Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual

Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual

by David Pogue
Released May 2002
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9780596002602

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Book description

Windows XP is the latest, most reliable, and best-looking version of the world's most widely used operating system. The new Windows combines the same stress-tested, extremely stable engine that drives Windows 2000-Microsoft's corporate operating system-with the far superior compatibility of Windows Me. Windows XP offers dozens of important new features. In addition to the vastly more elegant user interface, it offers drag-and-drop CD burning, powerful built-in features for viewing and managing digital photos and music, and a Remote Assistance feature that lets invited PC gurus or help-desk technicians see and even manipulate what's on your screen over the Internet. But one major failing of Windows remains unaddressed in the XP edition: It comes without a single page of printed instructions. In Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual, New York Times technology columnist (and Missing Manual series creator) David Pogue provides the friendly, authoritative book that should have been in the box. It's the ideal users' guide for the world's most popular operating system. The book begins at the beginning: with a tour of the Desktop, the new, two-column Start menu, and instructions for customizing the Taskbar and toolbars. A special focus: Organizing files, folders, and windows for maximum efficiency and minimum clutter. More advanced chapters explore each control panel and built-in application; walk through every conceivable configuration (setting up a PC for Internet use, peripheral equipment, laptop life, and so on); and setting up a small network, including how to share a single Internet connection among several PCs. Finally, special chapters are dedicated to standard rituals of Windows life: troubleshooting, installation, and upgrading. Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual is a one-stop reference for the Windows user. In keeping with the high standards of the Missing Manual line, the book features superb writing, special features for both absolute novices and power users, and complete coverage. If Microsoft could wave its magic software wand and wish for the perfect guide to its flagship product, Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual would appear like magic.

Table of contents

  1. Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual
    1. The Missing Credits
      1. About the Author
      2. About the Creative Team
      3. Acknowledgments
      4. The Missing Manual Series
    2. Introduction
      1. About This Book
        1. About the Outline
        2. About→These→Arrows
        3. About Shift-Clicking
        4. About MissingManuals.com
    3. I. The Windows XP Desktop
      1. 1. A Welcome to Windows XP
        1. What It’s For
        2. Getting Ready for Windows
          1. The right mouse button is king
          2. Windows wizards conduct a lot of interviews
          3. There’s more than one way to do everything
          4. You can use the keyboard for everything
          5. You could spend a lifetime changing properties
          6. Every piece of hardware requires software
          7. It’s not meant to be overwhelming
        3. What’s New in Windows XP
          1. Stability
          2. A Cosmetic Overhaul
          3. Pictures, Music, and Movies
          4. Miscellaneous Touch-Ups
        4. The Dark Side of Windows XP
          1. Activation (Copy Protection)
          2. Privacy Concerns
          3. Microsoft Data Formats
      2. 2. The Desktop and Start Menu
        1. Logging On
        2. The Elements of the XP Desktop
        3. Start→Log Off
        4. Start→Turn Off Computer
        5. Start→All Programs
          1. The Startup folder
        6. Start→Run
          1. Launch a Program
          2. Launch Any Program or Document
          3. Open a Drive Window
          4. Open a Folder Window
          5. Connect to a Web Page
        7. Start→Search
          1. Finding Files and Folders
            1. Starting a search
            2. Pictures, music, or video
            3. Documents (word processing, spreadsheet, etc.)
            4. All files and folders
          2. Managing the Found Files and Folders
            1. Using the Search Results panel
            2. Using the results list
          3. Searching for Computers
          4. Searching for People
            1. Searching your address book
            2. Searching phone books on the Internet
          5. Searching the Internet
          6. The Indexing Service
        8. Start→Help and Support
        9. Start→Control Panel
        10. Start→My Network Places
        11. Start→My Computer
        12. Start→My Music, My Pictures
        13. Start→My Recent Documents
        14. Start→My Documents
        15. Customizing the Start Menu
          1. Basic Start Menu Settings
            1. The General tab
            2. The Advanced tab
          2. Adding Icons to the Start Menu
            1. The “free” sections of the Start menu
            2. Method 1: Drag an icon directly
            3. Method 2: Use the Add Listing wizard
            4. Method 3: Use the Start Menu folders
          3. Removing Icons from the Start Menu
          4. Renaming Start Menu Items
          5. Reorganizing the Start Menu
            1. Add folders to hold submenus
      3. 3. Windows, Folders, and the Taskbar
        1. Windows in Windows
          1. The Task Pane
          2. The Explorer Bar
          3. Sizing, Moving, and Closing Windows
            1. Moving a window
            2. Closing a window
          4. Working with Multiple Windows
            1. Active and inactive windows
        2. The Desktop Window Overhaul
          1. Icon and List Views
            1. Changing the sorting order
            2. Manipulating the Details view
          2. Standard Folder Views
          3. Uni-Window vs. Multi-Window
          4. The “Folder Options” Options
        3. Window Toolbars
          1. The Standard Buttons Toolbar
          2. The Address Bar
          3. The Links Toolbar
        4. The Taskbar
          1. The Notification Area
          2. Window Buttons
          3. The Quick Launch Toolbar
          4. Customizing the Taskbar
            1. Moving the taskbar
            2. Resizing the taskbar
            3. Hiding the taskbar
            4. Hiding the taskbar manually
        5. Taskbar Toolbars
          1. Quick Launch Toolbar
          2. Desktop Toolbar
          3. Address Toolbar, Links Toolbar
          4. Redesigning Your Toolbars
            1. Moving toolbars
            2. Creating toolbars
            3. The short way
            4. The long way
      4. 4. Organizing Your Stuff
        1. The Folders of Windows XP
          1. What’s in the Local Disk (C:) Window
            1. Documents and Settings
            2. Program Files
            3. Windows or WINNT
          2. Your Account Folder
          3. Navigating My Computer
          4. Navigating with Windows Explorer
            1. When the panel is too narrow
            2. Viewing folder contents
            3. Keyboard shortcuts
        2. Life with Icons
          1. Renaming Your Icons
          2. Icon Properties
            1. My Computer
            2. Disks
            3. Data files
            4. Folders
            5. Program files
            6. Shortcuts
          3. Changing Your Icons’ Icons
        3. Copying and Moving Folders and Files
          1. Highlighting Icons
            1. To highlight all the icons
            2. To highlight several icons
            3. To highlight only specific icons
          2. Copying by Dragging Icons
            1. The right-mouse-button trick
            2. Dragging icons in Windows Explorer
          3. Copying by Using Copy and Paste
        4. The Recycle Bin
          1. Restoring Deleted Files and Folders
          2. Emptying the Recycle Bin
          3. Customizing the Recycle Bin
            1. Skip the Recycle Bin
            2. Auto-emptying the Recycle Bin
        5. Shortcut Icons
          1. Creating and Deleting Shortcuts
          2. Unveiling a Shortcut’s True Identity
          3. Shortcut Keyboard Triggers
        6. Compressing Files and Folders
          1. NTFS Compression
            1. Compressing files, folders, or disks
          2. Zipped Folders
            1. Creating zipped folders
            2. Working with zipped folders
        7. Burning CDs from the Desktop
      5. 5. Getting Help
        1. Navigating the Help System
          1. Help Home Page
          2. Search the Help Pages
          3. Help Index
        2. “What’s This?”: Help for Dialog Boxes
        3. Remote Assistance
          1. Remote Assistance: Rest Assured
          2. Remote Assistance via Windows Messenger
            1. Instructions for the novice
            2. Instructions for the expert
          3. Remote Assistance without Windows Messenger
            1. Instructions for the novice
            2. Instructions for the expert
        4. Getting Help from Microsoft
    4. II. The Components of Windows XP
      1. 6. Programs and Documents
        1. Launching Programs
        2. Switching Programs
        3. Exiting Programs
        4. When Programs Die
        5. Saving Documents
          1. The Save File dialog box
          2. Saving into My Documents
          3. Navigating in the Save Dialog Box
          4. Navigating the List by Keyboard
          5. The File Format Drop-down Menu
        6. Closing Documents
        7. The Open Dialog Box
        8. Moving Data Between Documents
          1. Cut, Copy, and Paste
          2. Drag-and-Drop
            1. Drag-and-drop to the desktop
          3. Insert Object (OLE)
          4. Export and Import
        9. Filename Extensions
          1. Displaying Filename Extensions
          2. Hooking up a File Extension to a Different Program
          3. Creating Your Own File Associations
          4. Fun with File Associations
        10. Installing Software
          1. The Pre-Installation Checklist
          2. Installing Software from a CD
            1. Installing software using “Add or Remove Programs”
          3. Installing Downloaded Software
          4. Installing Preloaded Software
          5. Installing Windows Components
        11. Uninstalling Software
        12. Running Pre-XP Programs
          1. 16-Bit Programs
          2. DOS Programs
          3. Programs Written for Windows 95, 2000, Etc.
        13. Service Pack 1
      2. 7. The Freebie Software
        1. The Windows XP Accessories
          1. Accessibility Features
            1. Accessibility Wizard
            2. Magnifier
            3. On-Screen Keyboard
            4. Narrator
            5. Utility Manager
          2. Communications Menu
          3. Entertainment Menu
          4. System Tools Menu
            1. Activate Windows
            2. Character Map
            3. Files and Settings Transfer Wizard
          5. Address Book
          6. Calculator
          7. Command Prompt
          8. Notepad
            1. Notepad basics
            2. About word wrap
          9. Paint
          10. Program Compatibility Wizard
          11. Scanner and Camera Wizard
          12. Synchronize
          13. Tour Windows
          14. Windows Explorer
          15. Windows Movie Maker
          16. WordPad
            1. Using WordPad
        2. Windows XP Games
        3. Everything Else
      3. 8. Pictures, Movies, and Sounds
        1. Digital Photos in XP
          1. Hooking Up Your Camera
          2. Fun with Downloaded Pictures
            1. Download more photos
            2. Look them over
            3. Start a slide show
            4. Order prints online
            5. Make a printout
            6. Install new wallpaper
            7. Post the photos on the Web
            8. Email photos
            9. Create a photo screen saver
            10. View them bigger
        2. Scanning
        3. Windows Media Player
          1. Windows Media.com
          2. The Lay of the Land
          3. Playing Music CDs
            1. Fun with Media Player
          4. Copying CDs to Your Hard Drive
          5. Organizing Your Music Library
            1. Playlists
            2. Deleting things
          6. Burning Your Own CDs
          7. Copying Music to a Portable Player
          8. Internet Radio
          9. Video Clips
          10. DVD Movies
            1. Ditching the Remote Control
        4. Windows Movie Maker
          1. Getting Started with Movie Maker
            1. Capturing analog footage
            2. Capturing from a DV camcorder
            3. Importing pictures and movies
          2. Editing Video in Movie Maker
            1. Phase 1: Organize your clips
            2. Phase 2: Drag them into the storyboard
            3. Phase 3: Chop up the clips
            4. Phase 4: Add crossfades
            5. Phase 5: Add background music or narration
            6. Phase 6: Save the movie
        5. Making WAVs with Sound Recorder
          1. Recording a New Sound
          2. What to Do With Sounds
          3. Volume Control
      4. 9. The Control Panel
        1. Category View: The Big XP Change
          1. Restoring the Old Control Panel
        2. Accessibility Options
          1. Keyboard Tab
            1. StickyKeys
            2. FilterKeys
            3. ToggleKeys
          2. Sound Tab
          3. Display Tab
          4. Mouse Tab
          5. General Tab
        3. Add New Hardware
        4. Add or Remove Programs
        5. Administrative Tools
        6. Date and Time
        7. Display
          1. Themes Tab
          2. Desktop Tab
            1. Applying wallpaper
            2. Solid colors
          3. The Customize Desktop Button
            1. General tab
            2. Web tab
          4. Screen Saver Tab
            1. Choosing a screen saver
          5. Appearance Tab
            1. You, the interior designer
            2. Effects
          6. Settings Tab
            1. Screen resolution
            2. Color quality
            3. Multiple monitors
            4. Advanced settings
        8. Folder Options
        9. Fonts
        10. Gaming Options
        11. Internet Options
        12. Keyboard
        13. Mouse
          1. Buttons Tab
            1. Button configuration
            2. Double-click speed
            3. ClickLock
          2. Pointers Tab
            1. Selecting a pointer scheme
            2. Select individual pointers
            3. Create your own pointer scheme
          3. Pointer Options Tab
            1. Pointer speed
            2. Snap To
            3. Visibility
          4. Hardware tab
        14. Network Connections
        15. Phone and Modem Options
        16. Power Options
          1. Power Schemes Tab
            1. Waking up your PC
          2. Alarms and Power Meter Tabs: For Laptops
            1. Alarms tab
            2. Power Meter tab
          3. Advanced Tab
          4. Hibernate Options
          5. Troubleshooting Standby and Hibernation
            1. Standby doesn’t save data
            2. Your disks don’t work right away
            3. Computer fails to enter Hibernate or Standby mode
          6. APM Tab
          7. UPS Tab
        17. Printers and Faxes
        18. Regional and Language Options
          1. Regional Options Tab
          2. Languages Tab
          3. Advanced Tab
        19. Scanners and Cameras
        20. Scheduled Tasks
        21. Sounds and Audio Devices
          1. Volume Tab
          2. Sounds Tab
            1. Program events
            2. Sound Scheme
          3. Audio, Voice, and Hardware Tabs
        22. Speech
          1. Speech Recognition Tab
          2. Text To Speech Tab
        23. System
          1. General Tab
          2. Computer Name
          3. Hardware Tab
          4. Advanced Tab
            1. Performance
            2. User Profiles
            3. Startup and Recovery
          5. System Restore Tab
          6. Automatic Updates
          7. Remote Tab
        24. Taskbar and Start Menu
        25. User Accounts
    5. III. Windows Online
      1. 10. Hooking Up to the Internet
        1. Five Degrees of Online Readiness
        2. How to Get Online
          1. Cable Modems and DSL
          2. ISP vs. Online Service
        3. Establishing a Brand-new Internet Account
          1. The Connection Icon
        4. Manually Plugging in Internet Settings
          1. Via Dial-up Modem
          2. Via Cable Modem, Network, or DSL
        5. Connecting to the Internet
          1. Manual Connections
          2. The Notification Area Icon
          3. Automatic Dialing
          4. Disconnecting
            1. Disconnecting manually
            2. Disconnecting automatically
        6. Advanced Modem Settings
          1. Dialing Rules Tab
            1. General tab
            2. Area Code Rules tab
            3. Calling Card tab
          2. Modems Tab
          3. Advanced Tab (of Phone and Modem Options)
      2. 11. Web, Chat, and Videoconferencing
        1. Internet Explorer 6
          1. Browsing Basics and Toolbars
          2. Internet Explorer Toolbars
            1. The Standard Buttons toolbar
            2. The Address bar
            3. The Links toolbar
          3. Status Bar
          4. Explorer Bar
          5. Ways to Find Something on the Web
          6. Tips for Better Surfing
            1. Full-screen browsing
            2. Bigger text, smaller text
            3. Enlarge or shrink online photos
            4. Faster browsing without graphics
            5. Favorites: “Bookmarking” favorite Web sites
            6. Viewing Web pages offline
          7. Ditching Pop-Unders
          8. Setting Basic IE Options
            1. Designate your home page
            2. Set storage options for temporary files
            3. Set options to check for changes
            4. Configure and view the History folder
            5. Turn off animations
          9. The Content Advisor
            1. Ratings tab
            2. Approved Sites tab
            3. General tab
            4. Advanced tab
        2. Windows Messenger
          1. Getting a .NET Passport
          2. Your Buddy List
          3. Beginning a Chat
          4. Fun Things to Do while Chatting
            1. Screen out the riffraff
            2. Grin, sob, or stick out your tongue
            3. Duck out for a moment
            4. Send a text message to a phone
            5. Exchange files
            6. Add another chatter
            7. Get help
            8. Add features
            9. Preserve your brilliance for future generations
          5. PC as Telephone
          6. PC as Videophone
          7. Sharing a Program
          8. Whiteboard
      3. 12. Outlook Express 6
        1. Setting up Outlook Express
        2. Sending Email
          1. Mail folders in Outlook Express
            1. Composing and sending messages
            2. Using the Address Book
            3. Attaching files to messages
        3. Reading Email
          1. How to Process a Message
            1. Deleting messages
          2. Replying to Messages
          3. Forwarding Messages
          4. Printing Messages
          5. Filing Messages
          6. Flagging Messages
          7. Opening Attachments
          8. Message Rules
            1. Setting up message rules
            2. Two sneaky message-rule tricks
        4. Configuring Outlook Express
          1. General tab
          2. Read tab
          3. Receipts tab
          4. Send tab
          5. Compose tab
          6. Signatures tab
          7. Spelling tab
          8. Security tab
          9. Connection tab
          10. Maintenance tab
        5. Newsgroups
          1. Setting Up an Account
          2. Download the List of Newsgroups
          3. Finding Newsgroups and Messages
          4. Reading Messages
          5. Replying, Composing, and Forwarding Messages
    6. IV. Plugging In to Windows XP
      1. 13. Printing, Fonts, and Faxing
        1. Installing a Printer
          1. Existing Printers
          2. USB Printers
          3. Network Printers
          4. Parallel, Serial, and Infrared Printers—and the Add Printer Wizard
          5. The Printer Icon
        2. Printing
          1. Printing from Applications
          2. Printing from the Desktop
          3. Printing from the Internet
        3. Controlling Printouts
        4. Fancy Printer Tricks
          1. Printing at 39,000 Feet
          2. Sharing a Printer
          3. Printing to a File
            1. Creating a printer file
            2. Printing a printer file
          4. Limiting Hours of Access
          5. Add a Separator Page
          6. Save Printouts for Later
        5. Printer Troubleshooting
        6. Fonts
          1. Managing Your Fonts
        7. Faxing
          1. Installing the Fax Software
          2. Getting Ready to Fax
          3. Sending a Fax
          4. Receiving a Fax
      2. 14. Hardware
        1. The Master Compatibility List
        2. Hardware Connections
          1. Installing Cards in Expansion Slots
          2. External Attachments
        3. Connecting New Gadgets
        4. When Plug and Play Doesn’t Work
          1. Using the Add New Hardware Wizard
            1. The search for Plug and Play
            2. Add Hardware Wizard searches for non–Plug and Play devices
        5. Driver Signing
        6. The Device Manager
          1. Red X’s and Yellow !’s: Resolving Conflicts
            1. Duplicate devices
            2. Resolving resource conflicts
          2. Turning Components Off
          3. Updating Drivers with the Device Manager
          4. Driver Rollback
        7. Hardware Profiles
      3. 15. Maintenance, Backups, and Troubleshooting
        1. System Restore
          1. About Restore Points
          2. Performing a System Restore
        2. Disk Cleanup
        3. Disk Defragmenter
          1. Defragmenting a Drive
        4. Hard Drive Checkups
        5. Disk Management
          1. Change a Drive Letter
          2. Partition a New Drive
          3. Turn a Drive into a Folder
        6. Task Scheduler
          1. Adding a Task to the Scheduler
          2. Changing Scheduled Tasks
          3. Start a Task Immediately
          4. Pause All Scheduled Tasks
          5. Stop Using Task Scheduler
        7. Microsoft Backup
          1. Backup or restore?
            1. Create a backup job
            2. Select the backup disk
            3. Advanced backup options
            4. Click the Finish button
          2. Restoring with Microsoft Backup
        8. The Briefcase
        9. Safe Mode and the Startup Menu
        10. The Registry
    7. V. Building a Network
      1. 16. Accounts, Security, and Logging On
        1. Introducing User Accounts
        2. Setting up Accounts
          1. Administrator Accounts
          2. Limited Accounts
          3. Adding an Account
          4. Editing an Account
          5. The Forgotten Password Disk
          6. Deleting User Accounts
        3. Setting Up the Logon Process
          1. “Use the Welcome Screen”
          2. “Use Fast User Switching”
            1. How Fast User Switching works
            2. How to turn on Fast User Switching
        4. Logging On
          1. Identifying Yourself
            1. You zoom straight to the desktop.
            2. You get the Log On to Windows dialog box.
            3. You get the standard Welcome screen.
          2. Shared Folders
        5. The Guest Account
        6. The Administrator Account
        7. All About Profiles
          1. The All Users Profile
            1. Whose software is it, anyway?
          2. The Default User Profile
      2. 17. Setting Up a Network
        1. Kinds of Networks
          1. Ethernet
          2. Phone Line Networks
          3. Power-Outlet Networks
          4. Wireless (WiFi or 802.11) Networks
          5. FireWire Networks
        2. Installing Drivers
        3. Internet Connection Sharing
        4. The Network Setup Wizard
          1. “Before you continue”
          2. “Select a connection method”
          3. “Select your Internet connection”
          4. “Give this computer a description and name”
          5. “Name your network”
          6. “Ready to apply network settings”
          7. “You’re almost done”
          8. Testing the Network
      3. 18. Using Your Network
        1. Simple File Sharing
          1. File Sharing in Windows 2000
          2. File Sharing in Windows XP Home Edition
        2. The Shared Documents Folder
        3. Sharing Your Own Folders
          1. Notes on Sharing
          2. Hiding Folders
        4. Accessing Other Computers
          1. Method 1: My Network Places
            1. “View workgroup computers”
            2. Older PCs: Network Neighborhood
          2. Method 2: Windows Explorer
          3. Method 3: Universal Naming Convention (UNC)
        5. Working with Network Files
          1. At the Desktop
          2. Using Start→Search
          3. Inside Applications
        6. Shared Folders Online
          1. Bringing an FTP or Web Server Online
        7. Mapping Shares to Drive Letters
        8. Three Ways to Dial In from the Road
          1. Dialing Direct
            1. Setting up the home PC
            2. Setting up the laptop
            3. Making the call
          2. Virtual Private Networking
            1. Setting up the home-base machine
            2. Making the connection
          3. Remote Desktop
            1. Setting up the home machine
            2. Making the connection
            3. Disconnecting
            4. Fine-tuning remote-desktop connections
    8. VI. Appendixes
      1. A. Installing Windows XP Home Edition
        1. Before You Begin
          1. Checking Hardware Requirements
          2. Hardware Compatibility
          3. Checking Software Compatibility
        2. Upgrade vs. Clean Install
          1. About the Upgrade Installation
          2. Buying Windows XP
          3. About the Clean Install
            1. Backing up
        3. Dual Booting
        4. Choosing a File System
        5. Installing Windows XP
          1. Preparing for the Installation
          2. Performing an Update Installation
          3. Performing a Clean Install (or Dual-Boot Install)
        6. The Setup Wizard
        7. The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard
          1. Phase 1: Backing Up the Files
          2. Phase 2: Restoring the Files
        8. Backing Out of Windows XP
          1. Ditching Windows XP
          2. Ditching the Older Windows
      2. B. Windows XP, Menu by Menu
        1. File Menu
          1. Open, Open With…, Preview
          2. Print
          3. Explore
          4. Search
          5. Sharing and Security
          6. Run As…
          7. Pin to Start menu
          8. Send To
          9. New
          10. Create Shortcut
          11. Delete
          12. Rename
          13. Properties
          14. Close
        2. Edit Menu
          1. Undo
          2. Cut, Copy, Paste, Paste Shortcut
          3. Copy To Folder, Move To Folder
          4. Select All
          5. Invert Selection
        3. View Menu
          1. Toolbars
          2. Status Bar
          3. Explorer Bar
          4. Thumbnails, Filmstrip, Tiles, Icons, List, Details
          5. Arrange Icons By
          6. Choose Details
          7. Customize This Folder
          8. Go To
          9. Refresh
        4. Favorites Menu
          1. Add to Favorites
          2. Organize Favorites
          3. Favorites List
        5. Tools Menu
          1. Map Network Drive
          2. Disconnect Network Drive
          3. Synchronize
          4. Folder Options
        6. Help Menu
    9. Index
    10. Colophon

Product information

  • Title: Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual
  • Author(s): David Pogue
  • Release date: May 2002
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596002602