Faster Smarter Microsoft® Windows® XP

Author Ed Bott Pages 352 Disk N/A Level Beginner Published 11/13/2002 ISBN 9780735618572 Price $19.99 To see this book's discounted price, select a reseller below.	More Information About the Book Table of Contents Sample Chapter Index Related Series Related Books About the Author Support: Book & CD Rate this book

Chapter 1: You've Got Microsoft Windows XP ... Now What?

• What's New in Windows XP
• User Accounts, Passwords, and Security
• Differences in the Way Windows Works
• Digital Photos, Music, and Video
• Home Networking
• Help and Support
• Browsing the Internet
• Organizing Your Files and Folders
• Personalizing Windows
• Home Edition or Professional: What's the Difference?
• Before You Upgrade...
• Will Your Software and Hardware Work with Windows XP?
• Fixing Problems Before You Upgrade
• Moving Your Files and Settings to a New Computer
• Prepare Your New Computer
• Gather Your Old Files and Settings
• Transfer the Files
• Get the Latest Windows Updates
• Checking for Updates Automatically
• Everything You Need to Know About Windows Product Activation
• Key Points

Chapter 1  You've Got Microsoft Windows XP ... Now What?

If you're just getting started with Windows XP, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised—and perhaps just a little bit overwhelmed. At first glance, Windows XP may look a lot like your old familiar Windows, but the more you work with it, the more differences you'll discover. Mysterious lockups and crashes, for instance, are dramatically reduced, and many of your everyday tasks are simpler and less complicated. Best of all, some chores that used to stump even certified rocket scientists—like setting up a home network or connecting a digital camera—are completely automated.

What's New in Windows XP

User Accounts, Passwords, and Security

If you're used to Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), you might be wondering: What's the big deal? After all, earlier versions of Windows allowed you to create separate accounts and add a logon dialog box at startup. The difference is crucial, however. With those older versions of Windows, anyone could bypass the logon box by tapping the Escape key, and the password offered no protection for your personal files. By contrast, with Windows XP, every user is required to log on, and if you configure the system correctly, your files are safely locked away from anyone who lacks the correct password.

Differences in the Way Windows Works

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Figure 1- 1  The Windows XP Start menu uses two columns instead of one, giving you easier access to the programs and folders you use most.

Digital Photos, Music, and Video

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Windows XP also includes the most recent version of Windows Media Player, an amazingly versatile program that lets you play CDs and (with the help of a software decoding program) DVDs, copy music tracks to your PC, transfer songs to a portable music player, and keep your music collection perfectly organized. With a CD-RW drive and Windows XP, you can even select a group of songs and burn your own custom CD to play in your living room or car stereo.

Home Networking

Help and Support

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Browsing the Internet

Organizing Your Files and Folders

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Personalizing Windows

Home Edition or Professional: What's the Difference?

At their core, both editions of Windows XP are exactly the same. Most of the basic features of the operating system—including all the new features I described earlier in this chapter—are absolutely identical, regardless of which Windows XP edition you use. As you might guess from the name, Windows XP Professional includes a few extra features that are primarily intended for use in businesses. For instance:

• Windows XP Professional is designed to work on large corporate networks; Windows XP Home Edition can connect to a corporate network to access shared files, but it can't permanently join the network.
• With Windows XP Professional, you get access to some expert-level security features not available in Windows XP Home Edition, such as the capability to encrypt files so that no one can read them without a password and dialog boxes that let you assign user-by-user permissions to files and folders.
• A feature called Remote Desktop, which is available only in the Professional edition of Windows XP, lets you set up your computer so that you can operate it remotely. This capability comes in handy if you want to leave the office at the end of the day, have dinner, and then use your home computer to continue working on your office files.
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To set up a Remote Desktop connection, you may need some expert help, especially if the remote computer is behind a firewall or on a corporate network.
• If you have a computer with two central processing units (CPUs), you need the Professional edition of Windows XP to take advantage of the additional CPU. Most of us are perfectly happy with a single CPU in our computer and have no need for such exotic hardware!
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The central processing unit, or CPU, is the silicon chip that runs programs and performs calculations—in other words, your computer's "brain." Most PCs that run Windows use an Intel or AMD chip. The CPU is sometimes referred to as a processor or microprocessor.

As you can tell, the advantages of Windows XP Professional are most obvious for advanced users who are part of large Windows networks. If you're using your computer primarily at home or in a small office, you'll probably find that Windows XP Home Edition is more than adequate for your everyday tasks.

How can you tell which edition of Windows XP is on your computer? You'll find this information in Control Panel, under System. Here's one easy way to reach this display:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. If your Control Panel window is organized by categories (the default view in Windows XP), select Performance And Maintenance, and then click the System icon. If you're using the Classic view of Control Panel, double-click the System icon.
3. Look on the General tab, where you'll see a display like Figure 1-2.

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Figure 1- 2  Use the System dialog box to see detailed information about your computer, including which version of Windows you're using.

Before You Upgrade...

Will Your Software and Hardware Work with Windows XP?

1. Insert the Windows XP CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive.
2. From the Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP page, click Check System Compatibility.
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If the Welcome To Windows XP page doesn't appear, open the My Computer window and double-click the icon for your CD-ROM drive. In the CD window, double-click the Setup icon.
3. On the next page, click Check My System Automatically.
4. Follow the prompts to check your system. If the wizard asks your permission to download updated setup files, click Yes.

When the Upgrade Advisor finishes its inspection, it produces a report detailing every software and hardware issue it finds. Figure 1-3 shows the initial summary from a computer running Windows Me. Click Full Details to see a full discussion of the issues and possible solutions for each item in the report shown here. If the list is lengthy, click Print so you can read the report and make notes on it as you go about fixing problems.

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Figure 1- 3  The Upgrade Advisor inspects your system and lists compatibility problems you're likely to encounter when you upgrade to Windows XP.

Fixing Problems Before You Upgrade

• Software that is incompatible with Windows XP If you're running Windows 98 or Windows Me, your antivirus software probably falls into this category. Check with the company that makes the software to see if a patch or a new version is available. You might need only a small download to update it, or you might need to pay for a full upgrade. Whichever route you take, make sure you get a guarantee that the updated software is compatible with Windows XP.
• Hardware that needs additional files to work Your old scanner might work just fine with Windows XP, but only if you update the driver files first. Using the Upgrade Advisor report, check with the manufacturer of each device to see if they have a new driver that is certified as compatible with Windows XP. If so, download the new driver so you can install it after upgrading.
• Hardware that will not work with Windows XP Some older devices won't work with Windows XP at all, and no updated driver is available. If you have one of these "orphans"—say, your trusty old scanner—you have to decide what to do next: Do you replace the device with a new one that works with Windows XP? Or is it so valuable to you that you want to hold off on your Windows upgrade?

In some cases, the Upgrade Advisor may recommend that you uninstall a particular program before upgrading to Windows XP. After the upgrade, you can reinstall it. When you've worked through every item on the list, you can safely replace your old Windows version with Windows XP.

Moving Your Files and Settings to a New Computer

Unfortunately, there's no easy way to move all your programs to the new computer. To get those programs working properly, you'll need to dig up the program CDs or downloaded program files and reinstall each one on the new computer. I recommend you do that task first. After you've successfully set up your collection of programs, you can use a nifty utility called the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard to move your data files— including letters, pictures, e-mail messages, and e-mail address book—to the new computer. During the process, the wizard also restores custom settings for Windows, such as your desktop colors, fonts, and wallpaper, as well as those for a long list of programs, including Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, Microsoft Outlook Express, Adobe Acrobat, and RealPlayer, among many others.

The Files And Settings Transfer Wizard is powerful, but it can be a bit confusing to use. You run the wizard on both the old and new computers. It goes through your old system, gathering all the files in your My Documents folder and on your desktop (and in a few other locations). It also searches your entire hard disk for any files that appear to be data files, regardless of where they're stored. Finally, it goes through your customized settings for Windows and for certain other programs. After the wizard gets all your files and settings together, you're ready to move them to the new computer. You can choose one of two ways to make the transfer:

• If you set up a network connection between the old computer and the new one, you can transfer all the files and settings directly. After you reinstall all your old programs on the new computer, you should be ready to go.
• No network? No problem, as long as you have a Zip disk, a CD burner, or some other way to save the files and settings from the old computer so you can physically carry them to the new one. You can even use floppy disks, but only if your collection of data files is very, very small! If you have a huge collection of digital pictures or music files, you'll need to use a disk format with more storage capacity.
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If you're planning to give your old computer to the kids and make it part of a home network, do yourself a big favor and set up the network first. (You can read all about this task in Chapter 14, "Setting Up and Running a Small Network.") Using a network is the fastest, smartest way to transfer files between computers.

The following sections describe how to use the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard (these instructions assume that your old computer is using Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me).

Prepare Your New Computer

1. On the new computer, click Start, and choose All Programs. Choose Accessories, then System Tools, and finally click Files And Settings Transfer Wizard.
2. Click Next to skip past the wizard's opening page.
3. In the Which Computer Is This? page, shown below, choose New Computer and click Next.


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4. On the Do You Have A Windows XP CD? page, shown below, specify how you plan to run the wizard on your old computer. Choose the option to use the Windows XP CD if you have the CD handy. If you don't have the CD at hand, choose the option to make a Wizard Disk. (You'll need a blank, formatted disk for this task.)


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5. Click Next.

For now, you're through with the new computer. Figure 1-4 shows the dialog box you'll see if you chose the option to use the Windows XP CD. (If you chose to create a Wizard Disk, you'll be prompted to insert a blank floppy disk. After the wizard finishes creating the disk, you'll see a screen that's similar to Figure 1-4, with instructions that refer to the floppy disk instead of your CD.) Leave this dialog box open and go to the old computer.

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Figure 1- 4  These instructions will be slightly different if you chose to use a floppy disk instead of a CD to start the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard.

Gather Your Old Files and Settings

1. Go to the old computer and start the Files And Settings Transfer Wizard. You have the following options:
• If you're using the Wizard Disk, insert the floppy disk into the drive, click Start, choose Run, type a:\fastwiz, and press Enter.
• If you're using the Windows XP CD, insert the CD into the drive. The Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP page should appear automatically; if this doesn't happen, open My Computer, double-click the icon for your CD drive, and double-click the Setup icon. On the Welcome page, click Perform Additional Tasks. On the What Do You Want To Do? page, click Transfer Files And Settings.

2. Click Next to skip the wizard's opening page.
3. On the Select A Transfer Method page, shown on the next page, choose one of the following options and click Next:
• Direct Cable This refers to a special type of cable that connects the two computers' serial ports. Most people don't have one of these cables, and they're painfully slow anyway. I don't recommend this option.
• Home Or Small Office Network If you followed my advice and set up your network before using the wizard, this option is available to you. If this choice is unavailable, you'll need to fix your network connection or choose a different option.
• Floppy Drive Or Other Removable Media The drop-down list below this option shows all available removable drives installed in your computer, including floppy and Zip drives. Select a floppy drive only if you know you have very few files to copy. If you choose this option, make sure the same type of drive is available on the new computer.
• Other Select this option if you want to save the files to a location on your computer, on your network, or to a removable hard drive, such as a USB drive. You'll need to enter the location where you want to save the files in the box below this choice.


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4. On the What Do You Want To Transfer? page, shown on the next page, select whether you want to transfer Settings Only, Files Only, or Both Files And Settings.


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If you want to pick and choose from items on the list of available settings and files, click the Let Me Select A Custom List Of Files And Settings check box. Don't be intimidated by the warning that this is for advanced users; anyone can use this option, and if you've made it this far you should be able to figure it out.

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The Settings Only option includes all your e-mail accounts, messages, and address book, but only if you've chosen to use a network or removable drive. If you have lots of messages in your Outlook Express folders, this option can take up a lot of space, so the wizard doesn't transfer e-mail with the Settings Only option if you choose a floppy drive as the destination where you want to save your files and settings. If you select a Zip drive, on the other hand, the wizard knows you have hundreds of megabytes of available storage and thus includes your e-mail.
5. Click Next to continue. If you chose the option to customize the list of settings, you'll see the dialog box shown in Figure 1-5. Add or remove any items if you want, and then click Next.


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Figure 1- 5  You can add or remove items from the list of files and settings.

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The Files And Settings Transfer Wizard automatically picks up all the files on your desktop and in your My Documents and My Pictures folders. Use the Custom List option if you regularly store data files in a folder that is not in one of these locations. Click Add Folder, then browse to the folder where your files are stored, and click OK. Repeat this process if you have multiple folders where data files are stored.

After you finish these steps, the wizard begins collecting your files and settings. On a computer that includes lots of files to transfer, this process can take a long time, so be patient.

If you're transferring files over a network, the wizard displays a randomly selected password on the new computer and asks you to enter that password on the old computer. This is a security precaution that prevents someone from using this wizard to try to steal files from your old computer without your permission.

If you're transferring files to a disk or to a location on your computer or your network, you can see a dialog box that estimates how much disk space the collection will take (and, if necessary, how many floppy or Zip disks you'll need). If you don't have enough disk space or disks, you can cancel and start over. You may need to use different settings—or get another box of disks!

6. When the process of gathering files and settings is complete, click Finish. You're done with the old computer.

Transfer the Files

After the transfer is complete, click Finish, log off, and log back on. All the files and settings from your old computer should be ready for you to work with on your new computer.

Get the Latest Windows Updates

After upgrading to Windows XP, you might be surprised to see that a long list of updates is available. If you stop and think about it, though, it makes perfect sense. The CD you used probably includes the original version of Windows XP, which was released in October 2001; you'll need to install all the updates that have been released since that time.

To check for updates manually, follow these steps. (Note that you must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group, and you must be connected to the Internet in order to perform this procedure. If you installed Windows XP on your home computer, you're automatically a member of the Administrators group.)

1. Click Start and then click Help And Support.
2. In the Help And Support Center window, choose Keep Your Computer Up-to-date With Windows Update. Click Yes if you see any security dialog boxes that ask you to install software from Microsoft.
3. When you reach the Windows Update screen, click Scan For Updates.
4. Windows Update connects to Microsoft's server and compares the list of available updates to those already installed on your computer. You see a personalized list of updates in the column at the left of the window, as shown in Figure 1-6.


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Figure 1- 6  When you run Windows Update manually, you see a list of all updates available for your computer.

5. Click a category to see details for each group of updates. All Critical Updates are already selected for you. Updates in the other categories are optional; you can go through each one, read the description for each one, and decide whether you need to install it or whether you can safely skip it. Use Add and Remove to customize the list of updates you plan to install.
6. After you've gone through the entire list and added those you want to download, click Review and Install Updates. This step shows you a list of all the updates you selected, with descriptions. If you're satisfied, click Install Now. (Depending on the number of updates you selected and the speed of your Internet connection, this process could take awhile.)
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Critical Updates are those that fix a serious problem with Windows, one that can potentially cause you to lose data or fall victim to a virus or hacker. Recommended Updates fix problems that are less serious and often apply only to Windows users with specific hardware or software. Service Packs are comprehensive updates that consolidate many individual fixes into a single package.

Checking for Updates Automatically

1. Go to Windows Update and install all available Critical Updates for your computer. If you do not have Service Pack 1 installed, be sure you also choose the Windows Automatic Updating option in the list of Recommended Updates. After completing the update process, restart your computer.
2. Click Start and open Control Panel. From the Performance And Maintenance category, click the System icon.
3. In the System Properties dialog box, select the Automatic Updates tab, as shown on the next page.


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Inspect this dialog box carefully. If the one shown on your computer doesn't look like the one shown here, click Cancel and repeat Step 1. Make sure you install the Windows Automatic Updating option.

4. Make sure the Keep My Computer Up To Date check box is selected. In addition, choose one the three options below it:
• Notify Me Before Downloading Any Updates... This option checks the Windows Update servers and pops up an alert message in the notification area of the Taskbar when a new update is available. It does not download or install any software.
• Download The Updates Automatically...This option is similar to the previous one, except that it downloads all available updates for you. When you see the alert message, you can decide when it's convenient to install the updates. This is the best option for most people.
• Automatically Download The Updates, And Install Them On The Schedule That I Specify... By default, this option checks for new updates every morning at 3:00 a.m., automatically downloading and installing them for you. You can change the automatic update to once a week, on a specific day of the week, and you can change the time as well. Although this option is the safest way to keep your computer up to date, it also has one serious problem: If an update requires restarting your computer, Windows does so, potentially losing changes to any files you have open. Choose this option only if you leave your computer on but close all files at the end of the day before the update is to take place!

5. Click OK to save your changes.

From now on, Windows handles the updates for you.

Everything You Need to Know About Windows Product Activation

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Figure 1- 7  If you see this message, you must activate your copy of Windows before you can continue to use it.

Why does Windows make you jump through this hoop? Activation is an antipiracy measure, intended to ensure that each copy of Windows XP is installed only on a single computer. If you purchase a copy of Windows XP at your local computer superstore, you can install it on your computer and activate it without any problems. If you then try to install that software on another computer in your own house, or if you loan the software to a friend or relative so they can install it, Microsoft's servers refuse to activate the second copy over the Internet. You'll encounter the same problem if you uninstall Windows XP from your old computer and then try to install it on a new PC, because the Product Activation servers see this as an unauthorized second copy. You can, however, call Microsoft's Product Activation hotline (a toll-free call), explain the circumstances, and have your copy activated over the phone.

For most people, product activation will never be an issue. If you purchase a new computer with Windows XP already installed, you might find that the computer manufacturer already took care of the Product Activation step. If you purchase a retail copy of Windows XP and install it on your computer, you'll need to connect to the Internet and enter the 25-digit code (found on the back of the CD case). If you enter the code correctly, the Product Activation process should be automatic and fast.

If Product Activation doesn't work or if you don't have access to a working Internet connection, choose the option to activate over the telephone. After you select your country from the list, you'll see the dialog box shown here. Call the toll-free phone number, read off the combination of letters and numbers that you see to the operator, and enter the code that the operator supplies in return. At that point, you're ready to begin working with Windows XP again.

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Key Points

• Windows XP is significantly different from older versions, especially Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me. Make sure you understand what's new.
• Before you upgrade to Windows XP, use the Upgrade Advisor to check your computer for compatibility problems.
• If you get a new computer with Windows XP, you'll need to reinstall all your old programs, but you can use a wizard to transfer your files and settings from the old computer to the new one.
• Before you can use Windows XP, you have to activate it, either over the Internet or over the phone.
• Protect yourself by setting up Windows to download updates automatically on a regular schedule.

Last Updated: October 24, 2002

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