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November 14, 2002—In this issue:
1. COMMENTARY
- If You Aren't Using the Windows XP Recovery Console, It's Time to Take a Look
2. NEWS & VIEWS
- Opera 7 for Windows Beta 1 Released
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- How Can You Reclaim 30% to 50% of Windows Server Space?
- Planning On Getting Certified? Make Sure to Pick Up Our New eBook!
4. RESOURCES
- Tip: Read/Write Share Permissions in Windows XP SP1
- Featured Thread: Limiting Simultaneous Logons
5. NEW AND IMPROVED
- Eliminate Pop-Up Ads
- Personalize Your Windows OS
6. CONTACT US
- See this section for a list of ways to contact us.
1. COMMENTARY
(David Chernicoff, News Editor, [email protected])
Every now and then I get an abrupt reminder that some IT specialists have been at this Windows game a lot longer than others, and what's obvious to veteran IT specialists isn't quite so obvious to newcomers. In addition, sometimes those newcomers have experience with Windows but not with the Windows NT-derived Windows platform.
A case in point is a conversation I had last week with a client-support IT specialist from a Fortune 1000 company who had asked me questions about Windows XP before his corporatewide XP rollout. He called again to say that the rollout had gone painlessly, thanks to all the groundwork his company did, but he wondered whether I knew of a diagnostic utility he could install on mobile users' XP notebooks.
When I asked what he wanted from the utility, he answered that he'd already had several hardware-related failures with older notebooks, and he missed Windows 98 Second Edition's (Win98SE's) ability to boot to a DOS prompt and walk the user through some basic tests. I suggested he install the XP Recovery Console directly on the notebooks and was a bit surprised when he asked, "What's the Recovery Console?" Microsoft introduced the Recovery Console with Windows 2000. But I realized that with his focus on end-user problems and the fact that he moved directly from Win98SE to XP, he had never been exposed to the Recovery Console.
The Recovery Console lets you access XP or Win2K drives that won't boot from the normal startup or from any safe-mode option. If you're comfortable using the available command-line tools, you should install the Recovery Console on any computer that you think is critical enough to have the console immediately available. You can run the console from the XP installation CD-ROM, but in the client-support specialist's case, he wanted this basic ability immediately available on notebook computers, making a local installation appropriate.
Installing the Recovery Console is an easy process. Simply complete the following steps:
- From the XP installation CD-ROM or from a network share that contains the XP installation files, run the application \i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons. For example, if the CD-ROM is in the D drive, click Start, Run and enter
- To confirm a local installation, click Yes when prompted.
- When the installation finishes, reboot the computer.
- Check the boot menu for the new Microsoft Windows Recovery Console entry.
D:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
You'll find complete instructions for installing and using the XP Recovery Console at the URL below. If you've already used the console in Win2K, you'll find few changes in the XP process. Remember that the Recovery Console has only a limited subset of the available command-line utilities. Users should become familiar with what they can and can't do from the console command line.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307654&sd=tech
2. NEWS AND VIEWS
(contributed by Paul Thurrott, [email protected])
Yesterday morning, Opera Software announced that the first beta release of the company's Opera 7 Web browser was available for immediate download. Opera 7 includes a revamped HTML rendering engine and a slew of new features that the company says make the Web browser alternative superior to competition from Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and the Netscape and Mozilla camps.
"At Opera we try to cram a lot of useful features into a small package," said CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner. "We are happy to be able to say that Opera 7 does just that. We have greatly improved our rendering engine, user interface, and email client, and increased the rendering speed."
Opera 7 Beta 1 includes a new email and newsgroup client, a new alpha-blended UI, faster Web page rendering, better standards support, a mode for testing Web pages on small (e.g., PDA) screens, a new navigation bar, and more. For more information and the free download, visit the Opera Web site.
http://www.opera.com/download
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Attend our newest Web seminar, brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and Precise SRM, and discover the secrets. Steven Toole will also advise you on how to reduce storage growth and backups by 30% and how to reduce storage administration by 25% or more. Space is limited for this important Web event, so register today!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/precise
"The Insider's Guide to IT Certification" eBook is hot off the presses and contains everything you need to know to help you save time and money while preparing for certification exams from Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and CompTIA to have a successful career in IT. Get your copy of the Insider's Guide today!
http://winnet.bookaisle.com/ebookcover.asp?ebookid=13475
4. RESOURCES
(contributed by David Chernicoff, [email protected])
Why am I not surprised when a change that Microsoft makes in a service pack jumps up and bites users who apply the update? I guess I've come to expect such problems in the years I've worked with Microsoft OSs.
Recently, a friend who works for a small software-development firm called me in a panic. He wanted to know whether I knew why one of his firm's applications didn't always work correctly after the company upgraded Windows XP to Service Pack 1 (SP1). After a bit of detective work, we determined that XP was no longer applying the proper share permissions to user-created shares.
In SP1, Microsoft changed the default permissions for new shares from Everyone - Full Control (the default permission since Microsoft introduced Windows NT 4.0) to Everyone - Read. After the SP1 installation, XP creates a share that gives users read permissions only for files in the share.
If you want to create a share (such as a working directory for a collaborative project) that grants write permissions to other network users, you need to explicitly change the permissions on the share to read/write. Complete the following steps to change permissions on a share:
- Right-click the desired folder.
- Click Sharing and Security.
- Click the Permissions button.
- Change the permissions for the default Everyone share, or click the Add button to control access by specific users or groups.
- Click OK.
Forum participant "bani" is looking for a way to limit the number of simultaneous logons to a certain account (e.g., allowing no more than five users to be logged on simultaneously to the Visitor account). If you can help, join the discussion at the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=37&threadid=49785
5. NEW AND IMPROVED
(contributed by Judy Drennen, [email protected])
High-Density Software released PopNot 2.1, an application that prevents pop-up and pop-under ads from appearing as you surf the Web and doesn't interfere with Web navigation. The software automatically differentiates between unsolicited pop-ups that open independently and solicited pop-ups that you want to open through navigational links and buttons. PopNot runs on Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows Me, and Windows 9x and costs $19.95 for a single-user license. Contact High-Density Software at 510-981-1694 for more information.
http://www.hdsoft.com
Efreesky Software released MagicTweak 1.96, a program designed to optimize and personalize Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows Me, and Windows 9x environments. The software lets you tweak hundreds of hidden settings—from Start Menu, Desktop, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) to System Security—without hunting for each setting in the registry. The program costs $29.95 for a single-user license. Contact Efreesky Software at [email protected] for more information.
http://www.magictweak.com
6. CONTACT US
Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions:
- ABOUT THE COMMENTARY — [email protected]
- ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER IN GENERAL — [email protected]
(please mention the newsletter name in the subject line)
- TECHNICAL QUESTIONS — http://www.winnetmag.net/forums
- PRODUCT NEWS — [email protected]
- QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR WINDOWS CLIENT UPDATE SUBSCRIPTION?
Customer Support — [email protected]
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