Assorted
storage
devices
in the
Computer
window.
Chapter 7: Mass Storage
87
To see the Computer window, press the Win+E keyboard shortcut. You see
the storage devices available to your computer, similar to what’s shown in the figure.
In Figure 7-3, the storage devices are organized by categories. The categories are Hard Disk Drives, Devices with Removable Storage, and Network
Location. To see the storage devices listed by drive letter, which is more useful, right-click in the window and choose the command Group By➪(None).
Then, to sort the storage devices alphabetically, right-click in the window and choose Sort By➪Name.
✓
The Computer window can be accessed also by choosing the Computer
command from the Start button menu. (That command is unavailable in
Windows 8.)
✓
In Windows XP, the window is titled My Computer. Yeah, Windows XP
was going through the “terrible twos.”
✓
Mass storage available on a computer network might also appear in the
Computer window. See Part IV for more information on networking.
Identifying mass storage devices
To keep your mass storage devices honest, the computer requires three
forms of ID: an icon, a name, and a drive letter.
Unique icons are used to represent the various types of mass storage
devices. You’ll see icons for a hard drive, an optical drive, and various removable drives. The primary mass storage device, the one from which the operating system is stored, is shown with a Windows flag on its icon.
The storage device’s name can help identify the storage media, though the name isn’t used much in Windows. I’ve seen primary mass storage (hard
drives) named Windows 7, which is helpful, but not every computer names
the primary mass storage drive that way.
The most important aspect of the storage device’s descriptions is the drive letter, covered in the following section.
Assigning drive letters
Mass storage devices in Windows are referred to by letters of the alphabet, from A to Z. I assume in Russian, the drive letters go from A to R, and in Greek the range is most likely A to Ω. Knowing the drive letter is how you access the media and the information stored there.
88 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Although each PC’s mass storage setup is different, Windows follows a set of rules regarding how the drive letters are assigned. Here’s the skinny:
Drive A: On a PC, drive A is the first floppy disk drive, which is how the first IBM PC was configured. Because floppy drives are no longer used, drive letter A is no longer used — unless you attach an external floppy drive to your PC.
Drive B: The letter B is reserved for the PC’s second floppy drive, whether it has one or not. Few did, even back in the early days.
Drive C: The letter C represents the PC’s primary storage media, typically the first hard drive. That media is the drive where Windows dwells, though that’s not a hard-and-fast rule.
After letter C, the storage media in a PC receive drive letter assignments based on media type and whether the storage is internal or external. Here are the rules:
✓
Any additional internal storage is assigned the next letter of the alpha-
bet after C. So, if you have a second internal hard drive, it becomes drive D. (Most PCs use drive D as their recovery drive.) A third internal hard drive would be drive E.
✓
The internal optical drive is given the next drive letter after the last
internal hard drive has been given a letter. Any additional internal optical drives are given the next letter (or letters) of the alphabet.
✓
After the optical drive, any internal media card readers are given the
next few drive letters.
✓
After all internal storage has been assigned letters, Windows begins
assigning letters to external storage devices in the order in which
they’re found when the PC was first turned on or when the drives
were attached. Each new storage device is given the next letter in the
alphabet.
Not every PC will have the same drive letter assignments. For example, on your PC, drive D may be the optical drive, but that doesn’t mean that drive D
on all PCs is the optical drive.
Make a note of your PC’s disk drive assignments on the printable cheat sheet
available for download at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/pcs.
Chapter 8
Merry Monitor Mayhem
In This Chapter
▶ Learning about the monitor
▶ Understanding the display adapter
▶ Adjusting the monitor
▶ Adding a second monitor
▶ Adjusting the resolution
▶ Using a screen saver
C ontrary to what Hollywood may have led you to believe, text makes no
noise when it appears on a computer screen. Text also appears rather
quickly, not one letter at a time. If you really want a noisy computer, you need to return to the deafening days of the teletype, which served as the main input and output gizmo for the ancient, steam-powered mainframe computers of the 1960s. Things today are much better, and quieter.
The computer’s main output gizmo is the monitor. The thing that drives the monitor is the PC’s video system, which is rather spritely, full of color, and far quieter than an old teletype. It also wastes a lot less paper. This chapter covers the computer monitor, as well as the electronics and software that control the monitor.
The PC’s Graphics System
Those folks who use their computers while hunched over the keyboard
typing rarely appreciate the beauty and elegance of the PC’s graphics system.
That’s sad because the computer’s monitor is the thing most people stare at while using a computer. Sure, it loves the attention, but the monitor is only the visible half of the computer’s video system. Inside the PC console dwells the other half, a sophisticated bit of electronics called the display adapter.
90 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
That’s correct: The monitor is the dumb part. All it does is display information.
The display adapter is the heart of the PC’s display system. It tells the monitor what to display and where, plus how many colors to use and the overall resolution of the image. The display adapter determines your PC’s graphics potential.
Understanding PC graphics
Figure 8-1 illustrates the PC graphics system, showing both the monitor and the display adapter. The monitor and the display adapter are two separate things — even on an all-in-one PC.
The display adapter circuitry usually lives on an expansion card, which is plugged into the console’s motherboard. It’s not free-floating in space, as shown in the figure. It could also be part of the motherboard. A cable connects that circuitry to the monitor, as illustrated in the figure. The cable can also be internal, which is the case with an all-in-one PC.
Two additional cables might be found on the typical PC monitor. First, every monitor requires a cable that plugs into a power socket. Second, touchscreen monitors feature a USB cable. That connection is required for the PC to interpret how you smear, smudge, and poke at the screen with your fingers.
Figure 8-1:
The monitor
and display
adapter.
Chapter 8: Merry Monitor Mayhem
91
Not shown in Figure 8-1 is the software that drives the video hardware. The software is part of Windows, which tells the display adapter what kind of graphical goodness to toss up on the monitor. As a human, you use that software (from Windows) to control various aspects of the display, as covered elsewhere in this chapter.
✓
The display adapter is also known as a video card.
✓
The term integrated video is often used to describe a display adapter that’s part of the motherboard, not a separate expansion card.
✓
You can have more than one monitor attached to your PC. See the sec-
tion “Adding a second monitor,” later in this chapter.
✓ The video system is the computer’s standard output device.
Minding the monitor
The most common type of PC monitor is the LCD monitor, where LCD stands
for liquid crystal display, not a hallucinogenic.
LCD monitors are flat. They’re also thin, and they don’t use much power,
which keeps the bearded, sandal-wearing Seattle crowd happy.
A special type of LCD monitor is the touchscreen. It works like any other monitor, but it also has the capability to read locations where you physically touch the screen. A monitor that accepts more than a single touch at a time is a multitouch monitor.
✓
Windows 8 is the first major release of Windows to take direct advan-
tage of multitouch monitors. Even so, you can still use Windows 8 on a
normal LCD monitor, though you’ll be bored.
✓ Before LCD monitors took over the world, computers used bulky, hot,
power-hogging, glass-faced CRT monitors. I don’t think you can even buy a new CRT monitor these days.
✓
CRT stands for cathode ray tube, not catheter ray tube.
✓
It’s popular, and often economical, to use an HDTV as your PC’s moni-
tor. In fact, many large-format LCD and plasma TVs feature a computer
input, into which you can plug the console’s monitor cable. Gamers love
the big screens, but that might just be the Red Bull talking.
✓
You don’t need to have the same brand of computer and monitor. You
can mix and match. You can even keep your old PC’s monitor for use
with a new console — as long as the monitor is in good shape, why not?
92 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Monitor-screen-display jargon
Where does text appear? Is it on the monitor? ✓ The display is the information that appears On the screen? What is the display? Sadly,
on the screen.
several confusing terms are often used inter-
changeably to refer to the stuff the computer These are the terms as I use them. Other folks, displays. Here’s a handy lexicon for you:
manuals, and web pages mix and match them
to mean whatever. In this book, however, I pre-
✓ The monitor is the box.
tend to use these terms consistently.
✓ The screen is the part of the monitor on
which information is displayed.
Discovering the display adapter
The smarter and most important half of the PC’s display system is the graphics hardware itself, known as the display adapter. This circuitry runs the monitor and controls the image that the monitor displays.
Of all PC hardware, display adapters have the most interesting and confusing array of names, numbers, and designations. Ignore them. Instead, you should concentrate on two characteristics of all graphics adapters: the amount of graphics memory and the GPU, or graphics processing unit.
Graphics memory
PC graphics require special memory that’s separate from the computer’s
main memory. This memory is known as video RAM, or VRAM. The more video memory, the more colors and high resolutions and fancier tricks the display adapter is capable of.
Display adapters can have from 0M (no memory) to 1024MB (1 gigabyte) and
beyond. Even so, more video memory isn’t necessarily better. The price is worthwhile only when applications — especially games and photo-editing
software — demand more memory or can take advantage of the extra video
memory. Otherwise, the 32MB to 512MB of video RAM in a typical PC is
enough.
GPU
Display adapters feature their own processor, a second processor to the
computer’s main processor. The GPU is specially geared toward graphical
operations. It allows the display adapter to handle all that ugly graphics math, which means that images appear with more pep and vigor than if the
PC’s main processor were burdened with the graphics task.
Chapter 8: Merry Monitor Mayhem
93
The variety of GPUs, names, numbers, and nonsense is seemingly endless.
Ignore all that feldercarb. The software you use offers GPU recommenda-
tions on the side of the box, which is what you should go by when it comes to ensuring that your PC’s display adapter is up to snuff.
✓
Touchscreen monitors don’t use the display adapter to interpret touch
input. The monitor’s USB cable feeds that information directly to the
console. (Refer to Figure 8-1.)
✓
The more memory the display adapter has, the higher the resolutions
it can support and the more colors it can display at those higher
resolutions.
✓
Some video adapters share memory with main memory, such as adapt-
ers listed with 0MB of video memory. For anyone interested in playing
games or creating computer graphics, such as setup is a bad deal.
✓
You can always upgrade your PC’s video adapter. In some cases, you
can even add more memory directly to the adapter. Well, you can have
someone else do it for you; you don’t have to upgrade anything yourself.
✓
Refer to Chapter 10 for more information on expansion slots, which is
how the display adapter attaches to the PC’s motherboard.
✓
See Chapter 6 for more information on computer memory.
✓
Many display adapters are advertised as supporting 3D graphics or
having a physics engine. Note that these features work only if your soft-
ware supports them. If so, the side of the software box should say so.
Descriptive Display Data
Yes, the PC’s monitor displays wonderful graphical stuff, but when you boil it down to the basics, it’s merely a peripheral. Yeah, it’s an important peripheral, a vital part of the basic computer system. But aside from looking at the monitor, you don’t spend much time pressing its buttons or studying it intently. When you do, the information in this section proves handy.
Measuring a monitor
Monitors are judged primarily by their picture size, measured on a diagonal, just like a TV set. And just as TVs have undergone a widescreen revolution, so have computer monitors. Sizes for PC monitors were once rather small,
but today you commonly see “cinema” monitors rated at 21-inches diagonal
and higher.
94 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Another descriptive characteristic of a monitor is its aspect ratio, or the relationship between the monitor’s width to its height. Traditionally, computer monitors used the Academy Standard aspect ratio of 4:3. That’s four units of width for three units of height.
Today’s widescreen monitors sport aspect ratios hovering around 16:9; the screen is 16 units wide for every 9 units in height. Figure 8-2 illustrates how monitors are measured diagonally as well as compares the aspect ratios
between the traditional monitor and the newer, widescreen monitors.
Figure 8-2:
Measuring a
PC monitor.
If you have a touchscreen monitor, it’s measured by the number of times
you can simultaneously touch the screen. If the monitor can read multiple touches simultaneously, you have a multitouch monitor. If the monitor can read two separate touches, it’s a two-point multitouch monitor.
✓
To get the most from Windows 8, you need a five-point multitouch
monitor.
✓
Monitors also feature a swath of buttons that I hope are right on the
front, where they’re handy. If not, look for the buttons on the monitor’s sides or bottom or even behind a door or panel on the front. The most
important button is the power button, which is how you turn the moni-
tor on and off.
✓
Other features that have found their way onto modern PC monitors
include integrated stereo speakers and cameras. Generally, these
devices are adequate but better options for speakers and PC video exist.
Chapter 8: Merry Monitor Mayhem
95
Connecting to the PC
Don’t let Figure 8-1 fool you: More than one way exists for connecting a monitor to a PC. In fact, three common methods are known to computer scientists.
Most monitors come with these separate connectors, to which you attach a
specific cable that plugs into your PC’s display adapter:
✓
VGA: The oldest of the video connectors, VGA uses a D-shaped connector with 15 holes. On many consoles, the connector is colored cyan
or blue.
✓
DVI: The most common connector, a DVI connector is white, rectangular, and the best way to connect an LCD monitor to a display adapter.
✓
HDMI: This connector allows you to use a high-end HDTV as a monitor.
It’s the same connector used to attach other gizmos (Blu-ray players and
video game consoles, for example) to big-screen TVs.
To make the connection, you choose the proper cable type, plug one end into the monitor, and plug the other end into the console.
For monitors that have only one cable type, you may need to use an adapter to attach the cable to the console. For example, you would use a DVI-to-VGA adapter if your console had only VGA input. Such adapters usually come with the monitor.
Reading monitor messages
Forget about the computer’s messages; monitors are capable of displaying
their own information. Sometimes that information is summoned forth to
adjust the display, as covered in the next section. Other times, the text is informative, explaining that the monitor is turned on and ready but is not receiving a signal from the PC.
Various types of messages appear when the monitor is on but not receiving a signal. They range from the descriptive No Signal to the vague Power
Save Mode. Other text messages with a similar connotation may pop up,
including Where’s my juice? and The printer is a jerk.
These messages are nothing to be alarmed about: The monitor pops to life
properly when you turn on the console and the video signal is restored.
96 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Adjusting the display
Tuning a computer monitor isn’t the chore it once was. Today’s LCD moni-
tors are fairly stable and their display is consistent. Out of pity, however, manufacturers have made a few things available that you can tune and tweak, should the need arise. The only ordeal is working the silly onscreen display by manipulating various buttons on the monitor.
The first step to adjusting the display is figuring out which of the monitor’s buttons summons the onscreen menu. If the button isn’t obvious, just press any button and the menu may pop up.
After the menu is displayed, use the monitor’s buttons to navigate the menu and change various settings. The buttons are labeled with various symbols
and hieroglyphs: You may find four directional arrows, or only two arrows and then a + and – symbols. Because nobody will ever fully understand how the symbol buttons work, I’m curious as to why the manufacturers tried to label them at all.
The settings you can adjust depend on the monitor, but often include items such as brightness, contrast, color temperature, and volume (if the monitor features speakers). I wish I could be more specific, but I’d have to fill the entire chapter with details for each monitor because they’re all so different.
When you’re done messing with the display and adjusting the monitor, either choose an Exit menu item or just wait long enough and the onscreen display will vanish.
✓ The monitor’s onscreen menu is displayed by the monitor itself, not
Windows. You won’t be able to use the computer’s keyboard or mouse
to work the menu.
✓
Monitor buttons are most often found on the bottom of the monitor
below the screen, or on the monitor’s edges. Look under the bottom
edge or on the right edge.
Windows Controls What You See
Don’t look now, but the thing controlling what you see on the computer’s
monitor isn’t the monitor. It isn’t even the display adapter. Nope, the thing in charge is software, and the software that controls what you see on the monitor is Windows itself. This section describes how to use Windows to control what you see on the screen.
Chapter 8: Merry Monitor Mayhem
97
✓
Additional control over your display may be available by using custom
software that came with your PC’s display adapter. For example, ATI
adapters come with a special control center that you can access from
the taskbar’s notification area.
✓ The specific software that controls the display is something called the video driver. It is not a computer car simulator.
Adding a second monitor
Some versions of Windows allow you to enjoy a second monitor on your PC.
As long as your computer’s video hardware can support two monitors, you
too can enjoy the dueling monitors feature. The trick is to see whether the console’s derrière features two display ports. If so, you’re in business.
After connecting the second monitor, you need to use Windows to configure the monitors. Obey these steps:
1. Right-click the mouse on the desktop.
Right-click a blank part of the desktop, not any icon or window.
In Windows 8, press the Win+D keyboard shortcut to see the desktop.
2. Choose the Screen Resolution command from the pop-up menu.
In Windows Vista, you need to choose the Personalize command and
then choose the Display Settings option.
The Screen Resolution dialog box appears, similar to what’s shown in
Figure 8-3.
3. If you don’t see the second monitor displayed in the dialog box, click the Detect button.
If you still don’t see the second monitor after clicking the Detect button, your computer system (hardware or software) isn’t capable of using
two monitors.
4. From the menu button next to Multiple Displays, choose the option
Extend These Displays.
In Windows Vista, put a check mark by the option Extend the Desktop
onto This Monitor.
5. (Optional) Configure the second display.
Instructions for setting resolution and colors are found elsewhere in
this chapter.
98 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Figure 8-3:
Set screen
resolution
and dual
monitors
here.
6. Use the mouse to adjust the two monitor preview icons so that they line up onscreen as they do in the real world.
7. Click OK.
The two monitors share the desktop, but the taskbar stays on only the main monitor. Otherwise, you can use both monitors in Windows as if your PC had one, huge monitor.
✓
The versions of Windows that don’t support the dual monitor features
are the Home and other cheap releases.
✓
In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, icons stick to only the first monitor’s
desktop. If you place any icons on the second monitor’s desktop, they
hop back to the first monitor when you restart the PC.
✓
In Windows 8, the taskbar appears on both monitors. You can also
access the hot corner shortcuts (for the Start screen, charms bar, and
recent programs) from either monitor.
Chapter 8: Merry Monitor Mayhem
99
Setting display size (resolution)
The monitor’s physical dimensions cannot change, but you can control the
amount of stuff you see on the screen by adjusting the screen resolution.
That’s the number of dots, or pixels, the monitor displays, measuring hori-zontally by vertically.
To set the screen’s resolution, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the desktop and choose the Screen Resolution command
from the pop-up menu.
In Windows Vista, right-click the desktop, choose Personalization, and
then, from the Personalization window, choose Display Settings.
The Screen Resolution dialog box appears (refer to Figure 8-3).
2. Click the Resolution menu button.
If the button is unclickable, the monitor has a fixed resolution and
cannot be changed. Reward yourself with a cookie.
3. Use the slider gizmo to set the resolution.
As you adjust the slider, the preview monitor in the Screen Resolution
dialog box adjusts the size to reflect how things will appear on the
screen.
The recommended resolution is the option that works best for your PC’s
combination of monitor and display adapter.
4. Click the Resolution button again to lock in your choice.
5. Click the Apply button to try out the new resolution.
6. Click the OK or Keep Changes to accept the new resolution.
The maximum resolution and color settings depend on the amount of video
memory available to the display adapter. Resolution isn’t based on the
monitor’s size.
✓
Pixel is a contraction of picture element. On a computer display, a pixel is a single dot of color.
✓
Some computer games automatically change the monitor’s resolution
to allow the games to be played. This change is okay, and the resolution
should return to normal after you play the game.
100 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Saving the screen
A screen saver is an image or animation that appears on the monitor after a given period of inactivity. After your computer sits there, lonely and feeling ignored, for 30 minutes or whatever, a pleasant image or animation appears on the monitor. It’s jocular.
Screen savers actually have a serious history. When the old CRT (glass) monitors were popular, images could burn into the screen’s phosphor, rendering the monitor less-than desirable. The screen saver would kick in to literally save the screen from the perils of phosphor burn-in. Today, they remain as an amusement, but also as a form of security.
To set up your computer to display a screen saver, obey these steps:
1. Right-click the desktop and choose the Personalize command.
2. Choose the Screen Saver item in the Personalization window.
The Screen Saver Settings dialog box appears.
3. Choose a screen saver from the Screen Saver area.
The screen saver is previewed in the tiny monitor window.
4. Click the Settings button to adjust any options for the individual screen saver you chose.
The options vary, depending on the screen saver.
5. Enter the number of minutes to wait before the screen saver kicks in.
6. For extra security, put a check mark by the option On Resume,
Display Logon Screen.
7. Click the OK button, and then close the Personalization window
as well.
After you haven’t touched the mouse or keyboard for the given length of
time, the screen saver appears on your monitor. To dismiss the screen
saver, and return to Windows, press a key on the keyboard or jiggle the
computer mouse.
✓
To disable the screen saver, choose (None) from the screen saver
menu button.
✓ Beware of downloading screen savers from the Internet. Although some
are legitimate, most are invasive ads or programs that are impossible to
uninstall or remove. If you download this type of screen saver, you’re
pretty much stuck with it. Be careful!
✓
You may never see the screen saver, especially if you’re using the PC’s
power management system to put the monitor to sleep. See Chapter 13
for more information.
Chapter 9
Input This!
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding the keyboard
▶ Using specific keys
▶ Controlling the keyboard in Windows
▶ Getting to know the mouse
▶ Working with the mouse in Windows
▶ Changing mouse behavior
▶ Touching the screen
O ur history is blessed with famous duos, legendary teams who add spice
to our life and depth to our culture. Think of bacon and eggs, death
and taxes, Batman and Robin. Memorable things come in twos, and your
computer is no exception. Its two input buddies are the keyboard and mouse.
They may not taste good, they’re not inevitable, and they don’t dress up and fight crime. But they do help you provide important input to your PC.
Joining the duo is a third member, touch input. It’s sort of like Batgirl to the dynamic duo; you may doubt the impact touch has on the input efforts of the keyboard and mouse, but it’s a cute option that has its purpose.
Meet Mr. Keyboard
To understand the PC keyboard, you have to know its history. Without
boring you too severely, the keyboard spawns from the shotgun marriage
between the electric typewriter and the calculator. Or perhaps it was a teleporter accident? Regardless, you’ll be spending a lot of time using the computer’s primary input device, the keyboard.
102 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Attaching a keyboard
The PC keyboard plugs into the console by using a USB port. Some older keyboards use the specific keyboard port on the console. Simple, but:
Do not attach a PC keyboard to the keyboard port unless the console is
turned off! Attaching a keyboard to the keyboard port with the system on
may damage the computer.USB keyboards, however, can be plugged in and
unplugged at will.
✓
Wireless keyboards are available. Some use wireless receivers that
attach to the USB or keyboard port. Others are Bluetooth keyboards.
See Chapter 22 for information on Bluetooth.
✓
See Chapter 2 for the specifics of the keyboard and USB ports on
the console.
✓
You’ll need batteries to charge a wireless keyboard.
Examining the typical PC keyboard
There’s no such thing as a typical PC keyboard. Each manufacturer likes to customize things a tad, plus special keyboards have even more buttons than standard keyboards. But if there were a typical PC keyboard, it would look like the model shown in Figure 9-1.
Figure 9-1:
Where’s
what on the
PC
keyboard.
Chapter 9: Input This! 103
You can safely divide the typical PC keyboard into four areas, shown in
Figure 9-1:
Function keys: These keys are positioned near the top of the keyboard.
They’re labeled F1, F2, F3, and so on, up to F11 and F12. They’re also called F-keys, where F stands for function, not anything naughty.
Typewriter keys: These keys are the same types of keys you would find on an old typewriter — letters, numbers, and punctuation symbols. They’re often called alphanumeric keys by humans too young to remember typewriters.
Cursor-control keys: Also called arrow keys, this clutch of keys is used primarily for text editing.
Numeric keypad: Borrowing a lot from a calculator, the numeric keyboard makes entering numbers quick and easy.
These four areas are common to all PC keyboards. Again, the keyboard you
use may have more keys with custom functions. Such variations are men-
tioned elsewhere in this chapter.
✓
The cursor is the blinking goober on the screen that shows you where the characters you type appear. As though cursor isn’t weird enough, the blinking doodad is also called an insertion pointer.
✓
See the section “Changing keyboard behavior keys,” later in this chap-
ter, for more information on how the numeric keypad can go all schizo.
✓
PC keyboards use the Enter key. Macintosh keyboards have a Return
key.
✓
No “Any” key appears on the keyboard. When you’re prompted to “Press
any key” do what I do: Press the spacebar.
✓ If you’re really old — and I mean ancient — you must remember that a
computer keyboard has 1 and 0 keys. Don’t type a lowercase l to represent the numeral 1 or a capital letter O for the numeral 0.
Using modifier keys
Four keys on the computer keyboard qualify as shift keys, though only one is named Shift. The other three are Ctrl, Alt, and Win. Rather than call them all shift keys, the term modifier keys seems more appropriate.
104 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
“Must I learn to type to use a computer?”
The short answer: No, you don’t need to touch-
time available to break away and play those all-
type to use a computer. Plenty of computer important computer games.
users hunt and peck. In fact, most program-
mers don’t know how to type, but that brings As a bonus to owning a computer, you can have up an interesting story: A computer software it teach you how to type. The Mavis Beacon developer once halted all development and Teaches Typing software package does just had his programmers learn how to touch-type. that. Other packages are available, but I per-It took two whole weeks, but afterward, they all sonally enjoy saying the name Mavis Beacon.
got their work done much faster and had more
A modifier key works in combination with other keys: You hold down a modifier key and then press another key on the keyboard. What happens then
depends on the keys you press and how the program you’re using reacts to
the key combination.
You use the keys like this: Press and hold down the modifier key, and then tap the key it’s modifying. Release the modifier key.
For example, to use the keyboard shortcut for the Save command, you press and hold down the Ctrl key and tap S; release both keys. That key combination is written as Ctrl+S. To close a window on the display, you hold down the Alt key and press the F4 key, written as Alt+F4.
✓
The Shift key is used to make capital letters or to access the punctuation and other symbols on the number keys and other keys. That’s how
you can create the %@#^ characters that come in handy for cursing in
comic strips.
✓
Ctrl is pronounced “control.” It’s the control key.
✓
Alt is the alternate key.
✓
Win is the Windows key, adorned with the Windows logo.
✓
Most of the time, pressing a modifier key by itself does nothing.
However, when pressed by itself, the Win key displays the Windows 8
Start screen or, in older versions of Windows, pops up the Start button
menu. Pressing the Alt key by itself activates menu bar shortcuts in
some programs.
✓ Keyboard shortcuts are written using capital letters. So even though you may see Ctrl+S or Alt+S with a capital S, for example, it doesn’t mean that you must press Ctrl+Shift+S or Alt+Shift+S. The S is written in uppercase simply because Ctrl+s looks like a typesetting error.
Chapter 9: Input This! 105
✓
Multiple modifier keys are also used together, as in Shift+Ctrl+F6 and
Ctrl+Shift+Alt+C. Just remember to press and hold down both modifier
keys first and then tap the other key. Release all the keys together.
✓ Some technical manuals use the notation ^Y rather than Ctrl+Y. This
term means the same thing: Hold down the Ctrl key, press Y, and release
the Ctrl key. The ^ symbol is the traditional computer symbol for the
Control key.
Changing keyboard behavior keys
Three keys on the PC keyboard change how certain parts of the keyboard
behave. I call them the Lock keys. Behold:
Caps Lock: This key works like holding down the Shift key, but it works only with the letter keys. (Think Caps as in capital letters.) Press Caps Lock again, and the letters return to their normal, lowercase state.
Num Lock: Pressing this key makes the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard produce numbers. Press this key again, and you can use the
numeric keypad for text editing; the numeric keypad is labeled with both
numbers and arrow key symbols.
Scroll Lock: This key has no purpose. Well, some spreadsheets use it to reverse the function of the cursor keys (which move the spreadsheet rather than the cell highlight), but that doesn’t count.
Strange keyboard abbreviations
The key caps are only so big, so some key ✓ Page Up and Page Down are sometimes names have to be scrunched down to fit. Here’s
written as PgUp and PgDn on the numeric
your guide to some of the more oddly named
keypad.
keys and what they mean:
✓ Insert and Delete may appear as Ins and
✓ Print Screen is also known as PrtSc, PrScr,
Del on the numeric keypad.
or Print Scrn.
✓ SysRq means System Request, and it has
✓ Scr Lk is the Scroll Lock key.
no purpose.
106 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
When a lock key is on, a corresponding light appears on the keyboard. The light may be on the keyboard or on the key itself. The light is your clue that a lock key’s feature is turned on.
✓ Caps Lock affects only the keys A through Z; it doesn’t affect any
other keys.
✓
If you type This Text Looks Like A Ransom Note and it appears as tHIS
tEXT lOOKS lIKE a rANSOM nOTE, the Caps Lock key is inadvertently
turned on. Press it once and then try typing your stuff again.
✓
If you press the Shift key while Caps Lock is on, the letter keys return to normal. (Shift kind of cancels out Caps Lock.)
Touring the most useful keys
All keys are created equal, but some keys are more equal than others. I find the following to be the most useful keys on the keyboard.
You’ll find two Enter keys on the typical PC keyboard. They’re duplicates.
Enter
You press the Enter key to accept input, to end a paragraph in a word processor, to open a highlighted icon, or to “click” the OK button in a dialog box.
The Escape key is labeled Esc, but it means Escape. Pressing the key doesn’t Esc
immediately take you to some luscious tropical locale complete with refreshing beverage. Nope, pressing the Esc key is the same as clicking Cancel in a dialog box.
Don’t bother looking on the keyboard: It has no Help key. Instead, whenever Help
you need help in Windows, whack the F1 key. F1 equals help. Commit that to memory.
The Tab key is used in two ways on your computer, neither of which gener-
Tab
ates the diet cola beverage. In a word processor, the Tab key is used to
indent paragraphs or line up text. In a dialog box, the Tab key moves focus between the various graphical gizmos.
✓ Use Tab rather than Enter when you’re filling in a form. For example,
press the Tab key to hop between the First Name and Last Name fields.
✓
The Tab key often has two arrows on it — one pointing to the left and
the other to the right. These arrows may be in addition to the word Tab, or they may be on there by themselves to confuse you.
✓
The arrows on the Tab key go both ways because Shift+Tab is a valid
key combination. For example, pressing Shift+Tab in a dialog box moves
you “backward” through the options.
Chapter 9: Input This! 107
Understanding strange keys
Arguably, all keys on a computer keyboard are strange. I mean, how many
times do you use the { and } characters when you type? Beyond the weirdo
character keys, some keys may have you really scratching your head. Here’s the list:
The Break key shares a keycap with the Pause key. It’s not used any more, Break
which is good because it should have been spelled Brake in the first place.
Some games may use the Pause key to temporarily suspend the action, but
Pause
it’s not a consistent thing. Many games now use the P key to pause.
The backslash (\) leans to the left. Don’t confuse it with the forward slash
\
key, which leans to the right (/).
The Print Screen key, also named PrtSc, takes a snapshot of the Windows
Screen
desktop, saving the image in the Windows Clipboard. You can then paste that image into any program that lets you paste a graphical image. The key has nothing to do with the computer printer. (Well, not anymore.)
The AltGr, or Alt Graph, key is used on non-U.S. keyboards to help non-
AltGr
English–speaking humans access characters specific to their non-English
language.
Some international keyboards sport a euro currency symbol, often found
sharing the 4 key with the dollar sign. That key will be a collector’s item in a few years.
The System Request key shares its roost with the Print Screen key. It does SysRq
nothing.
This booger is the Context key. It resides between the right Windows and Ctrl keys. Pressing this key displays the shortcut menu for whatever item is
selected on the screen — the same as right-clicking the mouse when something is selected. No one in recorded computer history has ever used this key.
Understanding keys for math
No matter how hard you look, you won’t find a × or ÷ key on the computer
keyboard. That’s because computer math doesn’t involve multiplication or
division.
108 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Special keys on some keyboards
Any keys beyond the standard 104 keys (see When you have a nonstandard keyboard, you Figure 9-1) on your PC’s keyboard are probably most likely also find a special program that custom keys, added by the keyboard manufac-came with your computer. That program con-
turer because they look cool or the manufac-
trols the keyboard’s special buttons, sometimes
turer figured that you needed special functions allowing their functions to be reassigned. Look such as volume control, play/pause, start for the special program in the Control Panel.
e-mail, or what-have-you. The buttons can do
anything because they’re nonstandard.
Just kidding. Computers take advantage of character symbols to carry out
various mathematical operations. To help you remember the symbols, the
keyboard designers clustered them on the numeric keypad, where most of
the math stuff takes place anyway. Here’s the list:
✓
+ is for addition.
✓
– is for subtraction.
✓
* is for multiplication.
✓
/ is for division.
You use the asterisk (*), not the lowercase x, for multiplication.
Controlling the keyboard in Windows
If you plan to write a lot of fast-paced theatrical drama on your computer, you’ll probably write the word Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa a lot. To do so, you press and hold the A key. After a delay, the A key repeats itself, spewing out the letter A like water from a fire hose. You can control both the delay and how fast the character repeats itself by using the Keyboard Properties dialog box in Windows, shown in Figure 9-2.
To open the Keyboard Properties dialog box, follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel window.
See Chapter 14 if you need help finding the Control Panel window.
2. On the View By menu, near the upper-right corner of the window,
choose Large icons.
Chapter 9: Input This! 109
3. Click the Keyboard icon to display the Keyboard Properties dialog box.
4. Use the mouse to manipulate the sliders in the dialog box to set the rates, and then test out the rates in the text box that’s provided.
5. Click the OK button only when you’re happy.
You might want to change Control Panel view back to Category view
before you close its window.
6. Close the Control Panel window when you’re done.
Figure 9-2:
Control the
keyboard
here.
Say “Eeek!” to the Mouse
Your computer’s mouse is an input device. Although the keyboard (another input device) can do almost anything, you need a mouse to control the glorious graphical goodness of an operating system such as Windows.
Connecting the mouse
The computer mouse connects to the console by using a USB port. Some
older mouse models may use the specific mouse port.
The mouse usually rests to the right of the keyboard, with its tail pointing back to the computer. The flat part of the mouse goes on the bottom.
110 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
You need space to roll the mouse around, usually a swath of desktop real
estate about the size of this book. Or the size of a mouse pad, which is why mouse pads are popular.
✓
Wireless mice don’t use cables to connect to the console. Instead, they
use a base station or similar gizmo, typically attached to the console’s
USB or mouse port. A wireless Bluetooth mouse may not require a con-
nector because it uses a Bluetooth receiver internal to the console.
✓
A wireless mouse requires power, which probably comes in the form of
batteries. They must be replaced or recharged occasionally, or else the
mouse doesn’t work.
✓
You can also set the mouse on the left side of the keyboard if you’re
left-handed. See the section “Use the mouse left-handed,” later in
this chapter.
✓
See Chapter 2 for more information about where the mouse plugs into
the PC console.
Reviewing basic mouse parts
A typical computer mouse is shown in Figure 9-3, where the basic and important mouse features are illustrated.
Figure 9-3:
A typical
computer
mouse.
Chapter 9: Input This! 111
Mouse body: The mouse is about the size of a bar of soap. You rest your palm on its body and use your fingers to manipulate the mouse buttons.
Left (main) button: The left button, which falls under your right hand’s index finger, is the main button. That’s the button you click the most.
Wheel button: The center, or wheel, button can be pressed like the left and right buttons, and it can be rolled back and forth. Some wheels can even be tilted from side to side.
Right button: The right button is used for special operations, although right-clicking mostly pops up a shortcut menu.
Special buttons: Some mice come with special buttons, which can be used for Internet navigation or assigned specific functions by using special software (see “Controlling the Mouse in Windows,” later in this chapter).
On the mouse’s belly, you find its method of motion detection, which is
either a light or a laser. Older mice used a hard rubber rolly-ball. Those mechanical mice were more difficult to keep clean and required a mouse pad to get the best traction.
Exploring mouse species
The variety of computer mice seems endless. They have different styles and shapes, special buttons, and unique features designed to drive the mildest of nerds into a technogeek frenzy.
A popular mouse variation is the trackball, which is like an upside-down mouse. Rather than roll the mouse around, you use your thumb or index
finger to roll a ball on top of the mouse. The whole contraption stays station-ary, so it doesn’t need nearly as much room and its cord never gets tangled.
This type of mouse is preferred by graphical artists because it’s often more precise than the traditional “soap-on-a-rope” mouse.
Another mouse mutation enjoyed by the artistic type is the stylus mouse, which looks like a pen and draws on a special pad or right on the screen. This mouse is also pressure sensitive, which is wonderful for use in painting and graphics applications.
Finally, those cordless 3D mice can be pointed at the computer screen like a TV remote. Those things give me the willies.
112 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Moving the mouse
The computer’s mouse controls a graphical mouse pointer on the screen, as shown in the margin. Roll the mouse around on your desktop, and the
pointer on the screen moves in a similar manner. Roll the mouse left, and the pointer moves left; roll it in circles, and the pointer mimics that action. Tickle the mouse, the pointer laughs.
Moving the mouse and clicking the buttons — that’s how the mouse works
with the computer. Specific names are given to those actions. Here’s a list: Point: When you’re told to “point the mouse,” you move the mouse on the desktop, which moves the mouse pointer on the screen to point at something interesting (or not).
Click: A click is a press of the main (left) mouse button — press and release.
It makes a clicking sound (if you lean in to the mouse closely enough).
Right-click: This action is the same as a click, but with the right mouse button.
Double-click: A double-click is two clicks of the mouse in a row without moving the mouse. The clicks don’t need to be really fast, and you can adjust the click time, as covered later in this chapter in the “Fix double-click”
section.
Drag: The drag operation is a multistep process. Point the mouse at the thing you want to drag, a graphical object or an icon. Press and hold down the mouse’s button, and then move the mouse to move the object on the
screen. Keep the mouse button down until you’re finished moving the mouse.
Release the mouse button to “drop” whatever you moved.
Right-drag: This action is the same as a drag, but the mouse’s right button is used instead.
Ctrl+drag: This action is the same as a drag, though you also press the Ctrl key on the keyboard while you drag around a graphical doodad.
Shift+drag: This action is just like a Ctrl+drag, but the Shift key is used instead.
The best way to learn how to use a computer mouse is to play a computer
card game, such as Solitaire or FreeCell (both of which come with Windows).
You should have the mouse mastered in only a few frustrating hours.
Chapter 9: Input This! 113
Controlling the mouse in Windows
In Windows, the mouse is controlled, manipulated, and teased by using the Mouse Properties dialog box, which lies buried in the Control Panel. To visit the dialog box, heed these directions:
1. Open the Control Panel.
Refer to Chapter 14 for specific directions.
In Windows Vista, choose Control Panel Home on the left side of the
window. Then you can click the Mouse link under the Hardware and
Sound heading.
2. Choose Hardware and Sound.
If you don’t see the Hardware and Sound category, choose the Category
view from the upper-right corner of the Control Panel window.
3. Click the Mouse link, found under the Devices and Printers heading.
Lo and behold: the Mouse dialog box.
The Mouse Properties dialog box controls the mouse’s look and behavior.
It may also feature custom tabs that deal with special features particular to your mouse.
The following sections assume that the Mouse Properties dialog box is open on the screen.
Make the pointer easier to find
To help you locate a wayward mouse pointer, use the Pointer Options tab in the Mouse Properties dialog box. The options in the Visibility area, near the bottom of the dialog box, can come in handy, especially on larger displays or when the screen is particularly busy.
✓
Snap To: This option jumps the mouse pointer to the main button in any dialog box that appears.
✓
Display Pointer Trails: This option spawns a comet trail of mouse pointers as you move the mouse about. Jiggling or circling the mouse makes
lots of visual racket, which allows you to quickly locate the mouse
pointer.
✓
Show Location/Ctrl Key: This option allows you to find the mouse
pointer by tapping either Ctrl key on the keyboard. When you do, a
radar-like circle appears, by zeroing in on the cursor’s location.
114 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Another way to make the pointer more visible is to choose a more visible
mouse pointer: Click the Pointers tab in the Mouse Properties dialog box. Use the options there to choose a different look or size for the mouse pointer.
Fix double-click
If you can’t seem to double-click, one of two things is happening: You’re moving the mouse pointer a little between clicks or the double-click rate is set too fast for human fingers to manage.
The double-click rate is set in the Mouse Properties dialog box, on either the Buttons tab or the Activities tab, in the Double-Click Speed area. Practice your double-clicking on the tiny folder icon off to the right. Use the Slow-Fast slider to adjust the double-click speed to better match your click-click timing.
Use the mouse left-handed
In Windows, you can adjust the mouse for southpaw use on the Buttons tab.
Put a check mark by the box labeled Switch Primary and Secondary Buttons.
That way, the main mouse button is under your left index finger.
With some mice, the buttons must be assigned in the Pointers tab, by choosing actions for the Left and Right mouse buttons separately.
This book and all computer documentation assume that the left mouse button is the main button. Right-clicks are clicks of the right mouse button. If you tell Windows to use the left-handed mouse, these buttons are reversed. A right-click is then a left-click.
Left-handed mice are available, designed to fit your left hand better than all those biased, right-hand-oriented mice on the market.
Touchscreen Input
In the world of Windows 8, a touchscreen monitor becomes handy as yet
another input device. Rather than randomly stab at the screen and hope to get some action out of Windows, you can use these finely honed touchscreen techniques:
Touch: The simplest way to manipulate the touchscreen is to touch it. You touch an object, an icon, a control, a menu item, a doodad, and so on. The touch operation is similar to a mouse click. It may also be referred to as a tap or press.
Chapter 9: Input This! 115
Double-tap: Touch the screen twice in the same location. Double-tapping can be used to zoom in on an image or a map, but it can also zoom out. Because of the double-tap’s dual nature, I recommend using the pinch or spread operation instead when you want to zoom.
Long-press: A long-press occurs when you touch part of the screen and hold your finger down. Depending on what you’re doing, a pop-up menu may
appear, or the item you’re long-pressing may get “picked up” so that you can drag (move) it around after a long-press. Long-press might also be referred to as touch and hold.
Swipe: To swipe, you touch your finger on one spot and then drag it to another spot. Swipes can go up, down, left, or right, which moves the touchscreen content in the direction you swipe your finger. A swipe can be fast or slow, and it can also involve more than a single finger. It’s also called a flick or slide.
Pinch: A pinch involves two fingers, which start out separated and then are brought together. The effect is used to zoom out, to reduce the size of an image or see more of a map.
Spread: The opposite of pinch is spread. You start out with your fingers together and then spread them. The spread is used to zoom in, to enlarge an image or see more detail on a map.
Rotate: A few apps let you rotate an image on the screen by touching with two fingers and twisting them around a center point. Think of turning a combination lock on a safe, and you get the rotate operation.
You can’t manipulate the touchscreen while wearing gloves unless they’re
gloves specially designed for using electronic touchscreens, such as the
gloves that Batman wears.
116 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Chapter 10
System Expansion
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding ports
▶ Using the USB port
▶ Adding and removing USB gizmos
▶ Adding even more USB ports
▶ Hanging on to older PC ports
▶ Using expansion cards
I t’s relatively easy for a human being to expand. I’m expanding all the time!
Of course, the expansion I’m experiencing doesn’t add new options or
features to my system, at least not new features I’m eager to have. With a PC, however, such expansion is both possible and desirable. Indeed, you have at your disposal many beneficial ways to expand your computer system, none
of which involves adult beverages, donuts, or pizza.
It’s a Port
PCs have always been adorned with various connectors, into which are
plugged cables used for expanding the computer system. Those connectors
are known by various technical names, though they’re commonly called
holes, jacks, and ports. Of those terms, port is the best.
A port is more than a hole. It defines the shape of the hole and its connector, the type of devices that can be plugged in, and all sorts of technology required to control the device being connected. It’s a big deal.
The PC’s console features a host of ports into which a variety of devices can be attached. The goal is to expand the computer system.
118 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
✓
Officially, a port is a place on the computer where information can be sent or received or both. It’s also a dessert wine.
✓
In the past, PCs had specific ports for specific tasks. Those various ports have been eliminated over the years, replaced with more versatile ports
such as the USB port.
✓
If your PC still features some of the older ports, they’re known as legacy ports. See the later section “Legacy Ports” for details.
✓
Also refer to Chapter 3 for information on finding the various PC ports.
USB, a Most Versatile Port
The most popular and useful port on your PC is the USB port, where the U
stands for universal and means that this port can be used to plug in an entire universe of peripherals. I could also make up that the S in USB stands for cinchy, but cinchy is spelled with a C, so that one won’t fly.
Since I brought it up, USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. Pronounce it
letters-only: “yoo-ess-bee.”
The variety of USB devices is legion: printers, speakers, headsets, joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, video cameras, webcams, disk drives, media
storage, keyboards, networking gizmos, pointing devices, tiny fans, lamps, tanning beds, time machines — the list goes on and on. More and more USB
devices are appearing every day.
The best news about USB? It’s easy. Just plug in the gizmo. Often, that’s all you need to do!
✓
USB ports, as well as USB devices, sport the USB symbol, shown in the
margin.
✓
To see what the USB hole looks like, see Chapter 2.
✓
The most popular USB standard is 2.0. USB 3.0 devices are available,
which are many times faster. If your PC has USB 3.0, do yourself a favor
and find some USB 3.0 gizmos — and some USB cables. Otherwise, most
USB 3.0 devices can be used on older USB ports, although they don’t run
as fast.
Understanding USB cables
Whereas a few USB devices attach directly to the computer, such as a USB
thumb drive, most USB devices need cables. The name of the cable is, sur-
prisingly, USB cable.
Chapter 10: System Expansion 119
The IEEE port
About the time the USB port was taking over the The IEEE port works similarly to the USB port: computer world, a second, “universal” com-IEEE devices can be plugged and unplugged at
puter port standard appeared. Sadly, this port any time, just like USB gizmos. You can find IEEE
lacks a clever acronym. Instead, it’s named the hubs, just as you can find USB hubs. Sadly, IEEE port or IEEE 1394 port (after the technical IEEE never caught on as well as USB, so today standard) or the 1394 port. It was once known IEEE is kind of rare, especially on the PC scene.
as i.LINK in the Macintosh world, and it’s also And that’s too bad, because IEEE is pronounced known as the FireWire port. No matter what you with the same sound you make when you spill call it, it’s the same port.
hot coffee in your lap.
USB cables are judged by their length and the type of connector on each end.
As far as length goes, you can get a USB cable up to 3 or 4 meters long. Any longer and you’d probably want me to specify the length in feet instead of meters. But seriously, the signal may be compromised after about 15 feet
or so.
A standard USB cable has two different ends, dubbed A and B, illustrated in Figure 10-1. The A end is flat, and it plugs into the console or a USB hub. The B end has a trapezoidal shape and plugs into the USB device.
You may also see mini- and micro-USB connectors on portable devices, such as cellphones and video cameras. The cables used to connect these devices to your PC feature a mini- or micro-USB connector for the device but a standard A connector for the PC.
Figure 10-1:
The A and
B ends of a
USB cable.
120 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
✓ You can use a standard USB cable with a USB 3.0 device, though the data transfer won’t take place at USB 3.0 speeds. Do yourself a favor and get a USB 3.0 cable.
✓
The A end of a USB 3.0 contains a blue “tongue”; it’s black for a standard (non-USB 3.0) cable.
✓
Special USB extension cables are available with two A ends, so try not to confuse them with the standard A-B cables.
Connecting a USB device
One reason that the USB port took over the world is that it’s smart. Dumb things never take over the world. That’s why you don’t see any cheese-flavored gelato. But I digress.
Adding a USB device to your computer is easy: Just plug it in. You don’t need to turn off the computer first, and most of the time you don’t need to install special software. When you plug in a USB device, Windows instantly recognizes it and configures the device for you.
Of course, it pays to read the directions! Some USB gizmos require that you first install software before connecting the device. The only way to tell is to read the quick-setup guide or the manual that came with the USB device.
There may be some on-screen activity when you attach a USB device. You
might see a pop-up window or information saying that a driver is being
installed. The driver is the software Windows uses to interface with the device. It’s installed automatically.
Using USB-powered gizmos
Another advantage of USB is that many types of USB devices don’t require
separate power cords. Instead, they use the power supplied by the USB port, making them USB-powered devices.
When you have a USB-powered device, you need to plug it into one of two
places: directly into the console or into a USB-powered hub. When you don’t plug the device into the console or a USB-powered hub, it doesn’t work properly. See the section “Expanding the USB universe with hubs,” a little later in this chapter, for information on powered-versus-unpowered hubs.
✓
Some folks are uncomfortable that USB-powered devices lack an on–off
switch. It’s fine to leave the device on, as long as you keep the computer on. But, if you really, really want to turn the gizmo off, simply unplug the USB cable.
✓
USB devices that require lots of power, such as printers and certain
external storage devices, use their own power cords.
Chapter 10: System Expansion 121
Removing a USB device
Removing a USB device is cinchy: Just unplug it. That’s it!
Well, that’s it unless that device is storage media, such as an external disk drive or a thumb drive. In that case, you must officially unmount the gizmo before you unplug it. Here’s how:
1. Summon the Computer window.
Press the Win+E key combination to display a Windows Explorer
window, honed in on the Computer window. You’ll see a list of all your
PC’s storage devices, plus maybe some network locations.
2. Right-click the external storage device’s icon.
A pop-up menu appears.
3. From the pop-up menu, choose the command Eject or Safely Remove.
Windows displays a message (in the notification area), informing you
that the device can be safely removed.
4. Disconnect the external storage device.
If you see an error message, the storage device is either busy or being used.
You have to wait and try again. If the error is persistent, you should turn off the computer, detach the device, and then restart the computer.
Refer to Chapter 7 for more information on computer storage.
Expanding the USB universe with hubs
There never seem to be enough USB ports. Fortunately, when you need more
USB ports, you can quickly add them by plugging a USB hub into your PC.
The eSATA port
A relatively new port on the port scene is Not every PC comes with eSATA ports, and eSATA. SATA is the standard for connecting most external disk drives that use eSATA can disk drives inside the console to the PC’s moth-also be connected using the USB port. For now,
erboard. eSATA is basically an external version eSATA is an option, one that may either become of that port standard, allowing you to connect more popular in the future or join a long line of eSATA hard drives and optical drives to your once-upon-a-time port standards for the PC.
computer.
To properly pronounce eSATA, say “ee-SAY-tuh.”
122 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
A USB hub allows you to greatly expand your PC’s USB universe. A typical expansion hub, shown in Figure 10-2, connects to the console’s USB port. By plugging in the USB hub, you increase the number of USB gizmos you can
attach to your computer system.
Figure 10-2:
Add more
USB ports
with a USB
hub.
✓
If one hub isn’t enough, buy another! You can connect hubs to hubs, if
you like. As long as the cables fan out from the PC and nothing loops
back on itself, it all works.
✓
You can also add a hub to the console internally by installing a USB
expansion card.
✓
Sometimes, you don’t have to buy a separate USB hub. Some USB
devices act as their own hubs, providing connectors for plugging in
additional USB devices.
✓
Using hubs, you can expand your PC’s USB universe to the maximum 127
USB devices. You’ll probably run out of desk space before then.
✓ Some USB devices prefer to be plugged directly into the console. These
types of devices say so on their boxes and in their manuals.
✓
A hub that also plugs into the wall socket is known as a powered USB
hub. This type of hub is necessary for some USB devices to operate.
✓
The console is a powered USB hub.
✓
An example of an unpowered hub is a keyboard that has USB ports on it.
Those ports are designed to connect non-USB-powered devices, such
as mice.
✓ The first hub (your PC) is the root hub.
Chapter 10: System Expansion 123
Legacy Ports
When the PC was first designed, external gizmos were attached to the con-
sole by using ports named after the gizmos. If you wanted to attach a keyboard, mouse, or printer, for example, you would use a specific keyboard, mouse, or printer port.
As more and more peripherals became available to computers, it became
obvious that you couldn’t have a unique port for every gizmo. So, eventually, standards such as USB were developed, which handle a variety of devices.
Despite the USB standard, your PC may still support a handful of these older ports, or legacy ports. Here’s the round-up:
Mouse port: The computer’s mouse plugs into the mouse port.
Keyboard port: The computer’s keyboard plugs into the keyboard port.
Printer port: The printer plugged into the printer port — though, because of the printer port’s technical nature, people commonly added other devices to the printer port, including external scanners and hard drives.
COM port: The old COM port was the most versatile of the legacy ports. Into the COM port you could plug an external modem, a computer mouse, or a
serial printer. Some PCs came with two or more of these ports.
Other legacy ports exist, standards from the rubble and detritus that follow in the computer industry’s wake. One of my favorites was the old SCSI port standard. The funnest thing about SCSI was its pronunciation: “skuzzy.”
Otherwise, the standard was clunky and difficult to configure. Living through such things reminds me how nice the computing world is now, with its pleasant and flexible USB port.
Connect Bluetooth gizmos
Bluetooth is the name of a wireless standard or even a monitor. You can also use Bluetooth used to connect devices to your computer. to connect to mobile devices, such as tablets You can use Bluetooth to add a variety of wire-and smartphones, for exchanging files.
less gizmos. As long as the console supports
Bluetooth, or has a Bluetooth adapter installed Because Bluetooth is a wireless communica-
(usually stuck into a USB port), you can connect tions standard, it’s covered in Part III. Check out devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a printer, Chapter 22.
124 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
✓
The printer port was also known as the parallel port. In IBM lingo, it was the LPT port, where LPT was an IBM acronym-thing for line printer. PRN
port was also used; PRN is how the word printer looks when the keyboard is broken.
✓
The serial port is also known as the COM or COM1 port. Some grizzled
veterans of the Commodore 64 Wars call it the RS-232C port.
Expansion Slots
The internal way to expand your PC is by adding new circuitry directly to the motherboard. Believe it or not, it’s possible for you to do such a thing without wielding a soldering iron.
To internally expand your PC, you can take advantage of the motherboard’s expansion slots. Into those slots, you plug expansion cards. Although people don’t often expand their computer systems this way, it’s a good method for adding hardware options not included with the basic PC configuration.
I could prattle on about the history of PC expansion cards and riff the names of all the standards, but I won’t. Today pretty much one standard exists: PCIe, which stands for PCI Express.
Oh, and PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect, which is useful to know in case you’re being mugged and you want to befuddle your assailant
with technojargon.
✓
A common type of PCI Express card to add to a PC is a high-end graphics
card. See Chapter 8 for more information on graphics.
✓
Older expansion slot types might also be found on the PC’s mother-
board. They exist primarily for compatibility with antique PC hardware.
✓
The number and type of slots available in your computer depend on the
size of the console’s case as well as on the motherboard’s design. Small-
footprint PCs have the fewest expansion slots. Mini-desktop systems, all-
in-one PCs, and nearly all laptops lack expansion slots. Tower computer
models have the most — sometimes up to eight!
✓
Most expansion cards come squirming with cables. This mess of cables
makes the seemingly sleek motherboard look more like an electronic
pasta dish. Some cables are threaded inside the PC; others are left hang-
ing limply out the back. These cables make the internal upgrading and
installation process difficult.
✓
The backsides of most expansion cards stick out the rear of the con-
soles; the card’s back replaces the metallic slot cover to reveal special connectors or attachments for the expansion card.
Chapter 11
P Is for Printer
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding computer printers
▶ Finding things on the printer
▶ Feeding the printer ink
▶ Choosing the right paper
▶ Installing a printer
▶ Controlling the printer
▶ Printing in reverse order
▶ Stopping a document from printing
T his chapter is brought to you by the letter P. P stands for PC. It also stands for peripheral. One of the PC’s preferred peripherals is the printer.
Printer starts with P. PCs prefer printers, specifically for producing output on paper. The printer makes all that possible.
The Printer, the Paper,
the Document Maker
Printers are a necessary peripheral in any computer system. That’s because dragging the PC around and showing everyone what’s on the screen is just
too much of a chore. No, it’s much better to print your stuff on paper, to create a hard copy of your data, documents, and doodles.
Surveying the printer landscape
Computer printers come in all shapes and sizes, some with just the bare
bones and others with features galore. When you strip that all away, you’ll find only two types of printers, categorized by how the ink gets thrown on the paper. Those two types are inkjet and laser.
126 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Inkjet: The inkjet printer creates its image by spewing tiny balls of ink directly on the paper. That jet-of-ink action gives this printer category its name. The inkjet printer is the most common type of computer printer.
Laser: Laser printers are found primarily in the office environment, where they deftly handle high workloads. The printer uses a laser beam to create the image, which somehow helps fuse toner powder (ink) onto the paper.
The result is crisp and fast output, but at a premium price over standard inkjet printers.
All inkjet printers are color printers, though I suppose there may still be some monochrome (black only) models available. Laser printers come in
both monochrome and color varieties.
A special type of inkjet printer is the photo printer. This type of printer uses a wider variety of inks for better-quality color printing. For example, a typical inkjet printer uses four ink colors: black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. A photo printer may add two additional colors, light cyan and light magenta, for more vivid output.
All-in-one printers combine a basic inkjet printer with a fax machine, scanner, and copier. This type of printer is popular in home and small offices because it replaces four devices.
✓
You can print a color image or document on a monochrome printer; the
printout will just be in black and white.
✓
Inkjet printers are by no means messy. The ink is dry on the paper by
the time the paper comes flopping out of the printer.
✓
Higher-priced printers offer a higher-quality output, faster speed, more
printing options, the capability to print on larger sheets of paper, and
other super-hero features. Low-priced printers are good but print more
slowly. And besides, the manufacturer makes up the cost difference on
the prices they charge you for the ink.
Touring the typical printer
Take a moment to examine the PC’s printer to look for some specific items.
Use Figure 11-1 as your guide.
Paper feed: The paper feed is where you store the paper on which the printer eventually prints. For more information, see the section “Eating
paper,” later in this chapter.
Chapter 11: P Is for Printer 127
Figure 11-1:
Notable
places on
the printer.
Manual/envelope feeder: The printer may have a special slot, tray, or foldout-thing used to manually feed special papers or envelopes. It may be hidden on your printer, and it’s not shown in Figure 11-1, so rummage around a bit to see whether your printer has such a deal.
Ink/toner replacement: Printers don’t go on printing forever. At some point, you need to feed the thing more ink. Be sure that you know how to open the printer to find where the ink goes. See the section “Drinking ink,” later in this chapter.
Control panel: Refer to the next section for the details.
Memory card reader: Many photo printers have a place where you can directly plug in your digital camera’s memory card. This area could be a
media card slot or even a USB port into which you could plug a thumb drive.
Paper output tray: The printed paper comes out and is stacked in the output tray. If the paper comes out face up, be sure to see the section “Printing in reverse order,” later in this chapter.
128 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Using the printer’s control panel
Every printer has a control panel somewhere on its body. The fancy models have LCD screens that display text and allow you to select photos from a
media card for printing. Less fancy printers may have only a couple of buttons or lights.
Besides choosing options, ejecting paper, clearing jams, and other mundane duties, the most important thing to look for on the printer’s control panel is the Cancel button. That button’s purpose is to stop printing. See the section
“Stopping a printer run amok,” later in this chapter.
✓
If your printer seems to lack a control panel, it’s probably controlled by using a software control panel in Windows.
✓
All-in-one printers have the most complex control panels. You use the
control panel to set the printer’s mood, whether it’s working as a copier, scanner, or fax. A software program in Windows also helps make those
decisions, though the advantage of the printer’s control panel is that
you can make copies or print when the computer is turned off.
✓ Keep your printer’s manual handy, somewhere near the printer where
you can easily find it. You may never read the manual, but if your printer suddenly pops up and displays Error 34, you can look up Error 34
and read how to fix it.
Drinking ink
The Chinese invented ink over 3,000 years ago, but it’s still basically the same stuff you use to print stuff on paper with your computer printer. The type of ink and how it’s stored depend on which type of printer you’re using.
Inkjet printers use ink cartridges. Laser printers use toner, a powdery ink substance that also comes in a cartridge.
All printers use black ink or toner. Color printers also use black ink plus color inks.
Replacing the ink in your printer works differently for each printer manufacturer. Instructions are usually found on the inside of the lid or compartment where the ink cartridges reside. Overall advice: Be careful! Spill the ink and you’ve got a serious mess.
Chapter 11: P Is for Printer 129
✓
The printer has a drinking problem. Printer manufacturers take advan-
tage of that dependency by selling ink at a very high price. It’s the old
“Give away the razor and sell them the blade” concept all over again.
✓
Some manufacturers sell their cartridges with return envelopes so
that you can send the old cartridge back to the factory for recycling or
proper disposal.
✓ Make sure that you don’t breathe in the dust from a laser toner cartridge or else you’ll die.
✓
Sometimes, the colors in an inkjet printer come three to a cartridge. Yes, it’s true: If only one color of ink goes dry, you must replace the entire cartridge even though the other two colors are still available. So is it
more economical to buy the cheaper three-in-one ink cartridges or the
more expensive cartridges individually? Mathematicians are still work-
ing on the problem.
✓ Make a note of which type of inkjet cartridges your printer uses. Keep
the catalog number somewhere handy, such as taped to your printer’s
case, so that you can re-order the proper cartridge.
✓
Always follow carefully the instructions for changing cartridges. Old
cartridges can leak and spread messy ink all over. Buy rubber gloves
(or those cheap plastic gloves that make you look like Batman) and use
them when changing the ink or toner cartridge. I also suggest having a
paper towel handy.
✓
When the laser printer first warns you that Toner [is] low, you can
squeeze a few more pages from it by gently rocking the toner cartridge:
Remove the cartridge and rock it back and forth the short way (not from
end to end), which helps redistribute the toner dust.
✓
Rather than buy new cartridges, consider getting ink cartridge refills or recharged toner cartridges. Be sure that you deal with a reputable
company; not every type of ink or toner cartridge can be reused
successfully.
✓ Never let your printer cartridges go dry. You may think that squeezing
every last drop of ink saves you money, but it’s not good for the printer.
Eating paper
Next to drinking ink, printers eat paper. Fortunately, paper isn’t as expensive as ink, so it doesn’t bankrupt you to churn through a ream or two. The only issue is where to feed in the paper. Like feeding a baby, there’s a right end and a wrong end.
130 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
The paper goes into a feeder tray either near the printer’s bottom or sticking out the top.
Some laser printers require you to fill a cartridge with paper, similar to the way a copy machine works. Slide the cartridge all the way into the printer after it’s loaded.
Confirm that you’re putting the paper in the proper way, either face down or face up. Note which side is the top. Most printers have little pictures on them that tell you how the paper goes into the printer. Here’s how those symbols translate into English:
✓
The paper goes in face down, top side up.
✓
The paper goes in face down, top side down.
✓
The paper goes in face up, top side up.
✓
The paper goes in face up, top side down.
Knowing the proper paper orientation helps when you’re printing on both
sides of a sheet of paper or loading items such as checks for use with personal finance software. If the printer doesn’t tell you which way is up, write Top on a sheet of paper and run it through the printer. Then draw your own icon, similar to those just shown, to help orient the pages you manually
insert into the printer.
Always make sure that you have enough printer paper. Buying too much isn’t a sin.
Choosing the proper paper
There’s really no such thing as a typical sheet of paper. Paper comes in different sizes, weights (degrees of thickness), colors, styles, textures, and I assume, flavors.
The best general-purpose paper for computer printing is standard photo-
copier paper. If you want better results from your inkjet printer, getting specific inkjet paper works best, although you pay more for that paper. The higher-quality (and spendy) inkjet paper is good for printing colors because it is designed to absorb the ink.
Chapter 11: P Is for Printer 131
At the high end of the spectrum are specialty papers, such as photographic papers that come in smooth or glossy finishes, transparencies, and iron-on T-shirt transfers. Just ensure that the paper you get is made for your type of printer, inkjet or laser.
✓
Some printers are capable of handling larger-size paper, such as legal or tabloid size. If so, make sure that you load the paper properly and tell
your application that you’re using a sheet of paper that’s a different size.
See the later section “Basic Printer Operation” for more information.
✓
Avoid thick papers because they get jammed inside the printer. Thicker
paper stock can’t turn corners well.
✓ Avoid using erasable bond and other fancy dusted papers in your
printer. The powder coating on these papers gums up the works.
✓
Don’t let the ads for expensive paper fool you: Your inkjet printer can
print on just about any type of paper. Even so, the pricey paper does produce a better image.
Where the Printer Meets the PC
As with all other computer peripherals, the PC-printer relationship has a courting phase. It involves an introduction, some dating, and finally, a full-on-marriage. You’ll be grateful that the entire operation is much faster and far more successful than in human relationships.
Connecting the printer
Printers are really their own computers, containing a processor, memory,
networking, and sometimes mass storage. Getting the printer and computer
connected is too routine to be considered a miracle, yet I’m constantly surprised when the operation meets with success.
Number one concern: Printers don’t come with cables. You will need to get a standard, USB, A-to-B cable to connect the printer directly to your computer.
Another concern: Often you have to install the printer software before you connect the printer. Check the setup guide to ensure that you’re performing the proper steps in the correct order. In most cases, thankfully, printer software is automatically installed by Windows after the printer is attached.
132 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Keep in mind that the printer need not be connected directly to the com-
puter. Especially in an office situation, or where you have multiple computers that need to use a single printer, you can connect the printer to the computer network for equal access and sharing. See Chapter 21 for information on connecting a network printer.
✓
Some printers demand to be directly connected to the computer, not
plugged into a USB hub.
✓
You can connect a number of printers to a single computer. In fact, net-
worked PCs have access to multiple network printers.
✓
It’s okay to leave the printer on all the time. The printer automatically slips into a low-power mode when it’s no longer needed. However, if you
don’t print often (at least every day), it’s perfectly fine to turn off the printer.
Finding the printer in Windows
You’ll find the various printers available to your PC in a central spot in Windows. For Windows 8 and Windows 7, that location is the Devices and
Printers window, shown in Figure 11-2. For earlier versions of Windows, the logically named Printers window is the location.
Figure 11-2:
Printers in
the Devices
and Printers
window.
Chapter 11: P Is for Printer 133
To visit the window where the printers lurk, obey these steps:
1. Summon the Control Panel.
Refer to Chapter 14 if the way to the Windows Control Panel is unfamiliar.
2. In Windows 8 and Windows Vista, click the View Devices and Printers link, found below the Hardware and Sound heading.
In Windows Vista, the link is named Printer.
Icons shown in the Devices and Printers window represent various gizmos
connected to your PC, including the monitor, the keyboard, external storage, webcams, and gamepads (refer to Figure 11-2). You’ll find a Printers category, under which all printers available are listed, including network printers.
One printer in the list is known as the default printer, shown by the green check mark (refer to Figure 11-2). The default printer is identified as your computer’s primary printer. and is the printer used most of the time. A
default printer is handy, especially when your PC has multiple printers and you don’t want to waste time choosing one each time you print.
Setting the default printer
To ensure that Windows uses your favorite printer whenever you do a quick print, choose that favorite by making it the default. Follow these steps:
1. Open the Devices and Printers window.
Refer to the preceding section for specific directions.
2. Right-click the printer you plan to use most often.
3. Choose Set As Default Printer from the pop-up menu.
The green check mark on the printer’s icon confirms that you’ve speci-
fied the default printer.
4. Close the Devices and Printers window.
You can change the default printer at any time by repeating these steps. To choose any printer for a particular print job, you can use the Print dialog box, as described in the next section.
134 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Basic Printer Operation
The least effective yet most satisfying way to use a printer is to yell at it.
Try as I may, that technique doesn’t work. Instead, rustle up the Print
command — the best, and only, way to get your computer efforts down
on paper.
Printing something
The key to printing in any Windows program is to summon the Print screen
or the traditional Print dialog box. You’ll find a Print command nestled on the File menu. For newer Windows 8 programs and apps, a Print screen is used.
Both locations are shown in Figure 11-3. The best way to get there is to use the Ctrl+P keyboard shortcut.
Figure 11-3:
The Print
screen and
the Print
dialog box.
To print the entire document, just click the Print button. In Windows 8, you may need to first choose a printer; then you can set options or just click or touch the Print button (refer to Figure 11-3).
If you want to print on a specific printer, such as that nice color laser printer that Edward hogs in his office, choose it from the list.
Chapter 11: P Is for Printer 135
Place a value other than 1 by the Copies or Number of Copies field to print several copies of your work.
Set the number of pages to print (Page Range) to print specific pages from the document. For example, type 2 to print only page 2, or type 3-9 to print pages 3 through 9.
Click the Print button after making your choices to print your document. Or you can click Cancel or press the Esc key to not print anything.
✓
Some printer options, such as paper size and orientation, might be set in the Page Setup dialog box. To get there, you must choose the Page Setup
command from the File menu.
✓ Use the Print command only once. When the printer seems unbearably slow, just wait a while before thinking that you goofed up and choosing
the Print command again. Otherwise, you print one copy of the docu-
ment for every time you use the Print command.
✓ Rather than waste paper, use the preview window (refer to Figure 11-3).
If you don’t see it, look for a File➪Print Preview command. Review the
document before it’s printed.
Printing in reverse order
Some printers cough out pages face up. What that means is that everything you print is in reverse order, with the last page printed on top. You can fix that problem by directing the program to print your stuff in reverse order, last page first. That’s a job for the Printer’s Properties dialog box.
To see the printer’s Properties dialog box, right-click the printer’s icon in the Devices and Printers (or Printers) window. Choose the Printer Properties
command.
The printer’s Properties dialog box can be used to set various advanced
printer options, one of which can be reverse printing. I’d love to tell you specifically where to find that option, but it varies from printer to printer. If the printer has the capability to print in reverse order, a command will be found somewhere in that dialog box. After making the proper setting, click the OK
button to confirm and close the dialog box.
If you don’t find the reverse printing option in the printer’s Properties dialog box, look to the specific software you’re using. Hunt down a Page Setup command on the File menu. The reverse printing command may be located there
instead.
136 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Stopping a printer run amok
The most frustrating printer experience you can have is wanting the dumb
thing to stop printing. It happens. Often.
The fastest, bestest way to stop printing is to look on the printer’s control panel for a Cancel button. Press that button, and all printing stops. Oh, a few more pages may pop out of the printer, but that’s it.
Another, more technical way to stop printing involves opening the printer’s window and manually canceling the print job. The problem with that technique is that the printer is just too fast; by the time you find and open the printer’s window, the document has finished printing.
Chapter 12
PC Audio Abilities
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding sound hardware
▶ Configuring speakers
▶ Setting up sound in Windows
▶ Changing the volume
▶ Playing sounds for certain events
▶ Recording sounds
▶ Using Windows dictation
O riginally, a computer’s audio was a simple bell. Ding! When the first microcomputers came out in the 1970s, they had small, tinny speakers to emulate the bell. Beep. Your computer’s audio system has moved far beyond that primitive beep. Built into the chipset on the PC’s motherboard is specialized sound circuitry, including a complete music synthesizer. [ Insert symphony sound here. ] The computer can talk, sing, and even ding like a bell.
It can also listen to you.
Also see Chapter 26, which covers playing music on your PC.
The Noisy PC
All PCs include sound-generation hardware on the motherboard. This hard-
ware can process and play digitally recorded sounds, play music from external media (such as a CD), generate music using the onboard synthesizer, and record sounds. That’s a lot of capability, yet it’s so common on a PC that the manufacturers seldom boast about it.
✓
When you’re really into audio, you can add more advanced sound hard-
ware to your PC by using an expansion card. This type of upgrade is
necessary only for diehard audiophiles, people who are composing
their own music, or professionals who use their PCs as the heart of an
audio studio.
138 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
✓
If your PC lacks expansion slots or you have a laptop with limited audio, you can upgrade by adding an external USB sound device, such as the
Sound Blaster Audigy system.
Speakers hither and thither
The PC console has always come with a pitiful, internal speaker. It still does, but in addition, your PC most likely came with a standard set of stereo
(left-right) speakers. That’s fine for basic sound, but the PC is capable of so much more.
The next step up from the basic speaker set is to add a subwoofer. It’s a speaker box designed for low-frequency sounds, which gives oomph to the
bass in music or adds emphasis to the sounds in games.
Typically, the subwoofer sits on the floor beneath your PC. It plugs directly into the PC’s speakers jack (see Chapter 2), and the stereo speakers plug into the subwoofer.
The final step up the audio ladder is to go with surround sound, similar to the sound setup for a home theater. In that configuration, you can have multiple speakers located around the computer, depending on the implementation of surround sound hardware you’re using.
Figure 12-1 illustrates all possible locations for speakers in a surround sound setup. You’d be nuts to have all those speakers connected at one time, but it’s possible. Table 12-1 lists the options for surround sound.
Table 12-1
Surround Sound Speaker Options
Surround Sound Version
Speakers Used
3.0
Left, right, back surround
4.0
Left, right, surround left, surround right
4.1
Left, right, surround left, surround right, subwoofer
5.1
Left, right, center, surround left, surround right, sub-
woofer
6.1
Left, right, center, side left, side right, back surround,
subwoofer
7.1
Left, right, center, side left, side right, surround left,
surround right, subwoofer
Chapter 12: PC Audio Abilities 139
Figure 12-1:
Speaker
overload.
✓
Some monitors come with built-in speakers, though they’re generally
terrible.
✓ I recommend getting speakers that have a volume control, either on the
left or right speaker. A bonus is a mute button on the speaker. Note that some high-end speaker systems have the volume and mute buttons on a
control (wired or remote) .
✓
The . x part of a surround sound specification refers to the presence of a subwoofer: .0 means no subwoofer; .1 means one subwoofer; .2 means
two subwoofers.
✓ If you have an audio expansion card on your PC, be sure to plug the
speakers into that card.
✓
Refer to my book Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition (Wiley) if you’re having trouble hearing sounds from your PC.
140 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
In your own world with headphones
Rather than startle everyone in the room when you launch artillery in a
computer game, consider using headphones with your PC instead of an
external sound system. A good set of headphones can truly emulate a sound environment beyond what the traditional stereo speakers offer. In fact, some high-end gaming headphones can cost more than the standard home-theater
surround sound system. They’re worth it.
Good headphones come with a volume control and maybe even a mute
button on the same wire that connects the headphones to the PC. Better
headphones come with a built-in microphone for online communications as
well as game playing. This type of headphone is often referred to as a headset. Headphones (or headsets) plug into the console’s headphone jack.
✓ Plug a headphone or headset into the jacks on the front of the console.
✓
Headsets have two audio jacks: One goes into the speaker jack; the
other, into the microphone jack. They’re color-coded to help you plug
them into the proper holes: pink for the microphone, lime green for the
speakers.
✓
Look for headphones that are comfy on your ears, with big, puffy “cans.”
✓
I don’t recommend a nonstereo headset. It has only one earpiece, which
is okay for online communications but lousy for game-playing.
Microphone options
Any cheesy microphone works on a PC. If sound quality is important to you and you’re using your PC as a digital audio studio, you have to spend money on microphones and mixers and all that. But if that’s not you, any old microphone does the trick.
✓
Two popular types of microphones are used on a PC: condenser and
dynamic. Either one works with a PC, though if your PC’s sound equip-
ment isn’t up to snuff, I recommend getting a sound mixer to use as a
preamp.
✓ If you plan to use voice over the Internet or dictation, get a headset.
See the preceding section.
Chapter 12: PC Audio Abilities 141
Sound Control in Windows
Being a hardware thing, the computer’s audio system serves subject to the PC’s potentate, the operating system. Windows exercises its dictatorial
control in a place called the Sound dialog box, beautifully illustrated in Figure 12-2.
Figure 12-2:
Sound
control
happens
here.
To display the Sound dialog box, follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel.
Refer to Chapter 14 for information on finding the Control Panel.
2. Choose Hardware and Sound.
3. Click the main Sound heading.
The Sound dialog box appears.
Later sections in this chapter discuss various things you can do with the Sound dialog box.
Windows also features a second location for controlling PC audio. In the notification area on the taskbar, you find a tiny volume control. Using that control is covered later in this chapter, in the section “Adjusting the volume.”
142 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Configuring the speakers
To adjust the PC’s speakers in Windows, follow these steps:
1. Summon the Sounds dialog box.
Refer to the steps in the preceding section.
2. If necessary, click the Playback tab in the Sounds dialog box.
3. Choose the playback device.
For example, click Speakers (refer to Figure 12-2).
4. Click the Configure button.
If the Configure button is unavailable (dimmed), there’s nothing to con-
figure; you’re done.
5. Work through the Speaker Setup Wizard to ensure that your speakers are set up properly and that everything is working.
6. Close the Sounds dialog box, and then click OK.
Configuring the microphone
To set up your PC’s microphone, follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel window.
2. Choose Ease of Access.
3. Choose Set Up a Microphone, below the Speech Recognition heading.
4. Work through the Microphone Setup Wizard to properly configure the microphone attached to your PC.
Adjusting the volume
To make the PC louder or quieter or to just shut it up, you can use the
Volume Control icon in the notification area. Click that icon once to display the volume control slider, as shown in Figure 12-3. Use the mouse to slide the gizmo up for louder or down for quieter, or click the Mute button to turn off the sound.
Chapter 12: PC Audio Abilities 143
Switch between headphones and speakers
Your PC can have both speakers and head-
from the pop-up menu. In the Sound dialog box,
phones attached, but you can hear sounds from on the Playback tab, choose the device you only one of those devices at a time. To switch want to use: speakers or headphones. Click the between them, right-click the Volume icon in the Set Default button to confirm your choice, and notification area and choose Playback Devices then click OK.
Figure 12-3:
Volume
control.
In Windows 8, the volume can be set by choosing the Settings charm from the charms bar. The volume control is the top-center icon at the bottom of the charms bar. See Chapter 14 for more information on the charms bar.
✓ Don’t forget that your speakers may contain volume settings. You can
use those settings in addition to the volume control in Windows, though
I recommend adjusting the Windows volume control first.
✓ Choosing Mixer from the volume control pop-up (refer to Figure 12-3)
displays a more complex volume setting window, where you can set the
volume for various noise-producing gizmos and activities in Windows.
Windows Goes Bleep
That old bell from the early computers wasn’t used purely for entertainment value. It was an alert, an alarm. Ding! That meant you had to pay attention.
The computer was angry. Well, maybe not angry, but the bell wasn’t to be
ignored.
144 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Your PC still uses sound to alert you to various situations serious and trivial.
Windows again proves to be the master of selecting and setting those audio alerts. To see how the alert sounds are set, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the speaker icon in the notification area.
In Windows 8, you can view the notification area from the desktop. Press
Win+D.
2. Choose the Sounds command from the pop-up menu.
The Sounds dialog box appears with the Sounds tab front and center.
The scrolling Program Events list highlights various things going on in
Windows. The speaker icon next to an event means that a sound is asso-
ciated with that event.
3. Select an event to assign a sound to it.
For example, select New Mail Notification, which is the sound that plays
when Windows Mail picks up new e-mail.
4. Click the Test button to hear the current sound.
Not every event has a sound, so the Test button is disabled when there’s
no sound to preview.
5. Choose a new sound from the Sounds menu.
6. Click the Test button to preview the sound you selected.
7. Click the OK button when you’ve finished assigning sounds.
You can use any sound found on your computer for an event. To do so,
choose the event (Step 3) and click the Browse button. You can then use the Browse dialog box to search for sound files on your PC.
✓ To remove a sound from an event, choose (None) from the top of the
Sounds drop-down list.
✓
The best source for sounds is the Internet, where you can find web page
libraries full of sound samples. To find them, search for Windows WAV
file sounds.
✓
You can also use sounds that you record yourself, assigning them to
specific events in Windows. See the later section, “Recording your own
sounds.”
✓ Windows is also capable of speaking, using an accessibility tool called the Narrator. I’d go into more detail, but the Narrator can get very
annoying after a while because it reads everything on the screen, not just alert messages.
Chapter 12: PC Audio Abilities 145
It Listens
Don’t get your hopes up. The days of talking casually to the computer are still far in the future. In fact, I doubt that we’ll ever just bark orders at a PC, mostly because the Windows interface isn’t designed for vocal interaction.
Still, it’s possible, in a crude way. Also possible is the art of recording your own sounds, including the sound of your voice.
Recording your own sounds
For simple sound recording, you can use the Sound Recorder program that
comes with Windows. The program sports a straightforward interface, as
shown in Figure 12-4.
Figure 12-4:
The Sound
Recorder.
Assuming that a microphone is already connected to your PC and set up
for use in Windows (see the earlier section “Configuring the microphone”), sound recording works like this:
1. Press the Win+R keyboard shortcut to summon the Run dialog box.
2. Type Soundrecorder (all one word) and press the Enter key.
Just type Soundrecorder with no space between Sound and recorder.
Upon success, the Sound Recorder app starts.
3. Click the Start Recording button.
4. Talk: “blah blah blah.”
5. Click the Stop Recording button when you’re done.
6. Use the Save As dialog box to save your audio recording.
7. Close the Sound Recorder window.
146 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
You can use the Sound Recorder to capture audio from any sound-producing
gizmo attached to your PC, such as a turntable or VCR. Simply connect the gizmo to the proper line in audio jack on the console, and then follow the same steps for recording your voice.
✓
If you need something better than the Sound Recorder program, I recom-
mend Audacity, which is free and available on the Internet at http://
✓
The Windows Media Player is used to play the sounds you record. See
Chapter 26 for more information.
Dictating to the PC
Blabbing to your PC isn’t perfect, but it has come a long way from the days when you had to spend hours (up to 20) to train the computer to understand your voice. Man, that was tiring, not to mention the cottonmouth you’d get from talking for such long stretches! Things are better today.
To get started with speech recognition in Windows, you need a microphone
or, preferably, a headset. The next stop is the Control Panel to set up the microphone. Follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel.
See Chapter 14 for information on accessing the Control Panel.
2. Click the Ease of Access heading.
3. Choose the link Start Speech Recognition.
The Setup Speech Recognition Wizard starts.
4. Work your way through the wizard.
The wizard helps you set up a microphone; you review some options
and settings. Just keep saying “Next” and you’ll be fine. Or do as I did
and bail out of the thing once you tire of training.
When speech recognition is turned on, the Speech Recognition microphone
window appears on the desktop, as shown in Figure 12-5. If you don’t see
the window, double-click the Speech Recognition icon in the notification area (shown in the margin). Right-clicking the Speech Recognition icon displays a handy and helpful pop-up menu of options.
To activate Speech Recognition, say “Listen” or click the big microphone
button on the window (refer to Figure 12-5). To turn off Speech Recognition, say, “Stop listening.”
Chapter 12: PC Audio Abilities 147
Figure 12-5:
The Speech
Recognition
microphone
window.
Many Windows commands can be uttered while Speech Recognition is on,
such as Open, Save, Print, Close, and Undo.
To test out speech recognition, activate it as described earlier in this section.
Then dictate the following paragraph:
Open WordPad. Hello, period. I am trying out the dictation feature in
Windows period. This is really neat period. I hope the results are not too embarrassing period. Save document no I mean save period. Save this.
Save this document. What’s the command to save the document? Aw,
forget it.
I hope you meet with better success.
✓ People who receive the most benefit from dictation software spend lots
of time training their computers to understand them.
✓ Another popular dictation package is Dragon Naturally Speaking, at
148 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Chapter 13
Delicious Hardware Leftovers
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding power management
▶ Choosing a power management plan
▶ Setting up a dial-up modem
▶ Gauging modem speed
▶ Making the dial-up Internet connection
I ’m a big fan of leftovers. For some reason, my mom’s goulash was
much better the second night. And who doesn’t live for the remnants
of Thanksgiving Day dinner? Well, maybe not after a week, but you have to admit that there’s good value in having leftovers.
Computers have lots of hardware guts, most of which you can merrily skip
over in your efforts to become comfortable with your own PC. Two items
among those digital leftovers are worth a good look. The first is the PC’s power management system, and the second is the dial-up modem, still hanging on after all these years.
Manage the PC’s Power
Your computer lusts for power. It’s not the same power that some megaloma-niac or fast-food store manager would want. No, the PC wants power from the wall. Electricity. Juice. As lord of your computer, you have control how much power the PC consumes, managing its thirst so that the system works but
your electric bill doesn’t go through the roof.
✓
Power management is a general term used to describe the capability of computers and other appliances, such as television sets and teleporta-tion pods, to become energy-smart.
150 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
✓
The power management hardware enables a computer to turn itself off.
✓
Power management also gives your PC the capability to sleep or hiber-
nate. Refer to Chapter 4.
✓ If you’re really into saving the planet, be sure to properly dispose of old computer parts. Never just toss out a PC, a monitor, or especially a battery. Try to find a place that recycles old technology. (There be gold in them thar consoles!)
✓ The current power management standard is the Advanced Configuration
and Power Interface (ACPI). It specifies various ways the PC can reduce
power consumption, including placing the microprocessor in low-power
mode, disabling the monitor, halting the hard drives (which normally
spin all the time), managing battery power in a laptop, as well as other
more technical and trivial methods.
Choosing a power management plan
Windows hides its power management settings in the Power Options window,
shown in Figure 13-1. To display that window, obey these steps:
Figure 13-1:
The Power
Options
window.
1. Open the Control Panel.
Refer to Chapter 14 for directions.
2. Click the Hardware and Sound heading.
3. Click the Power Options heading.
The Power Options window appears.
Chapter 13: Delicious Hardware Leftovers 151
The Power Options window features various plans for managing the power
in your PC, as listed in Figure 13-1. You can see more plans by clicking the downward-pointing arrow button thing, as illustrated in the figure.
Each plan tames two power-mad items in the computer’s hardware inven-
tory: the monitor and the rest of the computer. Specifically, the plans
control when to dim or turn off the display and when to sleep the rest of the computer.
The key to invoking the power control is the timeout. The computer observes your activity; when there hasn’t been any input for a given amount of time, Windows turns off the display or puts the computer to sleep. That action
saves energy.
To choose a plan, select the radio button next to the plan name. Close the Power Options window and you’re done.
You can also customize any plan, or create your own plan by clicking the link Create a Power Plan on the left side of the Power Options window (refer to Figure 13-1). Follow the directions on the screen. Be sure to give your power plan a clever name, such as Dan’s Plan, which is ideal when your name happens to be Dan.
✓
Power management doesn’t turn off the monitor; it merely suspends the
video signal to the monitor. An energy-smart monitor detects the lack
of signal and then automatically enters a low-power state. This state is
often indicated by the monitor’s power lamp, which dims, glows another
color, or blinks while the monitor is in power-saving mode.
✓
See Chapter 4 for more information on Sleep mode.
Adding a hibernation option
Windows has never put the option to hibernate your PC in an obvious place.
Because of that, my advice for putting the computer into Hibernation mode is to assign the hibernation command to the console’s power button. Here’s what to do:
1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Choose Hardware and Sound.
3. Below the Power Options heading, choose the link Change What the
Power Buttons Do.
152 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
4. From the menu button by the option titled When I Press the Power
Button, choose Hibernate.
If two columns of options are available (On Battery and Plugged In),
ensure that both menu buttons show the word Hibernate.
5. Click the Save Changes button.
6. Close the Control Panel window.
After following these steps, pressing the console’s power button hibernates the computer.
See Chapter 4 for more information on PC hibernation.
Setting options for battery-powered PCs
It’s obvious that a laptop computer is battery-powered. What isn’t obvious is that a desktop PC — even some hulking, immobile behemoth — can also be
battery-powered. Such a thing happens when you plug your computer into a
UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) and that UPS is connected to the PC by a USB cable.
For the sake of power management, when you have a battery-powered PC,
you’ll discover two columns of options in the Edit Plan Settings window: The first column is labeled On Battery; the second is labeled Plugged In.
Options for the On Battery column are for when the computer is on battery power: a laptop out free and wild, a desktop powered by a UPS during a
power outage, or when Kevin trips over the power strip again.
You set the options for the Plugged In column for when the computer is
using power from the wall socket. That’s the only power settings column that appears (untitled) when you have a PC that doesn’t have a battery or battery power source.
Obviously, you want more power savings when your PC is running on batter-
ies. For a laptop, changing the display and sleep values to something low, but not too low, makes sense. For a PC running on a UPS, my advice is to either hibernate or shut down the computer: Set the timeout value to one minute.
✓
Also see Chapter 4 for more information on UPSs.
✓
For more information on using your laptop and managing its battery life,
see my book Laptops For Dummies, 5th Edition (Wiley), available exclusively in this solar system.
Chapter 13: Delicious Hardware Leftovers 153
Merry Modems
Modem is a combination of two technical and cumbersome words, mo dulator and dem odulator. Beyond that, what a modem does is way too technical for me to bore you with here. Suffice it to say, modems are all about communications, primarily between your own PC and a remote computer elsewhere.
This section is about the old, clunky, yet still quite common dial-up modem.
I express my sincere and deep regrets if you still use one. Yes, I recognize that the faster, cooler, much more desired broadband (fast) modem is what everyone needs. So whether you have a dial-up modem out of choice, or you reside in a district where broadband just isn’t available, this section is for you.
✓
Even though you can use modems to connect any two computers,
the primary purpose of a modem today is to connect your PC to the
Internet.
✓
Chapter 20 covers broadband modems, which are part of the bigger
arena of computer networking.
Adding a dial-up modem
The traditional PC modem is the dial-up modem, which uses the telephone
system — the old land-line telephone system — for communications.
Essentially, a dial-up modem serves as your computer’s phone, though the
phone calls are made to other computers (and fax machines), not to people.
Modems come in two types, internal and external. The internal models plug into an expansion slot on the PC’s motherboard. The external models dangle outside the PC, tethered to a USB port.
To make the modem useful, it must be connected to the phone system — the
old land-line phone system: The modem connects to a standard telephone
jack, just like a regular phone. Indeed, with a modem in your computer,
you’re using the telephone system to place calls, though noisy data is being sent, not the dulcet tones of human communication.
✓
There’s no extra cost for using a modem on a standard phone line. When
the modem makes a long-distance call, you pay the same rates as for a
voice call.
✓ You can’t use your phone while your modem is talking. In fact, if some-
body picks up another extension on that line, it garbles the signal and
may lose your connection — not to mention that the human hears a
horrid screeching sound.
154 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Measuring modem speed
The gauge used to judge a modem is its speed, measured in kilobits per second (Kbps), or thousands of bits per second. A typical dial-up modem runs at about 55 Kbps, which is fast enough to transmit a page of text in less than a second.
✓
Modem speed is relative; the advertised speed for a modem doesn’t
guarantee that all communications take place at that speed.
✓
While getting a page of text in a second seems fast, most of the informa-
tion on the Internet is graphical. Graphics take much longer to transmit
than plain text.
✓ The speed of 55 Kpbs is the top data rate possible using existing tele-
phone technology. That’s not fast today, but still pretty impressive:
When modems first appeared in the late 1970s, their speed was 300 bps,
or about 1/200th of today’s dial-up modem speeds.
Configuring a dial-up Internet connection
Unlike the automatic, all-the-time broadband connection, a dial-up Internet connection is something you must configure. If you’re lucky, your ISP has provided you with the basic information and perhaps even a Getting Started guide. If not, you can experience the horror of setting things up manually on your own. Or just follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel window.
Chapter 14 contains directions on how to open the Control Panel.
2. Below the heading Network and Internet, choose View Network Status and Tasks.
The Network and Sharing Center window appears.
3. Click the link Set Up a New Connection or Network.
In some versions of Windows, the link is titled Set Up a Connection or
Network.
4. Select the item in the list labeled Set Up a Dial-Up Connection; or in Windows 8, choose the Connect to the Internet option.
5. In Windows 8, choose the Set Up a New Connection Anyway option,
and then on the next screen, choose Dial-Up.
In some versions of Windows, you may need to choose the option
Broadband (PPPoE) instead of Dial-Up.
Chapter 13: Delicious Hardware Leftovers 155
6. If necessary, click the Next button.
7. Fill in the information as given to you by your ISP: its phone number, your account name (user name), and your password.
The username and password are used here to get into your ISP’s
account. They may be different from the username and password that
you use to access your e-mail inbox, and the logon and password you
use for Windows.
8. Place a check mark by the Remember This Password option.
9. Type a name for the connection.
If the ISP is named CompuSoft, for example, type CompuSoft in the box.
10. Ensure that the dial-up modem is plugged into a phone cord and that the phone cord is plugged into a telephone jack.
11. Click the Connect button.
Windows uses your modem to test-dial the phone number you entered.
The best news is that you need to do these steps only once. Well, unless
you’re using more than one ISP, in which case you need to repeat them.
Better news is when your ISP has its own configuration software, in which case you can dispense with these steps and use that software to connect to the Internet.
Connecting to the Internet on dialup
The easiest way to connect to the Internet when you have a dial-up modem
is to simply open or use an Internet program. For example, start up a web browser or tell your e-mail program to fetch new mail. Either action forces Windows to look for an Internet connection, by either connecting automatically or presenting a list of connections for you to choose.
To disconnect you have to “hang up” the modem. Rather than unplug the
phone line, try right-clicking the little modem icon in the notification area.
Choose the Disconnect command from the context menu that pops up.
✓ The dial-up modem must be connected to the telephone system before
you can make the connection.
✓
After the connection is established, a tiny modem connected icon
appears in the notification area. It’s your clue that the PC is connected to the Internet. You can also right-click that icon to break the connection or check its status.
156 Part II: The Nerd’s-Eye View
Part III
Basic Computing
In this part . . .
C omputer hardware is interesting technology and not
really intimidating once you get to know it. But you
don’t own a computer merely to have its carcass sit there
and impress you. No, owning a computer is about using
that hardware, getting something done, having the com-
puter assist you in your 21st-century duties. That job is a
software job, with you sitting in the driver’s seat. And
your task is much easier after you clear the hurdle of
basic computing.
Chapter 14
The Windows Tour
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding operating systems
▶ Checking out the Start screen
▶ Using the charms bar
▶ Visiting the desktop
▶ Finding the taskbar
▶ Getting at the Start button menu
▶ Viewing the notification area
▶ Accessing the Control Panel
I remember that Microsoft originally wanted to call its new PC operating system Doors and not Windows. That was because, as a graphical operating system, Doors opened the doors of access to the vast power of the computer. Also, doors are easier to walk through than windows. Sadly, the estate of the late Jim Morrison sued, so Microsoft had to settle on Windows instead.
Yeah, I made up that entire paragraph.
Software controls the hardware, and the primary piece of software that controls the hardware is the operating system, Windows. Although this book is primarily about hardware, you have to use Windows to get things done with PC hardware, such as adjusting the mouse, getting on the network, and using the mass storage system. Rather than scatter that important information
about Windows all over this book, I thought I’d put it here, in this chapter.
Welcome to the Windows tour.
160 Part III: Basic Computing
What’s an Operating System?
The most important piece of software in your PC is its operating system. It has several duties:
✓
Control the computer’s hardware: Hardware does nothing without software to tell it what to do, and the operating system is that software.
✓
Manage all the computer programs: The operating system isn’t the
only software in your computer, but it is the software in charge of all the other software.
✓
Organize the storage system: The operating system is in charge of the computer’s memory, both long-term and short-term. For the long-term
storage system, the operating system organizes and maintains, in files,
the stuff you create on the computer.
✓
Interface with you: The operating system must also provide a way for you, the human, to use the computer. There is no requirement that this
duty be a pleasant one.
On PCs, the most common operating system is Microsoft Windows. Other
operating systems are available for the PC, but Windows defeated them all in a bloody battle involving treachery, betrayal, and sweeping romantic drama that only high school computer nerds would appreciate.
✓ The operating system is the most important piece of software in your
computer. It’s in charge.
✓
The operating system typically comes with the computer when you buy
it. You never need to add a second operating system, although operating
systems are updated and improved from time to time.
✓
When you buy software, you buy it for an operating system, not for your
brand of computer. So, rather than buy software for your Dell, HP, or
Crazy Larry’s PC, you look in the Windows section of the software store.
✓
Often the Windows section is the only section in the software store.
Windows and Its Gooey, Glorious
Graphical Interface
One of a computer operating system’s primary duties is to interface with you, the human. Windows does that by presenting you with a graphical visage,
spackled with interesting items given unusual names:
Chapter 14: The Windows Tour 161
✓
Start screen
✓
Charms bar
✓
Desktop
✓
Taskbar
✓
Start button menu
✓
Notification area
The key to manipulating your computer is to know what those names refer
to and how to use each of them to get things done. This section explains the details.
Windows sports a graphical user interface, or GUI. It’s pronounced “gooey.”
Seriously.
Exploring the Start screen
Because Hell already has a vestibule, the folks who designed Windows 8 were forced to make its lobby, its home base, its starting point something called the Start screen. It’s is the first thing you see after you sign in to Windows.
Figure 14-1 illustrates the Start screen in a quasi-cheerful manner.
Figure 14-1:
The
Windows 8
Start
screen.
162 Part III: Basic Computing
If you’re familiar with older versions of Windows, you’ll recognize that the Start screen is essentially a full-screen replacement for the Start button. You can start programs or apps by touching or clicking their tiles.
✓
App is short for application. It’s a special type of program that runs directly from the Start screen, avoiding the Windows desktop.
✓
You can quickly summon the Start screen by pressing the Win key on
the keyboard.
✓
You can quickly recover from the shock induced by Windows 8 by drink-
ing the whiskey found in the cupboard.
✓
My biggest complaint about the Window 8 Start screen is that, unlike
the Start menu it replaced, you cannot use it to show all the programs on your computer. See Chapter 15 for information on finding all your
programs.
Summoning the charms bar
Windows 8 offers some key tasks and duties up on the charms bar, which
slides in from the right edge of the screen. To summon the charms bar, move the mouse up to the top-right corner of the display. The charms bar appears, as shown in Figure 14-2.
Figure 14-2:
The
Windows 8
charms bar.
Chapter 14: The Windows Tour 163
Choose a charm by touching or clicking on its icon. Of all the charms, the one referenced most often in this book is the Settings charm, found on the bottom of the list. That charm deals with some hardware items you may see referenced in this book from time to time.
The charms bar appears whenever you move the mouse to the top-right
corner of the display, even when you’re viewing the desktop or a traditional Windows program.
Working at the desktop
For versions of Windows before Windows 8, the main screen is the desktop, shown in Figure 14-3. Windows 8 also has a desktop, which you can access by clicking or touching the Desktop tile (refer to Figure 14-1) or by pressing the Win+D keyboard shortcut.
The desktop is where the actual windows appear, the windows containing
your programs, games, and other fun computer whatnot. Features on the
desktop include icons, gadgets, and the taskbar.
Figure 14-3:
The desktop
and all its
trappings.
164 Part III: Basic Computing
Icons are tiny pictures that represent information or programs stored on your computer. System icons represent fun and interesting places to visit in Windows. Shortcut icons are used to start programs, visit websites, and more. See Chapter 15 for more information on icons.
Windows sidebar gadgets display information such as the time or stock
quotes or images or games or other diversionary items. The gadgets may
appear along the edge of the desktop; they can float anywhere; or they might not even show up.
The taskbar is its own unique gizmo, covered in the next section.
Not shown in Figure 14-1 is the mouse pointer, the tiny arrow that manipulates the graphical goodies you see on the screen. The mouse pointer is controlled by the mouse, covered in Chapter 9.
✓
The Windows 8 desktop looks identical to the one shown in Figure 14-3,
though in Windows 8 there is no Start button.
✓
The desktop background, or wallpaper, can be a fancy image or picture,
a slide show, or the famous Snowbank painting, shown in Figure 14-3.
✓ The desktop is called a desktop for traditional reasons. Early graphical operating systems featured a desktop that really did look like a desktop, complete with paper pad, clock, glue, scissors, and other desktop-y
things.
Using the taskbar
The action in Windows takes place on the desktop, but that action starts at the taskbar. The taskbar is normally found lurking at the bottom of the display, as shown in Figure 14-4. On the taskbar dwell various interesting and useful items:
Figure 14-4:
The
Windows 7
taskbar.
Start button: From Windows 7 on back to the early Cro-Magnon versions of Windows, this button is where you start programs and control Windows.
Window 8 uses the Start screen instead.
Chapter 14: The Windows Tour 165
Pin area: The icons on this part of the taskbar are used to quickly start programs or perform common tasks in Windows.
Window buttons: A button appears on the taskbar for each window or program running in Windows. Those things are called tasks, which is why the taskbar is called the taskbar and not the candy bar.
Notification area: This part of the taskbar contains tiny icons that help you run your computer or alert you to certain things going on.
The taskbar is locked into position, held at the bottom of the desktop by digital bolts made of the strongest bits. Still, the taskbar can be unlocked and moved, so it might not always be at the bottom of the screen. Further, the taskbar can be configured to be hidden, though it pops up automatically if you point the mouse at the edge of the screen where the taskbar was last seen.
Accessing the Start menu
On the left end of the taskbar, you’ll find the Start button — assuming that the taskbar is docked at its usual spot on the bottom of the screen. As its name suggests, the Start button is used to start things in Windows. What
kinds of things? Trouble!
Seriously, clicking the Start button displays the Start button menu, shown in Figure 14-5. It’s from that menu that you can start just about any program or activity in Windows.
Important things to find on the Start button menu are listed in Figure 14-5.
The Start button menu can be customized, so it may not appear exactly like what you see in the figure, but it’s close.
One of the most important items on the Start button menu is the All Programs menu. When you click the All Programs triangle (refer to Figure 14-5),
the left side of the Start button menu is replaced with a list of programs and folders. You can either choose a program from the list to run the program or choose a folder to see additional programs. Chapter 15 offers more information on the Start button menu and your programs.
✓
In Windows XP, the Start button has the word Start on it.
✓ A quick way to pop up the Start button menu is to press the Win key on
your computer’s keyboard. But keep in mind that in Windows 8, press-
ing the Win key displays the Start screen.
✓
You make the Start button menu go away by pressing the Esc key on the
keyboard.
166 Part III: Basic Computing
Figure 14-5:
The
Window 7
Start button
menu.
Looking at the notification area
Those teensy icons on the far right side of the taskbar aren’t just sitting around waiting for a bus. Nope, they are part of a thing called the notification area. The icons, along with the current date and time, allow you to control various things in Windows, check in on running programs, adjust the volume, and perform other miscellaneous chores.
As with just about everything in Windows, the notification area can be customized. You can see a lot of icons there, a few, or none. Also, icons may come or go. Don’t let the random nature of the notification area vex you.
✓
You can see more information about the special programs by
clicking, right-clicking, or double-clicking the wee icons. Windows is
inconsistent on the action required so try all three: click, right-click, and then double-click.
Chapter 14: The Windows Tour 167
✓
Some icons display pop-up bubbles with messages in them as various
things happen in Windows. Click the X in the pop-up bubble to dismiss
the message.
✓ To customize the notification area, right-click the time display and
then choose the Properties command from the shortcut menu. Use the
System Icons window to show or hide notifications from Windows. Click
the Customize Notification Icons link to set how other items come and
go in the notification area.
The Control Panel
As the top dog, the operating system must have a direct method of control over your PC’s hardware. There has to be a special window or panel where
that control could take place. Logically enough, it’s called the Control Panel.
The easiest way to summon the Control Panel in Windows 8 is to obey these steps:
1. Right-click the lower-left corner of the display.
2. Choose the Control Panel command from the shortcut menu.
In Windows 7 and earlier versions of Windows, display the Control Panel
window thusly:
1. Click the Start button.
2. Click the Control Panel menu item on the right side of the Start
button menu.
The Control Panel has two distinct looks, shown in Figure 14-6: category
view and icon view. Computer nerds prefer the icon view; cats enjoy the
category view.
To switch views, use the View By menu located in the upper-right corner
of the Control Panel window (refer to Figure 14-6). Choose Category, Large Icons, or Small Icons.
In Windows Vista, in the upper-left, choose Control Panel Home for category view or choose Classic View for icon view.
Windows XP shows the Control Panel in icon view only.
168 Part III: Basic Computing
Figure 14-6:
The Control
Panel.
Chapter 15
It’s the Software Chapter
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding computer programs
▶ Adding software to your PC
▶ Starting programs
▶ Adding new software
▶ Getting programs from the web
▶ Removing software
▶ Updating and upgrading software
▶ Keeping Windows up-to-date
B eyond the operating system, you use software in your PC to get some-
thing done. Computer software is available to do all sorts of things, be
it work, be it play, or be it something you claim is important but really isn’t, such as social networking. All that activity is the reason why you bought a computer, and the software makes it happen.
Software Cavalcade
The operating system isn’t the only software you use on your computer.
The typical computer features lots of software. Some of it lurks in deep, dark places, controlling specific pieces of hardware. Most software, however, is productivity software, designed for the human operator to get work done.
Oh, and some of it is entertainment software, which is the fun stuff.
Computer software is known by several different names. In addition to the general term software, you find:
170 Part III: Basic Computing
App: An abbreviation for application (see below), although the term technically describes smaller, specific software found on a smartphone or tablet. In Windows 8, you’ll find apps on the Start screen.
Application: A category of software used for productivity or to create things.
Applications are the software that does the work.
Driver: A special type of software that allows specific hardware to work. For example, a specific video driver is required for the operating system to use the PC’s graphics hardware.
Game: Software for fun, of course.
Malware: This term refers to nasty software, the viruses, Trojans, spyware, and other creeps that are designed to cause you angst. No one installs this software on purpose.
Program: A general term for all software. Whether it be an app, a game, or a driver, it’s a computer program.
Utility or tool: Software designed to help you manage the computer or diagnose or fix problems. For example, you may use a tool to optimize the performance of your computer’s storage system.
Programs on Your PC
Your computer day involves more than just staring blankly at the monitor. Of course, I’m assuming that your supervisor is watching while you use the computer. When you work by yourself, or are at home, please feel free to stare blankly at the monitor. When you want to get work done, you’ll need to rustle up some programs, as described in this section.
Hunting down programs in Windows
The software on your computer doesn’t just jump up and beg to be run. Well, some of it does. Some programs start automatically, but the rest of the time you must venture out and fetch a program to run. The method for locating
these programs was pretty uniform until Windows 8 sauntered into town.
Start a program in Windows 8
Software that is geared toward Windows 8 appears on the Start screen as a tile. To visit the Start screen, press the Windows (Win) key on the keyboard.
Touch or click a tile to start a program.
Chapter 15: It’s the Software Chapter 171
For example, to start the Mail program, touch or click the Mail tile found on the Start screen. The program or app opens on the screen, ready for action.
✓
Some tiles on the Windows 8 Start screen are apps, or miniprograms
that run full screen. Other tiles represent traditional Windows programs
that run in windows on the desktop. Still more tiles could be web page
bookmarks, which open a browser app so that you can view that page.
✓ To see a list of all the programs on your computer, right-click the Start screen and choose the command All Apps, which is in the lower-right
corner. You’ll see the Apps screen, which shows buttons (or tiles) for all the apps on your PC.
✓ The Apps screen doesn’t show all the programs on your PC, but rather all the most useful ones. Your computer has thousands of programs but
you’ll use only a handful regularly.
Start a program in Windows versions before Windows 8
Before version 8, Windows users found programs on the Start button menu,
tucked away in the All Programs submenu. Clicking the All Programs sub-
menu displayed an organized list — a menu — full of categories, each stuffed with shortcut icons to start just about every program installed on the PC.
For example, to start the Paint program, click the Start button, choose All Programs, then choose Accessories, and then choose Paint. The Paint program’s window opens up, ready for action.
✓
The All Programs menu is named Programs in Windows XP.
✓
The Start button menu lists recently run programs on the left side of the menu. Click one of those programs to start it up again.
✓ A quick way to find programs on the Start menu is to use the Search
Programs and Files text box, found in the lower-left corner of the pop-up menu. Start typing a program name, and then choose the matching program icons that appear in the list.
✓
Newly installed applications appear highlighted on the Start button
menu. That way, you can easily find stuff you’ve just installed. See the
later section, “Installing a program from an optical disc.”
Running a program from the desktop
A handy way to run programs is to start them from the desktop. In fact, the desktop you see on your PC right now may be decked out with tiny program
shortcut icons. To start a program, double-click its desktop icon.
172 Part III: Basic Computing
The taskbar, which you’ll find clinging to the bottom of the desktop, can also sport shortcut icons used to start programs. Those icons appear in the Pin area on the left end of the taskbar. To run a program pinned to the taskbar, click its icon button once.
✓ It’s handy to have program shortcut icons stuck to the desktop or
pinned to the taskbar. I highly recommend that you pin your most fre-
quently used programs to the taskbar. Copy other programs to the desk-
top as shortcut icons.
✓
To pin an icon to the taskbar, right-click the icon found on the Start
screen or Start button menu. Choose the command Pin to Taskbar.
✓
Not every tile on the Windows 8 Start screen or on the Windows 8 Apps
screen can be pinned to the taskbar.
✓
To pin an icon to the Start menu, right-click the program’s icon on the
All Programs menu, and then choose the Pin to Start Menu command.
Having icons pinned to the Start menu is another way to keep those pro-
grams handy.
✓
To stick an icon on the desktop, right-click the program’s icon, such
as one you’d find on the All Programs menu, and then choose the com-
mand Send To➪Desktop (Create Shortcut).
Running a program manually
Here’s something scary: You can run programs in Windows just like your
grandfather did on his ancient DOS computer. That is, you can actually type in the text command that runs a program. Sometimes such a thing is necessary —
and often faster — than hunting down an icon.
The secret is to use the Win+R keyboard shortcut. When you press Win+R
you summon the Run dialog box. In the Open text box that appears, you can type a command to run any program in Windows — providing that you know
the program’s super-secret text name.
For example, to run the Paint program, type mspaint into the Run dialog box and click the OK button. The Paint program instantly starts because mspaint is the super-secret name for the Paint program.
More Software, Less Software
Computer programs don’t magically spawn on your computer, growing like
mutating fungus in some post-apocalyptic nightmare. Nope, you must invite the programs in. Invitations are extended directly, usually in the form of an optical disc inside a software box, or you can obtain new software from the Internet.
Chapter 15: It’s the Software Chapter 173
Just as you let them in, you eventually let software back out of your computer. The process is called uninstalling, and it rarely involves the use of high explosives.
Installing a program from an optical disc
You have new software. You probably bought it at the store or it arrived
bright and shiny from a friendly, sweaty guy driving a delivery truck. Either way, your job is to get the software out of the box and into your computer in a fully functional state. Here’s how to do that:
1. Open the software box and locate the installation disc.
When you have more than one disc, note in which order they’re used;
the discs should be numbered, and you start with the first disc.
2. Insert the installation disc into the PC’s optical drive.
Chapter 7 has specific directions for inserting optical discs.
3. Run the installation program.
If you’re lucky, the installation program runs automatically after the
disk is inserted. Or you see an AutoPlay dialog box, from which you can
choose the Install or Setup command. If not, don’t despair! Try this:
a. Press Win+E to open the Computer window.
b. Right-click the optical drive’s icon.
c. Choose the command Install or Run Program from Your Media. If that command isn’t available, choose the AutoPlay command.
4. Obey the instructions on the screen.
Work through the directions on the screen to install, set up, and config-
ure the new software.
Some software lets you run the program right after installation. Other times you may have to hunt down the new program, a task that’s described elsewhere in this chapter.
It takes time to learn new software — even computer games. It’s natural to be frustrated at first. That’s okay; you’re only human. Just keep trying and eventually you’ll learn the program. Of course, buying a good book about the software is an excellent idea!
✓
Generally speaking, few — if any — stores let you return computer soft-
ware after you open the box.
✓
I recommend keeping the box. Use it to store the installation discs as
well as the manual or whatever trivial items came in the box.
174 Part III: Basic Computing
Finding programs on the Internet
Your quest for free (or not) software on the Internet begins by searching.
What are you looking for? Search for the software the same way you would
search for information on Estonia, aquatic park restaurants near Cody,
Wyoming, or hot pictures of Megan Fox. Use Google or Bing or any available web search engine to find your software.
After you locate the software, the next step is to download it. A download is a transfer of information from another computer, or server, to your PC. That operation works like this:
1. Visit the web page that contains the download link.
The link may be text, or it may be a big, fun graphical button.
Sometimes, the link takes you to another page. Eventually, you’ll find the download link or button.
2. Click the link or graphical image that begins the download.
I recommend clicking the EXE or program file link. Don’t click a com-
pressed folder, Zip, or archive file, as doing so involves extra steps
before you can actually install and run the program.
3. Mind the security warning.
Most web browsers alert you whenever software attempts to flow into
your computer. You must grant permission; otherwise, who-knows-what
might be downloaded into your PC.
4. Click the Save button.
When given the choice between opening or saving the file, I recommend
Save. That way you’ll always have the file should you need it later.
5. Click the Save button in the Save As dialog box.
Generally speaking, the download’s filename and its location on your
PC’s mass storage device are fine. The filename may be cryptic, but it’s
the name of the program you’re downloading, plus perhaps a version
number. The file’s location is the Downloads folder in your personal
account area, which is perfect.
6. Sit and watch as the file is copied from the Internet to your computer.
Doh-dee-doh-doh.
By the way, what you’re downloading is an install or setup program, which will eventually configure and install the software you’ll eventually use.
7. To install the program, click the Open button, or in some web browsers double-click the link or icon representing the downloaded file.
Chapter 15: It’s the Software Chapter 175
8. If you’re greeted with a security warning, click the Allow button.
9. Obey the directions on the screen to finish the installation.
The directions are specific to whatever it is you’re installing. If you’re installing a program from a compressed folder or Zip file, see Chapter 18.
After installing the program, you can run it or do anything you would normally do with any software installed on your computer. The only difference is that the new software was downloaded from the Internet instead of installed from an optical disc.
✓
Get used to obtaining software from the Internet. It’s the way most soft-
ware will be installed on PCs in the future. Well, actually now. It’s the way software is being installed right now.
✓ Avoid visiting web pages that offer free screen savers, desktop back-
grounds, or device drivers. Those programs are most likely illegitimate;
if you download them, you will regret it.
✓
If you search for hacker tools or free movies, music, books, or other illegal material, odds are good that you’ll end up at an illegitimate website.
The result may be a virus or another infection on your PC, not the soft-
ware you wanted.
✓
The only way to be certain that you’re not downloading anything nefari-
ous is to use security software on your PC. See Chapter 24.
✓
Downloading a program and installing it works just like installing soft-
ware you bought from the store. The only difference is that rather
than use an optical disc, you use a file you download from the Internet
to install.
Uninstalling a program
Nothing makes Windows more irate than when software is rudely and
abruptly removed from your computer. Don’t use pliers, and especially don’t use a periosteal elevator. Instead, follow the proper uninstall procedure.
Here’s how it works:
1. Open the Control Panel.
Directions to the Control Panel are found in Chapter 14.
2. Click the Uninstall a Program link, found below the Programs heading.
The Programs and Features window appears, listing all software
installed on your PC.
176 Part III: Basic Computing
3. Select the program you want to uninstall.
4. Click the Uninstall or Uninstall/Change button on the toolbar.
5. If prompted by a User Account Control, type the administrator password or click the Continue button.
6. Continue reading instructions on the screen to uninstall the program.
The uninstall directions vary from program to program, but eventually
the program is removed.
Use these steps to uninstall software. Deleting a shortcut icon doesn’t uninstall a program. Deleting a program file doesn’t uninstall the software either.
No, follow the steps in this section to properly, officially, finally remove software.
The Latest Version
It’s a common saying in the computer industry that software is never done.
In fact, if it weren’t for management, programmers would never finish. Even when they do finish, things called bugs need to be fixed and people demand new features, which are added. The result is the software update or the more drastic software upgrade.
Updating and upgrading
What’s the difference between an update and an upgrade? Updates are gradual and tiny. They repair, or patch, software you’ve already purchased. For example, an update may fix a bug or problem. An update can fine-tune some features. And updates are usually free.
Upgrades, however, are complete revisions of programs. An upgrade presents a new release of the software, along with a version number. For example, the latest version of Microsoft Office is an upgrade, not an update. Also, upgrades cost money.
My advice: Update frequently. If the manufacturer offers a patch or a fix, install it as recommended. On the other hand, updates are necessary only
when you desperately need the new features or modifications or when the
upgrade addresses security issues.
✓ Update: A minor fix to some software you own. A patch. No charge.
✓
Upgrade: A new version of the program. You pay for it.
Chapter 15: It’s the Software Chapter 177
✓
Updates are distributed by the manufacturer. As long as you register
your software, you’ll be alerted to updates, usually by e-mail. Most of
the software updates you receive are downloaded through the Internet,
installed just like software you download from the Internet.
✓
Here’s something else to keep in mind: If you’re still using Doodle
Writer 4.2 and everybody else is using DoodleWriter 6.1, you may have
difficulty exchanging documents. After a while, newer versions of pro-
grams become incompatible with their older models. If so, you need
to upgrade.
✓
In an office setting, everybody should be using the same software ver-
sion. Everybody doesn’t have to be using the latest version, just the same version.
Updating Windows
I highly recommend that you keep your PC’s operating system updated.
This task requires regular communications between your computer and the
Microsoft mothership. No need to fret: The scheduling happens automati-
cally. If any new updates, or patches, are needed, they’re automatically
installed on your computer. You need to do nothing.
Well, you do need to ensure that you configured your PC to accept automatic updates by using the Windows Update service. Here’s how:
1. Open the Control Panel window.
2. Click the System and Security heading.
3. Below the Windows Update heading, find the Turn Automatic
Updating On or Off link and turn it On.
Ensure that updates are being checked regularly, on a schedule.
4. Click the OK button if you made any changes.
You may need to type the administrator’s password or click the
Continue button to confirm your choice.
5. Close the window.
The updates will happen regularly. Depending on how you’ve directed
Windows to keep itself updated, you may be prompted to install an update
or the updates may happen automatically. If you’re prompted, simply restart your PC and the updates are installed. Or you may discover that your computer restarts automatically, especially if you leave it on all night. Either way, keeping Windows up-to-date is important.
178 Part III: Basic Computing
Updating Windows is part of your PC’s overall security. See Chapter 24 for more information about PC security.
Upgrading to the latest
version of Windows
Microsoft upgrades Windows to a new version about once every few years.
The newer version offers better features and a different way of doing things than did the previous version. Even so, you don’t have to upgrade to the
newer version of Windows. In fact, I strongly recommend against it.
Windows is your PC’s operating system. It’s closely geared to the hardware in your computer. It has been so customized that replicating that specific customization, especially with a newer version of the operating system, is very difficult. That’s why upgrading Windows causes lots of people problems, compatibility issues, and unnecessary headaches.
If you really want the new version of Windows, my advice is to buy a new
computer with the new version of Windows preinstalled.
Chapter 16
Fun with Files and Folders
In This Chapter
▶ Understanding the whole file thing
▶ Saving and naming files
▶ Understanding file types
▶ Visiting famous folders
▶ Finding your account folder
▶ Creating new folders
▶ Working in the Open dialog box
H ere’s a computer secret: Understand what a file is and you and your computer will have a far more productive relationship. That’s because
the file is the basic unit of computer storage. It’s a container, into which all sorts of wonderful, mysterious, and useful things are kept.
Coupled with the file is another digital container, the folder. Folders hold files, keeping them organized, which helps you keep your sanity. Just as keeping your sanity may somehow be important to you, understanding files and
folders is central to the goal of maintaining a harmonious relationship with your PC.
Behold the File!
All that digital information stored inside your computer doesn’t float around, wild and loose like grains of sand in a dust storm. Instead, that information is kept neat and tidy inside little digital jars. Those jars are called files.
A file is a chunk of information stored in a computer.
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Most likely, the first computer scientists chose the word file because of its association with files used in an office setting. In a way, computer files are like paper files, but far more versatile. On your computer, a file can hold a text document, an image, music, a video, ugly raw computer data, or a program.
✓
Unlike the jars Aunt Trudy uses for her pear preserves, the container
that holds a file isn’t of a fixed size. It can be as big or as small as needed to hold the information inside the file.
✓
Computer programs are used to create files. When you save information
in a program, such as a document in a word processor, you’re creating
a file.
✓
Files are created in computer memory, but they’re kept on the mass
storage system. See Chapter 7.
Describing a file
If you were ever battered by a computer file, the police would probably ask you to describe your assailant. Files have no height or weight. They lack body odor, scars, or tattoos. So how would you describing one?
The good news is that computer files rarely assault people. If they did, or should the opportunity arise for you to describe a file, you’d use one or more of the following characteristics:
Name: All files have a name, or filename. The name is given to the file when it’s created and, I hope, describes the file’s contents or gives you a clue as to the file’s purpose.
Icon: Files are represented visually in the Windows operating system as tiny pictures. The type of picture gives you an idea as to the type of file or which program was used to create the file. The icons are also how the file is manipulated, copied, deleted, and so on.
Figure 16-1 illustrates several files, showing their icons and names. Some files, such as Word documents, use a standard image for the icon. Other files, such as the Picture and Fax examples, show a document or image preview. A generic icon is used for files where the file type is unknown or not recognized.
Other trivial details: Files also have a size, date, and type. The size is the amount of storage required for the file’s contents, measured in bytes. The date is applied to the file when it’s created, but also whenever it’s updated or modified. The file type is set by the file’s contents, such as plain text, graphics, or audio.
Chapter 16: Fun with Files and Folders 181
Figure 16-1:
Files with
icons and
names.
Another attribute used to describe a file is its location. That’s a big deal, so the file’s location is covered later in this chapter, in the section “Folder Folderol.”
✓
Not every version of Windows displays image previews for an icon.
✓
A file’s name and icon both appear in the various folder windows dis-
played by the Windows Explorer program. Further details about the file
can be displayed, but only when the folder is customized to display that
information; use the folder’s View button or menu to change the way
files are displayed.
✓
File type is closely related to the file’s icon. All files created by a specific program, for example, are of the same type and sport the same icon.
✓
Files can be named just about anything. Although, like driving a tank
through a shopping mall, some rules are involved. See the next section.
✓
A file can be any size, from zero bytes to billions of bytes. Refer to
Chapter 6 for more information on bytes.
Creating a new file
Files are born in the programs you use, conceived in the computer’s memory.
At some point, preferably early and often, you save your work. That’s a key word, save. When you use a program’s Save As command, you’re creating a file. Specifically, the Save As dialog box, shown in Figure 16-2, is what makes files on your computer.
Of all the fun potential crammed into the Save As dialog box, only three key things are done with regards to creating a new file:
Give the file a name. Use the File Name text box to type a short, descriptive name for the file. See the next section for information on filenames.
Set the file type. Use the Save As Type button menu to choose which type of file to save. This step is necessary only when a unique file type is required, such as when sharing a document with another computer or saving an image
in a specific graphics file format.
182 Part III: Basic Computing
Figure 16-2:
Save As
dialog box.
Choose the file’s location. The Save As dialog box features lots of gizmos for choosing the file’s location. Files dwell in folders, so choosing the proper folder helps keep your stuff organized. See the later section, “Folder Folderol.”
The final thing to do is to click the Save button, which actually creates the file.
✓
The Save As dialog box is but one way to make a file. Files can also be
created from copies of other files.
✓
Windows 8 apps, and some newer Microsoft programs, use a Save
screen as opposed to the traditional Save As dialog box. The Save
screen features the same basic controls as the Save As dialog box,
though in fine Microsoft tradition, everything is moved around randomly
for no apparent reason.
✓
The Save command works identically to the Save As command when a
file is first created. After that, the Save command is used to update or
refresh the file. You’re not prompted to choose a name, location, and file type when you update a file.
✓
The Save command can also be accessed from the Save button on a tool-
bar or by pressing Ctrl+S on the keyboard.
Chapter 16: Fun with Files and Folders 183
✓ After a file has been saved, the file’s name appears on the title bar (at the top of the window). That’s your clue that a file has been saved.
Naming files
According to Genesis, Adam named all the animals on the earth. I’m assum-
ing that Adam was more than three years old, because he didn’t name every animal he saw “dog.” Regardless, unless you discover some new beast, the
opportunity to name animals is long past. You do, however, have ample
opportunity to name files on your PC.
The best rule for naming files is to be descriptive and brief. Use letters, numbers, and spaces in the name. Here are some examples:
Bio
Pool Party
Speech August 8
2013 Vacation to Omaha
How to drive whilst in Canada
Each of these examples is a good filename, which properly explains the
file’s contents. But before you run amok with creativity, here are the official Windows file-naming rules:
Characters: Files can be named using any combination of letters and numbers, plus a smattering of symbols.
Length: Technically, you can give a file a name that’s over 200 characters long. Don’t. Long filenames may be very descriptive, but Windows displays them in a funny way, or not at all, in many situations. Better to keep things short than to abuse long-filename privileges.
Forbidden characters: Windows gets cranky when you use any of these characters to name a file:
* / : < > ? \ | “
These symbols hold special meaning to Windows. Nothing bad happens if
you attempt to use these characters. Windows just refuses to save the file —
or a warning dialog box growls at you.
Periods and spaces: You can’t name a file using all periods. Spaces are okay, as are most other non-forbidden characters.
184 Part III: Basic Computing
You bestow a name on a file when it’s created by using the Save As dialog box. You can also rename a file, which is part of file management — something most Windows users avoid, so I barely cover it in Chapter 17.
✓
Uppercase or lowercase filenames don’t matter to Windows. Internally,
Windows sees all files as uppercase.
✓ Although case doesn’t matter in a filename, it does matter when you’re typing a web page address.
Understanding the filename extension
Beyond the name, Windows identifies files by their file type. The type is used to assign an icon to that file and to associate the file with a program. For example, Word documents are associated with the Microsoft Word program, which is how Windows knows to start Word whenever you open a Word file icon.
The way Windows identifies the file type is by using the secret, last part of a filename, the extension. Just as your last name identifies your family, the filename extension in Windows identifies a file’s type.
The filename extension is automatically appended to files you create. It’s set by the Save as Type button in the Save As dialog box (refer to Figure 16-2).
You don’t normally see the extension because Windows hides it, but it’s there.
You can direct Windows to display that extension for you. Abide by these
steps:
1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Click the Appearance and Personalization heading.
3. Below the Folder Options heading, click the Show Hidden Files and
Folders link.
No, you don’t see hidden files or folders, but by clicking the link, you
quickly see the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box.
4. Remove the check mark by the item on the list that says Hide
Extensions for Known File Types.
Or, if the item is already set the way you like, you’re just dandy.
5. Click OK to close the Folder Options dialog box.
6. Close the Control Panel window.
With the extensions visible, you’ll see them appended to all the filenames in Windows. Well, all the filenames that have extensions; not every file has an extension.
Chapter 16: Fun with Files and Folders 185
✓ When you elect to show filename extensions, be careful never to change
or delete the extension when you rename a file. Also, there is no need to type the extension when you use the Save As dialog box to save a file;
the program adds the extension for you automatically.
✓
The filename extension starts with a period and is followed by one to
four characters. For example, the .txt filename extension is used to
identify text files. Web page files use the .htm or .html filename exten-
sion. Graphics files have a number of filename extensions, depending on
the graphics file type: gif, jpg, png, and tiff, for example.
✓
Gazillions of filename extensions are out there, too many to list here. If
you’re curious, you can visit the website www.filext.com to review or
look up a filename extension.
Folder Folderol
A folder is a container for files, designed to help keep your files organized. It was chosen over the earlier file container, the rubber band, which was too constricting on the larger files.
✓ A folder is a storage place for files. All files dwell in folders.
✓
Folders keep like files grouped together — the way barbed wire keeps
prisoners, vicious animals, and toddlers from wandering off.
✓
Without folders, your PC’s mass storage would contain tens of thou-
sands of files, all listed one after the other. It would take you months to find anything.
✓
Folders appear in Windows using the folder icon. When the folder is
empty, it appears as shown in the margin. A folder with contents
appears full, sometimes even previewing the contents in the folder
icon itself.
✓
To open the folder, double-click it with the mouse. Folders open into a
window that displays the folder’s contents. The program that displays
folder windows is called Windows Explorer.
✓ Folders may also be referred to as directories. This term is merely a throwback to the early days of computing and the Unix operating
system, which was used by Julius Caesar.
Understanding subfolders and parent folders
Folders can contain both files and other folders. When one folder exists
inside another, it’s a subfolder. This term has nothing to do with underwater naval vessels or hoagie-like sandwiches.
186 Part III: Basic Computing
Subfolders add to the concept of file organization. After all, if you have a folder named Vacations, having a subfolder named Disneyland would make
sense. Into the Disneyland folder you would put files associated with your Disney vacation. Figure 16-3 illustrates the concept.
Figure 16-3:
Subfolders
and parent
folders.
The Disneyland folder is a subfolder of the Vacations folder. Likewise, the Vacations folder is the parent folder of the Disneyland folder. You could also say that the Vacations folder is one level up from the Disneyland folder.
✓
Creating subfolders is part of organizing your files. See the section
“Making a new folder,” later in this chapter, for the details.
✓
No limit exists on the number of subfolders you can have. A folder can
be inside a folder inside a folder, and so on. If you name the folders well, it all makes sense.
Reviewing famous folders
Folders are a necessary part of file organization, and they’re used all over your computer: When Windows first configures your PC, it creates a slew of folders, some for it and some for you. Software you install on your computer also creates folders. It’s folder madness!
Here are some folders common to all Windows computers:
Desktop: The top folder in Windows is the Desktop, the same desktop you see when you’re using older versions of Windows or trying to avoid the Start Chapter 16: Fun with Files and Folders 187
screen in Windows 8. Icons you store on the desktop appear in the Desktop folder, as do the Control Panel icon and the Computer folder, the Recycle Bin folder, and other legendary folders.
Computer: This folder contains all the mass storage devices available to your computer. These devices include disk drives, optical drives, media storage, as well as any network drives you’re using.
The root folder: The first, or only, folder on a mass storage device is called the root folder. In the same way a tree trunk has many limbs branching out from it, all other folders on your hard drive branch out from the main, or root, folder. All storage media attached to your PC have a root folder.
Recycle Bin: This special folder represents the place where files go after they’re deleted. No, it’s more like Purgatory than Hell. An icon for this folder usually squats on the desktop.
Network: This folder represents available network connections, which include computer, printers, and media-sharing gizmos. Networking is covered in Part IV.
User Profile: The main folder for your stuff is named after your account and referred to as the User Profile folder. Within this folder, you find various subfolders to help you organize your stuff. See the next section.
Similar to the concept of the folder is the library, which is unique to Windows 8
and Windows 7. A library is not a folder but rather a collection of folders.
You’ll find libraries for your documents, music, videos, and pictures. You can also create libraries to store computer games, specific projects, or your collection of racy salt shaker photos, for example.
Beyond your User Profile folder and the desktop, you should never add,
delete, or change any files or folders in any other folder. Only files in your User Profile folder, which includes the Desktop folder, belong to you.
Finding a place for your stuff
The User Profile folder — a dog-ugly name for the thing — is the main folder for storing your stuff in Windows. It’s named after your account on the computer. So, if your account is named Danny, the User Profile folder is named Danny. That name was chosen when Windows was first configured.
To see the contents of your User Profile folder, press Win+E to summon the My Computer window, and then choose your account name from the left
side of the window. You can also choose your account name from the menu
button, as illustrated in Figure 16-4. Click the triangle to display the menu, and then choose your account name.
188 Part III: Basic Computing
Figure 16-4:
The User
Account
folder
window.
Inside your User Account Folder window, you find about a dozen folders
precreated for you, each of which helps you organize the stuff you collect or create on your computer. Table 16-1 lists the folders commonly found.
Table 16-1
Subfolders in the User Profile Folder
Folder Name
Contains
Contacts