Windows XP : Visual QuickStart Guide, Second Edition

If you've recently installed the latest Windows XP update, Service Pack 2, or just want to get to know your operating system a little better, you'll want this thoroughly updated, task-based reference from veteran author Chris Fehily.

In typical, to-the-point, Visual QuickStart style, Chris gets right down to business, introducing you to the Window XP interface before moving on to topics such as installing and removing programs; working with documents, accessories, and multimedia; going online; printing; handling hardware issues; and maintenance.

Step-by-step instructions and loads of tips, tricks, and visual aids make all of Windows XP's features instantly accessible, including those new in Service Pack 2: Windows Security Center, Pop-Up Blocker, Windows Firewall, and more! In no time, you'll be using the desktop, working with files, and using Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Player, Movie Maker, and more.

User review
Chris Fehily's Windows XP
This book is really great for someone with limited computer experience. It very clearly explains how to do all that good stuff in XP. I highly recommend this book for those wishing to know how to get the most from one's computer.

User review
An Excellent Resource.
Simple, concise, to the point, very easy to follow. Several times this book has helped me to find something in 2 minutes that would have taken me 1/2 hr or more trying to figure it out myself. A great time-saver and headache-preventer. Grab it.

User review
Simple and straightforward, what an XPerience.
Having just bought a new pc with Windows XP installed I thought it would be a good idea to get a book or two about the operating system or software I'm going to use. A problem I've found with computer titles is that they frequently handle, what is essentially a visual subject, with words, words and more words. An instructional screen shot and caption can save an awful lot of text. I had a quick glance through several titles dealing with XP, they were either:
1. Huge, definitive, expensive thousand-page jobs, all right for experts but not me.
2. Lots of colorful screen shots and captions but too simple and too expensive
3. Small, cheap, pocket-sized and text-crammed with a few screen shots and very boring to look at.

I think I've found the ideal title with this `Windows XP: Visual Quickstart Guide'. It is basically a reference book with step-by-step numbered instructions and tips with screen shots (in black and white) presented in two columns on each page. You can see some of the pages by clicking on 'see inside this book' under the cover picture above. The writing is simple, straightforward and in nineteen chapters I find it very comprehensive. It is aimed at the beginner and intermediate (that's me) pc user, so if you are just starting out you'll be pleased to find that chapter one begins with `Logging on'. Another good test for a pc book is the quality of its index (I even looked at two that had no index) and this one has nineteen pages.

I think that Chris Fehily's `Windows XP' is an absolute bargain but if you do want something basic and colorful have a look at `Windows XP plain & simple' by Jerry Joyce and Marianne Moon. Each page has plenty of screen shots and short numbered captions. It's a nicely designed landscape book aimed at the beginner and published by Microsoft but certainly not as comprehensive as the Visual Quickstart Guide.