Customer Reviews

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit, Third Edition

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Usually when a book is release as a 2nd or 3rd edition, the publisher is just updating the content to reflect the new features or releases of the software. This book is just that and a little bit more.

This book takes apart the XP operating system from stem to stern and everything in between. Taking it from the deployment to remote users to desktop configuration. In most case that would be enough, but here's where the book is updated.

Adding over 200 pages on security, you will find that book is far more than a Resource kit, it may also be used as a study guide for the 70-270 exam.

The cd was also updated with over 120 utilities and a couple of e-books, including the entire text in e-book format. Another thing I liked about the text is that throughout the book there are step by step procedures to show you hoe to configure, manage or administrate different parts of the OS.

Overall I have been able to use this in my job several times within the past 2 months with the XP upgrade I was involved in. I am certainly glad to have this in my technical library.

Written by the husband and wife team of Russel and Crawford, this is not only a complete text on just about everything you can do with XP Professional, but is (for a complex computer book) easy to read.

In addition to the usual here's how to do that instructions that you would expect, this book goes into other aspects of moving to XP Professional like planning the deployment, automating the installation process, and working in a multilingual atmosphere.

As seems to have become Microsoft standard practice, the CD includes a fully searchable eBook of this complete text and a couple of other books. It also has some 120 tools and utilities to assist in the administration of both clients and servers.

This is the third edition of this book, it includes feedback from readers of the first two editions and is updated to include Service Pack 2, the most recent update to XP (at the time of this writing). This update contains major changes to XP, particularily in the area of security. This alone makes previous editions almost useless.

I found this book incredibly useful. It was the right balance of depth and breadth. This book is particularly useful for two groups of people:

1) If you're part of a Windows XP rollout team for your company, your team needs this book.
2) If you're going to be supporting users who are using Windows XP, this book is critical to your success.

Detailed, thorough, and well organized. Definitely choose this one over the older version, "Windows XP Documentation," also from Microsoft.

I was duped into buying the first edition - and can therefore fully understand anyone's "once bitten, twice shy" feelings towards this RSK. Put your fears aside, this edition delivers exactly what you would expect. Practically re-written from the ground up, and packed with additional utilities, this edition is well worth the purchase.

Only had this book for 1 week and already has paid off. Chapters are clear and the TOC is very helpfull in getting you where you need to go. I would not recommend this book for the average user just because it is so techie. I not only use this for my pc but also as a study guide for the 70-270 exam. The CD is packed with extra books and much more.

If you are an Admin, this is a must.

I passed exam 70-270 using only this book. I suggest finding other material to study to supplement this book. There were some things in my exam that was not covered very well in this book. What really sticks out are secure VPN protocols like IPSec and CHAP. Other than that, this book is almost perfect. I highly recommend.

I was very glad to have waited for the 2nd edition of this resource kit. $59.99 for 1600 pages is makes this a good value. As others have said, this "kit" covers it all from desktop configuration to deployment. The step by step procedures are excellent and written very much like my favorite manuals the Admin Pocket Consultants. I would also recommend Windows XP Professional Administrator's Pocket Consultant 2nd Edition. At $29.99 and 550 pages its also a good value.

Am I the only one that remembers when instead of re-issuing the entire RSK any time a service pack was released that significantly changed the OS, a supplement to the primary RSK was sold? This supplement being much smaller, *cheaper*, and used in conjunction with the original release which still contained 90% valid and current information. Maybe someone will remember this when/if Microsoft releases XP SP3 and spare us from purchasing the entire XP RSK - a fourth time.

My rant now over, the newest edition maintains the usability and necessity of the RSK, amending the already well re-written, must-have second edition with changes introduced in XP SP1 and XP SP2. These additions include new sections on wireless networking, Windows Firewall and software deployment. There isn't a specific What's New listing anywhere, so if you are supporting a mix of Pre and Post XP SP2 desktops, you might consider keeping the RSK's second edition for a while to avoid any confusion.

Being new to MS XP Pro, I wanted something in hardcopy to fall back on and I found it in this book. I found it very helpful and useful. Yes, it may be more valuable to an IT person or network administrators but as a weekend PC warrior, I'm glad to have it on my reference shelf.

This book is amazing for learning Windows xp Professional. Even though I have a different version of XP it helped with tweaking the computer's graphics and multimedia. It is good book if you are staying at home on a rainy day and want to tinker with your pc. The book is thorough and covers installation to troubleshooting. I haven't read all of it yet because it is like a encyclopedia but from what I have seen it has a lot to offer a newbie or someone who is more advanced.