Windows.XP.in.a.Nutshell.1002005.2Ed [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

B.1. Before Upgrading to Windows XP

As with the move to any new operating system, there are some software
and hardware components that either aren't
compatible with the new version, or must be updated to work with the
new version. In the case of Windows XP, any versions of the following
products not specifically designed to work with Windows XP must be
updated or removed:

• Antivirus software and
  disk utility software. Examples include Norton Utilities, Norton SystemWorks,
  and Norton Antivirus.

• Tape
  backup software. Examples include Veritas Backup (all versions) and
  Seagate
  Backup Exec. Note that if you back up your system before you upgrade
  to Windows XP, make sure you'll be able to read your
  backup media

  from within Windows XP as well.

• CD
  burner software not
  designed specifically for Windows XP may interfere with the built-in
  CD burner features in Windows XP, or may stop functioning because of
  said features. Examples include Roxio Easy CD Creator (Versions 5.0
  and earlier) and Adaptec DirectCD.

• Any software that works with settings specific to any single version
  of Windows, such as
  Microsoft TweakUI
  (Versions 1.33 and earlier). See Appendix D for
  details.

• Games, especially the more graphic-intensive and 3D-accelerated ones,
  frequently have problems with newer versions of Windows, particularly
  those based on Windows NT (such as Windows 2000, and, yes, Windows
  XP). You'll need to contact the manufacturers of
  each game for any patches, updates, or special settings required for
  their games to run on Windows XP.

• Any software that requires you to boot directly into
  DOS
  will not function on a Windows XP system, as DOS is no longer part of
  the operating system. Furthermore, many older DOS programs (including
  games) may not function from within Windows XP. If you rely on such
  software, you may need to set up a dual-boot system (discussed in
  Appendix A).

• Drivers and accompanying software for any of the less-common
  peripherals, such as webcams, TV and radio cards, video capture
  devices, audio cards, flash memory readers, scanners, input devices,
  synchronization cradles for handheld computers, oddball printers, CD
  changers, DVD decoders, SCSI cards, and older network hardware and
  software.

While this list is far from complete, it should give you an idea of
the

types of products that may cause problems
with Windows XP (or any new operating system, for that matter). If
you haven't yet upgraded to Windows XP,
it's best to check with the manufacturers of each
and every card, drive, printer, input device, and other peripheral
you use to make sure they support your devices under Windows XP.

Another option is to run the Microsoft Windows Upgrade Advisor, described
in Appendix A. This scans your system and
compares it with a list of devices and software known to cause
problems with Windows XP. While it's far from
complete as well, it will certainly warn you of any incompatibilities
of which Microsoft is aware.

The Microsoft Windows Upgrade Advisor is available on the Windows XP
CD (click "Check system
compatibility" in the main Setup screen), or from
Microsoft's web site (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/).

B.1.1. After Upgrading to Windows XP

Assuming you've taken care of the various
incompatibilities mentioned in the first section of this appendix,
two main migration issues remain: making Windows XP look and feel
more like previous versions, and finding the features that have been
moved (or removed) from previous versions.

Visual style of windows and dialog controls

Make Windows XP look more like previous versions of Windows by going
to Control Panel
[Appearance and Themes]
Display Appearance tab,
and choose "Windows Classic style"
from the "Windows and buttons"
list.

Visual style of Start menu

To revert to the simpler single-column Start menu found in earlier
versions of Windows, go to Control Panel
[Appearance and Themes]
Taskbar and Start Menu
Start Menu tab, and
select the "Start menu" option.

Dial-up networking

Dial-up connections are now located alongside standard network
connections in the Network Connections window.

Network Neighborhood

This is now called "My Network Places."

My Computer icon on the Desktop

By default, the My Computer icon isn't shown on the
Windows XP Desktop, but it's there if you need it.
Go to Control Panel
Display Desktop tab
Customize Desktop, and
turn on the "My Computer" option.

Control Panel in My Computer

By default, Control Panel no longer appears in the My Computer
window, but it's available in the Start menu.
Confusingly, it still appears under the My Computer branch in Windows
Explorer. Go to Control Panel
[Appearance and Themes]
Folder Options
View tab, and turn on the
"Show Control Panel in My Computer"
option.

Behavior of single-folder windows

When you click a folder icon, a new folder window may appear, or the
contents of the current window may be replaced with the contents of
the new folder (unless the folder icon was on the Desktop). All
versions of Windows, from Windows 95 to Windows XP, allow you to
configure this setting, but different releases of Windows have had
different defaults. To change this setting to your liking, go to
Control Panel [Appearance
and Themes] Folder
Options General tab, and
make a choice in the "Browse
folders" section.

Animation and other eye candy

The animation and other eye candy used with windows, menus, lists,
and even your mouse cursor is more prevalent in Windows XP than any
previous version of Windows. Curbing this behavior not only
simplifies the interface, but can improve the performance of your
system as well. These settings are located in two places. Go to
Control Panel [Appearance
and Themes] Display
Appearance tab
Effects, or go to Control
Panel [Performance and
Maintenance] System
Advanced tab, and click
Settings in the Performance section.

Categories in Control Panel

The categories in Control Panel, which are somewhat superfluous, can
be removed by opening the Control Panel window (not the Control Panel
menu in the Start menu, nor the Control Panel folder in Windows
Explorer, however) and clicking "Switch to Classic
View" in the Common Tasks pane. If Control Panel
appears as a menu, simply right-click the Control Panel item and
select Open. If you don't have a Common Tasks pane,
see the next topic.

Common Tasks pane in folder windows

The Common Tasks pane shows links to additional programs and
features, but can be removed if you prefer the simpler, cleaner
folders found in earlier versions of Windows. Go to Control Panel
[Appearance and Themes]
Folder Options
General tab, and click
"Use Windows classic folders."

File type associations

Whenever you upgrade to a new version of Windows, the Windows setup
program will claim a bunch of different file type associations
without asking. For example, your default applications for
l files (web pages),
.jpg images, and .zip files
(archives) are all forgotten in favor of Microsoft's
replacements. The fact that Windows doesn't preserve
your associations, or at least ask before overwriting them, should be
considered a total embarrassment and complete failure on the part of
Microsoft's developers.

Fortunately, you can choose new associations by going to Control
Panel [Appearance and
Themes] Folder Options
File Types tab. The two
exceptions are .zip files and image files
(.jpg, .gif, etc.), for
which the default applications don't follow your
settings in the File Types dialog.^[1] Fix them using one of two types
of files:

^[1] This type of thing
makes me furious (Microsoft does it all the time), and is one of the
primary motivations for the Annoyances.org web site and the various
Annoyances books.

Image files

Regardless of the application you choose as the default for all of
your image files, Windows XP
will always launch the "
Windows Picture and Fax
Viewer" when they're
double-clicked. To fix this, launch the Registry Editor (see Chapter 8), and navigate to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{e84fda7c-1d6a-45f6-b725-cb260c236066}\shellex.
Delete the MayChangeDefaultMenu key here, and
close the Registry Editor when you're done. (The
"Preview" action will still appear
in your files' context menus, but it
won't be activated when you double-click on the
files.)

ZIP files

Even if you install your own program for handling ZIP files, Windows
XP will still open .zip files like standard
folders. To fix this, go to Start
Run, type
regsvr32 /u %windir%\system32\zipfldr.dll at the
prompt, and click OK. You'll have to restart Windows
for this change to take effect.

Desktop icons

The icons used for the standard Desktop items, such as My Computer
and the Recycle Bin, have a new look in Windows XP. To use the icons
found in earlier versions of Windows, go to Control Panel
[Appearance and Themes]
Display
Desktop tab
Customize Desktop. Most
of the older icons can be found in the file
\Windows\System32\SHELL32.dll.

DOS is history

Unlike some earlier versions of Windows (such as Windows 95, Windows
98, and Windows Me), Windows XP does not rely on DOS. This means that
you can no longer boot directly into DOS on a Windows XP system, even
with a floppy. If you attempt to boot your computer with a Windows
9x/Me startup diskette, possibly in the hopes of effecting repairs or
copying files (a common practice on older computers), you probably
won't even be able to see the hard disk.^[2] If you're unable to start Windows XP,
you'll need to
"repair" the installation using the
original CD, either with the Recovery Console or by using the Windows
setup (both described in Appendix A).

^[2] This is due to the fact that Windows 9x/Me
isn't compatible with the NTFS filesystem, used
predominantly on Windows XP systems. See Chapter 4 for more information on NTFS.

Additional topics like these can be found at http://www.annoyances.org.