Managing Windows NT Logon [Paperback]

Kathy Ivens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2000

Administrators spend much of their time and energy on workstation problems, those user and logon problems that keep the helpdesk phone jingling. From forgotten passwords to user-caused destruction of workstation environments, the problems are ongoing and unremitting. Some administrators have a real instinct for these kinds of problems; they "smell" the source and know right away what the solution is. Most of us, however, have to assess the problem logically. This book helps you take that approach.

Aimed at administrators who run networks with Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 95, and Windows 98 clients Managing Windows NT Logons puts those common problems and solutions into a volume that administrators can keep at hand and use easily.

One of the most frustrating things an administrator can hear is the user complaint "my computer won't start," but Chapter 1 talks about the various startup problems you may encounter with your hardware, operating system, or domain server. Startup is only one area where you might encounter a logon emergency. Maybe the difficulty lies in the password, the logon script, or perhaps even the resource access. Managing Windows NT Logons even tells you how to manage workstations and fix problems remotely. Whatever it is, this book is a useful, to-the-point reference that will help you put out fires quickly and free up your time to do more important work.

This book covers:

• Lockouts and freezes
• Forced password changes
• Replication and execution problems with the Logon Script
• Local, roaming, and mandatory profiles
• Domains and servers, the Network Neighborhood, and peripherals
• Control of user activity
• Remote administration on NT 4.0 and Win9x workstations
• Command line incantations

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kathy Ivens has been a computer consultant since 1984, and has authored and contributed to more than forty books on computer subjects. She writes a monthly column in Windows 2000 Magazine (formerly Windows NT Magazine), and has a syndicated column that runs in newspapers and on educational Internet sites. Before becoming an expert in computing, Ms. Ivens spent many years as a television producer, where she had fun producing sports and was mildly amused producing news and entertainment programs. Preceding that career was some time spent as a community organizer and also as a political consultant. She still doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up.

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (January 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565926374
• ISBN-13: 978-1565926370
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,551,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathy Ivens is the author of more than 50 computer books. She is a senior contributing editor forWindows IT Pro Magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must" for your NT bookshelf, May 16, 2000

By 

C. Hayes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managing Windows NT Logon (Paperback)

Managing NT Logon is not only packed full of good, hard-to-find information, but is concise, well-organized, and beautifully written. Every two or three pages I found myself saying, "ah hah... so THAT'S how that really works!" The section on the boot.ini file was a tour de force. I have a bookshelf with about 2 dozen books on Windows NT, some of them quite thick, yet Iven's book was the first to clearly explain the boot process, related files and functions, and possible problems in a way that connects directly to our network operating environment. Even if you think you know everything you need to about the NT logon process, this book could surprise you. Lucid, useful, satisfying, and an excellent value.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book that helped with lab management, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Managing Windows NT Logon (Paperback)

This book really helped us to get things straight when we were trying work out how to manage a lab of computers that were all different versions of windows and all served by an NT server. I recommend this book to people that need help with setting up logins from any type of windows machine into an NT server

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best!, September 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Managing Windows NT Logon (Paperback)

For years I've been buying books from O'Reilly because they make my job easier. Running a large system across multiple sites, multiple domains, with thousands of users isn't exactly a snap.

Managing Logons is without a doubt the best written O'Reilly book the publisher has ever put out. While many O'Reilly books are filled with excellent technical detail, they're generally not written all that well and sometimes that makes it more difficult to get through them. You have to move slowly because sentences and paragraphs aren't always clear on the first reading. They're also often not very entertaining, which means you tend to read in shorter spurts.

This book is a model of perfect writing. I couldn't put it down. The author writes with clarity, and you feel as if an experienced human being who actually has a personality is having a conversation with you.

The second reason this is the best O'Reilly book on my desk (which has more than a dozen O'Reilly books) is that it provides the best of two worlds, a wonderfully clear overview of the technology in addition to direct instructions on how to perform tasks. Many of the O'Reilly books I have (and treasure) only provide technical overviews, you have to buy another book (or spend time in front of a computer) to learn how to perform tasks. Of course those tasks are easier and safer to perform if you read the overview first, especially if you get your information from the kind of experts that write O'Reilly books.

I've solved so many problems with this book, some of which dogged me for years. Before I read this book, I applied workarounds that actually reduced efficiency, but at least the errors went away. Now user logons are smooth and I can incorporate all the features I want into the logon processes because I learned how from this book.

I'm not sure I want to migrate my networks to Windows 2000 until Kathy Ivens writes her Windows 2000 version of this book.