Windows Xp In A Nutshell

This revealing hands-on reference cuts through the hype to give programmers and IT professionals a thorough and objective view of Microsoft's powerhouse operating system. With scrupulous coverage of all the new features offered in SP2, this greatly expanded new edition of Windows XP in a Nutshell puts every command, tool, utility, and little-known practical details within quick reach of every reader. At the heart of the book is a 200-plus-page reference section, which details most of the commands and utilities available with this OS, including Start Menu accessories, command prompt tools, and hidden system administration utilities such as the Registry Editor, Microsoft Management Console, and TweakUI. There's also a Task and Setting Index that gives users quick access to hundreds of settings in Windows XP, organized alphabetically. Plus, there's a complete reference to XP's command prompt.

David A. Karp is the author of the bestselling Windows Annoyances series of books and the founder of Annoyances.org. He writes for PC Magazine and his latest books include eBay Hacks and the upcoming eBay: The Missing Manual.

Tim O'Reilly is the founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, Inc., thought by many to be the best computer book publisher in the world. O'Reilly Media also hosts conferences on technology topics, including the Web 2.0 Summit, the Web 2.0 Expo, the O'Reilly Open Source Convention, and the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference. Tim's blog, the O'Reilly Radar, "watches the alpha geeks" to determine emerging technology trends, and serves as a platform for advocacy about issues of importance to the technical community. Tim is an activist for open source and open standards, and an opponent of software patents and other incursions of new intellectual property laws into the public domain. Tim's long-term vision for his company is to change the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators. For everything Tim, see tim.oreilly.com.

Troy Mott is the president of Backstop Media, providing services for customized technical content delivery. He has a passion for editing and working with authors to create high-quality content. When he isn't staring at a computer screen, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Lisa, and their two children, Luke and Emma.

Preface

ix

Part I. The Big Picture

1. The Lay of the Land

3

(6)

The Big Picture

3

(1)

What's New in Windows XP

4

(2)

Windows XP Home and Professional Editions

6

(1)

Windows Update

7

(1)

Windows Service Packs

8

(1)

2. Using Windows XP

9

(28)

The Desktop

9

(1)

Point-and-Click Operations

10

(4)

Starting Up Applications

14

(1)

Styles and Consequences of Styles

15

(1)

Windows and Menus

16

(3)

Keyboard Accelerators

19

(2)

Common Controls

21

(3)

Files, Folders, and Disks

24

(8)

The Command Line

32

(1)

Online Help

33

(1)

Shutting Down

34

(3)

Part II. Alphabetical Reference

3. The User Interface

37

(48)

4. Windows XP Applications and Tools

85

(256)

Using the Command Prompt

85

(1)

Alphabetical Reference to Windows Components

86

(255)

5. Task and Setting Index

341

(55)

6. The Command Prompt

396

(49)

Using the Command Line

397

(1)

Command Prompt Choices

398

(2)

Wildcards, Pipes, and Redirection

400

(2)

Alphabetical Reference to DOS Commands

402

(27)

MS-DOS Batch Files

429

(16)

Part III. Advanced Topics

7. Networking

445

(50)

Networking Terminology

446

(17)

General Procedures

463

(32)

8. The Registry

495

(28)

What's in the Registry

497

(4)

Adding and Deleting Registry Keys and Values

501

(2)

Organization of the Registry

503

(12)

Hives

515

(1)

Backing Up the Registry

516

(1)

Exporting and Importing Registry Data with Patches

517

(2)

Ten Cool Things You Can Do in Your Registry

519

(4)

9. The Windows Script Host

523

(36)

What Is WSH?

524

(1)

Additional Resources

525

(1)

Executing Scripts

525

(2)

Creating a Script

527

(1)

VBScript

527

(9)

Object Model

536

(1)

Wscript Object

537

(2)

Shell Object

539

(1)

Registry Routines

540

(1)

Shortcuts

541

(1)

Popup

542

(1)

Network Object

543

(3)

Network Printer-Related Functions

546

(1)

FileSystem Object

547

(5)

TextStream Object

552

(1)

Object Browser

553

(1)

Database Example

554

(1)

Messaging

555

Part IV. Appendixes

A. Installing Windows XP

559

(10)

B. Migrating to Windows XP

569

(4)

C. Keyboard Shortcuts

573

(8)

D. Power Toys and TweakUI

581

(4)

E. Keyboard Equivalents for Symbols and International Characters

585

(2)

F. Common Filename Extensions

587

(15)

G. Services

602

(6)

H. Service Packs

608

(13)

Index

621

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Windows Xp In A Nutshell

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials