Introduction

An operating system is only as useful as the applications that run on top of it, and that's as true of XP as it is of any operating system. One of XP's greatest benefits is the astonishingly wide array of software that can run on it.

But the thousands of applications written to run on XP and on XP's Windows predecessors as well as on DOS are also the cause of problems and frustrations. There is no certification process an application has to go through when it's written for XP, and so there are quite a few applications that can cause problems with XP. (However if companies want to use the Designed for Windows logo on their packaging or advertising, they do have to go through a certification process. For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/partners/isvs/cfwfaq.mspx#EBAAA.) In particular, when you install some applications, they leave bits of themselves behind, cause system conflicts, and take up precious resources and memory. In addition, you may have programs written for earlier versions of Windows, or for DOS, and have problems running them in XP.

In this chapter, you'll find recipes for troubleshooting applications, as well as for getting more out of your applications. So, for example, you'll learn how you can change the default installation location for all programs, as well as learning keyboard shortcuts that will help you use XP more effectively. In addition, you'll learn how to transfer application settings from an old computer to a new one and much more.