Customer Reviews

Windows® 7 Administrator's Pocket Consultant

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Had this for few weeks now and read it cover to cover. As always, Stanek's writing is concise and clear, and like all his books, this one's packed with useful info and expert insights. Although it says "administrator" in the title, it's an excellent choice for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of Windows 7. I'll also add that at around 700 pages and having more useful info than some books with 2x the pages, there's nothing pocket-sized about this book (but the book is light and easy to tote around).

Worth the money and extremely helpful for 70-685 and 70-680. Also completely different from any other windows 7 book I bought and completely fantastic. Overall, this pocket consultant is informative and with everything I was looking for to understand windows 7 better. If you are running windows 7, you can't do without this book. Many tips, extras and more. Covers so many things other book don't even talk about, making it perfect for anyone wanting to know more.

I'm using it to help me study for exams 70-680 and 70-685 as its better in many ways than the exam books I bought. For Exam 70-680 covers, these areas exceptionally well:

Installing, Upgrading, and Migrating to Windows 7
*Perform a clean installation.
*Upgrade to Windows 7 from previous versions of Windows.

Deploying Windows 7
*Capture a system image.
*Prepare a system image for deployment.
*Deploy a system image.

Configuring Hardware and Applications
*Configure devices.
*Configure application compatibility.
*Configure Internet Explorer.

Configuring Network Connectivity
*Configure IPv4 network settings.
*Configure IPv6 network settings.
*Configure networking settings.
*Configure Windows Firewall.
*Configure remote management.

Configuring Access to Resources
*Configure shared resources.
*Configure file and folder access.
*Configure user account control (UAC).
*Configure BitLocker and BitLocker To Go.
*Configure mobility options.
*Configure remote connections.

Monitoring and Maintaining Systems that Run Windows 7
*Configure updates to Windows 7.
*Manage disks.
*Monitor systems.
*Configure performance settings.

Configuring Backup and Recovery Options
*Configure backup.
*Configure system recovery options.
*Configure file recovery options.

For Exam 70-680, that's everything, except:

Migrate user profiles.
Configure application restrictions.
Configure authentication and authorization.
Configure BranchCache.
Configure DirectAccess.

These areas are discussed but not enough to master. The exam book was better there. For 70-685 covers most everything you'll need for support and in all areas of the exam, which is excellent. Covers these areas very well:

Identifying Cause of and Resolving Desktop Application Issues
*Identify and resolve new software installation issues.
*Identify and resolve software configuration issues.
*Identify cause of and resolve software failure issues.

Identifying Cause of and Resolving Networking Issues
*Identify and resolve logon issues.
*Identify and resolve network connectivity issues.
*Identify and resolve names resolution issues.
*Identify and resolve network printer issues.

Managing and Maintaining Systems That Run Windows 7 Client
*Identify and resolve performance issues.
*Identify and resolve hardware failure issues.

Supporting Mobile Users
*Identify and resolve wireless connectivity issues.
*Identify and resolve remote access issues.

Identifying Cause of and Resolving Security Issues
*Identify and resolve Windows Internet Explorer security issues.
*Identify and resolve issues due to malicious software.
*Identify and resolve encryption issues.
*Identify and resolve software update issues.

All areas of 70-685 are discussed throughout the book though some aspects are lacking such as specific connect the dots for licensing restrictions or digital signing causing application installion failure. Still in a lot of areas Stanek's Windows 7 pocket book was better than the exam books I bought. I used both for studying and plan to keep using this one for a long long time. Also at about half the cost of just one of the exams books alone, its an exceptionally good value.

This is the nuts and bolts book for anyone wanting to understand and use Window 7. If you are thinking of upgrading for the Enterprise or just deciding to upgrade your personal laptop, this book will answer all your questions. The how too's are great, informative, and obviously well written.

I've purchased many Pocket consultants and ordered this as soon as I saw it. I've been reading it for the past 2 months now and I am VERY pleased with this book! Stanek knows more about Windows than anyone.

I used this book to help me prepare for the 70-680 certification exam, Windows 7, Configuring. I like the way that the book was written. It is easy to read and makes sense. It will be my main pocket consultant for awhile unless I can find something smaller. This book will not fit in any of my pockets. But there is a lot of information to cover which makes the book thick.

I don't know who could fit a book of this size in there pocket, unless the pocket is a pocketbook. But, the information is very useful. Full of information and good index to find what you need.

I just received this book as a gift for Christmas. I have used it to reference how to install the Windows 7 upgrade. It's great to use a a reference, and to learn about Windows 7. Very informative. It covers everything that you would want to know and more. Making it easy to understand how Windows 7 works. I thought the book would be a bit smaller than it is, more pocket size; it is larger and has a lot of information within it. Easy to read for the beginner and written well for the advanced user.

This is a good little guide to Windows 7. It provides enough detail that you can understand how something works, though if you want more detail you should look at the resource kit. I recommend getting both this book and the resource kit, using this one if you want an overview and using the resource kit if you want to dive deeper into something. I liked the coverage of AppLocker in this book.

There are no navigational bookmarks you can click in the Kindle version. This is annoying because you have to scroll to the very beginning of the "book" and click a link from the table of contents.
Would be nice if I could navigate to another section quickly by choosing a link on the left, instead of having to go to the beginning of the book to find a table-of-contents link and click from there.
2 stars off for that imo, otherwise, descent content. just not formatted for quick navigation that a reference book should have.
Even books that are meant to be read from beginning to end have navigation bookmarks.

This book is as it states a pocket aid for quick reviews or lookup, don't expect detail info. Other than that is ok. I recommend the
Windows 7 resource kit.