Table of Contents

thanksgiving

Preface
Who is this pocket guide designed for?
How is this book structured?
Conventions Used in This Book
Support

1 Introduction to Windows Vista Administration 1
Windows Vista overview 2
Install and run Windows Vista 4
Install Windows Vista 5
Use the Welcome Center and activate Windows 8
Using Windows Vista in Workgroups and Domains 11
Shutting down and turning off Windows Vista computers 17
Architecture changes in Windows Vista 18
Modularization and Windows image files 18
How the Windows Pre-Installation Environment Works 21
How the Windows Pre-Boot Environment Works 23

2 Administering Windows Vista Systems 29
A short tour through Windows Vista 30
Working with the taskbar 30
Working with the Start menu 31
Working with the control panel 35
User Account Control and Elevation Notifications 36
A Second Look at Standard User and Administrator Accounts 36
. Optimizing User Account Control and Admin Approval Mode 38
Windows Vista Computer Support 41
Working with the console computer management 42
Determination of basic data about the system and performance 44
Getting More Detailed System Information 48
Working with the WMI control 49
Using System Tools 52
Working with Disk Cleanup 53
. Checking System Files Using File Signature Verification 55
Managing System Configuration and Boot Options 56
Managing System Properties 63
The tab computer name 63
The tab Hardware 64
The tab Erweitert 65
The tab computer protection 76
The tab Remote 80

3 Configuring Systems, Hardware, and Drivers 81
Introduction to the automated help and support system 82
Using the Automated Help and Support System 86
Introduction to Support Services 86
Introduction to Support Policies 88
Installing and Maintaining Equipment: The Basics 91
Installing Existing Equipment 91
Installing New Devices 93
Introduction to Device Manager 96
Working with device drivers 98
Device Driver Basics 98
Using Signed and Unsigned Device Drivers 99
. Checking Driver Information 100
Installing and Updating Device Drivers 101
Restricting device installation through group policies 104
Returning the system to the previous version of a device driver 105
Removing device drivers from remote devices 106
Uninstalling, Reinstalling, and Disabling Device Drivers 106
Managing Your Hardware 107
Adding Non-Plug and Play Hardware 107
Enabling and Disabling Hardware 108
Solving Hardware Problems 108
Customizing Hardware Device Settings 111
Setting the Keyboard 111
Adjusting the Mouse 112
Setting the audio devices and sound schemes 113
Setting the regional settings 116
Setting the Date and Time 117
Managing Internet Time 118
Overview of Internet Time 118
Configuring Internet Time in Workgroups 123
Configuring Internet Time in Domains 125

4 Customizing the Desktop and User Interface 127
Optimizing Windows Vista Menus 127
Switching between the classic start menu and the simple start menu 128
Customizing the Classic Start Menu 128
Customizing the Simple Start Menu 130
Changing menus and their options 132
Customizing the Taskbar 138
How the Taskbar Works 138
Changing the Size and Position of the Taskbar 138
Automatically hiding, fixing and controlling the visibility of the taskbar 139
Grouping Similar System Tray Items 139
Controlling the applications in the notification area 140
Optimizing the Toolbars 143
. Displaying the Toolbars 144
Customize the toolbar Quick Start 144
Restore the button show desktop 145
Creating New Toolbars 146
Using Themes 147
Applying and Removing Themes 147
Customizing and Extending the Design 149
Deleting Custom Design Files 150
Optimizing Your Desktop Environment 150
Setting the Desktop Background 151
Using the Standard Desktop Icons 152
Using the Windows Sidebar and Gadgets 154
Screen saver 160
Configuring a Screen Saver for Password Protection 160
Reduction of resource utilization by screen saver 162
Setting Power Management Options for Monitors 163
Changing the Appearance and Video Settings 164
Setting Window Color and Appearance 164
Video Settings 166

5 Installing and Maintaining Applications 173
Managing Application Virtualization and Execution Tiers 173
Access Token and Location Virtualization 174
Application Health and Execution Levels 175
Setting Execution Levels 178
Optimization of the virtualization and the increase request for installations 181
Program Installation: The Basics 182
Using Autorun 182
Installation and Compatibility 183
Permissions to Install, Uninstall, and Maintain Applications 184
Making Applications Available to Selected Users or to All Users 184
. Deploying Applications Using Group Policy 186
Configuring Program Compatibility 188
Special features when installing 16-bit and MS-DOS programs 188
Enforcing Program Compatibility 189
Managing Installed and Running Programs 192
Managing startup applications and running applications with the software explorer 193
Managing and Repairing Installed Programs 198
Setting the default programs 198
Setting Auto Play 200
Adding and Removing Windows Features 201

6 Managing User Accounts and Security 203
Basics of user and group accounts 203
An overview of local user accounts 204
An Overview of Group Accounts 207
Domain login and local login 209
Managing Local Login 210
Creating local user accounts in a workgroup 210
Granting local logon to existing domain account 211
Change the Local User Account Type 212
Enabling and Disabling User Account Control 213
Setting Passwords for Local User Accounts 214
Recovering Local User Account Passwords 215
Checking the login: welcome pages and classic login screen 217
Deleting Accounts and Blocking Local Access to Workstations 219
Managing Saved Passwords 220
Adding Keyring Entries 220
Editing Key Ring Entries 222
Removing Keyring Entries 223
Managing Local User Accounts and Local Groups 224
Create local user accounts with Local users and groups 224
Creating Local Groups for Workstations 225
Managing the Members of Local Groups 226
Activating local user accounts 227
Creating a Secure Guest Account 227
Renaming of local user accounts and groups 229
Deleting local user accounts and groups 229
Managing Remote Access to Workstations 229
Setting Up Remote Assistance 230
Setting Up Remote Desktop Access 232
Establishing Remote Desktop Connections 234

7 Managing Laptops and Mobile Users 237
Using Windows Mobility Center 237
Setting Power Options 239
Using Power Plans 239
Setting and Optimizing Power Plans 244
Creating Energy Saving Plans 246
Setting the power button options and password protection on reactivation 247
Managing Power Plans from the Command Line 248
Managing Power Plans through Group Policy 249
Setting the Battery Low Actions 250
Configuring the Network on Laptops 253
Configuring Dynamic IP Addresses 253
Configure alternative private IP addresses 255
Connecting to Network Projectors 257

8 Configuring User and Computer Policies 259
Group Policy Basics 260
Order of application of guidelines 260
Using Local Group Policy 261
Using Site, Domain, and OU Policies 261
Using the Group Policy Object Editor 264
Updating Group Policy Objects for Windows Vista 265
Configuring Policies 267
Viewing Policies and Templates 267
Enabling, Disabling, and Configuring Policies 268
Adding and Removing Templates 269
Using File and Data Management Policies 270
Setting Disk Quota Policies 270
Setting System Recovery Policies 273
Setting Offline File Policies 274
Using Access and Connection Policies 280
Setting Network Policies 281
Setting Remote Assistance Policies 282
Using Computer and User Scripting Policies 284
Policies Controlling Script Execution 285
Assigning Computer Scripts for Startup and Shutdown 287
Assigning User Scripts for Logging In and Out 288
Using Login and Startup Policies 289
Suppress the welcome page 290
Classic registration versus simple registration 290
Setting the startup guidelines 291
Group Policy Disabling Execution Lists 291

9 Managing Hard Drives and File Systems 293
Disk Management Basics 293
Using the Computer Console 294
Using Disk Management 296
Using FSUtil and DiskPart 298
Optimizing Drive Performance 299
Functionality and use of Windows ReadyBoost 299
Activate ReadyBoost 300
Functionality and use of Windows ReadyDrive 302
How Windows SuperFetch 303 works and uses
Basic and dynamic disks 305
Using Basic and Dynamic Disks 309
Meaning of the drive labels Active, startup partition, system partition and others 309
Installing and Initializing New Hard Drives 310
Marking a Partition as Active 312
Converting a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk and Vice Versa 313
Using Disks, Partitions, and Volumes 316
Partitioning and Preparing Hard Drives 318
Creating Partitions, Logical Drives, and Simple Volumes 318
Creating spanned and striped volumes on dynamic disks 321
Extending and Shrinking Volumes 323
Formatting Partitions and Volumes 325
Assigning, changing, or removing drive letters and drive paths 326
Assigning, changing or deleting a volume label 328
Deleting Partitions, Volumes, and Logical Drives 329
Convert a volume to NTFS 330
Recovering a Simple, Spanned, or Striped Volume 332
Installing a dynamic disk in another computer 333
More common disk problems 334

10 Managing File Security and Resource Sharing 339
File security and file sharing options 339
Controlling Access to Files and Folders with NTFS Permissions 343
Meaning and use of the standard authorizations 343
Assigning Special Permissions 349
File Ownership and Permission Assignment 353
Inheriting Permissions 355
Determining Effective Permissions and Troubleshooting 358
Sharing files and folders on network 360
Controlling access to shared directories on the network 361
Creating a Shared Resource 362
Using Shared Resources 367
Using Shared Folders for Administration 368
Using and Configuring Public Folder Share 371
Using Public Folder Share 371
Configuring Public Folder Sharing 372

11 Explorer Options, Offline Files, and Disk Quotas 375
Configuring Windows Explorer Advanced Options 375
Setting Group Policy for Windows Explorer and Folder Views 376
Managing Drive Access in Windows Explorer 379
Managing File Type Associations 381
Managing Offline Files 382
Offline Files Basics 382
Making files and folders available offline 384
Work offline 387
Managing Offline File Synchronization 387
Blocking Offline Use of Files 393
Configuring Disk Quotas 393
Using Disk Quotas 394
Enabling disk quotas on NTFS volumes 396
Viewing Disk Quota Entries 397
Creating Disk Quota Entries 398
Updating and Adjusting Disk Quota Entries 399
Deletion of Disk Quota Entries 400
Exporting and Importing Disk Quota Entries 401
Disabling Disk Quotas 403

12 Configuring and Troubleshooting TCP / IP Networks 405
Windows Vista Network Feature Overview 405
Network Discovery and Network Categories 406
Using Network Explorer 407
Using the Network and Sharing Center 409
Using the Network Map 410
Installing the network components 412
Using TCP / IP and the dual IP stack 412
Installing Network Adapters 415
Installing Network Services (TCP / IP) 415
Configuring Local Network Connections 416
Configuring Static IP Addresses 417
Configuring Dynamic IP Addresses and Alternate IP Addresses 419
Configuring Multiple Gateways 421
Configuring DNS Resolution 422
Configuring WINS Name Mapping 425
Managing LAN Connections 427
Enabling and Disabling LAN Connections 427
Checking the Status, Speed, and Activity of LAN Connections 428
View the network configuration 429
Renaming LAN Connections 431
Testing Network Settings 431
Diagnosing and Resolving Local Area Connection Problems 431
Diagnosing and Resolving Internet Connection Problems 432
Performing Simple Standard Tests 433
Resolving IP Addressing Problems 434
Renewal of DHCP address assignments 435
Registering DNS Records and Clearing the DNS Resolution Cache 437

13 Managing Mobile Networks and Remote Access 439
Mobile Networks and Remote Access 439
Creating Connections for Remote Access 441
Establishing a dial-up connection 442
Creating a VPN Connection 449
Setting Connection Properties 450
Setting Automatic or Manual Connections 451
Setting the proxy for mobile connections 453
Setting Connection Login Information 456
Setting the connection attempts and the automatic disconnection 457
Setting up redial and automatic redial 458
Setting the Dialing Plans for a Connection 459
Set Preferred and Alternate Telephone Numbers 459
Setting the identity verification 461
Setting Network Protocols and Components 462
Enable and Disable Windows Firewall for Network Connections 465
Making Connections 465
Connect to dial-up connections 465
Connecting to broadband connections 467
Connect to VPN 468
Wireless networks 470
Wireless Devices and Technologies 470
Wireless Network Security 472
Installing and Configuring a Wireless Adapter 474
Using Wireless Networking and Wireless Connections 475
Connecting to Wireless Networks 478
Managing Wireless Networks 480

14 Advanced Internet Options and Security 483
Customizing the URLs 484
Setting Home, Search, and Support URLs 484
Customizing Favorites and Links 485
Customizing the Browser Interface 488
Creating Custom Titles 488
Creating Custom Logos 489
Creating Custom Buttons for Internet Explorer 491
Setting the Default Internet Programs 493
Managing Connection and Proxy Settings 495
Managing Connection Settings Using Group Policy 495
Enabling and Configuring Proxy Settings 497
Managing browser cookies and other temporary internet files 500
Safe browsing and securing of the local computer 503
This is how the dynamic security, browser information bar, and other security enhancements of browser 503 work
Using the Internet Explorer Add-On Manager 507
Configuring the Pop-up Blocker 509
Managing Internet Explorer Security Zones 511
Basics of security zones 511
Controlling the Use of Security Zones with Group Policy 513
Configuring Security Zones Using Group Policy 514
Configuring the Internet Security Zone 515
Configuring the Local Intranet Zone 515
Configuring the Trusted Sites Zone 516
Configuring the Restricted Sites Security Zone 517
Additional Guidelines for Internet Options Management 518

15 Optimizing Windows Vista 521
Optimizing and Protecting Drives 522
Reduce disk space usage 522
Check for drive error 523
Defragmenting Drives 524
Compressing Media and Data 526
Managing BitLocker Drive Encryption 529
Managing the Encrypting File System 535
Improving the Security of Your Computer 538
Using Windows Security Center 538
Administering Windows Firewall 541
Managing Windows Defender 554
Managing Automatic Updates 559

16 Windows Vista Troubleshooting and Support 567
Using Remote Assistance to Resolve Problems 569
How Remote Assistance Works 569
Creating Remote Assistance Invitations 570
Offering Remote Assistance or Responding to a Remote Assistance Invitation 572
How to identify and fix Windows Vista errors 573
Using the Event Logs to Check and Diagnose Problems 573
. Viewing and Managing Event Logs 574
Maintenance work planning 576
How Task Scheduler Works 576
Viewing and Managing Tasks on Local and Remote Systems 578
Scheduling tasks with the Scheduled Task Assistant 580
Troubleshooting Scheduled Tasks 581
Backing up and restoring a computer 581
Backing up and restoring files and folders with previous versions 582
Recovering from a failed reactivation 582
Repairing a Computer to Start Up 583
Backing up and restoring the system state with System Restore 585
Creating and Using a Backup 589
Creating Full Computer Backups 590
Troubleshooting Startup and Shutdown 591
Difficulties restarting and shutting down the system 591
Reinstalling Windows Vista 592
Jam and their meaning 593

Index 597

The author 609