Windows XP basics

The following is a small selection of introductory texts from Indiana University's Knowledge Base. You can also search for particular words or phrases throughout the entire Knowledge Base with the full-text search.

Contents

• General information
• Setup
• System information
• Networking
• Troubleshooting

General information

• What is Windows XP?
• What are service packs for Windows, and where can I get them?
• What is Windows Update and how do I use it to update my Windows installation?
• Where can I find out what hardware is compatible with the various Windows versions?
• In Windows, what is the Start menu?
• In Windows, what is the Taskbar?
• In Windows, what is the registry?
• In Windows, what is a shortcut, and how do I create one?
• In Windows, how do I lock my workstation without logging off?
• What is NTFS?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base on windows xp, for example.

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Setup

• In Windows NT, 2000, and XP, how do I convert a FAT partition to an NTFS partition?
• In Windows, how do I create setup boot disks?
• How do I set up Windows NT 4.0, 2000, or XP Professional to accept FTP transfers?
• In Windows 2000 or XP, how do I choose between NTFS, FAT, and FAT32?
• For Windows, where can I find drivers for video cards?
• Where can I find driver updates for my Windows computer?
• In Windows Me or XP, how can I restore my computer to a previous configuration?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base on windows setup, for example.

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System information

• In Windows, how do I check my computer's IP address?
• In Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, how do I find the MAC address of my network adapter?
• In Windows, how do I find out how much memory (RAM) I have?
• In Windows, how can I see or print a list of all my directories and files?
• In Windows, what is a user profile, and how do I copy one user profile to another?
• In Windows, how can I tell which service packs are installed?
• In Windows NT 4.0, 2000, XP, or Vista, how do I list all running processes?
• In Windows NT, 2000, and XP, what is the SID (security identifier)?
• In Windows, how do I change the date and time?
• Using Windows XP, how do I change the screen resolution?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base on windows system, for example.

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Networking

• In Windows XP, how can I see what wireless networks are available to my computer?
• In Windows XP, how do I make a VPN connection to the IU network?
• In Windows XP and Vista, how do I dial into the modem pools at IUB and IUPUI?
• In Windows 2000 or XP, how do I manually set up a network connection?
• In Microsoft Windows, how do I map a drive?
• In Windows, what is traceroute and how do I use it?
• What is Dynamic DNS (DDNS), and how do I set it up at IU?
• In Windows, what are some networking commands I can use from the command prompt?
• At IU, using Windows, how can I access shared resources on other Windows computers?
• In Windows XP, how do I configure the firewall to allow pings?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base on windows networking, for example.

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Troubleshooting

• In Windows Me or XP, how can I restore my computer to a previous configuration?
• In Windows 2000 or XP, how can I boot into Safe Mode?
• In Windows, how do I restore my display settings after they have been changed and my display is illegible?
• In Windows, what is the device manager, and how can I use it?
• Using the Task Manager in Windows NT 4.0, 2000, or XP, how do I close an application that is not responding?
• In Windows, how do I restore the speaker icon to the system tray?
• When installing software in Windows, what does "An error occurred during the move data process - ###" mean?
• In Windows, why do my Start button and Taskbar seem to be missing?
• In Windows, if my mouse breaks, how can I save my work, exit, and restart?
• After copying a Ghost image to a different PC, why do I get IP conflicts even though I am using DHCP?
• In Windows 2000 or XP, how do I troubleshoot authentication problems against the IU.EDU Kerberos realm?
• In Windows NT 4.0, 2000, and XP, what is the Blue Screen of Death?
• In Windows XP, how do I troubleshoot wireless networking problems?
• In Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, and XP, how can I check a disk for errors?
• In Windows NT 4.0, 2000, or XP, why won't my CD-ROM play automatically?
• On my PC, why am I having network problems after installing file-sharing software?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base on windows troubleshooting, for example.

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