Synopsis
In October of 2001, Microsoft will begin its most expensive market launch ever for Windows XP With the promise of a market launch twice the size of the one for Windows 95, Microsoft will undoubtedly drive enormous demand for its Windows XP desktop operating system. Many corporate and small business users have waited to upgrade from Windows 9x, and they now see WinXP as the stable, second generation of Windows 2000 Professional. Syngress's Windows 2000 books were the first out on the market when W2K was released and quickly became bestsellers. Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows XP Professional aims to be the the first book available on this new product. Designed to compete directly with books such as Mastering Windows 2000 Professional, by Mark Minasi, Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows XP Professional is comprehensive guide for system administrators and network engineers responsible for deploying Windows XP Professional across the network.
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Review
The thing about Windows XP Professional is, users love it. It has a slick interface and it behaves far more intelligently and predictably than some of its predecessors. The new system of software registration aside, Windows XP surely is the most highly acclaimed Microsoft operating system since Windows 95. Which means you--you being the system administrator, or organisational computing guru by some other title--have to know how to make it go and how to make the changes that users and bosses will inevitably require. Configuring and Troubleshooting Windows XP Professional provides you with the procedures you need to get jobs done in a hurry, plus a considerable amount of background information that will help you comprehend what's really going on. The authors' work can't be called all-encompassingly deep, but it is solid and well researched, and will answer most administrators' questions most of the time.
The formula used here is pretty standard, and generally effective. The writer will open his discussion of a subject--virtual private networks (VPNs), say, or performance logging--with some background information, then proceed to relate one or more procedures (stepped, but not too lavishly illustrated). Concluding prose explains variations upon the procedure, or how the subject at hand interacts with some other Windows feature. One particularly nice feature of this book (and of others in this series): the question-and-answer pages at the end of each chapter. These aren't put in as afterthoughts, and are a good way to gain valuable nuggets of knowledge about Windows XP. --David Wall, Amazon.com
Topics covered: Microsoft Windows XP for power users and administrators. Particularly nice coverage goes to installation of the operating system, configuration of networks--including VPNs and dial-up network connections--and disaster-preparedness utilities like IntelliMirror and restore points. This book comes with a quiz CD for those readers with exams in their future.
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