1. Chapter 1 Getting Started

   1. Startup and Shutdown

   2. Controlling Your Monitor and Sounds

   3. Individual Windows Tricks

   4. User Accounts and Logons

2. Chapter 2 The Desktop and Interface

   1. Desktop Makeover

   2. The Start Menu

   3. The Taskbar

   4. The Control Panel

   5. Icons and Themes

3. Chapter 3 Windows Explorer and Searching

   1. The Windows Explorer Interface

   2. Working with Files and Folders

   3. Compressing Files and Folders

   4. Searching Your Computer

4. Chapter 4 Built-In Utilities

   1. Better Backups

   2. Notepad and Clipboard

   3. Other Built-In Utilities

5. Chapter 5 Microsoft Office

   1. General Office Advice

   2. Microsoft Word

   3. Excel

   4. PowerPoint

   5. Access

   6. FrontPage

6. Chapter 6 The Internet

   1. Internet Speed Tricks

   2. Pop-Ups and Cookies

   3. Firewalls

   4. Online Safety You May Not Have Considered

   5. Evaluating and Troubleshooting

   6. Windows Messenger

   7. Other Instant Messengers

7. Chapter 7 Web Browsers

   1. Smarter Surfing

   2. Searching the Web from Internet Explorer

   3. Managing Your Favorites

   4. Cache Flow

   5. Customizing Internet Explorer

   6. Alternative Browsers

8. Chapter 8 Email

   1. Sending and Receiving Email

   2. Sign-Offs

   3. Slamming Spam

   4. Organizing and Handling Mail

   5. Getting Email to Play Nicely with Windows

   6. Outlook-Only Tips

   7. Just for Outlook Express

   8. Beyond Outlook: Other Email Software

9. Chapter 9 Networking

   1. Wireless Networking

   2. Home Networking

   3. Troubleshooting Network Problems

10. Chapter 10 Hardware

    1. Hardware Troubleshooting

    2. Laptop Tricks

    3. Printers and Printing

    4. Of Mice and Keyboards

11. Chapter 11 System Speedups

    1. Managing Your Memory

    2. Processor Tricks

12. Chapter 12 Security

    1. Securing Your System

    2. Encryption for Windows XP Pro

13. Chapter 13 Crash Recovery

    1. Creating a Restore Point

14. Chapter 14 Windows Media Player

    1. Finding the Menu Bar

    2. Listening to Music

    3. Recording, Mixing, and Copying Music

    4. Video

    5. Keyboard Shortcuts

15. Chapter 15 The Registry

    1. The five registry hives

1. Appendix A Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts

2. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. Genevieve d'Entremont was the production editor and proofreader, and Nan Barber was the copyeditor for Windows XP Power Hound. Marlowe Shaeffer and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Caitrin McCullough provided production assistance. Julie Hawks wrote the index. Marc Rosenthal drew the cover image. Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by David Freedman. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Adobe's Minion and Gill Sans fonts.

David Futato designed the interior layout, based on a series design by Phil Simpson. This book was converted by Andrew Savikas and Julie Hawks to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Adobe Minion; the heading font is Adobe Formata Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS.