Windows XP Under the Hood

Get ready to roll up those shirtsleeves, pop the hood, and get a little Windows grime under those fingernails! This is a book about tools, nuts and bolts. Through lucid tutorials and examples, Windows XP Under the Hood shows how to use scripting and batch tools to automate repetitive tasks. You'll master the gory details of the automation, management, command-line and diagnostic tools that are often given short shrift in both online documentation and standard end-user books. Then, the detailed reference sections will keep you coming back time and again. This book will help you make the leap from accomplished user to bona fide Windows hero.

• Finally, a hardcore Windows book that digs into the XP interface while not putting the reader to sleep! Lively and written for Windows mechanics who live for more power.
• Learn how to create and deploy tools to manage your computers and networks. Here you'll find a straightforward introduction to scripting with VBScript, coverage of dozens of powerful programming and management objects, and from-the-trenches advice on distributing and managing your new toolkit.
• Learn how to master the Command Line. Many books cover Windows Script Host, but none of the others address the powerful and still-useful batch file language and command-line utilities.
• Clear, practical examples show how each scripting object, batch file or command line utility can change lives, make the dog behave, and eliminate bad hair days.
• Although Microsoft provides the tools, users are hard pressed to find much-if any-documentation on these tools. Rather than learning by osmosis, we suggest that you pick up a copy of this indispensable book.

Brian Knittel is a longtime Windows author. He is a software developer, consultant, and writer, specializing in document conversion and networking. After finishing graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley (where he studied nuclear medicine), he established a technical consulting firm in Berkeley. Brian is also the author of Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, and Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional, all published by Que.