Windows 2000 Complete

This 1000-page compilation of information from six of Sybex's books provides comprehensive coverage of Microsoft?s latest enterprise operating system, Windows 2000. This book was created with these goals in mind: to offer at an affordable price a thorough guide covering the most important features and gotchas of both Windows 2000 Professional and Server; and to acquaint you with sortie of our best authors-their writing styles and teaching skills, and the level of expertise they bring to their books-so you can easy find a match for your interests as you delve deeper into this complex operating system. Windows 2000 Complete is designed to provide all the essential information you?ll need for a solid understanding of the operating system, as well as provide hands-on step-by-step instructions, real-world examples, and troubleshooting tips. At the same time, Windows 2000 Complete invites you to explore the even greater depths and wider coverage of material in the original books.

If you?ve read any Windows NT books, you know that there are many possible approaches to the task of showing how to use Microsoft's high end operating system effectively. The books from which Windows 2000 Complete was compiled represent a range of the approaches to teaching that Sybex and its authors have developed-from the "jump right in" step-by-step style of the In Record Time series to the exhaustively thorough Mastering style. These books also address readers at different levels of computer experience. As you read through various chapters of Windows 2000 Complete, you?ll see which approach works best for you. You?ll also see what these books have in common. a commitment to clarity, accuracy, and practicality.

You?ll find in these pages ample evidence of the high quality of Sybex's authors. Unlike publishers who produce "books by committee," Sybex author's are encouraged to write in individual voices that reflect their own experience with the evolution of the computing technology and the Windows operating system. Nearly every book represented here is the work of a single writer or a pair of close collaborators; when Mark Minasi, for example, says, "This, I find, is one of the most convenient ways to do an install you know you are getting the benefit of his direct experience.
Likewise, all the chapters are based on their authors? firsthand. testing of pre-release software and subsequent expertise with the final product.

In adapting the various source materials for inclusion in Windows 2000 Complete, the compiler preserved these individual voices and perspectives. Chapters were edited only to minimize duplication, and update or add cross-references so that you can easily follow a topic across chapters. A few sections were also edited for length so that other important content could be included.

Who Can Benefit from This Book?

Windows 2000 Complete is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of Windows 2000 users. The books from which this book is compiled are each targeted to a specific audience:

• Windows 2000 Professional. In Record Time is primarily aimed at users who are upgrading from a previous version of Windows and users who are coming to the Windows world from another operating system.
• Mastering Active Directory is primarily aimed at the experienced network administrator who wants to take a look at Active Directory Services, Microsoft?s new network directories technology.
• Mastering Windows 2000 Professional is a soup-to-nuts, beginner to-expert, end-user-to-administrator guide to using and supporting Windows 2000 Professional.
• Mastering Windows 2000 Registry is for general users who are responsible for their own computers, system administrators who are responsible for an organization's computers, and help desk staff.
• Mastering Windows 2000 Server is the premier resource for anyone configuring, administering, and timing Windows 2000 Server in a large enterprise.
• Windows 20,00 Instant Reference has A-Z coverage of every feature and command, and is a perfect reference for every Windows 2000 user.

So, if it seems as if this book contains something for everybody, we?ve achieved what we started out to do. Whether you're a SOHO (small-office/ home-office) user, working with a stand-alone computer or a simple peer to-peer network with no administrators or technical staff to rely on, or working within a larger network, you?ll find information you can use in this book.

We also think this book is a great resource if you are currently evaluating Windows 2000 and considering whether this is the best operating system for either your corporate network or your home office. Rather than wading through mounds of documentation or tomes devoted to all the complicated ins and outs of system architecture, you can get to the heart of the matter quickly.

Although you certainly could read this book from beginning to end, you may not need to read every chapter. The Contents and the Index will help you find specific topics, as will the information in the next section.

How This Book Is Organized

Windows 2000 Complete has 6 parts, consisting of 25 chapters and an Instant Reference.

• Part I: Introducing Windows 2000 The 10 chapters in this part of the book are designed to take you step by step through installing and using Windows 2000 Professional. Peter Dyson and Pat Coleman thought about how they and others work with computers and then tailored the topics in this section accordingly, covering such things as how to manage files and folders, how to customize the Desktop, how to set up local and network printers, and how to share files, folders, and applications.
• Part II: Understanding Active Directory The purpose of the chapters in this part of the book is to introduce you to Active Directory. Robert R. King starts by discussing how Active Directory Service (ADS) fits into the overall Windows 2000 philosophy, continues by explaining the communications protocols-in particular how ADS depends on TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)-and concludes with a discussion of ADS design theories and information about how to install ADS.
• Part III: Connecting to the World Windows 2000 includes an extensive set of communications tools that let you exchange electronic mail, browse the Internet, and control telephone calls. In the chapters in this part of the book, Mark Minasi and Todd Phillips walk you through the steps to) install a modem, use Phone Dialer, send and receive e-mail with Outlook Express, connect to the Internet, and use Internet Explorer as well as other Internet applications.
• Part IV: Understanding the Registry The Registry is the heart and soul of Windows 2000. It contains all the configuration information about hardware, preferences, security, and users. In this part of the book, Peter D. Hipson introduces the Registry and tells you about its development history. He then jumps right into how to avoid getting into trouble when you fiddle with the Registry and follows with a chapter that analyzes the Registry contents in depth. In addition, lie takes a close look at the Registry tools that are included with Windows 2000.
• Part V: Installing and Using Windows 2000 Server As you may have heard, the Windows 2000 platform actually consists of four products that can work either together or separately: Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and Windows 2000 Data Center. Each product serves a specific purpose and is appropriate for use in particular situations. Windows 2000 Server can be deployed on anything from a small home network to a network of several hundred users.
  In this part of the book, Mark Minasi, Christa Anderson, Brian M. Smith, and Doug Toombs provide instructions for installing Windows 2000 Server, explain the user interface and how to use Microsoft Management Console, and guide you through the steps for creating and managing user accounts.
• Part VI: Windows 2000 Instant Reference If you have a specific question about Windows 2000, you might just want to look here first. This part of the book is a distillation of Jutta VanStean's Windows 2000 Instant Reference, which is more than 600 pages that cover every Windows 2000 concept, component, and command. For Windows 2000 Complete, we omitted the illustrations and the cross-references, but we have kept every single entry and maintained the alphabetic, glossary format. This reference provides information at your fingertips for all levels of users.