Back to Basics
Terms:Windows is your operating system - it basically runs your computer,
When you first boot up your computer the background is your "desktop", the little pictures on your desktop are called "icons" and they are shortcuts to get into your programs. You double click the icon to open the program. the "taskbar" is at the bottom of your screen, it shows you what programs are running. This bar can be moved around by grasping it with your left mouse button and pulling it to the side of your screen. The "Tray" is the area in the bottom right corner of the Taskbar (with the clock). The icons in the tray and also the ones on the left side of the taskbar next to the "Start" button also open programs.Windows are the boxes in which programs run.
All windows have the same elements - title bar, minimize button, resize, close (x), a scrollbar at the side can be used to when the entire window is not visible.
Hardware
The Tower (Box) and the things inside it:
Motherboard: - the circuit board that all devices attach to...usually by way of expansion slots (ISA or PCI)
Memory modules, processor = the brain (microchip=P3-800), sound card, video card, power supply, fan, hard drive, disk drives (CD DVD floppy), monitor, modem, keyboard, mouse, printers
Ports:
parallel - usually for a printer or scanner
serial - usually for a mouse
USB - new type for anything.
P/S2 - usually for a mouse (small round)
Software
= programs =applications e.g. Windows, MS Works, games.To get into programs:
Double click on an icon on your desktop or click once to select and press "Enter" on your keyboard.
**use the "Start" button then "Programs" and then left click on the program name.
All your programs are in the start menu, not all are icons on your desktop!Online vs. offline;
Online for e-mail and to surf the Web,
To use other programs in your computer, you are offline.Left click vs. Right click:
Right click anywhere, you will get a menu.
Left click to perform a function or to use the menu you got when you right clicked.e.g. right click on an empty space on your desktop and left click on "Properties".
Left click on the folder tabs to use the options.
Various selection methods:
Check Boxes - a little box that shows a checkmark when you click on it
Radio Buttons - little round holes that show a black dot when you click in them.
Drop Down Boxes - long rectangular boxes with a little black triangle at one end. Click on the little black triangle to drop the box and select one of the options by clicking.
Slide Buttons (e.g. volume) - grab the slide by clicking on it, holding down the mouse button and dragging it up or down.
INSTALL PROGRAMS
Most now come on CDROMS.
Put the CDROM in the drive and close the door and wait!
The splash screen will start by itself.
If it doesn't, take it out and put it back in again.
If it still does not work, you can use "Start" and then "Run". Then "Browse" to the setup file on the CDROM drive. Then click "Open". And then "OK". After install starts, just follow the onscreen directions.
UNINSTALL PROGRAMS
Use Control Panel - Access control panel by clicking on "Start" and then "Settings" and then "Control Panel". Double click on the "Add/Remove Programs" icon. Select the program you want to remove out of the list and then click the "Add/Remove" button. Follow the onscreen directions. If the computer asks you if you want to keep some files in the windows/system directory, because they may be shared files, you may consider leaving them in…these files are usually small and so it won't matter if you don't delete them with the program.
When you install or uninstall programs, you should not be running any other programs at the same time.
FILE MANAGEMENT
(OH NO, NOT AGAIN!!)
The explorer window is divided into two panes.
The left-hand pane, which we will call the "folder pane", displays a view of the folder structure. The right-hand pane shows details of the files and folders within a particular folder; this we will call the "file detail" pane.The row of buttons above these two panes is the "toolbar", which provides shortcut methods for controlling explorer features. The area along the bottom of the explorer window is called the "status bar"; it provides information about objects currently selected within the folder and file detail panes. A menu bar at the top of the explorer window provides access to the full set of commands for controlling explorer features.
THE FOLDER PANE
The folder pane displays a graphical representation of the folder structure of the area you are exploring. Clicking on the "+" and "-" marks beside the folders expands or collapses the structure beneath the folder. This permits you to add or remove detail from the structural view. Clicking solely on these "+" and "-" marks will not alter the contents of the right-hand "file detail" pane. This is useful to know when using the drag/drop method for moving files described later.
The folder pane may not be large enough to display the entire folder structure at once. In this case, the scroll bar along the right side of the folder pane can be used to scroll this area up and down.
When you select a folder or folder name within the left-hand folder pane by clicking on it, the right-hand "file detail" pane is updated with a list of the files and folders within the selected folder. Also, the status bar indicates the number of objects (files and folders) within that folder, their total size (not including files within subfolders), and the free space remaining on the drive.
THE FILE DETAIL PANE
The file detail pane shows a detailed list of the files and folders within the currently selected folder. The list includes the filenames, their sizes, their file type, and their modification dates. You can sort this list in various ways by clicking on the heading at the top of each column. For example, if you want to sort by name, you click on the bar labeled "Name" at the top of the name column. If you click again, the sort will still be on name, but the order will be reversed.
Tip: Clicking on the bar labeled "Modified" at the top of the modified column, will sort the list by date modified, most recent first. This is a great way of finding the files you worked on last.
Double-clicking on a folder in the right-hand file detail pane does the same thing as clicking that folder in the left-hand folder pane: i.e., the display updates with the contents of that new folder.
The Toolbar
The toolbar consists of a set of buttons near the top of the two-paned explorer window. These buttons provide shortcuts for various menu commands.
The button selects the next higher folder in the folder hierarchy and is a useful means of navigating upward in the folder structure. There are also buttons for the cut, copy, and paste operations. These can be used for moving/copying files/folders which you have selected.
SELECTING FILES
You can select a file or folder in the File Detail pane to mark them for some action (such as deletion or copying). Clicking on a particular folder or filename in the list will select it. The selection is indicated by that line in the list being highlighted. If you click on some other folder or filename, the selection will move and this other item will be the one selected.
You may select a block of files/folders, by clicking on the first or last in the block, then shift-clicking (i.e., clicking while holding down the shift key on the keyboard) the other end of the block.
You may create discontinuous selections by ctrl-clicking (i.e., clicking while holding down the control key on the keyboard) items. Ctrl-clicking a non-selected item adds it to the selection; ctrl-clicking a selected item removes it from the selection.
COPY AND/OR MOVE FILES
Select and use the toolbar or drag and drop to the folder pane. When you copy a file you will see a small + sign while you are dragging it. To ensure copying, hold down the "ctrl" button at the same time as you drag the file.
DELETING FILES
Deleting files or folder is as simple as selecting the items you want to delete, then pressing the "Delete" key on the keyboard. If you have Mac-envy or just want to get fancy, you can even drag the selection to the "Recycle Bin" on the desktop. Files you delete from the C drive generally can be restored from the Recycle Bin by double-clicking the bin icon. (Then select the file and click "file" then "restore".) Files on floppies or networked drives cannot be restored; so be careful what you delete!
RENAMING FILES
A file or folder can be renamed by selecting it and pressing the "F2" key on the keyboard or via the File, Rename menu command. (or right click and use the rename function) When this is done, a box will appear around the text of the name and the words will be highlighted. You can just type your replacement name. The name is initially selected by default, so, whatever you type replaces what was previously there. If you wish to simply modify the current name, use the arrow keys to move to the spot in the name you wish to change or add to. The mouse can also be used to position a cursor at a particular spot within the name.
CREATE NEW FOLDER
Select where you want your new folder Click on "file" and then "new" and then "folder"
Zip and Unzip
What are zip files?
They are files that are compressed into a format known as "zip" usually to make the file size smaller. The zip file may contain only one or it can have a few or more files inside. Zip files are often used when sending files across the Internet. (attachments and downloadable files)There are a few different programs that are used to zip or unzip files, (AOL may do this for you automatically) but I am going to tell you how to do this using Winzip which is a free program you can get from the internet. (winzip.com)
UNZIP:
in Windows Explorer, double click on the .zip file.
Winzip will open automatically.
Click on "EXTRACT" You need to decide on a location to place the unzipped file(s) once it is "extracted". You can create a new directory for the extracted file(s) by clicking on the "New Folder" button after you have selected "C" in the right hand window that shows your file structure. This will ensure that your new directory is in the root level of your computer (that is, at the first level of C)After you see the new directory has been created, click on the "extract" button. The files will extract into your new directory and then you can close the Winzip window.
ZIP UP FILES
In Windows Explorer select all the files you want to zip together. If the files are all together use shift and your arrow keys, if they are not one after another, hold down the "ctrl" button on your keyboard at the same time as you select the files. Then use "file" menu and select "add to zip" Winzip will open. As when you unzipped files, you need to select the directory where you want to place your new zip file and also you need to make a name for you new zip file and type it in the open field of the program. Then click on the add button and your files will get zipped up and placed where you wanted. You can also select varying degrees of zipping or compression.
Note: jpgs or your pictures do not get much smaller with zipping. So if you want to send a .jpg to your kids, just send it as is. … you can zip together a few pictures into one file but the relative size won't get much smaller.
TIPS:
1. make a back up boot disk.
- go to the add/remove programs in control panel and click on the tab "startup disk"
2. if your computer freezes, try "ctrl-alt-delete" you may be able to shut down one program and keep going or you might have to hit the keys twice and re-boot.
3. virus protection - you must keep it updated monthly by downloading the latest '.dat' files from the net .. or you won't be protected.
4. if you think you can solve a problem by reinstalling the program, uninstall it first using control panel.
5. every few months, do a scandisk and then a defrag. (see programs - accessories - system tools) Turn off all running programs when you do (screen saver, virus protection etc.)
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