Microsoft Windows 98 Quality Control & Assurance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Windows 98 QA testing, what does the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DXDIAG) primarily help verify?
- Hard drive file integrity
- DirectX components, display, sound, and input device functionality (Correct answer)
- Network adapter drivers
- Windows Update installation status
Correct answer: DirectX components, display, sound, and input device functionality
DXDIAG tests and reports on DirectX components including display acceleration, sound, music, and input devices to verify multimedia subsystem health.
Question 2: A QA team is stress-testing a Windows 98 system and wants to measure free system resources. Which tool shows the percentage of free System, User, and GDI resources?
- System Monitor
- Resource Meter (Correct answer)
- Task Manager
- Performance Console
Correct answer: Resource Meter
Resource Meter displays the percentage of free System, User heap, and GDI heap resources, which are critical 16-bit resource pools in Windows 98.
Question 3: Which Windows 98 startup mode is most useful for QA engineers isolating driver conflicts, as it loads only essential drivers and services?
- Normal mode
- Safe Mode (Correct answer)
- Step-by-step confirmation mode
- Command prompt only
Correct answer: Safe Mode
Safe Mode loads a minimal set of drivers (VGA, keyboard, mouse) and bypasses startup files, allowing QA testers to isolate driver-related conflicts.
Question 4: During Windows 98 QA, a tester uses BOOTLOG.TXT to diagnose startup failures. How is this log generated?
- It is always created automatically on every boot
- By pressing F8 during startup and selecting 'Logged' mode (Correct answer)
- By running MSCONFIG and enabling logging
- By editing WIN.INI to set logging=1
Correct answer: By pressing F8 during startup and selecting 'Logged' mode
Pressing F8 at startup and choosing 'Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)' causes Windows 98 to record all drivers and files loaded during startup to that log file.
Question 5: A QA engineer uses the Windows 98 System Configuration Utility (MSCONFIG) to identify which startup program is causing instability. Which technique does this represent?
- Regression testing
- Binary isolation/divide-and-conquer troubleshooting (Correct answer)
- Unit testing
- Smoke testing
Correct answer: Binary isolation/divide-and-conquer troubleshooting
Selectively disabling startup items in MSCONFIG to find the culprit is a binary isolation technique, systematically halving the suspect items until the faulty one is identified.
Question 6: Which Windows 98 feature allows QA testers to roll back a failed driver update by restoring the previous version from a backup?
- System File Checker rollback
- System Restore
- Backup driver copy stored in the INF folder (Correct answer)
- Version Conflict Manager
Correct answer: Backup driver copy stored in the INF folder
Windows 98 stores backup copies of replaced driver files and uses the Version Conflict Manager to track and optionally restore previous driver versions.
Question 7: What file format does Dr. Watson use to save crash diagnostic reports in Windows 98?
- .LOG
- .WLG (Watson Log) (Correct answer)
- .DMP
- .TXT
Correct answer: .WLG (Watson Log)
Dr. Watson saves its diagnostic reports in .WLG (Watson Log) format, which can be opened with the Dr. Watson viewer for detailed crash analysis.
Microsoft Windows 98 Quality Control & Assurance 3
In Windows 98 QA testing, what does the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DXDIAG) primarily help verify?