PC Technoids LLC

Windows XP <-> Windows 2000

What is XP: technical overview

- Home Edition is a blend of the best of the Windows 95, 98, Me and 2000 platforms.
It takes the wide range of hardware and software compatibility from Windows 95,
98, and Me, as well as the ease of use features. It also adds the stability found in
Windows 2000 operating system kernel, but removes the complexity.
New in XP:

1) Fast User Switching for Multiple Users of a Computer
- Enabled by default if youre using Windows XP Home Edition, Fast User Switching is
also available on Windows XP Professional if you install it on a stand alone or
workgroup-connected computer. If you join a domain with a computer running
Windows XP Professional, you will not be able to use Fast User Switching.
- Fast user switching makes it easier for families to share a single computer
- Designed for the home, Fast User Switching lets everyone use a single computer as
if it were his or her own. There is no need to log someone else off and have to decide
whether to save another users files. Instead Windows XP takes advantage of
Terminal Services technology and runs each user session as a unique Terminal
Services session, enabling each users data to be entirely separated. (The additional
memory overhead for each session is approximately 2 megabytes (MB) of RAM;
however, this size does not account for any applications that may be running in the
sessions. In order to run reliable multi-user sessions, a total of at least 128 MB of
RAM is recommended.)

2) Product Activation
- After a person registers Windows XP over the phone or through Microsoft's Web
site, the software giant locks the operating system to that person's PC hardware
configuration. If the customer changes or upgrades six components within 120 days,
Windows XP can be disabled until the customer contacts Microsoft for reactivation.
- Microsoft also could use the anti-piracy technology to deactivate the operating
system if a business customer were to fail to pay fees under a new licensing plan,
under which customers must upgrade every two years.

3) Remote Desktop
- Remote Desktop is based on Terminal Services technology. Using Remote Desktop,
you can run applications on a remote computer running Windows XP Professional
from any other client running a Microsoft Windows operating system. The
applications run on the Windows XP Professional-based computer and only the
keyboard input, mouse input, and display output data are transmitted over the
network to the remote location.
- Remote Desktop lets you take advantage of the flexibility provided by a distributed
computing environment. A standard component of Windows XP Professional
(although not included in Windows XP Home Edition), Remote Desktop lets you
access your Windows XP computer from anywhere, over any connection, using any
Windows-based client. Remote Desktop gives you secure access to all your
applications, files, and network resources-as if you were in front of your own
workstation. Any applications that you leave running at the office are running when
you connect remotely-at home, in a conference room, or on the road.

4) cd-writer software


Window XP Professional and Home edition:

Windows XP Key Files:
Boot.ini: This file defines the location of the Windows NT system files.
Ntldr: responsible for loading the operating system,
Ntdetect.com: responsible for detecting hardware and building a hardware list.
Ntbootdd.sys: used only when the system boots from a SCSI device that does not
have a BIOS installed.
Bootsect.dos: holds the boot sector information of any other operating systems that
are loaded on the system.
Ntuser.dat: contains configuration information specific to each user defined on the
system.

File Compression: can be used if you have NTFS partitions.


Encrypting File System (EFS): Windows XP Professional only. You must use
NTFS in order to access the EFS functionality.

Windows XP, when using NTFS provides file permission functionality, unlike Windows
9.X and ME.


Windows 2000 Backup feature: is similar to Windows 2000.

The backup utility is located: Start>All Programs>Accessories>System
Tools>Backup

File System Support: supports FAT16, FAT32, NTFS

Common Line:
Can be accessed from the Accessories group or by the command interpreter using:
Start>Run and type: Cmd.exe.

Virtual Memory: the name given to an area of space on the hard drive that is used
by the operating system as if it were normal physical memory (RAM).
Swap file is the name used by virtual memory
Control Panel: provides access to the areas you need to perform the installation,
management, and configuration of hardware and software on Windows-based
systems.

Below are some of the Control Panel utilities:
Add/Remove Programs
Add New Hardware
Display
Printers
System
Network
Mouse
Keyboard


Computer Management Console: Windows XP Professional.
Provides access to many different utilities and allows you to perform a variety of
administrative task such as disk management, configuring user accounts, viewing
and installing hardware devices, and monitoring system activities. NOTE: Computer
Management Console is also installed on Windows 2000.


Monitoring and Performance Tools:
MMC (Microsoft Management Console) is the centralized location for the performance
and administrative tools.

Event Viewer: maintains and displays logs of important system activities.
The Event Viewer also tracks DNS (directory service events) and file replication
events.

Disk Management: The Disk Management utility located in the Computer
Management console is used to create volumes, delete volumes, format disks, and
create fault-tolerant configurations.
Windows XP Administrator account is the highest-ranking account.

Registry: the database is the central location where all of the system configurations
are kept.
The registry editor is: Regedit.exe

Virtual Memory: the name given to an area of space on the hard drive that is used
by the operating system as if it were normal physical memory (RAM).


Task Manager: is a utility that is easily accessed to find out what is going on in
system.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to activate the Task Manager.


Windows XP Boot Options: to access these different boot options press the F8
when prompted during the boot process.

Safe Mode
Safe Mode With Networking
Safe Mode Command Prompt
Enable Boot Logging
Enable VGA Mode
Last Known Good Configuration
Directory Services Restore Mode
Recovery Console

Files Required to Boot:
Boot.ini: This file defines the location of the Windows NT system files.
Ntldr: responsible for loading the operating system,
Ntdetect.com: responsible for detecting hardware and building a hardware list.
Ntbootdd.sys: used only when the system boots from a SCSI device that does not
have a BIOS installed.
Bootsect.dos: holds the boot sector information of any other operating systems that
are loaded on the system.

Windows XP does NOT have an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) like that of Windows
NT and Windows 2000.

Windows XP has an Automated System Recovery (ASR). This utility is very powerful
but do not use it unless all other methods have been exhausted.


When trying to recover a system, you should try to use the System Restore feature
before using the ASR.

Setting Up and Configuring a Printer
Use the Add Printer Wizard.