Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows

Scott Mueller is president of Mueller Technical Research (MTR), an international research and corporate training firm. Since 1982, MTR has produced the industry’s most in-depth, accurate, and effective seminars, books, articles, videos, and FAQs covering PC hardware and data recovery. MTR maintains a client list that includes Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. and foreign governments, major software and hardware corporations, as well as PC enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. His seminars have been presented to several thousands of PC support professionals throughout the world.   Scott is best known as the author of the longest-running, most popular, and most comprehensive PC hardware book in the world, Upgrading and Repairing PCs, which has not only been produced in more than 18 editions, but has also become the core of an entire series of books. Scott has authored many books for more than 20 years, including Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 1st through 18th editions; Upgrading and Repairing Laptops, 1st and 2nd editions; Upgrading and Repairing PCs: A+ Certification Study Guide, 1st and 2nd editions; Upgrading and Repairing PCs Field Guide; Killer PC Utilities; The IBM PS/2 Handbook; and Que’s Guide to Data Recovery. Scott recently completed Upgrading and Repairing PCs: Build a PC with Scott Mueller, a 2-hour DVD and 100-page book, which shows viewers how to build a computer, step-by-step. Contact MTR directly if you have a unique book, article, or video project in mind, or if you want Scott to conduct a custom PC troubleshooting, repair, maintenance, upgrade, or data-recovery seminar tailored for your organization:   Mueller Technical Research 3700 Grayhawk Drive Algonquin, IL 60102-6325 847-854-6794 847-854-6795 Fax Email: scottmueller@compuserve.com Web: http://www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com http://www.scottmueller.com http://forum.scottmueller.com   Scott’s premiere work, Upgrading and Repairing PCs, has sold more than 2 million copies, making it by far the most popular and longest-running PC hardware book on the market today. Scott has been featured in Forbes magazine and has written several articles for PC World magazine, Maximum PC magazine, several newsletters, and the Upgrading and Repairing PCs website.   If you have suggestions for the next edition of this book, any comments about the book in general, or new book or article topics you would like to see covered, send them to Scott via email at scottmueller@compuserve.com or visit http://www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com. Scott has a forum exlusively for those who have purchased one of his books or DVDs. Visit http://forum.scottmueller.com to view the forum.   Brian Knittel has been a software developer for nearly 30 years. After doing graduate work in medical imaging technologies, he began a career as an independent consultant. An eclectic mix of clients has led to long-term projects in medical documentation, workflow management, realtime industrial system control, and most importantly, more than 15 years of real-world experience with MS-DOS, Windows, and computer networking in the business world. He is the author of Windows XP Under the Hood: Hardcore Scripting and Command Line Power, and is co-author of several other Que books including Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows editions covering XP Home, XP Professional, and Windows 2000 Professional. Brian lives in Albany, California, halfway between the tidal wave zone and the earthquake fault. He spends his free time snowboarding, restoring antique computers (check out www.ibm1130.org), and trying to perfect his wood-fired pizza recipes.   Mark Edward Soper has taught computer troubleshooting and other technical subjects to thousands of students from Maine to Hawaii since 1992. He is a longtime contributor to Upgrading and Repairing PCs, working on the 11th though 16th editions. He has contributed chapters to Upgrading and Repairing Networks, Second Edition, Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows, Millennium Edition, and Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP (both Home and Pro editions).   Mark coauthored both the first and second editions of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, Technician’s Portable Reference, and Upgrading and Repairing PCs: Field Guide and cowrote Upgrading and Repairing PCs: A+ Study Certification Guide, Second Edition. Mark also authored Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Home Networking, Absolute Beginner’s Guide to A+ Certification and currently is writing Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Home Automation. He is a regular contributor to Maximum PC magazine.   Mark Reddin is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and A+ Certified PC technician. In his younger days he enjoyed tinkering with computers during the time of the early Commodore and Atari systems (with all those wonderful games). Mark delved more seriously into computer technology during his undergraduate studies at Ball State University and has since been involved in the industry in various capacities. His experience with computers and networks has ranged from consulting to owning and operating a sales and repair shop. Additionally, he has been involved as both a technical and development editor with numerous Que publications over the past 5 years, including Upgrading and Repairing PCs and How Computers Work.  

      Introduction                                                                                 1

  1  Windows Version History                                                           5

    A Brief History of PC Operating Systems......................... 5

        DOS History............................................................... 5

        Evolution of DOS....................................................... 6

        MS-DOS Versus PC DOS...................................... 10

        DOS Versions.......................................................... 12

        MS-DOS Alternatives............................................... 18

    The Evolution of Microsoft Windows............................... 19

        16-Bit Windows....................................................... 20

        The Windows 9x Family.......................................... 26

        The Windows NT Family......................................... 30

        Alternative CPU OS Versions: Intel, Alpha, MIPS, and Motorola          40

        Service Packs, Hotfixes, and Rollups..................... 42

  2  Windows Boot (Startup)                                                           45

    System Layers................................................................. 45

        Hardware Layers..................................................... 46

        BIOS........................................................................ 46

        Hardware Abstraction Layer.................................... 48

        Device Drivers......................................................... 50

        File Systems and Filters.......................................... 51

        Services................................................................... 52

    The Startup Process....................................................... 52

        BIOS Startup............................................................ 52

        Bootstrap Loaders................................................... 54

        Windows XP/2000/NT Startup................................. 56

        Windows Vista Startup............................................ 57

        The Windows NT Kernel......................................... 58

        The Logon Process................................................. 60

    Windows Boot Options.................................................... 63

        Boot.ini and the Boot Menu (Windows NT Through XP)          64

        Windows Vista Boot Configuration Data Store....... 71

        Adjusting Boot Options with MSConfig.................... 76

        Windows Advanced Options Menu (Safe Mode)..... 77

        Installing a Multibooting System............................... 82

    Windows Services........................................................... 83

        List of Windows Services........................................ 87

        Using the Services Manager.................................. 125

        Managing Services from the Command Line........ 127

        Device Drivers and the sc Command................... 128

  3  Installing Windows                                                                  129

    Preinstallation Considerations....................................... 129

        System Requirements for Windows XP Professional 130

        System Requirements for Windows Vista............ 131

        Checking Hardware and Software Compatibility... 131

        Known Compatibility Issues for Windows XP....... 132

        Known Compatibility Issues for Windows Vista.... 132

        Migrating Files and Settings to New Installations.. 135

        Getting the Network Configuration......................... 139

        Choosing a File System........................................ 141

    Installation Types........................................................... 144

        Upgrade Installations to Windows XP................... 144

        Upgrade Installations to Windows Vista................ 147

        Clean Installations.................................................. 148

        Repair Installations................................................ 149

        Using Installation Switches for a Windows XP Installation       151

        Using Installation Switches to Install Windows Vista 154

    Clean Install Procedures............................................... 158

        Windows XP Clean Install..................................... 158

        Windows Vista Clean Install.................................. 164

    Multibooting Other Operating Systems......................... 169

        Using Multiple Partitions......................................... 169

        Using a Single Partition.......................................... 170

        Using a Third-Party Boot Loader........................... 171

        Using Virtual Machines.......................................... 171

        Clean Install Summary.......................................... 176

        Installation Problems with Windows...................... 177

    Automated Deployments............................................... 177

        Adding and Using the Deployment Tools for Windows XP      178

        Windows Installation Tools for Windows Vista..... 188

        Installation Tools for Windows XP and Windows Vista            195

    Windows Copy Protection............................................. 204

        Product Activation for Windows XP....................... 205

        Windows Vista Product Activation with MAK and KMS            211

        Windows Genuine Advantage for Windows XP and Vista       212

  4  Upgrading Windows                                                               215

    Windows XP Upgrade Installations............................... 215

        Deciding Whether an Upgrade to Windows XP Is Worthwhile            216

        Upgrade Scenarios................................................ 218

        Troubleshooting a Failed Upgrade......................... 224

        Uninstalling Windows XP....................................... 225

    Windows Vista Upgrade Installations............................ 226

        Deciding Whether an Upgrade to Vista Is Worthwhile 227

        Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista... 230

        Troubleshooting a Failed Upgrade to Windows Vista 234

        Reverting to Windows XP After Upgrading to Windows Vista 235

    Migrating Existing Installations....................................... 237

        Moving to a New Drive........................................... 237

        Moving a Windows Installation to a New Motherboard 240

        Moving Data to a New System.............................. 242

        Moving Applications............................................... 248

    Installing Service Packs................................................. 252

        Installing Service Packs for Windows XP............. 252

        Installing Service Packs for Windows Vista.......... 255

        Uninstalling Vista SP1............................................ 258

        Making Vista SP1 Installation Permanent.............. 258

  5  Tweaking and Tuning Windows                                             259

    Configuration Settings................................................... 259

        Display Settings..................................................... 261

        Start Menu Settings............................................... 270

        Tuning System Properties..................................... 272

        Managing Startup Programs.................................. 283

        Internet Explorer..................................................... 287

    TweakUI and TweakVI................................................... 288

        Using TweakUI to…............................................... 289

        Other Useful XP PowerToys................................. 291

        Vista Tweaking Tools............................................. 291

    The Windows Registry.................................................. 291

        Structure of the Registry........................................ 292

        Backing Up and Restoring the Registry................ 293

        Editing the Registry................................................ 296

        Editing the Registry Remotely............................... 297

        Editing a Hive File.................................................. 298

        Deploying Registry Settings.................................. 299

    Managing Windows Services........................................ 302

        Managing Services with the GUI............................ 303

        Managing Services on Another Computer............. 307

        Managing Services from the Command Line........ 307

        Running Your Own Program as a Service............ 308

    Monitoring Your System to Identify Bottlenecks............ 310

        Using the Task Manager........................................ 310

        Using the Performance Monitor............................. 311

    Tuning for Maximum Performance................................ 314

        Installing Sufficient Memory (RAM)........................ 315

        Placing the Page File............................................. 318

        Defragment the Disk.............................................. 319

        Disk Interface Tuning............................................. 320

        What to Enable and Disable.................................. 321

        Improving Startup and Logon Time....................... 322

  6  Networking Windows                                                              325

    Setting Up a Network..................................................... 325

    Network Hardware......................................................... 326

        Wireless Versus Wired......................................... 327

        Network Interface Adapters................................... 328

        Cabling................................................................... 328

        Hubs and Switches................................................ 329

        Wireless Access Points........................................ 330

        Gateways and Routers.......................................... 330

    Wireless Networking...................................................... 331

        Wireless Network Basics...................................... 332

        Wireless Network Security.................................... 333

        Creating a Random Encryption Key...................... 334

        Setting Up a Wireless Network Access Point....... 335

        Using the Wireless Network Setup Wizard........... 336

        Joining a Wireless Network................................... 340

    Configuring a Workgroup Network................................ 341

        Setting Up a Network on XP.................................. 341

        Setting Up a Network on Vista............................... 344

        IP Addressing Options........................................... 347

        Configuring Additional Useful Network Services... 351

        Designating a Master Browser.............................. 355

    Simple File Sharing........................................................ 356

    Sharing Resources........................................................ 358

        Sharing Folders and Drives................................... 359

        Sharing Printers..................................................... 362

        Sharing Fax Modems and Other Devices............. 364

        Avoiding Firewall Issues........................................ 364

    Providing Shared Internet Access................................. 365

        Adding a Connection-Sharing Router.................... 367

        Using Windows Internet Connection Sharing........ 369

    Setting Up Remote Access to Your Computer............. 370

  7  Protecting and Securing Windows                                         371

    It Takes More Than Just Software................................. 371

        Reduce Your Exposure......................................... 372

        Take Advantage of the Tools You Have................. 373

        Keep Abreast of Updates....................................... 374

        Be Skeptical........................................................... 375

        Keep Backups....................................................... 376

        Apply Defense in Depth......................................... 376

    Windows Passwords.................................................... 376

        Setting Up a Password.......................................... 377

        Improving Password Security................................ 378

    User Account Control.................................................... 379

    Windows Update........................................................... 382

        Using Windows Update......................................... 383

        Configuring Automatic Updates............................. 384

    Firewalls......................................................................... 386

        How Software Firewalls Protect Your PC from Attacks           387

        Windows Firewall.................................................. 388

        Third-Party Firewalls.............................................. 391

    Antivirus and Antispyware Software–Which Do You Need?          393

        Antivirus Software.................................................. 396

        Third-Party Antivirus Programs............................. 396

    Antispyware Software.................................................... 398

        Windows Defender................................................ 398

        Third-Party Spyware Removal Programs............. 401

    Cleaning an Infected Computer..................................... 402

        Identifying Spyware................................................ 402

        Installing and Running Antispyware Software....... 403

        Recovering from Browser Hijacks......................... 404

        What to Do If the Automated Utilities Fail.............. 405

    Bootable Tools........................................................... 407

  8  Managing Windows                                                                409

    Managing Users............................................................. 409

        Domain and Workgroup Environments................. 410

        Account Types....................................................... 412

        Which Type of Account to Use?............................ 414

        Default Accounts and Groups............................... 415

        Security Principals................................................. 417

        Account Permissions............................................ 419

        Adding and Deleting User Accounts from the Control Panel   425

        Setting Local Security Policy................................. 432

        Local Accounts and Password Reset Disks......... 432

        Managing Users from the Management Console.. 433

        The Windows 2000 User Manager, for Vista and XP, Too       435

        Managing Users from the Command Prompt....... 437

        Automating User Management.............................. 438

        Managing User Profiles.......................................... 439

        Controlling How Users Log On and Off................. 445

        Logging on as Administrator.................................. 447

        Showing and Hiding Accounts on the Welcome Screen         448

        Fast User Switching.............................................. 450

        Enabling Automatic Logon..................................... 451

        Dealing with a Lost Password............................... 452

    Managing Hardware....................................................... 454

        Using Device Manager........................................... 454

        Forcing Detection and Reinstallation..................... 457

        Dealing with the Blue Screen of Death.................. 457

        Updating Device Drivers........................................ 458

        Replacing Hardware.............................................. 461

        Using Driver Rollback............................................ 461

    Disk Management.......................................................... 462

        Partitioning and Formatting with the Disk Management Console        464

        Moving Dynamic Disks to Another Computer....... 470

        Resizing Partitions................................................. 470

        Converting FAT16/FAT32 File Systems to NTFS. 472

        Hard Drive Cleaning............................................... 473

        Defragmenting for Greater Speed......................... 475

    Backing Up Your Disk.................................................... 478

        Backup Integrity..................................................... 479

        Volume Shadow Copy........................................... 480

        Backup Files and Folders on Vista........................ 482

        Previous Versions.................................................. 487

        Complete PC Backup on Vista.............................. 489

        Automated System Recovery on XP..................... 493

        Using NTBackup Backup on XP............................ 493

        Third-Party Backup Solutions................................ 499

    System Restore............................................................. 500

        What Restore Points Actually Restore.................. 500

        Creating Restore Points........................................ 502

        Restoring a Restore Point..................................... 503

  9  Windows Commands and Scripting                                      505

    The Windows Command Prompt................................. 505

        What the Command Prompt Really Does............ 506

        Environment Variables........................................... 507

        Executable Program Types................................... 509

        Program Subsystems........................................... 510

        Interpreting Command-Line Syntax....................... 513

        Environment Variable Substitution......................... 515

        Input and Output Redirection................................. 515

        Command Pipelines.............................................. 518

        Command Separators........................................... 519

        Command-Line Quoting........................................ 520

        Escaping Special Characters................................ 520

        Editing Command Lines........................................ 521

        Name Completion.................................................. 522

        Copy and Paste in Command Prompt Windows.. 523

        DOSKEY Macros................................................... 525

        Command Extensions........................................... 527

        Printing in the Command-Line Environment......... 528

        Stopping Runaway Programs............................... 530

    Configuring the Command-Line Environment............... 531

        Console Window Properties.................................. 531

        Changing the Search Path.................................... 531

        Predefined and Virtual Environment Variables...... 532

        Setting Default Environment Variables.................. 535

        AutoRun................................................................. 537

        Configuring the MS-DOS Command Environment 538

    User Account Control and the Command Line............. 548

        Opening an Elevated Command Prompt.............. 549

    Useful and Important Commands................................. 550

        cd........................................................................... 550

        pushd and popd..................................................... 551

        dir........................................................................... 551

        more....................................................................... 552

        runas...................................................................... 553

        start........................................................................ 554

        control.................................................................... 555

        net.......................................................................... 557

        findstr..................................................................... 560

        Other Programs..................................................... 562

    Batch Files..................................................................... 562

        Creating and Editing Batch Files........................... 563

        Batch File Programming........................................ 564

        Argument Substitution........................................... 565

        Argument Editing................................................... 566

        Conditional Processing with if............................... 568

        Processing Multiple Arguments............................. 571

        Working with Environment Variables..................... 574

        Processing Multiple Items with the for Command. 576

        Using Batch File Subroutines................................ 580

        Prompting for Input................................................ 581

        Running GUI Applications from a Batch File......... 583

    Scripting with Windows Script Host.............................. 583

        Script Languages................................................... 584

        Creating and Editing Scripts.................................. 585

        Security Issues...................................................... 586

        Running Scripts..................................................... 587

        Scripting and COM Objects................................... 588

        Sample Scripts...................................................... 590

        Learning More About Scripting............................... 592

    Windows PowerShell.................................................... 592

        PowerShell Concepts............................................ 593

        Downloading and Installing Windows PowerShell 595

        Learning More About Windows PowerShell.......... 596

10  Windows File Systems                                                           597

    Disks, Partitions, and Volumes..................................... 597

        Basic Disks and Volumes..................................... 598

        Dynamic Disks and Volumes................................ 598

    Creating Partitions......................................................... 599

        Assigning Drive Letters to Volumes...................... 601

        Running FDISK...................................................... 605

        Drive Partitioning and Formatting with Disk Management       607

        Drive Partitioning with Aftermarket Utilities............ 610

        High-Level (Operating System) Formatting........... 612

        File System Tool Limitations................................. 614

        Drive Capacity Limitations..................................... 615

    Boot Sectors.................................................................. 619

        Master Boot Record............................................... 620

        Primary and Extended Partitions........................... 621

        Windows Disk Probe............................................. 627

        Volume Boot Records........................................... 632

        The Data Area........................................................ 638

    File Systems.................................................................. 638

        Clusters (Allocation Units)..................................... 639

    File Allocation Table....................................................... 640

        FAT12.................................................................... 641

        FAT16.................................................................... 642

        VFAT and Long Filenames.................................... 644

        FAT32.................................................................... 647

        File Allocation Table Tutorial.................................. 652

        Directories (Folders).............................................. 656

        FAT File System Errors......................................... 659

    NTFS.............................................................................. 663

        NTFS Architecture–The MFT............................... 666

        NTFS 3.0/3.1.......................................................... 668

        Creating NTFS Drives........................................... 670

        NTFS Tools............................................................ 670

    File System Utilities....................................................... 672

        CHKDSK Operation............................................... 672

        The RECOVER Command................................... 673

        SCANDISK............................................................. 674

        Disk Defragmentation............................................ 675

        Third-Party Programs............................................ 678

11  Windows Data Recovery                                                        679

    The Windows Recycle Bin and File Deletion................ 679

        Recovering Files That Are Not in the Recycle Bin 681

        Undeleting Files Under NTFS................................ 681

    Retrieving Data from Partitioned and Formatted Drives 682

        Norton Unformat and Its Limitations...................... 683

        Recovering Lost Partitions and Files..................... 683

    Using a Disk Editor........................................................ 686

        Types of Disk Editors............................................ 686

        Using a Disk Editor to Recover an NTFS Volume Boot Sector           687

        Using a Disk Editor to Undelete Files.................... 693

        Retrieving a Deleted File from a Disk.................... 701

    Data Recovery from Flash Memory Devices................ 704

        FAT File System Troubleshooting............................. 705

        NTFS File System Troubleshooting.......................... 706

12  Windows Troubleshooting                                                      709

    Troubleshooting Basics................................................. 709

        What You’ll Find in This Chapter........................... 711

        A Word About Viruses and Spyware..................... 711

        Windows “Sickbed” Symptoms............................. 712

    Windows Installation Troubleshooting........................... 713

        Legacy/Unsupported Hardware Devices............... 713

        Windows XP Upgrade Advisor.............................. 714

        Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor........................... 714

        Updating Computer Firmware............................... 715

        Other Common Windows Installation Issues........ 716

    Pre-Windows Startup Troubleshooting......................... 717

        Common Boot Error Messages and Solutions..... 718

    Windows Startup Troubleshooting................................ 720

        Windows Advanced Options Menu....................... 721

        Using the System Restore Tool with Windows XP and Vista  725

        Recovery Console for Windows XP...................... 728

        Command Prompt in Windows Recovery Environment          746

        Automated System Recovery with Windows XP.. 746

    Troubleshooting Problem Devices with Device Manager 750

    Parallel Windows Installation......................................... 756

    The Blue Screen of Death: Interpreting STOP Error Messages      757

        Make a Record of STOP Errors............................ 758

        Common STOP Errors......................................... 759

    Windows XP and Windows Vista Troubleshooting Tools 764

        Reading the Event Log.......................................... 764

        Dr. Watson............................................................ 769

        Windows Troubleshooters.................................... 771

        CHKDSK................................................................ 772

        DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DXDIAG.EXE)................ 773

        Program Compatibility Wizard.............................. 775

        System Configuration Utility................................... 776

        Installing Additional Windows XP Support Tools... 779

    Windows Vista Troubleshooting Tools.......................... 780

        Windows Recovery Environment.......................... 780

        Problem Reports and Solutions............................ 788

        Reliability and Performance Monitor...................... 789

        System Health Report........................................... 791

    Using the Microsoft Knowledge Base............................ 792

Bonus Elements

  A  Windows Tool Reference                                                         A1

  B  Windows Command Reference                                              B1

C  Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance                              C1

TOC, 0789736950, 9/3/08