Xandros Desktop OS 3 Deluxe Edition

When you first load the control center, youll see the following sections listed:

• Display
• File Manager
• General Settings
• Hardware Information
• Network
• Peripheral Devices
• Power Management
• Sound & Multimedia
• System Administration

Just click the section you want to view, and a list of subsections opens up. To change certain settings, you will need to know the administrator (root) password you created during the installation process. When you encounter something that requires the administrator password, youll see the "Administrator" password button at the bottom of the menu. Click that, type in the password and you can then make your changes.

In addition to changing settings, you can also view your systems hardware information in the control center. The control center is very similar to the control panel in Windows.

The Xandros File Manager
The Xandros File Manager is a very important part of Xandros. Its where youll do most of your file management as well as some of your networking tasks. The XFM interface is easy to navigate. Your systems disk drives, folders, CD/DVD drives and networks are listed in the left pane. Just click on whatever youre interested in and it will load in the right pane of the XFM.

Heres what was listed in our XFM:

• My Home
• Desktop
• My Documents
• Printers
• Windows Network
• NFS Network
• C:
• D:
• DVD Writer
• DVD-RW
• Floppy

When you install Xandros, it will automatically give you read access to your Windows partitions. This makes it very easy to refer back to a file you were using Windows. The XFM also makes backing up files to CD or DVD very easy. To backup our files we just clicked the DVD Writer icon, and we were given options to Create a Music CD, Create a Data Disc, Copy a Disc, Erase a Rewritable Disc, or View Existing Projects. You can also drag and drop into a CD folder, as you can in Windows.

Becoming familiar with the XFM takes just a couple of minutes and youll find yourself returning to it frequently when you need to manage your files, access your Windows partitions, or connect to your Windows box. Its a very easy-to-use tool, so be sure to check it out right after you install Xandros on your computer.