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    Practical Suggestions For Microsoft Windows
    Practical Suggestions For Microsoft Windows
    Practical Suggestions For Microsoft Windows
    Ebook115 pages2 hours

    Practical Suggestions For Microsoft Windows

    By John E. Meister, Jr

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    About this ebook

    The recommendations in this book work with XP, Vista, Win7, Win8 and Win10. There are a number of recommendations presented to keep your computer safe and productive while explaining commands, background and tools that you may not be familiar with, all intended to be done on the local system using only what is supplied by Microsoft to avoid the risks of after market "free" tools.

    This book contains settings and practices proven over the years. If you should have to reinstall Windows, or migrate to a newer version, the tips provided will make it less painful and even allow you to dual boot to Linux.

    The suggestions presented were developed through the author's experiences with Microsoft since the 1980's and computers since the 1970's. The solutions were learned in unique and complex settings, but apply universally. The author did not seek quick fixes to problems, but rather analyzed the root causes and determined a solution using available resources and settings.

    There are limited options available to most corporate or home users. Many opportunities to solve problems were presented to the author in the support of complex engineering design systems and software development environments on a variety of operating systems and with advanced applications. Many of these large applications placed extreme loads on computers and pushed them to the limits. The problems encountered would highlight underlying configuration issues and if adjusted generally improved performance. In addition, the author has taught operating systems, computer science and electronics since the late '70's and works daily with Microsoft and Linux systems, solving problems for a lab supporting over 800 users. In the last few years the changes to Microsoft's security model revealed the importance of the NTUSER.dat which will be discussed in detail in Chapter Two.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn E. Meister, Jr
    Release dateJan 6, 2015
    ISBN9781310659881
    Practical Suggestions For Microsoft Windows
    Author

    John E. Meister, Jr

    John Meister is a retired technical specialist and instructor, a Jack of all Trades, master of some.Interests include Biblical prophecy, photography, kayaking (flat water), Linux, and road trips, preferably in a Diesel Jeep.Over his career John has taught: electronics theory, design, troubleshooting and repair; microprocessors and assembly language programming; computer programming and science; systems analysis and design; operating systems (UNIX, Linux, Microsoft, etc.); shell scripting and the vi editor ; web design and HTML; technical writing and career planning; automotive maintenance and repair; and an overview of the Bible.John has held positions in a variety of corporations and industries as a System Administrator, systems analyst, circuit designer, equipment engineer, technical instructor, computer lab manager, adjunct faculty, electronics technician, mechanic, salesman, photographer and technical lead. Some of those companies were: Intel, O'Reilly Media, Boeing Electronics, Boeing Computer Services, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, ITT Tech, AT&T, Western Wireless, T-Mobile, Cingular, Merck, Intermec, City University of Seattle, Georgia Military College, Everett Community College, Prosoft, Develop Intelligence, New Horizons and other training companies nationwide. John served in the US Army Signal Corps attaining the rank of E-6, Staff Sergeant, specialized in the repair, installation and service of secure voice and data encrypted communication systems, served 5 years in Germany, an then as a TSEC/KG-13A instructor at the Signal School at Fort Gordon.As an O'Reilly Media author John created the LPIC-2 Certification exam study video series, released July 2016 - http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920050209.doEducation includes:- MSTM - Embry Riddle Aeronautical University- BSc, AA - University of Maryland- AA - Central Texas College- US Army Signal School - 32F/32G/31S/31T- Western Seminary (MDiv CEd - no degree)- Cogswell College North (BSEE - no degree)- Cleveland Institute of Electronics (Advanced Electronics & Troubleshooting)Listed in: Who's Who in Science and Engineering; Who's Who in American Education; Who's Who in America; Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America; Who's Who Among Young American Professionals; and, Who's Who in the West (since 1987).

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      Book preview

      Practical Suggestions For Microsoft Windows - John E. Meister, Jr

      The picture above is from the Dick's Drive-in on 45th in the Wallingford area of Seattle.

      Practical Suggestions For Microsoft Windows

      Copyright 2015 John Meister

      ISBN: 9781310659881

      Published by John Meister at Smashwords

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction Windows overview, commands and history

      Chapter One: Suggested settings and recommendations for Windows (XP, Win 7, 8 and 10)

      Chapter Two: Advanced techniques, tools and issues (NTUSER.dat, registry, batch files)

      Chapter Three: Summary of the practices and a performance test tool

      About John Meister

      About the Pictures

      Other books by John Meister

      Connect with John Meister

      Introduction

      "Did you reboot your PC?"

      "Did you reinstall Microsoft Windows?"

      There has to be a better way. It seems that Microsoft generally accepts the idea of frequent patches and reboots. At a Linux Usability Study conducted by Microsoft around 2002 in Redmond, Washington at the main Microsoft campus, the question was put forth to a room full of UNIX/Linux System Administrators: How often do you patch and reboot your servers? The room went silent. Finally after a pregnant pause, a couple of the Linux Sys Admins spoke up and said, We don't do that.

      The Microsoft team stopped asking questions at that point and paired off Sys Admins and shuffled them into mirrored rooms with computers. In these rooms with one way mirrors were broken Linux systems. The Microsoft team gave the sys admins a series of tasks to complete. It seemed that they had an expectation that the broken system would prevent the task from being completed. The Microsoft team seemed somewhat surprised that none of the Sys Admins were slowed down. When they analyzed the keystrokes later they were probably equally as perplexed that several different commands were used to complete the tasks.

      But the most fun was when some of the Sys Admins decided to check email after they finished the tasks, and checked to see what ports were open to the internet to get to their servers. It wasn't a surprise that Port 22 was closed, and Port 23 was open (see the end of Chapter 3 for a partial listing of well known ports). As soon as the telnet login response from a server showed up on a screen a voice came over the loudspeaker... Please don't do that. It was the most fun a group of Linux and UNIX sys admins ever had in Redmond.

      It was interesting to note the differences in perspective and underlying philosophy. It was clear to the Sys Admins that Microsoft simply does not comprehend the Linux philosophy, so it shouldn't a big of a surprise that UNIX and Linux Sys admins often seem to know more about the internals of Microsoft products than many very qualified, competent and certified Microsoft Professionals.

      This is likely because the UNIX sys admin is far more familiar with command line interaction and the underlying concepts. Very few UNIX or Linux systems provide the reliable conveniences found in the Microsoft Windows tools. However, Graphical User Interface (GUI) tools tend to eliminate a lot of the effort required to learn how to configure a system, but that is a double-edged sword, as one forgets, or never really learns the principles involved. Setting up a Linux system can be an extremely challenging task as very little is provided by the system in the form of a standard. One size does not fit all. Where in the Microsoft world it is nice and clean and tidy and very few options exist. This is both good and bad, but makes it easy for a UNIX or Linux specialists to quickly navigate through the GUI interface, or operate on the Microsoft command line.

      Working at the command line requires knowing the options and settings, the full path and the details, and there is no undo or do over. However, once you figure out the commands, whether on Microsoft or Linux, and save those settings in a script they're documented and ready for use again.

      The use of BATCH FILES in Microsoft is the corollary to Linux shell scripts and examples are provided in this book. The author manages a large lab with Linux and Microsoft and uses batch files and scripts daily. Windows 7 included some new features that help to automate tasks. Batch files can be a very useful and powerful tool for keeping your Microsoft system working well.

      The suggestions offered were developed through the author's experiences with Microsoft since the 1980's and computers since the 1970's. The key is that the author sought to understand what caused a problem and did not settle for a quick fix or empty answers. Rebooting a system was not the first choice; although with Microsoft once something is corrupted it is necessary. The key is to figure out what caused the corruption, make a change in hopes of fixing it, then reboot and verify.

      As various performance and security issues are discussed the underlying details will be explained. The solutions determined were purposely limited to existing system resources and settings that any mere mortal with administrator rights could implement. Domain policies are not discussed or considered, although they may be a problem within your

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