Guide to Dual Monitors in Windows

One of the reasons that computers are getting cheaper
is because monitors are getting cheaper. The video hardware that drives them is
also more affordable than ever before. Microsoft realized that when they
released Windows 98 and built in support for multiple monitors. That support
continued with 98SE, 2000 and ME. If you use NT, you're not out of luck, but
this article won't help you. Your best alternative is to use a dual headed card,
like the Matrox G450, one with two monitor outputs.

Getting dual monitors to work correctly seems to be a
hit or miss affair. In many cases, it's just a matter adding a second video card
and monitor and rebooting the computer. In other cases, you need to do some
cyber gymnastics to get things working correctly.

The process is the same no matter which version of
Windows you are using. First, be sure that your system is working correctly.
Boot into safe mode and verify that you have only one video adapter and monitor
showing in the Device Manager. If there are more, but you only have one adapter
and monitor, you'll need to remove the extras.

Once you're sure that your video setup is working
fine, turn off the system and look inside. Remember that you'll need a video
card for each monitor that you plan to run under Windows. That means that your
system must have a free expansion slot for each one. You may find that you have
problems with IRQ sharing or DMA channels, depending on your motherboard and
video card, although many video cards seem relatively intolerant of IRQ and DMA
conflicts. Install your video card in the appropriate slot, and then connect the
monitor.

Restart your system. If all goes well, your computer
will boot the same way that it always has…the second monitor will still be dark.
If your system prompts you to login, do it. You may need to install drivers for
your second video card, depending upon whether or not Windows has built in
drivers or not. Just follow the on-screen instructions.

Once the drivers are installed, check the Device
Manager to make sure that the display adapter is properly
detected:

Once the drivers are installed, open the Display
Properties window. In the settings screen, you should see something like
this:

You'll see that a second display is shown. Click on
the grayed out display marked as "2". The window will change slightly to look
like this:

You can then change the desktop resolution and color
depth. Once you've done that, click your mouse on the "Extend my Windows desktop
onto this monitor" to enable it. Remember that the resolution, color depth and
refresh rates of each monitor adapter combination don't have to be the same. The
window should look something like this now:

Click on OK and your second monitor should activate
itself as an extension of the first:

You'll find that you can change the relative
geometries of the two monitors by moving their respective boxes around in the
Settings window.

What if things don't
work?

If you can't get your second monitor to work at all,
there are a couple of steps that you can take. In some systems, you need to
change a BIOS system to allow the PCI display adapter to initialize first,
instead of the AGP adapter. You should be sure that both of your display
adapters are supported by the version of Windows that you are using.

Also, be sure that the display parameters
(resolution, color depth, etc.) are within your monitor's limits. Windows allows
you to select different display parameters for each monitor, so even though one
might have lower performance than another, you'll still be able to use
it.

Windows 2000 driver support for older PCI cards may
be a little iffy. Many popular cards do have drivers, but just about as many
don't. Also, remember that your computer has only one AGP slot, so you can only
use one AGP card. The rest have to be PCI or ISA.

And speaking of ISA video cards, I'd really recommend
against using one. You'll find that your video resolution and color depth are
very minimal and you may create more problems with IRQ sharing than you want to
get into. Also, of course, many newer motherboards don't have ISA slots.

If you have a motherboard with one of Intel's i815
chipsets, you may have onboard AGP video. While it might be tempting to use the
built in video and get a separate PCI card for the second display, please let me
talk you out of it. Almost any AGP card that you buy, even the cheapest one,
will outperform the video from these chipsets. If the onboard video is your main
video source, put your money into a new video card before you consider adding a
second monitor.

Dual monitor setups are a great way to expand your
desktop without buying a monstrously expensive large monitor and, in most cases,
it's very easy to do. A little preparation before you do the job should result
in a whole lot of fun at the end.

Guide to Windows Dual Boot

At one time, there was only Windows and only one
Windows, Windows v3. Now there are Windows, plural: Windows 95, Windows 98,
Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows Me. What's more, the possibility exists
that you, as a power user, have more than one copy of Windows -- or
more than one type of Windows -- on one machine.

Having multiple installations of Windows on one computer is
called dual booting or multiple booting. Windows NT and 2000 are designed to be
installed in conjunction with other operating systems, especially Windows
95/98/Me. Windows 95/98/Me are not: When you install them on a PC, they want to
be the only OS on that PC.

Is there any way around this? Yes; in fact, there are many
possibilities. This article will step you through how to get the various
versions of Windows to coexist with each other on the same PC. Over the
years, Windows has grown slightly more tolerant of having more than one
installation of itself in a given PC -- especially NT and 2000
-- but a number of scenarios aren't supported at all by Microsoft
and require a little coaxing or, in some cases, trickery.

You can take several paths to achieve multiple booting. These
depend on what's already installed in your computer, how many hard drives and
partitions you have, and whether or not you're amenable to (or capable of) using
third-party programs to control boot choices. If your machine is sufficiently
powerful enough (500MHz or better and at least 128MB of RAM), you also have the
option of using an emulation system such as VMware to run your other
OSes.

First, you need to verify which OS you're currently running,
and which OS you want to add to your system. If you're adding Windows 95, 98, or
Me to a machine running Windows 2000 or Windows NT, that's the most complex
scenario. Because it's also the scenario about which we've received the most
correspondence from our readers, we'll address it first.

Adding Win NT or 2K to a machine running either Windows 95,
98, or Me is actually much easier, because both NT and 2K are designed to
coexist to a high degree with other operating systems. Some pitfalls may be in
store, but we'll cover them in the following pages.

Install 95/98/Me on a NT/2000
PC

Installing Windows 95, 98, or Me
on a Windows NT system is probably the most difficult of the scenarios listed
here. The reason is fairly simple: Windows 95/98/Me wants to be the only OS on a
given computer, and will take steps to insure that nothing else can boot
up.

If you have Windows NT already installed on the computer (on
a FAT partition), for example, you'll get a warning during the Win95/98/Me
installation process about the presence of NT system files. If you have an NTFS
partition, Win95/98/Me will report it as being damaged and won't let you do
anything about this except abort the installation, since it doesn't let you
interactively repartition your disk during setup.

If you have NT/2K on a FAT partition and install Win95/98/Me
on it anyway, any NT/2K boot files will be erased, and the boot sector will be
replaced with a Win95/98/Me edition. Win NT/2K, however, has repair tools to
address this problem, which we'll discuss in detail later.

Here are the steps for adding a Win95/98/Me installation to a
Windows NT machine.

1. Ensure your NT PC has Service Pack
6a.
Windows NT, in an out-of-the-box installation, has problems that can
cause serious disk corruption if you're using a drive larger than 2GB (and who
isn't these days?). Before doing anything else at all, make sure you have
patched the system with the latest Windows NT Service Pack plus whatever
hotfixes are relevant to your computer. With Windows 2000, you can patch with
Service Pack 1, but it's not required, since it comes 95/98/Me-aware out of the
box.

2. Make a Windows NT/Windows 2000 repair disk.
Repair
disks in Windows NT/2K are floppies, created with a system utility, that contain
copies of key Registry entries as well as a description of the partition
geometry of the disk. If either of those things gets damaged, you can rebuild
them to an extent. A repair disk is one of those underrated Win NT/2K features
that can often save you when you least expect it. If you make a mistake during
this process, you won't regret having it.

To build a repair disk in Windows NT, use the RDISK.EXE
command-line utility. Just run it and follow the prompts. In Windows 2000, run
the Backup utility and click the Emergency Repair Disk button on the Welcome
tab.

3. Prepare a FAT partition.
Windows 9x can't install onto
anything other than a FAT or FAT32 partition. FAT, also referred to as FAT16, is
the original partition format used by DOS and, later, Windows 95. Windows 98
introduced FAT32, a revised version of FAT that could support bigger partition
sizes and was more reliable. But NT supports only FAT, so you need to have a FAT
partition with enough free space for Windows 9x to be installed. FAT32 cannot be
read or written by a Windows NT machine.

To be scrupulously honest, it's possible to have Windows NT
read and write FAT32 partitions with a third-party utility. However, if you want
your system to be as reliable as possible, we don't recommend using such a
method.

	(click to expand view)
	Only FAT16 or FAT32 partitions, not NTFS, can support a Windows 95/98/Me installation. FAT16 provides the best cross-compatibility with other operating systems.

The partition in question doesn't have to be the primary boot
partition in the computer, but it must be a DOS-accessible partition for the
installation to succeed, and the bootable partition in the system must be FAT.
If there's no such spare partition in the system, you will have to make one
using a third-party tool such as PartitionMagic. Windows doesn't support the selective editing
of partitions and neither does Windows NT, for that matter!

You can use the same partition that holds Windows NT itself,
but we don't recommend it for two reasons:

1) You must not use the same directory name for both
operating systems. This actually varies by default: NT installs in \WINNT, and
Windows 9x installs in \WINDOWS. However, if NT were installed in \WINDOWS for
whatever reason, it would create problems, and some applications stupidly expect
Windows to be installed in \WINDOWS and nowhere else.

2) The \Program Files directory is used by both operating
systems to hold apps that are installed by default -- everything from IE to
Solitaire. Because some of these apps are OS-specific -- some are
specifically for NT that aren't for 9x and vice versa -- you may
wind up breaking one OS's default app set if you install it on top of the other.
This alone is reason not to install both OSes on the same partition, since the
\Program Files directory can't be easily redirected during the install
process.

Preparing a partition in Windows NT is done through the Disk
Administrator utility. Right-click in the listed free space on a drive and
choose Create; right-click in the same space again and choose Commit Changes
Now; then Format.

4.
Create a Windows 9x boot floppy.
Sure, you're always supposed to have a boot
disk handy, but more often than not, you don't. For dual booting, you'll
definitely need a Windows 9x boot floppy disk. Find a PC running Win9x and a
blank floppy disk. You'll be preparing a bootable floppy disk that will have
nothing on it save the command-line version of Windows, which is basically, DOS.
To do this, boot Win 95/98/Me and run the following command-line operation:
FORMAT A: /S with a blank floppy in drive A:.

From the \Windows\Command directory, copy the SYS command to
the A: disk as well.

NOTE: Don't mix and match OSes here. If you're installing
Windows 95, don't use a Windows 98-prepared boot disk. It won't work. Windows
95, 98, and Me all practice pretty stern revision control over their own
internal files and utilities.

5. Copy Win98 installation files onto the hard drive.
With
Win NT running, insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM and copy the contents of the \SETUP
folder onto an available FAT partition. Use the same folder name unless a folder
named SETUP is already there. If it is, try a folder name such as
NewSetup.

6. Boot with the floppy; then run the install files from hard
drive.
Put the prepared boot floppy in your A: drive and reboot. Once you've
booted into command-line Windows (DOS mode), type "SYS C:" to transfer the boot
files. The command should return the statement "System
transferred."

Switch to the \SETUP folder you copied over and run
SETUP.EXE. Windows Setup should begin the install process.

As we mentioned before, you're going to get a warning about
Windows NT system files being present (or a generic warning about files from
another OS, depending on what else may be in your computer) when you go through
the install process. Ignore this for now, as we'll be back later to take care of
it.

The installation process for Windows 98 should not vary
greatly from the way you would normally set it up. The one major difference
needs to be the location of the Windows installation; it can't be on the same
partition with your NT install, or your \Program Files folder will contain
inconsistent copies of some programs.

Once the installation finishes, make sure your system boots
correctly into Windows 98 before continuing. If Windows 98 refuses to boot,
unrepaired disk problems may have occurred during
Setup.

7. Repair your
Windows NT boot files.
Once Win98 is in and running, the last step is to
repair the Win NT/2000 boot files. This will allow you to use the NT boot loader
to choose between NT/2K and Windows 9x.

Repairing the boot files is fairly automatic. Boot the
Windows NT/2000 setup disks -- or the CD-ROM, if you can boot
CD-ROMs -- and select R in Setup to repair. Choose to repair only
the Windows NT boot sector -- nothing else. Note that if your
Windows NT/2K installation can't be found, you should pop in the repair disk you
made (you DID make one in step 2, correct?) and use that to help the repair
program find your installation.

Once the repair operation is finished, boot the computer to
see whether you get the Win NT/2K boot options menu with a new entry at the
bottom for Windows 9X. Usually you will. If not, you'll need to add a line to
the file BOOT.INI, which should be a read-only file in the root directory of
your boot drive. You'll need to modify the file's permissions so that it's not
read-only in order to change it.

	(click for expanded view)
	Editing the BOOT.INI file is easy enough -- use Notepad or another plain-text editor -- but you'll need to turn off the file's read-only attribute before you can save it. Also be careful not to edit anything except the reference to Windows 95/98/Me

Add the line:
C:\="Windows 95"

to the bottom of the BOOT.INI file, and reboot. The comment
in quotes can be anything you like, as long as it's distinct from the other menu
choices.

The next time you reboot your system, simply choose the
appropriate selection from the boot menu to boot either Win 95/98/Me or
NT/2K.

Install NT
on a Win2000 PC

Adding Win NT to a Win2000 PC should in some ways
be treated like adding Win95/98/Me to a Win NT/2000 installation. The main
reason for this is, on the whole, that NT cannot recognize Win2000 NTFS
partitions (unless you have Service Pack 6A, and even then it seems to have
problems). Win2000's edition of NTFS contains some features, such as changes to
how permissions work, that are not entirely backwards-compatible with WinNT. The
best thing to do is place NT on a separate partition, where it can use its own
version of NTFS.

You'll also need to repair Win2000's boot files, just to be
safe. The process for doing this is identical to the repair process in Windows
NT.

Install NT/2000
on a 95/98/Me PC

Adding Windows NT or Windows 2000 to a machine
that already has Windows 95, 98, or Me on it is much simpler than the reverse
for one simple reason: Windows NT/2000 is smart enough to detect the presence of
another operating system during installation and modifies its boot files
accordingly. Because of this, if you install WinNT/2000 in a machine that
already has another version of Windows on it -- and it doesn't
matter what version -- you'll see an entry in the boot manager for
both editions of Windows.

The installation procedure to follow when adding NT/2000 to a
95/98/Me computer isn't enormously different from installing NT/2K in general.
There are, however, a few guidelines to follow.

1. Do not install NT on a FAT32 partition.
This is
probably the single most important rule. NT supports only FAT and NTFS, not
FAT32, and can't be installed on a FAT32 partition. In fact, it generally can't
even read FAT32 partitions. So if you're planning to make data readable by both
operating systems, be sure not to place it on a FAT32 partition. Place shared
data either in a FAT partition or on a networked drive.

Also, do not convert a FAT16 partition that has NT installed
on it. Converting a partition with NT installed on it to FAT32 will render it
unbootable.

The sole exception to this rule is with Windows 2000. Win2K
can read and write FAT32 partitions without problems. Installing Win2K on a
FAT32 partition, however, means you won't be able to use NTFS security features
on your system partition.

2. Don't use disk compression.
In fact, this is a global
rule: Never use disk compression on any multiple booting system. It's not worth
it, and it creates more problems than it solves. Most drives today are big
enough that disk compression is contraindicated, anyway. Windows Me won't even
install onto a system that has disk compression running.

3. Do a disk check before an installation. Lingering
disk errors can cause terrible problems later on down the line when you install
an operating system. During Windows installation, there's a disk check; don't
skip this step.

4. Always use a discrete partition for other operating
systems. As with installing Win 95/98/Me on an NT/2K system, this rule
also applies here, and for the same reasons. Installing one Windows application
set over another can cause horribly unpredictable things to happen. In most
cases it will break IE and Outlook Express, and if shared .DLLs are overwritten,
it may cause other apps to malfunction, too.

(click for expanded view)
Each operating system should always reside on its own partition for the best possible results. Here, a FAT32 partition has been prepped for a new installation of Windows Me.

If
you want to share applications between operating systems, the best way to do
this is to install the app on one OS, boot the other OS, and then reinstall it
into the exact same folder. However, a few applications may not work correctly
if you do this: for instance, any application that uses CTL3DV2.DLL or
CTL3D32.DLL, since there are discrete versions of those .DLLs for 95/98/Me and
NT/2K. Your safest bet is to install apps in separate partitions, although a few
programs can be coaxed into running without being reinstalled.

Another thing to be aware of when adding a new partition to a
Windows 9x machine is how Windows 9x translates partitions as drives. In some
cases, if you add a partition, you may break your drive-lettering scheme and
possibly render your Windows 9xsystem unbootable.

Here's an example of this: On a computer that had two primary
partitions, C: and D:, I had Windows NT on C: (which was marked as bootable) and
Windows 98 on D:. When I added a third, logical partition, the drive lettering
was thrown off and D: turned into E:, making Windows 98
unbootable.

There are two simple ways to defeat this. One is to use only
primary partitions (a maximum of four per hard drive) and to add them in
sequence. Another is to add Windows 9x last whenever you set up a system, to
preserve the integrity of the drive mapping. The downside of this method is that
it goes against the common wisdom of putting 95/98/Me on a system first, so this
is recommended with some reservations. Forcing Win9x to map drives a certain way
is difficult and not always successful. (Windows NT and 2000 let you map drives
any way you like and are not as prone to this
problem.)

Third-party Programs for Multiple
Booting

Sometimes the easiest thing to do in
multiple boot scenarios is to let someone else take control of the whole
process. The Windows NT/2K multiple boot loader is not simple to configure and
has no easy way to add operating systems that aren't directly supported. If
you're booting between more than one OS, or various revisions of OSes, the boot
loaders you have may not be enough to do the job.

Boot loaders work in a couple of different ways. Some of them
are installed in a special partition, only a few megabytes in size that is
marked as bootable. When that partition is booted, the boot loader program takes
over and presents the user with a menu of possible boot choices. Usually the
program analyzes the available partitions at each boot, to determine whether
anything has changed since the last boot.

(click for expanded view)
System Commander works with just about any PC-based operating system to let you choose the OS you want to boot.

The best third-party boot loader out there so far appears to be System Commander from Vcom. System Commander automatically detects
any changes made to your PC since the last boot and updates its menus
automatically to reflect those changes.

The makers PartitionMagic also have a multiple boot manager
program named BootMagic, which does many of the same things as System
Commander and supports Windows 2000 as well.

VMware is
another way to run multiple OSes on the same system, but without using multiple
booting. Instead, VMware creates a virtual computer console on your PC
-- basically, a computer within a computer. The virtual computer
runs at about two-thirds the speed of your real computer and has access to many
of the same resources -- disk drives, printers, network, etc. This
allows you to run one or more operating systems, as many as you can devote disk
space for, without having to reformat a drive partition or play around with
dualboot settings.

	(click for expanded view)
	VMware lets you run a 'virtual computer' in your computer, letting you install any operating system you choose. But it'll only work in NT or Windows 2000 and needs plenty of memory.

One
main weakness of VMware is it runs only under Windows NT or Windows 2000, and it
won't work in Windows 95, 98, or Me. VMware also needs a lot of memory and
processing power to get good results: On anything less than a Pentium II 400, it
crawls, and it needs at least 128MB of RAM to really work well. You can try
before you buy, though; the official site contains instructions on obtaining a
30-day trial license via e-mail

Windows XP Installation

Alright, you are going to install Microsoft's new operating system,
Windows XP. The GUI, (graphical user interface), is pretty, the commercials are
cool (not a good reason to switch operating systems), and if you're running
Windows 9x/Me and you want more stability and some slick new features, then XP
might be a good choice for you.

Make sure you are ready for the switch over

• Make a list of the hardware in your system and the software you
  use. If you're unsure and already have Internet access on the system, go to Belarc Advisor, and
  get an online listing of your systems specifications. If this is a newly built
  system, then you should have a list of your hardware.
  
• Check the manufacturer's website to find out if there are
  drivers for your hardware. Pay close attention to printers, scanners, pen
  tablets, and so on, and for software compatibility. For newly built systems, you
  should have driver disks that came with the hardware. You probably won't need
  them, but if you do, Windows 2000 drivers will usually work.
  
• Back up any existing data, (always a good policy even if you
  are not changing out operating systems).

Step-by-Step Instructions

These steps are for a
clean install of XP. If you intend to upgrade, please read the Guide we provide
for that purpose. Okay... let's get started.

1. First, you're going to need to change your CMOS settings of the
   BIOS for the boot order to boot from CD-ROM. Once you do this you'll then be
   able to boot your computer from the Installation CD. If your system will
   not boot from the CD, very rare... use the boot disk we provide in the
   download area to activate your CD Rom drive.
   
2. After changing the boot order in the CMOS settings of the BIOS,
   save the changes, and then reboot your computer. Make sure your Installation CD
   is in your CD-ROM. If it is you'll be prompted to press your space bar to
   directly boot from CD-ROM emulation. Press your space bar as soon as you see
   this message.
   
3. Wait a few minutes while the installation begins to copy the
   preliminary setup files to your computer. After this completes you'll be ready
   to start directing the install process.
   
4. You will be asked if you want to perform a new installation,
   repair an existing installation, or quit. In this case, you will be performing a
   new install. Press the correct key to perform a new installation.
   
5. Read the terms of the end user license agreement, and press F8
   to agree.
   
6. The next phase of the installation is real similar to that of
   Windows 2000. So, if you're familiar with the Windows 2000 installation process
   this should be very easy. Basically, you need to decide which partition of your
   hard drive you will install Windows XP on. You will have the opportunity to
   create and/or delete partitions or just allocate the available disk space to one
   partition. However, try to keep your partitions within reasonable size.
   
7. We recommend using multiple partitions of 4-8GB, preferably on
   more than one hard drive. This will help you back up your data and optimize
   system performance later on down the road. Once you have figured out which
   partition XP will be installed on it's time to format it.
   
8. Choose to format the partition to either FAT32 or NTFS
   (recommended for single OS install). You'll also see two additional choices to
   perform a quick format of each option. Stick with doing a full format of either
   option instead. After you've determined which option is right for you, press the
   correct key to format the partition.
   
9. This would be a good time to take a break and come back in a
   few minutes. The setup program will automatically start copying files after the
   partition is formatted.
   
10. From this point on, you're going to see each and every file
    name that's being copied over to your hard drive appear in the lower left
    corner. As the file names go from A to Z, the installation completion percentage
    will increase.
    
11. Choose the region and language.
    
12. Type in your name and organization.
    
13. Enter your product license key.
    
14. Name the computer, and enter an Admin password. Don't forget to
    write down your Administrator password. After the installation is complete it
    would be extremely wise to create a password restore disk in the event you
    forget your Administrator password someday.
    
15. Enter the correct date and time.
    
16. Choose your network settings. Leave on automatic if you use a
    dhcp server to assign IP addresses. If you have static IP address for broadband
    access, enter the settings that your ISP has provided you.
    
17. Choose workgroup or domain name.
    
18. Register this copy of Windows XP if you've installed all the
    current hardware on your machine. Otherwise, wait until you've finished
    installing any additional hardware so you don't have to activate your copy of XP
    again.
    
19. Add users that will sign on to this computer.
    
20. Log in, and update drivers.

Driver install

XP found drivers for all of the hardware in our test machines,
with the exception of a older network adapter that was added. Update all drivers
that had updates available for download.

It takes about 30 minutes to perform this installation. After
that, you will be a few personalized settings away from getting started on your
XP experience. With a little use, the GUI even starts to grow on you.

Windows Whistler

Windows Whistler

I have had several people send in Emails asking about Microsoft
Whistler and even though it is still in beta, (testing by users outside of
Microsoft), I decided to add an Installation guide. This is going to be real
short and straight forward… just read our installation guide for Windows98. That
is it, I have loaded it now several times and I was struck by the fact that
although it is basically a Windows2000 upgrade, the install process is more like
that of Windows98.

Okay, that was real short and sweet. But, I should point out a
few issues with Whistler.

1. This new operating system requires Windows2000 or at least
   Windows NT drivers. If you do not have them or Whistler does not like them… then
   using Whistler is going to be painful. I installed it on a PC with an older 35mm
   slide scanner and of course it had only Windows98 drivers available. These did
   not fit into Whistler's program and it about drove me crazy demanding a driver
   for the scanner. Every time it started it would request the driver, over and
   over again, as many as eight times. I finally disconnected the scanner from the
   SCSI card.
   
2. Now remember this is an upgrade for bother Windows Millennium
   and Windows 2000. A convergence of the two operating systems. So, one of these
   two loses out to the primary programming of the other, which happens to be
   Windows Millennium. What you say…??? Why is this important…?? The big issue is
   you lose DOS as the underlying base and with that said, you also lose the
   ability to play your old Dos games. Ta ta to them when you load Whistler.
   
   
3. Finally, if you thought upgrading to 128mgs of ram to run
   Millennium or Windows2000 cleanly and fast, Whistler is going to need at least
   192mgs or 256mgs of ram to really run clean. ( Do you remember when Bill Gates
   pontificated that we would never need more than 4mgs of ram???)
   

Okay, this new Whistler comes in a couple flavors, two to be
exact, (or so it is as of this writing), and that could change:

1. Whistler Personal Edition: intended for the home user without
   the server code and other features required to host web sites, DNS services and
   much more.
   
2. Whistler Professional Edition: this is of course the big
   brother to Windows2000 and blotted with all sorts of stuff unnecessary to most
   small business or home users. The price difference between the two has not been
   announced, but I am sure it will be quite painful if you wish the full blown
   Professional version.

There are a great many internal differences, especially if you
are upgrading from any Windows9x or Millennium product. One is the new
partitioning scheme of GPT and
I am not going to get into the logistics of
it, but if you are a techno-geek wanting more then read about it on Microsoft's
web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/HWDEV/storage/Whistler-GPT_FAQ.htm

If I had any complaint it is the new structure of Plug-N-Play.
It will absolutely drive you nuts if you are using any legacy devices, (cards or
peripherals that predate Windows9x). I had an older slide scanner connected to
one PC I installed Whistler. The manufacturer's web site only had Windows98
drivers and Whistler wanted no part of them. So, every time I booted Windows I
was forced to deal with at least eight popup windows demanding drivers. I
finally deleted all instances of the driver in Device Manager and disconnected
the scanner. Since I use this scanner a great deal I was forced to remove
Whistler from this PC and reinstall Windows98.

Summary:
It looks good… has
a most drivers built in you will need, but for any real changes it does not seem
worth the $120 for the Personal Edition. Microsoft needs to put out the source
code for Windows9x now that they are moving away from it and allow all the
world's programmers to rebuild and solve the issues that drive us nuts instead
of slinking along with more of the same… which is what you will find in
Whistler.

Computer Networking

Networks Explained

Networks are merely a means to allow computers to
communicate with one and other. That can be two computers in your home or
a hundred computers in your office. Since you are reading this, you are
using the largest existing network in the world, the Internet.

In our discussions we will be connecting Personal Computers,
PCs, into an environment where they utilize common data, common peripheral
devices such as printers or modems, common software programs and sharing these
resources.

These are examples of simple peer-to-peer
networks, where only two computers are connected by a single cable. In
these types of networks only a network card in each computer and a connecting
cable is required. In these examples although you have two computers, they
share the resources of data, modem access, printer and other
components.

A peer-to-peer network requires a special cable,
different from a normal network patch or connecting cable. This cable is
called a "cross-over" or "cross-pin" cable.

If your network contains three or more computers,
then you are required to add one more component, either a hub or a
switch.

A network connected with either a hub can have two
or more computers connected. The hub allows for additional computers to be
added to the network at any time. All that is required is an additional
cable connected from the hub or switching hub to a network card inside of the
new computer. Each computer, printer, or other peripheral device that is
connected to the network is called a node. Networks can have tens, thousands, or
even millions of nodes.

Like most things, networks are are assembled
according to certain rules. Cabling, for example, has to be a certain length,
each cabling strand can only support a certain amount of network traffic, etc.
The rules that govern how a network is set up is called its topology. The
most popular topology in use today is called Ethernet, which consists of
computers and peripherals cabled together in specific ways. Ethernet is
relatively inexpensive, easy to set up and use, and very, very
fast.

Ethernet networks are categorized by how fast they
can move information. Speed is expressed in megabits per second (or Mbps), where
one "bit" is equal to 1/8th of a character, letter, or number. There are
currently two Ethernet speed categories. Standard Ethernet operates at a fast
10Mbps, which is quick enough for most networking tasks. Fast Ethernet, by
contrast, races along at 100Mbps, making it ideal for desktop video, multimedia,
and other speed-hungry applications. The new technology behind Fast Ethernet,
which was introduced in the beginning of 1995, is not readily compatible with
standard Ethernet. Making the two "talk" with each other requires special
equipment (see switching hub below) and some knowledge of
internetworking. If you're building your first network, decide whether to go
with standard or Fast Ethernet before you begin shopping around for network
hardware and software. Unless you plan on using video, multimedia, or heavy
graphics software, plan on using standard Ethernet. For more information on
standard and Fast Ethernet, see the Cabling & Hubs section.

Cabling Basics
The two most popular types of network cabling are twisted-pair (also
known as 10BaseT) and thin coax (also known as 10Base2). 10BaseT cabling looks
like ordinary telephone wire, except that it has 8 wires inside instead of 4.
Thin coax looks like the copper coaxial cabling that's often used to connect a
VCR to a TV set.

Which type of cabling is best for you?
Thin coax and 10BaseT can both be used
exclusively or together, depending on the type of network that you're putting
together. Small networks, for example, may want to use 10BaseT cabling by
itself, because it's inexpensive, flexible, and ideal for going short
distances. This is recommended for home networks as it is the
easiest.

Larger networks (usually with 10 or more
computers) may use a thin coax backbone with small clusters of 10BaseT cabling
that branch off from it at regular intervals.

I will bet you have lots of questions already,
here are a few quick answers:

• What is a network adapter card?
• What is a hub?
• What is a switching hub?
  
  

Network Adapter Card
A network computer is connected to the
network cabling with a network interface card, (also called a "NIC", "nick", or
network adapter). Some NICs are installed inside of a computer: the PC is opened
up and a network card is plugged directly into one of the computer's internal
expansion slots. 286, 386, and many 486 computers have 16-bit slots, so a 16-bit
NIC is needed. Faster computers, like high-speed 486s, Pentiums,
PentiumII and PentiumIII, all have 32-bit, or PCI slots. These PCs require
32-bit NICs to achieve the fastest networking speeds possible for speed-critical
applications like desktop video, multimedia, publishing, and databases.
And if a computer is going to be used with a Fast Ethernet network, it will need
a network adapter that supports 100Mbps data speeds as well. These cards
are often referred to as 10/100cards.

If a PC lacks expansion slots (which is true with portable
PCs), special network adapters are used. A PCMCIA network adapter connects a PC
to a network if the PC has a credit card-sized PCMCIA expansion slot, while a
pocket adapter connects a PC to a network through the its printer
port.

HUB
The central connecting device is called a hub. A hub is a box that is
used to gather groups of PCs together at a central location with 10BaseT
cabling. If you're networking a small group of computers together, you may be
able to get by with a hub, some 10BaseT cables, and a handful of network
adapters. Larger networks often use a thin coax "backbone" that connects a row
of 10BaseT hubs together. Each hub, in turn, may connect a handful of computer
together using 10BaseT cabling, which allows you to build networks of tens,
hundreds, or thousands of computers.

Like network cards, hubs are available in both standard
(10Mbps) and Fast Ethernet (100Mbps) versions.

SWITCHING HUB
The Switching hub, sometimes called a
"Switch" is a more advanced unit over the basic hub. In a basic hub, all
the computers connect to it and the speed of the network is defined by the
slowest computer network card connected. If you have 10 100Mbps cards on
the network and just on 10Mbps card, the system cannot run faster than that one
10Mbps card. There in comes the Switching hub. This hub treats each
network card independently and in the matter of the 10 100Mbps network with the
one 10Mbps network card, the Switching hub allows all of the faster connections
to remain at the higher speed and still interact with the 10Mbps
system.

Windows XP Boot Problems & Edits

Windows
XP Restarts When You Try to Shut Down Your Computer

When you shut down your Windows XP-based computer, your computer
may restart instead of shutting down, and you may see a blue screen for just a
moment before the computer restarts.

The behavior can occur if the
following conditions exist:

You have "automatically restart"
selected. (Press WinKey-Break, or (Start/Run/Sysdm.cpl), Advanced Tab,
Start Up and Recovery/Settings/System Failure/Unmark "Automatically
Restart"/Ok/Ok.

The Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.0 or Direct CD 5.0 program
is installed on your computer.

Resolution:

To resolve this
issue, contact Roxio or view the following Roxio Web site to download and
install the updated driver for Easy CD Creator 5.0 for Windows XP: http://www.roxio.com. To work
around this issue, uninstall Roxio Easy CD Creator or Direct CD.

Easy CD Creator 5.0 Does Not Function In Windows
XP

When you attempt to use Easy CD Creator 5.0, you may see an error message
that is similar to the following message on a blue screen, or your computer may
become unstable:

Stop 0x00000050: PrtSeqRd deferencing null device object

Easy CD Creator 5.02b and earlier has not been tested or approved by Roxio
for use on Windows XP.

As of October 22, 2001, the latest
version for Easy CD Creator is version 5.02b; this version is known to have
problems running on Windows XP. Easy CD driver updates from Roxio are available
from the following Roxio Web site:

http://www.roxio.com/en/support/ecdc/ecdcupdates.jhtml

http://www.roxio.com/en/company/roxio_xp.jhtml


More Information:

Windows XP may encounter a problem
during startup that results in a STOP error message. Depending on the system
configuration, the error message on a blue screen may not be displayed long
enough to record the error information. To gather important information about
the STOP error message and to verify the cause:

Right-click My Computer,
and then click Properties. On the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and
Recovery.
Click to clear the Automatically restart check box under System
failure, and then click OK. The error message on a blue screen should remain on
the screen so you can record the error information.

Instantly Reboot Upon a System Fault

Start/Run/Regedit. Navigate
to...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl


In the right pane choose AutoReboot/Right Click/Modify. Change value to
0 to disable and 1 to enable.

Windows
Hangs While Saving Your Settings

When you shut down your computer, Microsoft Windows XP may stop
responding (hang) while the following message is displayed: Saving your
settings. When this occurs, you may be able to move the mouse pointer, but
when you press CTRL+ALT+DEL, nothing happens. This issue may occur only
occasionally. Supported Fix: "Restarting Windows
XP".

Modify Hung App Time

Start/Run/Regedit. Navigate to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
Panel\Desktop

In the right pane, choose HungAppTimeout/Right
Click/Modify/Change Value/Exit/Reboot.

Force Program Exit

Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop In the right pane find,
"AutoEndTasks" (Create if not present). Set the Value of 0 or delete it. No
reboot needed.

Disable Error Reporting

Start/Settings/Control
Panel/System/Advanced/Error Reporting/Disable.

Windows Boots without Warning!

By default when WinXP encounters a system failure, it reboots
without warning. The setting that controls this can be changed:
Control
Panel/System/Advanced/Settings (Startup & Recovery)/System
Failure/Uncheck-Automatically Restart. To view the event log: Administrative
Tools/Event Viewer or Start/Run/eventvwr.To bypass the BSOD altogether
and enable the instant "Auto Reboot" feature:
Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl.
Right click on "AutoReboot", modify and change the value to 1. Exit, reboot. To
disable set the value back to 0.

Windows® Online Crash Analysis

If you experience a
blue screen crash event, or Stop error, while using Microsoft Windows XP, you
can upload the error report for analysis. http://oca.microsoft.com/welcome.asp

By default when WinXP encounters a system failure, it reboots
without warning. The setting that controls this can be changed:
Control
Panel/System/Advanced/Settings (Startup & Recovery)/System
Failure/Uncheck-Automatically Restart. To view the event log: Admistrative
Tools/Event Viewer or Start/Run/eventvwr.

To bypass the BSOD
altogether and enable the instant "Auto Reboot" feature, run Regedit and go
to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl

Right
click on "AutoReboot", modify and change the value to 1. Exit, reboot. To
disable set the value back to 0.

Windows® Online Crash Analysis

If you experience a
blue screen crash event, or Stop error, while using Microsoft Windows XP, you
can upload the error report for analysis. http://oca.microsoft.com/welcome.asp

Force Exit

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
In the right
pane find, "AutoEndTasks" (Create if not present). Set the Value of 0 or delete
it. No reboot needed.

The
Computer Continuously Restarts

When you start your computer, the Microsoft Windows XP start up
screen appears, and then the computer restarts. The Windows XP logon screen does
not appear. This error can occur if the Kernel32.dll file is missing or
damaged.

To resolve this issue, use the Windows Recovery Console to
extract a new copy of the Kernel32.dll file from the original Windows XP compact
disc (CD). To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start the Recovery Console.
If you do not have the Recovery Console installed, start it from the Windows XP
compact disc (CD). To do this, follow these steps:

a. Insert the
Windows XP CD and restart the computer. If prompted, select any options required
to boot from the CD.

b. When the text-based part of Setup begins,
follow the prompts; choose the repair or recover option by pressing
R.

c. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, choose the
installation that you need to access from the recovery console.

d.
When prompted, type the Administrator password.

2. At the command prompt,
type "cd system32" (without the quotation marks), and then press
ENTER.

3. Type "ren kernel32.dll kernel32.old" (without the quotation
marks), and then press ENTER.

4. Type "map" (without the quotation
marks), and then press ENTER.

5. Note the drive letter assigned to the
CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD. It is displayed in a format
similar to the following: D: \Device\CdRom0

6. Type "expand
<drive>\i386\kernel32.dl_" (without the quotation marks) (where
<drive> is the drive letter of the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows
XP CD), and then press ENTER. For example:

Expand
d:\i386\kernel32.dl_ <ENTER>

Note the underscore character after
the "L" in Kernel32.dl_

The following message appears:
Kernel32.dll, 1 file(s) expanded.

7. Type "exit" (without the quotation
marks). The computer restarts.

8. Remove the Windows XP CD and start the
computer normally.

How to Install the Windows Recovery Console

Disable Error Checking at Startup

Start/Run/Regedit. In the right pane, delete this entry:
BootExecute autocheck autochk*

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager

Disable/Remove Serious Error Message Upon
Boot

Start/Control
Panel/System/Advanced/Performance/Settings/Advanced/Virtual Memory/Change/Set to
0. Reboot/Reset Pagefile to System Managed Size.

Disable Windows XP's Windows Tour Prompt for all
Users

Start/Run/Regedit. Navigate
to...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets

In
the right pane, locate Tour (if it doesn't exist, add it. Edit/New/Key. Then
select New Value and set it to 0).

To set the same option for users,
navigate to...and repeat the above
steps.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets

Disable Unnecessary Programs at Startup

Start/Run/Regedit. Right Click/Delete unnecessary programs listed
here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Disable or Enable Boot Defrag

Start/Run/Regedit. Navigate to...
Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction

Select
Enable in the right pane/Right Click/Modify/Change Value to Y to enable, N to
disable. Exit/Reboot.

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP Continue.......

Not Prompted to Create Password with New XP User Account

When you create a new user on a Microsoft Windows XP Home
Edition-based computer, you are not prompted to create a password. To
create a password for a user account, click the icon for the account, and then
click "Create a Password".

Stored User Names and Passwords Feature Interoperability at a Command Prompt

By default, the Stored User Names and Passwords feature creates a
"key" for any connection that you make in the graphical user interface (GUI)
that requires alternate credentials. When you make a connection at a command
prompt by using the net use command and by passing alternate credentials, a key
is not created.

For the net use command to save the credentials in Credential
Manager, use the /savecred switch. When you use the /savecred switch, any
credentials that you are prompted for when you use the net use command are saved
as a key.

Therefore, if you are prompted for the user name and password (or
if you are prompted only for the password) when you use the net use command (but
not because you used an asterisk [*] in the net use command for password
prompting) and the /savecred switch, the credentials are saved.

When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name
/savecred command, the user is prompted for a user name, and then the user is
prompted for a password.

When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \
share_name /u: domain_name \ user_name /savecred command, the user is prompted
for a password.

However, when you type one of the following commands, a
key is not created:
net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name * /user:
domain_name \ user_name /savecred
-or-
net use * \\ computer_name \
share_name * /savecred /user: domain_name \ user_name

If you type net
help use at a command prompt, more information is displayed about the net use
command.

Password Has Expired Message

Start/Programs/Administrative Tools/Local Security Policy/Account
Policies/Password Policy. In the right pane, right click, properties,
modify (use accordingly). And Start/Programs/Administrative Tools/Computer
Management/Local Users and Groups/Right Click
"User"(intended)/Properties...Or with Admin privileges, at a command
prompt type: net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited.

To Create a Password Reset Disk

The Forgotten Password Wizard lets you create a password reset
disk that you can use to recover your user account and personalized computer
settings if you forget your password. The steps to perform this task
differ depending on whether your computer is a member of a network domain or is
part of a workgroup (or is a stand-alone computer).

My Computer is on
a Domain

Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open the Windows Security dialog
box. Click Change Password.
Click Backup to open the Forgotten
Password Wizard. Click Next and then follow the instructions as they appear on
the screen.

My Computer is not on a Domain

The steps to
perform this task differ depending on the type of user account you have. If you
have a computer administrator account: Open User Accounts in Control
Panel. Click your account name. Under Related Tasks located on the left side of
the window, click Prevent a forgotten password. In the Forgotten Password
Wizard, follow the instructions as they appear on the screen.

If you
Have a Limited Account

Open User Accounts in Control Panel. Under
Related Tasks located on the left side of the window, click Prevent a forgotten
password. In the Forgotten Password Wizard, follow the instructions as they
appear on the screen.

Notes: To open User Accounts, click
Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.

Certain Programs Do Not Work Correctly
If You Log On Through a Limited User Account.

After you log on to a computer by using a Limited
User Account, you may observe one or more of the following

behaviors when you try to use a program that is not
expressly designed for Windows XP. Information here.

Password Reset Disk Overview

To protect user
accounts in the event that the user forgets the password, every local user
should make a password reset disk and keep it in a safe place. Then, if the user
forgets his or her password, the password can be reset using the password reset
disk and the user is able to access the local user account again.

Resetting the Password

After you reset the password of an account on a Windows XP-based
computer that is joined to a workgroup, you may lose access to the user's:
Web page credentials, File share credentials, EFS-encrypted files, Certificates
with private keys (SIGNED/ENCRYPTed e-mail). More
information in detail here.

I assume no responsibility for the purpose
to which this information is used. This includes employees attempting to bypass
restrictions put into place by System Administrators on corporate
machines.

Delete Admin Password

Boot up with DOS and delete the sam.exe and sam.log files from
Winnt\system32\config in your hard drive. Now when you boot up in NT the
password on your built-in administrator account will be blank (No password).
This solution works only if your hard drive is FAT. [Editor's note: Use
with caution, there may be other ramifications from performing this tip.]

Forgot your Admin Password

This is a utility to (re)set the password of any user that has a
valid (local) account on your NT system, by modifying the crypted password in
the registrys SAM file. You do not need to know the old password to set a
new one.

It works offline, that is, you have to shutdown your computer
and boot off a floppydisk. The bootdisk includes stuff to access NTFS partitions
and scripts to glue the whole thing together. Note: It will now also work with
SYSKEY, including the option to turn it off! More information here.
Download
here.

All Passwords-Master Copy

With Darn! Passwords! Just one password opens the safe that holds
all those other ones for programs and web sites that require you to log
in. Download
Here.

Just pick the password, and drag it and it's log-in (if there
is one) into the program that uses it. No retyping is necessary (even in
programs that do not accept the drag, you can just paste the password in). Go to
the URL of a password protected site with the click of a button.

Information on System Restore and Password Restoration

Passwords That Are Restored:

1.
Program passwords are restored, such as Hotmail Messenger, AOL Messenger, Yahoo
Messenger, and other Web server-based passwords. This behavior is by design: The
programs simply cache these passwords; the actual passwords are
stored on a
Web server. System Restore does not actually change the password, but it changes
the password that is remembered by the program. You can use the current password
for the program to log on to the server.

2. Domain and Computer passwords
are restored. This behavior is by Design and is a limitation of System Restore.
System Restore only rolls back the local machine state. Part of the information
about joining domains resides in Active Directory, and Active Directory is not
rolled back by System Restore.

Migration Wizard Does Not Migrate Passwords

The Migration Wizard does not migrate passwords. Passwords for
Dial-Up Networking connections, Microsoft Outlook Express accounts, Microsoft
Internet Explorer saved passwords, mapped drives, and so on will need to be
reconfigured once the migration is complete.

Administrator
Account Not Used for Logon

The administrator account and password created during Setup are
used to log on in Safe Mode only. To create a password for user accounts,
double-click Manage Users in Control Panel.

Therefore, if you are prompted for the user name and password (or
if you are prompted only for the password) when you use the net use command (but
not because you used an asterisk [*] in the net use command for password
prompting) and the /savecred switch, the credentials are saved.

When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name
/savecred command, the user is prompted for a user name, and then the user is
prompted for a password.

When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \
share_name /u: domain_name \ user_name /savecred command, the user is prompted
for a password.

However, when you type one of the following commands, a
key is not created:
net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name * /user:
domain_name \ user_name /savecred
-or-
net use * \\ computer_name \
share_name * /savecred /user: domain_name \ user_name

If you type net
help use at a command prompt, more information is displayed about the net use
command.

Logon Name
Not in Task Manager or Under Documents & Settings

When the Welcome screen is appears, the names that are displayed
do not match any of the names of users' folders under the Documents and Settings
folder or any of the names on the Users tab in Task Manager.

This
behavior may occur if you have changed the name of the account in the User
Accounts tool in Control Panel. By doing so, the new name appears on the Welcome
screen, but the actual account name remains the same. The folders under the
Documents and Settings folder and the names that are listed in Task Manager show
the actual account name.

To resolve this behavior, if the display name
for a user account has been changed, you can find out which account the new
display name belongs to by logging on as that user, starting Task Manager, and
then clicking the Users tab.

The user account that is marked as active is
the one that is currently logged on. Also, you can find out which of the folders
under Documents and Settings belongs to the currently logged-on user by
right-clicking Start, and then clicking Explore. Windows Explorer will then
start in the Start Menu folder of the currently logged-on user's
folder.

---

Administrator
Unable to Unlock a "Locked" Computer

This behavior can occur for either of the following
reasons: When the default screen saver is set to use a non-existent screen
saver program. And/or When you use a corrupted screen saver that is password
protected. More
Information.

Information
About Unlocking a Workstation

The following registry setting
is received every time the computer is locked:
Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

ForceUnlockLogon
REG_DWORD

0 - Do
not force authentication inline (default)
1 - Require online authentication
to unlock

The preceding value controls whether a full logon is performed
during the unlock process. This can force a validation at the domain controller
for the user attempting the unlock process.

NOTE: If the value is not present, it functions as if it
had been set to 0 (zero).

Lock Your
Computer and Use Other Windows Logo Shortcut Keys

To use the shortcut, press the Windows logo key+L. The following
list has different computer lock-up scenarios that are available to you, as well
as other ways to lock the computer: Click
Here.

Create a Shortcut to Lock Computer

Right click a blank space on the desktop, select new, shortcut.
Copy and Paste this line: "rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation" in the
program location box. Click next and create a name for your shortcut, click
finish.

Lock the Taskbar

This restriction is used to force the locking of the taskbar and restrict
users from making any changes to its position. Start/Run/Regedit: Navigate
to this key and create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called
'LockTaskbar' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit
your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to
take effect.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
Value
Name: LockTaskbar
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value
Data: (0 = Unlocked, 1 = Locked)

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

How to Hide the Logon Script Dialog Box on a Windows Client

Direct Bootup Without Typing Password

1. At a command prompt, type "control userpasswords2" and press Enter to open the Windows 2000-style User Accountsapplication.

2. On the Users tab, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer check box and thenclick OK.

3. In the Automatically Log On dialog box that appears, type the user name and password for the account you want to belogged on each time you start your computer.

Remove Login Password

Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Local Security Settings/Minimum Password Length/Reduce it to 0 (No password required). Control Panel/User
Account/Your Account/Remove Password.

Cannot Change the Administrator Password in Control Panel

After you log on as an administrator to a computer that is not a
member of a domain, when you double-click User Accounts in Control Panel to
change the password for the built-in Administrator account, the Administrator
account may not appear in the list of user accounts. Consequently, you cannot
change its password.

This behavior can occur because the Administrator
account logon option appears only in Safe mode if more than one account is
created on the system. The Administrator account is available in Normal mode
only if there are no other accounts on the system. To
work around this behavior:

- If you are running Windows XP Home Edition,
restart the computer and then use a power user account to log on to
the
computer in Safe mode.

- If you are running Windows XP
Professional, reset the password in the Local Users and Groups snap-in in
Microsoft
Management Console (MMC):

1. Click Start, and then
click Run.
2. In the Open box, type "mmc" (without the quotation marks), and
then click OK to start MMC.
3. Start the Local Users and Groups
snap-in.
4. Under Console Root, expand "Local Users and Groups", and then
click Users.
5. In the right pane, right-click Administrator, and then click
Set Password.
6. Click Proceed in the message box that appears.
7. Type
and confirm the new password in the appropriate boxes, and then click OK.

How to Change User Password at Command Prompt

How to use the net user command to change the user password at a
Windows command prompt. Only administrators can change domain passwords at the
Windows command prompt. To change a user's password at the command prompt,
log on as an administrator and type: "net user <user_name> *
/domain" (without the quotation marks)

When you are prompted to type a
password for the user, type the new password, not the existing password. After
you type the new password, the system prompts you to retype the password to
confirm. The password is now changed.

Alternatively, you can type the
following command: net user <user_name> <new_password>.
When you do so, the password changes without prompting you again. This command
also enables you to change passwords in a batch file.

Non-administrators
receive a "System error 5 has occurred. Access is denied" error message when
they attempt to change the password.

How to
Enable Automatic Logon in Windows

If you set a computer for auto logon, anyone who can physically
obtain access to the computer can gain access to all of the computer contents,
including any network or networks it is connected to. In addition, if you enable
autologon, the password is stored in the registry in plaintext. The specific
registry key that stores this value is remotely readable by the Authenticated
Users group.

As a result, this setting is only appropriate for cases where the
computer is physically secured, and steps have been taken to ensure that
untrusted users cannot remotely access the registry.

1. Start/Run/Regedit, and then locate the following registry
subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
2.
Using your account name and password, double-click the DefaultUserName entry,
type your user name, and then click
OK.
3. Double-click
the DefaultPassword entry, type your password, and then click
OK.

NOTE: The DefaultPassword value may not exist. If it does
not:

a. Click Add Value on the Edit menu.
b. In the Value Name box,
type DefaultPassword, and then click REG_SZ for the Data Type
c. Type your
password in the String box, and then save your changes.

Also, if no
DefaultPassword string is specified, Windows automatically changes the value of
the AutoAdminLogon key
from 1 (true) to 0 (false), thus disabling the
AutoAdminLogon feature.

4. Click Add Value on the Edit menu, enter
AutoAdminLogon in the Value Name box, and then click REG_SZ for the
Data
Type.
5. Type "1" (without the quotation marks) in
the String box, and then save your changes.
6. Quit Regedit.
7. Click
Start, click Shutdown, and then click OK to turn off your computer.
8.
Restart your computer and Windows. You are now able to log on
automatically.

NOTE: To bypass the AutoAdminLogon process, and to
log on as a different user, hold down the SHIFT key after you log off or after
Windows restarts.

Note that this procedure only applies to the first
logon. To enforce this setting for subsequent logoffs, the administrator must
set the following registry
key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Value:
ForceAutoLogon
Type: REG_SZ
Data: 1

Windows XP
Inherits Autologon Setting After Upgrade from Win2000

After you upgrade a Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer, Windows
XP Professional may start directly to the desktop without stopping at the
Welcome screen or requiring you to type a username and password. If you then
create a new user account, you may not receive any option that allows you to log
on by using the new account.

This behavior can occur if Windows 2000 was configured for
automatic logon (Autologon). Windows XP inherits this configuration
setting.

To resolve this behavior, turn off the automatic logon feature and
require a username and password at logon:

1. Click Start on the Windows
taskbar, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type control userpasswords2,
and then click OK.
3. In the dialog box that appears, click to select the
"Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer"

check box, and then click OK.

To work around this
behavior, log off from the Autologon account, and then log on by using the new
account.