The Quest Begins with Installation
Our trek through Windows XP starts at installation. Before you venture into the tense world of Windows administration, you have to install the software. What are the absolute minimum requirements for XP? Also, what's involved in upgrading an existing machine to XP? Part of this task is knowing which operating systems can be upgraded and which can't.

Study up on the ins and outs of installation. For example, do you truly understand licensing and activation for XP Professional? Be certain you can perform unattended installations by using any of the methods available in Win2K Professional, such as sysprep and RIS.

Tip: Look into the command-line methods for running installs. It's probably a good idea to examine exactly what's different between installs of Win2K Professional and XP Professional.

The Journey Continues with Permissions
Once you've successfully installed XP Professional, you can look forward to having all sorts of fun at your next stop—permissions. File permissions are tremendously important for securing your machines. Make sure you understand the difference between share-level and NTFS permissions, and remember the “most restrictive” rule.

Also know how to configure and troubleshoot printers. Remember that a printer is the software that's installed on the machine, and the print device is the actual printer. Make sure you understand the different levels of permissions on printers.

You should also have a basic understanding of how to manage IIS. Know how to create Web folders to be shared on an intranet and how to enable the different mechanisms of authentication. Anybody with knowledge and experience with Win2K Server should likewise have expertise with IIS.

It's also imperative that you understand the file systems. Remember, FAT32 doesn't have file-system-level permissions and is used for backward compatibility with Windows 95 and 98. In almost all circumstances, you're probably going to want to use NTFS. Know how to use the convert command in case you need to do a file system conversion.

In addition to regular file systems, you need to understand how to configure and administer Offline Files. Offline Files allow users to synchronize with the network, then disconnect and go about their business. When they connect back to the network, voila! The files are “automagically” synchronized with the ones on the server.

Tip: Know the nitty-gritty details of file system conversions. Make sure you can handle dual boot situations as well.

Climbing Higher with Hardware
The next stop on your journey involves hardware installation and configuration. Of course, being a network or support professional, you already know how to install and configure a sound card. Learn how to handle the really nifty devices like USB root hubs, infrared devices and digital cameras. Make sure you understand how to recognize any problems that may occur and take the appropriate action. For instance, you should study up on the differences between Last Known Good Configuration, Safe Mode, and the new Driver Rollback feature. Driver Rollback is used to replace an upgraded driver with its previous version.

Just like in Win2K, it's important to understand how driver signing works. Be certain you can modify security settings on the machine or domain to implement a policy that allows or disallows a user to install signed drivers. In some cases, it may be convenient to allow users to install customized unsigned drivers; on the other hand, it may provide myriad disasters.

Also, take a look at video issues. Be sure you can detect whether there's a problem with the refresh rate of the monitor or whether the driver is corrupted. And if you do detect the problem, make sure you know the appropriate solution.

Along with expert administration and support ability comes the skill of performance tuning and optimization. This particular task involves monitoring the processor, memory, disk and other components that are used on the system and ensuring they run efficiently and effectively. Make sure you know how to use System Monitor and can identify when a particular section of the machine is performing acceptably (and when it's not).

Tip: Just because the processor runs at a high utilization rate doesn't mean that the processor is the item that needs to be upgraded or replaced. Insufficient memory or a slow hard drive may cause the problem.

Getting Closer to Users
If you work for a large organization, it's possible that you have users who travel internationally or speak multiple languages. That's why you need to have a firm understanding of multinational settings. Be sure you can configure XP Professional to give users access to different languages. Learn how to instruct users to implement this functionality.

While we're on the topic of user settings, make sure you understand user profiles and how to implement both varieties: local and roaming. Know how to enable accessibility settings for any users with physical impairments. Also, review Windows Installer settings for application installation and deployment. Remember, Windows Installer packages are usually installed by a group policy that's implemented on a Win2K Server.

Also critical to any kind of environment are network settings, especially TCP/IP. If you don't know about name resolution methodds like DNS and WINS, I'd recommend getting some knowledge on them. Make sure you understand the basics of troubleshooting, like how a subnet mask operates and what a default gateway is. Can you understand a network diagram and troubleshoot a given problem?

In addition to local area network settings, you need to be able to configure remote access networks. For instance, if your computer uses a smart card to log on, you'll need to use the EAP protocol. Study the different levels of encryption supported by XP as well as other operating systems.

Tip: Be able to configure a client to use a VPN that's Win2K-based.

Almost There with ICF and EFS
One of the most prominent features to be added to XP is the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF, for short). The ICF is part of Microsoft's new security strategy and serves as a personal firewall for clients. Know how to configure and troubleshoot the ICF on a machine. You should be familiar with the common ports used for Internet protocols. Ports 80, 443, 21, and 389 should all ring a bell -- in order, HTTP, SSL, FTP, and LDAP.

XP Professional also has some of the tried-and-true functionality of Win2K, such as Encrypting File System, or EFS. EFS allows users to encrypt files that nobody else can use. By default, not even the administrator can use them unless he or she is acting as the Recovery Agent! You should have a basic understanding of EFS and know the best way to implement it for a given situation. For example, it might not be necessary to encrypt an entire directory when only one encrypted file is needed. Everything should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Make sure you know how to recover from a disaster and access encrypted files from users who have left your company.

Tip: Make sure you look over Internet Explorer security settings as well. Know the difference between the levels that are offered.

The Pinnacle
At last -- you've reached your goal! You have all the tips and tools to attack the Windows XP Professional exam head on! I've taken a slew of exams, and I enjoyed this one. There's plenty to understand and plenty to learn. Your efforts to prepare can keep you on top of your game. Good luck!