Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Robert Cowart (Author), Brian Knittel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0789732807 | ISBN-13: 978-0789732804 | Publication Date: December 16, 2004 | Edition: 3

This updated edition covers all of the updates to Windows XP since it was released, including Service Packs 1 and 2, and Reloaded. From-the-trenches advice on upgrading to Windows XP Pro - including detailed rollout advice for IT managers. Plan and manage deployment of Windows easily and efficiently - whether you're upgrading just a handful of computers, or an entire corporation! Includes hands-on coverage of installing, configuring and surviving on a Windows XP-based network. We not only show you how to set up Windows networking features, we show you how to install and set up basic networking hardware.Sharing files with other platforms, such as Novell Netware, Unix and Linux, Macintosh and other Windows flavors.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This updated edition covers all of the updates to Windows XP since it was released, including Service Packs 1 and 2, and Reloaded. From-the-trenches advice on upgrading to Windows XP Pro - including detailed rollout advice for IT managers. Plan and manage deployment of Windows easily and efficiently - whether you're upgrading just a handful of computers, or an entire corporation! Includes hands-on coverage of installing, configuring and surviving on a Windows XP-based network. We not only show you how to set up Windows networking features, we show you how to install and set up basic networking hardware.Sharing files with other platforms, such as Novell Netware, Unix and Linux, Macintosh and other Windows flavors.

About the Author

Robert Cowart has written more than 40 books on computer programming and applications, with more than a dozen on Windows. His titles include Windows NT Unleashed, Mastering Windows (3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, and Me), Windows NT Server Administrator's Bible, Windows NT Server 4.0: No Experience Required, and Special Edition Using Windows 2000 Professional. Several of his books have been bestsellers in their categories, and have been translated into more than 20 languages. He has written on a wide range of computer-related topics for such magazines as PC Week, PC World, PC Magazine, PC Tech Journal, Mac World, and Microsoft Systems Journal. He has taught programming classes at the University of California Extension in San Francisco and has appeared as a special guest on the PBS TV series Computer Chronicles, CNN's Headline News, TechTV's The Screen Savers, and ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. He is president and co-founder of Brainsville.com, a company specializing in the production of multimedia training courses. Robert resides in Berkeley, California.

In his spare time, he is involved in the music world, presenting chamber-music concerts, and playing classical piano. He also is a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique.

Brian Knittel has been a software developer for more than 25 years. After doing graduate work in medical imaging technologies, he began a career as an independent consultant. An eclectic mix of clients have led to long-term projects in medical documentation, workflow management, real-time industrial system control, and most importantly, over 15 years of real-world experience with MS-DOS, Windows, and computer networking in the business world. Previously, he wrote Windows XP Under the Hood: Hardcore Scripting and Command Line Power, co-authored Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and contributed to several of Bob Cowart's other Windows books. Brian lives in Albany, California, halfway between the tidal wave zone and the earthquake fault. He spends his free time restoring antique computers (check out http://www.ibm1130.org) and trying to perfect his wood-fired pizza recipes.

 

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1440 pages
• Publisher: Que; 3 edition (December 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789732807
• ISBN-13: 978-0789732804
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,123,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book it is However, Beginner Book it is Not, April 4, 2002

By 

Mark "Lightning Sword" (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Special Edition Using Windows XP Professional (Paperback)

A+++ a CD!

Well written and resourced with good humor mixed in to break up any monotonous verbiage. As most of you know Que publishes some of the best material out there aside from some Microsoft Press books as well(I like em).

Like others that have noted in previous reviews this book starts you out with the assumption that that you have used Windows before. This is a good thing for experienced users of Windows products however they should have written the book true to the level as it was given (Beginning Level) on the back cover.

I enjoy this book as both a reference and a study. Most of us who use WinXP Pro on a daily basis will also.

All in all you just can't go wrong with Que books. I also purchased a 13th Edition of Repairing PC's authored by Scott Muller also. Great books! Well worth the money.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Probably a good buy, January 12, 2002

By 

occasional_reviewer (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Special Edition Using Windows XP Professional (Paperback)

I can't compare this to the other XP books on the market, but _Using XP_ is better written and better organized than the many other computer tomes I've bought in years past. It also has much less of the useless padding I've come to associate with computer books ... which is to say, marginally relevant information included only to make the book nice and thick, so the consumer will object less to shedding 40 plus bucks for it.

My experience with the index has been consistently frustrating, and I wish the authors had included more hardcore nuts and bolts information in sections V and VI. Still, if ten plus years of experience with computer books is significant, I was quite lucky to find this book, and Windows users are lucky to be able to buy something by these writers. The last operating system book I bought was one of the 'Unleashed' titles, and boy, was that wretched.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Book for Installing XP, September 18, 2002

By 

Bruce J. Harris (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Special Edition Using Windows XP Professional (Paperback)

This book has been at my right hand for a month while I have been switching from Windows 98SE to XP. I could not have installed XP without it. I've used Windows 95, 98 and 98SE, but XP is enough different that a book like this is absolutely needed. The book has checklists for before and after installation and extensive explanations for "Using Windows" once you are up and running. The technical level is about right for me now; later, I will want more depth. The accompanying CD and the Tour that comes with Windows will help the rank beginner.
I am not on a network so cannot critique the network chapter.
And a remarkable plus: I had a question about getting out of my multibooting configuration, and the authors answered me on-line with carefully thought out advice.
Yes, the book has some gaps: it answered about 80% of my questions, so I give it 4 stars.
Don't install XP without a book like this.