Windows XP Power Tips
Roger Clauer UWM School of Business Administration October 18, 2003 rclauer@uwm.edu www.sba.uwm.edu/gdrive/clauer_r/alumni.ppt
XP Home vs. Professional
Features not in Home
– Domain membership – Dynamic Disks – Group Policy – IntelliMirror – Offline Folders – Remote Desktop
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
The Luna GUI
New Task Oriented Interface Highly Customizable New Themes Group Similar Icons on Taskbar Windows 2000 Compatible look and feel
October 18, 2003
Roger Clauer
Security
Ability to rename Administrator Account (recommended) Follow “Principle of least privilege”
– Don’t run with Administrator rights – Use “Run As” Feature (Shift, Right Click)
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
Home Firewall
Internet
Cable Router/Hub
Workstations
Web Server
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
Internet Connection Firewall
Builtin Packet Filtering Firewall Provides inbound protection only Configuration – right click My Network Places, Properties, Right click on Local Area Network, Properties, Advanced Advanced options allow great deal of flexibility
October 18, 2003
Roger Clauer
Fast User Switching
Enables to quickly switch between users
– Logoff, Switch User – Task Manager
Fast User Switching takes memory Optionally, you can Disable Fast User Switching
– Control Panel, User Accounts
October 18, 2003
Roger Clauer
Microsoft Powertoys
Alt-Tab Switcher Cmd From Here TweakUI Various Others
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
CDRW and Zip File Support
Native Zip File Support Native CDRW Support
– Easy to use Drag and Drop interface – Uses temporary files on Disk to “stage” the CD. Must have sufficient free disk space – Can be used in conjunction with commercial products (Nero, Roxio, etc.)
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
File and Settings Transfer Wizard
Purpose – Migrate Data, Favorites, Desktop settings, from old computer to new computer What does it convert ?
– My Documents, Favorites, etc. – http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx ?scid=kb;en-us;Q304903
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
File and Settings Transfer Wizard (contd)
Use
– Start from XP Installation CD – Create a “Wizard” Floppy
Issues
– Requires Large Storage media or network connectivity – Works best if old machine was well organized – Does not convert applications or passwords
Roger Clauer October 18, 2003
Remote Desktop
WXP Professional Only Must be enabled Must be in Remote Desktop Users Group/Administrator Client is interchangeable with Terminal Services Disk, Sound, Printer Redirection Client runs on many Windows Platforms
October 18, 2003
Roger Clauer
Remote Assistant
Allows Application Sharing Designed as a Help Desk feature Requires Messenger or Mapi compliant email such as Outlook Remote Assistant is enabled by Default (Right Click on My Computer, Properties, Remote) Firewalls may present unique challenges
October 18, 2003
Roger Clauer
System Restore
Originally debuted in Windows ME Creates “Checkpoints” which can be used to restore your system to a previous state without affecting your application data Checkpoints are created automatically or manually
– Start, Programs, Acessories, System Tools, System Restore
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
Resources
Power Tools
– http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/ downloads/powertoys.asp
Remote Desktop Client
– http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/ downloads/rdclientdl.asp
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
Resources
ZipCentral
– http://zipcentral.iscool.net/
Freeware
– www.webattack.com
Program whose settings are transferred by File and Transfer Wizard
– http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid= kb;en-us;Q304903
Roger Clauer
October 18, 2003
Resources – Tip Sites
www.winxpnews.com Is-it-true.org www.winguides.com www.labmice.net www.jsiinc.com www.windows2000faq.com
October 18, 2003
Roger Clauer