Mastering Windows XP Home Edition

Cover......Page 1
Contents at a Glance......Page 5
Contents......Page 8
Up and Running with Windows XP Home Edition......Page 29
What Is Windows XP Home Edition?......Page 31
What’s New in Windows XP Home Edition?......Page 32
What’s New in Service Pack 2?......Page 48
Should You Upgrade to Windows XP Home Edition?......Page 49
Edition Instead?......Page 50
Home Edition?......Page 53
Checking System Compatibility......Page 57
Making Your System Compatible with XP......Page 59
Choosing Which File System to Use......Page 60
Choosing a Method of Installing XP Home......Page 62
Preparing for Installation......Page 64
Dual-Boot Setup......Page 68
Performing a Clean Installation of XP Home......Page 77
The Installation Paths Converge......Page 82
Applying Your Files and Settings......Page 85
Uninstalling XP Home and Reverting to Windows Me or 98......Page 86
Troubleshooting the Installation......Page 87
Updating XP to Service Pack 2......Page 93
Getting Started with Windows XP Home Edition......Page 101
Logging On and Logging Off......Page 102
Using the Desktop and Start Menu......Page 106
Switching to Another User......Page 108
Seeing Who Else Is Logged On to the Computer......Page 109
Seeing Which Programs the Other Users Are Running......Page 110
Logging Another User Off......Page 113
Sending a Message to Another User......Page 114
Using the Windows Key......Page 115
Shutting Down XP......Page 116
Choosing the Best Display Resolution......Page 117
Configuring the Keyboard and Mouse......Page 124
Choosing Accessibility Options......Page 129
Choosing a Screen Saver......Page 134
Applying a Theme......Page 136
Changing the Background......Page 137
Changing Desktop Items and Desktop Web Pages......Page 138
Changing the Appearance of XP Items......Page 141
Choosing Desktop Effects......Page 142
Choosing System Sounds......Page 144
Arranging Icons on Your Desktop......Page 145
Configuring the Taskbar......Page 146
Customizing the Start Menu......Page 149
Using the Desktop Toolbars......Page 154
Good News on Compatibility......Page 159
Programs You Shouldn’t Even Try to Run on XP......Page 162
Multiuser Considerations......Page 163
Installing a Program......Page 167
Running Programs......Page 174
The Basics of Files and Folders......Page 185
Using Explorer......Page 186
Choosing Folder Options......Page 202
Copying a File or Folder......Page 204
Moving a File or Folder......Page 208
Deleting a File or Folder......Page 209
Renaming a File or Folder......Page 214
Finding a File or Folder......Page 216
Working with Compressed Files......Page 221
Creating and Organizing Shortcuts......Page 222
Customizing Explorer......Page 226
WordPad......Page 231
Notepad......Page 232
Character Map......Page 234
Paint......Page 238
Calculator......Page 239
Windows Picture and Fax Viewer......Page 240
Command Prompt......Page 243
Help and Support Center......Page 249
Using the Support Options......Page 255
Using the Troubleshooters......Page 256
Finding Help on the Internet and Web......Page 257
Administering and Troubleshooting Windows XP Home......Page 259
What Are User Accounts and What Are They For?......Page 261
Three Types of User Accounts......Page 262
Creating a User Account......Page 264
Understanding User Profiles......Page 266
Deleting a User Account......Page 267
Changing a User Account......Page 268
Removing Password Protection from an Account......Page 274
Applying a .NET Passport to an Account......Page 276
Removing a .NET Passport from an Account......Page 277
Welcome Screen......Page 278
Turning Fast User Switching Off and On......Page 279
Implementing and Preventing Automatic Logons......Page 280
Limiting the Times a User Can Log On......Page 283
Making a User Account Expire......Page 285
Creating and Deleting Local Groups......Page 286
The Background to Sharing......Page 289
Sharing a Folder......Page 293
Making a Folder Private......Page 296
Seeing What Files and Folders You’re Sharing......Page 297
Working with File Associations, File Extensions, and File Types......Page 298
Formatting a Disk......Page 309
Changing the Computer’s Name, Description, and Workgroup......Page 312
Converting a Disk to NTFS......Page 313
Using Compression to Free Up Space......Page 314
Setting Archiving and Indexing for a File or Folder......Page 316
Using Quotas to Apportion Disk Space......Page 317
Disk Maintenance......Page 321
Managing Disks with Disk Management......Page 332
What Is the Registry and What Does It Do?......Page 338
Preparing to Access the Registry......Page 340
Running Registry Editor......Page 341
Working in the Registry......Page 343
Registry Data Types......Page 345
Editing a Value Entry......Page 347
Examples of Working with the Registry......Page 349
Using Registry Favorites to Quickly Access Keys......Page 354
The Basics of Windows Printing......Page 357
Installing a Local Printer......Page 360
Configuring a Printer......Page 363
Managing Your Print Jobs......Page 370
Troubleshooting Printing Problems......Page 372
Configuring Your Print Server......Page 374
Printing Offline......Page 375
Printing to a File......Page 376
Working with Fonts......Page 378
Using Hot-Pluggable Devices......Page 382
Using the Found New Hardware Wizard......Page 385
Running the Add Hardware Wizard......Page 392
Working with Hardware Drivers......Page 394
Adding Specific Hardware Items......Page 397
Configuring Power Management......Page 403
XP Home and Portable Computers......Page 411
Using the Power-Management Features for Portables......Page 412
Safely Removing PC Cards......Page 414
Using DualView......Page 416
Using Hardware Profiles......Page 417
Using Dial-up Networking from Multiple Locations......Page 420
Using Briefcase to Synchronize Files between Two Computers......Page 422
Dealing with Program Hangs......Page 427
Using Event Viewer to Identify Problems......Page 429
Keeping XP Updated with Windows Update......Page 434
Optimizing Performance......Page 439
Setting Environment Variables......Page 447
Enabling and Disabling Error Reporting......Page 448
Setting Startup and Recovery Options......Page 449
Monitoring Performance with the Performance Tool......Page 451
Backing Up Your Data—and Restoring It......Page 455
Creating Drive Images......Page 466
Understanding Windows File Protection......Page 467
Using the System Restore Feature......Page 469
Repairing an XP Installation Using Recovery Console......Page 475
Troubleshooting Boot Problems......Page 477
“NTDETECT Failed” Message......Page 483
Choosing System Startup Options for Booting XP......Page 493
Communications, the Internet, and the Web......Page 495
Choosing an Internet Connection Type and ISP......Page 497
Creating an Internet Connection......Page 502
Securing Your Internet Connection......Page 515
Troubleshooting Your Internet Connection......Page 518
Using Digital Certificates......Page 523
Starting Internet Explorer......Page 533
The Internet Explorer Interface......Page 534
Using Internet Explorer to Access Web Pages and Documents......Page 537
Customizing Internet Explorer......Page 555
Cleaning Up Temporary Internet Files......Page 557
Browsing Offline......Page 575
Getting Started with Address Book......Page 577
Importing Information into Your Address Book......Page 582
Exporting Information from Your Address Book......Page 585
Organizing Your Contacts into Folders and Groups......Page 586
Customizing the Way Your Data Is Displayed......Page 588
Finding a Forgotten Contact in Address Book......Page 589
Searching Internet Directories for People......Page 590
Sending Mail to a Contact......Page 592
Information You Need to Get Started......Page 593
Setting Up E-mail with Outlook Express......Page 594
Choosing Options for Outlook Express......Page 598
Reading E-mail Messages......Page 615
Sending E-mail......Page 617
Adding a vCard to Your Outgoing Messages......Page 621
Adding vCards You Receive to Address Book......Page 622
Sending and Receiving Attachments......Page 623
Managing Your E-mail Messages......Page 627
Filtering Your E-mail......Page 630
Adding Another Mail Account......Page 635
Configuring an Individual Account......Page 636
Using Identities to Keep Multiple E-mail Accounts Separate......Page 640
Customizing the Columns Displayed in the Inbox......Page 644
Customizing the Inbox Layout and the Toolbar......Page 645
Backing Up and Restoring Your Outlook Express Folders......Page 646
The Dangers of Newsgroups......Page 649
Setting Up Outlook Express to Read Newsgroups......Page 650
Subscribing to Newsgroups......Page 654
Reading Newsgroup Messages......Page 656
Posting to a Newsgroup......Page 657
Creating Rules for Filtering News......Page 658
Working Offline......Page 660
Starting Messenger......Page 661
Configuring Messenger......Page 662
Adding and Removing a Contact......Page 666
Chatting......Page 669
Adding Voice to a Conversation......Page 671
Adding Video to a Conversation......Page 674
Changing Your Status......Page 675
Transferring Files......Page 676
Whiteboarding and Sharing Programs......Page 678
Understanding the Basics of Remote Assistance......Page 683
Setting Limits for Remote Assistance......Page 684
Sending a Remote Assistance Invitation via E-mail......Page 685
Sending an Invitation via Windows Messenger......Page 686
Saving an Invitation As a File......Page 687
Viewing the Status of Your Invitations......Page 688
Receiving Remote Assistance......Page 689
Responding to a Remote Assistance Invitation......Page 691
Understanding XP’s Faxing Components......Page 699
Installing Fax Services......Page 700
Configuring Fax Services......Page 701
Sending a Fax......Page 703
Receiving a Fax......Page 707
Managing Faxes from Fax Console......Page 708
Configuring Your Fax Printer......Page 709
Creating Custom Cover Pages with Fax Cover Page Editor......Page 713
Dialog Box......Page 715
Editing and Annotating a Fax......Page 716
What Will You Publish?......Page 717
How Will You Publish Your Content?......Page 719
Audio, Video, and Games......Page 727
Getting Started with Windows Media Player......Page 729
Configuring Windows Media Player......Page 734
Playing Audio Files......Page 745
Ripping a CD......Page 748
Playing a DVD......Page 750
Tuning Into Internet Radio......Page 751
Customizing the Look and Feel of Windows Media Player......Page 752
Backing Up and Restoring Licenses......Page 753
Setting Output Volume and Recording Volume......Page 754
Recording Audio Files with Sound Recorder......Page 760
Using the Photo Album Template Tools......Page 763
Installing a Scanner or Digital Camera......Page 766
Scanning a Picture......Page 767
Working with a Digital Camera......Page 770
Capturing Still Pictures from a Video Camera......Page 773
Printing Pictures with the Photo Printing Wizard......Page 774
Making Movies with Windows Movie Maker......Page 775
CD-Recording Basics......Page 785
Configuring a Recordable CD Drive......Page 789
Burning CDs from Explorer......Page 790
Burning CDs from Windows Media Player......Page 799
If XP’s CD-Writing Capabilities Aren’t Enough......Page 801
Playing the Bundled Games......Page 803
Choosing Hardware for Serious Gaming......Page 805
Adding and Configuring Game Controllers......Page 806
Testing and Calibrating a Game Controller......Page 808
Getting the Best Performance on Games......Page 809
Networking Windows XP Home Edition......Page 811
Why Network Your Home or Home Office?......Page 813
Network Architectures......Page 814
Network Topologies......Page 816
Network Protocols......Page 818
Planning Your Network......Page 820
Choosing Network Hardware for a Wired Network......Page 825
Choosing Hardware for a Wireless Network......Page 829
The Different Ways of Setting Up a Network with XP Home......Page 831
Setting Up a Direct Connection......Page 832
Installing Your Network Hardware......Page 841
Setting Up a Network Using the Network Setup Wizard......Page 854
Browsing the Network......Page 860
Mapping and Disconnecting Network Drives......Page 862
Changing Your Computer’s Workgroup......Page 865
Connecting Macs and Linux Boxes to the Network......Page 866
Connecting Your Network to the Internet......Page 869
Using a Shared Internet Connection......Page 883
Sharing a Folder or Drive......Page 884
Sharing a Printer......Page 885
Repairing a Network Connection......Page 890
Configuring Networking Components Manually......Page 891
Configuring TCP/IP Manually......Page 897
Connecting Two Networks via a Bridge......Page 899
Understanding the Points of Weakness on Your Network......Page 901
Normal Methods of Securing a Home Network......Page 902
Securing Your Internet Connection with a Firewall......Page 903
Securing Your Browsers and Programs......Page 905
Limiting User Access to Computers and Files......Page 906
Filtering TCP/IP to Keep Out Unauthorized Data Packets......Page 907
Backing Up Data on Your Network......Page 909
Securing a Wireless Network......Page 910
Using Remote Desktop Connection......Page 915
Creating a Dial-up Connection to a Remote Network......Page 930
Creating and Using VPN Connections......Page 931
Selection Basics......Page 943
Working with Windows and Dialog Boxes......Page 944
What Can You Do with NetMeeting?......Page 951
Setting Up and Configuring NetMeeting......Page 952
Placing and Receiving Calls......Page 961
Hosting a Meeting on Your Computer......Page 966
Using Remote Desktop Sharing to Access Your Own Computer......Page 968
Transferring Files......Page 972
Chatting......Page 974
Sharing a Program—or Your Desktop......Page 975
Index......Page 979