Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrators Guide

This book is organized in five parts and was written to be read sequentially from beginning to end. Less experienced administrators and users will want to read this book in this manner. More experienced administrators and power users with a strong background in working with Windows operating systems can easily skip around and read the book in the order that best suits their own needs.

Part I provides an introduction and overview of basic Windows XP Professional features and functionality with an emphasis on administrative procedures. Part II focuses on tasks related to the management of the Windows XP Professional desktop. Part III covers a range of advanced administrative tasks, including security administration, disk management, the administration of the registry and critical system files, performance monitoring, and scripting. Part IV covers the networking features built into Windows XP, including local area networking, remote access, and the Internet. Part V consists of two appendixes and a glossary of terms. The appendixes provide supplemental information about Windows XP commands and troubleshooting.

The basic outline of the book is presented as follows:

• Chapter 1, "Introducing Windows XP Professional." This chapter provides an overview of Windows XP features that are important to system administrators. This chapter also provides an overview of the new Windows XP user interface and offers the administrator a basic overview of navigating Windows XP Professional, thus laying the foundation for the rest of the book.

• Chapter 2, "Installing and Upgrading to Windows XP Professional." This chapter provides instructions for performing a fresh installation of Windows XP Professional. It also instructs you in upgrading from a previous version of Windows. Installation issues such as hardware compatibility, dual-booting with other Microsoft operating systems, and the generation of upgrade reports are discussed. Postinstallation activities, including the installation of additional hardware and the management of drivers, are also covered. The chapter concludes with coverage of Windows XP Professional's activation and registration processes.

• Chapter 3, "Help and Support." In this chapter, you'll learn about finding help for Windows XP Professional. In addition to covering the basics of using the Help system, this chapter will explain how to enable remote support and how to use it to receive or provide support. Coverage includes how to configure Windows XP Professional Help and Support options, as well as how to use the Help and Support Center to gather information about the system. Other topics that are covered include how to configure error reporting and automatic updates.

• Chapter 4, "Application Management." This chapter addresses the management of Windows applications, including how to install and uninstall new applications. It also covers how Windows XP Professional's Installer service helps to install applications and to track them to ensure that critical application components are not deleted or corrupted. Coverage also includes how to install and remove optional Windows XP Professional software, as well as how to handle nonresponsive programs using the Windows Task Manager. Other topics include how to configure application priorities and the importance of looking for applications that bear the Windows logo.

• Chapter 5, "Printer and Fax Administration." Chapter 5 explains how to install, configure, and administer a local printer using either Plug and Play or a manual install. In addition, it shows how to set up a printer connection with a network printer and explains how Windows XP uses Universal Plug and Play. Tasks that are covered include how to configure a printer's name, how to set up a default printer, how to print a test page, how to manage print jobs, how to set up a printer pool, and how to work with print priorities. Faxing and printing are handled in a similar fashion under Windows XP. This chapter extends its coverage to include the installation and configuration of the Windows XP Fax service.

• Chapter 6, "Configuring the Windows XP Start Menu, Taskbar, and My Documents Folder." This chapter explains how to configure the Windows XP Start menu and taskbar. It provides a thorough review of all major components found on the Start menu and explains every configuration option for the Start menu and taskbar. Tasks show how to perform activities such as configuring toolbars, adding new menu links, and changing the system date and time. In addition to explaining the differences between the Windows XP and Classic menus, Chapter 6 provides procedures that show how to work with the Address, Links, Desktop, and Quick Launch toolbars.

• Chapter 7, "Configuring Desktop Settings." In this chapter, the tasks involved in administering the Windows desktop are outlined. Topics include the configuration of desktop objects and the configuration of Windows XP display properties. This chapter provides detailed procedures that identify the steps involved in configuring desktop themes, background customization, and screen savers and password lockout.

• Chapter 8, "Configuring Accessibility Features." This chapter explains how to configure Windows XP Professional to support users that may have vision, hearing, or mobility issues. Chapter 8 covers all of the utilities found in the Accessibility folder. Coverage includes how to use the Accessibility wizard to configure text font and size and display settings, how to use the Magnifier to assist people with visual problems, and how to turn on the Narrator to provide audio output for individuals with hearing issues. This chapter also explains how to use the Utility Manager to configure each of the previous tools as well as the onscreen keyboard.

• Chapter 9, "Security Administration." Chapter 9 presents the tasks involved in administering security on a Windows XP Professional system. Topics include how to set up password requirements, secure shared resources, run programs as another user, manage user and group accounts, and implement policies. Account management tasks include how to add, delete, and modify user and group accounts and how to apply permissions for user and group accounts to individual Windows resources. This chapter also explains how to perform remote account administration, manage security policies, and implement disk quotas.

• Chapter 10, "Microsoft Management Consoles." This chapter focuses on administration tasks that are performed using MMCs (Microsoft Management Consoles). Each console in the default Windows XP Professional console collection is reviewed. The chapter discusses the framework behind the MMC and provides a full discussion of how to create new custom consoles and use them to delegate limited administrative capabilities to less-experienced administrators and end users. This discussion includes the use of snap-ins, the tools that are loaded into MMCs and that provide MMCs with functionality, and contains a comprehensive list of snap-ins.

• Chapter 11, "Disk Management." Chapter 11 identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the file systems supported by Windows XP Professional. Strategies for partitioning disk space and the placement of system and boot partitions are examined. This chapter provides procedures that show how to format a disk partition, convert a FAT32 partition to an NTFS partition, assign drive letters, and check for available disk space. In addition, the chapter covers how to implement data encryption and compression. Other disk management tasks that are covered include the defragging of disk drives, the running of the disk cleanup wizard, and the creation of backups.

• Chapter 12, "Configuring and Administering System Files." This chapter identifies and explains the configuration of critical Windows XP Professional system files. This chapter focuses heavily on the Windows XP Professional registry and explains the use of the Regedit and Regedt32 registry editors. In addition, critical system files including win.ini, system.ini, and boot.ini are examined. The management of Windows XP Professional services is included in the coverage of critical system resources as is the administration of environment variables. The chapter also explains the importance of creating automated system recovery disks and how to use them to recover from problem situations.

• Chapter 13, "Performance Tuning." This chapter supplies the information and instruction required to fine-tune a Windows XP Professional installation. Procedures outline the steps involved in optimizing Windows XP's visual effects, CPU scheduling, memory use, and virtual memory. The chapter also reviews utilities that can examine system performance, including the Task Manager and the System Monitor Console. Other performance-tuning topics that are covered include the configuration of display settings and power management.

• Chapter 14, "Shell Scripting and the WSH." This chapter provides a review of the scripting architectures available to Windows XP Professional, including shell scripting and the WSH (Windows Script Host). Specific examples of scripts are provided in the form of shell scripts, JScripts, and VBScripts, from which the administrator can begin to develop more complicated scripts. The importance of Windows Script Files is also explained.

• Chapter 15, "Supporting Mobile Users." This chapter outlines the tasks required to set up and support Windows XP Professional for mobile computing. Coverage includes modem installation and configuration, as well as the procedures required to set up dial-up clients, a dial-up server, and a dial-up session. In addition, the chapter provides instruction on how to secure a dial-up connection by setting callback options. Other topics covered include the administration of offline file access, deferred printing, creation of multiple hardware profiles to support dockable laptops, and remote access using Remote Desktop.

• Chapter 16, "Windows XP and TCP/IP." This chapter details the steps involved in configuring TCP/IP on network computers running Windows XP Professional. This includes procedures for configuring both dynamic and static IP addressing. Domain services such as DNS and WINS are identified and procedures are provided that explain how to configure IP settings on Windows XP Professional network clients. In addition, APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) is reviewed and explained within the context of small office and home networks.

• Chapter 17, "The Internet." This chapter outlines the steps involved in connecting Windows XP Professional to the Internet. Coverage includes dial-up, always-on high-speed cable, and DSL access as well as the configuration of Internet access on local area networks. The chapter explains the setup and configuration of Windows XP Internet applications, including Windows NetMeeting, Windows Messenger, HyperTerminal, FTP, and Telnet. Also covered is how to set up secured communications over the Internet using virtual private network connections. Other topics include the setup and configuration of Internet Connection Sharing and the use of Windows XP's built-in Internet Connection Firewall.

• Chapter 18, "LAN Configuration." Chapter 18 outlines the tasks required to set up and configure Windows XP Professional network clients on local area networks. Both workgroup and client/server networks are considered. Network clients, services, and protocols are examined, and procedures are provided that show how to install, configure, and modify network software.

• Chapter 19, "Printer and Disk Sharing." This chapter explains the steps involved in sharing Windows XP Professional disk and printer resources over a network. Coverage includes how to set up a shared resource and how to properly secure it. The chapter then examines the security implications of sharing resources using Windows XP Professional, including a discussion of the importance of using NTFS and implementing strong security. Other topics that are covered include how to stop sharing resources, how to connect to other network resources, and how to audit the use of a shared resources.

• Appendix A, "Windows XP Command Reference." Appendix A provides a comprehensive reference of Windows XP commands. This list can be used to assist in the administration of Windows XP Professional from either the Windows command prompt or within scripts that automate the administration of Windows tasks.

• Appendix B, "Troubleshooting System Startup." Appendix B provides a foundation from which you can troubleshoot problems that may occur with Windows XP Professional. Coverage includes the diagnosis of both Windows XP computer and networking problems. The appendix explains where and how to gather system information and diagnose hardware problems. It also demonstrates how to control the startup of Windows XP as part of problem resolution and how to use built-in Windows XP troubleshooters.

• Glossary. The glossary contains a list of terms used throughout this book.