Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows XP in 24 Hours

Thanks, Mr. Perry, for giving me the tools to learn enough about Windows to stay one step ahead of my two little ones! Your writing is always friendly and speaks to me. I first bought your rent house book (ISBN: 0761525319) because I needed help with rent house nightmares and you solved them... you can solve computer problems also! You're well-rounded!!!!! Thanks again.

Unlike most of the Dummies books, I've always been partial to these 24 hours books by Sams Publishing. This one continues to set the standard as a marvel in simplicity while still teaching us what we need to know. I had not expected to like this because I already know a lot about Windows but I try to complete my Windows book collection. I learned a lot! One of the most insightful chapters is the one on installing and removing software. How many times have we been told to "run Setup.exe" and it just doesn't work out?? What's going on? What if a program (or driver) doesn't have a setup.exe file? Arrrgh! Well, Perry (the author) goes into great detail but keeps his typical layman's wording (and humor) and explains it all to me. I appreciate this book very much. I have not yet been disappointed with a 24 Hours book, although sure some are better than others. This one is an example of the cream of the crop.

Book Review ? Sam?s teach yourself - Win XP ? Computer Basics ? Srinivasan Prasanna (North West Ohio .NET User?s Group)I found this book useful while sitting in front of my computer than off my computer. The author?s included in each chapter a summary, which was crisp and highlighted all the important points from the chapter. I really like this feature in the book. Mr. Perry by profession is a computer instructor and his writing style enhances that fact. He writes as if you are in the same room with him. I suggest keeping some paper nearby to jot down the summaries and your notes - I had about 29 'Post-it' notes plastered all over my monitor by the end of chapter - GIVING WINDOWS A TUNE-UP. The book is fairly comprehensive. Mr. Perry covers both Home and Professional editions, but definitely is geared more toward the Home edition user. The first 10 chapters cover the basic look and feel of Microsoft's latest operating system. Subjects include Windows Explorer, the Help and Support Center (HSC), active desktop synchronization (active desktop is turned off by default), and installing new programs. The next 10 chapters delve into the various bundled programs. The latest Internet Explorer 6.0 and MSN Messenger come installed by default. Mr. Perry's book also includes information about the built in firewall and how to network other computers, even those not running Windows XP. I found this information extremely useful after the So Big WORM virus I got infected this fall.A significant number of households now contain two or more computers and the ability to share files, peripherals, and modem connections easily is a big perk, if not necessary. Good information on the hardware and computer communication peripherals was found in this book. Mr. Perry also covers the email program Outlook Express, another Microsoft program bundled in XP. He also talks about MSN messenger and its advantages - although I hate the Instant Messenger's personally. I did not pay too much attention into this part of the book because of my lack of interest.I learned quite a bit on Dr.Watson - which is really cool. This program is included with Windows XP, as Mr. Perry points out, but cannot be found under the start menu. Clicking on Run and entering Drwtsn32.exe into the dialog prompt and clicking OK can easily activate it. Dr. Watson basically helps experts and tech support personnel diagnose severe system or application errors. It keeps a log of computer memory and other settings up to the time when the errors occur. For the majority of users, Dr. Watson will never have to be summoned, but it's nice to know how it works nonetheless. The book dedicates an entire chapter to 'Tinkering With the Advance System Tools', of which Dr. Watson is one.In the last four chapters of the book, Mr. Perry looks at the fun stuff of XP. No, not FreeCell and Solitaire. I'm referring to Windows Media Player and Windows Movie Maker. By following the steps in the book, you can learn how to manipulate