Setting Up a Portable Computer

Before you can make use of mobile computing in your organization, you need to identify the critical operating system components, properties, and features that you will need to configure on your portable computers. You must also ensure that you address critical configuration issues that are specific to portable computers.

Check BIOS Compatibility

Windows XP Professional supports the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification, which enables reliable system configuration and power management features. If a portable computer has an ACPI-compliant BIOS, use the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) to verify that it is compatible with Windows XP Professional. If it is not, upgrade the BIOS to the latest available version. If you upgrade to an ACPI-based BIOS on your portable computer after you install Windows XP Professional, and your old BIOS was either not ACPI-compliant or not compatible with Windows XP Professional, you must reinstall Windows XP Professional in order to enable ACPI and the power management features that it supports. For more information about hardware compatibility, see the Hardware Compatibility List link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources For more information about upgrading the BIOS in a portable computer, see the Hardware Update link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources

If a portable computer has an APM-based BIOS, run the Apmstat.exe support tool to determine whether the BIOS has any known problems. If the APM BIOS is known to be compatible with Windows XP Professional, APM power management is enabled by default. You can install Apmstat by running Setup.exe, which is located in the \Support\ Tools folder on the Windows XP Professional operating system CD.

Grant Installation and Configuration Rights

If you configure a portable computer for a user who travels frequently, add this user to the Power Users group. The user can then install, uninstall, and configure software. If a hardware device fails or needs to be reinstalled while not connected to the network, a member of the Power Users Group can reinstall the device, but only if the driver package meets the following conditions:

• Is present on the system (that is, it does not need to be installed from media, such as a CD provided by a vendor).

• Is digitally signed. For more information about driver signing, see Managing Devices in this book.

• Can be installed without any user interface.

If a user must be able to add hardware even if the driver package does not meet these conditions, add this user to the Administrators group.

All other types of users should be members of the Users group, which does not allow them to install, uninstall, or configure software and hardware, except when the above three conditions are true. In general, no Users should be members of the Administrators group unless they need to install, uninstall, and configure non-Plug and Play hardware and drivers. For more information about driver signing or configuring hardware and drivers see Managing Devices in this book.

Verify Hardware Configuration

After you install new hardware on a portable computer, you need to verify that all devices function when the computer is both docked and undocked. Log on in turn as a member of the Power Users and the Users groups to test the devices, as well as the docking and undocking functionality. This testing is necessary because some hardware can be fully installed only by a member of the Administrators group. When members of the Power Users or Users group add the devices, the driver packages might not be installed.

Windows XP Professional uses one hardware profile to load drivers when the portable computer is docked (the Docked Profile) and another when the computer is undocked (the Undocked Profile). Verify that the properties are set correctly for both the Docked Profile and the Undocked Profile. For more information about docked and undocked profiles, see Managing Hardware on Portable Computers later in this chapter.

Configure Power Management Options

Windows power management is based on the concept of power schemes. A power scheme is a group of preset power options that are passed to the operating system to control a computer s power management behavior. Power schemes are presented to the user in the Power Management Control Panel option.

The power policy used when the computer is powered by AC (utility) power can be different than the policy that is used when the computer is powered by a battery.

Verify that the power schemes that are available are appropriate for the target user environments. The most useful power schemes for portable computers are Portable/Laptop, Presentation, and Max Battery. Using the default power scheme settings might not always be the best configuration. You might need to explore the best configuration for the user s needs.

Install Applications

All software and software components must be installed locally and run locally on portable computers. You must therefore make sure that you do not have any partially installed programs or distributed programs installed on a portable computer that is frequently used offline. Only Administrators can install software for personal digital assistants (PDA) because some PDA software cannot be installed by members of the Power Users group. Also, only members of the Administrators group can use the Internet Connection wizard to configure an Internet connection.

Configure Offline File Storing

If you have files and folders that you want to make available offline for mobile users, enable and configure file-storing settings on the server or network share. This is particularly important for folders such as My Documents that have been redirected to a network share or a server. Also, make sure that you have configured all offline files settings, including synchronization settings, on the portable computer.

If a user uses an e-mail program or a Web browser, be sure to configure the e-mail program and the Web browser for offline content.

Configure Security

Because portable computers are vulnerable to theft, you must ensure that they are configured securely. Format all hard disks as NTFS and apply the appropriate permissions to files and folders that contain sensitive data. Also, encrypt files and folders that contain sensitive data, and require users to use strong passwords for logging on both locally and on the network. You might also want to encrypt the Offline Files cache, so that any network files made available offline are also encrypted. For more information about encrypting files and folders, see Encrypting File System in this book.

Configure Roaming User Profiles and Folder Redirection

If you are supporting roaming desktop users or portable computer users who are connected directly to a network most of the time, configuring roaming user profiles and Folder Redirection can provide a number of advantages, such as fast computer replacement and the storage of backup copies of data on the network. If portable computers in your organization are rarely connected to the network or are connected remotely most of the time, however, do not use roaming user profiles or Folder Redirection. For more information about roaming user profiles and Folder Redirection, see Configuring Roaming User Profiles and Folder Redirection later in this chapter.