Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed [Paperback]

Paul McFedries (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2005 | ISBN-10: 067232833X | ISBN-13: 978-0672328336 | Edition: 1

While what you create using your computer is a unique expression of who you are, how you use your computer probably isn't. Nearly every Windows XP user follows the same Start menu path to launch programs, uses the same standard techniques in programs like Windows Explorer and Outlook Express, and performs the same customizations that don't go much beyond changing the wallpaper. However, there are those of us who qualify as the "post-novice" user, who think that doing things the "official" way is too slow, less efficient and less powerful than there is potential for with Windows XP. Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed will take you beyond the standard-issue default settings and program wizards to shortcuts, new customization techniques, workarounds for common problems, and warnings on how to avoid the pitfalls of Windows XP, including those associated with Service Pack 2. Along the way, you'll learn about all kinds of insider details, undocumented features, powerful tools, and background facts that help put everything about Windows XP into perspective.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul McFedries is the president of Logophilia Limited, a technical writing company. He has been working with computers for over 30 years, and has been using Microsoft Windows since version 1. Paul has written more than 40 books that have sold nearly three million copies worldwide.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

—T. S. Eliot

My goal in writing Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed, Second Edition is to cover the good, the bad, and, yes, even the ugly of Windows XP. In particular, I give you complete coverage of the intermediate-to-advanced features of Windows XP. This means that I bypass basic topics, such as wielding the mouse, in favor of more complex operations, such as working with the Registry, maintaining and troubleshooting your system, networking, and getting around the Internet.

I've tried to keep the chapters focused on the topic at hand and unburdened with long-winded theoretical discussions. However, there are plenty of situations in which you won't be able to unleash the full power of Windows XP and truly understand what's going on unless you have a solid base on which to stand. In these cases, I'll give you whatever theory and background you need to get up to speed. From there, I'll get right down to brass tacks without any further fuss and bother.

Who Should Read This Book

To keep the chapters uncluttered, I've made a few assumptions about what you know and what you don't know:

• I assume that you have knowledge of rudimentary computer concepts such as files and folders.

• I assume that you're familiar with the basic Windows skills: mouse maneuvering, dialog box negotiation, pull-down menu jockeying, and so on.

• I assume that you can operate peripherals attached to your computer, such as the keyboard and printer.

• I assume that you've used Windows for a while and are comfortable with concepts such as toolbars, scrollbars, and, of course, windows.

• I assume that you have a brain that you're willing to use and a good supply of innate curiosity.

How This Book Is Organized

To help you find the information you need, this book is divided into seven parts that group related tasks. The next few sections offer a summary of each part.

Part I: Unleashing Day-to-Day Windows XP

Part I examines your basic workaday Windows chores and reveals their inner mysteries, allowing you to become more productive. Topics include the myriad ways to get Windows XP off the ground (Chapter 1), how to use Windows XP to work with files and folders (Chapter 2), getting the most out of file types (Chapter 3), dealing with digital media (Chapter 4), installing and running applications (Chapter 5), and working with user accounts (Chapter 6).

Part II: Unleashing Essential Windows XP Power Tools

The chapters in Part II get your advanced Windows XP education off to a flying start by covering the ins and outs of five important Windows XP power tools: Control Panel, group policies, and Tweak UI (Chapter 7), the Registry (Chapter 8), and the Windows Script Host (Chapter 9).

Part III: Unleashing Windows XP Customization and Optimization

In Part III you dive into the deep end of advanced Windows work: customizing the interface (Chapter 10), performance tuning (Chapter 11), maintaining Windows XP (Chapter 12), troubleshooting problems (Chapter 13), and working with devices (Chapter 14).

Part IV: Unleashing Windows XP Modem Communications

Part IV takes a good, hard look at the modem and shows you the theory behind modem communications (Chapter 15) and Windows XP features—such as Phone Dialer, HyperTerminal, Microsoft Fax, and NetMeeting—that use the modem (Chapter 16).

Part V: Unleashing Windows XP for the Internet

Part V shows you how to work with Windows XP's Internet features. You start by getting the details behind TCP/IP, the language of the Internet (Chapter 17). From there, you learn how to get the most out of a number of Internet services, including the World Wide Web (Chapter 18), email (Chapter 19), and newsgroups (Chapter 20). This part ends with an extensive look at the Internet security and privacy features that come with Windows XP (Chapter 21).

Part VI: Unleashing Windows XP Networking

To close out the main part of this book, Part VI takes an in-depth look at Windows XP's networking features. You learn some useful networking theory, how to set up a small network, and how to administer that network (all in Chapter 22), how to access your network from remote locations (Chapter 23), and how to troubleshoot network problems (Chapter 24).

Part VII: Appendixes

To further your Windows XP education, Part VII presents a few appendixes that contain extra goodies. You'll find a complete list of Windows XP shortcut keys (Appendix A), a detailed look at using the Windows XP Command Prompt (Appendix B), a batch file primer (Appendix C), and a glossary of terms (Appendix D).

Conventions Used in This Book

To make your life easier, this book includes various features and conventions that help you get the most out of this book and Windows XP itself:

Steps	Throughout the book, I've broken many Windows XP tasks into easy-to-follow step-by-step procedures.
Things you type	Whenever I suggest that you type something, what you type appears in a bold monospace font.
Filenames, folder names, and code	These things appear in a monospace font.
Commands	Commands and their syntax use the monospace font as well. Command placeholders (which stand for what you actually type) appear in an italic monospace font.
Pull-down menu commands	I use the following style for all application menu commands—Menu, Command, where Menu is the name of the menu that you pull down and Command is the name of the command you select. Here's an example: File, Open. This means that you pull down the File menu and select the Open command.
Code continuation character	When a line of code is too long to fit on only one line of this book, it is broken at a convenient place and continued to the next line. The continuation of the line is preceded by a code continuation character (¬). You should type a line of code that has this character as one long line without breaking it.

This book also uses the following boxes to draw your attention to important (or merely interesting) information:

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Note - The Note box presents asides that give you more information about the current topic. These tidbits provide extra insights that give you a better understanding of the task at hand. In many cases, they refer you to other sections of the book for more information.

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Tip - The Tip box tells you about Windows XP methods that are easier, faster, or more efficient than the standard methods.

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Caution - The all-important Caution box tells you about potential accidents waiting to happen. There are always ways to mess things up when you're working with computers. These boxes help you avoid at least some of the pitfalls.

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© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (September 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067232833X
• ISBN-13: 978-0672328336
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul McFedries runs Logophilia Limited, a technical writing company, and has been writing computer books for more than 17 years. He is the author or coauthor of more than 60 books that have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. Paul is also the proprietor of Wordspy.com, a website that tracks new words and phrases as they enter the language.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Can "Eat Up" This Book Easily; I Did -- So Very Useful & Pleasant, June 4, 2010

By 

Mark A. Weiss (Germantown, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed (Paperback)

I've now consumed the entire book. The book is so very useful and pleasant -- in a substantive way. No colors, not an excessive amount of cutesiness (but a tiny spriknling, just the right amount, of humor). But in short, nothing distracting, but still pleasant to look at. More importantly, "Unleashed" is a true pleasure to USE -- because the material is all very useful and not the least bit difficult to understand what to do. Just as an example.... If you choose classic logon instead of the welcome screen, one would think there is no way to get your password hint. True enough. BUT, due to this book I got my hint in anyway, even with the Classic Logon which has no way to give password hint. How'd I do that? Well the book told me how I can make a Security Warning screen be whatever I want. I can title it whatever I want and I can have in the screen whatever I want. So guess what I did? I made the "Security Screen" be titled "Mark's Password Hint" and I put my hint in the text box. So before I'm requested to give my password I get the security warning as customized for me -- that is password hint. The mechanism was editing the registry. You will no longer be afraid of such a thing (editing the registry) with this book by your side. Now admitedly you, as the reader of a review on the BOOK probably did not want the specific task of getting your password hint to show up even when it can't (because you're not using the Welcome screen logon). But you need a concrete example of the kind of thing the book can do for you. I started with a logon example (and I used the books other logon/startup material too) because that's where the book starts. The book is very orderly. I have used it for a great deal more -- including optimal running of XP (such things as changing pagefile size and so on and so on). Truely a superb book. What about the book XP Inside Out Deluxe. Great stuff too, but you should start and consume ALL of the Unleashed book first, and only THEN go to XP Inside Out. Inside Out is harder to know where you're at because the book is so huge. Unleashed also has a higher percentage of things you'll really want to do. There are a couple of items that only Inside Out has but whatever Inside Out has that is also in Unleashed, the Unleashed book does it better. Definitely start with Unleashed and you'll easily and enthusiastically eat it up. If you need cutesiness with just a bit of informativeness get one of the "for dummies..." type books. But if you intend to really DO anything with what you read, UNLEASHED is THE optimal book. For a few extras, LATER get the XP Inside Out book -- but not till you've totally consumed UNLEASHED.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest!!!, June 13, 2007

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S. Robinson "The Doctor" (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed (Paperback)

I really love this book.It is very easy to understand and has everything a person needs to know about WinXp. If you are serious about getting into Windows Xp and learning bumper to bumper..this is THE BOOK FOR YOU!

5.0 out of 5 stars A good resource for Windows XP issues, November 28, 2011

By 

Arthur Hotchkiss "pappy art" (Saranac, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed (Paperback)

This book on Windows XP brings information that helps the reader understand how to use Windows XP to her/his advantage.