Published by Microsoft Press A Division of Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington 98052-6399 Copyright © 2007 by Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher Library of Congress Control Number: 2006938200 Printed and bound in the United States of America QWT Distributed in Canada by H.B Fenn and Company Ltd A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Microsoft Press books are available through booksellers and distributors worldwide For further information about international editions, contact your local Microsoft Corporation office or contact Microsoft Press International directly at fax (425) 936-7329 Visit our Web site at www.microsoft.com/mspress Send comments to mspinput@microsoft.com Microsoft, Microsoft Press, Active Directory, ActiveX, Aero, Authenticode, BitLocker, Calibri, Cambria, Candara, ClearType, Consolas, Constantia, Corbel, DirectX, Encarta, Excel, ForeFront, Hotmail, IntelliMirror, Internet Explorer, Jscript, MSDN, MS-DOS, MSN, NetMeeting, OneCare, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Rally, ReadyBoost, ReadyDrive, Segoe, SharePoint, SideShow, SQL Server, SuperFetch, TrueImage, Visual Basic, Windows, Windows CardSpace, Windows Live, Windows Media, Windows Mobile, Windows NT, Windows PowerShell, Windows Server, Windows Vista, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious No association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred This book expresses the DXWKRU¶VYLHZVDQGRSLQLRQV7KHLQIRUPDWLRQFRQWDLQHGLQWKLVERRNLVSURYLGHG without any express, statutory, or implied warranties Neither the authors, Microsoft Corporation, nor its resellers, or distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this book Acquisitions Editor: Juliana Aldous Atkinson Project Editor: Sandra Haynes Editorial Production Services: Custom Editorial Productions, Inc Body Part No X12-48756 Dedicated to the memory of Charles Bott (1932-2006) and Ruth Siechert (1919–2006), and to our families, for their unceasing love and support — Ed Bott, Carl Siechert, and Craig Stinson Contents at a Glance Part I  Setup and Startup Chapter What’s New in Windows Vista Chapter Installing and Configuring Windows Vista 19 Chapter Personalizing Windows Vista 71 Chapter Adding, Removing, and Managing Programs 125 Chapter Setting Up and Troubleshooting Hardware 147 Chapter Using Internet Explorer 183 Chapter Finding and Organizing Files and Information 227 Chapter E-Mail, Collaboration, and Personal Productivity 293 Chapter Obtaining Help and Support 321 Part II  Security and Networking Chapter 10 Security Essentials 347 Chapter 11 Managing User Accounts, Passwords, and Logons 407 Chapter 12 Setting Up a Small Network 447 Chapter 13 Managing Shared Folders and Printers 493 Chapter 14 Tweaking and Troubleshooting a Small Network 529 Part III  Digital Media Chapter 15 Digital Media Essentials 549 Chapter 16 Playing and Organizing a Digital Music Collection 587 Chapter 17 Viewing, Organizing, and Sharing Digital Photos 625 Chapter 18 Creating and Watching Movies and DVDs 655 Chapter 19 Using Windows Media Center 689  vi Contents at a Glance Part IV  System Maintenance and Management Chapter 20 Performing Routine Maintenance 715 Chapter 21 Tuning Up and Monitoring Performance 743 Chapter 22 Monitoring System Activities With Event Viewer 769 Chapter 23 Troubleshooting Windows Errors 789 Chapter 24 Recovering From a Computer Crash 813 Chapter 25 Managing Services 827 Chapter 26 Editing the Registry 853 Part V  Advanced System Management Chapter 27 Advanced Internet Explorer Security and Administration 879 Chapter 28 Managing Disks and Drives 913 Chapter 29 Controlling Access to Files and Folders 943 Chapter 30 AutomatingWindows Vista 969 Chapter 31 Advanced Security Management 987 Part VI  Appendices Appendix A Windows Vista Editions at a Glance 1023 Appendix B Working with the Command Prompt 1029 Appendix C Using and Customizing Microsoft Management Console 1051 Appendix D Viewing System Information 1071 Table of Contents Acknowledgments xxiii Conventions and Features Used in This Book xxv About the CD xxvii Part I  Setup and Startup Chapter What’s New in Windows Vista Introducing the Windows Vista Family The Windows Vista Interface: Up Close and Personalized Searching, Sharing, and Other File Management Tasks Windows Vista Security at a Glance Digital Media Essentials 11 Inside Internet Explorer 14 Mail and Collaboration 15 Performance and Reliability 15 And Much, Much More… 17 Chapter Installing and Configuring Windows Vista 19 Before You Start… Know Your Hardware Avoiding Software Compatibility Problems Backing Up Data and Settings Setting Up Windows Vista Performing a Clean Install Upgrading a Previous Windows Version Upgrading from Another Windows Vista Edition Installing Windows Vista on a Computer with OtherWindows Versions Activating and Validating Windows Vista Entering a Product Key 19 21 22 23 23 24 33 36 37 43 43 What you think of this book? We want to hear from you! Microsoft is interested in hearing your feedback so we can continually improve our books and learning resources for you To participate in a brief online survey, please visit: www.microsoft.com/learning/booksurvey/ vii viii Table of Contents Activating a Retail Copy of Windows Activation Requirements for OEM Copies Product Activation and Corporate Licensing Dealing with Product Validation Transferring Files and Settings from Another Computer Making a Connection Choosing What To Transfer Restoring Files and Settings on Your New Computer Configuring System Recovery Options Finishing Your Windows Vista Installation Adjust Basic Display Settings Check Your Security Settings Connect to the Internet and Your Local Network Finish Hardware Setup Add or Remove Windows Features Set Power and Sleep Settings Configure Remote Access Options Set Up Additional User Accounts Create a Backup Image Chapter 44 47 48 48 49 50 53 57 58 61 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 Personalizing Windows Vista 71 Customizing the Aero User Interface 72 Turning Aero Off 74 Modifying the Predefined Color Schemes 76 Making Text Easier to Read 78 Using Font Smoothing to Make Text Easier on the Eyes 82 Customizing the Desktop Background 83 Choosing a Screen Saver 84 Changing the Way Events Are Mapped to Sounds 85 Customizing Mouse Pointers 87 Saving Your Settings as a Theme 88 Configuring Screen Resolution 89 Configuring a Multi-Monitor Display 90 Configuring Desktop Icons 91 Adding or Moving Start Menu Items to the Desktop 94 Using and Customizing Windows Sidebar 94 Personalizing the Start Menu 97 Controlling the Content of the Start Menu 100 Making Your Programs Easy to Find on the Start Menu 103 Working with Start Menu Folders in Windows Explorer 107 Setting the Internet and E-Mail Links at the Top of theStart Menu 107 Launching Programs with the Quick Launch Toolbar 108 Customizing the Taskbar 109 Changing the Taskbar’s Size and Appearance 109 Controlling Taskbar Grouping 109 Getting the Taskbar Out of Your Way 111 Moving the Taskbar 111 Chapter Table of Contents ix Controlling the Display of Icons in the Notification Area Using Additional Toolbars Installing and Removing Toolbars Sizing and Positioning Toolbars Creating a New Toolbar Setting Default Programs, File Type Associations, and AutoPlay Options Setting Default Programs Changing File Type Associations Setting Program Access and Computer Defaults Setting AutoPlay Options 112 113 114 114 114 115 115 117 122 123 Adding, Removing, and Managing Programs 125 Dealing with User Account Control (UAC) Dealing with Compatibility Issues Configuring MS-DOS Programs Installing Programs on 64-bit Versions of Windows Creating and Customizing Program Shortcuts Creating New Shortcuts from Scratch Deleting Shortcuts Managing Startup Programs Controlling Startup Programs with Windows Defender Using Policies to Control Startup Applications Managing Running Programs and Processes with Windows Task Manager Running a Program as an Administrator or Another User Uninstalling Programs Chapter 126 128 132 134 134 136 136 137 137 141 142 145 146 Setting Up and Troubleshooting Hardware 147 A Crash Course in Device Drivers 148 Is That Driver Signed? 150 Finding the Right Driver File 152 Viewing Driver Details 153 Installing and Configuring a New Device 158 Managing the Plug and Play Process 159 Installing and Managing Printers and Print Queues 161 Setting Up Scanners 163 Managing Modems and Fax Devices 164 Making Connections with Portable and Mobile Devices 164 Configuring Legacy Devices 164 Changing Settings for an Installed Device 166 Adjusting Advanced Settings 166 Viewing and Changing Resource Assignments 170 Managing Installed Drivers 172 Updating a Device Driver 173 Rolling Back to a Previous Driver Version 174 Uninstalling a Driver 174 Enabling and Disabling Individual Devices 176 Decoding Hardware Errors 177  Table of Contents Chapter Using Internet Explorer 183 Choosing a Default Web Browser Using and Personalizing Internet Explorer Changing Tabbed Browsing Options Changing Search Settings Changing Your Home Page Managing Toolbars Enabling and Disabling Add-ons Configuring Internet Explorer to Work with Other Programs Resetting Internet Explorer to Its Default Settings Managing Your Favorites Adding Pages to Your Favorites List Adding Groups of Pages to the Favorites List Editing Favorites Organizing Favorites Importing, Exporting, and Sharing Favorites Using Third-Party Tools to Manage Favorites Blocking Pop-Up Windows Setting the Filter Level Creating a Custom Filter Level Allowing Pop-ups from Specific Sites Configuring Notification Options Using (or Refusing) AutoComplete Saving and Protecting Passwords and Other Sensitive Data Clearing the AutoComplete History Using Inline AutoComplete Internet Explorer Security and Privacy Options Download Do’s and Don’ts Inspecting Website Certificates Identifying Deceptive (Phishing) Websites Managing Cookies Clearing Personal Information Finding, Reading, and Subscribing to RSS Feeds Using Internet Explorer as an FTP Client Chapter 184 185 188 189 192 193 195 196 197 198 198 200 200 202 202 203 204 204 205 206 207 208 209 212 213 213 213 214 216 217 217 218 223 Finding and Organizing Files and Information 227 What’s What in Windows Explorer Displaying or Hiding Optional Elements Choosing View Options Sorting, Filtering, Stacking, and Grouping Navigating in Windows Explorer Navigating with the Breadcrumb Trail Navigating with Favorite Links Navigating with the Folders List Navigating in the Common Dialog Boxes Working with Properties in the Details Pane Managing User Profiles What’s What and Where in a User Profile 228 230 231 233 241 242 244 246 247 248 250 250 1066 Appendix C  Using and Customizing Microsoft Management Console Snap-In Name Description Services Using this snap-in, you can start, stop, and configure services running on a local or remote computer Most users access these tools using the Services console (Services.msc) or the Services And Applications node in the Computer Management console Shared Folders With the help of this snap-in, you can view and manage shared folders, monitor current sessions, and see which network users have opened files on a local or remote computer For more information, see “Managing Shared Folders,” in Chapter 13 Task Scheduler This snap-in provides a place to view, create, and manage scheduled tasks For details, see “Scheduling Tasks to Run Automatically,” Chapter 29 TPM Management This snap-in configures Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security hardware TPM hardware, which is incorporated on the motherboard of some computers, provides a method for managing cryptographic keys in a way that makes it virtually impossible for an unauthorized user (or thief) to decrypt information stored on the computer Windows Firewall With This snap-in provides a much richer set of tools for configuring Advanced Security and monitoring Windows Firewall than is available through Control Panel For information about using this snap-in, see “Blocking Intruders with Windows Firewall,” Chapter 10 WMI Control Appendix C Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is an essential system service that allows remote and local monitoring of hardware and software In theory, you can control and configure WMI settings using this snap-in; in practice, no user-configurable options are available on a default installation of Windows Adding Taskpad Views A taskpad is a customized page that appears within the Details pane of a snap-in With it, you can create icons that encapsulate menu commands, command strings, scripts, URLs, and shortcuts to Favorites items Navigational tabs at the bottom of a taskpad view make it easy for a user to switch between the taskpad view and a normal view of the same data You can suppress these tabs (by means of the Customize View dialog box) if you don’t want to give your console’s users this freedom Figure C-8 shows the beginnings of a taskpad view that provides quick access to commonly used features Creating Your Own MMC Consoles 1067 Figure C-8  In one of numerous display options, you can create a consolidated taskpad view that includes icons for performing actions that otherwise would require navigation throughout the console To create a taskpad view, start by selecting an item in the console tree to which you want to apply the view As you’ll see, when you create your taskpad view, you have the option of applying it only to the selected console-tree item or to all items at the same outline level The default selections in the wizard’s third screen apply the new taskpad view to all comparable console-tree items and make the taskpad the default view for those items Moving on from this screen, you have the opportunity to assign a name and some descriptive text to the new view In the wizard’s final screen, select Add New Tasks To This Taskpad After The Wizard Closes if you want to create one or more task shortcuts This selection summons a new wizard that walks you through the process of creating your first shortcut On the final page of this wizard, select When I Click Finish, Run This Wizard Again if you have additional shortcuts to create Managing Windows With the New Window From Here command on the Action menu, you can create a new child window rooted on the current console-tree selection You might want to use this command to create multiple-window applications After you’ve created your windows, you can use Window menu commands to tile or cascade them You can also use the New Window From Here command to remove the Console Root item that appears atop your default console tree: Select the first item below Console Root Appendix C Next, right-click the selected console-tree entry and choose New Taskpad View from the shortcut menu The New Taskpad View wizard appears The sample table at the right side of the wizard’s second page makes the options pretty self-explanatory The default choices work well in most situations 1068 Appendix C Using and Customizing Microsoft Management Console Open the Action menu and click New Window From Here (or right-click and choose it from the shortcut menu) Close the original window (the one with Console Root) Controlling Other Display Elements The Customize View command on the View menu allows you to hide or display various elements of the MMC visual scene, including taskbars, menus, and the navigational tabs that appear below taskpad views Note that selections in the Customize View dialog box (see Figure C-3) take effect immediately—you don’t need to hit an Apply button or leave the dialog box Therefore, you can easily try each option and see whether you like it INSIDE OUT Customize views when the View menu is hidden When you clear the Standard Menus check box, the View menu disappears and, along with it, your access to the Customize View dialog box In other words, once you hide the standard menus, there’s apparently no way to get them back or to make other view changes Don’t despair; a back door exists Click the icon at the left end of the menu bar; the menu that opens includes a Customize View command (Even this back door is shut if you run the console in User mode and the console author cleared the Allow The User To Customize Views check box in the Options dialog box ) Appendix C Using the Favorites Menu The Favorites menu allows you to store pointers to places within your console tree If you create a particularly complex MMC console, you might want to consider using Favorites to simplify navigation To add a console-tree item to your list of favorites, select that item and then choose Add To Favorites from the Favorites menu Naming Your Console To assign a name to your console, choose File, Options Your entry in the field at the top of the Console tab in the Options dialog box will appear on the title bar of your console, regardless of the file name you apply to its msc file If you not make an entry here, MMC replaces Console1 with the console’s eventual file name Click Change Icon to select an icon for the console You can select an icon from any DLL or executable file Creating Your Own MMC Consoles 1069 Note You can rename Console Root (or any other folder in the console tree) by right-clicking it and choosing Rename Restricting User Control of Your Console l User Mode—Full Access  Users have full access to the console tree and can open new windows, using either the New Window From Here or Window, New Window command (Changes to the window arrangement can’t be saved in User mode, however.) l User Mode—Limited Access, Multiple Window  Users have access only to parts of the console tree that are visible (For example, if you create a hierarchically organized console, open a new window from a node below the console root, and then close the console root window before saving, users will be unable to reach the console root and other nodes at or above the level at which the new window was opened.) Users can open new windows with the New Window From Here command, but the New Window command (which would provide access to the console root) does not appear on the Window menu l User Mode—Limited Access, Single Window  In this most restrictive mode, users have access only to parts of the console tree that are visible MMC operates in single-window mode, essentially losing its MDI character; users can’t open new document windows, nor can they resize the single document window If you choose one of the three User modes, the two check boxes at the bottom of the Options dialog box become available Your choices are as follows: l Do Not Save Changes To This Console  With this check box cleared (its default), MMC saves the state of your application automatically when a user closes it The user’s selection in the console tree, for example, is preserved from one use to the next If you always want your users to see the same thing each time they run the console, select this check box l Allow The User To Customize Views  This check box, selected by default, keeps the Customize View command available, allowing your users, for example, to hide or display the console tree Clear the check box if you want to deny users access to this option Appendix C In the Console Mode list on the Console tab of the Options dialog box (choose File, Options), you can select among MMC’s three User modes In any of these modes, users can’t add or remove snap-ins, modify taskpad views, or make other changes to the console The difference among the modes is how much of the console tree they’re able to see and whether they can open new windows 1070 Appendix C Using and Customizing Microsoft Management Console Saving a Console The fi nal step in the process of creating an MMC console is, of course, to save the fi le Choose File, Save As, enter a fi le name in the Save As dialog box, and choose a location (the default location is the Administrative Tools folder in the Start Menu\Programs folder for your profi le) Click Save The resulting console fi le is saved with the msc extension INSIDE OUT Find your saved console By default, Administrative Tools doesn’t appear anywhere on the Start menu To further confuse matters, Administrative Tools in Control Panel is merely a collection of shortcuts to various tools, but your saved console does not appear in Control Panel\System And Maintenance\Administrative Tools unless you explicitly place a shortcut there If you choose to save your console in Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools—the default location—you’ll want to customize the Start menu to include it Right-click the Start button, choose Properties, and click Customize on the Start Menu tab In the dialog box that appears, select one of the options for displaying Administrative Tools Alternatively, create a shortcut to your console in a folder of your choice or, more simply, find it by typing its name in the Start menu Search box Appendix C ! CaUtIOn If you want to create a console that can be used with earlier versions of Windows as well as Windows Vista, create it in that version—not in Windows Vista Although MMC in Windows Vista can use consoles created in MMC versions and (the versions that came with Windows 2000 and Windows XP, respectively), those earlier versions cannot use consoles created in version (the Windows Vista version) In Windows Vista, if you have opened a console that was created using an earlier version and then attempt to save it, MMC asks whether you want to save it in MMC format If you choose Yes, MMC saves the file in a format that can be used only with MMC If you choose No, MMC does not save the file in a downlevel format; instead, it doesn’t save the file at all In other words, your only option in Windows Vista is to save an MMC console that works only with Windows Vista aPPendIx d Home Basic Viewing System Information Home Premium Finding Basic Information About Your Computer 1071 Digging Deeper with Dedicated System Information Tools 1074 Business Enterprise Ultimate l l l l l Finding and Decoding Information in System Information 1075 Exporting System Information 1077 W hether it’s for troubleshooting purposes or just out of curiosity, you’ll occasionally need to find out more about your computer system: what kind of hardware you have, what software is installed, and so on This appendix provides an overview of the tools included with Windows Vista for displaying information about your system The utilities we describe in this chapter are not the only ones you can use to gather information about your system Elsewhere in this book, we discuss Task Manager, the Reliability And Performance Monitor, the Services console, and other utilities you can use for troubleshooting and diagnostic purposes This chapter focuses exclusively on those tools that are related to the interaction between Windows and your system hardware What’s in Your Edition? All the tools and utilities described in this appendix are available in all editions of Windows Vista Finding Basic Information About Your Computer For answers to basic questions about your operating system and computer, there’s no better place to start than the System Control Panel, shown in Figure D-1 on the next page No matter where you are in Windows or what your preferred input method is, this display is only a few clicks or keystrokes away You can open System in any of the following ways: l Press the Windows logo key+Break l Right-click Computer and choose Properties (This works just about any place that the Computer shortcut appears, including on the Start menu, on the desktop, in the Folders pane of Windows Explorer, and in a Windows Explorer window It does not work in the Favorite Links pane of Windows Explorer.) l In Control Panel, open System (in the System And Maintenance category) 1071 1072 Appendix D  Viewing System Information Figure D-1  The System application in Control Panel provides basic details about your computer’s configuration The System application displays the Windows edition currently running, system details (including processor type, installed memory, and whether the current operating system is a 32-bit or 64-bit version), details about the computer name and domain or workgroup, and the current activation status Links scattered around the dialog box lead to additional sources of information Two in particular are worth noting here: l Appendix D Click Device Manager in the Tasks pane along the left side of the dialog box to view detailed information about your installed hardware, including information about drivers, as shown in Figure D-1 You can open Device Manager directly, without first passing through System, by typing devmgmt.msc at a command prompt Finding Basic Information About Your Computer 1073 Figure D-2  Deice Manager is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that lists installed deices For details about how to use the information displayed in Device Manager, see Chapter 5, “Setting Up and Troubleshooting Hardware ” INSIDE OUT Use Computer Management l l Right-click Computer and choose Manage l In Administrative Tools (on the Start menu or in Control Panel), open Computer Management l At a command prompt, type compmgmt.msc compmgmt.msc Click Windows Experience Index to show a numeric breakdown of the five components that make up the base score shown in the System window Click View And Print Details to display a more detailed (but still not exhaustive) inventory of system components—motherboard and processor, storage, graphics, and network hardware Appendix D The Device Manager snap-in is included in the Computer Management console, along with a number of other useful snap-ins You can open Computer Management in any of the following ways: 1074 Appendix D Viewing System Information Knowing the numeric Experience Index rating for each subsystem is an important first step in improving system performance, as we explain in Chapter 21, “Tuning Up and Monitoring Performance and Reliability ” Digging Deeper with Dedicated System Information Tools For the most exhaustive inventory of system configuration details in a no-frills text format, Windows offers two tools with similar names, Systeminfo and System Information l Systeminfo Systeminfo.exe is a command-line utility that displays information about your Windows version, BIOS, processor, memory, network configuration, and a few more esoteric items Figure D-3 shows sample output Appendix D Figure D-3  The command-line utility Systeminfo.exe proides an easy way to gather information on all your network computers in a single database To run Systeminfo, open a Command Prompt window, type systeminfo, and press Enter In addition to the list format shown in the figure, Systeminfo offers two formats that are useful if you want to work with the information in another program: Table (fi xed-width columns) and CSV (comma-separated values) To Digging Deeper with Dedicated System Information Tools 1075 use one of these formats, append the /Fo switch to the command, along with the Table or Csv parameter You’ll also need to redirect the output to a fi le For example, to store comma-delimited information in a fi le named Info.csv, enter the following command: systeminfo /fo csv > info.csv The /S switch allows you to get system information about another computer on your network (If your user name and password don’t match that of an account on the target computer, you’ll also need to use the /U and /P switches to provide the user name and password of an authorized account.) When you’ve gathered information about all the computers on your network, you can import the file you created into a spreadsheet or database program for tracking and analysis The following command appends information about a computer named Badlands to the original file you created systeminfo /s badlands /fo csv >> info.csv l System Information System Information—often called by the name of its executable, Msinfo32.exe—is a techie’s paradise It provides all manner of information about your system’s hardware and software in a no-frills window that includes search capabilities The following sections discuss System Information in greater detail INSIDE OUT Try a third-party utility The system information utilities in Windows Vista identify Intel processors using their technical names, which consist of a family, a model, and a stepping For help translating those details into the names of specific processors, use the Intel Processor Identification Utility, available at http://www.vista-io.com/3503 http://www.vista-io.com/3503 Finding and Decoding Information in System Information System Information displays a wealth of configuration information in a clear display, as shown in Figure D-4 on the next page You can search for specific information, save information, view information about other computers, and even view a list of changes to your system Appendix D In addition to the tools included with Windows Vista, you can choose from a wide array of third-party utilities that poke around inside your computer to uncover details about installed hardware and software Two tools that we recommend are the Belarc Advisor ((http://www.vista-io.com/3501) http://www.vista-io.com/3501)) and Sandra 2007 (http://www.vista-io.com/3502 http://www.vista-io.com/3501 ((http://www.vista-io.com/3502) http://www.vista-io.com/3502) ) 1076 Appendix D  Viewing System Information Figure D-4  System Information is for viewing configuration information only; you can’t use it to actually configure settings To start System Information, use any of the following methods: Appendix D l In the Run dialog box, type msinfo32 l In a Command Prompt window, type start msinfo32 l Click Start and choose All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information l In the About dialog box of many applications, including Microsoft Office applications, click System Info (To reach this dialog box in Office 2003 programs, click Help, About In Office 2007 programs, click the Microsoft Office button, click the Options button at the bottom of the Office menu, click Resources, and finally, click About.) You navigate through System Information much as you would through Windows Explorer or an MMC console: Click a category in the left pane to view its contents in the right pane Table D-1 provides a summary of available information in System Information Because the tool is extensible—which means that other programs can provide information about themselves in a format that can be displayed in System Information—you might see additional categories and additional information on your system Finding and Decoding Information in System Information 1077 Table D-1.  Information Available in Msinfo32.exe Category Description System Summary Information similar to that provided by Systeminfo.exe: Windows version, computer name, computer make and model, processor, BIOS version and date, memory summary Hardware Resources Information about shared system resources, such as I/O ports and IRQs; device conflicts; DMA channels in use; devices with manually specified resources instead of system-assigned resources; I/O ports in use; IRQs in use; and memory addresses used by devices Components Information about each installed hardware device, including resources used and device descriptions, drivers, and current status Software Environment Information about drivers, environment variables, open print jobs, mapped network connections, running tasks, loaded system-level DLLs, services, Start menu program groups, programs that run at startup, file associations for OLE objects, and reported errors in Windows and Windows applications Applications Application-specific information that can be added to System Information by your installed programs; Office, for example, lists detailed information about everything from file versions to installed fonts to default page layout settings l Whenever you type in the Find What box to start a new search, Find begins its search at the top of the search range (the entire namespace unless you select Search Selected Category Only)—not at the current highlight l Selecting Search Category Names Only causes the Find feature to look only in the left pane When this check box is cleared, all text in both panes is searched Exporting System Information You can preserve your configuration information—always helpful when reconstructing a system—in several ways: l Save the information as an nfo file You can subsequently open the file (on the same computer or on a different computer with System Information) to view your saved information To save information in this format, choose File, Save Saving this way always saves the entire collection of information Appendix D To search for specific information, use the Find What box at the bottom of the System Information window (If the Find bar is not visible, choose Edit, Hide Find.) The Find feature is basic but effective A couple of things you should know: 1078 Appendix D Viewing System Information l Save all or part of the information as a plain text file To save information as a text file, select the category of interest and choose File, Export To save all the information as a text file, select System Summary before you save l You can print all or part of the information Select the category of interest, choose File, Print, and be sure that Selection is selected under Page Range To print everything, select All under Page Range—and be sure to have lots of paper on hand Depending on your system configuration and the number of installed applications, your report could top 100 pages Regardless of how you save your information, System Information refreshes (updates) the information immediately before processing the command INSIDE OUT Save your system information periodically Saving system configuration information when your computer is working properly can turn out to be very useful when you have problems Comparing your computer’s current configuration with a known, good baseline configuration can help you spot possible problem areas You can open multiple instances of System Information, so that you could have the current configuration displayed in one window and a baseline configuration displayed in another Appendix D About the Authors Ed Bott is a best-selling author and award-winning technology journalist who has been covering the personal computer industry since the days when an 8-MHz 80286 was a smokin’ machine Ed’s feature stories and columns about Microsoft Windows have appeared regularly in print and on the web for more than 15 years, and he has written books on nearly every version of Microsoft Windows (including Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out) and Microsoft Office—so many, in fact, that he’s lost count of the exact number Ed is a three-time winner of the Computer Press Award and a two-time recipient of the Jesse H Neal award from American Business Press Microsoft Windows Security Inside Out for Windows XP and Windows 2000, which he coauthored with Carl Siechert, earned the Award of Merit from the Society for Technical Communication in 2003 You can read Ed’s latest writings at Ed Bott’s Windows Expertise (http://www.edbott.com/weblog) and Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report (http://blogs.zdnet.com/bott) Ed and his wife Judy live in New Mexico Carl Siechert began his writing career at age eight as editor of the Mesita Road News, a neighborhood newsletter that reached a peak worldwide circulation of 43 during its eight-year run Following several years as an estimator and production manager in a commercial printing business, Carl returned to writing with the formation of Siechert & Wood Professional Documentation, a Pasadena, California firm that specializes in writing and producing product documentation for the personal computer industry Carl is a coauthor of over a dozen books published by Microsoft Press, including Field Guide to MS-DOS 6.2, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Expert Companion, and Microsoft Windows XP Networking and Security Inside Out In a convergence of new and old technology, Carl’s company now operates a popular website for hobby machinists, http://www littlemachineshop.com Carl hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada in 1977 and would rather be hiking right now He and his wife Jan live in southern California Craig Stinson, an industry journalist since 1981, was editor of Softalk for the IBM Personal Computer, one of the earliest IBM-PC magazines Craig is the author of Running Microsoft Windows 98 and a coauthor of Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out, Microsoft Excel Inside Out and Running Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, all published by Microsoft Press Craig is an amateur musician and has reviewed classical music for various newspapers and trade publications, including Billboard, the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, and Musical America He lives with his wife and children in Bloomington, Indiana The authors have set up a website for readers of this book At the site, you can find updates, corrections, links to other resources, and more useful tips In addition, you can discuss Windows Vista with the authors and with other readers We hope you’ll join us at http://www.vista-io.com