Alan Simpson’s Windows XP Bible, Desktop Edition ppt

230 Using Windows Address Book.. 234 Using the Address Book to Send E-mail.. 415 Part V: Getting Organized, Staying Organized 417 Chapter 19: Managing Files and Folders.. It’s a book for

Alan Simpson’s

XP Bible, Desktop Edition

Alan Simpson

Alan Simpson’s

XP Bible, Desktop Edition

Alan Simpson’s

XP Bible, Desktop Edition

Alan Simpson

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S at (800) 762-2974, outside the U.S at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

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Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered

trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission Windows XP is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not

associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Alan Simpson’s Windows XP Bible, Desktop Edition

Copyright © 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WAR- RANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CON- TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ

About the Author

Alan Simpson is the author of more than 90 computer books, on topics

rang-ing from Windows to word processrang-ing and Web-page design to databases Hisbooks have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have soldmillions of copies throughout the world Prior to becoming a full-time author,Alan taught computer science at the college level and served as a computerized-training consultant to the U.S Air Force and U.S Navy

Mary Beth Wakefield

Vice President & Executive Group

Quality Control Technicians

John GreenoughAndy HollandbeckCarl William PierceBrian H Walls

Proofreading and Indexing

TECHBOOKS Production Services

To my “Introduction to Windows XP” students, who taught me how to explain this stuff

Every book is a team effort But, before I give thanks where thanks are due,

I want you to know that I’m not trying to pass the buck here I typedevery word and captured every screen, myself So if you don’t like something,blame me But there’s a lot more to creating a book than typing the words andmaking the pictures And, for all the other countless tasks, I hereby sincerelythank the following persons:

Kelly Henthorne and Chris Jones for helping make this book read as well as itdoes, thanks to their flawless editing Thanks also go to the entire team atWiley who made the process flow so smoothly: Katie Feldman, Bill Barton,Ryan Steffen, and everyone else who contributed so much to this project.Many thanks to Matt Wagner, Margot Maley, Maureen Maloney, and everybodyelse at Waterside Productions (my literary agency) for making everything work out

And, of course, all my love and thanks to Susan, Ashley, and Alec for toleratingweeks of neglect as I pounded furiously at a keyboard

Contents at a Glance

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xxix

Part I: Beginner’s Crash Course 1

Chapter 1: Getting Started 3

Chapter 2: Workin’ It 23

Chapter 3: Getting Help When You Need It 41

Part II: Programs, Documents, and Folders 55

Chapter 4: Running Programs 57

Chapter 5: Navigating Your Folders 75

Chapter 6: Working with Documents 99

Chapter 7: Type, Edit, Copy, and Paste 123

Chapter 8: Printing and Faxing Documents 141

Part III: Using the Internet 161

Chapter 9: Getting Online 163

Chapter 10: Browsing the World Wide Web 173

Chapter 11: Sending and Receiving E-mail 209

Chapter 12: Using a NET Passport 245

Chapter 13: Keeping It Safe 283

Part IV: Fun with Multimedia 301

Chapter 14: Using Your Camera and Scanner 303

Chapter 15: Playing with Pictures 319

Chapter 16: Music and Video with Media Player 9 333

Chapter 17: Managing Music, Making CDs 359

Chapter 18: Making Home Movies 383

Part V: Getting Organized, Staying Organized 417

Chapter 19: Managing Files and Folders 419

Chapter 20: Using Your Hard Disk 447

Chapter 21: Using Floppies, CDs, and DVDs 477

Chapter 22: Working with Compressed (Zip) Files 501

Part VI: Have It Your Way 513

Chapter 23: Creating and Managing User Accounts 515

Chapter 24: Personalizing Your Desktop 533

Chapter 25: Expanding Your System 561

Chapter 26: Disaster Prevention and Recovery 577

Part VII: Connecting Your Computers 591

Chapter 27: Design and Create Your Own Network 593

Chapter 28: Sharing Things on a Network 613

Appendix A: Installing Windows XP 627

Appendix B: Shortcut Key Quick Reference 633

Index 639

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xxix

Who This Book Is for xxix

How to Use This Book xxx

Write Me xxxi

Part I: Beginner’s Crash Course 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started 3

Getting to Know Your Computer’s Hardware 3

Using Your Mouse 4

Using Your Keyboard 6

Navigation Keys and Numeric Keypad 6

Function Keys 7

The Windows and Application Keys 7

Typing Those key1 + key2 Things 8

Getting to Know Your Computer’s Software 8

What Is Windows XP? 8

Why Learn Windows XP? 9

Starting Windows XP 9

The Start Button 11

The Windows Desktop 12

The Taskbar 12

The Notification Area 13

Using Icons 14

Opening Icons 15

Shrinking a Big Thing Back to Its Icon 15

Organizing Icons 15

Working Common Controls 16

Using Scroll Bars 16

Hiding and Showing Details 17

Using Dragging Handles 18

About Disabled (Dimmed) Controls 19

The Right Way to Turn Off Your Computer 20

Summary 21

Chapter 2: Workin’ It 23

Understanding Objects and Properties 23

Introducing Control Panel 24

Category View and Classic View 25

Using Dialog Boxes 27

Using Tabs 28

Using Option Buttons 28

About the Preview 29

Using Checkboxes 29

Using Spin Boxes 30

Using Drop-Down Lists 30

Using List Boxes 31

Using Sliders 32

Getting Help in Dialog Boxes 33

Using Buttons 34

What’s the Default? 34

Typing Text and Passwords 35

Changing Text in a Textbox 35

Changing Chunks of Text 36

Combo Boxes and AutoComplete 37

Typing Passwords 38

Summary 38

Chapter 3: Getting Help When You Need It 41

Using Windows XP’s Help and Support Center 41

Searching for Specific Information 42

Using the Help Index 45

Getting Around in Help and Support 46

Accessing Your Favorites 47

Troubleshooters 48

Closing Help and Support 48

Getting Help Online 49

Getting Help with Your Computer 51

Other Sources of Help 51

Summary 52

Part II: Programs, Documents, and Folders 55 Chapter 4: Running Programs 57

Starting Programs 57

Taking Control of Program Windows 59

Tools Found in Most Program Windows 60

About the Active Window 61

Arranging Open Program Windows 63

Maximizing and Minimizing Program Windows 65

See the Desktop by Minimizing All Open Windows 66

Sizing a Window 68

Moving a Program Window 68

Working the Menu Bars 68

Watch Out for Collapsible Menus! 70

Using Toggles on Menus 70

Getting Help in Programs 71

Closing Program Windows 71

Saving Your Work before Closing 72

Closing Multiple Windows 72

Summary 73

Chapter 5: Navigating Your Folders 75

Understanding Documents 75

All about Folders 77

How Folders Are Organized 78

Parent Folder and Subfolders 80

Using Windows Explorer 81

Windows Explorer Components 81

Explorer’s Title Bar 82

Explorer’s Menu Bar 82

Explorer’s Toolbar 82

The Explorer Bar 83

Windows Explorer’s Taskbar Button 83

Navigating through Folders 84

Opening a Subfolder 85

Moving Up the Hierarchy 85

Jumping across the Hierarchy 85

Navigating with the Address Bar 86

The Back and Forward Buttons 88

Different Ways to View Icons 88

The Icons View 89

The Tiles View 89

The Thumbnails View 90

The Filmstrip View 90

The List View 91

The Details View 91

Working with Columns 92

Sorting Columns 93

Sizing Columns 93

Moving Columns 93

Choosing Columns in Details View 94

Arranging Icons in Explorer 95

Closing Windows Explorer 96

Summary 97

Chapter 6: Working with Documents 99

Understanding the Document Types 99

Showing/Hiding File Name Extensions 100

Common Document File Types 102

Using a Program to Create a Document 103

Saving a Document 104

How to Save a Document 104

Using the Save As Dialog Box 105

Step 1: Choosing a Folder to Save In 105

Step 2: Naming a Document 106

Save Your Work Often! 108

Troubleshooting Saves 108

Closing a Document 109

Opening Documents 110

Opening a Recent Document 110

Opening a Document from Its Folder 111

Using the Open Dialog Box 112

Opening a Document in a Different Program 114

Changing the Default Program 115

When Windows Can’t Open a Document 116

Changing a Document’s Type 117

Working with Multiple Document Windows 119

Summary 121

Chapter 7: Type, Edit, Copy, and Paste 123

Typing on a Screen 124

Indenting and Aligning Text 125

Setting Margins 126

Choosing a Page Orientation 127

Printing Text 127

Navigating in Text 127

Selecting Text to Change 128

Changing Text 130

Deleting and Replacing Large Chunks of Text 131

Styling Text 131

Copying, Moving, and Pasting Text 133

Copying from One Document to Another 134

Copy and Paste a Picture 135

Move a Chunk of Text within a Document 137

Adding Special Characters to Text 137

Saving Your Text 138

Summary 139

Chapter 8: Printing and Faxing Documents 141

Printing a Document 141

Common Printing Options 142

Choosing a Print Quality and Such 143

Stopping the Printer, Managing Print Jobs 144

Managing Printers and Faxes 146

Changing the Default Printer 148

Using a Different Printer for One Job 148

Installing a Printer 149

USB, IEEE 1394 Firewire, or Infrared Connection 150

Parallel and Serial Port Connections 150

Printing the Screen 150

Troubleshooting Common Printer Problems 151

Faxing Documents 152

Using a Faxmodem 153

Configuring Fax Services 154

Using the Fax Console 155

Sending a Fax 156

Receiving Faxes 158

Faxing without a Faxmodem 158

More on Faxing 159

Summary 159

Part III: Using the Internet 161 Chapter 9: Getting Online 163

What Is the Internet? 163

What Is Bandwidth? 164

Clients and Servers 165

Online and Offline 165

Downloading and Uploading 166

Getting an Internet Account 166

Your Network Connections Folder 167

Putting a Connectoid in the Notification Area 168

Troubleshooting a Network Connection 169

Summary 171

Chapter 10: Browsing the World Wide Web 173

Using Microsoft Internet Explorer 174

Getting to a Web Site 175

Using AutoComplete 175

Changing a URL 176

Weird Ways to the Web 177

Navigating the Web 178

Using Hyperlinks 178

Opening a Page in a New Window 178

Other Hyperlink Tricks 179

Other Navigation Tools 180

Behind the Scenes 180

Refreshing a Page 181

Printing a Web Page 181

Revisiting Previous Sites 182

Using the History Bar 183

Closing the History Bar 183

Getting Rid of Cookies, Files, and History 184

Changing your Default Home Page 185

Tracking Favorite Web Sites 185

Viewing Your Favorite Sites 186

Organizing Your Favorites 187

Creating a Favorites Subfolder 188

Moving, Changing, and Deleting Favorites 188

Closing Up Favorites 190

Choosing and Creating Favorites Folders on-the-Fly 190

Creating Desktop Shortcuts to Web Pages 190

General Browsing versus Secure Browsing 191

Searching the Web 192

Searching without the Search Bar 195

Downloading from the Web 196

Downloading and Installing Programs 197

Downloading Documents 200

Copying Text from Web Page 201

Playing Online Music and Video 202

Troubleshooting Web Browsing 205

Page not Found Error 205

Do you wish to debug? Errors 205

Using the Internet Explorer Troubleshooter 206

Internet Explorer Help and Support 206

Summary 206

Chapter 11: Sending and Receiving E-mail 209

Introducing Outlook Express 209

Setting Up Your E-mail Account 210

Sending E-mail with Outlook Express 212

Composing Fancier E-mail Messages 213

Using Fonts and Alignments 214

Typing a List 214

Inserting a Picture 215

Inserting a Hyperlink 216

Attaching Files to E-mail Messages 217

Sending the Message 218

Reading Your E-mail with Outlook Express 219

Opening Attachments 221

Checking Your Attachment Security 221

Viewing (Opening) an Attachment 222

Saving Attachments 224

Managing E-mail Messages 225

Selecting Messages 226

Deleting Messages 227

Grouping Messages into Folders 228

Moving Messages into Folders 230

Marking Messages as Read or Unread 230

Using Windows Address Book 230

Tracking Names and Addresses Automatically 230

Opening Windows Address Book 232

Managing Contacts 233

Adding and Changing Contacts 233

Deleting Contacts 234

Printing Contacts 234

Creating Groups and Mailing Lists 234

Using the Address Book to Send E-mail 235

Customizing and Configuring Outlook Express 236

General Options 237

Read Options 237

Receipt Options 237

Send Options 238

Compose Options 238

Automatic Signature Options 239

E-mail Spelling Options 240

E-mail Security Options 240

Connection Options 242

Maintenance Options 242

Troubleshooting E-mail 243

Summary 243

Chapter 12: Using a NET Passport 245

What Is a NET Passport? 245

Creating Your NET Passport 246

Opening Windows Messenger, Signing In 248

E-mail Address Not Verified 249

A New Version of Windows Messenger Is Available 250

Instant Messaging with Windows Messenger 250

Setting Up Your List of Contacts 251

Starting a Conversation 251

Adding Emoticons 252

Choosing a Message Font 255

Pasting to the Conversation Window 256

When Someone Contacts You 256

Inviting Others to Join In 257

Inviting Others to Get Lost 257

Ending a Conversation 258

Your Do Not Disturb Options 257

Transferring Files and Photos 259

Toll-Free Talking 261

Twenty-First Century Toll-Free Videophone 263

Using Remote Assistance 264

Starting a Remote Assistance Session 264

Ending a Remote Assistance Session 266

Working in Teams 266

Using the Whiteboard 268

Pasting into the Whiteboard 271

Erasing from the Whiteboard 271

Saving a Whiteboard 272

Closing a Whiteboard Session 272

Managing Your Contacts 272

Grouping Contacts 272

Creating Groups 273

Deleting Groups 274

Deleting a Contact 274

Configuring Windows Messenger 274

Choosing Your Display Name and Font 274

To Autostart or Not to Autostart 275

Showing/Hiding Message Alerts 276

Choosing Where to Put Received Files 277

Maintaining Your Privacy 277

Blocking Known and Unknown Contacts 277

See Who Has You as a Contact 278

Showing/Hiding Your Phone Number 279

Windows Messenger Phone Calls 279

Using an Alternative to Sign-ins and NET Alerts 280

Signing Off, Closing, and Terminating 281Still More NET Passport Stuff 282Summary 282

Chapter 13: Keeping It Safe 283

Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses 283Installing Anti-Virus Software 286Using Anti-Virus Software 286Scanning Downloaded Files 287Hackers and Crackers 288Dealing with Pop-Up Ads 290Blocking Pop-Ups 291Blocking Messenger Pop-Ups 292Dealing with Spam (Junk E-Mail) 295Adware and Spyware 295Parental Controls 296Keep XP Up-to-Date 297Installing Declined Updates 298Getting Everything Up-to-Date 299Summary 299

Part IV: Fun with Multimedia 301

Chapter 14: Using Your Camera and Scanner 303

About Pictures 303Viewing Picture Icons 305Types of Pictures 305Copying Pictures from a CD 307Getting Pictures from a Digital Camera 310Scanning Documents 312Copying Pictures from a Web Page 314Installing Cameras and Scanners 315Troubleshooting Cameras and Scanners 317Summary 317

Chapter 15: Playing with Pictures 319

Using Your My Pictures Folder 319Printing Pictures 321Making a Working Copy of a Picture 322Rotating a Picture 323Recording Details About Your Photos 323Using Windows Picture and Fax Viewer 325Editing Pictures with Paint 326Opening Paint 327Copy and Paste a Picture into Paint 327Cropping a Picture in Paint 328Sizing a Picture in Paint 329Printing and Saving a Picture in Paint 330Fancier Graphics Editing 331Summary 332

Chapter 16: Music and Video with Media Player 9 333

Introducing Windows Media Player 9 333Upgrading Windows Media Player 335Using the Features Taskbar 336Using the Play Controls 337Closing Windows Media Player 338Using Your My Music Folder 339Types of Media Files 341Searching Your Hard Disk for Your Media Files 342Opening a Media File 343Playing Music CDs 344Playing a Video 346Watching a DVD 347Watching a VCD 348Digital Media on the Web 349Streaming Media 350Downloading Licensed Content 350How to Download 351Managing Digital Licenses 351Downloading Free Stuff from the Internet 352Using the Now Playing Feature 354Radio Tuner and Premium Services 355Playing with Skins 356Downloading Skins 357Using Mini Mode 357Summary 358

Chapter 17: Managing Music, Making CDs 359

Media File Hidden Properties 359Where Media Information Comes From 361Getting Media Player to Fill in the Blanks 362Media Player Privacy Settings 364Copying Music CDs to Your Media Library 364Preparing to Copy Music 365Choosing a Location and Name for Songs 365Choosing a File Format 367Copy Protect Music 368Copy CD when Inserted 368Eject CD when Copying Is Completed 368Audio Quality 368Digital or Analog? 368Copying a Music CD 369Finding Copied Songs 371Using Your Media Library 372Keeping Your Media Library Up-to-Date 372Managing Your Media Collection 373Editing Media Information in Media Library 374Creating Custom Playlists 375Creating Playlists Automatically 377Creating a Custom Audio CD 378Copying Music to Portable Players 380

Copying Vinyl LPs 381More on Media Player 9 382Summary 382

Chapter 18: Making Home Movies 383

Introducing Windows Movie Maker 2 383Upgrading to Movie Maker 2 384Taking Control of Movie Maker 2 385Windows Movie Maker Panes 385Movie Tasks Pane 386Storyboard/Timeline 386Collections Pane 386Contents Pane 386Monitor 387Getting Content for Your Movie 389Getting Video from Your Camcorder 389Connecting the Camera 389Using the Video Capture Wizard 392Importing Video from Files 396Creating the Movie 397Arranging Your Scenes 399Previewing Your Movie 400Trimming Scenes 400Overlapping Scenes 401Spicing Up Your Movie 401Adding Titles and Credits 402Adding Still Photos to Your Movie 404Adding Video Effects 404Using Transition Effects 405Adding Narration or Background Music 406Saving a Project (Work in Progress) 408Creating the Final Movie 408Trying Other Quality Settings 409Copying Movies to Tape and DVD 411Closing Windows Movie Maker 413Managing Collections 413Combining Clips 413Moving, Renaming, and Deleting Clips and Collections 414Summary 415

Part V: Getting Organized, Staying Organized 417

Chapter 19: Managing Files and Folders 419

Creating Folders 421Creating Your Own Folders 424Creating a Folder on-the-Fly 425Renaming Files and Folders 426Working with Multiple Files and Folders 427Selecting Multiple Icons by Dragging 428Selecting All Icons in a Folder 429

Selecting Multiple Icons Using Ctrl and Shift keys 429Selecting Multiple Icons with Ctrl+Select 430Selecting Multiple Icons with Shift+Select 431Inverting a Selection 432Deleting Files and Folders 433Using the Recycle Bin 434Restoring Accidentally Deleted Files and Folders 435Giving Files and Folders the Axe 436Moving and Copying Files 437Move versus Copy 437Moving Files to a Subfolder 438Moving and Copying across Any Folders 439Moving and Copying by Dragging 440Using Cut and Paste to Move or Copy Files 443Move/Copy Files Using the Explorer Bar 443Making a Copy in the Same Folder 443Undoing a Move or Copy 444Summary 445

Chapter 20: Using Your Hard Disk 447

Searching for Lost Files 447Using the Search Companion 448Telling Companion About the File Name 450Telling Companion About the File’s Contents 450Telling Companion Where to Look 451Telling Companion When You Last Used the File 451Telling Companion the Size of the File 452More Advanced Options 452Starting the Search 452Using Search to Gather Up Like Files 454Customizing the Search Companion 455Folder and File Tips and Tricks 457Choosing Your Own Folder Icon 457Creating Shortcuts to Favorite Files and Folders 458Making Views Stick 459Managing Your Hard Disk 460Discovering How Much Hard-Disk Space You Have 461Maintaining Your Hard Disk 464Recovering Wasted Hard Disk Space 464Scanning the Disk for Errors 466Defragmenting Your Hard Drive 466Exploring Your Hard Disk 468

A Note on User Accounts, Documents, and Settings 470Simple Names and Paths 472Viewing the Path 475Summary 475

Chapter 21: Using Floppies, CDs, and DVDs 477

Why Use Removable Disks? 479Using Floppy Disks and Zip Disks 480Viewing the Contents of Floppy and Zip Disks 481

Copying Files to Floppy and Zip Disks 483Finding the Combined Sizes of Multiple Files 483Copy Files from a Floppy or Zip Disk 485Write-Protect a Floppy 486Cloning a Floppy Disk 486Using CDs and DVDs 487Using Prerecorded CDs and DVDs 487Exploring the Contents of a CD or DVD 488Copying Files from CDs and DVDs 489Copying Files to CDs 490General Method for Copying to CDs 491Deleting All the Files on a CD-RW Disk 493Using Third-Party Programs to Burn CDs 493Copying Files to DVDs 494Changing the Default Behavior of CDs and DVDs 495Troubleshooting CDs and DVDs 497Summary 498

Chapter 22: Working with Compressed (Zip) Files 501

Programs for Managing Zip Files 502Making Zip Files in Windows XP 502E-Mailing a Zip File 505Shortcut for Attaching Files to E-mail 505Attaching Files without the Shortcut 506Using Zip Files 507Weird Compression Facts 510Summary 511

Part VI: Have It Your Way 513

Chapter 23: Creating and Managing User Accounts 515

What’s a User Account? 516Administrators versus Limited Users 517Private Documents versus Shared Documents 518Password-Protecting a User Account 518The Guest Account 519How to Create a User Account 519Logging on to a New Account 520Getting Back to Your Own User Account 521Changing a User Account 521Deleting a User Account 523Activating/Deactivating the Guest Account 524Keeping Your Documents Private 524Signing Into, and Out of, User Accounts 525Switching Users 526Allowing/Preventing Switch User 527Snooping through User Accounts 528Summary 531

Chapter 24: Personalizing Your Desktop 533

Some General Tips on Customizing 534Creating Your Own Desktop 536Choosing a Theme 537Changing the Picture on Your Desktop 537Choosing Icons to Display on the Desktop 538Choosing a Screen Saver 538Fine-Tuning Your Color Scheme 539Choosing a Screen Resolution and Color Depth 540Saving Display Properties Settings 541Arranging Icons on Your Desktop 542Personalizing Your Start Menu 542Controlling What You See on the Start Menu 543Pinning Items to the Start Menu 546Unpinning, Renaming, and Removing Start Menu Items 546Rearranging Start and All Programs Menu Items 547Personalizing Your Taskbar 548Moving and Sizing Taskbar Items 550Using the Quick Launch Toolbar 551Personalizing the Notification Area 552Optional Taskbar Toolbars 553Creating Your Own Shortcuts 554Accessibility for Sensory and Motor Impairments 556Activating/Deactivating Accessibility Utilities 557Accessibility Utilities for Everyone 558About SerialKeys 559Summary 559

Chapter 25: Expanding Your System 561

Learning About Hardware and Software for Windows XP 561Playing It Safe with Installations 562Setting a Restore Point 562Installing New Software 563Installing Software from CDs and Floppies 564

If Nothing Happens when You Insert the Disk 564Downloading and Installing Programs 565Installing Missing Windows Components 566Installing New Hardware 568Installing USB Devices 569Installing Non-USB Devices 570Uninstalling Programs 570Uninstalling Hardware 572Removing USB Devices 572Uninstalling Other Types of Hardware 573Restoring Your System Files 574Summary 576

Chapter 26: Disaster Prevention and Recovery 577

Dealing with Error Messages 577Easy Troubleshooting 579

What to Do If the Computer Freezes Up 581Getting Information About Your Computer 582Fixing Startup Problems 583Making Backups 584Backing Up Windows and Programs 585Backing Up Documents 586Backing Up Settings 588Summary 589

Part VII: Connecting Your Computers 591

Chapter 27: Design and Create Your Own Network 593

What Is a LAN? 593Planning a LAN 594Connect Two Computers in a Traditional LAN 594Connect Three or More Computers

in a Traditional LAN 595Connect Computers Without Ethernet Cables 595Connecting Computers in a Wireless LAN 596Networking with a Router 598Mixed Mode Networking 599Using the Network Setup Wizard 601Determine Your ICS Host 601Adding Non-XP Computers to the LAN 602Running the Network Setup Wizard 602Using the Internet in a LAN 606Securing a LAN 607Beyond Firewalls 608Testing and Troubleshooting Your LAN 608Network Troubleshooting 609You Did It! 611Summary 611

Chapter 28: Sharing Things on a Network 613

Some Networking Buzzwords 613Using a Shared Printer 615Sharing a Printer 616Adding a Shared Printer to Your Computer 617Using Shared Documents and Folders 617Using My Network Places 618Opening Shared Documents and Folders 619Sharing Folders 621Adding a Shared Folder to Your

My Network Places Folder 623Moving and Copying Files on a LAN 624Summary 626

Appendix A: Installing Windows XP 627

Windows XP System Requirements 627Preinstallation Housekeeping 628Installing Windows XP 628Installation Options 629The Setup Wizard 630Product Activation 630Getting Online 630Sharing the Computer 630Done! 631Re-Enabling Old Startup Programs 631

Appendix B: Shortcut Key Quick Reference 633

General Keyboard Shortcuts 634Text-Editing Shortcut Keys 635Dialog Box Shortcut Keys 636Windows Explorer Shortcut Keys 636Accessibility Shortcut Keys 637Natural Keyboard Shortcut 637

Index 639

Iwish I could have titled this book something like

How to use your PC to access the Internet, do e-mail, play with pictures, print things, deal with ZIP files, download music from the Internet, e-mail pictures, open e-mail attachments, burn CDs and DVDs, talk long-distance for free, make movies, and more, without going crazy in the process

but that was too many words

Books aren’t cheap, so you want to always make sure that you get a bookthat’s appropriate for your needs Which brings us right to

Who This Book Is for

In a nutshell, this book is for people who are clueless about computers andwant to stop being that way It’s a book for people who have Windows XP ontheir computers, but aren’t sure why, or what they’re supposed to do with it.It’s a book about using your computer to do the things that most people want

to do, including (but not limited to) those activities described in the tioned title-with-too-many-words

aforemen-This is a book for people who have never touched a computer in their lives orhave just enough experience to want to touch their PC extremely hard with asledge hammer It’s a book for people who either don’t yet realize, or havecome to realize the hard way, that when it comes to using a PC, the following

is dead-bang true:

Guessing doesn’t workThis is not an upgrade” book for people who’ve been using Windows for thelast 10 years It’s not a book for people who have already read one of my ear-lier Windows books and want to pick up where that book left off If you canread the following sentence and picture clearly how, when, and why you want

to do what it says, this may not the right book for you:

Right-drag the selected items to the destination folder, drop, and then choose Copy Here or Move Here, depending on which you want to do, from the shortcut menu.

This is a book for people who can read the above sentence and honestly say,

“I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

How to Use This Book

I cannot tell a lie If you try to skip the first hundred or so pages in this bookand jump to a particular topic in the middle or end, you will not be a happycamper Despite what anyone tells you, the same is true of all books So here’sthe reality check on how you should use this book:

Part I: Beginner’s Crash Course — This is an absolute must for anyone who

has never used a PC, doesn’t know a right-click from a drag, a shortcut keyfrom a toolbar, or a dialog box from a drop-down list If the expression, “look it

up in Help,” doesn’t help you, reading Part I is a must

Part II: Programs, Documents, and Folders — This part is an absolute must

for anyone who doesn’t know a program from a document, a folder from a file,

or a cut from a paste If you wonder why things keep disappearing from yourscreen, and you can’t get them back, this Part is your lifesaver

Part III: Using the Internet — Now we’re getting into things that aren’t so

criti-cal for using your computer After all, you can do many things with a computerwithout using the Internet But, if you want to do things like browse the Web;send and receive e-mail; chat with friends; and keep your computer safe fromworms, viruses, and hackers, this is the place to go

Part IV: Fun with Multimedia — If you’re interested in pictures, music, movies,

or DVD, this is the place to look But, be forewarned; if you skip Parts I and IIbefore you get here, the experience will be more along the lines of “Strugglingwith Multimedia.” Sadly, you have to know a little bit about what you’re doingbefore the fun can begin

Part V: Getting Organized, Staying Organized — If you’ve ever lost a file that

you created or downloaded, you need to read this part Believe it or not, if you

want to see something on your computer, you have to know where that

some-thing is first Also, if you plan to use CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, your hard disk,

or ZIPs, this it the place to look

Part VI: Have It Your Way — This Part is iffy in the “must know” department.

But, it is useful if you have trouble seeing things on your screen, want to addsome programs to your PC, or need to solve a PC problem

Part VII: Connecting Your Computers — You can ignore these two chapters if

you will never own more than one computer and if you never have to use acomputer that’s part of a network This Part is a bit more technical than other

parts of the book If you’re not into technical, you can use this Part for its

auxil-iary backup purpose as a guaranteed cure for insomnia

click on the Write to Alan link, I’ll be sure to get your message (See Chapter 10,

if you don’t know how to get to www.coolnerds.comor what a link looks like.)You can also e-mail me at alan@coolnerds.com, but I wouldn’t recommendthat Because I have no way of knowing who is going to write when, I can’t set

up my spam filter to expect your e-mail If you don’t go through my Web site,there’s a good chance your message will be inadvertently blasted into junkmail oblivion before I ever see it

See you online,

Alan

Beginner ’s

Crash Course

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just sit down at

a computer and do whatever you wanted, not

having to learn anything first? Those of you who have

already tried the skip-learning, just-doing approach to

using your computer probably know all too well the

meaning of “hair-pulling frustration.” Simply stated,

guessing doesn’t work So you finally decide to follow

the directions, only to discover strange hieroglyphics

like “right-click the folder’s icon and choose

Properties.” Huh?

Sad but true, you have to know what you’re doing just

to understand the directions, assuming you can find

some directions Part I is about all the basic skills and

buzzwords you need to follow directions and to find

information when you need it If you can stay awake

through these first three chapters, you’ll finally be able

to read the hieroglyphics If all goes well, you’ll keep

more of your hair

In This Part Chapter 1

C H A P T E R

Getting

Started

On the cover of this book, we promise that even

beginners will be able to understand it As abeginner, you need to know some basic things right off

the bat For example, to understand what Windows XP

is, you first have to understand what software is And

to understand what software is, you have to first know

what hardware is Let’s start with first things first

Getting to Know Your

Computer’s Hardware

Your PC (Personal Computer) is a system consisting of

many individual components Not everybody has exactly

the same PC or exactly the same components But

regardless of whether you’re using a desktop computer

or a notebook, your PC will probably have most of the

components shown in Figure 1-1

Your computer probably has at least one floppy disk

drive, into which you can insert a floppy disk You

prob-ably have a CD drive or DVD drive as well, into which

you can insert CDs and DVDs Floppy disks, CDs, and

DVDs are often referred to as removable media, because

you can stick a disk into these drives, use the disks, and

remove them from the drives when you don’t need to

use the disks anymore

Inside your computer is another disk drive called the

hard drive This disk drive also goes by several other

names, including hard disk, fixed disk, primary drive, or

just C: Your hard disk is an example of nonremovable

media, so-named because you can’t take the hard disk

out of its drive In fact, you can’t even see the hard

drive, because it’s inside the system unit, as illustrated

Working commoncontrols

The right way to turn off your computer

Figure 1-1: Major hardware components of a typical PC

Figure 1-2: Disk drives on a typical PC

Using Your Mouse

The easiest way to operate your computer (especially if you can’t type worthbeans) is with your mouse Most mice have two buttons; some mice have a

wheel between the buttons The mouse button on the left is called the primary mouse button The mouse button on the right is called the secondary mouse button, as shown in Figure 1-3 In a nutshell, you use the primary (left) mouse

button when you want the computer to do something You use the secondary(right) mouse button when you want to see your options before you do anything

Hard drive

CD driveFloppy drive

Speaker

Screen Monitor

System UnitSpeaker

MouseKeyboard

Microphone

Figure 1-3: A typical mouse and how to hold it

The idea is to rest your hand comfortably on the mouse with your index fingerlightly on (or near) the left mouse button, as is also shown in Figure 1-3 As youmove the mouse around (without holding down either of the mouse buttons),the mouse pointer on the screen moves in the same direction that you movethe mouse

When moving the mouse, keep the front of the mouse aimed toward thescreen Don’t twist or turn the mouse If the mouse gets out of reach, justpick it up off the table, and set it down in a more comfortable position

A mouse is an example of a pointing device, a gadget that lets you point to and

click things on the screen If you’re using a notebook computer, your pointingdevice might not be a mouse It might be a touchpad or trackball But it willstill have a primary (left) and secondary (right) mouse button If you have diffi-culty using your notebook’s pointing device, the best place to look for informa-tion is the documentation that comes with your computer

Some standard terminology describes things you can do with the mouse You’llsee these terms used in all sorts of instructions — not just in this book Boring

as the terms may be, you might want to spend a little time getting to know them,

so you can understand any written instructions you come across

✦ Mouse pointer: The little arrow on the screen that moves in whatever

direction you move the mouse

✦ Point: To move the mouse pointer so that it’s touching some item.

For example, the phrase “point to the Start button” means move themouse pointer so that it’s resting on the Start button in the lower-leftcorner of the screen, as shown in Figure 1-4

Gotcha

Primary (left)

mouse button

WheelSecondary (right)mouse button

How to hold

Figure 1-4: Pointing to the Start button

Pointing to an item often displays its screen tip (also called a tooltip), likethe words “Click here to begin” in Figure 1-4 Whenever you’re cluelessabout what some little symbol on your screen represents, point to it to seewhether it has a screen tip

✦ Click: Point to the item and then tap (don’t hold down) the primary

(left) mouse button

✦ Double-click: Point to the item; tap the primary (left) mouse button

twice, as quickly as you can

✦ Right-click: Point to the item; tap the secondary (left) mouse button.

✦ Drag: Point to the item and then hold down the primary (left) mouse

button while moving the mouse

✦ Right-drag: Point to the item and then hold down the secondary

(right) mouse button while moving the mouse

✦ Drop: Release the mouse button after dragging or right-dragging.

Using Your Keyboard

Like the mouse, the keyboard is a means of interacting with your computer.Most of it is laid out like a typewriter If you already know how to type, you’re

in luck If you don’t know how to type, I can’t help you there But you can atleast take solace in that you need the keyboard only to type text You can usethe mouse for everything else

Aside from the regular typewriter keys, you need to recognize some additionalkeys and areas on the keyboard Figure 1-5 shows an example, although yourkeyboard probably won’t look exactly like the one in the figure But you should

be able to find all the keys pointed out, even if your keyboard is arranged a littledifferently from the example in Figure 1-5

Navigation Keys and Numeric Keypad

The arrow keys and keys labeled Home, End, and so forth are the navigation keys As you’ll discover throughout the book, you can use those keys to move around in certain types of programs The numeric keypad contains a set of

numbers and math symbols laid out exactly as they would be on a standardadding machine For people who are already quick with a standard addingmachine, the numeric keypad offers a familiar way to type lots of numericinformation into the computer