1 Getting to Know the PC .................................................5
It’s What’s Inside That Counts ...........................................6
The Central Processing Unit .....................................................................6
Hard Drive ..................................................................................................7
Memory ......................................................................................................9
DVD Drive ................................................................................................10
Memory Card Reader ..............................................................................10
Expansion Cards .....................................................................................11
Judging a PC by Its Cover ..................................................14
The Case .................................................................................................14
What’s Up Front.......................................................................................16
Ports, Ports, and More Ports ..................................................................17
A Sideways Look at Peripherals ......................................20
Monitor ....................................................................................................20
Keyboard .................................................................................................20
Mouse ......................................................................................................21
Printer ......................................................................................................21
Sound System .........................................................................................21
2 Buying a PC .....................................................................23
Choosing a Computer Type .......................................23
Tower PC .................................................................................................24
All-In-One PC ..........................................................................................24
Laptop PC ...............................................................................................26
Tablet PC .................................................................................................27
Selecting a CPU ..................................................................28
How Much Memory Do You Need? ...................................29
Selecting Data Storage Options ......................................31
Selecting a Hard Drive .............................................................................32
Selecting an Optical Drive .......................................................................34
Selecting a Memory Card Reader ...........................................................36
Choosing a Monitor ......................................................37
Purchasing Additional Software ..............................................39
Some Final Purchase Considerations .....................................40
3 Setting Up Your PC .......................................................41
Setting Up Your Work Area ................................................41
Location, Location, Etc. ..........................................................................42
Choosing Your Desk and Chair ...............................................................44
Connecting the Components ..........................................45
Unpacking the Components ...................................................................45
Positioning the System Unit ....................................................................46
Some Notes Before Making Any Connections........................................47
Connecting the Monitor ...........................................................................49
Connecting USB Devices ........................................................................51
Connecting the Keyboard and Mouse ....................................................54
Connecting Even More Devices ......................................56
Sound System .........................................................................................56
Memory Card ...........................................................................................58
Wi-Fi Antenna ..........................................................................................59
CD or DVD ...............................................................................................60
Connecting the Power Cords ................................................61
4 Taking Your PC for a Spin ............................................63
Starting Your PC ..................................................................63
Setting Up Windows 8 .........................................................65
A Digression: Learning How to “Click” Things ........................................66
Back to the Tour ......................................................................................66
Starting Windows 8 Next Time................................................................68
Getting to Know the Mouse ...................................................69
Getting Comfy with the Keyboard .........................................69
Using Gestures on a Tablet ...................................................70
Taking a Tour of the Windows 8 Interface................................72
The App Bar ............................................................................................74
The Charms Menu ...................................................................................75
Navigating the Start Screen .....................................................76
Putting Your PC to Sleep ........................................................77
Restarting Your PC ............................................................78
Shutting Down Your PC ......................................................78
5 Learning Windows Basics......................................................79
Working with Apps ..................................................................80
Starting an App .......................................................................................82
Returning to the Start Screen .................................................................83
Switching Between Apps ........................................................................83
Shutting Down an App ............................................................................85
Installing New Apps .................................................................................85
Uninstalling Windows 8 Apps .................................................................87
Tracking Your Appointments .................................................87
Managing Your Contacts..........................................................90
Getting Directions to a Location.......................................91
Tracking a News Topic .......................................................93
Monitoring a Stock ..................................................................94
Following Your Favorite Team ..................................................95
Planning a Trip ..........................................................................97
6 More Windows Techniques You Should Know ....................101
Personalizing Windows 8 ....................................................101
Changing Your Account Picture ............................................................102
Customizing the Start Screen ...............................................................103
Customizing the Lock Screen ...............................................................104
Pinning a Program to the Start Screen .................................................105
Resizing a Tile .......................................................................................106
Moving a Tile .........................................................................................107
Searching Windows 8 .....................................................107
Working with Files and Folders .......................................109
Creating a New File or Folder ...............................................................111
Selecting Files and Folders ...................................................................112
Copying and Moving a File or Folder ....................................................113
Renaming a File or Folder .....................................................................113
Deleting a File or Folder ........................................................................114
Overcoming Visual Challenges .........................................114
Making Screen Items Appear Bigger ....................................................114
Magnifying the Screen ...........................................................................115
Switching to a High-Contrast Screen ...................................................116
Making the Cursor Easier to See ..........................................................117
Hearing What’s on the Screen...............................................................118
Adjusting the Volume .......................................................118
Overcoming Physical Limitations ......................................120
Showing Notifications for a Longer Time ..............................................120
Controlling Your PC with Speech Recognition......................................120
7 Dealing with Digital Photos ..........................................123
Getting Photos onto Your PC ...........................................123
Transferring Photos from a Digital Camera ...........................................124
Transferring Photos from a Memory Card .............................................126
Scanning a Photo ..................................................................................127
Taking a Photo with the PC’s Camera ..................................................129
Viewing Photos .................................................................129
Looking Through Your Photos ...............................................................130
Watching a Photo Slideshow ................................................................131
Fixing Your Photos .......................................................132
Rotating a Photo ...................................................................................132
Cropping Out Unwanted Elements .......................................................133
8 Working with Digital Music ..........................................135
Easy Listening with the Music App .....................................135
Navigating the Music App .....................................................................136
Buying Music .........................................................................................136
Searching for Music ..............................................................................138
Playing Music ........................................................................................138
Making Beautiful Music with Media Player .......................139
Navigating Media Player........................................................................140
Playing Music ........................................................................................140
Playing a Music CD ...............................................................................142
Copying Music from a Music CD ..........................................................143
Copying Music to a Recordable CD .....................................................145
9 Working with Digital Video ...........................................147
Importing Video to Your PC ............................................147
Importing Video from a Smartphone, Camcorder, or
Digital Camera ...................................................................................148
Importing Video from a Memory Card ...................................................149
Navigating the Video App ...............................................150
Renting or Buying Videos ..........................................151
Renting a Movie.....................................................................................151
Buying a Movie ......................................................................................153
Buying a TV Show Season or Episode .................................................154
Searching for Movies and TV Shows ..............................155
Playing a Video ..............................................................156
Playing Video on Your TV ..............................................157
10 Getting Online ............................................................159
Getting Online Using a Broadband Modem Connected Directly to Your PC .....160
Attaching the Internet Connection Cable ..............................................160
Connecting the Modem to Your PC ......................................................162
Registering the Modem .........................................................................163
Creating a Windows 8 Broadband Internet Connection .......................163
Making the Connection .........................................................................164
Getting Online Using a Wireless Broadband Connection ..........165
What Is Wireless Networking? ..............................................................165
Understanding Wireless Network Adapters ..........................................166
Understanding Wireless Routers ...........................................................167
Configuring the Wireless Router to Connect to Your ISP .....................168
Configuring Your Wireless Network Settings ........................................171
Registering the Modem .........................................................................172
Connecting the Broadband Modem to the Wireless Router .................173
Connecting to Your Wireless Network ..................................................174
Creating a Microsoft Account ............................................175
11 Surfing the Web .........................................................179
Understanding the Web .................................................180
Surfing the Web with Internet Explorer ............................181
Entering a Web Page Address ..............................................................182
Navigating the Pages You’ve Visited .....................................................184
Opening Multiple Pages with Tabs ........................................................184
Searching the Web ............................................................186
Saving Your Favorite Pages ...............................................187
Adding a Page to the Internet Explorer Favorites List ..........................187
Pinning a Page to the Start Screen .......................................................188
12 Exchanging Email .....................................................189
Setting Up a Mail Account ............................................189
Handling Incoming Messages ..............................................192
Handling Message Attachments ...........................................................194
Replying to a Message ..........................................................................195
Forwarding a Message ..........................................................................196
Printing a Message ................................................................................196
Moving a Message to a Different Folder ...............................................197
Deleting a Message ...............................................................................197
Sending a Message .........................................................198
Minding Your Email Manners ...............................................199
The Three B’s of Composing Email .......................................................200
DON’T SHOUT! .....................................................................................200
Take Your Subject Lines Seriously ........................................................201
More Snippets of Sending Sensitivity ...................................................201
13 Maximizing Internet Security and Privacy .......................203
Avoiding Viruses ................................................................204
Avoiding Viruses on the Web ................................................................204
Avoiding Viruses in Email ......................................................................206
Keeping Spyware at Bay ................................................207
Listening to User Account Control ...................................209
Creating Secure Online Passwords ..................................211
Avoiding Online Scams ......................................................213
Giving Out Your Credit Card Information Safely ...................................213
Understanding Phishing Scams ............................................................214
Preventing Identity Theft .......................................................................216
Protecting Yourself from “419” Scams ..................................................217
14 Securing Your PC ....................................................219
Thwarting Snoops and Crackers .....................................219
Taking Some Basic Precautions ............................................................220
Locking Your PC ....................................................................................221
Checking Your Computer’s Security Settings .......................223
Making Sure Windows Firewall Is Turned On .......................................224
Making Sure Windows Defender Is Turned On .....................................225
Making Sure User Account Control Is Turned On .................................226
Making Sure the Administrator Account Is Disabled ............................227
Making Sure the Firewall Is Up to Snuff ................................................227
15 Maintaining Your PC ...............................................229
Checking Free Disk Space .............................................229
Deleting Unnecessary Files ............................................231
Defragmenting Your Hard Disk ......................................233
Preparing for Trouble ......................................................234
Backing Up File Versions with File History ............................................235
Restoring a Previous Version of a File ..................................................236
Setting System Restore Points .............................................................239
Creating a Recovery Drive .....................................................................240
Creating a System Image Backup.........................................................242
Setting Up a Maintenance Schedule .....................................244
16 Troubleshooting Your PC ..............................................247
Determining the Source of a Problem ..............................247
Did You Get an Error Message? ............................................................248
Did You Recently Change Any Windows Settings? ..............................248
Did You Recently Change Any Application Settings? ...........................248
Did You Recently Install a New Program? ............................................250
Did You Recently Install a New Device? ...............................................250
General Troubleshooting Tips .............................................250
Troubleshooting Device Problems .................................251
Troubleshooting with Device Manager ..................................................251
Troubleshooting Device Driver Problems ..............................................253
Rolling Back a Device Driver .................................................................254
Recovering from a Problem .............................................255
Accessing the Recovery Environment ...................................................255
Navigating the Recovery Environment ..................................................257
Booting Up in Safe Mode ......................................................................260
Recovering Using System Restore .......................................................261
Refreshing Your PC ...............................................................................263
Resetting Your PC .................................................................................264
Restoring a System Image ....................................................................265
17 Repairing Your PC ....................................................267
What Tools Do You Need? ...............................................267
What Software Do You Need? ............................................272
Setting Up Your Work Area .............................................273
Playing It Safe ..................................................................274
Keeping Yourself Safe ...........................................................................275
Keeping Your Components Safe ...........................................................276
Opening the Computer Case ...........................................278
Making Cable Connections ..................................................280
Installing an Expansion Card ............................................284
18 Upgrading Your PC ....................................................291
Looking Inside the Computer .............................................292
Accessing the System Configuration Program ..........................294
Running the Device Manager and System Information Utilities ......296
Searching for the System Manual Online ....................299
Making the Old PC Run Faster ................................302
19 Buying PC Components .................................................303
Researching Parts Online ................................................303
Checking Out Product Reviews ............................................................304
Performing Price Comparisons .............................................................307
Researching Retailers Online .....................................309
Buying Parts Online ................................................311
Returning Parts Online ....................................................314
Buying Parts Offline ..................................................317
Buying Non–Shrink-Wrapped Parts......................................319
20 Replacing the Hard Drive ............................................321
How a Hard Drive Works .................................................321
Understanding Hard Drive Specs ...................................323
The Hard Drive Interface and Throughput ............................................324
The Hard Drive Form Factor ..................................................................330
The Hard Drive Speed ...........................................................................330
Buying a Hard Drive .........................................................331
Removing the Old Hard Drive ......................................332
Installing a New Hard Drive ........................................335
Finishing Up ................................................................336
21 Replacing the CD or DVD Drive .....................................339
Buying a CD or DVD Drive ........................................339
Removing the Existing Optical Drive ................................341
Installing the New Optical Drive .........................................344
22 Adding More Memory ...................................................347
Understanding Memory Specs .....................................348
The Memory Module Standard .............................................................349
The Memory Type and Speed ...............................................................349
The Memory Module Capacity ..............................................................350
Buying Memory ...............................................................350
Pulling Out the Old Memory Modules ................................352
Installing the New Memory Modules ...............................353
Index ...................................................................357
Paul McFedries is full-time technical writer and passionate computer tinkerer. He is the author of more than 80 computer books that have sold over four million copies worldwide. His recent titles include the Sams Publishing books Windows 7 Unleashed and Windows Home Server 2011 Unleashed and the Que Publishing books Windows 8 In Depth (coauthored with Brian Knittel), Formulas and Functions with Microsoft Excel 2013, Using iPhone, and Using the Microsoft Office Web Apps. Paul is also the proprietor of Word Spy (www.wordspy.com), a website devoted to tracking new words and phrases as they enter the English language. Paul’s web home is at www.mcfedries.com, and he can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/paulmcf and twitter.com/wordspy.
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