Targeting IT professionals, system administrators, and experienced users moving to the Windows XP platform, this book enables the user to master registry concepts and architecture, provides a historical overview of the registry, and outlines the differences between Windows 9x/ME and Windows NT/2000/XP registries. Special attention is drawn to the enhancements in registry architecture introduced with Windows XP, such as faster queries and removal of the registry size limitation. Covered in depth are how to properly use registry features, how to plan and implement the most appropriate registry backup strategy, and how to monitor and modify the system registry according to the administrative requirements and individual needs of the users.
Microsoft is releasing three editions of Windows XP: a Home Edition, a Professional, and a 64-bit Edition, the latter of which will run only on new workstations based on Intel's 64-bit Itanium processor. Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional are essentially the same 32-bit operating system, based on the same kernel. As most people expect, the Home Edition is intended for the vast majority of end users who previously worked with Windows 9x/ME. Windows XP Professional, on the contrary, is targeted at business users and power users. Because of this, it offers some business-oriented features and additional capabilities unavailable in Windows XP Home Edition, since they would be out of place in a home system. The most significant difference is, of course, multiprocessor support: Windows XP Home Edition supports only one processor, while Windows XP Professional supports two. Furthermore, users of Windows XP Professional can logon to Active Directory domains, work with roaming user profiles, use the encrypting file system, Offline Folders, and other features particularly important for mobile users.
I became a member of a small team of Windows XP beta testers when the system was an early beta. Even at that early stage of beta testing, we could see that there were differences between Windows 2000 and the two systems, codenamed "Whistler". It was an amazing experience to see how the system improved with the release of each new beta or Release Candidate. To generalize the common trend, the system became more and more powerful and reliable. However, despite all these improvements, and the fact that the system was renamed Windows XP (Windows for eXPerienced users, and one designed to provide for new user experiences), the new system didn't entirely eliminate the features that existed in Windows 2000; rather, it improved and extended this functionality while adding new tools and features. The new operating system implements all the best features of its predecessor. In this way, Windows XP continues the Windows 2000 tradition, emphasized by the "Built on NT Technology" slogan displayed at boot time. Windows 2000 had many features in common with the previous version of Windows NT, and so does Windows XP. If you examine it carefully, you'll see that it has many features in common with Windows 2000 as well.
Will thousands of users all over the world migrate to Windows XP immediately? Some probably will (especially those who get the system with the new hardware), but many others will continue using Windows 2000 while examining this new system and testing existing applications for compatibility. This book is addressed to such readers, including system administrators, technical support personnel, and experienced Windows NT/2000 users.
