Product Description

Whether you support 50 desktops or 5,000, this practical, pocket-sized guide provides ready answers on the day-to-day administration of Windows XP Professional?now fully updated for Windows XP Service Pack 2. This indispensable resource zeroes in on essential desktop support issues and procedures, delivering critical details through quick-reference tables, easy-to-scan lists, and step-by-step instructions. In addition to covering the latest service pack, the second edition of this popular book delivers updated information on security administration, files and folders, programs, networking, Windows Firewall, and more. Written by a well-known author of more than two dozen computer books, this guide delivers the precise information you need to get the job done—whether you’re at your desk or in the field!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #156946 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Amazon.com Review
Ounce for ounce and dollar for dollar, the Pocket Consultant series from Microsoft Press is one of the best values around. The editors do a good job of recruiting competent authors and having them comply with well-thought-out style and formatting rules. Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrator's Pocket Consultant is one of the gems of the series. Author William Stanek has spent time working with his subject--this book wasn't rushed to market to match the Windows XP release date--and he's good at revealing its administrative procedures clearly and concisely. The book is nicely indexed, so locating the section you need takes very little effort. This book--slightly larger than a paperback novel--is ideal for a harried administrator responsible for many different software products, as well as for consultants who need to learn how to use Windows XP Professional in a hurry.

A particularly nice characteristic of Stanek's style: His skill at combining straight procedures ("Just follow these steps and it'll work") with supplementary information about options ("On the other hand, if you're doing something unusual, you might need to modify the standard procedure a bit"). As no real-life installation of Windows XP ever seems to match authors' ideas of normalcy, the supplementary information is critical. Screen shots are nicely handled as well. Their presence helps clarify what the text means, but they're not so large as to waste space. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft Windows XP Professional, as system administrators need to understand it. The author explains hardware installation, permissions setting, network security zones, and several kinds of network connectivity. Coverage of the specific requirements of mobile users--including virtual private networks (VPNs) and dial-up--is particularly welcome.

About the Author
William R. Stanek is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) and a leading technology expert who has authored two dozen computer books. With more than 20 years experience in advanced programming and system administration, he has extensive experience developing server technology, encryption, and Internet solutions. William has a master’s degree with distinction in information systems, a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in computer science, and 11 years of military service during which he was awarded nine medals, including the US Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross. His most recent books are Microsoft Windows Command-Line Administrator’s Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2004); Microsoft Windows Server® 2003 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2003); Microsoft IIS 6.0 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2003); and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2003).

Customer Reviews

Giving me a greater and better understanding of the XP .
Being new to Windows XP Professional I need to find books that will allow me to be able to get answers quickly and I don't want to spend a great deal of time looking for them. The pocket consultant is a blessing for me and for those just starting out with XP this may be a book you'll want to keep right by your side.

Being only 300 pages, don't be fooled into thinking this book can't possibly coverage every aspect of XP professional, it's not design for that. The content of the book is to give you coverage of the topics and areas within XP and answers questions from the foundation level.

Covering areas like administration, networking, setup and configuration, troubleshooting, monitoring devices, desktop support, toolbar configuration, laptop users, remote access connections, policies, the internet and VPNs, you'll have a very well rounded reference manual to work with.

Not written to be a Exam Prep type of book it does make a good source of information for the XP Professional exam, but you will need other material to fill in the details. Overall the book is easy to follow and does answer most of the basic to some intermediate questions. The only change I would make is making this book portable to the palm device.

Small in size, but bursting with information.
As an NT4/2000 admin, this has been all I needed to get myself up to speed with XP. This book focuses on key aspects of day to day XP use and administration--you won't find coverage of hardware requirements and installation procedures, nor will you find exhaustive white papers masquerading as psuedo-documentation. I used to hate MS Press offerings, but the pocket consultant series has allowed me leave the 'bibles' and resource kits at home. I keep the OS and Exhange consultants on my desk and have actually started re-reading some of them for pleaure just to keep from forgetting some of the stuff I don't utilize daily on the job. I've even gotten some of my early adopting power users to buy and use this book.

If you're studying for certs or need in depth info for design research/general reference, buy a bible book, resource kit, or cert guide for the minutia and specific testing guidelines. But buy this book too because it's small and lightweight and is like set of XP Cliff notes.

Not just for administrators
Out of 5 Windows XP Prof. books this is the one I use the most. This book is packed with useful information, well written, excellent details. By the way, contrary to many other publications that claim to be up-to-date with the latest software version, this book was REALLY written about Windows XP Service Pack 2.