—Anonymous

The ancestors of Windows 2000—the various incarnations of Windows NT—always seemed like the stronger and smarter big brothers of Microsoft's "consumer" Windows versions—Windows 95 and 98. Stronger and smarter, yes, but friendlier? No way. Windows NT was often prickly, temperamental, and just plain hard to get along with.

Microsoft, tired of its top operating system acting so curmudgeonly, decided to do something about it. They set about making a new operating system that would be easier to use, would recognize notebook computers, would install hardware without complaining, and so on. The result, after a great many years of pizza-fueled programming, was Windows 2000.

Is this a kinder, gentler Windows? Actually, for the most part, it is. There are lots of improvements, big and small, that make Windows 2000 a more pleasant computing experience. On the other hand, this is still Windows you're dealing with. That means there are still plenty of maddeningly cryptic error messages; lots of obscure features within easy reach and crucial features buried behind endless menus and dialog boxes; and far too many features that should be easy-as-pie to use, but are still hair-pullingly convoluted and confusing. In other words, Windows 2000 can still make any normal person feel like a complete idiot.

Welcome, therefore, to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional.

This is not a book for nerds, geeks, or anyone else who regards a pocket protector as the height of fashion. Instead, this book is aimed squarely at people who, through no fault of their own, have ended up with Windows 2000 installed on their computer and they want some guidance on how to tame this new beast. They don't want to learn fancy-schmancy tricks, they don't want to know absolutely everything there is to know about Windows 2000, and they certainly don't want to wade through pages that are knee-deep with long-winded technical discussions. This book shuns all of that and, instead, just shows you the easiest ways to accomplish the most common Windows 2000 tasks.

You'll also be happy to know that I avoid getting overly earnest about any of this stuff. Sure, computers are an integral part of most people's lives these days, but that doesn't mean you have furrow up your brow every time you sit down at the keyboard. Instead, keeping your sense of humor at the ready and engaging in a little fun at Windows 2000's expense (both of which I try to do throughout this book) are the best ways to survive your computer sessions with your sanity still intact.

The Parts Department: What's in the Book

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Windows 2000 Professional isn't meant to be read cover-to-cover, although by all means you're free to do so. Instead, most of the book's chapters are self-contained, so you can usually just dive in and start learning. (In those sections that require some background, I've put in pointers back to the relevant material.) To get you started, this section offers quickie summaries of the major sections of the book:

Part 1: Why 2K? An Introduction to Windows 2000

This is the dip-your-toes-in-the-water-before-diving-in section. It's short and sweet (as far as anything related to computers can be described as sweet, that is) and it serves as your introduction to the world of Windows 2000. Chapter 1 runs through everything that's notably new in Windows 2000, and Chapter 2 runs through a list of chores that any Windows 2000 neophyte should be comfy with.

Part 2: Getting Work Done in Windows 2000

This is one of the longest sections in the book, and that's as it should be because getting your work done is what it's all about. To that end, the six chapters in Part 2 cover lots of workaday tasks, including dealing with files and folders (Chapter 3), using Windows 2000's writing programs (Chapter 4), printing documents (Chapter 5), working with graphics (Chapter 7), and handling multimedia files (Chapter 8). I also devote an entire chapter (Chapter 6) to the new notebook computer features that are a welcome part of the Windows 2000 package.

Part 3: Getting Connected I: The Web, Email, and More

There are plenty of days when it seems that our computers are just one giant communications terminal. Electronic communication in all its forms is a huge part of our daily lives, and Part 3 devotes no less than six chapters to Windows 2000's communications goodies. You'll learn about setting up your modem (Chapter 9) and using your modem to send and receive faxes (Chapter 10). I then turn your attention to that huge, amorphous mass that is the Internet. You'll learn step-by-step how to get connected (Chapter 11), how to surf the World Wide Web with Internet Explorer (Chapter 12), how to exchange Internet email with Outlook Express (Chapter 13), and how to participate in newsgroups and make Internet-based "phone calls" (Chapter 14).

Part 4: My 2K: Tailoring Windows 2000 to Suit Your Style

Like people living in row houses who paint their doors and windowpanes to stand out from the crowd, most Windows users like to personalize their computing experience by adjusting the screen colors, changing the background, and performing other individualistic tweaks. The four chapters in Part 4 show you how to perform these customizations in Windows 2000. You'll learn how to customize the desktop (Chapter 15), the Start menu and taskbar (Chapter 16), and the My Computer program (Chapter 17). I also show you how to install (and uninstall) software and hardware (Chapter 18).

Part 5: Taking Care of Your System

Thanks to higher-quality parts and improved manufacturing, modern computers are fairly reliable and will often run for years without so much as an electronic hiccup. However, that doesn't mean some disaster—be it a nasty computer virus, an ill-timed power failure, or some other spawn of Murphy's Law—can't strike at any time. The two chapters in Part 5 can help you to prepare for problems. You'll get the goods on backing up your precious-as-gold data (Chapter 19) and on using Windows 2000's collection of system maintenance tools (Chapter 20).

Part 6: Getting Connected II: Windows 2000 and Networking

The final part of the book takes you into the mysterious and arcane world of networking. However, you'll see that for the small networks that Windows 2000 Professional is ideally suited for, networking doesn't have to be an esoteric pursuit. On the contrary, I even take the fairly radical step of actually showing you how to put together your own small network (Chapter 21). From there, you learn how to use the Windows 2000 networking features (Chapter 22) and how to dial up your network from remote locations (Chapter 23).

Features for a Fun and Fulfilling Read

In a book such as this, I believe that it's not only important what you say, but also how you say it. So I've gone to great lengths to present the info in easy-to-digest tidbits that can be absorbed quickly. I've also liberally sprinkled the book with features that I hope will make it easier for you to understand what's going in. Here's a rundown:

• Stuff that you have to type will appear in a monospaced font, like that.

• Menus, commands, and dialog box controls that you have to select, as well as keys you have to press, appear in a bold font.

• Whenever I tell you to select a menu command, I'll separate the various menu and command names with commas. For example, instead of saying "click the Start button, then click Programs, and then click Windows Explorer," I'll just say this: "select Start, Programs, Windows Explorer."

• Many Windows 2000 commands have equivalent keyboard shortcuts, and most of them involve holding down one key while you press another key. For example, in most Windows programs, you save your work by holding down the Ctrl key, pressing the S key, and then releasing Ctrl. I'm way too lazy to write all that out each time, so I'll just plop a plus sign (+) in between the two keys, like so: Ctrl+S.

As you'll see in Chapter 1, there's a lot that's new and improved in Windows 2000. To help you find the new stuff, I use this special "New to 2000" icon in the margin.

I've also populated each chapter with several different kinds of sidebars:

Finally, I close each chapter with a "Crib Sheet" section that runs through a list of five or six techniques and tips that you learned in the chapter.

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