Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Peter Norton (Author), John Mueller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999 | Series: Peter Nortons Complete Guide

Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98, Second Edition is yet another comprehensive, user-friendly guide in the highly acclaimed Norton style. Its unique, hands-on, step-by-step approach teaches the features of Windows 98 Second Edition. For those wanting to upgrade from previous versions of Windows, look no further! Learn about all the newest technology that Windows 98 Second Edition now enables. You will find Peter's Principles, communications, networking, printing, performance, troubleshooting, and compatibility tips throughout the book. Whether you're just starting out or have years of experience, Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98, Second Edition, has the answers, explanations, and examples you need.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Since the release of his early books on the intricacies of MS-DOS, Peter Norton has kept generations of PC users in the know. Sporting his trademark button-down shirt and half-smirk, his presence on his books' covers promises a lucid, comprehensive approach to the subject at hand. Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 upholds the tradition, interweaving solid documentation with intelligent commentary and advice. If you need analysis as well as information, this book will better fit your needs than other all-inclusive Windows 98 books.

Norton and his coauthor, John Paul Mueller, begin by explaining how to connect Windows 98 to the Internet via modem. They then discuss performance tuning, system optimization (including information on the new automatic update features), Task Scheduler, and Windows Explorer. From there, the authors cover every user-level aspect of Windows 98, from running DOS applications to using an Accelerated Graphics Port.

Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 further distinguishes itself from other Windows 98 guides in its coverage of more advanced topics (like the Registry and the various file systems). If you're wondering how a virtual device driver (VxD) differs from a dynamic-link library (DLL), what goes on during boot up, or how Windows provides multitasking, look here. Norton and Mueller have crafted a useful and entertaining book for the power user interested in the technology behind Windows 98. --David Wall --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Get the total picture: advanced tips, optimization techniques, detailed architectural information Over 70 million users of Windows 95 expected to upgrade within 15 months of introduction

Complete coverage of Active Desktop, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer 4.0 integration

Builds on Norton tradition: in-depth and detailed insights in lucid, jargon-free personalized language --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Sams Publishing; 2 Sub edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672316935
• ISBN-13: 978-0672316937
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,243,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good in depth coverage, but hardware is somewhat dated., March 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I'm a home user and was tired of reading books that were obviously designed for use by someone in an office somewhere. This book is a very refreshing change from those stuffy books I've read in the past. The author has done an outstanding job of covering all of the new software features for Windows 98 SE. I found everything I needed to know from a usage and theory perspective. In fact, I found that the author provides more information in many places than I actually need today, which means this book will continue to help me well into the futuer. Since that's the point of this book, I give it 5 stars.

However, the author goes farther and provides me with a lot of hardware information. None of the information is wrong, it's just dated. The book doesn't include all of the connectivity options that are available today, so I feel that it doesn't provide everything it could in the way of hardware information.

So, if you're looking for a book about hardware specifics, look somewhere else. If you want to learn how to use Windows 98 SE, this is a great book to add to your collection.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I needed help on Windows 98 and bought this book because of the Author. It's the first book of his I've bought and the last. He is verbose. I needed steak - not sizzle.

Further, I don't believe the author really knows what he's talking about. I needed help on hooking up an ethernet printer on a peer-to-peer network. This doesn't strike me as rocket science. Instead, I get pages of the history of networking. Who cares.

I then needed help on an ODBC issue. No coverage is this "Complete Guide".

I wanted quick, bulletized text on issues that a user would expect to find in a complete guide. If I had a fire place - this would be in it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview, but not for New Users or Troubleshooting., June 4, 2001

By 

Howard Barkhoff (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 98 (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

If you want a complete history of the Microsoft operating system, this is the book for you. It also gives a overview of the system and can help you see how the parts are connected. Unfortanetly, it seems to be written for someone who is upgrading from DOS V.1. The authors seem most concerned with getting old DOS programs and old hardware to work in Windows 98 and assume that anyone with new components and windows programs will never have a problem. This is not true!

The book assumes you are already familier with the old diagnostic tools. For example, it tells you that the untility Dr Watson is much improved but only hints at what the utility does and gives no instruction for using it. (you will not find Dr Watson on the start menu so new users will not be able to even open it.)

I bought the book mainly because I have a software problem with my new computer. This book told me about starting in safe mode and went on to say that if that did not work the problem could be very difficult to track down. Thank you Mr Norton.

Fortanetly.