Where to get XP documentation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter joeu2004
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J

joeu2004

I have a new XP system. Actually, it was installed by my
company's IT folks, and they cleverly tell us little about
how to use and maintain the system :-(.

Where can I get XP documentation?

Specifically, what I call a User's Manual ("how to use") and
a Reference Manual (more detailed; includes admin info and
perhaps some more technical insight).

I went to www.microsoft.com, entered "xp documentation" in
the search box, and clicked on "documenation on the web".

That web page says: "to download the latest documentation
...., go to Windows Update at <link>".

When I click on the link, that takes me to a web page that
says: "to download the new version of software and begin
using Windows Update, please click Install Now".

I do not see anything there that is specific to downloading
documentation.

Since I have a centrally-managed system, I am relunctant to
select Install Now.

But okay, I took the plunge and clicked on Install Now.
After some downloading and file copying (gulp!), that takes
me to a web page that offers Express Install and Custom
Install.

I still do not see anything there that is specific to
downloading documentation.

Help!
 
Start/Help & Support

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Jupiter said:
The documentation is part of Windows:
Start/Help and Support.
You can get just about anything from there.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I forgot about that.

But I was looking for printable manuals. I still
don't see that under Start -> Help and Support.

Am I correct to conclude that MS does not provide
printable manuals?
Also most bookstores sell a wide variety of books
about Windows XP.
Click to expand...

"Wide variety" is the operative word. Actually,
"wide variety of quality and completeness" is more
accurate.

Any recommendations?

I am a computer professional with 34 years of
experience designing operating systems. I am used
to printable reference manuals that tell you all the
nitty-gritty -- something to read in the bathroom :-).

Is that a thing of the past?
 
I have a new XP system. Actually, it was installed by my
company's IT folks, and they cleverly tell us little about
how to use and maintain the system :-(.

Where can I get XP documentation?

Specifically, what I call a User's Manual ("how to use") and
a Reference Manual (more detailed; includes admin info and
perhaps some more technical insight).

I went to www.microsoft.com, entered "xp documentation" in
the search box, and clicked on "documenation on the web".

That web page says: "to download the latest documentation
..., go to Windows Update at <link>".

When I click on the link, that takes me to a web page that
says: "to download the new version of software and begin
using Windows Update, please click Install Now".

I do not see anything there that is specific to downloading
documentation.

Since I have a centrally-managed system, I am relunctant to
select Install Now.

But okay, I took the plunge and clicked on Install Now.
After some downloading and file copying (gulp!), that takes
me to a web page that offers Express Install and Custom
Install.

I still do not see anything there that is specific to
downloading documentation.

Help!
Click to expand...

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?endeca=1&isbn=0764573268&itm=1

You are definitely part of the audience this book is intended for.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
 
Thanks. I forgot about that.

But I was looking for printable manuals. I still
don't see that under Start -> Help and Support.

Am I correct to conclude that MS does not provide
printable manuals?


"Wide variety" is the operative word. Actually,
"wide variety of quality and completeness" is more
accurate.

Any recommendations?

I am a computer professional with 34 years of
experience designing operating systems. I am used
to printable reference manuals that tell you all the
nitty-gritty -- something to read in the bathroom :-).

Is that a thing of the past?
Click to expand...

Yes. Printed manuals are sadly a thing of the past. Even my IBM laptop
doesn't come with a printed manual, and IBM used to be the Kings of
Documentation. You can print out the Help articles that interest you,
or look for a book like Windows XP Inside Out or the like at the
bookstore.

Malke
 
Windows XP Booklist

Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out 2nd ed ISBN 0-7356-2044-X
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2nd ed ISBN 0-7356-1974-3
Microsoft Windows Command-Line ISBN 0-7356-2038-5
Windows XP Pro 2nd ed The Missing Manual ISBN 0-596-00898-8
Windows XP in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition ISBN 0-596-00900-3
Windows XP Annoyances, 2nd ed ISBN 0-596-00876-7
Windows XP Hacks, 2nd ed ISBN 0-596-0000918-6
Windows XP Solutions ISBN 0-7645-6773-X
Windows XP Speed Solutions ISBN 0-7645-7814-6
Guide to Home Networking ISBN 0-7645-4473-X
 
what do you expect for $300 , consider your self lucky you even got a cd .
if they gave you a manual , they'd have to give everyone manuals . where
would it end ;-P
 
I have to disagree. The entire Dummies series of books is useless, inexpert
crap written by committee. Perhaps you were attempting to suggest that Joe
is a dummy, an opinion to which you are entitled, despite the lack of
evidence to suport it.

A careful reading of Joe's posts shows that he raises a legitimate issue.
 
Which raises the question, why no downloadable manual? The cost per copy to
Microsoft would be negligible, and the manual could be updated incrementally
as needed. This is how mobile phone manuals are done, and so much the
better: it's harder to "lose" a website than a physical booklet.
 
Hi, Joe.

It's pricey ($70 list), but you should find all you need to know about WinXP
Pro in the Resource Kit. It's from Microsoft Press and I see someone else
has already posted the full name and ISBN. You can explore it and even read
it all online for free at
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...indows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prork_overview.asp,

but it's kinda hard to take that to the bathroom with you. Unless you have
a laptop, of course. ;<}

And I hate to even think about printing out the whole 1700+ pages. :>(

RC
 
basically it boils down to , they DON'T have to . they have a monopoly .
they could care less about the consumer . all they care about is the bottom
line . they continually ignore and refuse to address issue after issue
conserning their vague EULA and licencing issues to their advantage .

people like you can just accept that or refuse to . your choice .
 
The "downloadable manual" consists of a knowledgebase that exceeded 250,000
articles a year ago. That would be about 150 copies of Windows XP Inside
and Out. The knowledgebase is accessed by the Help and Support Center,
along with the locally installed help articles. I realize that the
knowledgebase covers far more than XP, but it gives an idea of the scale of
the OS and what has been documented about it.
 
Basically, someone would have to sift through the KB and integrate it into a
comprehensible whole in order to provide anything remotely resembling a
manual. The term "manual" does, after all, come from the Latin word for
"hand." If you cannot pick it up with one hand, it is not the entity Joe, I,
and millions of others seek!

I do realize that it is far too late for MS, which thought the task was too
much trouble in the beginning, to tackle the job now. Still, what we teeming
millions need could be devised. As things stand, you need H&S, the KB, the
newsgroup and several books to deal with all the Windows issues that come up
in the course of using XP or any other Windows.

Colin Barnhorst said:
The "downloadable manual" consists of a knowledgebase that exceeded 250,000
articles a year ago. That would be about 150 copies of Windows XP Inside
and Out. The knowledgebase is accessed by the Help and Support Center,
along with the locally installed help articles. I realize that the
knowledgebase covers far more than XP, but it gives an idea of the scale of
the OS and what has been documented about it.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)
frogspawn said:
Which raises the question, why no downloadable manual? The cost per copy
to
Microsoft would be negligible, and the manual could be updated
incrementally
as needed. This is how mobile phone manuals are done, and so much the
better: it's harder to "lose" a website than a physical booklet.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You are right. Nothing like a little competition to put the fear of god (and
the consumer) in folks.
 
I agree. I would not expect to buy a Boeing 747, and be able to read the handy-dandy instruction guide for it in a few hours, (or
even days). It's a little silly to expect instantaneous understanding of any complex system. Windows XP, like so many powerful
things, is a subject for long study before you should expect to grasp even the fundamentals.


..
Colin Barnhorst said:
The "downloadable manual" consists of a knowledgebase that exceeded 250,000 articles a year ago. That would be about 150 copies
of Windows XP Inside and Out. The knowledgebase is accessed by the Help and Support Center, along with the locally installed help
articles. I realize that the knowledgebase covers far more than XP, but it gives an idea of the scale of the OS and what has been
documented about it.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)
frogspawn said:
Which raises the question, why no downloadable manual? The cost per copy to
Microsoft would be negligible, and the manual could be updated incrementally
as needed. This is how mobile phone manuals are done, and so much the
better: it's harder to "lose" a website than a physical booklet.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
frogspawn said:
I have to disagree. The entire Dummies series of books is useless,
inexpert crap written by committee.
Click to expand...

The inexpert part is exactly what makes it good for morons. It talks
down to their level.
Perhaps you were attempting to
suggest that Joe is a dummy,
Click to expand...

Perhaps? I didn't think any reasonable person would have any doubt, so
I have to wonder whether you are a reasonable person.
an opinion to which you are entitled,
despite the lack of evidence to suport it.

A careful reading of Joe's posts shows that he raises a legitimate
issue.
Click to expand...

"I went to www.microsoft.com, entered "xp documentation" in the search
box, and clicked on "documenation on the web". That web page says: "to
download the latest documentation..., go to Windows Update at <link>".
When I click on the link, that takes me to a web page that says: "to
download the new version of software and begin using Windows Update,
please click Install Now". I do not see anything there that is specific
to downloading documentation. Since I have a centrally-managed system, I
am relunctant to select Install Now. But okay, I took the plunge and
clicked on Install Now. After some downloading and file copying (gulp!),
that takes me to a web page that offers Express Install and Custom
Install." - from the OP.

"I am a computer professional with 34 years of experience designing
operating systems. I am used to printable reference manuals that tell
you all the nitty-gritty -- something to read in the bathroom :-)." - in
reply to Jupiter

The moron has "34 years of experience designing operating systems" yet
is a total wuss install the Windows Update files, and doesn't know how
to find any documentation for WinXP.

I'd love to know what OSs he has had a part in designing it, so I know
to stay far away from it.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
 
I have a new XP system. Actually, it was installed by my
company's IT folks, and they cleverly tell us little about
how to use and maintain the system :-(.

Where can I get XP documentation?

Specifically, what I call a User's Manual ("how to use") and
a Reference Manual (more detailed; includes admin info and
perhaps some more technical insight).

I went to www.microsoft.com, entered "xp documentation" in
the search box, and clicked on "documenation on the web".

That web page says: "to download the latest documentation
..., go to Windows Update at <link>".

When I click on the link, that takes me to a web page that
says: "to download the new version of software and begin
using Windows Update, please click Install Now".

I do not see anything there that is specific to downloading
documentation.

Since I have a centrally-managed system, I am relunctant to
select Install Now.

But okay, I took the plunge and clicked on Install Now.
After some downloading and file copying (gulp!), that takes
me to a web page that offers Express Install and Custom
Install.

I still do not see anything there that is specific to
downloading documentation.

Help!
Click to expand...

Windows XP Resource Kit online version:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
Consult the documentation that came with your Retail version of XP. There
should be a guide/manual in the box.
 
OK, he sounds obtuse in his post, but the basic situation regarding Windows
documentation remains true and applicable to, basically, everyone. If you
like solving mysteries, you will *love* Windows.
 
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