Windows XP and 2000 Tips & Tricks UPDATE, March 17, 2003

Windows XP and 2000 Tips & Tricks UPDATE—brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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March 17, 2003—In this issue:

1. COMMENTARY

2. FAQS

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS

4. CONTACT US

1. COMMENTARY
(contributed by John Savill, FAQ Editor, [email protected])

This week, I tell you how to disable password caching in Microsoft Outlook 2002, explain the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), and describe why you might receive event ID 529 in the Security event log. I also tell you how to save and load desktop themes in Windows XP, describe how to determine whether your Microsoft software is legitimate, and explain Longhorn, the next desktop client OS.

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2. FAQS

Q. How can I stop Microsoft Outlook 2002 from caching the Internet Mail Service (IMS) passwords?

A. Outlook typically caches all passwords for the IMS, including for the POP and IMAP services. However, if you want to disable password caching for security reasons, Outlook will prompt you for the password every time it accesses one of these services. To disable password caching, perform the following steps:

Q. What's the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE)?

A. WinPE is a minimal OS, based on the Windows XP kernel, that will replace MS-DOS during the initial OS installation stages beginning with the next Windows desktop OS, which is known as Longhorn. Recent alpha builds of Longhorn use WinPE, which provides a GUI environment during the entire installation instead of the old text-based screen prompts that are common during the initial setup of earlier Windows installations. WinPE will also let the user enter the license key during the initial stage of the installation, rather than forcing the user to wait until later in the installation process.

Because WinPE is based on XP, this new minimal OS can

Q. Why do I receive event ID 529 in my Security event log?

A. Windows will generate event ID 529 if the machine environment meets the following criteria:

When the user logs off, Windows will write event ID 529 to the log file because the OS incorrectly tries to contact the domain controller (DC), despite the fact that the machine is using a local account. Microsoft currently doesn't provide a fix for this problem, but you can safely ignore this event ID.

Q. How can I save and load a new Microsoft Plus! desktop theme in Windows XP?

A. XP's desktop themes feature lets you customize icons, desktop wallpaper, colors, mouse pointers, visual style, and sounds. If you've created your own theme, you can save it to a .theme file by performing the following steps:

XP will create a file with a .theme extension that you can back up or send to another machine.

To load a theme, perform the following steps:

Be aware that a .theme file contains only the name of your background picture, not the picture itself. Therefore, if you have a custom graphic and you haven't backed it up or copied it to another computer to the same location as your .theme file, XP will ignore the background picture setting when you try to load the theme. You can use a text editor to modify a .theme file.

Q. How can I tell whether my Microsoft software is legitimate?

A. Visit the Microsoft How To Tell Web site for instructions on how to verify the legitimacy of your software. However, if you bought your software down the street for $10 or if it has a photocopied cover, you can bet that it's probably not an original copy.

Q. What's Longhorn?

A. Longhorn is the code name for the successor client desktop OS to Windows XP. The new OS will offer several improvements and additions, including:

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
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4. CONTACT US
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