something. There are two such examples of note, shown below.MRI Startup Manager – Notification BarsWhen MRI Startup Manager detects boot profile data on the computer as well as when an Analysis condition istripped, such notification bars are displayed. From the boot profile notification bar you can load or delete the profiledata, while the Analysis notification bar offers to show just troubled entries.10 of 19
AUTOMATIC ANALYSISAs we just touched on slightly, MRI Startup Manager has another trick up its sleeve in the area of Analysis. Everyentry is processed against a set of predefined conditions and the results are visible in the Analysis column. The goalof these conditions is to better assist agents in determining the nature of an entry, as well as in spotting issues thatmay be cause for concern or require repair.The conditions are as follows – Benigno Recognized Operating System File Cautionaryo File Compile Date is after Date Modifiedo Service or Driver has a dependency issueo Entry has restricted permissionso Broken Filter driver is in place Criticalo Recognized OS File is missing or unsignedo Critical Startup Entry is missing or modified unexpectedlySpeaking first of Recognized Operating System File, MRI Startup Manager brings with it a System File Database.This database is comprised of operating system files from across all retail types of Windows XP, Vista, andWindows 7. This database enables MRI Startup Manager to know when a file is a recognized, default operatingsystem file, and conversely, alert when such a file is no longer present or isn’t signed by Microsoft. The newdatabase also allows for a much more intelligent filter – rather than hiding ALL files signed by Microsoft, it is nowpossible to just hide the ones that came built into the computer originally, allowing you to focus on what’s differentfrom a base OS install. Files that qualify as Recognized OS files are shown with a Windows logo in the Analysiscolumn.MRI Startup Manager – Recognized OS that can support AnalysisMRI Startup Manager – Analysis example of a suspect with a TDSS infectionThe Analysis items that fall under Cautionary and Critical will trip a warning notification bar. Each condition has aunique icon representing it which will display a tooltip with a description of the trouble at hand – Startup Manageralso has a built in legend defining all of the conditions and their icons. As a general rule, Cautionary items areprobably (but not always) indicators of trouble, while Critical warnings deserve immediate attention and repair.11 of 19
LOG FILEMRI Startup Manager now has its own Application Log which has seen an impressive boost in both verbosity andreadability. Every action performed in MRI Startup Manager is logged automatically, detailed via a simple headerwith verbose sub-items. Any errors encountered in the application are highlighted appropriately in log file, makingunderstanding and working around them much simpler.MRI Startup Manager – Launching the Log File from the RibbonMRI Startup Manager – Application Log example12 of 19
TOOLSThis menu in ribbon provides Tools that are commonly used in tandem with MRI Startup Manager. Here you’ll findquick links to things like Regedit, Command Prompt, Services Manager, and MsConfig. So a bunch of tool right atyour fingertips.MRI Startup Manager - ToolsThe MRI Team also added a new tool called Screen Capture. This allows Agents to take screenshots in order toshare them on GSF or with other Agents. This is great for when you are getting an error or seeing an issue you wantto visually share with another Agent. What is even cooler is the fact that it works in MRI PE Mode. Yet again, theMRI Technical Tools Team out did themselves.MRI Startup Manager – Tools – Screen Capture13 of 19
OPTIONSIn this area of the ribbon, you will find settings that change the behavior of MRI Startup manager. You can turn on atransparency effect or even force it to be “Always On Top” which is great for pesky pop-ups.There are even special options for Startup List that allows you to show or hide items and even select which ControlSet it’s pulling items from in the registry. That is just HOT!!MRI Startup Manager - Options14 of 19
RESOURCESThis tab just has a bunch of links to additional resources that can help all Agents. Things like a Legend for MRIStartup Manager, Video Tutorials, and this very training document. Oh, and there are some sweet links to the GSF,Armory, and Best Buy Learning Lounge. All of these are important to helping Agents when things don’t go asplanned.MRI Startup Manager – ResourcesMRI Startup Manager – Resources - Legend15 of 19
SNAPSHOTThis is by far one of the coolest features of MRI Startup Manager. Snapshot allows Agents to export the contents ofStartup List or Boot Profiler so you can examine the information on another computer or share with another Agent.This is HUGE for when working with Secret Weapon or posting on the Geek Squad Forums.Let’s say you have an issue and need to get a second opinion? Now you can share what you found with anotherAgent, like via the GSF, and they can work with the same information you have. Things have just become way tooawesome. Your head may have just exploded.To access it, just click the Orange Geek Squad Button and select “Save Snapshot” or “Open Snapshot”. Snapshotsare saved as Name.gssnapshot to make it easy to identify. I think this feature may save your life someday.MRI Startup Manager - Snapshot16 of 19
THE TWO MODES OF MRI STARTUP MANAGERMRI Startup Manager saw substantial upgrade in just about every way over the old Startup Manager. That said, it’snot always enough to just guess at what may start on boot – sometimes, it’s best to know what happened. Allow meto introduce Boot Profiler.MRI Startup Manager – App Mode Selection in the Home RibbonBoot Profiler is a brand new aspect of MRI Startup Manager. With it, agents can instruct MRI Startup Manager towatch every event that occurs during a boot – every driver load, every service start, every process, every file,everything. CPU, memory usage, etc, are also tracked and displayed later in tandem via several powerful views.Boot Profiler fills in where just querying startup locations can’t, and takes the guesswork out of what happened onboot.MRI Startup Manager – Boot Profiler App Mode17 of 19
MRI Startup Manager – Startup List App ModeWith this addition, MRI Startup Manager is now broken into to two distinct App Modes – Startup List and BootProfiler. The App Mode can be toggled at any time by changing the selection on the left side of the Home Tab; doingso instantly updates the available resources on the ribbon tabs as appropriate.18 of 19
CONCLUSIONWell Agent, you have just finished reading the introduction to MRI Startup Manager. There are still 2 documents togo. With the basics under your belt and/or badge, you should be able to pick up on the more in-depth aspectsquickly. So get started on the next two Toolset Reference documents to learn about the functionality of Startup Listand Boot Profiler. In case you are wondering, the documents are called “MRI Startup Manager – Startup List” and“MRI Startup Manager – Boot Profiler”. As usual, they are available on the Best Buy Learning Lounge.If you have any MRI Toolset questions, feel free to reach out to the Technical Tools team at MRI@geeksquad.com. Ifyou have any technical training questions, feel free to reach out to InternalAffairs@geeksquad.com. Don’t forget youcan also hit up the Geek Squad Forums.For more on the new MRI Startup Manager, you can visit the Learning Lounge or hit up the Resources tab in MRIStartup Manager. There you can access other Toolset Reference documents and videos on MRI Startup Managerand more.19 of 19
application Menu button lies just below represented by the Geek Squad logo. MRI Startup Manager - Ribbon UI (Home) You can hover over any button for a super tooltip on what it does, and you can use alt key shortcuts to keyboard throughout the ribbon. The Ribbon UI is fully functional all the way back to Windows 2000 SP4, our oldest
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