Premier press microsoft windows XP professional administrators guide

Learn all the basics of Windows XP Professional— from installing and upgrading to enabling remote supportInstall and uninstall new applications with ease and use the Task Manager to hand

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Administrator's Guide

by Jerry Lee Ford, Jr.

ISBN:1931841969

Premier Press © 2003 (861 pages)

This manual covers all the basics of Windows XP

Professional from installing and upgrading to enabling remote support It also tackles issues such as setting

up password requirements, securing shared resources, and managing user accounts.

Table of Contents Back Cover

Table of Contents

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrator's Guide Introduction

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Administrator's Guide

by Jerry Lee Ford, Jr.

ISBN:1931841969

Premier Press © 2003 (861 pages)

This manual covers all the basics of Windows XP

Professional from installing and upgrading to enabling remote support It also tackles issues such as setting

up password requirements, securing shared resources, and managing user accounts.

Table of Contents Back Cover

Back Cover

Install, configure, and manage Windows XP

Professional with this comprehensive administrator’s guide! Congratulations! You have found the ultimate task-oriented guide to Microsoft Windows XP

alone computer or thousands of networked Windows

Professional Whether you are maintaining one stand-XP Professional systems, this book is designed to help you do your job and keep things running smoothly Master the Basics

Learn all the basics of Windows XP Professional— from installing and upgrading to enabling remote support

Install and uninstall new applications with ease and use the Task Manager to handle non-responsive

programs

Tackle Administrative Issues

Learn how to set up password requirements, secure shared resources, and manage user accounts

Use Microsoft Management Consoles to delegate limited capabilities to end users

Network with XP Professional

Master mobile computing issues such as

administering offline file access, creating multiple hardware files, and securing a dial-up connection Set up and configure Windows XP Internet

applications, including Windows NetMeeting,

Windows Messenger, and Remote Desktop

Master LAN configuration issues, including

configuring a network protocol, setting up network connections, and adding a computer to a domain

About the Author

Jerry Lee Ford, Jr is an author, an educator, and an IT professional with 14 years of experience in information technology He is an MCSE and has also earned

Microsoft’s MCP and MCP+I certifications Jerry is the

author of nine other books, including Learn JavaScript

in a Weekend, Learn VBScript in a Weekend, and

Information contained in this book has been obtained by Premier Pressfrom sources believed to be reliable However, because of the possibility

of human or mechanical error by our sources, Premier Press, or others,the Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or

completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors oromissions or the results obtained from use of such information Readersshould be particularly aware of the fact that the Internet is an ever-

changing entity Some facts may have changed since this book went topress

Indexer:

Larry Sweazy

Proofreader:

To Mary, Alexander, William, and Molly.

Acknowledgments

There are a number of individuals who deserve credit for their work onthis book I especially want to thank Todd Jensen, who served as thebook's acquisitions editor, Ginny Kaczmarek for her work as copy editor,and the book's project editor, Karen Cheng I also want to acknowledgethe book's technical editor, Dallas G Releford, who is an accomplishedauthor with numerous computer books and articles to his credit, for histhorough review and assistance in completing this book Finally, I'd like tothank everyone else at Premier Press for all their hard work

About the Author

Jerry Lee Ford, Jr is an author, an educator, and an IT professional with

14 years of experience in information technology, including roles as anautomation analyst, a technical manager, a technical support analyst, anautomation engineer, and a security analyst Jerry is an MCSE and hasalso earned Microsoft's MCP and MCP+I certifications In addition, hehas a master's degree in business administration from Virginia

Alexander, and Molly

Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition are Microsoft'snewest operating systems and are designed to replace Windows 2000Professional and Windows Me These two Windows XP operating

systems are built on a Windows 2000 code base but also incorporatemany Windows Me features, such as Plug and Play, stronger support forlegacy devices, and utilities such as the Device Manager

Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition are designed

to support different groups of people Windows XP Home Edition, as itsname implies, is targeted directly at the home user It includes a number

of userfriendly features that are designed to make it easier for the homeuser, such as Fast User Switching, which allows family members to

simultaneously share a computer without having to log each other off.While many of these features are available in Windows XP Professional,some of them are automatically disabled when used in a networked

environment in order to provide Windows XP Professional with bettersecurity

Windows XP Professional is Microsoft's offering for corporate,

engineering, and power users Unlike Windows XP Home Edition, which

is limited to small peer to peer networks, Windows XP Professional isdesigned to work in networked environments of all sizes Like Windows

NT and Windows 2000 before it, Windows XP Professional is a very

complex and powerful operating system and requires administration andmaintenance in order to keep it running smoothly over time That's whythis book was written—to provide the person charged with keeping

Windows XP Professional up and running with the tools and instructionsthat are required to get the job done Whether you are maintaining onestand-alone computer running Windows XP Professional or thousands ofnetworked Windows XP Professional systems, this book is designed tohelp you do your job and keep things running smoothly

This book is task oriented and is designed for readers who have previousWindows experience It does not spend a lot of time on theory or in long-winded explanations Instead, it focuses on the practical, hands-on

application of Windows XP Professional administration Key

administrative tasks have been collected and organized, and they areexplained with supplemental information often provided in lists and

tables Step-by-step procedures are used to provide a detailed outline ofhow to perform each task

applications and utilities such as Notepad, WordPad, and the Calculatorhave very little to do with the administration of the operating system.Likewise, while certainly useful and exciting to the end user, Windows XPProfessional's multimedia applications are not usually considered whenadministering Windows XP Professional Instead, this book's primaryfocus is to show you, as an administrator, how to perform the step-by-step administration of Windows XP Professional

You'll also be able to apply much of what you read in this book to theadministration of Microsoft Windows NET Server Windows NET Server,while not available as of the release of this book, is Microsoft's

replacement for Windows 2000 Server; despite the lack of "XP" in itsname, it will look and operate in much the same manner as Windows XPProfessional

By the time that you finish reading this book, you will have acquired theknowledge and skills required to perform the following tasks:

Perform a new installation or upgrade of Windows XP

Install and configure Windows device drivers

Use the resources provided by the Windows XP Help and

Support Center to troubleshoot and repair Windows problemsManage the installation and removal of Windows applications andcomponents

Install and configure local printers

Set up and manage the Windows XP Fax service

Configure all aspects of the Windows XP desktop, Start menu,and taskbar

Use the Computer Management console to administer WindowsXP

Enable encryption, compression, and disk quotas

Administer and back up disk resources

Edit and configure the Windows Registry and other critical systemfiles

Monitor Windows resources and tune Windows XP performanceWork with Windows XP from the Windows command prompt andperform basic administrative scripting

Administer TCP/IP and configure network clients

Set up Internet access and work with built-in Windows Internetapplications

Establish virtual private connections over the Internet

Support and administer Windows XP network clients and

configure networking services and clients

Share and access Windows XP print and disk resources onWindows networks

This book was written for administrators and experienced Windows userswho need to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of administeringcomputers running Windows XP Professional in stand-alone and

networked environments As such, this book focuses on Windows XPProfessional from an administrator's point of view and on the tasks

required to ensure the proper operation of Windows XP Professional.This book is not a Windows XP primer, nor does it cover Windows XPHome Edition To be able to take advantage of the information presented

in this book, you will need a basic understanding of computer terminologyand concepts, including a basic understanding of Windows networkingand the Internet

This book assumes a certain level of previous experience on your partwith other Windows operating systems While previous experience withWindows NT or 2000 is not essential, it will certainly be helpful However,power users with a strong Windows 98 and Me background will find thatthe information presented will provide them with the foundation that theyneed to prepare to step up and support computers running Windows XPProfessional

to review these topics and prepare yourself for the time when such

resources may be at your disposal

This book is organized in five parts and was written to be read

sequentially from beginning to end Less experienced administrators andusers will want to read this book in this manner More experienced

administrators and power users with a strong background in working withWindows operating systems can easily skip around and read the book inthe order that best suits their own needs

Part I provides an introduction and overview of basic Windows XP

Professional features and functionality with an emphasis on

administrative procedures Part II focuses on tasks related to the

management of the Windows XP Professional desktop Part III covers arange of advanced administrative tasks, including security administration,disk management, the administration of the registry and critical systemfiles, performance monitoring, and scripting Part IV covers the

to system administrators This chapter also provides an overview

of the new Windows XP user interface and offers the

administrator a basic overview of navigating Windows XP

Professional, thus laying the foundation for the rest of the book.Chapter 2, "Installing and Upgrading to Windows XP

Professional." This chapter provides instructions for performing afresh installation of Windows XP Professional It also instructsyou in upgrading from a previous version of Windows Installationissues such as hardware compatibility, dual-booting with otherMicrosoft operating systems, and the generation of upgrade

reports are discussed Postinstallation activities, including the

Professional Help and Support options, as well as how to use theHelp and Support Center to gather information about the system.Other topics that are covered include how to configure error

reporting and automatic updates

Chapter 4, "Application Management." This chapter addressesthe management of Windows applications, including how to installand uninstall new applications It also covers how Windows XPProfessional's Installer service helps to install applications and totrack them to ensure that critical application components are notdeleted or corrupted Coverage also includes how to install andremove optional Windows XP Professional software, as well ashow to handle nonresponsive programs using the Windows TaskManager Other topics include how to configure application

priorities and the importance of looking for applications that bearthe Windows logo

Chapter 5, "Printer and Fax Administration." Chapter 5 explainshow to install, configure, and administer a local printer using

either Plug and Play or a manual install In addition, it shows how

to set up a printer connection with a network printer and explainshow Windows XP uses Universal Plug and Play Tasks that arecovered include how to configure a printer's name, how to set up

a default printer, how to print a test page, how to manage printjobs, how to set up a printer pool, and how to work with print

priorities Faxing and printing are handled in a similar fashionunder Windows XP This chapter extends its coverage to includethe installation and configuration of the Windows XP Fax service

configure the Windows XP Start menu and taskbar It provides athorough review of all major components found on the Start menuand explains every configuration option for the Start menu andtaskbar Tasks show how to perform activities such as configuringtoolbars, adding new menu links, and changing the system dateand time In addition to explaining the differences between theWindows XP and Classic menus, Chapter 6 provides proceduresthat show how to work with the Address, Links, Desktop, andQuick Launch toolbars

Chapter 7, "Configuring Desktop Settings." In this chapter, thetasks involved in administering the Windows desktop are

outlined Topics include the configuration of desktop objects andthe configuration of Windows XP display properties This chapterprovides detailed procedures that identify the steps involved inconfiguring desktop themes, background customization, and

screen savers and password lockout

Chapter 8, "Configuring Accessibility Features." This chapterexplains how to configure Windows XP Professional to supportusers that may have vision, hearing, or mobility issues Chapter 8covers all of the utilities found in the Accessibility folder

Coverage includes how to use the Accessibility wizard to

configure text font and size and display settings, how to use theMagnifier to assist people with visual problems, and how to turn

on the Narrator to provide audio output for individuals with

hearing issues This chapter also explains how to use the UtilityManager to configure each of the previous tools as well as theonscreen keyboard

Chapter 9, "Security Administration." Chapter 9 presents the

tasks involved in administering security on a Windows XP

Professional system Topics include how to set up password

requirements, secure shared resources, run programs as anotheruser, manage user and group accounts, and implement policies.Account management tasks include how to add, delete, and

administration, manage security policies, and implement diskquotas

Chapter 10, "Microsoft Management Consoles." This chapterfocuses on administration tasks that are performed using MMCs

(Microsoft Management Consoles) Each console in the default

Windows XP Professional console collection is reviewed Thechapter discusses the framework behind the MMC and provides

a full discussion of how to create new custom consoles and usethem to delegate limited administrative capabilities to less-

experienced administrators and end users This discussion

includes the use of snap-ins, the tools that are loaded into MMCsand that provide MMCs with functionality, and contains a

comprehensive list of snap-ins

Chapter 11, "Disk Management." Chapter 11 identifies the

strengths and weaknesses of the file systems supported by

Windows XP Professional Strategies for partitioning disk spaceand the placement of system and boot partitions are examined.This chapter provides procedures that show how to format a diskpartition, convert a FAT32 partition to an NTFS partition, assigndrive letters, and check for available disk space In addition, thechapter covers how to implement data encryption and

compression Other disk management tasks that are coveredinclude the defragging of disk drives, the running of the disk

cleanup wizard, and the creation of backups

Chapter 12, "Configuring and Administering System Files." Thischapter identifies and explains the configuration of critical

Windows XP Professional system files This chapter focusesheavily on the Windows XP Professional registry and explains theuse of the Regedit and Regedt32 registry editors In addition,critical system files including win.ini, system.ini, and boot.ini areexamined The management of Windows XP Professional

services is included in the coverage of critical system resources

recovery disks and how to use them to recover from problemsituations

Chapter 13, "Performance Tuning." This chapter supplies theinformation and instruction required to fine-tune a Windows XPProfessional installation Procedures outline the steps involved inoptimizing Windows XP's visual effects, CPU scheduling,

memory use, and virtual memory The chapter also reviews

utilities that can examine system performance, including the TaskManager and the System Monitor Console Other performance-tuning topics that are covered include the configuration of displaysettings and power management

Chapter 14, "Shell Scripting and the WSH." This chapter provides

a review of the scripting architectures available to Windows XPProfessional, including shell scripting and the WSH (Windows Script Host) Specific examples of scripts are provided in the form

of shell scripts, JScripts, and VBScripts, from which the

administrator can begin to develop more complicated scripts Theimportance of Windows Script Files is also explained

Chapter 15, "Supporting Mobile Users." This chapter outlines thetasks required to set up and support Windows XP Professionalfor mobile computing Coverage includes modem installation andconfiguration, as well as the procedures required to set up dial-upclients, a dial-up server, and a dial-up session In addition, thechapter provides instruction on how to secure a dial-up

connection by setting callback options Other topics covered

include the administration of offline file access, deferred printing,creation of multiple hardware profiles to support dockable

laptops, and remote access using Remote Desktop

Chapter 16, "Windows XP and TCP/IP." This chapter details thesteps involved in configuring TCP/IP on network computers

running Windows XP Professional This includes procedures forconfiguring both dynamic and static IP addressing Domain

Windows XP Professional network clients In addition, APIPA(Automatic Private IP Addressing) is reviewed and explainedwithin the context of small office and home networks

Chapter 17, "The Internet." This chapter outlines the steps

involved in connecting Windows XP Professional to the Internet.Coverage includes dial-up, always-on high-speed cable, and DSLaccess as well as the configuration of Internet access on localarea networks The chapter explains the setup and configuration

of Windows XP Internet applications, including Windows

NetMeeting, Windows Messenger, HyperTerminal, FTP, and

Telnet Also covered is how to set up secured communicationsover the Internet using virtual private network connections Othertopics include the setup and configuration of Internet ConnectionSharing and the use of Windows XP's built-in Internet ConnectionFirewall

Chapter 18, "LAN Configuration." Chapter 18 outlines the tasksrequired to set up and configure Windows XP Professional

network clients on local area networks Both workgroup and

client/server networks are considered Network clients, services,and protocols are examined, and procedures are provided thatshow how to install, configure, and modify network software

Chapter 19, "Printer and Disk Sharing." This chapter explains thesteps involved in sharing Windows XP Professional disk andprinter resources over a network Coverage includes how to set

up a shared resource and how to properly secure it The chapterthen examines the security implications of sharing resourcesusing Windows XP Professional, including a discussion of theimportance of using NTFS and implementing strong security.Other topics that are covered include how to stop sharing

resources, how to connect to other network resources, and how

to audit the use of a shared resources

Appendix A, "Windows XP Command Reference." Appendix A

XP Professional from either the Windows command prompt orwithin scripts that automate the administration of Windows tasks.Appendix B, "Troubleshooting System Startup." Appendix B

provides a foundation from which you can troubleshoot problemsthat may occur with Windows XP Professional Coverage

includes the diagnosis of both Windows XP computer and

networking problems The appendix explains where and how togather system information and diagnose hardware problems Italso demonstrates how to control the startup of Windows XP aspart of problem resolution and how to use built-in Windows XPtroubleshooters

Glossary The glossary contains a list of terms used throughoutthis book

This book uses a number of conventions that are designed to make iteasier for you to read and work with it These conventions are describedbelow:

Note provide additional helpful or interesting information

Tip often suggest techniques and shortcuts to make your lifeeasier

Part I: Windows XP Basics

Chapter 1: Introducing Windows XP Professional

Chapter 2: Installing and Upgrading to Windows XP ProfessionalChapter 3: Help and Support

Chapter 4: Application Management

Chapter 5: Printer and Fax Administration

Chapter 1: Introducing Windows XP Professional

This chapter presents an overview of Microsoft Windows XP Professionaland its features and functionality It highlights the differences betweenWindows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition and explainsMicrosoft's intention for these two operating systems

The chapter helps current Windows 2000 administrators by pointing outdifferences between Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP

Professional The chapter also helps Windows 98 and Me power users

by providing a similar comparison and by explaining the basic steps

involved in establishing a login session with Windows XP Professional.Chapter 1 provides a foundation for the rest of the book It highlightsmany key concepts that are of concern to Windows XP Professional

administrators and power users and provides cross-references to laterchapters where topics are fleshed out in greater detail

Windows XP Professional Windows XP Home Edition is targeted at thehome consumer, whereas Windows XP Professional is aimed squarely atthe corporate user Windows XP Professional provides all of the samekey features as Windows XP Home Edition, but it comes with a collection

of additional features that make it the appropriate selection for the

corporate working environment

Windows XP Professional is loaded with user-friendly utilities and

applications, such as the latest versions of Internet Explorer, OutlookExpress, and Messenger In addition, Windows XP Professional includesmultimedia-based applications such as Windows Media Player version 8and Windows Movie Maker version 1.1 While these applications willcertainly excite most users, they generally fall outside of the scope of anadministrator's concern and will therefore not be covered in this book

Note The Windows Media Player supports the playing of CDs and

DVDs It also allows you to listen to Internet radio and to watchstreaming video It features the ability to communicate withmany peripheral devices, such as portable music players, andcan also be used to burn new audio CDs

The Windows Movie Maker lets you create movies using videocapture devices, such as a digital camcorder that is attached to

a computer using a IEEE 1394 FireWire connection It alsoprovides basic editing capabilities

Like Windows 2000, Windows XP has significantly reduced the number

of situations that require a computer to be rebooted For example,

reboots have been eliminated when reconfiguring network protocols orinstalling Plug and Play peripheral devices In addition, you can nowchange a computer's IP address without having to reboot it in order tomake the change take effect However, not all reboot requirements havebeen eliminated For example, most service pack installations still requirethe computer to be restarted

By reducing the number of situations that require you to reboot Windows

XP, Microsoft has made the role of an administrator a lot easier You'llfind many other features in Windows XP Professional that will make theadministrator's job a lot easier These features include:

provide visual clues For example, the color green is now used to identify

a link to other resources, such as the green All Programs icon on theWindows Start menu Green is also used to indicate tasks or actions thatusers can take

The new interface marks a change of direction for Microsoft operatingsystems Windows XP is designed to encourage a cleaner desktop As aresult, there is much greater emphasis on the Windows Start menu Bydefault, a new installation of Windows XP will place only a single icon onthe Windows desktop, the Recycle Bin To help users keep their desktopsclear of clutter, Microsoft provides the Desktop Cleanup Wizard By

Links to the My Computer and My Network Places folders

Links to the Windows Control Panel and the Printers and Faxesfolder

A link to the Help and Support System

Links to the Search Results folder and the Run dialog box

A Reorganized Taskbar

Another improvement in the Windows graphical user interface is the

reorganization of taskbar icons into groups This reduces clutter andmakes Windows XP a lot easier to work with when you have a large

number of applications open For example, Figure 1.2 shows a Windows

XP taskbar on a system where the Windows XP Control Panel and sixinstances of the WordPad applications are currently open

Figure 1.2: The Windows XP taskbar more efficiently organizes and

provides access to open applications

As soon as the Windows XP taskbar begins to get crowded, Windows XPbegins grouping instances of the same applications together You canview all the task buttons in the list by clicking on the collection on thetaskbar, as shown in Figure 1.3

Figure 1.3: Expanding the taskbar to display all open instances of the

Each task button in the collection displays the icon associated with theopen application, as well as the file name of the document Previousversions of Windows operating systems added a task button onto thetaskbar for each open application instance, which could quickly crowd thetaskbar and make it difficult to find a particular instance This new

Windows XP task-grouping scheme is designed to reduce clutter and tostreamline the way people work

Note Windows XP provides a number of taskbar configuration

options For detailed instructions on how to work with theseconfiguration options, refer to "Customizing the Windows XPTaskbar" in Chapter 6, "Configuring the Windows XP Start

Menu, Taskbar, and My Documents Folder."

More Functional Folders

Windows XP has reorganized Windows folders to make them more taskoriented and to provide a different way of organizing their contents

Figure 1.4 shows an example of the My Documents folder The File andFolder tasks section on the left side of the folder provides a list of tasksthat can be performed on the folder

Figure 1.4: Windows XP's folders help you better manage files and

folders by providing tasks for administering them

Selecting an object within the folder automatically results in a new set of