Windows XP Home Edition: The Complete Reference

By John R. Levine, Margaret Levine Young, Douglas Muder and Alison Barrows.
November 2002, 1100 pages, US$39.99. ISBN 0-07-222664-1

Windows XP is the latest version of Windows, and Windows XP Home Edition is the version that's intended for use in homes and small offices. It's an update of both Windows ME (Microsoft's home version of Windows) and Windows 2000 (the corporate version), with many improvements on both, and it comes loaded on most new IBM-compatible PCs. Our mammoth book includes an enormous range of topics, from configuring your desktop to getting on line to configuring your web browser to setting up LANs and Internet connections to coercing ancient DOS applications to run. Every page offers the benefits of our hand-to-hand combat with Windows XP, so you can get going and up to speed fast. This book also covers Service Pack 1 (SP1), the downloadable collection of bug-fixes and upgrades that Microsoft released in September 2002, and which comes pre-installed on new Windows XP computers.

What's the big deal about Windows XP Home Edition?

• Microsoft has talked for years about making a version of Windows that combines the stability and power of Windows NT and 2000 with the ease-of-use and compatibility of Windows 98 and ME. It has lots of new features:
• The "Luna" interface, with an uncluttered desktop and two-column Start menu.
• Windows Media Player 8 is Microsoft's latest audio and video player, and Windows Movie Maker helps you create videos and slide shows, including voice-overs.
• Internet Explorer 6.0, the improved version of Microsoft's popular Web browser, and Outlook Express 6.0, their e-mail program
• Windows Messenger, a new instant messaging and chat program (like AOL Instant Messenger or ICQ)
• User accounts, so that each person who uses the computer can customize the PC and have a private place to store files. With fast User Switching, one person can remain logged in while another person uses the PC.
• Internet Connection Firewall, which protects your computer from Internet hackers.
• Photo printing and Web publishing are built in, along with CD burning (if you have a CD-R or CD-RW drive).
• Web folders, for uploading and downloading files using Windows Explorer.
• Remote Assistance, which enables you to ask a friend, coworker, or a support professional to take over your computer via the Internet and fix a software problem.
• Compressed Folders, which enable you to see and change the contents of ZIP files in Windows Explorer.

The informative web site

• Get updated and extended information about Windows XP Home Edition, and links to other on-line Windows XP resources.

Table of Contents

Part I: Working in Windows XP
Chapter 1: Running Windows and Application Programs
Chapter 2: Troubleshooting Windows and Application Programs
Chapter 3: Installing and Uninstalling Programs
Chapter 4: Running DOS Programs and Commands
Chapter 5: Copying, Moving, and Sharing Information Between Programs
Chapter 6: Sharing Your Computer with Family Members and Officemates

Part II: Keeping Track of Your Files
Chapter 7: Using and Customizing Windows Explorer
Chapter 8: File Attributes, Searching for Files, and Burning CDs
Chapter 9: Backing Up Files with the Backup Utility

Part III: Configuring Windows for Your Computer
Chapter 10: Setting Up Your Start Menu and Taskbar
Chapter 11: Setting Up Your Desktop
Chapter 12: Keyboards, Mice, and Game Controllers
Chapter 13: Adding and Removing Hardware
Chapter 14: Printing and Faxing
Chapter 15: Running Windows XP Home on Laptops
Chapter 16: Accessibility Options

Part IV: Working with Text, Numbers, Pictures, Sound, and Video
Chapter 17: Working with Text and Numbers
Chapter 18: Working with Pictures
Chapter 19: Working with Sound
Chapter 20: Working with Video

Part V: Windows XP on the Internet
Chapter 21: Configuring Windows to Work with Your Modem
Chapter 22: Connecting to the Internet
Chapter 23: E-Mail and Newsgroups Using Outlook Express
Chapter 24: Web Browsing with Internet Explorer
Chapter 25: Online Conferencing with Windows Messenger
Chapter 26: Using Other Internet Programs with Windows XP

Part VI: Home and Office Networking with Windows XP Home
Chapter 27: Designing a Local Area Network for Your Home or Office
Chapter 28: Networking without LANs: Direct, Dial-up, Wireless, and VPN Connections
Chapter 29: Adding Your Computer to Your LAN
Chapter 30: Sharing Drives and Printers on a LAN
Chapter 31: Connecting Your LAN to the Internet
Chapter 32: Network, Internet, and Web Security

Part VII: Windows and Disk Housekeeping
Chapter 33: Formatting and Partitioning Disks
Chapter 34: Checking, Defragmenting, and Cleaning Up Your disk
Chapter 35: Tuning Windows XP for Best Performance
Chapter 36: Windows Update, Remote Assistance, and Other Windows XP Resources

Part VIII: Behind the Scenes: Windows XP Internals
Chapter 37: Windows XP Configuration Files
Chapter 38: Displaying and Editing the Windows Registry
Appendix: Installing or Upgrading to Windows XP
Index