1. Dr Keyboard Masterclass Moving from Windows 9x to XP Chris Ward-Johnson March 8 – 10 2002

2. This Weekend Friday afternoon Introduction to Windows XP - video Windows 95/8/ME fundamentals The ‘Pyramid of Grief’ Windows XP fundamentals ‘Strong foundations’ Comparison with processor development Saturday morning Windows 9x vs XP Whizzy new features in Windows XP XP Home vs XP Professional Saturday afternoon Installing Windows XP WXP installation options Activation Security Getting help Installing software Compatibility mode System tuning

3. Windows 9x fundamentals MS-DOS based 32-bit sitting on top of 16-bit out of 8-bit code Windows 1, 2, 286, 386, 3.0,3.1 and 3.11 Windows 95, 95OSR2, 98, 98SE, ME

4. A pyramid of grief MS-DOS (8-bit) MS-DOS (16-bit) Windows 3.xx Windows 386 Windows 286 Windows 1 and 2 Windows ME Windows 98/SE Windows 95

5. Windows XP fundamentals Based on Windows NT (New Technology) NT 3.0 – 3.51 NT 4.0 Windows 2000 Windows XP: –Windows XP Home –Windows XP Professional –(Server versions)

6. Solid Foundations NT 3.xx NT 4.0 Windows 2000 (NT5) Windows XP

7. Matches Intel processor development Speed/Performance Time 1974 8080 1978 8086 29,000 Transistors, 16-bit 1979 8088 – 8/16 bit, used by IBM for PC 1982 80286 – 16- bit, 134,000 transistors 1985 80386 – 32-bit, 5 MIPS, multi- tasking 1989 486 – 32-bit, 1.2 million transistors, built-in maths co- processor 1993 Pentium – 3.1 million transistors, 90 MIPS 1995 Pentium Pro/II – 5.5 million transistors, 300 MIPS 1999 Pentium III – 24 million transistors 2000 Pentium 4 – 42 million transistors 2001 Itanium – 64-bit 2003 Pentium 4/5 – 5GHz 1 MIPS 5 MIPS 90 MIPS 300 MIPS 1 Billion MIPS

8. Windows 9x vs Windows XP Windows 9x Mixed 16/32 bit environment with ‘thunking’ translation layer Fdisk FAT16/32 only without 3 rd party drivers All users of one PC can see all files/programs One crashing program can bring down entire system Installation programs can overwrite system files – ‘DLL Hell’ Windows 95 interface Windows XP 32-bit only with ‘compatibility mode’ for 16-bit programs Disk Management snap-in – no command-line utility FAT16/32 and NTFS Individual user accounts see only files/programs allowed by administrator – ‘Fast switch’ allows others to use the machine without having to re-boot/re-log in System protected from individual crashes System protects important files and can even restore ‘known good’ versions with ‘Restore points’ New ‘Luna’ look, Windows 95 ‘Classic’ also available

9. More new whizzy bits in WXP Welcome screen with pictures/logos for each user Fast user switching for shared computers – leave files open, documents running, e-mail downloading while another user does their thing Start menu changes including two columns, most recently used programs Spartan desktop – only Recycle Bin by default Taskbar buttons grouped – three Word documents on one button, rather than spread across screen File management – Windows Explorer/My Computer toggles folder listing and ‘common tasks’ view Help – actually can help now with tutorials, trouble-shooters, tutorials and instant access to MS KnowledgeBase articles relevant to problem, WXP newsgroups, Microsoft Support, ‘Remote Assistance’ feature Integrated basic firewall to stop commonest attacks Media player for CDs and MP3s (not DVDs) and CDR/W creation Digital picture management with e.g. auto-slideshows

10. XP Home vs XP Pro XPH Only supports one CPU 32-bit processors only Basic TCP/IP networking, no Domain support Suitable for home/SOHO/very small business use Won’t run IIS web server Remote assistance Basic HD only XPP Twin CPU support 32- and 64-bit processors Full networking/security including TCP/IP, IPX, EFS and IPSec Used in all business/corporate environments ‘Superset’ of XPH functions – includes everything in ‘Home’ version, even multimedia/games support Runs IIS web server Remote connection Dynamic discs for e.g. volume spanning (e.g. drive D is actually 3 physical hard discs)

11. Installing XP Back up ALL data Letters E-mails Personalised files MS Office ‘Save my settings’ wizard IE bookmarks (File/Import and Export ISP settings Use the ‘Check System Compatibility’ test – d:\i386\winnt32 –checkupgradeonly (d=CD drive letter) Use dynamic updates (Internet connection needed) Download (and have accessible to the installer) updated drivers (W2K drivers may work in WXP) Check for BIOS upgrade http://www.microsoft.com/hclhttp://www.microsoft.com/hcl for hardware compatibility list In general, business and consumer applications will work with XP if they worked with Windows 200. Applications written for Windows 9x may fail BUT see ‘Compatibility Mode’ Dual-boot XP and existing Windows ONLY if on different discs/partitions W9x low-level utilities – Anti-virus, partition, firewall – will probably fail under XP Don’t be stingy with the RAM – 512MB rather than 128MB

12. WXP Installation Options Clean Least problems Nice clean start, no legacy software problems Upgrade/over the top Preserves existing settings, data Most problems with existing software conflicts with new May be the only way to get some software to work, though Multi-boot Can revert to older version if/when necessary Have to reinstall all old programs inside new Windows All data accessible to both (although NB: NTFS partitions are not readable by W9x)

13. Activation By phone or internet within 30 days If not activated, it won’t work You can change 4-6/10 hardware items before re- activation, including CD, NIC, CPU, RAM. Digital cameras and Zip drives aren’t counted

14. Using Windows XP - tips Win-Break for system properties Files and Settings Transfer Wizard - Start/Run/migwiz (but be careful what you move) Auto-updates After setup, run Add or Remover Programs/Add Remove Windows Components – no ‘Custom’ install option System Restore – don’t accept the default settings, e.g. turn off for data-only drives, and check settings immediately when you get a ‘low disc space’ warning Use NTFS to take full advantage of security features, e.g.: Set up accounts for different family members giving access to specific files, folders, hardware Make a Password Reset Disk for each user Fast Switching good if you have lots of RAM

15. Using Windows XP - security Only have one ‘Administrator’ account, and change the name of the ‘Administrator’ account itself Make all other accounts ‘Limited’, including your own ‘everyday’ account Passwords should be at least 7 characters and include letters, numbers and non-alphanumeric text, e.g. *abcdef9 If programs won’t install, add users to the ‘Power Users’ group Password protect ALL accounts You can restrict logon times to e.g. stop young children using the PC after 9 pm and before 8 am You can restrict access to specific files and folders, allow only for set ones, restrict the amount of disc space available to users.

16. Using Windows XP - getting help The new Help and Support Centre – demo Very different to the old one, but worth working at KnowledgeBase link online – if you have the Q number (e.g. referred from Dr K) type ‘mskb number’ Remote Assistance – Windows Messenger is the easiest way to establish a connection

17. Using Windows XP – installing software You can set user permissions so that they can’t install software – hurrah! Administrators can install anything Temporarily ‘promote’ a Limited user to Administrator group to allow them to install software Windows XP-compatible software knows about Limited Users ‘Virtual Machine’ for 16-bit, Windows 3.xx software Don’t usually support long file names Problems if they require a 16-bit hardware driver Create shortcuts to the executable (.exe) file for MS-DOS programs and change the Properties to adjust memory and other settings

18. Using Windows XP – compatibility mode Right-click program shortcut to access Properties All Programs/Accessories/Program Compatibility Wizard Research the problem first Dangerous for low-level utilities such as anti-virus software, partitioning programs Be careful with e.g. CD burning programs which install their own device drivers

19. Using Windows XP – system tuning Keep an eye on Task Manager, Ctrl-Shift-Esc Replaces Ctrl-Alt-Del CPU and memory usage Non-responding programs Can be closed without bringing system down Virtual Memory Advanced tab on System applet in Control Panel 1.5-2.5x RAM for paging file, depending on memory usage e.g. 512MB RAM never used, small paging file Fixed size Temp files to second HD Temporary internet files, too Max 50 MB