Alan E. Mann, AG

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byu@alanmann.com                                                                   Accredited Genealogist

BYU Annual Genealogy Conference 2005                                    www.alanmann.com/articles

 

 

Windows Basics for PC Users

I will demonstrate simple things you can do with Windows to manage your hard drive, launch programs, save time, organize your work, and get more out of your Windows computer. Learn about

 Things to make your computer run faster and more reliably

Defrag (run after each 20 hours of computer use) - pulls pieces of files stored in various places together into a single place, making your computer pull it up faster.

Scandisk (standard vs. thorough) - run standard daily, thorough at least monthly. Finds areas on your hard drive that may not be working right and closes them off.

Task scheduler - make maintenance items (including those just listed) run automatically even when you aren't there (if you leave your computer on).

Backups (on and off site, in multiple formats) Most important safety precaution (father/grandfather) 

Things to help you control your computer and its organization

Windows explorer (Windows-E) - manage your files and folders (+ or-)

·         file associations

·         View options

·         Folder options

·         Folders & sub-folders

·         Drag & drop

·         Renaming file

Organizing your start menu (see Start button at bottom left)

·         Find (Explorer or Start button) note advanced options

·         Documents (on start button) to clear: Start, Settings, Taskbar

·         Control Panel

·         Add/Remove programs

·         Display (right click desk top does same)

·         Date/Time settings

Startup Folders - programs launch automatically

The task bar & all those little icons on it (system tray)-- The task bar at the bottom of the screen has a notification area (formerly called system tray). Every icon in that area represents a process that is using your computers resources. Know what each icon represents. You can close unnecessary processes to conserve resources and make your system run faster. But when you reboot, they may come back. To permanently remove them, use www.windowsstartup.com to install a utility that tells you what each process does and whether it is safe to remove it, then will remove it at your request. To learn more about processes that are running but which aren’t listed at WindowsStartup, see www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm.

·         shortcuts on taskbar

·         auto-hide

·         date/time

 

 Shortcuts to help you use your computer

Right click functions (explore) USE IT - it doesn't hurt to try it

Arrow keys

·         Shift, to highlight

·         CTRL to jump a word at a time

·         Home and End (line unless CTRL) Shift - highlight CTRL - document

Drag and Drop

Task switching, resizing windows, & multiple windows viewable

Creating shortcuts (drag and drop from explorer or right click)

Edit functions

·         Copy & Paste (CTRL-C, CTRL-V)

·         Cut & Paste (CTRL-X, CTRL-V)

 

Other useful things to know

Running in the background (your programs, not you)

File extensions

Wordpad, Notepad, and Word Processing

Image vs. Text

Desktop themes

Screen savers

Windows Task Manager varies according to which OS you’re using. I recommend using XP. The task manager has four tabs—applications, processes, performance, and networking. There is a lot of information available in these four panels. Watching the data on the performance panel can help diagnose or prevent problems.