Windows Vista Administration The Definitive Guide Other Microsoft Windows resources from O’Reilly Related titles MCSA on Windows Server Windows Vista: The 2003 Core Exams in a Definitive Guide Nutshell Windows Vista for Starters: MCSE Core Required Exams The Missing Manual in a Nutshell Windows Vista in a Nutshell Microsoft Windows Vista Windows Vista Pocket Exam 70-620 Guide Reference What’s New in Windows Windows Vista: The Missing Vista? Manual Windows Books windows.oreilly.com is a complete catalog of O’Reilly’s Win- Resource Center dows and Office books, including sample chapters and code examples. oreillynet.com is the essential portal for developers interested in open and emerging technologies, including new platforms, pro- gramming languages, and operating systems. Conferences O’Reilly brings diverse innovators together to nurture the ideas that spark revolutionary industries. We specialize in document- ing the latest tools and systems, translating the innovator’s knowledge into useful skills for those in the trenches. Visit conferences.oreilly.com for our upcoming events. Safari Bookshelf (safari.oreilly.com) is the premier online refer- ence library for programmers and IT professionals. Conduct searches across more than 1,000 books. Subscribers can zero in on answers to time-critical questions in a matter of seconds. Read the books on your Bookshelf from cover to cover or sim- ply flip to the page you need. Try it today with a free trial. Windows Vista Administration The Definitive Guide Brian Culp Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Paris • Sebastopol • Taipei • Tokyo Windows Vista Administration: The Definitive Guide by Brian Culp Copyright © 2007 Brian Culp. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (safari.oreilly.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: (800) 998-9938 or [email protected]. Editor: Colleen Gorman Indexer: Julie Hawks Production Editor: Rachel Monaghan Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery Copyeditor: Audrey Doyle Interior Designer: David Futato Proofreader: Rachel Monaghan Illustrators: Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read Printing History: June 2007: First Edition. Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, and the O’Reilly logo are registered trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Windows Vista Administration: The Definitive Guide, the image of a ruddy shelduck, and related trade dress are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. This book uses RepKover™, a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. ISBN-10: 0-596-52959-7 ISBN-13: 978-0-596-52959-8 [C] Table of Contents Preface . ix 1. What’s New in Windows Vista? . 1 The Vista User Interface 2 The Sidebar and Gadgets 10 Security Features 14 User Account Control 27 BitLocker Drive Encryption 31 Windows Service Hardening 33 New Ways to Search 34 Search with Windows Explorer 38 The New Task Scheduler 44 Vista SideShow 47 Vista’s New Printing Options 48 Summary 52 2. A Look at the Different Versions . 53 Five Vista Versions 54 Windows Vista on a Tablet PC 85 Summary 92 3. Networking with Windows Vista . 94 Joining a Windows Server Domain 95 Configuring TCP/IP 102 Vista Networking Tools 114 Wireless Networking 126 Using the Network 142 v Offline Files 160 Creating a User Account 167 Using Vista with Live OneCare 169 Summary 171 4. Personalizing Vista . 172 Controlling the Start Menu 173 Controlling the Taskbar 186 Controlling the System Tray 193 Controlling Desktop Theme and Appearance 200 Controlling the Display 212 Summary 220 5. Making Vista Easier to Use . 221 Changing Language and Regional Settings 222 Using Handwriting Recognition 226 Working with Speech Recognition 239 Accessibility Options 247 Syncing Devices 254 Using Bluetooth Devices 257 Summary 262 6. Vista Startup and Shutdown . 264 Your Computer’s Performance Rating 264 System Power Up 270 Startup Performance 278 Logging On to Windows Vista 284 Automatic Disk Defragmentation 289 System Shutdown 292 Vista Power Management 298 Advanced Startup Options 302 Improving System Startup 311 Summary 320 7. Working with Hardware . 321 Installing a Device 321 Installing a New Hard Drive 338 Printing in Windows Vista 357 Managing Printing with Print Management 367 Summary 381 vi | Table of Contents 8. Working with Software . 382 Installing and Removing Software 382 Installing Vista Components 387 Starting a Program Automatically 394 Setting Default Actions and Programs 402 Using Speech Recognition 410 Configuring Application Compatibility 412 Summary 421 9. Deploying Windows Vista . 423 Vista Deployment Overview 423 Vista Deployment Scenarios 428 Running an Attended Installation 435 Deploying with Imaging Software 444 Migrating User Information 454 Summary 461 10. Internet Explorer 7 . 463 For the Audience 464 Behind the Curtain 494 Summary 515 11. Optimize Performance . 516 Gathering System Performance Information 517 Performance Subsystems 532 Command-Line Administration 553 Summary 563 12. Securing the Vista Environment . 564 Why You Need Security 564 Security Features in Vista 571 Managing Auditing 581 Protecting Against Malware 585 File Encryption 605 Managing Disk Quotas 614 Network Security 617 Other Data Safeguards 622 Staying Current on Security Issues 625 Summary 627 Table of Contents | vii 13. Vista and Group Policy . 628 Windows Group Policies 628 What You Can Manage with a Group Policy 642 Summary 663 14. Troubleshooting Essentials . 664 Automatically Updating Vista 665 Troubleshooting the Hard Disk 673 Using Remote Assistance 678 Remote Desktop 687 Troubleshooting Network Connectivity 698 Backup and Restore 704 Using the Vista Logs 713 Getting Help from a Newsgroup 715 Summary 716 15. Vista Tips and Tricks . 717 Several Really Cool Things, in No Particular Order 718 And Now, What I Would Have Changed About Windows Vista If Only… 741 Summary 753 Index . 755 viii | Table of Contents Preface1 Well, if you’ve gotten this far then that’s about half the battle. Either the animal on the cover or maybe the spine caught your attention (kudos to the O’Reilly design team); or someone said something nice about the book; or you visited my web page and decided you had a few extra bucks to invest in your Vista education; or you read a good review online or ignored a bad one. Dude who wrote that one is crazy, anyway. So now that you’re here, I want to ask a favor: look at the bookshelves around you. Lots of other books on Vista, aren’t there? So what makes this one any different from any of the other bicep builders you see either lining the shelves, or that have come up on a web page you’re viewing right now? (I’m taking a flyer that this will be posted in the “Look Inside” section on Amazon or its equivalent.) Not to get too egotistical about it, but the answer is me. I want to take a bit of the brief space afforded by this preface to let you know that there’s an actual person behind this book who will be a resource for you as you administrate Windows Vista computers and the networks that contain them. In fact, you can think of this book as the start of a conversation between me and you. The conversation continues on my web site, brianculp.com. That site is an essential com- panion for this title, if for no other reason than that you are able to reach me there and get answers to your Vista-related questions. I probably won’t be able to solve every problem that’s thrown my way, but I’ll do my best. There are some other great reasons for selecting this book. For one, it’s very compre- hensive. And here’s another: it came out after Windows Vista hit the market. Why is that good? Because a lot of the books around you were drafted and even completed while Vista was still in beta, and beta doesn’t mean the finished product. Don’t get me wrong; I drafted the book (most of it, anyway) using a beta copy of Vista as well. But in my subsequent review, I stumbled over dozens of things in chap- ter drafts that I had documented during the beta code that were just flat-out wrong once Vista released to the market. ix Also, take a quick look at the Table of Contents and get a feel for the subjects this book covers. It’s targeted toward a fairly high-level audience, but it can also serve quite nicely as a power user guide to some of Vista’s more advanced features. In other words, you won’t find a whole lot of discussion about Media Player 11, for example. There are many perfectly capable companion books for Windows Vista, no doubt, and you may want to read 50 pages on the Media Player. But if your goal is to learn about every pos- sible button available in Media Player 11, I can save you time and frustration: this isn’t the title you want. Windows Media Player plays MP3s. End of discussion. Additionally, know beforehand that this book is not the blueprint for a stand-up comedy act. If I were you, I’d be a little wary of computer books that announce just how funny they are.