Practical Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

Aimed at people who are familiar with Windows 98, Practical Microsoft Windows 2000 shows what's new in Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in its role as a desktop (as opposed to a server) operating system. With an apt combination of explanatory text, stepped procedures, and labeled illustrations, this book shows how to implement scores of Windows 2000 improvements. Readers find out, for example, how to uninstall programs safely, organize files and view them with Explorer, customize the Windows interface, and set up a new hard disk. They also find out how to deal with the infamous Blue Screen of Death, in both the immediate (get it working) and long-term (identify and solve the underlying problem) senses. It's rather easy to locate the material you need via the index, though you might have to check a couple of places before you find coverage of the specific situation that interests you.

Author Ed Bott, a respected editor at PC Computing magazine, knows his subject intimately and shares his knowledge well. He particularly emphasizes Windows 2000 within corporate computing environments, in which users' computers can be centrally administered to various extents. Bott frequently points out features that may work differently if administrators have invoked certain of their special capabilities, and offers suggestions on how to get information (and maybe extra privileges) from your organization's information systems experts. For this reason, this book is something of a guerrilla guide to being a cubicle-based power user. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional for intermediate-level and power users. Exemplary attention goes to the restrictions a centrally managed computer imposes on the user. The author also covers software installation, printing, hardware management, network resource sharing, and Internet connectivity. Internet coverage includes connection sharing and client programs.