72 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For those of us new to XP this book really helps., 4 Nov 2001
By Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit Documentation (Paperback)
As is the custom with Microsoft they ship a new Operating System and shortly there after they print a detailed reference book to breakdown the OS for both the technician and the administrator, so it is true with Windows XP Professional.
This 1700 page must have reference manual covers both Windows XP Professional 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the new system. I think there should have bee more coverage the XP Home version to make this the complete go to reference.
Broken down into seven parts Part I is for deployment and the strategy involved with deployment. Part II is Desktop support including backups, printing, faxing, mobile user support, disk and file management and maintenance.
Part III gives you a detailed look at the security, encryption and authentication policies and procedures for XP. Part IV is dedicated to the networking side of XP with areas like DNS, DHCP, TCP/IP, remote users and offices and network connections.
Part V is how to get XP to work with other Network Operating Systems like UNIX and Novell. Part VI is the troubleshooting section and the breakdown here is very good, every technician should be reading this section several times.
Finally Part VII the Appendices covering User Rights, Error Messages, Error Codes, and a comprehensive layout of the 64-bit version of XP as compared to the 32-bit version. The nice thing about this book is you can use it to study for the new Microsoft exam for Windows XP Professional. Overall excellent work something I have come to expect.
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Severly Dissapointed, 8 May 2002
By Christopher B Rose - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit Documentation (Paperback)
I purchased this book thinking it would be like many of the other resource kits Microsoft makes. Boy was I wrong! For starters the book has incomplete or erroneous information. It is apparent that this book was written before the product was released. It's level of information is geared more towards the beginner-intermediate audience. The most glaring deficiency is the TOTAL absence of ANY software tools! All you get on the CD is an HTML copy of the book! So if your looking for that utility that lets you migrate print services, or any scripts, you came to the wrong place! I think this one will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of many other MCSE's also! This would have been more appropriate as RUNNING WINDWOS XP , than the resource kit! Save you money if your an admin you can do with out this one.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing for a RSK, 2 Mar 2002
By Jase T. Wolfe - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit Documentation (Paperback)
I've read the RSKs for Windows 95, 98, NT4 and 2000, and this one is pretty disappointing. As a user's guide, this would have been fantastic, but as a resource to system administrators that need to know the nuts and bolts of the OS, it leaves a lot to be desired. On many occasions I have found that information I really needed to know about was not covered sufficiently to solve my problem or answer my question, and I had to resort to the Microsoft Knowledge Base or other on-line articles for the answers.
The publication also seems very rushed, and perhaps completed before the release version of the OS was finished. Many screen shots depict tabs that aren't there and informational paragraphs reference components that don't exist or were merged with something else. The organization seems a little rough, and the index does not always prove helpful.
Perhaps one of the problems was that unlike most RSKs, there are no additional resources/tools that come with this one. The included CD-ROM contains nothing more than the book in their HTML Help (CHM) format.
If you're looking for something that shows you how to use the OS, this is a great title. If you're looking for something that will really get your hands dirty and let you perform serious administration, you may want to look elsewhere.