Windows XP: The Complete Reference

Introduction

Introduction

For years, Microsoft has had two series of Windows versions: the Windows Me/9x series (which includes 95, 98, 98 Second Edition, and Millennium Edition, or Me) for individual users and the NT series (Windows NT and 2000) r corporate users and network servers. And for years, Microsoft has been trying to merge the two (slightly incompatible) series, so that everyone could run more or less the same version of Windows. With each new Windows release, Microsoft promised that the next release would be the one that combines these two strains of Windows.

Microsoft has finally done it. Windows XP is the upgrade to both series of Windows, Me/9x and 2000/NT. Windows XP (also known by its prerelease code name, Whistler) does away with the legacy architecture of the Windows 9x series. Windows 95 and its successors were based on DOS, the pre-Windows, non-graphical operating system that PCs started with. Windows XP removes the underlying DOS environment for increased reliability, and it uses the Windows NT/2000 file system for better security. Windows XP is based on Windows 2000 and combines the technical core of NT/2000 with the ease of use of Windows 98 and Me. Because of its business-oriented lineage, Windows XP has some great new capabilities for Windows Me/9x users, including password-protected user accounts and system management programs. But Windows XP also adds people-friendly features that were lacking in Windows NT and 2000, along with a completely redesigned (and spiffy-looking) screen design called Luna. This book helps you to make sense of the world of Windows XP, find your way through all the new and sometimes confusing options, learn the new interface, and make it work for you.

Initially, Windows XP comes in two versions: Home Edition (for home use) and Professional (for small-office and workstation use). These two versions are intended for workstations-that is, computers that people sit in front of and use directly. Two additional versions, Windows .NET Server and .NET Advanced Server, will be available in 2002. (Despite the ".NET" in their names, these are high-end versions of Windows XP.) These versions run on servers-computers that provide services to other computers over a network. This book describes Windows XP Home Edition and Professional as they are used on desktop and laptop workstations at home and at work. We hope that this book-both on paper and on the CD-ROM in the back-will help you make the most of Windows XP.

Later in this Introduction are sections titled "New Features in Windows XP," an overview of Windows XP's features, and "Differences Between Windows XP Editions," descriptions of the various versions of Windows XP.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is for everyone who uses Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. You might already have Windows XP installed on your computer, or you might be considering upgrading a Windows Me, Windows 98, or Windows 2000 system to Windows XP. You might have a lot of experience with other computer systems, or Windows XP may be your first exposure to computing.

Your computer might be the only one in your home or office, or it may be one of many on a local area network. You probably have a modem or network card, although Windows works perfectly well without either. Chances are, your computer is connected to the Internet, or will be soon.

If your computer is connected to a large network, we don't expect you to be the network administrator, but if you're in a small office with two or three computers, we tell you how to set up a small, usable Windows network. If you have a modem, we discuss in detail what's involved in getting connected to the Internet, because Windows XP includes all the software you need to use the Internet.

Note: If you are the network administrator of a domain-based local area network, or if you need to know about the security and networking options for large networks, consider getting Windows.NET Server: The Complete Reference (by Kathy Ivens, published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill). It's the companion volume to this book for information technology staff members who support Windows XP servers and networked workstations.

Part I: Working in Windows XP

Part I covers the basics of using Windows. Even if you have used Windows forever, at least skim through this section to learn about XP's entirely new interface environment. If you are new to Windows, you'll want to read it carefully.

Chapter 1 starts with the basics of working in Windows: using the mouse and managing your windows. Chapters 2 and 3 explain how to run and install programs beyond those included with Windows-including using the new Compatibility Mode options that can run even the oldest DOS and Windows Me/9x programs. Chapter 4 covers the newly revamped Help And Support Center, including how to get assistance from friends, coworkers, and Microsoft over the Internet. Chapter 5 looks at the many ways to move and share information between and among programs. User accounts, which have been vastly improved in Windows XP, are described in Chapter 6.

Part II: Managing Your Disk

All the information in your computer is stored in disk files and folders, and Part 11 helps you keep them organized and safe. Chapters 7 and 8 cover day-to-day file and folder operations, including how to use Windows Explorer (also known as My Computer) to manage your files. Chapter 9 describes the backup program that comes with Windows, and how to set up a regular backup regim

Part III: Configuring Windows for Your Computer

Windows is extremely (some would say excessively) configurable. Part III tells you what items you can configure and makes suggestions for the most effective way to set up your computer.

Chapter 10 covers the all-new Start menu, the gateway to the features of Windows. Chapter 11 details the desktop, the icons, and other items that reside on your screen. Chapter 12 explains your keyboard and mouse (yes, lots of options exist just for the mouse), and Chapter 13 tells you how to add and set up additional hardware on your computer. Chapter 14 covers printing, including setting up printers and installing fonts, and using the built-in fax features. Chapter 15 highlights the special features that are useful to laptop computer users. Chapter 16 covers the accessibility features that make Windows more usable for people who may have difficulty using conventional keyboards and mice, seeing the screen, or hearing sounds.

Part IV: Working with Text, Numbers, Pictures, Sounds, and Video Chapter 17 discusses Windows' simple but useful text and word processing programs and calculator feature. In Chapter 18, you read about new features for viewing, printing, e-mailing, and making Web pages with your pictures, including ordering prints over the Internet. Chapters 19 and 20 examine Windows' extensive sound and video multimedia facilities, including the powerful new Windows Media Player 8.

Part V: Windows XP on the Internet

Windows offers a complete set of Internet access features, from making telephone or network connections to e-mail and the World Wide Web.

Chapter 21 explains the intricacies of setting up a modem to work with Windows, whether you use a dial-up account or a high-speed cable, ISDN, or DSL connection. Chapter 22 tells you how to use that modem to create and set up an account with an Internet service provider or online service. Chapter 23 describes Outlook Express 6.0, the Windows accessory program that handles your e-mail. Chapter 24 covers Internet Explorer 6.0, Microsoft's updated Web browser. Chapter 25 examines online chatting and conferencing with Windows Messenger and NetMeeting, and Chapter 26 discusses the other Internet applications that come with Windows.

Part VI: Networking with Windows XP

Because it is based on Windows 2000, which itself was derived from a network server operating system, Windows XP has extensive uilt-in networking features. You can set up your Windows machine as a workstation in a large network, as a server in a small network, or as both.

Chapter 27 introduces local area networks, including key concepts such as client-server and peer-to-peer networking. Chapter 28 walks you through the process of creating a small network of Windows systems. Chapter 29 tells you how to share printers and disk drives among your networked computers. Chapter 30 explains how to use Internet Connection Sharing to share one Internet account and modem among all the computers on a LAN. Chapter 31 covers the improved network security features that Windows XP provides, including the Internet Connection Firewall.

Part VII: Windows Housekeeping

Windows is sufficiently complex that it needs some regular maintenance and adjustment, and Part VII tells you how. Chapter 32 discusses disk setup, including removable disks and new hard disks that you may add to your computer, as well as NTFS and FAT32 partitions. Chapter 33 tells you how to keep your disk working well and how to use the facilities that Windows provides to check and repair disk problems, including defragmenting and taking out the garbage. Chapter 34 explains how to tune your computer for maximum performance, and Chapter 35 reviews the process of troubleshooting hardware and software problems. Chapter 36 describes the other Windows resources available on the Internet and elsewhere, including Automatic Updates, which can automatically identify and install updated or corrected Windows components.

Part VIII: Behind the Scenes: Windows XP Internals

Part VIII covers a variety of advanced Windows topics. Chapter 37 describes the configuration files that Windows uses, and Chapter 38 describes the Registry, the central database of program information that is key to Windows' operation. Chapter 39 covers the Command Prompt window that enables you to run DOS programs. Chapter 40, the final chapter, concludes with the Windows Script Host, a sophisticated system to automate frequently performed tasks.

Appendix, Glossary, and Instructions for Installing the Book's CD-ROM The Appendix describes how to install Windows XP as an upgrade to a Windows system, from scratch on a blank hard disk, or as part of a dual-boot configuration. The Glossary describes all the terminology you need to know to understand Windows. At the very back of this book, you'll find a page of instructions for how to use Windows XP: The Complete Reference E-book, which is stored on the accompanying CD-ROM. (For more information, see "About the E-book" later in this Introduction.)

Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses several icons to highlight special advice: Tip: A handy way to make Windows work better for you. Note: An observation that gives insight into the way that Windows and other programs work. Caution: Something to watch out for, so you don't have to learn the hard way.

When we refer you to related material, we tell you the name of the section that contains the information we think you'll want to read. If the section is in the same chapter you are reading, we don't mention a chapter number. If you find yourself skipping around the book, consider reading the text on the screen using the CD-ROM (see the next section).

When you see instructions to choose commands from a menu, we separate the part of the command by vertical bars ( I ). For example, "choose File I Open" means to choose File from the Menu bar and then choose Open from the File menu that appears. If the command begins with "Start I ," then click the Start button on the taskbar as the first step. See "Giving Commands" in Chapter 2 for the details of how to give commands.

About the E-book

The CD-ROM in the back of this book contains the entire text of the book as a set of several hundred interlinked Web pages that you can display with Internet Explorer or any other Web browser. Our goal is for the e-book edition on the CD-ROM to be your reference and tutorial companion as you use your Windows system.

For instance, as you read in Chapter 33 about disk management and you want to know more about how to recover from faults and crashes, you can click a link on the e-book Chapter 33 to jump to that material. The e-book makes it easy to follow links from topic to topic until you get the information you need-without flipping to the back of the book to consult the index.

Wherever the book says "See Chapter so-and-so," the e-book has a link that you can follow with a single click. In the printed book, we refer you to related information by saying "see Chapter 18" or referring to other sections in the current chapter. The e-book has been coded-using Web-style hyperlinks-to provide references to related topics. When you read the e-book, you can click links to jump directly to the section of the book that contains the related information.

We've also added other useful links both within the book and to external resources on the World Wide Web. For example, if Microsoft's Web site has more information about a topic, we provide you with a clickable link to the page you want. We also provide Internet addresses for companies that provide Windows-compatible products and information. The book also has its own Web site (at http://net.gurus.com/winxptcr) where you'll find the latest Windows XP information we think you'll find useful.

The key to the e-book is the electronic Glossary page that you'll find one click away from the CD's opening screen. This Glossary provides an alphabetical list of Windows-related and Internet-related terms, each linking to the section of the book that introduces that concept. To learn about a topic, find the term in the glossary and follow the link into the text.

A page of instructions at the very back of this book describes how to install and use the e-book on the CD-ROM.

New Features in Windows XP

At first blush, Windows XP looks very different from its predecessors-the new Luna interface can be a startling change, with its simplified desktop and Start menu. Windows is still under there, though-and, as we'll show in Chapter 11, you can switch the Windows desktop back to a more familiar style. But the Luna interface isn't the most important new feature. Here is a list of other new features:

• The CD Copy Wizard built into Windows Explorer makes it easy to copy your files (including music and graphics files) onto CDs (see Chapter 7, section "Making Your Own CDs").
• Backup is back! Microsoft used to provide a backup program with earlier versions of Windows, but recent versions have left it out (see Chapter 9). We're glad to see that it's back, as running backups regularly is vital to keeping your files safe. If you use Windows XP Home Edition, you'll need to install it from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
• Internet Explorer (IE) version 6.0 is an upgrade to Microsoft's powerful Web browser, and Outlook Express 6.0 is the newest version of Microsoft's e-mail and newsgroup program (see Chapter 24, section "What Is Internet Explorer?").
• Fast User Switching and password-protected user accounts make it convenient to create and use a separate user account for each person who uses a single computer (see Figure I-1). If you assign passwords to the accounts, users can have a private, password-protected folder for their files. Fast User Switching lets several people stay logged on at the same time, with a new keystroke -WINDOWS-L-to switch from one user to another. If you use the NTFS disk format, you can password-protect files and folders, too (see Chapter 6). • Windows Messenger challenges AOL Instant Messenger and other instant-messaging programs (see Chapter 25).
• Windows Media Player 8 is a step up from the previous version, with DVD support, audio CD creation, and even automatic downloading of audio CD cover art from the Internet (see Chapter 19).
• Photo printing and Web publishing are built in: when Windows encounters a folder that contains graphics files, it offers wizards that can upload your pictures to a Web site or send them off to a photo-printing service (see Chapter 18, section "Printing Your Pictures at Home"). You can see your photos as a filmstrip or slideshow, too.
• The Files And Settings Transfer Wizard helps you move your stuff from one computer to another, including your documents and settings (see Chapter A, section "Transferring Your Data Files and Windows Configuration Settings").
• The Internet Connection Firewall protects your computer (or your whole LAN) from intruders on the Internet (see Chapter 31, section "Enabling the Internet Connection Firewall Between Your PC and the Internet").
• Web Folders enable you to work with files and folders on FTP and Web servers using Windows Explorer (see Chapter 26, section "Working with FTP and Web Servers Using Web Folders").
• The Last Known Good Configuration option lets you recover from Windows crashes by returning to a Windows configuration that worked (see Chapter 35, section "Startup Modes").
• Remote Assistance enables you to ask a friend, coworker, or a support professional to take over your computer via the Internet and fix a software problem (see Chapter 4, section "Allowing a Friend to Control Your Computer").
• Product activation requires you to "activate" Windows over the Internet or phone within a grace period, or the program stops functioning (see Appendix, section "How Does Product Activation Work?"). Activation doesn't require personal information from you (it's not the same as registration) and is designed to stop software piracy.

Windows XP also removed a few programs that came with some earlier Windows versions. Windows XP doesn't come with FrontPage Express (an HTML editor for creating Web pages), Microsoft Chat (an Internet Relay Chat program for chatting over the Internet), or Active Movie (which has been replaced by Movie Maker and Windows Media Player 8).

Differences Between Windows XP Editions

Windows XP comes in various versions: Windows XP Home Edition (for home and small-office users), Windows XP Professional (for corporate workstations), Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (for Itanium-based workstations), Windows .NET Server (for network servers), and Windows .NET Advanced Server (for network servers that need advanced features).

Windows XP Home Edition and Professional

These two versions of Windows XP are very similar: Microsoft has disabled a few features in Home Edition and made a few cosmetic changes. Here are the major differences:

• Backup The Microsoft Backup program comes with both editions, but must be installed separately in Windows XP Home Edition (see Chapter 9, section "Installing the Backup Utility").
• Multiprocessor support Home Edition supports only a single processor (CPU). Luckily, the vast majority of computers have only one processor. However, users of high-end scientific and analytical workstations need to install Professional.
• Domain-based network support Home Edition cannot log onto a domain-based network. The networks within most large organizations use domains, so Home Edition won't suffice for corporate workstations. However, small-office and home users can use Home Edition on smaller workgroup-based peer-to-peer networks (see Chapter 27).
• User administration Professional has a more flexible system of user accounts. Home Edition enables you to set up accounts for each user of the computer and choose whether they are administrative (with the ability to give any command) or limited (within all administrative privileges). See Chapter 6.
• File Encryption Home Edition doesn't support file or folder encryption on NTFS-formatted disks (see Chapter 6, section "Can Windows XP Keep Files Private?"). Remote Desktop Home Edition doesn't include this Web-based application (also called Terminal Server client), which enables you to see the desktop of another computer on your own.
• Offline Files And Folders Home Edition doesn't support this feature, which allows you to copy files from a server to a laptop before going on the road, and then synchronize the files when you reconnect to the network.
• Upgrades You can't upgrade from Windows NT or 2000 to Windows XP Home Edition, only to Professional. You can upgrade from Windows 98 or Me to either version of Windows XP.

Microsoft has a comparison of Home Edition and Professional at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/guide/featurecomp.asp.

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition

This edition of Windows XP adds support for the Intel Itanium processor family. These processors are used on high-end engineering, scientific, and graphics workstations.

Windows .NET Server and Advanced Server

These versions of Windows are, as the names imply, designed to run on servers rather than on workstations. That is, they are designed to provide services to other computers on a network rather than being used for day-to-day work by someone sitting at the keyboard. They are based on Windows XP, but include these additional features:

• Slower performance as workstations These editions are optimized for network services, not for workstation performance.
• Support for server software Many server programs, such as Microsoft Exchange, Advanced Server Pages, and SQL Server, require Windows.NET Server or Advanced Server, and don't run on Windows XP Home Edition or Professional.
• Clustering Servers can be linked together into clusters to handle large network demands.

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