Product Description

Fans of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, your call has been answered. Scott Mueller, author of the best-selling Upgrading and Repairing PCs, is now bringing you an equally in-depth guide to Windows troubleshooting. Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows explains how Windows works and how to fix it when things go wrong. This comprehensive resource includes information on:

• Installation
• Managing security
• Optimizing performance
• Recovering data
• Configuring settings and the registry
• Protecting Windows from viruses and spyware

Scott also includes references to helpful tools and scripting commands for maximum system controls. A DVD is included that provides you with additional resources and unique how-to video that brings Scott right to you. Find out how to make Windows work with you and not against you with Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220970 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 720 pages

About the Author

Scott Mueller is the most authoritative hardware voice in the industry. In addition to teaching hardware repair to more than 10,000 computer professionals and enthusiasts, he has sold 2 million + copies of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, making him a world-renowned hardware author and his book a classic. Scott has taught hardware repair to a host of agencies in the U.S. and foreign governments and corporations in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. The most recent edition of Upgrading and Repairing PCs (16th) published in September 2004, and Upgrading and Repairing Laptops, 2nd Edition publishes in October 2005.

Brian Knittel has been a software developer for nearly 30 years, with 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, and is co-author of several other Que books including Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows editions covering XP Home, XP Professional and Windows 2000 Professional.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Welcome to Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows. This is the book for people who want to know more about how to use and support Microsoft Windows than most other books dare to detail. Whether you want to install, manage, or troubleshoot the Windows operating system this book goes far deeper than just the basics. Whether you support a large network of Windows machines, a few Windows PCs in a small office/home office environment, or just a single at-home system, this book can quickly turn you into an advanced Windows power user.

Is This Book for You?

Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows is designed for people who want a thorough understanding of Windows and how it works without wasting time and pages on endless handholding through basic, everyday tasks. Each section fully explains management and troubleshooting issues related to Windows, including user management, networking, and security issues. Over the course of this book you'll develop a feel for what goes on behind the stylish graphical user interface so you can rely on your own judgment and observations and not some table of canned troubleshooting steps.

Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows is written for people who will install, configure, maintain, and repair systems they use personally or in a corporate environment. To accomplish these tasks, you need a level of knowledge much higher than that of an average system user. You must know exactly which tool to use for a task and how to use the tool correctly. This book can help you achieve this level of knowledge.

Chapter-by-Chapter Breakdown

Chapter 1, "Windows Version History," examines the very beginnings of PC operating systems from DOS all the way through Windows XP Service Pack 2. Microsoft operating systems have had quite a wild ride over the years and it's amazing to see how the operating system most of us use every day has become what it is.

Chapter 2, "Installing Windows," explains procedures and issues regarding the preparation and installation of Windows XP. It includes detailed steps for baseline installations for single desktops as well as in a more complex networked environment.

Chapter 3, "Upgrading Windows," discusses how to perform an upgrade Windows XP installation from an older version of Windows. You look at paths for upgrading Windows 98 and Windows NT/2000 to Windows XP as well as upgrading Windows XP Home to Windows XP Pro, including two methods for migrating user settings and documents to new Windows XP computers.

Chapter 4, "Windows Startup," details the Windows startup process, including what takes place between power-up and the appearance of the Welcome screen. In addition, it includes detailed information about Windows Services, which are processes that run in the "background" to provide support for Windows networking, searching, authentication, and management.

In Chapter 5, "Managing Windows," we cover the most important Windows management functions: adding and managing user accounts, hardware, device drivers, and hard disks. In addition, Chapter 5 gets down and dirty with Windows Backup, showing you how make essential backups of your precious data and how to restore those backups should the data on your hard drive be lost or corrupted.

Chapter 6, "Tweaking and Tuning Windows," shows you how to configure Windows for peak performance and usability, using the Windows configuration dialogs and special-purpose tools like TweakUI and the Registry Editor. In addition, we'll give you a checklist you can use to identify and fix the most common Windows performance bottlenecks.

Chapter 7, "Networking Windows," tells you how to configure Windows XP to run a reliable and secure network at home or at the office. Whether you have two computers or two hundred, a network can immediately pay for itself—many times over—by letting you share printers, giving you access to files from any computer, and letting you share a single Internet connection among several computers. This chapter also shows you how to set up Windows XP Professional's Remote Desktop feature so that you can access your computer from anywhere in the world.

Chapter 8, "Protecting and Securing Windows," covers the steps you can take to ensure your Windows XP PC is well protected from outside intrusion. Have you lost your administrator account password? Would you like some help protecting your computer from spyware and viruses? We'll help you learn how to recover lost passwords, use firewalls to block intruders, and protect your computer from viruses, spyware, and trojans. Learn how to take an active approach to security and harden your existing security to stop attacks before they start.

In Chapter 9, "Windows Commands and Scripting," we cover Windows scripting essentials and the oft-forgotten-but-highly-useful world of the command prompt. The command prompt environment not only runs old MS-DOS programs, but also gives you access to a large number of efficient, concise, and powerful Windows management and operating tools. The chapter covers the general principles of command-line programs, configuration settings, and several important commands, as well as scripting and batch file procedures that you can use to automate complex jobs.

Chapter 10, "Windows File Systems," covers file systems. If you're a Windows XP user deciding whether to switch to NTFS, or if you just want to know everything there is to know about the FAT file system, this is the place to look.

Chapter 11, "Windows Data Recovery," covers data recovery procedures. If you can't access your drive because of a corrupted master boot record (MBR) or volume boot record (VBR), you'll find information you can use to recover these sectors and regain access to your valuable data.

Chapter 12, "Windows Troubleshooting," looks at some of the more common problems encountered with Windows. Troubleshooting software is one part skill, one part craft, and one part knowing where to look for information. In this chapter, you'll look at how to identify Windows problems, and what tools and methods you should use to solve them. This chapter includes an extensive look at how to deal with a system that cannot stably boot, and how to use both the System Restore feature and the arcane but powerful Recovery Console when you can't even log into your user account.

Appendix A, "Windows Tool Reference," describes several useful categories of Windows management, maintenance, configuration, monitoring, and data processing tools that you may not be familiar with. Many of them are not installed by Windows Setup but instead are hidden away in obscure folders on your Windows Setup CD-ROM. Several more are available from Microsoft via free download over the Internet, and some others must be purchased. In any case, we think you should know about them.

Appendix B, "Windows Command Reference," lists all the executable programs provided with Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and the various versions of XP, including application programs, services, system components, built-in commands, control panel applets, MMC Management snap-ins, and screen savers. You can browse this listing to find useful programs you might not be familiar with, or to help identify the many obscure programs that are run automatically by Windows.

Getting the Most From This Book

Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows is not a book that you read through once and never touch again. In fact, this is not a book that needs to be read straight through at all, although any Windows user will learn a great deal from doing just that.

This book is, in fact, a detailed and valuable reference that should be kept next to your PC (and your copy of the latest edition of Upgrading and Repairing PCs) at all times. The information shoehorned into every line of every page of this tome will help you put Windows to work the way it was meant to and keep it running for the long term.

Scott's Website— http://www.upgrading...

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Customer Reviews

Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows (Upgrading and Repairing
It is Very good book with alot of stuff.So much useful information,configuring windows and so on.A book for anybody that works on and builds computers.A must have.James

Great library addition!
This book is a handy reference to have in any tech's library. It teaches you about not only the history of Windows, but focuses on the later versions of the operating system without totally neglecting the older versions.

It's coverage of command-line tips and tricks is excellent; however I found it lacking in that it didn't cover two areas: (1) It did not cover why the System Restore feature sometimes fails and how to prevent that occurrence; and (2) it only mentioned the SFC utility in the appendix of programs that come with Windows, and that is one program that needs to be gone into depth a bit more.

Some of the sections on scripting could have been written to be easier to follow for those new to the subject, but overall I still have to give this book an excellent rating!

It definitely was worth the money, and I am overall pleased with the purchase!

If you're having Windows trouble, or Planning to ....
I got in this imposing 700+ page book, looked at it a little and put it on my desk to get to later. Well, you know how that works. Then I was trying to delete some files. And I got a message that the directory was messed up and to run CHKDSK. What's that, and how do you run it, and can I run it while I'm doing other things. So I picked up the book. The index sent me to page 513. There's CHKDSK. Here's how you run it. But it doesn't run under Windows, you have to schedule it to run and then re-boot windows, and then you get a message saying that this might take a long time. It worked and I could go delete the files.

You know, I think I need to read the whole book. I flipped through it some more while waiting on CHKDSK to run and there's a lot of good stuff here. I particularly liked the idea that it talks about what's included with Windows (many versions) but also includes some commentary on various third party programs that work better, faster or do things that the standard software doesn't do.

The book is in reference format, it's easy to look up things that you need to do. And like with CHKDSK, the things you find are in a section dealing with similar problems.

So while CHKDSK was running I turned to the front of the book. Surprisingly, it's even pretty interesting. And I'm not big on computer books. If you're having trouble with Windows, or planning to have trouble, this is the book I recommend.