Windows XP is the most popular operating system on the planet--and the most annoying. From incomprehensible error messages to inexplicable crashes, from wonky wireless setups to just finding a file, Windows can make your computing life a nightmare. But thanks to Fixing Windows XP Annoyances, you can banish the bugs, speed up operations, and just make Windows work right.

Inspired by author David Karp's Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, this all-new tome pulls together tips, tricks, insider workarounds, and fixes for PC novices and pros, in a handy, accessible Q&A format that lets you find the solutions in a flash. Fixing Windows XP Annoyances will not only increase your productivity but lower your blood pressure. Karp's new book covers:

• Setup and Hardware-Update Windows, reinstall Windows safely, speed up start up, resolve driver-hardware conflicts, and more.

• Windows Interface-Navigate quickly, fix screen resolution problems, customize the desktop, and switch applications more quickly.

• Windows Explorer-Force XP's file & folder management application to remember your view settings, save your default application choices, and get XP's Search tool to behave.

• Multimedia-Having a problem playing a video or burning a CD? Want to do more with your digital photo collection? We have the answers.

• Web and Email-Get a handle on spyware, spam and pop-ups; protect your privacy online; learn how to improve your online experience.

• Wireless and Home Networking-Connect all your PCs; share Internet connections; share files and drives securely; make your wireless network purr; share network printers; and more.

If you're having a problem, just look through the Table of Contents for the annoyance that most closely matches your problem, or feel free to start thumbing through the pages. You'll likely find a fix to a problem you didn't even know could be solved.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 29 Ratings

Lots of great tips all in one place - 2006-12-03
Reviewer Rating:
Why buy a book on Windows XP with VISTA coming soon? Unless forced to, I am sticking with XP and not going to VISTA. After several years of use, I finally have XP working the way I want. I have spent many hours tweaking my system for improved security and efficiency. Even so, this book which I bought in November 2006 has hundreds of tips I would not have discovered on my own. Nearly all of the tips are useful to the power user. The advice is solid and much easier to access than the Windows Knowledge Base or even searching the net. Plus the book is not biased by the MS party line. The book should be titled "How to get the most out of Windows XP". Based on my experience, this book is definitely a best-buy recommendation.

While I am ranting, I should add that I bought this book after the napster cat appeared in my version of Windows Media Player. It was either there all along, and I never noticed it, or it showed up after one of the ubiquitous MS updates. I am a business user and not interested in outline content stores. In fact, the cat is embarassing to me when I use media player in presentations. I resent the fact that MS would build this commercialism into Media Player without an easy option to eliminate it for those of us who do not wish to be solicited. I also resent the fact that MS uses OS updates to change my settings in favor of their own products.

Fixing Windows XP Annoyances - 2007-09-30
Reviewer Rating:
Purchasing this book was a mistake. I expected something similar to
"Windows 98 Annoyances" by the same author. There was no chapter on the Registry, and little or no information about the Registry.

Why does XP need so much fixing? - 2008-02-08
Reviewer Rating:
There are many things about Windows "professional" that isn't. It has puppy dogs and talking paper clips. All files gravitate towards "My Documents" and "My Pictures" and often the only way to get to "My Engineering Files" is to click first the desktop icon, then "My Computer" icon, then the drive letter... I want the operating system to get out of my way and let me work. And yet Windows is notorious for putting all sorts of settings in obscure locations that are the last place you might look for them. Hence there are so many utilities for configuring your system the way you want it. Unfortunately, these utilities just do it without telling you how it is done.
This book directly addresses most of these annoying features and explains how (and why) to fix them. In so doing it provides a great deal of insight into the MS mentality. There are of course other annoyances not covered in the book, but I now have a much better idea where to look for them.

extremely useful - 2008-08-31
Reviewer Rating:
I do think this book is one you need after you have learned how to compute. I found it very useful and informative even after 10 years of computing. I'm only about one quarter thru the book but have done a lot of their suggestions and found them to be very useful. Worth buying.

Not the clearest sometimes, but... - 2008-02-15
Reviewer Rating:
While some of the content wasn't easy to implement, I got quite a bit of use out of it. I tend to go back to it from time to time, even.

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