Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 4
Introduction......Page 14
  DOS History......Page 18
  Evolution of DOS......Page 19
  MS-DOS Versus PC DOS......Page 23
  DOS Versions......Page 25
  MS-DOS Alternatives......Page 31
 The Evolution of Microsoft Windows......Page 32
  16-Bit Windows......Page 33
  The Windows 9x Family......Page 39
  The Windows NT Family......Page 43
  Alternative CPU OS Versions: Intel, Alpha, MIPS, and Motorola......Page 53
  Service Packs, Hotfixes, and Rollups......Page 55
 System Layers......Page 58
  BIOS......Page 59
  Hardware Abstraction Layer......Page 61
  Device Drivers......Page 63
  File Systems and Filters......Page 64
  BIOS Startup......Page 65
  Bootstrap Loaders......Page 67
  Windows XP/2000/NT Startup......Page 69
  Windows Vista Startup......Page 70
  The Windows NT Kernel......Page 71
  The Logon Process......Page 73
 Windows Boot Options......Page 76
  Boot.ini and the Boot Menu (Windows NT Through XP)......Page 77
  Windows Vista Boot Configuration Data Store......Page 84
  Adjusting Boot Options with MSConfig......Page 89
  Windows Advanced Options Menu (Safe Mode)......Page 90
  Installing a Multibooting System......Page 95
 Windows Services......Page 96
  List of Windows Services......Page 100
  Using the Services Manager......Page 138
  Managing Services from the Command Line......Page 140
  Device Drivers and the sc Command......Page 141
 Preinstallation Considerations......Page 142
  System Requirements for Windows XP Professional......Page 143
  Checking Hardware and Software Compatibility......Page 144
  Known Compatibility Issues for Windows Vista......Page 145
  Migrating Files and Settings to New Installations......Page 148
  Getting the Network Configuration......Page 152
  Choosing a File System......Page 154
  Upgrade Installations to Windows XP......Page 157
  Upgrade Installations to Windows Vista......Page 160
  Clean Installations......Page 161
  Repair Installations......Page 162
  Using Installation Switches for a Windows XP Installation......Page 164
  Using Installation Switches to Install Windows Vista......Page 167
  Windows XP Clean Install......Page 171
  Windows Vista Clean Install......Page 177
  Using Multiple Partitions......Page 182
  Using a Single Partition......Page 183
  Using Virtual Machines......Page 184
  Clean Install Summary......Page 189
 Automated Deployments......Page 190
  Adding and Using the Deployment Tools for Windows XP......Page 191
  Windows Installation Tools for Windows Vista......Page 201
  Installation Tools for Windows XP and Windows Vista......Page 208
 Windows Copy Protection......Page 217
  Product Activation for Windows XP......Page 218
  Windows Vista Product Activation with MAK and KMS......Page 224
  Windows Genuine Advantage for Windows XP and Vista......Page 225
 Windows XP Upgrade Installations......Page 228
  Deciding Whether an Upgrade to Windows XP Is Worthwhile......Page 229
  Upgrade Scenarios......Page 231
  Troubleshooting a Failed Upgrade......Page 237
  Uninstalling Windows XP......Page 238
 Windows Vista Upgrade Installations......Page 239
  Deciding Whether an Upgrade to Vista Is Worthwhile......Page 240
  Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista......Page 243
  Troubleshooting a Failed Upgrade to Windows Vista......Page 247
  Reverting to Windows XP After Upgrading to Windows Vista......Page 248
  Moving to a New Drive......Page 250
  Moving a Windows Installation to a New Motherboard......Page 253
  Moving Data to a New System......Page 255
  Moving Applications......Page 261
  Installing Service Packs for Windows XP......Page 265
  Installing Service Packs for Windows Vista......Page 268
  Making Vista SP1 Installation Permanent......Page 271
 Configuration Settings......Page 272
  Display Settings......Page 274
  Start Menu Settings......Page 283
  Tuning System Properties......Page 285
  Managing Startup Programs......Page 296
  Internet Explorer......Page 300
 TweakUI and TweakVI......Page 301
  Using TweakUI to…......Page 302
 The Windows Registry......Page 304
  Structure of the Registry......Page 305
  Backing Up and Restoring the Registry......Page 306
  Editing the Registry......Page 309
  Editing the Registry Remotely......Page 310
  Editing a Hive File......Page 311
  Deploying Registry Settings......Page 312
 Managing Windows Services......Page 315
  Managing Services with the GUI......Page 316
  Managing Services from the Command Line......Page 320
  Running Your Own Program as a Service......Page 321
  Using the Task Manager......Page 323
  Using the Performance Monitor......Page 324
 Tuning for Maximum Performance......Page 327
  Installing Sufficient Memory (RAM)......Page 328
  Placing the Page File......Page 331
  Defragment the Disk......Page 332
  Disk Interface Tuning......Page 333
  What to Enable and Disable......Page 334
  Improving Startup and Logon Time......Page 335
 Setting Up a Network......Page 338
 Network Hardware......Page 339
  Wireless Versus Wired......Page 340
  Cabling......Page 341
  Hubs and Switches......Page 342
  Gateways and Routers......Page 343
 Wireless Networking......Page 344
  Wireless Network Basics......Page 345
  Wireless Network Security......Page 346
  Creating a Random Encryption Key......Page 347
  Setting Up a Wireless Network Access Point......Page 348
  Using the Wireless Network Setup Wizard......Page 349
  Joining a Wireless Network......Page 353
  Setting Up a Network on XP......Page 354
  Setting Up a Network on Vista......Page 357
  IP Addressing Options......Page 360
  Configuring Additional Useful Network Services......Page 364
  Designating a Master Browser......Page 368
 Simple File Sharing......Page 369
 Sharing Resources......Page 371
  Sharing Folders and Drives......Page 372
  Sharing Printers......Page 375
  Avoiding Firewall Issues......Page 377
 Providing Shared Internet Access......Page 378
  Adding a Connection-Sharing Router......Page 380
  Using Windows Internet Connection Sharing......Page 382
 Setting Up Remote Access to Your Computer......Page 383
 It Takes More Than Just Software......Page 384
  Reduce Your Exposure......Page 385
  Take Advantage of the Tools You Have......Page 386
  Keep Abreast of Updates......Page 387
  Be Skeptical......Page 388
 Windows Passwords......Page 389
  Setting Up a Password......Page 390
  Improving Password Security......Page 391
 User Account Control......Page 392
 Windows Update......Page 395
  Using Windows Update......Page 396
  Configuring Automatic Updates......Page 397
 Firewalls......Page 399
  How Software Firewalls Protect Your PC from Attacks......Page 400
  Windows Firewall......Page 401
  Third-Party Firewalls......Page 404
 Antivirus and Antispyware Software—Which Do You Need?......Page 406
  Third-Party Antivirus Programs......Page 409
  Windows Defender......Page 411
  Third-Party Spyware Removal Programs......Page 414
  Identifying Spyware......Page 415
  Installing and Running Antispyware Software......Page 416
  Recovering from Browser Hijacks......Page 417
  What to Do If the Automated Utilities Fail......Page 418
  Bootable Tools......Page 420
 Managing Users......Page 422
  Domain and Workgroup Environments......Page 423
  Account Types......Page 425
  Which Type of Account to Use?......Page 427
  Default Accounts and Groups......Page 428
  Security Principals......Page 430
  Account Permissions......Page 432
  Adding and Deleting User Accounts from the Control Panel......Page 438
  Local Accounts and Password Reset Disks......Page 445
  Managing Users from the Management Console......Page 446
  The Windows 2000 User Manager, for Vista and XP, Too......Page 448
  Managing Users from the Command Prompt......Page 450
  Automating User Management......Page 451
  Managing User Profiles......Page 452
  Controlling How Users Log On and Off......Page 458
  Logging on as Administrator......Page 460
  Showing and Hiding Accounts on the Welcome Screen......Page 461
  Fast User Switching......Page 463
  Enabling Automatic Logon......Page 464
  Dealing with a Lost Password......Page 465
  Using Device Manager......Page 467
  Dealing with the Blue Screen of Death......Page 470
  Updating Device Drivers......Page 471
  Using Driver Rollback......Page 474
 Disk Management......Page 475
  Partitioning and Formatting with the Disk Management Console......Page 477
  Resizing Partitions......Page 483
  Converting FAT16/FAT32 File Systems to NTFS......Page 485
  Hard Drive Cleaning......Page 486
  Defragmenting for Greater Speed......Page 488
 Backing Up Your Disk......Page 491
  Backup Integrity......Page 492
  Volume Shadow Copy......Page 493
  Backup Files and Folders on Vista......Page 495
  Previous Versions......Page 500
  Complete PC Backup on Vista......Page 502
  Using NTBackup Backup on XP......Page 506
  Third-Party Backup Solutions......Page 512
  What Restore Points Actually Restore......Page 513
  Creating Restore Points......Page 515
  Restoring a Restore Point......Page 516
 The Windows Command Prompt......Page 518
  What the Command Prompt Really Does......Page 519
  Environment Variables......Page 520
  Executable Program Types......Page 522
  Program Subsystems......Page 523
  Interpreting Command-Line Syntax......Page 526
  Input and Output Redirection......Page 528
  Command Pipelines......Page 531
  Command Separators......Page 532
  Escaping Special Characters......Page 533
  Editing Command Lines......Page 534
  Name Completion......Page 535
  Copy and Paste in Command Prompt Windows......Page 536
  DOSKEY Macros......Page 538
  Command Extensions......Page 540
  Printing in the Command-Line Environment......Page 541
  Stopping Runaway Programs......Page 543
  Changing the Search Path......Page 544
  Predefined and Virtual Environment Variables......Page 545
  Setting Default Environment Variables......Page 548
  AutoRun......Page 550
  Configuring the MS-DOS Command Environment......Page 551
 User Account Control and the Command Line......Page 561
  Opening an Elevated Command Prompt......Page 562
  cd......Page 563
  dir......Page 564
  more......Page 565
  runas......Page 566
  start......Page 567
  control......Page 568
  net......Page 570
  findstr......Page 573
 Batch Files......Page 575
  Creating and Editing Batch Files......Page 576
  Batch File Programming......Page 577
  Argument Substitution......Page 578
  Argument Editing......Page 579
  Conditional Processing with if......Page 581
  Processing Multiple Arguments......Page 584
  Working with Environment Variables......Page 587
  Processing Multiple Items with the for Command......Page 589
  Using Batch File Subroutines......Page 593
  Prompting for Input......Page 594
 Scripting with Windows Script Host......Page 596
  Script Languages......Page 597
  Creating and Editing Scripts......Page 598
  Security Issues......Page 599
  Running Scripts......Page 600
  Scripting and COM Objects......Page 601
  Sample Scripts......Page 603
 Windows PowerShell......Page 605
  PowerShell Concepts......Page 606
  Downloading and Installing Windows PowerShell......Page 608
  Learning More About Windows PowerShell......Page 609
 Disks, Partitions, and Volumes......Page 610
  Dynamic Disks and Volumes......Page 611
 Creating Partitions......Page 612
  Assigning Drive Letters to Volumes......Page 614
  Running FDISK......Page 618
  Drive Partitioning and Formatting with Disk Management......Page 620
  Drive Partitioning with Aftermarket Utilities......Page 623
  High-Level (Operating System) Formatting......Page 625
  File System Tool Limitations......Page 627
  Drive Capacity Limitations......Page 628
 Boot Sectors......Page 632
  Master Boot Record......Page 633
  Primary and Extended Partitions......Page 634
  Windows Disk Probe......Page 640
  Volume Boot Records......Page 645
 File Systems......Page 651
  Clusters (Allocation Units)......Page 652
 File Allocation Table......Page 653
  FAT12......Page 654
  FAT16......Page 655
  VFAT and Long Filenames......Page 657
  FAT32......Page 660
  File Allocation Table Tutorial......Page 665
  Directories (Folders)......Page 669
  FAT File System Errors......Page 672
 NTFS......Page 676
  NTFS Architecture—The MFT......Page 679
  NTFS 3.0/3.1......Page 681
  NTFS Tools......Page 683
  CHKDSK Operation......Page 685
  The RECOVER Command......Page 686
  SCANDISK......Page 687
  Disk Defragmentation......Page 688
  Third-Party Programs......Page 691
 The Windows Recycle Bin and File Deletion......Page 692
  Undeleting Files Under NTFS......Page 694
 Retrieving Data from Partitioned and Formatted Drives......Page 695
  Recovering Lost Partitions and Files......Page 696
  Types of Disk Editors......Page 699
  Using a Disk Editor to Recover an NTFS Volume Boot Sector......Page 700
  Using a Disk Editor to Undelete Files......Page 706
  Retrieving a Deleted File from a Disk......Page 714
 Data Recovery from Flash Memory Devices......Page 717
 FAT File System Troubleshooting......Page 718
 NTFS File System Troubleshooting......Page 719
 Troubleshooting Basics......Page 722
  A Word About Viruses and Spyware......Page 724
  Windows "Sickbed" Symptoms......Page 725
  Legacy/Unsupported Hardware Devices......Page 726
  Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor......Page 727
  Updating Computer Firmware......Page 728
  Other Common Windows Installation Issues......Page 729
 Pre-Windows Startup Troubleshooting......Page 730
  Common Boot Error Messages and Solutions......Page 731
 Windows Startup Troubleshooting......Page 733
  Windows Advanced Options Menu......Page 734
  Using the System Restore Tool with Windows XP and Vista......Page 738
  Recovery Console for Windows XP......Page 741
  Automated System Recovery with Windows XP......Page 759
 Troubleshooting Problem Devices with Device Manager......Page 763
 Parallel Windows Installation......Page 769
 The Blue Screen of Death: Interpreting STOP Error Messages......Page 770
  Make a Record of STOP Errors......Page 771
  Common STOP Errors......Page 772
  Reading the Event Log......Page 777
  Dr. Watson......Page 782
  Windows Troubleshooters......Page 784
  CHKDSK......Page 785
  DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DXDIAG.EXE)......Page 786
  Program Compatibility Wizard......Page 788
  System Configuration Utility......Page 789
  Installing Additional Windows XP Support Tools......Page 792
  Windows Recovery Environment......Page 793
  Problem Reports and Solutions......Page 801
  Reliability and Performance Monitor......Page 802
  System Health Report......Page 804
 Using the Microsoft Knowledge Base......Page 805
Index......Page 808
 A......Page 809
 B......Page 811
 C......Page 814
 D......Page 819
 E......Page 824
 F......Page 826
 H......Page 829
 I......Page 831
 L......Page 834
 M......Page 836
 N......Page 838
 P......Page 841
 Q - R......Page 845
 S......Page 852
 T......Page 863
 U......Page 867
 V......Page 873
 W......Page 874
 Y - Z......Page 887
  Windows Management Tools......Page 888
  Standard Commands......Page 889
  Support Tools......Page 891
   Application Compatibility Toolkit......Page 896
   Deployment Toolkit......Page 897
  Value Added Tools......Page 898
  PowerToys and Extras......Page 899
   Windows Ultimate Extras......Page 900
   PowerToys for Windows XP......Page 901
   Free Tools for Vista and XP......Page 902
  Resource Kits......Page 903
  Subsystem for UNIX-Based Applications and Services for UNIX......Page 918
  Programs Provided with Windows......Page 936
   Command-Line Syntax......Page 937
   Legend......Page 938
  Built-In Commands......Page 973
  Control Panel Applets......Page 974
  MMC Management Snap-Ins......Page 975
  Screensavers......Page 976
 C: Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance......Page 978
  Making Your PC Available for Remote Desktop Connection......Page 979
  Connecting to Your Computer with Remote Desktop......Page 991
  Third-Party Remote Connection Tools......Page 996