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I have mentioned many of the settings that are available to make Remote Desktop Connections more useful to you. The changes that you make will be saved automatically in a file called default.rdp. However, you can make your own settings file, so that specific settings will always be remembered. Double-clicking that file will initiate the Remote Desktop Connection using the options that you saved. 

When you have the Remote Desktop Connection dialogue box open (Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> Remote Desktop Connection), click the General tab, and then click the Save As... button. Give the file a name of your choosing, in the location that you choose, and all of the settings that you've chosen will be saved in that file. You can later edit the file by simply right-clicking it, and choosing Edit.

There has been a lot of confusion about Windows XP's built-in activation. Administrators often confuse registration and activation, plus many admins aren't aware of what triggers the reactivation code. Microsoft is partially to blame, for it has indicated only that "substantial changes" trigger reactivation. 

A product's Installation ID, which is based on the product ID and numeric hardware hash, determine product activation. Here are the components that make up the hardware hash: 

Processor Type 
Processor Serial Number 
RAM Amount Range 
Hard Drive Device 
Hard Drive Volume Serial Number 
Display Adapter 
SCSI Adapter 
IDE Adapter 
Network Adapter MAC Address 
CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM 

Replacement of all other hardware devices, including mice, keyboards, and floppy drives, do not require product reactivation. 

The exact number of components on the list that can be changed or replaced without triggering the reactivation code depends on the type of the machine and whether a network adapter exists. For example: 

Desktop computers with an installed network card can change six components. If there isn't a network card or if it's replaced, only four changes are allowed before the reactivation code is triggered. 
Laptops with a network card can change nine components. If there isn't a network card, only seven changes are allowed before the reactivation code is triggered. 

Note: Changing the same component several times only counts as one change. 

For more information about Windows XP product activation changes, take a look at this Technical Market Bulletin.
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/WPA_SP1_Market_Bulletin.doc

If you're good at memorizing shortcut keys, you'll know right off the top of your head that holding down the Windows key and typing L will switch users. More accurately, it'll bring up the Windows XP logon screen. Some folks think of that as "locking the workstation". I tend to think of it as "clicking Start | Log Off | Switch Users". Which is precisely what I click, because I can never remember Win key + L. 

The Win key + L combination has one big advantage over the Start | Log Off | Switch Users approach: it's much, much faster. (Actually, Win key + L has two more, aesthetic advantages over Start | Log Off | Switch Users. 

There's an easy way to create an icon that will switch users (er, "lock the workstation") every bit as quickly as Win key + L: 

1. Right-click on a blank part of the Desktop

2. Pick New | Shortcut 

3. In the top box of the Create Shortcut Wizard, type this weird line: 
%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll LockWorkStation

4. Click Next, and type in a creative name like, oh, Switch Users.

5. Click Finish and you'll have a shortcut that quickly pops you back out to the WinXP logon screen.

If you want a hub blinker, too, here's how:

Click Start | Connect to | Show All Connections 

Right-click the "connectoid" for your LAN connection and pick Properties 

On the General tab, check the box that says "Show icon in notification area when connected" 

Granted, this doesn't give you a commanding view of all the activity on the hub, but it's a reassuring little blinker from time to time.

And the same little icon is available for all recent versions of Windows - not just XP!

Windows XP runs numerous processes. To view them, open Task Manager and go to the Process tab. While several of these processes are self-explanatory, the majority of them are not. 

Here's a short description of some XP processes: 

Csrss.exe: 
The Client Server Runtime Subsystem process, also known as the Win32 subsystem, generates a worker thread for client requests. 
Explorer.exe: 
This process is the user interface/default Windows shell. 
Iexplorer.exe: 
This process is the built-in Web browser. 
Inetinfo.exe: 
The Internet Information Services (IIS) process is Microsoft's Web server. 
Lsass.exe: 
The Local Security Authentication Server process receives authentication requests from Winlogon and calls the appropriate authentication package. 
Mdm.exe: 
The Machine Debug Manager is a support process for debugging. 
Msmsgs.exe: 
The Microsoft Windows Messenger process is the built-in instant messaging application. 
Services.exe: 
The Service Control Manager process is responsible for starting, stopping, and interacting with system services. 
Smss.exe: 
The Session Manager Subsystem is the first user mode process that's created. It's responsible for the initial launch of other subsystem processes. 
Svchost.exe: 
This is a placeholder process, or Service Host, where all DLL-based services execute. 
System: 
The System process contains the majority of the kernel-mode system threads. 
System Idle Process: 
This process runs when no other process is executing. 
Winlogon.exe: 
The logon process handles interactive user logons and logoffs. 

This list includes processes that are found on most computers, but it's not exhaustive.

When a program crashes, Windows XP gathers information about the program, its code, and the actual crash. This data is then compiled into a special report. A dialog window appears, which prompts you to send the crash report to Microsoft. While its delivery is optional, remember that Microsoft collects this information and creates fixes based on the data. 

Details of the report can be viewed by clicking on the link that specifies: "To see what data this error report contains, click here." However, if you're skeptical about privacy, it's possible to disable Error Reporting. 

Here's how: 

1. Right-click on My Computer and select Properties. 
2. Go to the Advanced tab and click Error Reporting. 
3. Click Disable Error Reporting. 

If you want Error Reporting only on certain applications, click Enable Reporting and then select Choose Programs.

Windows XP contains administrative tools, such as the Disk Management snap-in, that allow you to perform certain tasks that you couldn't perform in Windows 9x. For example, you can use the Disk Management snap-in to change drive letters. 

Follow these steps to change the drive letter in XP: 

1. Log on to the computer with administrator rights. 
2. Select Performance And Maintenance within Control Panel. 
3. Open the Computer Management console from the Administrative Tools folder. 
4. Select Disk Management under the Storage tree. 
5. Right-click on the partition or device for which you want to change the drive letter. 
6. Choose Change Drive Letter And Paths. 
7. Select the current drive letter and click Change. 
8. Choose Assign The Following Drive Letter, select the drive letter replacement, and click OK. 

It's also possible to work without drive letters. Instead, you can map or mount a device to a folder on an existing partition. For instance, you can access your CD-ROM device through the cdrom folder on the C: drive or access another hard drive through c:\hd2. All you need to have is a NTFS partition and an empty folder for each device you want to mount. 

Here's how to create a mounted drive: 

1. Open the Computer Management console from the Administrative Tools folder. 
2. Select Disk Management under the Storage tree. 
3. Right-click on the partition or device for which you want to change the drive letter. 
4. Choose Change Drive Letter And Paths. 
5. Click Add. 
6. Select Mount In The Following Empty NTFS Folder. 
7. Type in the path to an empty NTFS folder on the hard drive. 
8. Click OK.

Windows XP ships with a built-in support for wireless local area networks (WLANs), which is compatible with the 802.11b standard. Simply insert a WLAN PC card in your laptop or desktop computer and the OS automatically installs the required software and runs the services. 

However, there are times when XP installs the drivers but the WLAN still doesn't work. This typically happens on tuned computers with experienced owners who have disabled services to get more available memory. 

Follow these steps to enable WLAN: 

1. Open the Services console from the Administrative Tools folder. 
2. Browse and right-click on the Wireless Zero Configuration service. 
3. Select Properties. 
4. Make sure Automatic is selected on the Startup Type drop-down list and press OK. 
5. If the service is not started, right-click on it and select Start. 

Windows XP Professional includes the Remote Desktop feature, which allows you to remotely control and see the output screen of your computer. While Remote Desktop is very useful, it isn't the only remote control technology available. Two popular alternatives are AT&T Labs' Virtual Network Computing (VNC) and Symantec's pcAnywhere. 

Here are some facts about these utilities: 

Remote Desktop: 

1. Ships with Windows XP Professional (not the Home Edition) and is very easy to configure and use. 
2. Performs better than competition on slow dial-up links. 
3. Uses the same client software as Windows 2000 Terminal Server. 
4. Allows users to select any screen resolution, independent of the resolution that's set on the computer. 

VNC: 

Downloads for free, plus there's no license fee to pay. 
Allows you to customize it to your needs, since it's open source. 
Works on multiple platforms, including Linux and Macintosh. 
Is very popular among administrators, especially in heterogeneous environments. 

pcAnywhere: 

Must be purchased. 
Has built in security features to protect the network. 
Is very popular with Windows 9x administrators.

Numerous Internet sites feature tips and tricks on the optimization of Windows XP, and most of them promise huge performance gains. However, a lot of optimization tricks actually do very little to improve performance. 

For example, some sites recommend that you turn off the Quality of Service (QoS) RSVP feature because it supposedly reserves 20 percent of the network bandwidth. Turning off this service, they say, will improve network performance. 

Unfortunately, disabling QoS RSVP doesn't do much. QoS isn't even used in most home networks; Microsoft enabled it by default on Windows XP Professional to make the deployment of QoS in enterprise environments a bit easier. 

Are you still concerned about it reserving 20 percent of the network bandwidth? Don't be. This percentage refers to the bandwidth limit that can be used by QoS applications. It doesn't mean that your other applications will only be able to use the remaining 80 percent.

Here's how to access XP's defrag utility:

1. Right-click My Computer and choose Manage.
2. Click Defragment.

XP's defrag tool differs from the one in Windows 95 and 98. The older operating systems lined up data on the disk during defrag. XP's utility is a little smarter and reorganizes data optimized for your system. When you analyze the hard drive, this is why you may see that data still isn't lining up.

Windows XP ships with a simple firewall application that can help protect your computer and data from intruders. By default, the built-in firewall blocks all incoming traffic that isn't initiated from the inside. 

If you're running any server software on your computer, such as a Web server, it will be inaccessible to other network users, because the firewall will reject their packets. However, you can open the firewall to allow certain traffic through. Here's how: 

1. Open the Network Connections folder in Control Panel. 
2. Right-click on the Internet connection that's protected with a firewall. 
3. Select Properties. 
4. Go to the Advanced tab. 
5. Click Settings. 

If you want to open the firewall for incoming traffic, check the box in front of the protocol. For instance, if you want to allow other network users to use your Web server, open port 80 by checking the box in front of the Web Server (HTTP) option. 
After you select the HTTP option, a dialog appears that prompts you to specify the name or IP address of the computer that's running the HTTP service. 
Click OK to close all dialogs. 

You have now opened port 80 and allowed all Internet users to access your Web server. 

Note: Opening firewall ports is risky, so be sure to perform this task only when absolutely necessary.

Windows XP provides protection for computers that are connected to the Internet. Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) allows you to share one Internet connection among all computers on the network, and firewalls allow you to protect machines from intruders over the Internet. 

While ICS and firewalls can be used separately, the best security requires using them both. First, enable ICS on the machine with an Internet connection, and then place a firewall on this connection. The firewall protects the computer from unwanted guests, and the ICS protects all other computers. However, you can open the firewall for a specific computer inside the network. 

Here's how: 

1. Open the Network Connections folder in Control Panel.

2. Right-click on the Internet connection that's protected with a firewall.

3. Select Properties.

4. Go to the Advanced tab.

5. Click Settings. 

6. If you want to open the firewall for incoming traffic, check the box in front of the protocol. For example, if you want to allow other network users to use your Web server, open port 80 by checking the box in front of the Web Server (HTTP) option. 
In the next dialog box, type the name or IP address of the computer that you want to expose to the outside world. This can be any computer on the network
. 
7. Click OK to close all dialogs. 

If no predefined protocol meets your needs, create your own entry by clicking the Add button and filling out the appropriate settings. 

Note: Opening firewall ports is risky, so be sure to perform this task only when absolutely necessary.

Just because you see one file on your Desktop, that doesn't mean that the data for that one file takes up only one set of space on your hard drive. In fact, most files take up multiple clusters of data space, and these files simply fill in the first available spaces, even if these spaces are on a completely different part of the hard drive. 

Deleting and creating files causes something called fragmentation on your hard drive, and defrag.exe is the command line utility that you could use to defragment your hard drive. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article outlines and explains all of the command line parameters for the defrag.exe utility included with Microsoft Windows XP. Keep in mind that you need to have at least fifteen percent free space on your hard drive for Defrag to run properly, otherwise it will only partially defragment your hard drive.

Windows Media Player 8 now 9 (WMP8) in Windows XP is more than just a player. You can also use WMP8 now 9 to copy music from a CD-ROM and store it on your hard drive. Here's how: 

1. Run Windows Media Player, located in Start | Accessories | Entertainment.

2. Select the Copy From CD option on the left pane, or go to the View menu and select Taskbar | Copy From CD. 

3. Check the tracks from the CD that you want to copy on the hard drive.

4. Click the Copy Music button. 

If you haven't changed any settings, a dialog box will open that notifies you about the content protection feature and provides you an option to turn it off. If you leave it on, you won't be able to play these sound files on other computers. Follow these steps to disable content protection: 

1. On the Tools menu, select Options. 

2. Go to the Copy Music tab and clear the Protect Content box, located under Copy Settings.

Windows XP contains several improvements that help increase its boot speed. In fact, XP boots and loads faster than any other Microsoft OS. 

One of the improvements is XP's optimization of disk reads. Ntldr, the boot loader, minimizes disk seeking by caching large amounts of file and directory metadata. 

A second improvement is disk enumeration, which now takes only two seconds to complete. In addition, XP can initialize several drivers simultaneously, instead of waiting for each consecutive device. 

Major performance increases continue with the hibernation process. In hibernation mode, XP writes the memory contents to the disk in a Hiberfil.sys file. However, it writes only the used portion of the memory and compresses the memory pages before writing them. Since compressed memory pages take less space, writing performance is greatly improved. Furthermore, XP can compress memory pages and write to the disk at the same time.

Improvements in Windows XP make it boot and load faster than any other Microsoft OS. Or, at least it should. If it doesn't, there are a few things you can do to troubleshoot this problem. 

One of the most common causes of slow boot times in XP is a bad driver within a hardware device. Device drivers impact overall system performance. If your computer is slow or crashes frequently, consider updating the drivers. 

Another reason for poor boot performance is slow hardware. For example, hibernation and boot sequence take much longer on a 1-GHz laptop than on an 800-MHz desktop with a fast hard drive. Hard drive performance has a greater impact than CPU speed. 

The boot performance problem often is the result of a software/hardware combination, but these scenarios are hard to troubleshoot. Fortunately, Microsoft has a special utility called Bootvis that can help you identify devices that cause delays during the boot process. 

Here's how: 

1. Download and run the Bootvis utility. 
2. On the Trace menu, select Next Boot + Driver Delays. 
3. Click OK. The computer will reboot and analyze the boot procedure. After the reboot, you'll be able to see what happened during the boot process, such as which drivers were loaded and which ones took the most time to initialize. 
4. Select Optimize System from the Trace menu. This will restart the computer and optimize it for boot performance.

To download BootVis.exe for free, visit Microsoft's Web site.

Windows XP actively monitors every application startup and logs the files that are used. The same logging is enabled when the operating system loads. Memory pages are logged in the %windir%\prefetch folder. In fact, each application you run will have a special file in this folder. 

When an application is launched, XP looks at the corresponding file in the prefetch folder and loads the required data. By knowing what data the application needs, the OS can consolidate disk seeks optimally and reduce head movement. Thus, it improves the overall performance of the OS and applications. 

Periodically, XP parses the files in the prefetch folder and creates a Layout.ini file. This file includes the information about the optimal layout of files on your hard drive. The built-in defragmenter uses this information to optimally defragment the hard drive every three days. 

While you normally don't have control over this automatic procedure, it's possible to accidentally disable some of the optimizations. For example, if you disable the Scheduler service, you also disable the automatic defragmentation. XP schedules the defragmenter through the Scheduler service but doesn't show it through the user interface. 

Fortunately, if you do disable the Scheduler service, you can still manually run the optimizations. Just open the Start menu, select Run, and type the following command: 

rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks 

This command will run all the tasks XP runs when the computer is idle. 

To see how the computer performs without prefetching, turn off this feature. Here's how: 

1. Open the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).

2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\.

3. Set the EnablePrefetcher to 0. 

4. Delete the Layout.ini file from the %windir%\prefetch folder. 

Since the system runs faster with Prefetcher turned on, you typically will not want it disabled. 

Note: Editing the registry is risky, so be sure you have a verified backup before saving any changes.

Windows XP's Simple File Sharing provides an easy user interface for sharing and securing folders--and the subsequent files--on NT File System (NTFS) partitions. This feature is turned on by default on XP Home Edition and XP Professional when you're working in a workgroup. 

To take advantage of Simple File Sharing, right-click a folder and select Sharing And Security. You'll then see a Sharing window that provides the following options: 

Make This Folder Private: This pertains just to folders located inside your user profile, such as My Documents, Desktop, and the Start menu. Checking this option protects the folder so that only you have access to it.

Share This Folder On The Network: To share a folder, check this option and type the name that you want to assign to the share.

Allow Network Users To Change My Files: This option allows other users to modify the files in the shared folder. 

While the Simple File Sharing feature can help inexperienced users, some advance users may find it distracting. However, you can turn this feature off in XP Professional. Here's how: 

1. Go to the Tools menu in Windows Explorer.

2. Select Folder Options.

3. On the View tab, deselect Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended).

4. Click OK. 

Note: It's also possible to share an entire disk with Simple File Sharing, but XP sends you a warning about the security risks that you must acknowledge before continuing with the Sharing options. Microsoft recommends that you only share a specific folder within the disk

Simple File Sharing is helpful to inexperienced users, but many advanced users find it too limiting. In fact, you can take advantage of more flexible editors if you disable Simple File Sharing. 

Right-click on a file or folder, choose Properties, and select the Security tab. Here are some features available on the Security tab that aren't available with Simple File Sharing: 

1. Assign individual permissions, such as Read, Write, Modify, and Full Control for every user and/or group. 

2. See fine-grained permissions for each file.

3. Change the permissions on all child objects and prevent the inheritance of permissions from the parent
. 
4. Enable auditing and thus track information, including what's happening with the files and who's changing them.

5. Display effective permissions for a user and/or group on each file and/or folder.

6. Display and change ownership of files and folders. 

In addition, you'll find the following options on the Sharing tab: 

1. Provide a comment for the share. 

2. Specify the maximum number of users that are allowed to access the share at the same time.

3. Set individual permissions for each user and/or group.

4. Configure caching settings for clients using the shared folder from the network.

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