Customer Reviews

Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual

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

 

 

Sharon Crawford's book has all kinds of useful information for a Windows user. The functionality of the book rests in its ability to break down all the elements of Windows into meaningful components. It logically progresses from information about the different commands in the Start menu to the more intricate nuances of Windows and networking or adding hardware. The section in the back of the book about Maintenance and Troubleshooting, I found quite useful. I particularly appreciated the writing style -- it was entertaining and concise. Overall, I think it deserves its title.

This is a very nice book for someone relatively unfamiliar with the windows operating systems. As such it is well-written, well laid-out and nicely illustrated. It will take every novice through just about everything he/she needs to know and even a little bit further. As such, its ambition to be the "missing manual" seems justified.

However, if you, as a great many of us have, have been through various incarnations of Microsoft Windows and are looking for all of the new and exiting aspects of Windows 2000 as opposed to e.g. Windows 98, you're likely to be disappointed. Vast parts of the book would have been exactly the same in a book for one of the older operating systems. The book stops where, in my opinion, things get interesting. Do not expect any clever "insider"-information.

Im just a home user of Windows 2000 Pro. I switched to Win2K because everyone said it was far more stable than other Windows operating systems. After using the other operationg systems Win2k had a somewhat familiar look and feel, but I needed some reference. I rapidly grew tired of trying to find answers on the internet.
Then I bought this book. It has been a great reference for me. I easily found what I was looking for in it. I learned a few things I wasnt looking for.
My advice, if your like me just a home user this book will serve you well. It now sets on my desk within easy reach.

As a long-time mac user, making the switch to Windows has been a bit of a struggle. I've figured out much on my own, but some things have remained a mystery. Windows 2000 Professional by Mark Minasi assumed I was familiar with way too much vocabulary. This book by Sharon Crawford takes the mystery out of a lot of little things. It scratches where I itch. Maybe after I master this material, I'll take another shot at Minasi or Pogue.

It was especially gratifying to read on last page of the book (the colophon), "The book was designed and laid out ... on a Power Mac 8500 and Power Mac G3. Ah, memories of home.

With valuable touches that pertained to Windows 2000 Server, Sharon Crawford spiced this textbook well.
"Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual" left no doubt in providing all the analyses that users of the operating system would ask for. In addition to all the basics (and fundamentals), this text covered every communications tools which came with the OS, including: system maintainance, utilities, troubleshooting, and general networking. The manual even delved into the component interface of the operating system: with its analysis on how Windows 2000 Professional builds upon the interface kernel in Windows NT 4. All the security features, as well as all the factors which contributed to the performance and stability of the OS were detailed.
This 'missing manual' is desirably analytical, without being too technical. It is a very straightforward book, which gives all the details, while at the same time maintaining its concise outlook. Both beginners and expert users of Windows 2000 Professional would be delighted by its dynamic analyses.

The title clearly means that this is the manual that should have come with Windows 2000 Professional! It's not about OTHER BOOKS, it's about Windows 2000 Pro and is a first rate guide to the system. It's NOT advanced stuff but a quick reading of the book description -- ABOVE -- would tell you that. It is very easy to read and has many neat tips and tricks.
If programs came with books this good, we wouldn't need to buy any others.

The little red ribbon graphic on the cover of the book says, "Mastering the Corporate PC". Since Windows 2000 is targeted at business users (Microsoft's offering targeted to home users at the time was Windows ME), I had expected more of an emphasis on the likely concerns of business users (i.e. networking, security, etc.) rather than how to use programs like Paint, Wordpad and Media Player. After purchasing the book, I discovered that most of the same information was available, organized in much the same way, on the TechNet section of Microsoft's web site. If Windows 2000 is your first exposure to any form of the Windows operating system, this would probably be an appropriate selection. If you have experience with Windows and are upgrading, I suggest you look for another book.

Great book written in an 'entertaining' way. Makes you feel like you are reading for fun instead of information. But the information is there! All the changes, the least known about features, and the most important functions covered in an easy-to-locate format.

Windows changes with each version - e.g. "Network neighborhood" becomes "My network places", etc. Even experienced users can get lost in the often non-intuitive cascade of menus if the features aren't where you expect them to be.

This book is exactly what it says - the missing complete user's manual. It doesn't claim to be overly technical, but it gets you past all of the essentials. It's well-written and well-organized with useful illustrations, so finding anything is a snap.

After using Win2k at work for years, I recently upgraded my primary home system to it. Rather than hunt my way through the menus, I picked up this book and had both my new system and home network set up in almost no time.

This is the sort of book I may only need to refer to once or twice in my life, but the time it has saved me so far more than compensates for the small investment. If your time costs less than mine or you're looking for something more technical, it might not be for you, but for me it was perfect.

The title of this book would lead you to believe (or at least it led me to believe) that it is a supplement to other books on Windows 2000 and that it would provide guidance on the use of the unique features of the Professional Edition. On the contrary, it is a plain vanilla manual on the use of the general features of Windows designed apparently for the novice who needs to be told how to open a file. If this is what you are looking for, fine. But if you want to learn how to use the real power of Windows 2000 Professional, you need to look further.