Windows 2000 Professional: Questions & Answers

Author: Zubair Alexander

Zubair Alexander is a contributing editor and online columnist for Windows IT Pro Magazine, an MCSE, an MCT, a Novell CNA, and a Microsoft EST endorsed trainer. He specializes in design, implementation, and engineering of enterprise network services.

The following Q&As appeared in Windows IT Pro Magazine's FREE weekly newsletter Windows 2000 Pro UPDATE. The previous issues of the newsletters are available at http://www.windowsitpro.com/publications.

Contents

• Managing Win2K Servers from Win2K Pro
• Sharing Contacts List
• Upgrading to Win2K Pro
• Enabling numlock
• Dual-booting Windows NT and Win2K
• Computer reboots during setup
• Save configuration settings in Office 2000
• Using MSN with Win2K
• Handling junk email
• Disable intelligent menus
• Map street addresses for your contacts lists
• Win2K Windows Update feature
• Personalized menus
• Open Outlook Express files without saving them
• Network adapter bindings in Win2K
• Which ControlSet is LastKnownGood?
• Modem connection speeds
• What is Active Desktop?
• AutoComplete feature in Internet Explorer 5.0
• Making Dr. Watson the default debugger
• Blind carbon copy in Outlook Express 5.0
• Making zip drives work in Win2K
• Starting and stopping legacy devices
• Link a scanner or camera to a program
• What are audio codecs?

Q: How can I manage Windows 2000 Server (Win2K Server) systems from my desktop computer that is running Win2K Professional (Win2K Pro)? A: You need to install Windows 2000 Administration Tools on your Win2K Pro computer. The tools are available on the Win2K Server or Win2K Advanced Server (Win2K AS) CD-ROM. On the local machine, you can double-click the adminpak.msi file in the I386 folder of the server CD- ROM to install these tools. A wizard will guide you through the installation process, and the tools will be accessible from Start, Program, Administrative Tools. These tools are Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins that are not available on Win2K Pro. You can make the Administration Tools available to remote Win2K Pro workstations in two ways. You can either assign one or more snap-ins to the workstation, or you can publish them in Active Directory (AD). Assigning the snap-ins lets Administrators simply double-click the snap-in either on their desktop or on the Start menu and install the tools automatically. Publishing the snap-ins gives the Administrator the ability to install the tools using Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

Q: We use Outlook 2000 on our Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) desktops at our company. I have created a contact list called Primary Contacts. Can I share this contact list with my coworkers? Currently, when anyone wants to send an email to the 30 people on this list, they toss me off my machine and create the email message from my desk. Not a good option! Is there a better solution?

A: Yes, you can share your contact list in Outlook 2000 with other users on your network. Sharing a contact list lets you share not just name, email address, or job titles; you can also share information on birthdays, anniversaries, and even photographs. Besides contact lists, you can share calendars, task lists, or folders in Outlook 2000. You must have appropriate permissions to the aforementioned items before you share the items with other members of your group. For example, if you want to share a Contact public folder, you must first verify that you have permissions to do so. To check your permissions, right-click the Contact public folder (click View, Folder List on the menu if the folder list is not visible). Click the Summary tab. You'll notice your permissions under Your Permissions section. If you see a Permissions tab instead of the Summary tab, it indicates that you have owner permissions to the folder. If you don't see either of the two tabs (Summary or Permissions), you won't be able to share the folder because you don't have the appropriate permissions. To create the Primary Contacts list that you mentioned, use the following procedure. Create a new public folder called Primary Contacts and select Contacts as the folder type. Alternatively, you can move your existing Primary Contacts folder to the public folder to avoid recreating the database. Add your contacts to the Primary Contacts public folder. To make Primary Contacts appear in the Outlook Address Book, right-click the Company Contacts folder, go to Properties, select the Outlook Address Book tab, and verify that the box "Show the folder as an email address book" is checked. Also, on the same tab, notice how the name will appear in the address book. Next, set the permissions for the individuals who need access to this contact list. Now your Primary Contacts list will appear as an Outlook Address Book for the users.

Q: I wanted to upgrade my Windows NT 4.0 Workstation to Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro). I booted my computer with the Win2K Pro CD- ROM, but the setup program never gave me the option to upgrade my existing OS. I decided to start the setup program using the Win2K Pro 3.5" disks. Much to my dismay, the setup program also proceeded to perform a fresh install. Am I doing something wrong?

A: The setup program's behavior is by design. You can't upgrade your existing OS with Win2K Pro 3.5" disks or CD-ROM. To upgrade your NT 4.0 workstation, run winnt32.exe from the CD-ROM within your current OS. According to Microsoft, forcing an upgrade from within the OS is by design. This behavior makes the setup program more stable because the software doesn't need to search for multiple NT installations and decide which one to upgrade. Also, the setup program can disable any applications or services on your system that can render setup useless. You can upgrade the following OSs to Win2K Pro: Windows 95 (including OSR1 and OSR2), Windows 98 (including Second Edition), Windows NT 3.51, and Windows NT 4.0 Workstation.

Q: I prefer to use the numbers on my Numpad. How can I automatically enable the NumLock key on my Win2K computer?

 A: Run regedt32.exe. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators and set the string value to 2.

Q: I configured my Windows NT 4.0 workstation running Service Pack 3 (SP3) to dual boot with Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro). My C drive is formatted with FAT and my D drive with NTFS. Win2K Pro installation completed without a hitch, except that I can no longer access my data on the D drive when I boot into NT. Is this a beta issue?

A: NTFS in NT and Win2K are not compatible; NT uses NTFS 4.0 and Win2K uses NTFS 5.0. NTFS 5.0 includes several improvements over NTFS 4.0, such as encryption, disk quotas, and mount points. When you install Win2K, the installation converts all existing NTFS 4.0 volumes to NTFS 5.0. If you intend to upgrade your NT 4.0 workstation to Win2K Pro, you first need to install SP4 or later and then upgrade to Win2K Pro. SP4 contains an updated ntfs.sys driver that will let you read and write to an NTFS 5.0 volume in Win2K. I strongly discourage dual booting between NT and Win2K. You should only use this approach as a temporary solution. I've experienced various problems with dual booting in certain builds. On some computers, I've been able to install Win2K on a computer that had NT 4.0 with SP3. When I booted to NT, I realized I could no longer read my NTFS volume--similar to what you're experiencing. I installed SP4, rebooted my system, and was able to successfully read my data. On other systems, this technique didn't work for me. You can save yourself a lot of headaches if you first upgrade NT to SP4 or later, then install Win2K. Because you can't take advantage of all the NTFS 5.0 enhancements when you boot to Windows NT 4.0, I suggest you use dual- booting only in a test environment. The NTFS version has no effect on accessing data over the network from a remote computer. In other words, network clients from NT or Windows 9x (with or without a service pack) can successfully access files on a Win2K NTFS 5.0 volume.

Q: I am trying to install Windows NT 4.0 on a computer running Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro). I can't finish the setup because my computer keeps rebooting. How can I get out of this endless loop and complete the setup?

A: Many Windows 2000 (Win2K) beta testers have experienced the same situation with Win2K Server and Win2K Pro. You need the winnt32.exe file from Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4). If you're using the SP4 CD-ROM, the file is located in the support\winnt32 folder. Copy this file to a folder on your computer and execute the file. When the process prompts you for the source files, point to the I386 folder on your NT 4.0 CD-ROM. You should be able to successfully finish your setup. By the way, this technique doesn't work if you start your setup using winnt.exe at the DOS or Windows level outside Win2K. You must execute winnt32.exe within Win2K.

Q: I have configured Office 2000 components on my Win2K Pro computer the way I like. I'd like to save these custom configuration settings for individual applications. How can I accomplish this?

A: Run System Information tool from Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools. Alternatively, you can use Start, Run, and type winmsd.exe. Click Applications and then select the application whose settings you want to save (e.g. Microsoft Word 2000). The Settings folder under each application contains your custom configuration. You can either print or save these settings to a text file.

Q: I am currently using the Microsoft Network (MSN) as my ISP. I plan to upgrade my Windows 98 desktop to Windows 2000 Pro (Win2K Pro) when the new OS becomes available. Will I be able to use MSN on my computer?

A: Yes, you can use MSN in Win2K by using Network and Dial-up Connections. Go to Start, Settings, Network and Dial-up Connections. Double-click Make a New Connection to start the Network Connection Wizard. Select Dial-up to private network from the Network Connection Type screen. Follow the instructions to create a new connection for MSN. Once you've finished creating the connection, right-click the connection to bring up the Properties screen. On the Networking tab, make sure that NetBEUI and NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol are disabled, if they are installed. Be sure that the IP protocol is enabled. If it isn't enabled, check the box to enable it. You must remember a couple of things: First, you can only use MSN as your ISP in Win2K if you've created an MSN account in Windows 9x. In other words, MSN will work only for users who are upgrading their existing Windows 9x computers. Second, you must be running MSN 2.5 or later to access proprietary MSN services such as bulletin boards or email. Finally, when you connect to MSN, your username must be in the format MSN/username (e.g., MSN/billg).

Q: I use Microsoft Outlook 2000 on my Windows 2000 (Win2K) desktop. Sometimes I receive anonymous unsolicited email messages (Spam) that the sender has blind carbon copied to me. Neither the View, Message Header, nor the File, Properties option show much useful information. How can I get more information about the sender?

A: Open the email message. From the menu, select View, Options. Under the Internet headers section, you'll see a lot of information. This is what a partial header of a "Get rich in a hurry" junk mail looks like:

You can add such junk messages to the Junk Senders listing by using the Rules Wizard on the Tools menu. You can customize the rules to your liking. Perhaps the easiest method to add senders to Junk Senders List is to right-click the message and select Junk E-mail, Add to Junk Senders list. If you haven't turned on the Junk E-mail option in the past, you will be prompted to do so. From the Tools menu, select Organize. Click the Junk E-mail section. The button on the right toggles Junk E-mail option on and off. You can either change the color of the junk message or move it to a particular folder. For example, you can change the color of the junk message to red so you can easily locate it, or you can move a junk message automatically to the deleted items folder and get rid of it.

Q: One thing that I find very irritating on Windows 2000 (Win2K) computers is that the items that I don't use frequently keep disappearing. I have to click on the down arrow at the bottom of the Programs menu to unhide them. Do you know a Registry hack that will prevent these items from disappearing?

A: A lot of users don't appreciate this vanishing act. Perhaps we all need to get used to some of these new features. What you have described is a feature of Win2K known as Intelligent Menus. This feature is supposed to make your life easier. Items that are not used frequently become hidden so that you can focus on the items that you commonly use. I personally don't like this feature, and I turn it off. You can disable this behavior through the user interface (UI) or by modifying the Registry. To change this behavior using the UI, go to Start, Settings, Taskbar, and Start Menu. Uncheck the Use Personalized Menus box. This procedure will disable the Intelligent Menus feature for the person who is currently logged on. To disable the Intelligent Menus feature for all your network clients, you can modify the Registry on your standard desktop configuration. To locate the proper Registry key, run regedt32.exe. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Ad vanced. Locate the IntelliMenus key on the right-hand pane. Double- click the key and change the default string value from yes to no. Specifying no will disable the personalized menus. This method disables the Intelligent Menus for the Explorer shell but doesn't affect your Web browser. To disable the Intelligent Menu feature in Internet Explorer (IE), go to Tools, Internet Options, and uncheck the box Enable Personalized Favorites Menu. You can disable this feature in the Registry by running regedt32.exe. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main. Locate the FavIntelliMenus key on the right-hand pane. Double-click the key and change the default string value from yes to no.

Q: I work for an insurance company. We're using Microsoft Office 2000 with Outlook Express 5 as our email client. We're planning to populate the Outlook Express Address Book with all the standard information about our clients, but we also need to look at our clients' street addresses on the map. Can we add a map of our clients' street addresses to the contacts list or link addresses to a map on the Internet?

A: If you have a connection to the Internet, you're already set. After you enter your client's address on the Business (or Home) tab of the address book, simply click View Map. Then you can see the client's street address on the map at http://maps.expedia.com. You can download a printable version of the map, email a link to the map to someone else, or put a direct link to the map on your Web site. Pretty cool, huh? By the way, you can also enter your client's Web page address, either on the Business or Home tab, when you are populating the database. This will provide a convenient method to get to the client's Web site within your Address Book. Simply click Go from the Summary tab (this also works from the Business or Home tab) to automatically start your Internet browser and connect to your client's Web site.

Q: I've upgraded my Windows NT workstation to Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro). What is the purpose of the Windows Update icon on my Start menu?

A: Windows Update is the online extension of your Win2K computer. It's a catalog of Help files, device drivers, patches, critical updates, new features, and some Internet products that you can download from Microsoft to keep your system up to date. To take advantage of Windows Update, you need to have an Internet connection, and you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. When you click the Windows Update icon from Start menu, you'll go to the Windows Update home page (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com). Then, simply click Products Update to scan your system for outdated drivers and system files. To add only certain features from Windows Update, you can also go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Add New Programs, and then click Windows Update. When you visit the Windows Update home page for the first time and click Products Update, you'll have the option to install certain controls (e.g., Microsoft Active Setup). Follow the instructions on the screen. You'll also see various options such as Critical updates, Picks of the month, and Recommended updates. Select the options you want to install, and Windows Update will automatically replace your files with the most recent versions. I recommend that you download the Windows Critical Update Notification (currently version 3.0) so that Microsoft automatically notifies you whenever there is a critical fix.

Q: We recently switched to Office 2000 on our desktop clients. The Standard and Formatting toolbars on the clients' computers show up on the same row with a >> symbol on the right side indicating that there are more buttons on this row. I looked at every setting under Tools, Options but couldn't find how to make the Standard and Formatting bars appear on separate rows. Where is this option set in Word 2000?

A: Windows 2000 (Win2K), Internet Explorer (IE) 5.0, and Office 2000 products have a tendency to hide items from users. Microsoft believes that hiding some of the menu options cuts down on the clutter on your desktop. In Word, this personalized menu option is under View, Toolbars, Customize, Options. Uncheck Standard and Formatting toolbars share one row. If you manually adjust the formatting bar by moving it to a second row, the program automatically clears this box. Also, to disable the personalized menus option that most people find irritating, uncheck the box Menus show recently used commands first. This prevents your menu options from disappearing.

Q: I use Outlook Express 5 on my Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) computer. When I receive a message with an attachment, the File menu contains only an option to save the attachment. How do I open an attachment without first saving it?

A: In Outlook Express 5, whenever a message has an attached file, a line called Attach appears under the Subject line. Simply double-click anywhere on the filename in the box next to Attach. You can also right- click the filename and choose Open.

Q: Where do I go to configure bindings for the network adapters on my Win2K Pro computer?

A: Go to Start, Settings, Network and Dial-up Connections. On the menu, click Advanced. Select Advanced Settings, and configure the bindings on the Adapters and Bindings tab.

Q: I see several ControlSets listed in the Registry. How can I tell which ControlSet is the default and which one is the LastKnownGood?

A: Run Regedt32.exe. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select. On the right side, you'll see the numbers for the four ControlSets listed in hexadecimal: Current, Default, Failed, and LastKnownGood. For example, if your LastKnownGood shows a number 0x2, then ControlSet002 is your LastKnownGood.

Q: I recently purchased a 56Kbps modem for my Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) system. I'm unable to get a 56Kbps connection to my ISP. Is this a Win2K Pro limitation, a problem with my modem, or something to do with my ISP?

A: Several reasons exist for why some people attain higher connection speeds than others. If your modem is different than your ISP's modem, it might not be able to negotiate the highest speed during the initial hardware handshake. Your 56Kbps V.90 modem will fall back to 33.6Kbps V.34 protocol. Sometimes, you might fall back to 26Kbps speeds on your 56Kbps modem. Other factors that can adversely affect your transmission speed include noise or interference on old lines and the general condition of the line. Phone system limitations are another cause of lower speeds. For example, your phone company might have added certain devices to improve the quality of the service. These devices can affect transmission speeds. Some phone companies add load coils on long wires to improve the quality of voice connections. These load coils can reduce the connection speed. So, to answer your question, the problem is definitely not with your Win2K Pro OS. You can't really blame your modem or your ISP either. It's most likely the combination of your modem, your ISP's hardware, phone system services and devices, and line quality. If you're really interested in figuring out the exact connection speed, find a third- party product that lets you determine your true connection speed.

Q: What is an Active Desktop? Do we need that on our Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) desktops? What do we gain or lose by enabling Active Desktop?

A: Active Desktop is a feature that can make your Win2K Pro desktop look like a Web page. Deciding whether you need the feature on your desktop depends on the type of work you do and whether you have a connection to the Internet. With Active Desktop, you can display Web content on your desktop and automatically update it. In other words, you can make your desktop active. Active Desktop also lets you personalize most anything on your screen. To enable Active Desktop, right-click the desktop, select Active Desktop, and click Show Web Content. After you make your desktop active, you'll see several options added to the context menu. To disable Active Desktop, simply uncheck the box Show Web Content. You can also enable this feature under Control Panel, Display, Web. If you select a JPEG file or an HTML page as your wallpaper, the system prompts you to enable Active Desktop first. You don't need to enable Active Desktop to use bitmap files as your desktop wallpaper. To make new JPEG files available as wallpaper, simply add them to the My Pictures folder in the My Documents folder.

Q: Our department just migrated to Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) and Internet Explorer (IE) 5.0. I've noticed that whenever my co- worker needs to fill in her name or other information on a Web page, IE automatically lists information that she's previously used. I have an identical computer and configuration, yet I don't have the same feature. How do I enable this feature on my computer?

A: You can easily enable the AutoComplete feature in IE 5.0. You don't have this feature enabled on your computer because most likely when you (or someone else) initially ran IE on your computer, you answered No when the program prompted you to enable AutoComplete. To enable this feature, run IE; go to Tools, Options; on the Content tab, click AutoComplete in the personal information section. You'll see several AutoComplete options. Select the options you want for Web addresses, 0Forms, and User names and passwords on forms. The Clear AutoComplete history option lets you clear forms and passwords.

Q: I've been using another program as my default debugger on my Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) computer, but I'd like to switch to Dr. Watson. How can I make the change?

A: To start Dr. Watson, go to the command prompt and type

drwtsn32 -i

The -i switch writes the appropriate changes to the Registry and will make Dr. Watson your default debugger.

Q: I found the Microsoft Outlook's blind carbon copy (Bcc) feature very useful. Currently, I'm using Outlook Express 5.0 on Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) and can't seem to locate this option. Has Microsoft removed this feature in Outlook Express 5.0?

A: No, the feature is still there but not in an obvious place. Outlook Express Help contains some information if you search on "bcc." To enable Bcc, click New Mail on the main menu in Outlook Express. From the New Message window, click View, All Headers. Enabling All Headers enables the Bcc option. Don't expect the All Headers option to enable anything else because as far as I know, that's the only thing it does. Why did Microsoft developers opt for the menu option All Headers, instead of the obvious Bcc? I don't have a clue.

Q: My Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) computer doesn't detect my Iomega parallel port Zip drive. How can I make the Zip drive work in Win2K Pro?

A: Although Add/Remove Hardware in the Control Panel doesn't detect your Iomega Zip drive, you can use the Device Manager in Win2K Pro as a workaround. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click System. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager and then expand Ports. Right- click the parallel port that the Zip drive connects to (e.g., LPT1) and click Properties. On the Port Settings tab, you'll see an option called Enable legacy Plug and Play detection. Check that box and make sure you select the correct port under LPT Port Number. Win2K will now automatically detect your Zip drive and install the appropriate driver. You'll see the new drive letter, labeled Removable Disk, in Windows Explorer. You can access the Zip drive without rebooting your computer. I tested this procedure on Win2K Pro final code, and the OS properly detected and installed my Iomega Zip drive.

Q: How do you start and stop the legacy devices in Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro)? I don't see the Devices applet in the Control Panel, as it is in Windows NT 4.0.

A: In Windows NT 4.0, the Devices applet in the Control Panel lets you start and stop devices. You can also set the Startup types (e.g., System, Boot) of individual devices. In Win2K Pro, this option is somewhat hidden. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click the System icon. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. The default view doesn't show the legacy devices. From the View menu, select Show hidden devices to see the Non-Plug and Play Drivers icon. Expand the gray icon for Non-Plug and Play Drivers. Right-click a device and select Properties. Go to the Drivers tab, where you'll see the options to start or stop the device in the Current status section. The drop- down menu in the Startup section offers five options: Automatic, Boot, Demand, System, and Disabled. Unfortunately, I haven't discovered a way to enable the Show hidden devices option by default. You must manually check that option every time you open Device Manager. Even a custom Microsoft Management Console (MMC) won't save that setting.

Q: I understand that Windows 2000 (Win2K) supports digital cameras and image devices? Is it possible to link my scanner to a program in Win2K?

A: When you install a scanner or digital camera, the device appears in Control Panel under Scanners and Cameras. If you have any non-Plug and Play (PnP) scanners, digital cameras, or still image devices, you can install them with the Scanners and Camera Installation Wizard in Control Panel. You can then link them to a program on your computer. For example, linking a scanner to your computer will let you open the scanned image automatically in a program when you push the Scan button on your scanner. To link a program to a scanner or a digital camera, open Control Panel, Scanners and Cameras. Click Properties and then click the Events tab. Under Scanner events or Camera events, click the event that you wish to link. In the "Send to this application" option, select the program that will receive the image from the camera or scanner. If you don't see the Events tab, the feature is not available for your device. Also, if you don't see the option "Send to this application" in a program, then the application does not support linking to cameras or scanners. Note: To install a digital camera or a scanner, you must be logged on as an administrator.

Q: What are audio codecs? Does Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro) support audio codecs?

A: The word “codec” comes from coder/decoder. An audio codec is a hardware device that lets you convert your audio or video signals between analog and digital formats. It is also referred to hardware or software that compresses and decompresses the audio or video data; and the combination of the two (i.e. coder/decoder and compression/decompression). Codecs are typically used to compress digital data to save memory.

The size of a sound file depends on several factors, such as the type of file (mono or stereo), the sample rate (frequency), and the number of bits per sample (quality). To give you a better idea, a CD-quality audio file takes about 150 kilobytes (KB) of disk space for every second of sound in its uncompressed format. Compressing sound files can save you a lot of hard disk space. You would also want to compress audio files to conserve network bandwidth, if you are playing them over the network. By the way, compressing sound files doesn’t really affect the quality of the sound files. The online Help in Win2K Pro contains a list of more than dozen supported audio codecs, including MPEG Layer-3, GSM 6.10, and PCM.
 

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