Rating: 
Summary: Huge book; so far not impressed
Review: 10/6/2000 It certainly is about the thickest book I ever saw.However, the first thing I wanted to check out in it came up empty. I wanted more information on Direct Connection setup, and some info on how to solve some problems I am having with DC to a Win95 desktop from my Win2000 laptop. The book made only the most casual mention of Direct Connection, with no details or any other info. Maybe it will help the next time I need more info about optimizing my use of Win2000, but so far, it's a major strike-out for me. My Windows 95 Secrets book was far more helpful in my Win95 environment than this book has been in the Win2000 environment. 12/07/01 update - I recently used this book to help solve an INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE problem. I hadn't looked at it since the Direct Connection problem. It was rather helpful and informative this time. It had good info on the use of things like System State backup, ERD, Recovery Console, so the help I got from this alone was probably worth the cost to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Help From a Large Book
Review: As comprehensive as the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit (SRK) is, I still rank the Professional Resource Kit as essential. This kit contains info either glossed over in the SRK or, amazingly, just not there. My one gripe is the same as I have with the SRK: Lighten up Microsoft! How about some fun desktop themes? Sure Windows 2000 Pro is meant for a corporate environment, but even white shirts like to have fun once in a while!
Rating:
Summary: Big Help From a Large Book
Review: As comprehensive as the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit (SRK) is, I still rank the Professional Resource Kit as essential. This kit contains info either glossed over in the SRK or, amazingly, just not there. My one gripe is the same as I have with the SRK: Lighten up Microsoft! How about some fun desktop themes? Sure Windows 2000 Pro is meant for a corporate environment, but even white shirts like to have fun once in a while!
Rating:
Summary: You want it? It's in here.
Review: At over 1700 pages, the Resource Kit contains all you need to know about Windows 2000 Professional and then some. The Resource Kits have a good side and a bad side. The good side is that they're excellent research books and go much further in depth any other similar books. The bad side is that they are very tough to read cover to cover. We would recommend to purchase the Resource Kits to have access to this in-depth material. However, your initial Windows 2000 reading should probably come from a shorter, more concise book. Many people will start the Windows 2000 MCSE track with the Windows 2000 Professional Exam (Exam 70-215). A great approach to studying would be to pick up both the Windows 2000 Professional Training Kit and the Resource Kit. Read the Training Kit to prepare and use the Resource Kit to go deeper in an area if you're confused or curious. This should definitely give you enough knowledge to pass the exam.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: Hey, all these Res Kits are basic bibles anyway :-). This Res Kit gets into client deployment and explains accessibility very well, though.
Rating: 
Summary: A most impressive and handy reference
Review: If you are a personal or small-business user installing Windows 2000 on your network or desktop computers, you really need to purchase this book. Clocking in at over 1700 pages, this book gives all of the information that Microsoft should include with a purchase of Windows 2000. There is a chapter for any possible question that you could have about Windows 2000, and detailed troubleshooting information is given. Especially helpful are the sections on networking. I recently set up a Windows 2000 network in my home office, and this book was essential to my getting it done correctly. The CD included with the book contains over 200 add-ons and utilities. While I don't use many of the programs on the CD, I have found several of them quite helpful for monitoring network connections and diagnosing problems and solutions for network and general WIN2K problems.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for personal implementation of Windows 2000!
Review: If you are a personal or small-business user installing Windows 2000 on your network or desktop computers, you really need to purchase this book. Clocking in at over 1700 pages, this book gives all of the information that Microsoft should include with a purchase of Windows 2000. There is a chapter for any possible question that you could have about Windows 2000, and detailed troubleshooting information is given. Especially helpful are the sections on networking. I recently set up a Windows 2000 network in my home office, and this book was essential to my getting it done correctly. The CD included with the book contains over 200 add-ons and utilities. While I don't use many of the programs on the CD, I have found several of them quite helpful for monitoring network connections and diagnosing problems and solutions for network and general WIN2K problems.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: Microsoft - to some a four letter word, to others a savior of the computer software industry. Either way, if you need to work with Microsoft's OS's then this is a must have. Besides the great resource kit utilities we have all come to know and love, the book is a must have for the level 2 support people in any organization.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: Microsoft - to some a four letter word, to others a savior of the computer software industry. Either way, if you need to work with Microsoft's OS's then this is a must have. Besides the great resource kit utilities we have all come to know and love, the book is a must have for the level 2 support people in any organization.
Rating:
Summary: If you are an IT pro in a W2K shop, you MUST HAVE this
Review: Print this out and take it to your boss. The IT department has to buy this book if you are running Windows 2000 Professional. The on-line help is for users. This is the documentation set for professionals. This is the book MS no longer includes with the software. You also need this as a reference if you expect to get a W2K MCSE or if you make a living consulting to W2K shops. This should be a total no brainer. You might be able to administer minimumially configured user workstations using online help, but if you intend to implement the powerful new features of W2K (that's what you paid all that money to MS for, isn't it?) then you simply can't get by without this. While a good deal of this info can be obtained from TechNet or Knowledgebase, you just can't highlight and dogear those resources for future reference. I'm giving this 5 stars not because of outstanding performance on the part of Microsoft Press with this edition, but because of the absolute necessity of having it.
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