IC3: Internet and Computing Core Certification Computing ...aic.hcmuaf.edu.vn/data/file/IC3/IC3 Internet and Computing Core... · Figure 1.30 The Keyboard And Languages tab in the

IC3®InternetandComputingCoreCertificationComputingFundamentals

StudyGuide

CiprianAdrianRusen

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AbouttheAuthorCiprianAdrianRusenisarecognizedWindowsConsumerExpert–MicrosoftMostValuableProfessional(MVP).HehaspublishedseveralbooksaboutWindowsandMicrosoftOffice,andhe'salsoaveryactivetechbloggerathttp://www.7tutorials.com.

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ContentsIntroduction

WhoShouldReadThisBook?What'sInside?What'sIncludedwiththeBookHowtoContactSybexIC3GS4ExamObjectives

AssessmentTestAnswerstoAssessmentTestChapter1UnderstandingOperatingSystems

OperatingSystemsandTheirRolesWhenUsingComputersandDevicesWorkingwithFiles,Folders,andLibrariesCustomizingYourComputerSummaryExamEssentialsKeyTermsReviewQuestions

Chapter2UnderstandingHardwareTheInternalHardwareComponentsofaComputerPeripheralDevicesThatCanBeConnectedtoaComputerTheMostCommonTypesofComputersandDevicesHowInformationIsTransmittedinsideaComputerHowtoEvaluatethePerformanceofaComputerorDeviceSummaryExamEssentialsKeyTermsReviewQuestions

Chapter3UnderstandingSoftwareTheDependenciesbetweenHardwareandSoftwareInstalling,Removing,orReinstallingSoftwareSoftwareLicensingandItsImplicationsTheMostCommonTypesofOfficeApplicationsUsingTemplatestoGetStartedwithanApplicationPersonalEntertainmentApplicationsCompressingFilestoSaveSpaceOptimizingYourComputer’sHardDiskPerformance

ProtectingYourselffromMalwareSummaryExamEssentialsKeyTermsReviewQuestions

Chapter4TroubleshootingProblemswithYourComputerDealingwithProblemsCausedbySoftwareDealingwithProblemsCausedbyHardwareCreatingYourOwnBackupSystemSummaryExamEssentialsKeyTermsReviewQuestions

AppendixAAnswerstoReviewQuestionsChapter1:UnderstandingOperatingSystemsChapter2:UnderstandingHardwareChapter3:UnderstandingSoftwareChapter4:TroubleshootingProblemswithYourComputer

AppendixBUsingthePracticeFilesIC3—Module1:ComputingFundamentals

AdvertEULA

ListofIllustrationsChapter1

Figure1.1Theflowofinformationamongtheuser,softwareapplications,theoperatingsystem,andthehardware

Figure1.2TheWindowslog-inscreenshowingtheuseraccountsthatexistonyourcomputer

Figure1.3Thesign-inscreenforyouruseraccount

Figure1.4Optionsforswitchingtheuser,loggingoff,lockingthecomputer,restartingit,orputtingittosleep

Figure1.5TheSleepbutton

Figure1.6TheSystemAndSecuritysectioninControlPanel

Figure1.7TheWindowsUpdatewindow

Figure1.8WindowsUpdateinformingyouhowmanyupdatesareavailable

Figure1.9WindowsUpdateinformingyouthatupdatesweresuccessfullyinstalled

Figure1.10WhereyouchangetheWindowsUpdatesettings

Figure1.11AfolderanditscontentsdisplayedbyWindowsExplorer

Figure1.12TheshortcutsontheWindowstaskbar,includingtheoneforWindowsExplorer

Figure1.13TheWindowsExplorerwindow

Figure1.14ThedifferentnavigationelementsoftheWindowsExplorerwindow

Figure1.15TheviewsthatareavailableinWindowsExplorer

Figure1.16TheSaveAsoptionsthatareavailableinPaint

Figure1.17ThetypesoffilesthatcanbecreatedusingthecontextmenuinWindowsExplorer

Figure1.18Theoptionsavailableinthecontextmenuwhenright-clickingafile

Figure1.19ThePasteoptioninthecontextmenu

Figure1.20TheMoveHereoption

Figure1.21TheSendTomenuinWindowsExplorer

Figure1.22TheSearchboxinWindowsExplorer

Figure1.23TheSearchwindowthatisaccessedbypressingF3

Figure1.24TheStartmenusearch

Figure1.25TheAppearanceAndPersonalizationsectionintheControlPanel

Figure1.26TheResolutionsliderfromtheScreenResolutionwindow

Figure1.27TheDisplaywindow

Figure1.28ThePersonalizationwindow

Figure1.29TheDesktopBackgroundwindow

Figure1.30TheKeyboardAndLanguagestabintheRegionAndLanguagewindow

Figure1.31TheAddInputLanguagewindowwhereyoucanaddanewinputlanguage

Figure1.32Thekeyboardinputlanguageswitcher

Figure1.33TheInstallOrUninstallDisplayLanguagesWizard

Figure1.34WindowsUpdatedisplayingthenumberofoptionalupdatesavailable

Figure1.35Alistoftheoptionalupdatesthatareavailable

Figure1.36TheDateAndTimeSettingswindow

Figure1.37TheEaseOfAccessCenterintheControlPanel

Figure1.38ThesettingsrecommendedbytheEaseOfAccessCenter

Figure1.39TheManageAccountswindowwhereyoucanseetheuseraccountsexistingonyourcomputer

Figure1.40TheCreateNewAccountwindow

Figure1.41TheShareWithmenuinWindowsExplorer

Figure1.42ChoosingwithwhomtoshareintheFileSharingWizard

Chapter2

Figure2.1Adesktopcomputerandseveralperipheralsthatareconnectedtoit:printer,scanner,andprojector

Figure2.2Adesktopcomputerontheleftandalaptopontheright

Figure2.3ThePerformancetabinTaskManager


Figure2.5TheSystempanel

Figure2.6ThePerformanceInformationAndToolswindow

Chapter3

Figure3.1TheinstallationforthepopularKMPlayerapplication

Figure3.2Theinstallationforavast!freeantivirus

Figure3.3TheMozillaFirefoxinstallationprogram

Figure3.4CustomizingtheMozillaFirefoxinstallation

Figure3.5TheMozillaFirefoxImportWizard

Figure3.6TheMozillaFirefoxbrowser

Figure3.7TheProgramsAndFeaturespanelinWindows

Figure3.8TheChangebuttonintheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

Figure3.9TheRepairbuttonintheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

Figure3.10TheUninstall/ChangebuttonintheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

Figure3.11ControlPanel

Figure3.12TheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

Figure3.13TheMozillaFirefoxUninstallWizard

Figure3.14TheMozillaFirefoxuninstalllocation

Figure3.15FinalizingtheMozillaFirefoxuninstallprocess

Figure3.16TheWinamplicenseagreement

Figure3.17TheStartmenu

Figure3.18CreatingnewdocumentsinMicrosoftWord

Figure3.19ChoosingatemplateinMicrosoftWord

Figure3.20AnewdocumentinMicrosoftWord

Figure3.21ThecontextmenuinWindowsExplorer

Figure3.22TheExtractCompressed(Zipped)FoldersWizard


Figure3.24DiskCleanup

Figure3.25ConfirmationdialogforDiskCleanup


Figure3.27DiskDefragmenter

Chapter4

Figure4.1TheWindowsCompatibilityCenter

Figure4.2Thecontextmenuforanexecutablefile

Figure4.3TheCompatibilitytabinthePropertieswindow

Figure4.4Selectingthecompatibilitymodeforafile

Figure4.5TheTaskManagerinWindows7

Figure4.6ClosinganapplicationwiththeTaskManager

Figure4.7Thewarningshownwhenaprogramisnotresponding

Figure4.8TheTaskManagershowingrunningprocesses

Figure4.9TheProcessestabintheTaskManager,sortedbyCPUuse

Figure4.10AMicrosoftSecurityEssentialsprompt

Figure4.11TheStartmenuinWindows7

Figure4.12MicrosoftSecurityEssentials

Figure4.13PotentialthreatsdetectedbyMicrosoftSecurityEssentials

Figure4.14ThreatsremovedbyMicrosoftSecurityEssentials

Figure4.15SafeMode

Figure4.16AdvancedBootOptions

Figure4.17TheBIOS

Figure4.18TheHPSystemBIOSUpdateUtility

Figure4.19Windows7installingdevicedriversoftware


Figure4.21TheDeviceManagershortcut

Figure4.22TheDeviceManagerwindow

Figure4.23TheSetUpBackupWizard

Figure4.24TheBackupAndRestoreentryintheControlPanel

Figure4.25TheBackupAndRestorewindow

Figure4.26Selectingwheretosaveyourbackup

Figure4.27Selectingwhatyouwanttobackup

Figure4.28Reviewingyourbackupsettings

Figure4.29Thebackupinprogress

Figure4.30TheRestoreFilesWizard



Figure4.33TheBrowseTheBackupForFoldersOrDrivesdialog

Figure4.34Thefoldersthatwillberestored

Figure4.35Selectingwheretorestoreyourfiles

Figure4.36TheCopyFiledialog

Figure4.37TheMicrosoftOneDrivesetupprogram

Figure4.38SigningintoOneDrive

Figure4.39Enteringyourtwo-stepverificationcode

Figure4.40ThelocationofyourOneDrivefolder

Figure4.41Selectingwhatyouwanttosync

Figure4.42SettingthefetchfeatureinOneDrive

Figure4.43TheOneDrivefolder

IntroductionWelcometotheIC3InternetandComputingCoreCertificationComputingFundamentalsStudyGuidefortheIC3DigitalLiteracyCertification.ThepurposeofthisbookistohelpyoupreparefortheComputingFundamentalscertificationexam,whichcoverssubjectsneededforagoodbasicunderstandingofcomputing,includingknowledgeanduseofcomputerhardware,software,andoperatingsystems.

ThebookcontainsalloftheinformationyouneedtopasstheComputingFundamentalsexam.Italsoincludesnotesandwarningsfromtheauthortohelpreduceissuesyoumaybeexperiencinginyourownenvironment.Bystudyingforandpassingthisexam,youwillgaininsightthatwillmakeyoumorevaluableinyourcurrentpositionandwillmakeyoumorelikelytoberecognized.

Intheremainderofthisintroduction,wewilllookatsomeofthefactsabouttheexam,givesomecommonsensetipsfortakingtheexam,andreviewtheprocessforregisteringfortheexam.

ExamFactsIndividualsseekingIC3certificationarerequiredtotakeandpassallthreeIC3exams:ComputingFundamentals,KeyApplications,andLivingOnline.Herearesomefactsaboutthem:

TheIC3examsareadministeredbyCertiportandaretakenatCertiportAuthorizedTestingCenters.

TheexamsarebasedonMicrosoftWindows7andMicrosoftOffice2010.

Thereare45multiple-choicequestionsforeachexam.

Thereisatimelimitof50minutesforeachexam.

Eachexamhasamaximumscoreof1000.

Theminimumpassingscorecouldrangefrom620indifficultteststo720oneasiertests.

Thereisashortsurveybeforetheexambegins(takingthesurveydoesnotuseanyoftheavailable50minutes).

Ifyoudonotpasstheexam,youcanretakeitasmanytimesasyouwant,butyoumustwait24hoursbeforetakingtheexamasecondtime.Ifyoudonotpasstheexamagain,atwo-daywaitingperiodwillbeimposedforeachsubsequentexamretake.

TipsforTakingtheIC3GS4ExamsHerearesomegeneraltipsforimprovingtheoddsofpassingyourcertificationexam:

Readeachquestioncarefully.Althoughthetestisnotwrittentobeconfusing,therearetimeswhentheobviouschoiceisnotthecorrectchoice.

Makesureyouanswereachquestion.Anyunansweredquestionsareconsideredwrong,soyouarebetteroffmakinganeducatedguessthanleavingaquestionunanswered.

Foranyquestionswhereyouareunsureofthecorrectanswer,useaprocessofeliminationtoremoveanyobviouslyincorrectanswersfirst.Onceyouhaveeliminatedtheobviouslyincorrectanswers,makeaneducatedguessfromtheremaininganswers.

Ifyouareunsureaboutaquestion,selecttheansweryouthinkismostlikelytobecorrect,markitforreview,andcomebacktoitatalatertime.

Getagoodnight'ssleepthenightbeforetheexam.Thiswillhelpyoutobemorealertandthinkclearlyduringtheexam.

ExamRegistrationTakethefollowingstepstoregisterfortheIC3exams:

1. Usingabrowser,navigatetotheCertiportwebsite:http://www.certiport.com.

2. ToregisterwithCertiport,clicktheRegisterlinkinthetop-rightcornerandprovidealltherequiredpersonalinformation.

3. Oncetheregistrationprocessiscomplete,selectthatyouwouldliketotakeanexamorprepareforanexamandclickNext.

4. RegisterfortheIC3certification.

5. LocateaCertiportAuthorizedTestingCenter(CATC)nearyou.

6. OnceyouhavefoundaCATC,youshouldthencontacttheTestingCenterdirectlytoconfirmthattheyoffertheexam(s)youwishtotake,determinetheirpricesandfees,setupadateandtimetotaketheexam,andfindoutwhatexampreparationresources/coursestheyoffer.

Youcanfindtheexampoliciesthatyoumustabidebyatthiswebpage:http://www.certiport.com/PORTAL/desktopdefault.aspx?

page=common/pagelibrary/LiveApp.htm.

IC3requirescertificationcandidatestoacceptthetermsofanondisclosureagreementbeforetakingcertificationexams.

http://www.certiport.com

http://www.certiport.com/PORTAL/desktopdefault.aspx?page=common/pagelibrary/LiveApp.htm

WhoShouldReadThisBook?ThisbookisintendedforindividualswhowanttopreparefortheComputingFundamentalsexamaspartofearningtheirIC3GS4certification.Forboththestudentandthejob-seeker,IC3providesthefoundationofknowledgeneededforsuccess,anditisawell-respectedandinternationallyrecognizedcredentialthatreflectsthemostrelevantskillsneededintoday'sacademicandbusinessenvironments.

What'sInside?Hereisaglanceatwhat'sineachchapter:

Chapter1:UnderstandingOperatingSystemsThischapterintroducesbasicconceptslikehardware,software,andoperatingsystemsandexplainshowtheyworktogether.Italsoexplainsthebasicsofmanagingfilesonacomputerandcustomizinganoperatingsystem.

Chapter2:UnderstandingHardwareThischaptergoesintomoredetailabouthardwareandprovidesmoreinformationaboutdifferenttypesofhardware,whattheyareusedfor,andhowtomeasuretheirperformance.

Chapter3:UnderstandingSoftwareThischapterdemonstrateshowtoinstall,uninstall,andreinstallvarioussoftware.Itexplainsthedifferentlicensingmodelsandthebasicsofusingseveraltypesofsoftware.

Chapter4:TroubleshootingProblemswithYourComputerThischapterdescribesthemostcommontypesofproblemsyoumayencounterwhendealingwithbothsoftwareandhardwareandhowtodealwiththem.

What'sIncludedwiththeBookThisbookincludesmanyhelpfulitemsintendedtoprepareyoufortheComputingFundamentalsexamthat'spartoftheIC3GS4certification.

AssessmentTestTheassessmenttestattheconclusionofthebook'sintroductioncanbeusedtoquicklyevaluatewhereyouarewithyourgeneralcomputingknowledgeandskillsthatproveyourcompetencyindigitalliteracy.Thistestshouldbetakenpriortobeginningyourworkinthisbook,anditshouldhelpyouidentifyareasinwhichyouareeitherstrongorweak.Notethatthesequestionsarepurposelysimplerthanthetypesofquestionsyoumayseeontheexams.

ObjectiveMapandOpeningListofObjectivesAtthestartofthisbookisadetailedexamobjectivemapshowingyouwhereeachoftheexamobjectivesiscoveredinthisbook.Inaddition,eachchapteropenswithalistoftheexamobjectivesitcovers.Usethesetoseeexactlywhereeachoftheexamtopicsiscovered.

ExamEssentialsTheendofeachchapterprovidesabriefoverviewoftheconceptscoveredinthechapter.Werecommendreadingthroughthesesectionscarefullytocheckyourrecollectionofeachtopicandreturningtoanysectionsofthechapteryou'renotconfidentabouthavingmastered.

ChapterReviewQuestionsEachchapterincludesreviewquestions.Thematerialforthesequestionsispulleddirectlyfrominformationthatwasprovidedinthechapter.Thesequestionsarebasedontheexamobjectives,andtheyaresimilarindifficultytoitemsyoumightactuallyencounterontheIC3GS4exams.

InteractiveOnlineLearningEnvironmentandTestBankTheinteractiveonlinelearningenvironmentthataccompaniesthisbookprovidesatestbankwithstudytoolstohelpyouprepareforthecertificationexams—andincreaseyourchancesofpassingitthefirsttime!Thetestbankincludesthefollowing:

SampleTestsAllofthequestionsinthisbookareprovided:theassessmenttest,whichyou'llfindattheendofthisintroduction,andthechapterteststhatincludethereviewquestionsattheendofeachchapter.Inaddition,therearetwopracticeexams.Usethesequestionstotestyourknowledgeofthestudyguidematerial.Theonlinetestbankrunsonmultipledevices.

FlashcardsQuestionsareprovidedindigitalflashcardformat(aquestionfollowedbyasinglecorrectanswer).Youcanusetheflashcardstoreinforceyourlearningandprovidelast-minutetestprepbeforetheexam.

PracticeFilesManyexercisesinthisbookusepracticefilesthatwerecreatedspecificallyforthisbook.Youcanfindthemonline,intheOtherStudyToolssectionoftheinteractivelearningenvironmentthatwascreatedforthisbook.Beforegoingthroughalltheexercisesthatareoffered,pleaseregisteranddownloadallthepracticefiles.

OtherStudyToolsAglossaryofkeytermsfromthisbookisavailableasafullysearchablePDF.

Gotohttp://sybextestbanks.wiley.comtoregisterandgainaccesstothis

interactiveonlinelearningenvironmentandtestbankwithstudytools.

HowtoUseThisBookIfyouwantasolidfoundationforpreparingfortheComputingFundamentalsexam,thenlooknofurther.We'vespentalotoftimeputtingthisbooktogetherwiththesoleintentionofhelpingyoutopasstheexam!

Thisbookisloadedwithvaluableinformation.You'llgetthemostoutofyourstudytimeifyoufollowthisapproach:

1. Taketheassessmenttestimmediatelyfollowingthisintroduction.(Theanswersareattheendofthetest,butnopeeking!)It'sokayifyoudon'tknowanyoftheanswers—that'swhatthisbookisfor.Carefullyreadovertheexplanationsforanyquestionyougetwrong,andmakenoteofthechapterswherethatmaterialiscovered.

2. Studyeachchaptercarefully,makingsureyoufullyunderstandtheinformationandtheexamobjectiveslistedatthebeginningofeachone.Again,payextra-closeattentiontoanychapterthatincludesmaterialcoveredinquestionsyoumissedontheassessmenttest.

3. Answerallthereviewquestionsrelatedtoeachchapter.Specificallynoteanyquestionsthatconfuseyou,andstudythecorrespondingsectionsofthebookagain.Anddon'tjustskimthesequestions—makesureyouunderstandeachanswercompletely.

4. Testyourselfusingalltheelectronicflashcards.Thisisabrand-newandupdatedflashcardprogramtohelpyoupreparefortheComputingFundamentalsexam,anditisareallygreatstudytool.

Learningeverybitofthematerialinthisbookisgoingtorequireapplyingyourselfwithagoodmeasureofdiscipline.Sotrytosetasidethesametimeperiodeverydaytostudy,andselectacomfortableandquietplacetodoso.Ifyouworkhard,youwillbesurprisedathowquicklyyoulearnthismaterial.Ifyoufollowthestepslistedhereandstudywiththereviewquestions,practiceexams,andelectronicflashcards,youwillincreaseyourchancesofpassingtheexam.

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HowtoContactSybexSybexstrivestokeepyousuppliedwiththelatesttoolsandinformationthatyouneedforyourwork.Pleasecheckthewebsiteathttp://sybextestbanks.wiley.com.


IC3GS4ExamObjectivesIC3—Module1:ComputingFundamentals

ObjectiveNumber

ObjectivesandSkillSets Chapter

1.0 OperatingSystemBasics 11.1 WhatisanOSandwhatdoesitdo?1.1.1 Explainthedifferencesbetweensoftwareapplicationsandoperating

systemsanddemonstratetheiruses.1.1.2 CommonOSfeatures,explaineachoftheiruses:

PowerOn/PowerOffLogon/logoff/switchuserLock/UnlockDifferencesbetweencommonOSs

1.1.3 ExplainhowhardwarecaninfluencetheOperatingSystemandsoftwareandviceversa.

1.1.4 Softwareupdates,securityfixes,bugs,adaptiontonewhardware.Demonstratehowtoupdatesoftware,usingmanualandautomaticsettings.

1.2 Managecomputerfilesandfolders. 11.2.1 Directoryandfolderhierarchyandstructure:

Menu,Toolbar,andWindowNavigationExpandandCollapseFolderviews

1.2.2 File/Foldermanagement:KeyboardshortcutsCopyPasteDeleteMoveRenameCreateshortcutsSearch

1.2.3 Identifyfileextensionsandtheirassociationssuchas.docx,.xlsx,.pdf,.mp3,etc.

1.3 Managecomputerconfiguration,ControlPanel,OS,anddrivers.1.3.1 BasicDesktopCustomization

VisualoptionsLanguagesDateandTimeAccessibilityoptions

1.3.2 Describethevariousstatesofoperationavailableinatypicalconsumer-levelOS.IncludeShutdown,hibernation,standby,fullyawake,etc.

1.3.3 Useraccountsandrights:Grouppolicy(specificallymobile)Read/WriteAdministrativevs.standarduserrightsFileandDirectoryPermissions

2.0 Computerhardwareandconcepts 22.1 Commoncomputerterminology2.1.1 Definethetermsandexplainthedifferencesbetweeninput/output

devicesandhardwareandperipherals.Processing:Gigahertz,Hertz,CPUInput/Output:MonitorandProjector,Mice,Keyboards,Stylus,Microphone,Speakers,TouchpadPrinters

2

2.1.2 Explainthedifferenttypesofmemory(Volatile,Nonvolatile).Volatile–RAMNonvolatile-SSDdrive,Magneticharddrive,ROM,Flashdrives(USB,Jump,Thumb,etc.)Unitsofmeasurement:Mega,giga,tera,petaExplainthedifferencebetweenBitvs.Byte.

2.2 Typesofdevices2.2.1 Explainthesedifferenttypesofcomputers.Compareandcontrast

usesandcapabilities.ServerDesktopLaptopTabletSmartphone

2.3 Computerperformance2.3.1 Specifycriteriathatcouldbeusedtoevaluatetheprosandconsof

variouscomputingdevicesandperipherals,Focusonperformanceissues.

2.3.2 Processingvs.memoryvs.storage:DescribetheconceptsofProcessingcapacity,Processingspeed,Memorycapacity,Memoryspeed,Storagecapacity,andStoragespeedincludinghoweachinteractswiththeothertodetermineoverallcomputingcapacity,speedandpower.

3.0 Computersoftwareandconcepts 33.1 Softwaremanagement

3

3.1.1 Describehowtoinstall,uninstallandreinstallvariouskindsofsoftware,includingapplicationsoftware,driversandsystemsoftware,upgradesandpatches,onvarioustypesofpersonalcomputersandconfiguretheenvironmentforuse.

3.2 Licensing3.2.1 Understandthevariouslicensingmodelsusedforcomputersoftware

suchasoperatingsystems,applicationprograms,systemsoftware,databases,browsers,etc.Freeware,shareware,open-source,premiumapplications.

3.2.2 DemonstrateanunderstandingofthelegalandethicalobligationsassociatedwithEULAsandtheuser'sresponsibilities,commitments,andbenefitsthatcanbederivedbyenteringintoatypicalcomputerindustryEULA.

3.2.3 DemonstrateanunderstandingoftheconceptofasingleseatandsiteLicenseoptions,howeachpartybenefits,restrictions,obligations,etc.

3.3 SoftwareUsage3.3.1 Describethedependenciesandconstraintsthatexistbetween

hardwareandsoftwareoperation.3.3.2 Demonstrateanunderstandingofthesimilaritiesanddifferences

betweenabasic,consumer-levelrelationaldatabasemanagementsystemandatypicalspreadsheetprogram,includinganunderstandingofwhichsituationswouldbebettersuitedtowhichproduct.

3.3.3 Describewhatdesktoppublishingis,howandwhendesktoppublishingsoftwareshouldbeused,andthegeneralfeaturesetincludedinarepresentativedesktoppublishingprogram.

3.3.4 DescribewhataPresentationprogramis,itspurpose,howitisused,andthegeneralfeaturesetincludedinatypicalconsumer-levelpresentationprogram.

3.3.5 Demonstratehowtousetemplates,defaultsettings,andquickstartaidstorapidlygenerateusableapplicationuserdata.

3.3.6 Describethepurposeanduseofapersonalcomputer-basedentertainmentprogram.Listthefeaturesthatcouldbeexpectedtobefoundinsuchaprogramandexplainhowtheywork.

3.4 SoftwaretoolsExplainwhatfilecompressionisandhowitworkswithvariousfiletypes.ExplainhowfilesarestoredonaHardDisk.Demonstratehowtoorganize,compress,defragment,andotherwiseoptimizeacomputer'sharddiskperformance.Explainthedangerposedbyvirusesandmalwareandhowvirusand

3

malwarescanningsoftwarework.Listseveralcommon/popularbrandsandtypesofvirusandmalwarescanningsoftware.

1.3.4 Install/uninstallapplications4.0 Troubleshooting 44.1 Software4.1.1 ExplaintheconceptsassociatedwithversioncontrolofOperating

System(OS)software.FurtherexplainhowtheOSversioncanaffectthecompatibilityofothersoftwareonthePC.

4.1.2 DemonstratehowtoidentifyandremoveavirusorothermalwarefromaninfectedPC.

4.1.3 Explainwhat‘safemode'isinpopularPCoperatingsystems(OSs),andhowandwhenitshouldbeusedwhentroubleshootingproblemsonapersonalcomputersystem.

4.1.4 ExplainwhereandhowtofindinformationbeyondthatstoredonthePCtohelptroubleshootproblemsonaPC.ListpopularKnowledgebase,forums,andself-helpwebsitesandexplainhowtousethemfortroubleshooting.

4.1.5 DemonstratehowtoinvokeandinterprettheinformationavailableinaPC'sTask,Process,orApplicationManager.FurtherdemonstratehowtousethistoolwhentroubleshootingaproblemontheaffectedPC.

4.2 Hardware4.2.1 Explainhowdifferentversionsoffirmwareaffectperformanceof

hardwaresubsystemsonaPCandhowthatinformationmaybeusedintroubleshootingaproblemonaPC.

4.2.2 ExplaintheroleofCablesandotherconnectorsthatconnectthevariouspartsofacomputertogetherandwhatcanhappenwhenoneormorecableorconnectordoesnotmaketheproperconnection.

4

4.3 DevicesandPeripherals4.3.1 Explainhowdifferentversionsoffirmwarecanaffectperformance

ofperipheraldevicesandhardwareattachedtoaPCandhowthatinformationmaybeusedintroubleshootingaproblemonaPC.

4.3.2 Explainwhatadevicedriveris,howitfitsintotheoperatingsystemarchitecture,andhowincompatibilitiesmayleadtoproblems.FurtherexplainhowthisinformationmaybeusedintroubleshootingaproblemonaPC.

4.4 Backup/Restore4.4.1 Demonstratehowtobackupandthenrestoresoftwareanddatato:

Safeoffsitelocation.ExternaldriveCloud

4.4.2 Explaintheimplicationsofversioningandre-cyclingofbackupsinanincrementalbackupsystem.Explainhowtoproperlyrestorefromanincrementalbackupsystem.

AssessmentTest

IC3—Module1:ComputingFundamentals1. WhatisthekeyboardshortcutfortheCopycommand?

A. Ctrl+V

B. Ctrl+Z

C. Alt+F4

D. Ctrl+C

2. Whichofthefollowingisanoperatingsystem?

A. Bing

B. Facebook

C. Android

D. Skype

3. Whichofthefollowingarecharacteristicsofmodernoperatingsystems?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Theyarereal-time.

B. Theyaremultitasking.

C. Theyareimpossibletolearn.

D. Theycanbeusedforalimitedtime.

4. ForhowlongdoesanoperatingsystemholdstheinformationfromtheClipboard?

A. Untilyouupdatetheoperatingsystem

B. UntilyoupressAlt+F4onyourkeyboard

C. Untilyouuseasearchenginetocopythatinformation

D. UntilyouusethePastecommand

5. WhatisWindowsUpdate?

A. AtoolthatkeepsAndroiduptodate

B. AWindowsvirus

C. AtoolthatkeepsWindowsuptodate

D. Adata-recoverytoolforWindows

6. Whatdoestheprocessorofacomputerdo?

A. Storesyourdataintheformoffilesandfolders

B. Carriesouttheinstructionssentbythesoftwareyourun

C. Processesandgeneratestheimagethatisdisplayedbyyourcomputer

D. Connectsacomputertoanetwork

7. Whatareperipherals?

A. Theinternalhardwarecomponentsofacomputer

B. Atypeofsoftware

C. Atypeofsearchengine

D. Externalhardwarecomponentsthatcanbeconnectedtoacomputer

8. Whatisalaptop?

A. Amobilephonewithadvancedcomputingcapabilities

B. Aportablecomputerthatissuitableformobileuse

C. Aspecializedbusinesscomputerthatisintendedtobeusedatasinglecontrolledlocation

D. Atypeofsoftware

9. Whichofthefollowingunitsofmeasuredoyouuseformeasuringthestoragespaceavailableonaharddisk?

A. GHz

B. GB

C. Numberofcores

D. SSD

10. Whatisopensource?

A. Acommerciallicenseforsoftware

B. Atypeofhardware

C. Atypeofsoftwarelicense

D. Awebbrowser

11. Whichofthefollowingisapresentationprogram?

A. MicrosoftWord

B. MozillaFirefox

C. Google

D. MicrosoftPowerPoint

12. Whichofthefollowingactivitiescanbeperformedwithapersonalentertainmentapplication?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Writedocuments

B. Listentomusic

C. Createdatabases

D. Watchmovies

13. WhichofthefollowingprogramscanyouusetoviewtheapplicationsthatarerunningonyourWindowscomputer?

A. WindowsUpdate

B. WindowsMediaPlayer

C. TaskManager

D. ControlPanel

14. Whatisfirmware?

A. Adriver

B. Anoperatingsystem

C. Thefirstsoftwaretorunonahardwaredevicewhenitispoweredon

D. Awebbrowser

15. WhatisSafeMode?

A. Anetworkingprotocol

B. AWindowserrormessage

C. Theprocessofupdatingthefirmwareonahardwaredevice

D. AdifferentwayofstartingWindowsthatloadsonlythebarestessentialsthatarerequiredforWindowstofunction

AnswerstoAssessmentTest

IC3—Module1:ComputingFundamentals1. D.ThekeyboardshortcutforCopyisCtrl+C.

2. C.Androidistheonlyoperatingsysteminthelist.

3. A,B.Modernoperatingsystemsexecuteapplicationsandcommandsinrealtime,andtheyallowmultipleapplicationstorunatthesametime(multitasking).

4. D.TheClipboardholdsinformationtemporarilyuntilyouopttopasteitsomewhereelse.

5. C.WindowsUpdateisatoolthatkeepsWindowsuptodate.

6. C.Theprocessoristhe“brains”ofacomputer.TheCPUiswhatcarriesouttheinstructionssentbythesoftwareyourun.

7. D.Peripheralsareexternalhardwarecomponentsthatcanbeconnectedtoacomputer.

8. B.Alaptopisaportablecomputerthatissuitableformobileuse.

9. B.Theamountofstoragespaceismeasuredinbytesanditsmultiples.Moderncomputerstendtohavelargeharddriveswithlotsofstoragespace.Itisverycommontohaveaharddiskinyourcomputerwith500GBofstoragespaceoreven1TB.

10. C.Opensourceisatypeofsoftwarelicense.

11. D.ThemostpopularexamplesofpresentationprogramsareMicrosoftPowerPoint(includedinMicrosoftOffice)andImpress(includedinLibreOffice).

12. B,D.Personalentertainmentapplicationsallowyoutodofunthingsonyourcomputer,likelisteningtomusicorwatchingmovies.

13. C.TaskManagershowsalistofalltheapplicationsthatarerunningonyourcomputer.

14. C.Firmwareisaverybasicpieceofsoftwarethatcontainsonlytheinstructionsthatarerequiredforthehardwaretoworkasintended.Itisthefirstsoftwaretorunonadevicewhenitispoweredon.

15. D.SafeModeisadifferentwayofstartingWindowsthatloadsonlythebarestessentialsthatarerequiredforWindowstofunction.

Chapter1UnderstandingOperatingSystemsTHEFOLLOWINGIC3GS4:COMPUTERFUNDAMENTALSEXAMOBJECTIVESARECOVEREDINTHISCHAPTER:

✓WhatIsAnOSAndWhatDoesItDo?

Explainthedifferencesbetweensoftwareapplicationsandoperatingsystemsanddemonstratetheiruses.

CommonOSfeatures,explaineachoftheiruses:

PowerOn/PowerOff

Logon/logoff/switchuser

Lock/Unlock

DifferencesbetweencommonOSs

ExplainhowhardwarecaninfluencetheOperatingSystemandsoftwareandviceversa.

Softwareupdates,securityfixes,bugs,adaptationtonewhardware.Demonstratehowtoupdatesoftware,usingmanualandautomaticsettings.

✓ManageComputerFilesandFolders

Directoryandfolderhierarchyandstructure

Menu,Toolbar,andWindowNavigation

ExpandandCollapse

Folderviews

File/Foldermanagement

Keyboardshortcuts

Copy

Paste

Delete

Move

Rename

Createshortcuts

Search

Identifyfileextensionsandtheirassociationssuchas.docx,.xlsx,.pdf,.mp3,etc.

✓ManageComputerConfiguration,ControlPanel,OS,andDrivers

BasicDesktopCustomization

Visualoptions

Languages

DateandTime

Accessibilityoptions

Describethevariousstatesofoperationavailableinatypicalconsumer-levelOS.IncludeShutdown,hibernation,standby,fullyawake,etc.

Useraccountsandrights

Grouppolicy(specificallymobile)

Read/Write

Administrativevs.standarduserrights

FileandDirectoryPermissions

Moderncomputersanddeviceslikesmartphonesandtabletsconsistofnumerouscomponents,eventhoughsomedevicesarereallysmall.First,thereareplentyofspecializedhardwarecomponentslikevideocardsorsoundcards,eachofwhichhasitsownroletoplay.Thentherearetheoperatingsystem(e.g.,Windows)andtheprograms(e.g.,MicrosoftOffice)thatmakethedeviceusefultousers.Withoutthem,anypieceofhardware,nomatterhowpowerful,cannotbeused.That'swhy,inthischapter,wewillstartbydiscussingtheroleeachcomponentplaysinamoderncomputerandthebasicsofhowtheyworktogether.Thenwewillfocusontheoperatingsystem,whatitdoes,howitworks,andhowtopersonalizeit.

OperatingSystemsandTheirRolesWhenUsingComputersandDevicesWewillstartbydefininghardware,software,andoperatingsystemssothatyouhaveagoodunderstandingonwhattheyareandwhattheirroleis.Asyouwillsee,therelationshipbetweenthemisquitedelicateandveryimportant.Anycomputerordevicecannotfunctionandcannotbeusedproductivelywithoutthesethreeelementsworkingwelltogether.That'swhywewillstartbydiscussingthemandbyexplainingallthekeyconceptsthatareinvolved.

WhatIsHardware?Anycomputerordeviceiscomposed,ataphysicallevel,ofhardware.Forexample,acomputeralmostalwayshasamonitor,amouseandkeyboard,aharddiskorflashmemory,agraphicscard,asoundcard,somememory,amotherboard,anetworkcard,acase,andapowersupply.

Ifyoulookinsideasmartphoneandatablet,youwillfindsimilarcomponents.Themostimportantdifferenceistheirsize,sincetheyneedtofitintoaperson'shand.Also,thedisplayistouchsensitive,andmobiledeviceshaveabatterybuiltin.

Eachhardwarecomponentisspecializedtoperformasetofspecifictasks.Forexample,thesoundcardisinchargeofprovidingsoundtotheuser,thegraphicscardtakescareofprocessingtheimageandsendingittodisplay,thenetworkcardisinchargeofconnectingtothenetworkandtheInternet,andsoon.

WhatIsSoftware?Softwareisasetofmachine-readableinstructionsthatdirectacomputerordevicetoperformspecificoperations.Softwareisnotphysicallikehardwareis.Itisephemeral,inthesensethatitisanythingthatcanbestoredelectronicallyonthehardwareofacomputerordevice.

Therearemanytypesofsoftware,themostimportantbeingthesetwo:

SystemSoftwareThissoftwareisdesignedtodirectlyoperatethehardwareofacomputerordevice.Suchsoftwareprovidesallthebasicfunctionsthatallowusersandothersoftwaretocontrolthedevice'shardware.Themostcommontypesofsystemsoftwarearetheoperatingsystem,drivers(whichcontrolaspecifichardwarecomponent),andsystemutilities(whichassistusersinthemaintenanceoftheircomputers).

ApplicationSoftwareThisisspecializedsoftwaretheuserscanemploytoperformcertaintasks.Forexample,MicrosoftPowerPointletsuserscreatepresentations.AntivirussoftwarelikeNortonAntivirusorKasperskyAntiviruskeepsyourcomputersafefromthreatsandsoon.Thistypeofsoftwareisalsoreferredtoasapplications,programs,orapps(whenworkingwithmobiledevices).Inordertofunction,applicationsoftwareneedstorunontopofboththesystemsoftwareandhardware.Applicationsareeitherprovidedbytheoperatingsystem(forexample,PaintisanapplicationofferedbyWindows)orinstalledbyusersontopoftheoperatingsystem.

Tohelpyouunderstandtheseconceptsbetter,let'stakealookateachofthesetwotypesofsoftwareinmoredetail.

WhatIsanOperatingSystem?Anoperatingsystemisaspecialtypeofsoftwarethatmanagesallthecommunicationsbetweentheuser,thesoftwareapplications,andthehardwareinacomputerordevice.Itisthemostimportantpieceofsoftwarethatrunsonadevicebecausewithoutitinteractionswiththatdevicewouldbeimpossible.Operatingsystemsperformimportanttaskslikerecognizingthehardwarecomponentsofadevice,controllingthem,takinginputfromdevicessuchasthekeyboardorthetouchscreen(inthecaseoftabletsandsmartphones),managingthefilesystemonthatdevice,takinginputfromtheuserorfromothersoftwareapplications,andsendingittothehardware.

ThemostpopularoperatingsystemsareWindows,Linux,MacOSX,Android,iOS,andWindowsPhone.Somearedesignedtoworkoncomputersandlaptops(Windows,Linux,orMacOSX),whileothersaredesignedtoworkonmobiledeviceslikesmartphonesandtablets(Android,iOS,WindowsPhone).

Operatingsystemshavemanycharacteristicsthatallowthemtobeclassifiedinmultipleways.Themostimportantcharacteristicsarethese:

Modernoperatingsystemsarereal-time.

Theyexecuteapplicationsandcommandsinrealtime.Thebenefitofbeingreal-timeisthattheoperatingsystemdeliversaquickandpredictableresponsetothecommandsissuedbytheuserorbytheapplicationstheyareusing.

Modernoperatingsystemsaremultitasking.

Theyallowmultipleapplicationstorunatthesametime.Hardwareresourcesareallocatedandmanagedautomaticallybytheoperatingsystemandsharedamongalltheprogramsandservicesthatarerunning.

Operatingsystemscanbemultiuserorsingle-user.

Forexample,Windowsandotheroperatingsystemsthataredesignedtorunoncomputersaremultiuser.Thismeansthatyoucancreatemultipleuseraccountsonthesamecomputerandhavethemsharethatcomputer'shardwareandsoftwareresources.Single-useroperatingsystemsallowonlyoneuseraccount.Generally,theseoperatingsystemsarefoundonmobiledeviceslikesmartphonesandtablets.However,eventhesetypesofdeviceswillhavemultiuseroperatingsystemsinthefuture.

Someoperatingsystemscanbeembedded.

Thismeansthattheyaredesignedtobeusedinsmalldeviceslikecashregisters,ATMs,andsoon.Thesedevicesareverycompactandhavelimitedresources.Embeddedoperatingsystemsareoptimizedtorunonlimitedhardwareresources,andtheygenerallyprovideasmallandspecializedsetofservicesandinteractions.

HowDoTheyAllWorkTogether?Whenyoustartacomputeroradevicelikeyoursmartphone,theoperatingsystemloads

first.Oncethatisloaded,youwillinteractwithboththeapplicationsoftwarethatisinstalledonitandtheoperatingsystem.Forexample,whenyouuseanapplicationlikeMicrosoftWordtowriteadocument,theapplicationsendsyourinputandcommandstotheoperatingsystem.Theoperatingsystemthencommunicateswiththehardware,anditautomaticallymanagestheresourcesusedbyMicrosoftWordinordertodeliverthedesiredresults.Userscanalsoworkdirectlywiththeoperatingsystem.Forexample,inWindows,youcanaccessthefilesandfoldersthatarestoredonyourcomputerandopenthem.Youcanalsobrowsethestorageonyourcomputer,usingtheoperatingsystemanditsfeatures,withoutneedingtoinstallotherapplications.

Figure1.1,whichshowshowtheoperatingsystemandsystemsoftwarearelayeredonatypicalcomputer,shouldhelpyouunderstandthismoreclearly.Thearrowsindicatehowtheinformationflows.

Figure1.1Theflowofinformationamongtheuser,softwareapplications,theoperatingsystem,andthehardware

WhichComputerOperatingSystemIsBest?

Thereisanever-endingdebateaboutwhichisthebestoperatingsystemforyourcomputer.IsitWindows?IsitMacOSX?IsitLinux?Thetruthisthatmodernoperatingsystemsarenotthatdifferentanymore,atleastnotwhenitcomestowhatyoucandowiththem.Youcanuseanyofthemtowriteadocument,deliverapresentation,playgames,watchmovies,surftheInternet,andsoon.Veryfewfeaturesareuniquetooneoperatingsystem.Thedifferencesbetweenthemaremostlyinthewaytheuserinterfaceworks.

Choosingoneoperatingsystemversusanotherismostlyamatterofpersonalpreference.IfyoulikehowaMaclooksandfeels,youmightpurchaseaMacanduseMacOSX.Ifyouareagreatbelieverinfreesoftware,thenyoumightprefertouseLinuxonyourcomputer.Ifyouwanttohaveaccesstothegreatestnumberofapplications,devices,andlearningresources,thenyouwillgoforWindows.

AccessingandLockingtheOperatingSystemWhenyoupressthepowerbuttononacomputerorotherdevice,theoperatingsystemisloaded,andyou'reaskedtosigninifyou'vesetupapasswordorpersonalidentificationnumber(PIN).Regardlessofthedevice,thebasicideaisthesame:youneedtopowerupyourcomputerordevice,waitfortheoperatingsystemtoload,andthenauthenticateyourselfinordertouseit.

Ifyouhaveonlyoneuseraccountonyourcomputerandnopasswordsetfor

it,itisenoughtopressthepowerbuttononyourcomputerandwaitforWindows7tostartandautomaticallysignyouin.However,nothavingapasswordmakesyourcomputeralotlesssecure,andwerecommendthatyoualwayssetapasswordforyouruseraccount.

Let'sdoanexercisetogetherinwhichyou'lllearnhowtopoweronyourcomputerandsignintoWindows7(Exercise1.1).

EXERCISE1.1

SigningintoWindows71. Pressthepowerbuttononyourcomputer.

2. Waitfortheoperatingsystemtostart.

Whenthatprocessisfinished,youareshownthesign-inscreen(Figure1.2),whereyoucanseetheuseraccountsthatexistonyourcomputer.

Figure1.2TheWindowslog-inscreenshowingtheuseraccountsthatexistonyourcomputer

3. Selectyouruseraccountandthentypeyourpassword.

IfyouhaveonlyoneuseraccountonyourWindows7computer,youaredirectlypromptedforyourpassword,withouthavingtogothroughthisstep.Also,ifyouhavenopasswordsetforyouraccount,thenyouwon'tbeaskedtotypeone.

4. Clickthesign-inbutton,whichisanarrowpointingtotheright(Figure1.3).

Figure1.3Thesign-inscreenforyouruseraccount

OnceyoulogintoWindows7,youcanstartusingthesoftwareapplicationsthatareinstalledonitanddoyourwork.Whenyouhavefinishedworkingonthecomputer,youcandothefollowing:

SwitchUserYoucanswitchtoanotheruseraccountthatexistsonyourcomputersothatsomeoneelsecanuseit.Whenyoudothis,youraccountremainsactiveinthebackgroundandsodoallyourrunningapplications.Theywillbeavailabletoyouinthestateinwhichyouleftthemwhenyouswitchbacktoyouruseraccount.Beawarethatotheruserscanturnoffthecomputer,andyourunsavedworkwillbelostifthathappens.

LogOffAllyourapplicationsandfilesareclosed.Thecomputerandtheoperatingsystemremainturnedon,andotheruserscanloginwiththeiraccountsandcontinueusingthecomputer.

LockYouruseraccountremainsactiveinthebackgroundaswellallyourrunningapplications.Windows7displaysthesign-inscreenandrequestsyouruseraccountpassword.Youcanunlockyouraccountbytypingyourpassword,andyouwillbeabletoresumeyourworkexactlywhereyouleftoff.Nooneelsecanuseyouraccountandyourrunningapplicationsunlesstheytypeyourpasswordandunlockyouraccount.

RestartAllyourapplicationsandfilesareclosed.Theoperatingsystemisshutdownandthenyourcomputerandtheoperatingsystemarerestarted.Whentherestartingprocedureisover,youarebacktothesign-inscreen,whereyoucanlogbackintoWindows.

SleepSleepisalow-powermodethatsavessignificantlyonpowerconsumption.Youruseraccountgetslocked,Windowsstoresyourworkinmemory,andthenitplacesitselfintostand-bymode.Whenyoupressthepowerbutton,Windowsresumesfromsleepandallowsyoutosigninandresumeyourwork,exactlywhereyouleftoff.Resumingfrom

sleepisgenerallyfasterthanpoweringonyourcomputer.

ShutDownFirst,allyourapplicationsandfilesareclosed.Thentheoperatingsystemturnsitselfoffaswellasthecomputer.Whenshutdown,thecomputerdoesnotuseelectricalpowerbecauseitisnolongerrunning.

Toaccessalltheseoptions,clicktheStartbuttontoopentheStartmenu.OntherightsideyouwillseetheShutDownbuttonandasmallarrownearit.ClickingtheShutDownbuttonwillobviouslypoweroffyourcomputer,asmentionedearlier.Clickingthesmallarrownearitwillgiveyouaccesstotheadditionaloptionsthatwerementionedearlier,asshowninFigure1.4.

Figure1.4Optionsforswitchingtheuser,loggingoff,lockingthecomputer,restartingit,orputtingittosleep

Tolearnmore,let'sdothissmallexercise,whichteachesyouhowtoputWindows7tosleepandthenresumefromsleep(Exercise1.2).

EXERCISE1.2

PuttingYourComputertoSleepandThenResumingYourWork1. ClicktheStartbuttoninWindows7,onthebottom-leftcornerofthescreen.

2. ClickthesmallarrowneartheShutDownbuttontorevealotheroptions(Figure1.5).

Figure1.5TheSleepbutton

3. ClickSleepandwaitforWindows7toturnoffthescreenandputitselfintosleepmode.

4. Waitacoupleofseconds,pressthepowerbutton,andthenwaitforWindows7toresumefromsleep.

5. Atthesign-inscreen,typeyouruseraccountpasswordandclicktheSignInbutton.

SoftwareandSystemUpdatesMostapplicationsandoperatingsystemsreceiveupdatesonaregularbasis.WindowsreceivesupdatesthroughtheWindowsUpdateservice,whereassoftwareapplicationsreceiveupdatesthroughtheirownupdateservices,iftheirmanufacturerprovidesthem.Forexample,InternetbrowsersmadebycompaniesotherthanMicrosoft(e.g.,GoogleChrome,MozillaFirefox,Opera)havetheirownupdateservice.TheyareupdatedonamonthlybasisbecausetheyrequirecontinuousimprovementinordertokeepupwiththeneedsoftheirusersandtheevolutionoftheInternet.Otherapplicationsmaynothavetheirownupdateservice,sousersneedtomanuallydownloadandinstallnewerversions

whentheybecomeavailable.Mostapplicationsarelikethis,includingpopularoneslikethe7-ZipfilearchiverortheGOMmultimediaplayer.Luckily,MicrosoftalsooffersupdatestopopularsoftwarelikeMicrosoftOfficeorWindowsEssentialsthroughtheWindowsUpdateservice,ifyousetittodeliverthem.

Softwareupdatesarecreatedformanyreasons:

Tofixproblemsofanykind,rangingfromsecurityissuestobugsthatdon'tallowthesoftwarerunasitwasintended.

Toaddnewfeaturesandcharacteristicsthatmaketheproductmoreusefultoitsusers.

Someoperatingsystemupdatesalsoprovidenewdriverversionsthatallowtheoperatingsystemtobetteruseandmanagethehardwarecomponentsofyourcomputer.

Bydefault,Windowsissettoautomaticallycheckforupdatesandinstallthemwhentheyareavailable.However,youcanalsoinstallthemmanually.Exercise1.3detailshowtocheckforupdatesandinstallthosethatareavailable.

EXERCISE1.3

ManuallyInstallingWindowsUpdates1. ClickStartandthenControlPanel.

2. ClickSystemAndSecurityandthenWindowsUpdate(Figure1.6).


3. Inthecolumnontheleft,clickCheckForUpdates(Figure1.7).

Figure1.7TheWindowsUpdatewindow

4. WaitforWindowstocheckforupdatesandletyouknowwhetherthereareanyupdatesavailabletobeinstalled.

5. Ifupdatesareavailable,clickInstallUpdates(Figure1.8)andwaitforthemtobeinstalled.

Figure1.8WindowsUpdateinformingyouhowmanyupdatesareavailable

Whentheprocessisfinished,youareinformedthattheupdatesweresuccessfully

installed.

6. ItispossiblethatWindowswillrecommendthatyourestartyourcomputerinordertoinstallthoseupdates.Ifthatisthecase,clickRestartNow(Figure1.9).Otherwise,closetheWindowsUpdatewindow.

Figure1.9WindowsUpdateinformingyouthatupdatesweresuccessfullyinstalled

AlwaysKeepWindowsUpdateTurnedOn

OnsometechnicalforumsorblogsyoumayencounterarecommendationtodisableWindowsUpdate.Somerecommendthisbecausetheythinkthatitimprovesgeneralsystemperformance.OthersrecommendthisbecauseusingWindowsUpdateonpiratedcopiesofWindowswillinstallupdatesthatfigureoutwhetherusersareusinganillegalcopyofWindowsandtrytoinformthemaboutthisproblemandeducatethemonhowtopurchasealegalcopyofWindows.

DisablingWindowsUpdateisaverybadpracticethatonlycreatesproblemsforusers.Forstarters,yourWindowsinstallationwillnotbenefitfromthemanysecurityupdatesprovidedbyMicrosoft.Therefore,itwillbevulnerabletoallkindsofsecuritythreats.Also,youwon'tbenefitfrombugfixesandperformanceimprovements.Also,someupdatesaddnewfeaturestoWindowsthatmaybeusefultoyou.That'swhyyoushouldalwayscheckandconfirmthatWindowsUpdateisenabledonyourcomputerandthatitinstallsupdatesautomatically.

WindowsUpdatecanbesettoworkinfourdifferentways:

InstallUpdatesAutomatically(Recommended)

Everyday,Windowsautomaticallychecksforupdatesandinstallstheminthebackgroundwhentheyareavailable.Ifacomputerrestartisrequiredinordertofinalizetheirinstallation,itwillrequestitfromtheuser.ThisisthedefaultsettingforWindowsUpdate.

DownloadUpdates,ButLetMeChooseWhethertoInstallThem

WindowsUpdateautomaticallychecksforupdatesanddownloadstheminthebackgroundwhentheyareavailable.Theuserispromptedtoinstallthem,whenappropriate.

CheckForUpdates,ButLetMeChooseWhethertoDownloadandInstallThem

WindowsUpdateautomaticallychecksforupdatesinthebackground,anditinformstheuserwhentheyavailablefordownloadandinstallation.Itdoesn'tdownloadanyupdateswithouttheuser'spriorconsent.

NeverCheckForUpdates(NotRecommended)

ThismeansthatWindowsUpdateisturnedoffandnotworking.Windowsisnotkeptuptodate,anditbecomesvulnerabletoallkindsofproblems.

WhensettingupyourWindowscomputerforthefirsttime,itisagoodideatodouble-checkthatWindowsUpdateisturnedonandworkingwell.Exercise1.4shareshowtodothis.

EXERCISE1.4

ConfirmingThatWindowsUpdateIsTurnedOn1. ClickStartandthenControlPanel.

2. ClickSystemAndSecurityandthenWindowsUpdate.

3. Inthecolumnontheleft,clickChangeSettings.

4. IntheImportantUpdatessection,selectInstallUpdatesAutomatically(Recommended)(Figure1.10).

Figure1.10WhereyouchangetheWindowsUpdatesettings

5. ClickOK.

6. ClosetheWindowsUpdatewindow.

WorkingwithFiles,Folders,andLibrariesWhenyouworkonacomputer,youwillcreatefilesandfolderstostoreyourworkanduseitlateron.Afileisaresourceforstoringinformationthatcanthenbeopenedandusedwiththehelpofacomputerprogram.Tomakeitsimpler,imaginethefiletobethedigitalcounterpartofapaperdocument.Similarly,afolderisthedigitalequivalentofthefilefolderusedinoffices.LibrariesareanewconceptthatwasintroducedinWindows7andusedinallsubsequentversionsofWindows.Alibraryisavirtualcollectionoffoldersonyourcomputer.

FilesFilescanstoreanykindofdata.Forexample,WordfileswillstoredocumentscreatedwithMicrosoftWord.Documentscanincludetext,graphics,tables,andsoon.Imagesarealsofiles—thedigitalcounterpartofpictures.Imagescanbeopenedwithprogramsthataredesignedtodealwithimagesandrenderthemonthescreen.Videosandmoviesarealsostoredasfiles,andtheycanbeviewedwithspecializedprogramsthatrenderthemonthescreen.

Filescanbecreatedbytheuser,bytheapplicationstheyareusing,andbytheoperatingsystem.Theyaregenerallystoredinfolderswithdifferentnamesandsizes.

FoldersFoldersareawayoforganizingfilesandotherfoldersonyourcomputer.Youcanthinkofafolderasacollectionofreferencestootherfilesandfoldersthatareinsideit.Somepeoplealsorefertothemasdirectories.Foldersalwayshaveahierarchicaltree-likestructure.Onefoldercontainsseveralfilesandotherfolders(alsonamedsubfolders).Itssubfoldershavetheirownfilesandsubfolders,andsoon(Figure1.11).

Figure1.11AfolderanditscontentsdisplayedbyWindowsExplorer

LibrariesLibrariesdonotexistasactualfoldersonthecomputerbutonlyasreferencestooneormorefoldersandthefilesstoredinsidethem.Librariesarenamedusingthetypeoffilesandfolderstheytendtostore:Documents,Pictures,Music,andVideos.The

Documentslibrarywilllinktothefolderswhereyoustoreyourdocuments,thePictureslibrarywilllinktothefolderswhereyoustoreyourpictures,andsoon.

Librariesareusefulbecausetheyhavedirectshortcutsthroughouttheoperatingsystem,andyoucaneasilyaccessthem.Also,theircontentisautomaticallyindexedbyWindowssothatyoucanquicklysearchforthefilesyouarelookingfor.Searchingforfilesthatarenotpartofalibrarygenerallytakeslongerthanwhensearchingforfilesthatarepartofalibrary.

AccessingYourFilesandFoldersAlloperatingsystemsprovideaneasywayforyoutoaccessyourfilesandfolders.InWindows7,youcanuseWindowsExplorer.Toopenthisprogram,clickthefoldericononthetaskbar—thetransparentbarthatrunsacrossthebottomofthescreen.YoucanseethefoldericoninFigure1.12.

Figure1.12TheshortcutsontheWindowstaskbar,includingtheoneforWindowsExplorer

TheleftsideofWindowsExplorerisnamedtheNavigationpane.Thereyouwillseeseveralsectionsandshortcutstodifferentlocationsonyourcomputer.WhateverisselectedintheNavigationpanedetermineswhatisshownontherightpane(Figure1.13).

Figure1.13TheWindowsExplorerwindow

Bydefault,Librariesisselected.ThereyouwillseethefourdefaultlibrariesthatexistinWindows7:Documents,Music,Pictures,andVideos.Tomakethingseasyforyou,itisbesttosaveyourdocumentsintheDocumentslibrary,yourpicturesinthePictureslibrary,andsoon.

Inordertosuccessfullynavigatethroughyourcomputer'sfilesandfolders,youhavetolearnhowWindowsExplorerworks.First,let'stakealookatitswindowandeachofitselements,astheyarehighlightedinFigure1.14.

Figure1.14ThedifferentnavigationelementsoftheWindowsExplorerwindow

Nowlet'sdiscussthemonebyone:

AddressBarOntheverytopoftheWindowsExplorerwindowyouwillseeabarthatinitiallysaysLibraries.Asyounavigatethroughyourcomputer,thisbarwillalwaystellyouwhereyouareonyourcomputer.

BackandForwardOntheleftsideoftheaddressbaryouhavetwobuttonspointingleftandright.Theleftbuttonisforgoingback,andtherightisforgoingforwardthroughthefolderstructureinyourcomputer.

SearchBoxOntherightsideoftheaddressbarisaboxthatyoucanusetoquicklysearchforafileorfolder.IfyouenterthenameofafileandpressEnteronyourkeyboard,Windowswillstartsearchingforfilesandfoldersthatcorrespondtothesearchtermyouareusing.

ToolbarThetoolbarisdisplayedjustbeneaththeaddressbar.Thisbarincludescontextualbuttonsdependingonwhereyouareonyourcomputer.Youwillnoticethatasyoubrowseyourfilesandfolders,thenumberofbuttonsavailablechanges.Thetoolbartriestoadaptandpresentyouwithoptionsthathelpyoubemoreproductivedependingonwhatyouaredoing.

MenusOntheleftsideofthetoolbaryouwillfindtheOrganizemenu.Asyoucansee,thismenuhasanarrowpointingdownward.Eachtimeyouseethatarrowforanitemonthetoolbar,itmeansthatitisamenuthatcanbeopened.

ViewsOntherightsideofthetoolbaryouwillnoticeanotherbuttonwithanarrowpointingdownward,signalingthatitisactuallyamenu.Ifyouclickit,youwillbeabletochangethewayyouviewthefilesandfoldersdisplayedintherightpane.Yourfilesandfoldersremainthesame;onlythewaytheyarepresentedherechanges,dependingonwhichviewyouselect.Wewilldiscussviewsinmoredetailshortly.

PreviewPaneOntherightsideofthetoolbar,neartheViewsmenu,youwillfindthebuttonforenablingordisablingthePreviewpane.Whenit'senabled,athirdpaneisdisplayedontherightsideoftheWindowsExplorerwindow.Whenyouselectafileinthemiddlepane,youcanseeapreviewofitscontentinthisPreviewpane.Ifyouhavea

largerscreenthatcanaccommodatethispane,itisagoodideatoenableitbecauseitcanbeusefulwhennavigatingthefilesonyourcomputer.

ArrowsIntheNavigationpaneontheleftsideoftheWindowsExplorerwindowyouwillnoticethatmanyelementshaveasmallarrowtotheleftoftheirname.Youcanusethesearrowstoexpandorcollapsetheelement.Forexample,ifyouclickthearrowforLibraries,itwillcollapsethem.Clickitagainanditwillexpandthem.

Yourcomputerstoresnotjustyourdatabutalsolotsoffilesandfoldersthatareinstalledbytheoperatingsystemandtheapplicationsthatyouareusing.AllthisdataisalwaysstoredintheLocalDisk(C:)driveonyourcomputer.YouwillalwaysfindthisdriveintheNavigationpane.PleasenotethattheC:drivemayhaveadifferentnamebecauseitcanbeeasilycustomized,butonmostcomputersitisnamedLocalDisk.

Whennavigatingthisdrive,youwillseeplentyoffolderswithnameslikeWindows(thisiswhereWindowsisinstalled),ProgramFiles(thisiswhereapplicationsareinstalled),orUsers(thisiswhereyouruserfilesandfoldersarestoredaswellasthoseofotherusersonthesamecomputer).Youcandouble-clickanyofthesefoldersandexploretheircontent.However,youshouldrefrainfromdeletingorchanginganything.MostofyourworkshouldbedoneintheUsersfolder.Ifyouopenit,youwillseeasubfolderforeachuserthathasbeencreatedonyourcomputer,andoneofthemwillbeyours.Ifyouopenyoursubfolder,thenyouwillseeyourDocuments,Pictures,andMusicfolders,andsoon.

Wementionedearliertheconceptofviews.Theyarejustdifferentwaysofviewingyourfilesandfolders.TheviewsyoucanuseinWindowsExplorerarethefollowing,asshowninFigure1.15:

Figure1.15TheviewsthatareavailableinWindowsExplorer

ExtraLargeIconsDisplaysthecontentsofyourlibrariesandfoldersusingverylargeicons.Thisviewisgenerallyusefulforpeoplewithvisiondisabilities.

LargeIconsDisplaysthecontentsofyourlibrariesandfoldersusinglargeicons.Thisviewisusefulwhenyouwanttoseethepicturesfoundonyourcomputerandyouwanttoseeapreviewoftheminsteadofasmallicon.

MediumIconsDisplaysthecontentsofyourlibrariesandfoldersusingmediumicons.

SmallIconsDisplaysthecontentsofyourlibrariesandfoldersusingsmallicons.

ListDisplaysthecontentsofyourlibrariesandfoldersinalistthatcontainsonlythenameofeachfileanditsrespectiveicon.

DetailsDisplaysthecontentsofyourlibrariesandfoldersbyprovidingdetailedinformationabouteachitem,includingitsname,thedatewhenitwaslastmodified,itstype,itssize,andsoon.Thisviewisveryusefulwhenyouwanttolearnmoreabouteachfileandfolderbeforeopeningit.

TilesThisviewdisplaysmedium-sizediconsforeachfileandfolder,aswellasinformationabouttheirtypeandsize.

ContentWhenusingthisview,eachfileandfolderareplacedonaseparaterow.Eachrowhasdetailedinformationabouteachfileandfolder:thedatewhenitwaslastmodified,itssize,itsauthor,andsoon.

Youshoulddefinitelyexperimentwitheachviewandlearnhowtheywork(Exercise1.5)sothatyoucanusethemeffectivelydependingonwhatyouwanttodo.

EXERCISE1.5

UsingViewsandthePreviewPaneinWindowsExplorer1. Onthetaskbar,clicktheFoldericon.

2. IntheNavigationpane,clickPicturesintheLibrariessection.

3. Intherightpane,double-clickSamplePictures.

4. ClicktheViewsmenuandclickExtraLargeIcons.

Noticehowthepicturesarenowdisplayed.

5. ClicktheViewsmenuagainandthenDetails.

Noticehowthewaypicturesaredisplayedhaschanged.

6. ClickthePreviewpanebutton.Notethatanewpaneappearsontheright.

7. ClickanypictureinthemiddlepanetoseeapreviewofitinthePreviewpane.

8. ClickthePreviewpanebuttonagaintohidethispane.

9. ClicktheViewsmenuandchooseLargeIcons.

10. ClicktheXinthetop-rightcorneroftheWindowsExplorerwindowtocloseit.

UnderstandingFileTypesWhenworkingonyourcomputer,youwillcreatemanytypesoffiles:documents,

spreadsheets,presentations,musicfiles,andsoon.Whenyousaveafile,youarepromptedtogiveanametothefileandchooseafiletype.Ifyougetthefilefromsomewhereelse,ithasalreadybeenassignedafiletype.

WhenbrowsingyourfilesinWindowsExplorer,youcanseethefiletypeofeachfilewhenyouareusingtheContent,Tiles,andDetailsviews.Thefiletypeisgenerallydenotedbyathree-orfour-letterextensionthatfollowsthefilenameandalsobytheiconusedbyWindowsExplorertodisplaythatfile.Forexample,document.docxmeansafilenameddocumentwiththeextension.docx.Thedotseparatesthenameofthefilefromitsextension.ThefileextensionishiddenbydefaultinWindowswhenviewingfiles,butitisaddedautomaticallywhensavingthem.

Youcanopttochangethefiletypewhenmultipleoptionsareavailableandchangefromthedefaultfileextensiontosomethingelse.InFigure1.16youcanseePaintopenandtheoptionsthatareavailableforsavingafile.Tosaveafile,clicktheSaveAsoption,chooseafiletype,andthentypethenameofthefile.Ifyoumakechangestothesamefilelater,youneedonlyclickSave.

Figure1.16TheSaveAsoptionsthatareavailableinPaint

Someofthemostcommontypesoffilesarethefollowing:

MicrosoftOfficefiles

MicrosoftWord(.docand.docx)

MicrosoftPowerPoint(.pptand.pptx)

MicrosoftExcel(.xlsand.xlsx)

MicrosoftPublisher(.puband.pubx)

MicrosoftOneNote(.one)

Picturefiles

JPEGfiles

GIFfiles(.gif)

Bitmapfiles(.bmp)

PNGfiles(.png)

TIFFfiles(.tifand.tiff)

RAWfiles(.raw)

Musicfiles

Windowsaudiofiles(.wav)

MP3audiofiles(.mp3and.m3u)

WindowsMediaaudiofiles(.asx,.wm,.wma,and.wmx)

FreeLosslessAudioCodecfiles(.flac)

AACfiles(.aac)

Videofiles

AudioVideoInterleavedfiles(.avi)

MotionJPEGfiles(.aviand.mov)

WindowsMediafiles(.wm,.wmv,and.asf)

Matroskamultimediafiles(.mkv)

AppleQuickTimefiles(.movand.qt)

MPEGMoviefiles(.mp4,.mov,.m4v,.mpeg,.mpg,.mpe,.m1v,.mp2,.mpv2,.mod,.vob,and.m1v)

Othertypesofpopularfilesarethefollowing:

ExecutableFiles(.exe)Executablefilescanberunwithadouble-click.

TextFiles(.txt)Simpletextdocumentswithoutanykindofformatting.

PortableDocumentFormatFiles(.pdf)Averypopulartypeoffilesthatisgenerallyusedforsharingnon-editabledocumentsthatneedtolookthesameonallthedevicesonwhichtheyareused,nomatterwhatoperatingsystemisused.

OpenOfficeandLibreOfficeDocuments(.odt,.ott,.oth,and.odm)Documentscreatedusingfreeopen-sourceofficeapplicationslikeOpenOfficeandLibreOffice.

ManagingYourFilesandFoldersWhileworkingonyourcomputer,itisbetterthatyouorganizeyourworksothatyouwillhaveaneasiertimefindingthefilesyouneedlateron.Forstarters,usethelibrariesprovidedbyWindows7tostoreyourfilesdependingontheirtype.SaveyourpicturesinthePictureslibrary,yourdocumentsintheDocumentslibrary,andsoon.

Oncethingsgettoocrowded,youwillwanttocreateyourownfoldersandsubfolders,movefilesaround,anddeletethosethatyoudonotneed.Let'stakeeachfileandfoldermanagementactivityandseehowitisdone:

CreateaFileYoucancreatefilesfromapplicationslikeMicrosoftOffice,butyoucanalsocreateemptyfilesdirectlyfromWindowsExplorer.Todoso,followthesesteps:

1. Openthefolderwhereyouwanttostorethefile.

2. Right-clickanywhereintheavailableemptyspaceandselectNewandthenoneoftheavailablefiletypes,asshowninFigure1.17.

Figure1.17ThetypesoffilesthatcanbecreatedusingthecontextmenuinWindowsExplorer

3. TypethenameofthefileandpressEnteronyourkeyboard.

Anewfileiscreated,withthenameandtypeyouhaveprovided.However,thefileisemptybecauseithasnocontents.Ifyoudouble-clickit,youcanopenitandedititintheappropriateapplicationforfilesofthattype.Don'tforgettosaveyoureditssothattheyarestoredinsidethefile.

CreateaSubfolderSubfoldersarehelpfulwhenyouwanttobetterorganizeyourfiles.Youcancreatesubfolderswithdifferentnamesandthenmovefilesintothem,accordingtoyourwayoforganizingthings.Tocreateasubfolder,dothefollowing:

1. NavigatetothedesiredparentfolderandclickNewFolderontheWindowsExplorertoolbar.

2. TypeanameforthefolderandpressEnteronyourkeyboard.

Alternatively,youcanusethekeyboardshortcutCtrl+Shift+Norright-clicksomewhereintheavailableemptyspaceandselectNewandthenFolder.

CopyYoumaywanttocopyafileorfoldertoanotherlocation.Here'showitisdone:

1. Selectthefileorfolderthatyouwanttocopysomewhereelse.

2. UsetheCopycommandtocopyittoapartofmemorycalledtheClipboard.

TheClipboardholdsthisinformationtemporarilysothatyoucanpasteit

somewhereelse.You'llwanttousethePastecommandimmediatelyafteryouusetheCopycommand.ThisisbecausetheClipboardcanholdonlyonethingatatime.Ifyoucopyanotheritem,thepreviousoneisremovedfromtheClipboard.WhenyouusetheCopycommand,theoriginalfileorfolderstayswhereitisandisnotmoved.WhenyouusePasteaftertheCopycommand,acopyofthatitemiscreatedinthedesiredlocation.

ThereareseveraloptionsforaccessingtheCopycommand:

ClickthefileorfolderyouwanttocopyandusethekeyboardshortcutCtrl+C.

ClickthefileorfolderyouwanttocopyandfromtheOrganizemenuinWindowsExplorerclickCopy.

Right-clickthefileorfoldertocopyandclickCopy(Figure1.18).

Figure1.18Theoptionsavailableinthecontextmenuwhenright-clickingafile

PasteOnceyou'vecopiedsomethingtotheClipboard,usingoneofthemethodssharedearlier,youcanusethePastecommandtoperformtheactualtaskofcopyingtheitemtoitsnewlocation.

1. Navigatetothelocationwhereyou'dliketopastethefileorfolder.

Thismightbeanewsubfolderyoucreated,alibrary,oreventheDesktop.

2. Thenuseoneofthefollowingoptions:

UsethekeyboardshortcutCtrl+V.

ClicktheOrganizemenuinWindowsExplorerandthenclickPaste.

Right-clicktheemptyareainsidethefolderorontheDesktopandclickPaste(Figure1.19).

Figure1.19ThePasteoptioninthecontextmenu

CutThiscommandworksliketheCopycommand,exceptthattheselectedfileorfolderisremovedfromitsoriginallocationandcanbemovedtothenewone.BecarefulwhenusingCutandmakesurethatyouusePasteimmediatelyafter.TheproblemwithusingCutisthatifanythingfailsduringthemovingprocess(afteryouusePaste),thenyouwilllosetheselectedfileorfolder.That'swhyitisbettertousetheCopycommandinsteadandthendeletetheselectedfileorfolderfromtheoriginallocationonceitscopyhasbeenmadeinthenewlocation.ThereareseveraloptionsforaccessingtheCutcommand:

ClickthefileorfoldertocutandusethekeyboardshortcutCtrl+X.

ClickthefileorfoldertocutandfromtheOrganizemenuinWindowsExplorerclickCut.

Right-clickthefileorfoldertocutandclickCut.

MoveHereYoucanusetheMoveHerecommandtomoveafileorfolder.ItworkslikeCutandPaste;theitemwillbemoved,andtheoriginalitemwillnolongerappearinitsoriginallocation.Tousethiscommand,followthesesteps:

1. Right-clickthefileorfoldertomove,andholddowntherightmousebuttonwhileyoudragthefileontopofitsnewlocation,intheNavigationpane.

2. LetgooftherightmousebuttonandclickMoveHere(Figure1.20).

Figure1.20TheMoveHereoption

Alternatively,youcanusetheCutandPastecommandsforthesameeffect.

RenameYoucanrenamebothfilesandfolders.Thiscanbedoneinseveralways:

Selecttheitembyclickingit.PresstheF2keyonthekeyboard.Typethenewname.

Clicktheitemonetime,waitasecondortwo,andthenclickitagain.Typethenewname.

Right-clicktheitemtorenameandclickRename.Typethenewname.

DeleteYoucanremovebothfilesandfoldersfromyourcomputer.Thiscanbedoneinseveralways.Here'sonemethod:

1. Selecttheitembyclickingit.

2. PresstheDeletekeyonthekeyboardandconfirmthatyouwanttodeletethatitem.

TheitemismovedtotheRecycleBinandcanberecoveredincaseyoudecidethatyouneeditagain.

Youcanalsodothefollowing:

1. Right-clicktheitemtodelete.

2. ClickDeleteandconfirmthatyouwanttodeletethatitem.

Alternatively,youcandragtheitemtotheRecycleBinusingthemouse.

TodeleteanitemwithoutmovingittotheRecycleBin,followthesesteps:

1. Selecttheitembyclickingit.

2. Then,holddowntheShiftkeyandtheDeletekey.

Butbeawarethatthiswaytheitemcannotberecoveredifyouneeditagain.

CreateaShortcutIfyouneedtoaccessafileorfolderfromanotherlocationbutyoudonotwanttocopyormoveit,youcancreateashortcut.YoucantellwhichfilesareshortcutsbecausetheyhaveanarrowintheiriconandShortcutincludedinthefilename.Shortcutsareonlyreferencestootherfilesandfoldersanddonotholdanydataexceptforwhat'srequiredtopointtheirtargetlocation.Theoptiontocreateashortcutisavailablefromtheoptionsthatappearwhenyouright-clicktheitem.Thereareseveralwaysofcreatingashortcut.Here'sthefirstway:

1. Right-clicktheitemyouwanttocreateashortcutfor.

2. ClickCreateShortcut.

Theshortcutiscreatedinthesamelocation.

3. YoucannowcutandpastethatshortcuttoanotherlocationliketheDesktop.

Theoriginalfileshouldbekeptinitsinitiallocation;otherwisetheshortcut

won'twork.

Youcanalsodothefollowing:

1. Right-clickthefileorfolder.

2. ClickSendToandthenclickDesktop(CreateShortcut),asshowninFigure1.21.

Figure1.21TheSendTomenuinWindowsExplorer

AshortcutiscreatedforthatitemontheDesktop.

Andfinally,youcanusethismethod:

1. PressandholddownCtrl+Shiftwhileyoudragthatitemtothelocationyouwanttocreateashortcutto.

2. Releasetheiteminthelocationwhereyouwanttocreateashortcutforit.

SearchforaFileTherearemanywaystosearchforaspecificfile,providedyouknowsomethingaboutit.OnewayistousetheSearchboxonthetop-rightoftheWindowsExplorerwindow:

1. Selectthelibraryorfolderwhereyouwanttoperformthesearch.

2. ClickinsidetheSearchbox(Figure1.22)andtypethenameofthefileyouarelookingfor.

Figure1.22TheSearchboxinWindowsExplorer

Ifyouwanttosearchforafileonthewholecomputer,dothis:

1. SelectLocalDisk(C:)intheComputersectionoftheNavigationpane.

2. ThenusetheSearchbox.

Here'sanotherway:

1. CloseWindowsExplorerandpresstheF3keyonthekeyboard.

2. ThisbringsupaSearchwindowwhereyoucantypethenameofthefile(Figure1.23).

Figure1.23TheSearchwindowthatisaccessedbypressingF3

Ifyoudon'tknowthefilename,youcansearchbasedonthedateyoubelieveitwascreated,bythekindoffileitis,bythetype,andothercriteria.Yoursearchwillbemadeacrossyourwholecomputer.

YoucanalsoclicktheStartbuttonontheDesktopandstarttypingthenameofthefile(Figure1.24).SearchesareperformedautomaticallyasyoutypebutonlyinlocationsthatareindexedbyWindows,likeyourlibraries.Toaccessafileorfolder,clickitinthelistofresults.Ifyouwanttoperformacomputer-widesearch,thepreviousmethodsworkbetter.

Figure1.24TheStartmenusearch

Althoughweprovidedthenecessarykeyboardshortcutsthatyoucanuse

whileworkingwithfilesandfoldersinWindows,therearemanymorekeyboardshortcutsforyoutodiscover.YoucanfindacompletelistofkeyboardshortcutsonMicrosoft'sKnowledgeBase,here:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449.Don'thesitatetoconsultitandlearnhoweachkeyboardshortcutworks.TheywillsurelymakeyoumoreproductivewhenusingWindows.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449

CustomizingYourComputerAllmodernoperatingsystemsgiveyouplentyofoptionsforconfiguringthewaytheylookandhowyouusethem.Themostbasiccustomizationsareaboutchangingthewaytheoperatingsystemlooks.Forexample,inWindows7,youcanchangetheresolutionofthescreen,theDesktopbackground,thetheme,andsoon.Obviously,youcangointoalotofdetailandcustomizemoreadvancedsettings,butthere'snoneedto,unlessyouhaveveryspecificneeds.

Whenyoufirstuseacomputer,mostprobablyyouwillwanttochangethewayWindowslooks,thelanguageusedfortyping,thetimeandthedate,andhowaccessiblethecomputeris,incaseyouhaveadisability.

Anotheraspectthatyoumightwanttocustomizeishowmanyuseraccountsthereareonyourcomputerandwhoisallowedtouseitandwhotheadministratoris.

Let'slookatthemostcommontypesofcustomizationsthatareperformedonacomputerandseehowtheyaredone.

CustomizingtheDesktopAllthevisualcustomizationoptionsthatareavailableinWindowsarefoundintheControlPanel.Toaccessthem,clickStart ControlPanel AppearanceAndPersonalization,asshowninFigure1.25.

Figure1.25TheAppearanceAndPersonalizationsectionintheControlPanel

InthispanelyouwillfindthatWindowsofferslotsofvisualcustomizations:

YoucanchangethethemeusedbyWindows,theDesktopbackground,soundeffects,andthescreensaver.

Youcanchangetheresolutionofthescreenandmaketextandotheritemslargerorsmaller.

YoucanaddgadgetstotheDesktop,whichprovideadditionalinformationlikeweatherdataorthecalendar.PleasenotethatthisfeatureofWindowshasbeendiscontinued,andMicrosoftdoesn'tprovideanynewgadgetsexceptthosealreadyfoundinWindows7.

YoucancustomizetheiconsonthetaskbarandtheitemsthataredisplayedbytheStartmenu.

YoucanimprovethelevelofaccessibilityandturnonfeatureslikeHighContrastorascreenreader,incaseyouhavedisabilitiesthatdonotallowyoutouseyourcomputerwithouthelp.

Youcaninstallnewfonts,viewthosethatareinstalled,andadjusttheirsettings.

YoucanalsosethowfilesandfoldersaredisplayedwhenusingWindowsExplorer.

CustomizingtheScreenResolutionThedisplayofanycomputerordevicehasaspecificsizethatismeasuredininches(forexample,9″,24″,andsoon).Thisnumbertellsyouthediagonalmeasurementofthescreen,measuredfromthebottom-leftcornertothetop-rightcorner.

Alldisplaysaresplitintoreallysmallsquaresthatareusedtodisplaycolor.Thinkoftheimageonyourdisplaylikeapuzzlewithreallysmallpieces.Pixelsarethesmallestsquaresthatcouldbemanufacturedandusedtodisplaycolor.Howmanypixelsareonthescreendependsonthesizeofthescreen.Thetotalnumberofpixelsiscommunicatedusingthescreenresolution.Itisusuallyquotedaswidth×height,withtheunitsinpixels;forexample,1366×768meansthewidthis1366pixelsandtheheightis768pixels.

Thebiggertheresolution,theclearertheimageisbecausethere'smoreroomfordisplayingsmalldetailsonthescreen.Whenyouincreasetheresolution,itemsonthescreenappearsmaller.Theoppositehappenswhenyoulowerthescreenresolution.Computerdisplayshaveamaximumresolutionthatcanbeset,dependingontheirsizeandtheactualnumberofpixelsavailable.However,theirresolutioncanbeloweredifneeded.Exercise1.6demonstrateshowtochangethescreenresolutionsothatitemsonthescreenappearbigger,ifyouneedthemto.

EXERCISE1.6

ChangingtheResolutionofYourScreen1. ClicktheStartbuttonandthenclickControlPanel.

2. ClickAppearanceAndPersonalizationandthenAdjustScreenResolution,underDisplay.

3. Clickthedrop-downlistnexttoResolutionandusetheslidertosetalowerresolutionlike1024×768,ifitisavailable,asshowninFigure1.26.

Figure1.26TheResolutionsliderfromtheScreenResolutionwindow

4. ClickApply.

5. Ifyoulikethenewresolution,clickKeepChanges.Otherwise,clickRevertandrepeatsteps3and4.

6. ClickOK.

Ifyouwanttomakethetextandotheritemslargerthantheyareandyoudonotwanttochangetheresolution,youcandothat.Exercise1.7showsyouhow.

EXERCISE1.7

ChangingtheSizeoftheItemsonYourScreen1. ClicktheStartbuttonandthenclickControlPanel.

2. ClickAppearanceAndPersonalizationandthenDisplay.

3. Changethesizeyouwantforthetextandotheritems.YoucanchooseSmaller,Medium,orLarger(Figure1.27).

Figure1.27TheDisplaywindow

4. ClickApply.

5. Youareaskedtologoffyourcomputertoapplythesechanges.MakesurethatyoudonothaveanyunsavedworkandthenclickLogOffNow.

6. LogbackintoWindows.

CustomizingtheDesktopAppearanceWindowsallowsyoutochangethebackgroundimagethatisdisplayedonthescreenaswellasthegeneralvisualsandthesoundsthatareusedthroughtheoperatingsystem.Tomakethingssimplerandeasiertomanage,MicrosoftusestheconceptofthemesinitsWindowsoperatingsystem.AthemeisthecollectionofallthevisualsettingsandsoundsthatareusedbyWindows:theDesktopbackground,thecolorusedtodisplaytheuserinterface,thesoundsthatareplayedwhenmessagesaredisplayed,andthescreensaverthatisdisplayedwhenyouhavekeptyourcomputerturnedonbutyouarenotusingit.

Forstarterslet'sseehowtochangetheDesktopbackgroundinWindows.Exercise1.8demonstrateseverythingyouneedtoknow.

EXERCISE1.8

ChangingtheDesktopBackground1. ClicktheStartbuttonandthenclickControlPanel.

2. ClickAppearanceAndPersonalizationandthenPersonalization(Figure1.28).

Figure1.28ThePersonalizationwindow

3. ClickDesktopBackgroundandchooseoneoftheavailableimages(Figure1.29).

Figure1.29TheDesktopBackgroundwindow

4. SetthepicturepositionandthenclickSaveChanges.

5. ClosethePersonalizationwindowinordertoseethenewDesktopbackground.

ThemescanalsobechangedfromthePersonalizationwindow.TheyaredisplayedinthecenterofthewindowandaresplitintocategorieslikeMyThemes,AeroThemes,andBasicAndHighContrastThemes.Browsethroughtheavailablethemesandselecttheonethatyouwanttoapply.YouwillnoticethateachthemeusesadifferentDesktopbackground,differentvisuals,andsoon.Whenyouhavefoundathemethatyouarehappywith,closethePersonalizationwindow.

CustomizingtheLanguageYouAreUsingWindows7offersyoutheabilitytochangeboththelanguagethatyouusefortyping(thekeyboardinputlanguage)aswellasthelanguageusedtodisplayeverythingonthescreen(thedisplaylanguage).ChangingthekeyboardinputlanguagecanbedoneinallversionsofWindows7.Unfortunately,changingthedisplaylanguageispossibleonlyinthemoreexpensiveversionsofWindows7:Windows7UltimateandWindows7Enterprise.AffordableversionslikeWindows7HomeandWindows7Professionaldonotincludethisusefulfeature.

First,you'lllearnhowtochangethelanguageusedfortyping,usingtheinstructionssharedinExercise1.9.

EXERCISE1.9

AddingaNewKeyboardInputLanguage1. ClicktheStartbuttonandthenclickControlPanel.

2. ClickClock,Language,AndRegionandthenRegionAndLanguage.

3. SelecttheKeyboardsAndLanguagestab(Figure1.30).

Figure1.30TheKeyboardAndLanguagestabintheRegionAndLanguagewindow

4. ClicktheChangeKeyboardsbutton.

5. InthenewTextServicesAndInputLanguageswindow,clickAdd.

6. Double-clickthekeyboardinputlanguagethatyouwanttoadd,toexpandit(Figure1.31).

Figure1.31TheAddInputLanguagewindowwhereyoucanaddanewinputlanguage

7. Thendouble-clickKeyboardandselectthetypeyouwanttoadd.

8. ClickOKandthenclickOKagaininthewindowsthatremainopen.

Youcanaddasmanykeyboardinputlanguagesasyouwishandthenswitchbetweenthem.Thisisveryhelpfulifyouareamultilingualpersonwhoworksusingmorethanonelanguage.

Youcanswitchbetweenlanguagesfortypingatanytimeduringyourwork.Allyouhavetodoistoclickthetwo-letterlanguagecodenearthekeyboardiconthatisshownonthetaskbar(thebaronthebottomofthescreen)andselectthelanguagethatyouwanttouse(Figure1.32).YoucanalsousethekeyboardshortcutAlt+Shiftforthesameeffect.

Figure1.32Thekeyboardinputlanguageswitcher

IfyouhaveWindows7UltimateorWindows7Enterprise,youcanalsochangethedisplaylanguagethatisused.Exercise1.10showshow.

EXERCISE1.10

AddingaNewDisplayLanguage1. ClicktheStartbuttonandthenclickControlPanel.


3. SelecttheKeyboardAndLanguagestab.

4. ClicktheInstall/UninstallLanguagesbutton.

5. InthenewInstallOrUninstallDisplayLanguageswindow,clickInstallDisplayLanguages(Figure1.33)andthenLaunchWindowsUpdate.

Figure1.33TheInstallOrUninstallDisplayLanguagesWizard

6. IntheWindowsUpdatewindow,clickthelinkthatsayshowmanyoptionalupdatesareavailable(Figure1.34).

Figure1.34WindowsUpdatedisplayingthenumberofoptionalupdatesavailable

7. ScrolldowntoWindows7LanguagePacksandselectthedisplaylanguagethatyouwanttoinstall(Figure1.35).

Figure1.35Alistoftheoptionalupdatesthatareavailable

8. ClickOKandthenInstallUpdates.

9. Waitforthedisplaylanguagetobeinstalled.

ChangingthedisplaylanguageusedbyWindows7isrelativelyeasy,butitdoestakemorestepsthanchangingthekeyboardinputlanguage.Also,there'snokeyboardshortcutavailableforthisswitch.Exercise1.11demonstratesthestepsinvolvedinchangingthedisplaylanguage.

EXERCISE1.11

ChangingtheDisplayLanguage1. ClicktheStartbuttonandthenclickControlPanel.


3. ChoosetheKeyboardAndLanguagestab.

4. IntheDisplayLanguagesection,clicktheChooseADisplayLanguagedrop-downlistandselectthelanguagethatyouwanttouse.

5. ClickOK,andyouwillbenotifiedthatyouneedtologoff.CloseanyfilesthatyouhaveopenandthenclickLogOffNow.

6. LogbackintoWindows7andyouwillseetheselecteddisplaylanguageused.

ChangingtheDateandTimeWhenyousetupanewcomputerorwhenyouhavejustinstalledWindows7,thedateand

thetimemightbeincorrect.Fortunately,changingthemisveryeasy,andittakesonlyafewclicks.Exercise1.12showshowitisdone.

EXERCISE1.12

ChangingtheDateandtheTime1. ClicktheStartbuttonandthenclickControlPanel.

2. ClickClock,Language,AndRegionandthenDateAndTime.

3. ClicktheChangeDateAndTimebutton.

4. ChangethedateusingyourmouseandthecalendarthatisshownontheleftinFigure1.36.

Figure1.36TheDateAndTimeSettingswindow

5. Changethetimebyselectingthehourortheminuteandthentypingthecorrectvalues.

6. Whenfinished,clickOKandthenclickOKagain.

MakingtheComputerMoreAccessibleIfyouhaveadisabilitythatmakesitdifficulttohear,see,orphysicallyusethecomputer,thereareoptionsandfeaturesavailablethatyoucanconfiguretomakethingseasierforyou.TheseoptionsarefoundintheControlPanelbyselectingAppearanceAndPersonalizationandthenEaseOfAccessCenter,asshowninFigure1.37.

Figure1.37TheEaseOfAccessCenterintheControlPanel

Theeasiestwaytounderstandwhatfeaturesyoushouldenableistoworkthroughthewizardthatisavailablebyclickingthelink“Getrecommendationstomakeyourcomputereasiertouse.”Workthroughitonyourownandselectthestatementsthatapplytoyou.Uponcompletion,you'llseeoptionstoenablefeaturesthatWindows7deemsappropriate,basedonyouranswers(Figure1.38).

Figure1.38ThesettingsrecommendedbytheEaseOfAccessCenter

Herearesomeoftheitemsthatyoumightbepromptedtoenablebasedontheanswersyougive:

HighContrastWhenthisoptionisturnedon,youchangehowthecomputerdisplaysinformationonthescreen.Thecolorsusedtodisplayeverythingwillhaveaveryhighcontrastsothatyouhaveaneasiertimefiguringoutthedifferentelementsthataredisplayed.

NarratorReadsaloudthetextthatappearsonthescreen.

SpeechRecognitionOnceyousetitup,youcanusespeechcommandslike“OpenControlPanel”tocontrolthecomputer,ifyouhaveamicrophoneavailable.Youcanalsouseittodictatetext.

MagnifierZoomsinonareasofthescreenthatyouselect.Initsdefaultform,youuseitlikeamagnifyingglass.

On-ScreenKeyboardLetsyoutypewordsusingakeyboardthatappearsonthescreen.Youcantypeonthekeyboardusingthemouseoranotherpointingdevice.

UnderstandingUserAccountsInordertouseWindows,youneedauseraccountandapasswordsetforit.AuseraccountisacollectionofsettingsthatWindowsusesforunderstandingyourpreferencesandforcontrollingthefilesandfoldersyouaccess,thetasksyouareallowedtoperform,thedevicesandresourcesyouareallowedtouse,andsoon.Useraccountsarealsousedtoseparatethepeoplethatusethesamecomputerandmakesurethattheycankeeptheirpersonalfilesprivate(liketheonesstoredintheirlibraries)andthattheydonotchangeeachother'ssettings.

IntheWindows7operatingsystemtherearethreetypesofuseraccountsthatyoucanchoosefrom(Figure1.39).

Figure1.39TheManageAccountswindowwhereyoucanseetheuseraccountsexistingonyourcomputer

AdministratorUseraccountsofthistypehavecompletecontrolovertheoperatingsystem,itsapplications,anditssettings.ItistheonlytypeofuseraccountthatcaninstalloruninstallapplicationsinWindows.Administratorscanalsomanageotheruseraccountsandcreatenewuseraccounts.

StandardAlimitedtypeofuseraccountthatcanuseonlyexistingsoftwareapplicationsandcannotinstalloruninstallapplications.Also,thisuseraccountcannotmodifysystemsettingsthataffectotherusers.Standarduseraccountscanchangeonlytheirownsettings.

GuestAlimitedtypeofuseraccount.ThereisonlyoneGuestuseraccountonaWindowsdevice,andithasnopassword.ItismeantonlyfortemporaryaccesstothePC,anditcanbeusedonlyforrunningexistingapplications.Thisuseraccounttypecannotmodifyanysystemsettings.

InWindows7,thefirstpersontocreateauseraccountistheadministrator.Whenyoucreateotheruseraccounts,youcanchoosetheirtype.Also,theGuestaccountexistsbydefaultinWindows7.Itonlyneedstobeenabledinorderforittobeused.Butfirst,you'lllearnhowtocreateauseraccountusingtheinstructionsinExercise1.13.

EXERCISE1.13

CreatingaStandardUserAccount1. ClickStartandclickControlPanel.

2. UnderUserAccountsAndFamilySafety,clickAddOrRemoveUserAccounts.

3. ClickCreateANewAccount.

4. Typeanamefortheaccount,leaveStandardUserselected,andclickCreateAccount,asshowninFigure1.40.

Figure1.40TheCreateNewAccountwindow

SharingFolderswithOtherUsersUseraccountsarealsoimportantwhenyouwanttoshareyourworkwithothers.Forexample,youmightsharethesamecomputerwithanotherperson,andyoumaywanttogivetheotherpersonaccesstooneofyourfolders.Or,yourcomputerisconnectedtoanetwork,andyoumaywanttoshareafolderwithothersonthenetwork.Beforeyoudothat,youwillneedtounderstandonemoreconcept:permissions.

Ifyouwanttoshareafolderwithanotherperson(onthesamecomputeroronthesamenetwork),youneedtosetthelevelofpermissionsassignedtothatpersonforthatfolder.Thepermissionsyoucangiveanotherpersonareasfollows:

ReadTheotherpersoncanonlyreadthefilesandsubfoldersthatarefoundinthefolderyouaresharing.Theycannotmodifythemordeletethem.

Read/WriteTheotherpersoncanreadthefilesandfoldersthatarefoundinthefolderyouaresharing.Theycanalsomodifythemanddeletethem.

YouwillseethesetwooptionsinWindowseachtimeyoutrytoshareanythingwith

someoneelse.

Tosimplifysharingonsmallnetworksliketheoneinyourhomeorinasmallcompany,MicrosofthasintroducedtheconceptofHomegroup.TheHomegroupisagroupofWindowscomputersanddevicesthatsharecontentanddeviceswitheachother,inthesamenetwork.WhatissharedwiththeHomegroupisnotavailabletoothercomputersthatareonthesamenetworkbutarenotpartoftheHomegroup.TheHomegroupcanbejoinedbyWindows7andWindows8computersanddevices.

Bydesign,there'snolimittothenumberofcomputersthatcanjoinaHomegroup.TheHomegroupisprotectedbyapasswordthatyousharewiththeuserswhowanttoparticipateinit.ThispasswordisrequestedonlywhenanewcomputerjoinstheHomegroup.YoucreateorjoinaHomegroupfromControlPanelunderNetworkAndInternet.

InWindowsExplorer,youcaneasilyshareafolderbyfirstopeningitandthenclickingtheShareWithmenuonthetoolbar.Thereyouwillseeseveraloptions,includingHomegroup(Read)andHomegroup(Read/Write),asshowninFigure1.41.ReadandRead/WritearethepermissionsyouwanttoassigntotheHomegroupforthatsharedfolder.

Figure1.41TheShareWithmenuinWindowsExplorer

Youcanalsoshareafolderwithanotherpersonwhohasauseraccountonthesamecomputer.Exercise1.14showsyouhowitisdone.

EXERCISE1.14

SharingaFolderwithAnotherUserAccount1. OpenWindowsExplorerandselectyourDocumentslibrary.

2. ClicktheShareWithmenuonthetoolbarandthenselectSpecificPeople.

3. Clickthearrowpointingdownwardandselecttheuserwithwhomyouwanttoshareyourdocuments(Figure1.42).

Figure1.42ChoosingwithwhomtoshareintheFileSharingWizard

4. ClickAdd.

5. ClickthearrowbesideRead,onthelineforthenewuser.

6. Ifdesired,clickRead/Write.Ifnot,leaveReadselected.

7. ClickShare.

ThepersonwithwhomyouaresharingthatfoldercanaccessitbyopeningWindowsExploreranddouble-clickingLocalDisk(C:),Users,andthenthenameofyouruseraccount.

Tostopsharingthatfolderwiththeuseryouinitiallyshareditwith,repeatsteps1and2fromExercise1.14,clickthenameoftheusertoremove,andthenclickRemove.Lastly,clickSharetoupdatewithwhomyouaresharingthatfolder.

ManagingPermissionsinLargeBusinessesSofar,withregardtocreatinguseraccountsandsharingdata,we'vebeenfocusedon

smallnetworksliketheoneinyourhomeorinasmallbusiness.Inlargeenterprises,useraccountsandpermissionsaremanageddifferently.Considerwhatwouldhappeniftherewerethousandsofuserswhoeachhadtheirowncomputer.Thinkabouthowharditwouldbeandhowlongitwouldtaketocreateallthoseuseraccountsandsharedataamongthem,usingtheaforementionedmethods,oneveryoneofthosecomputersandforeveryoneofthoseusers.Itjustisn'tmanageable.

Tomakethingsmoremanageable,enterprisescreateanetworkdomain,andtheyhirenetworkadministratorswhocreateallthenetworkusersonacomputercalledaserver.Users'dataissavedtothisserverorothers.Becauseusersandtheirdataarecentralized,onenetworkadministratorcanmanageallusersandalldatasharingandassignallpermissionstothedataandresourcesthatareshared,fromasinglelocation.

ThesetofpermissionsthatthenetworkadministratorappliesiscreatedandmanagedthroughtheGroupPolicy.Justasitsounds,permissionsarecreatedforentiregroupsofusers,andthosepermissionsmakeupapolicythatthoseusersarerestrictedby.So,anetworkadministratorcancreateaGroupPolicythatrestrictsallusersinaspecificgroup(sayAccountants,Guests,orMarketing),toefficientlyplacelimitsonwhatmembersofthatgroupcanaccessonthenetworkandwhattheycandoontheirowncomputers.

HowOrganizationsAssignPermissionsUsingGroupPolicy

Insomecolleges,usersareplacedintogroupsthatrepresentthejobtheydo.Therearegroupsforadjunctfaculty,full-timefaculty,administrators,humanresources,marketing,andsoon.Therearegroupsformobileuserstoo,namelythosepeoplewhoaccessdataremotelyfromhomeorontheroad.Permissionsareassignedtothesegroupsandthusarealsoappliedtotheuserswhoareinthosegroups.Thismakesiteasytomanageaccesstoresourceswhilelimitingwhatuserscandooncethey'reconnectedtothatorganization'snetwork.

Asanexample,usersintheadjunctfacultygroupareallowedtoaccessthestudentdatabaseforthepurposeoffindingastudent'sphonenumberoraddressortolookupagradeforaspecificclass,buttheycannotchangethisinformation.Usersinthefacultygroupcandoallofthesethingstoo,buttheyalsohavetheabilitytochangeastudent'sgradeinacourse.Theydonothavetheabilitytochangeastudent'sphonenumberoraddress.Usersinthehumanresourcesgrouphavepermissiontoaccessandalterastudent'sphonenumberoraddressbutnottheirgrade.Mobileusersmightbeassignedspecificpermissionsthatapplyonlytothem,perhapstoprotectaccesstosensitivedataoveranunprotectednetworksuchastheInternet.Thesepermissionsareeasytomanagebecausetheyhavetobeappliedonlytothegroupandnottheindividualusers.

Additionally,whennewemployeesarehired,itiseasyforthenetworkadministratortoaddanewuseraccounttothegroupinwhichthatemployeebelongs.Thatuserisautomaticallyassignedthepermissionsforthatgroup.Whenanemployeeislaidofforretires,itisequallyeasytoremovethatpersonfromagroup.Becausetheuserisnolongeramemberofthegroup,theycannotaccessthegroup'sresources.

Often,usersareassignedtomorethanonegroup.Forthemostpart,users'permissionsarecumulative.Soifauserhaspermissiontoreadoneresourceinonegroupandalsowritetoitinasecond,theusercanbothreadandwritetotheresource.Userscanalsobedeniedaccesstospecificresourcesshouldtheybefoundtoabusethem.Forexample,ifauserisoverusingtheprinter,theymaybeblockedfromaccessingit.

SummaryBeforeyoucanuseacomputereffectively,youmustknowalittleaboutwhatmakesitwork.Acomputermusthaveanoperatingsystemandapplications.Withoutthoseessentialelementsnoworkcanbedone.Thesetwotypesofsoftwareareupdatedbytheirmanufacturersonaregularbasissothattheyarekeptsafefromsecurityproblems,theirproblemsarefixed,andnewfeaturesareintroduced.

Onceyourcomputerispoweredon,youcanlogonandstartusingalltheapplicationsthatareavailabletocreateandsavedata.Thisdataisstoredinfiles,eachwithitsowntypeandfileextension.Inordertokeeptrackofyourfiles,theoperatingsystemhasafilesystemthatallowsyoutoviewyourfiles,usethem,andmanagethemasyouseefit.InthischapteryoulearnedallthebasiccommandsforworkingwithfilesinWindows.

Inorderforuserstobetrulyproductive,operatingsystemsonmoderncomputersallowmultipleuserstousethesamecomputer.Eachusershouldhaveanindividualuseraccountsothateachperson'sdata,applications,andsettingsarekeptseparate.Obviously,thisdatacanbesharedatanytimewithotherusersonthesamecomputerorwithotherusersonthenetwork.Inthischapteryoualsolearnedhowtoshareyourfolderswithothers.

Finally,itisimportanttobeabletocustomizeyourcomputersothatitbettermeetsyourneeds.Inthischapterweshowedhowtocustomizethewaytheoperatingsystemlooks,howtochangethelanguageyouareusing,howtomodifythedateandtime(incasetheoperatingsystemhasthewronginformation),andhowtoimproveitsaccessibilityifyouhaveadisabilitythatmakesusingthecomputerdifficult.

Inthenextchapterwilltalkinmoredetailabouthardwareandthedifferenthardwarecomponentsofatypicalcomputer.Wewillalsotalkaboutdifferenttypesofcomputersandhowtomeasureandcomparetheirrelativeperformance.

ExamEssentialsUnderstandthedifferencebetweentheoperatingsystemandsoftwareapplications.Anoperatingsystemisthemostimportantsoftwarethatrunsonadevice,becausewithoutit,interactionswiththatdevicewouldbeimpossible.Theoperatingsystemiswhatmakescommunicationbetweentheuser,softwareapplications,andtheinternalhardwarepossible.Applicationsareeitherincludedwiththeoperatingsystemorinstalledontopoftheoperatingsystem.Applicationsallowyoutocreatedataanduseyourcomputermoreproductively.Youshouldknowthedifferencesbetweentheoperatingsystemandsoftwareapplications.

Understandhowtopoweronandpoweroffyourcomputer.Inordertouseacomputer,youshouldunderstandhowtologintoWindowswithyouraccount,switchusers,logoff,andshutdownthecomputer.Youshouldalsoknowthatloggingoffclosesallapplicationsandwindows,whileswitchingusers,lockingthecomputer,orputtingthecomputertosleeponlypausesthosethingssothatyoucangettoworkmorequicklywhenyoureturn.

Knowhowtobrowseyourcomputer'sfilesandfolders.YoucannotbeaproductiveuserunlessyouknowwhatWindowsExplorerisandhowtouseittobrowsethefilesandfoldersthatarefoundonyourcomputer.Learnhowtoworkwiththeviewsthatareavailableandunderstandthedifferencesbetweenthem.

Knowhowtomanageyourfilesandfolders.Understandhowtoorganizeyourfilesandfolders,dependingontheirtype.UsethelibrariesthatareavailableinWindowstokeepthingsorganized,andknowhowtomoveyourdataaround.Also,youshouldlearnthekeyboardshortcutsforusefulcommandslikeCopy,Cut,Paste,Rename,andsoon.Theywillmakethingseasierwhenworkingwithyourfiles.

KnowhowtocustomizeWindows7.Therearetoomanycustomizationoptionsavailabletodiscussthemallhere.Thus,you'llneedtoworkthroughalloftheoptionsonyourown.KnowhowtochangethethemeandtheDesktopbackgroundandhowtoupdatethedateandthetimeifyourcomputerisusingthewrongdata.Knowingthiswillallowyoutopersonalizeyourcomputerandhaveitlookandworkthewayyouwantitto.Also,youshouldunderstandthebasicAccessibilityoptionsthatareavailableandhowtheycanhelppeoplewithdisabilities.

KeyTermsBeforeyoutaketheexam,becertainyouarefamiliarwiththefollowingterms:

files operatingsystemfolders personalidentificationnumberhardware softwarelibraries

ReviewQuestions1. WhatdoesanoperatingsystemsuchasWindowsdo?

A. Managesthefilesandfoldersonmycomputer

B. Displaystheimageonthescreenofmycomputer

C. Allowscommunicationbetweentheuser,softwareapplications,andtheinternalhardwareofmycomputer

D. PowersonthecomputerwhenIneedtouseitandpowersitoffwhenI'mfinishedworking

2. Whichoftheseareoperatingsystems?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Windows

B. Hardware

C. MicrosoftOffice

D. Android

3. Youneedtoleaveyourcomputerunattendedforacoupleofminutes,andyouwanttosecureit.Youdonotwanttohavetocloseallofyourapplicationsorsaveyourworkbecauseonyourreturnyouwanttogetbacktoworkquickly,rightwhereyouleftoff.Whichofthefollowingoptionswillenableyoutodothis?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Logoff

B. Lockthecomputer

C. UsetheSwitchUsercommand

D. Shutdown

4. Youwanttomoveafoldertoanotherlocation.Whichtwocommandsdoyouusetoperformthistask?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Copy

B. Cut

C. Move

D. Paste

5. WhichviewsinWindowsExplorerallowyoutolearnthetypeofeachfile?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Content

B. List

C. Tiles

D. Details

6. Whattwokeyboardshortcutscanyouusetocopyandpasteafiletoanotherlocation?

A. Ctrl+CandCtrl+V

B. Ctrl+XandCtrl+P

C. Ctrl+XandCtrl+V

D. Ctrl+CandCtrl+X

7. Ifeverythingonthescreenistoosmalltosee,whatcanyoudo?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. UsetheMagnifier.

B. Decreasethescreenresolution.

C. Increasethescreenresolution.

D. OpttomaketextandotheritemslargerfromtheDisplaywindow.

8. WheredoyougoinWindows7inordertochangetheDesktopbackgroundorthetheme?

A. Start ControlPanel AppearanceAndPersonalization Display

B. Start ControlPanel Clock Language Region

C. Start ControlPanel AppearanceAndPersonalization Personalization

D. Start ControlPanel AppearanceAndPersonalization DesktopGadgets

9. Whichoftheseuseraccountshasthepermissiontomanageotherusers?

A. Homegroupusers

B. Standardusers

C. Homegroupmembers

D. Administrators

10. Whichsharingpermissionallowsausertoaccessandviewafilebutnotmakeanychangestoit?

A. View

B. Read/Write

C. Delete

D. Read

Chapter2UnderstandingHardwareTHEFOLLOWINGIC3GS4:COMPUTERFUNDAMENTALSEXAMOBJECTIVESARECOVEREDINTHISCHAPTER:

✓CommonComputerTerminology

Definethetermsandexplainthedifferencesbetweeninput/outputdevicesandhardwareandperipherals.

Processing

Gigahertz

Hertz

CPU

Input/Output

MonitorandProjector

Mice

Keyboards

Stylus

Microphone

Speakers

Touchpad

Printers

Explainthedifferenttypesofmemory.

Volatile

RAM

Nonvolatile]

SSDdrive

Magneticharddrive

ROM

Flashdrives(USB,Jump,Thumb,etc.)

Unitsofmeasurement

Mega,giga,tera,peta.ExplainthedifferencebetweenBitvs.Byte

✓TypesofDevices

Explainthesedifferenttypesofcomputers.Compareandcontrastusesand

capabilities:

Server

Desktop

Laptop

Tablet

SmartPhone

✓ComputerPerformance

Thisobjectivemayinclude,butisnotlimitedto,thefollowingtopics:

Specifycriteriathatcouldbeusedtoevaluatetheprosandconsofvariouscomputingdevicesandperipherals,Focusonperformanceissues.

Processingvs.memoryvs.storage:

DescribetheconceptsofProcessingcapacity,Processingspeed,Memorycapacity,Memoryspeed,Storagecapacity,andStoragespeedincludinghoweachinteractswiththeothertodetermineoverallcomputingcapacity,speedandpower.

InChapter1,“UnderstandingOperatingSystems,”wementionedthatcomputersgenerallyhavesoftwarecomponentsandahardwarecomponent.Nowthatwehaveexplainedimportantconceptslikesoftware,operatingsystems,andapplications,itistimetotakealookatthephysicalcomponentsofacomputer:thehardware.

Wewillstartbytalkingaboutthecomponentsthatmakeupacomputerandwhattheydo.Thenwewilltalkaboutexternalcomponentsthatcanbeconnectedtoacomputerinordertoincreaseitscapabilitiesandusefulness.

Sincecomputersarejustasdiverseasthecomponentstheyaremadeof,wewillalsodiscussthemostcommontypesofcomputersanddevicesthatareusedtodayandtheirproperties.

Thenwewilltalkabouthowinformationissentinsideyourcomputerandhowitisrepresented.Knowingthatwillalsohelpyouunderstandthecharacteristicsofacomputeranditscomponents,aswellashowtoevaluateitsperformance.There’salotofgroundtocoverandlotsofinterestingthingstoshare,solet’sgetstarted.

TheInternalHardwareComponentsofaComputerHardwareisthetermthatisusedtodescribethephysicalcomponentsofacomputerordevice.Whilesoftwareandoperatingsystemsareephemeralandnontangible,hardwareisalwaysphysicalandtangible.Youmayneverseeortouchthehardwareinsideyourcomputer,butthatdoesn’tmeanthecomponentsdon’texist.Hardwareisgenerallyprotectedbyacase,tokeepitsafefromdamage,fromdust,andfromotherthingsthatmightstopitfromworking.

Hardwarecomponentsarespecializedforthejobstheydo.Forexample,onecomponenthandlesthesoundthatisplayedbythecomputer,anotherhandlestheimagedisplayedonthescreen,anotherhandlestheconnectiontothenetwork,andsoon.Generally,insidethecaseofacomputeryouwillfindthefollowinghardwarecomponents:

Processor

AlsoknownastheCPU(centralprocessingunit),itisthe“brains”ofacomputer.TheCPUiswhatcarriesouttheinstructionssentbythesoftwareyourun.It’sthemostimportanthardwarecomponentinacomputer.Youcannothavearunningdevicewithoutaprocessor.

RAMRAMmeansrandomaccessmemory,anditisavolatileandveryfastformofmemorythatallowsdatatobereadandwritteninroughlythesameamountoftime.SoftwareusesRAMtocarryoutcalculationsandoperationsasquicklyaspossible.Whenanapplicationisclosed,itnolongerusesaportionoftheavailableRAM,anditfreesitupforotherapplications.RAMcan’tbeusedforlong-termstorage,however,becausealldatainRAMdisappearswhenacomputerisrestartedorshutdown.

DiskStorageTherearetwotypesofdiskstoragesolutionsthatarecommonlyusedincomputers:

HardDiskThisisthedatastoragedeviceinyourcomputerthatisusedforstoringandretrievinginformation.UnlikeRAM,aharddiskstoresdatapermanently,anditcanholdlargeamountsofinformation.Also,itissloweratwritingandreadingdata.Onaharddisk,dataisusuallyreadfasterthanitiswritten.Inmanymoderncomputers,traditionalharddisksarereplacedwithdevicesnamedSSDs.

SSDSolid-statedisks(SSD)arealsodatastoragedevices,buttheyusedifferentcircuitryandmethodsforstoringyourdataaswellasfewermovingparts.Theyaremuchfasterthantraditionalharddisksandconsumelesspowerwhenrunning.Generally,SSDsareatleastfivetimesfasterthantraditionalharddisks.Duetotheirbenefitsandcontinuouslyloweringprices,theywillultimatelyreplaceharddisks.

GraphicsCardThisisthehardwarethatprocessesandgeneratestheimagethatisdisplayedbyyourcomputer.Itisalsoknownasavideocard,videoadapter,orgraphicsadapter.Agraphicscardisalwaysdirectlyconnectedtothemonitor;otherwise,theimagewouldnotgetdisplayed.Duetotheadvancesintechnology,graphicscardscanalsobesmallchipsthatarebuiltintothemotherboard.

SoundCardThisisthehardwarethatprocessesandgeneratessound.Withoutasoundcardyouwouldnotbeabletolistentomusicandhearthesoundsplayedbytheoperating

systemandtheapplicationsthatyouarerunning.Withthehelpofamicrophone,soundcardscanalsotakesoundinputfromoutsidethecomputerandturnitintoaudiorecordings.Justlikegraphicscards,soundcardscanalsobesmallchipsthatarebuiltintothemotherboard.

NetworkCardAlsoknownasanetworkinterfacecontroller(NIC)ornetworkadapter,itisthehardwarethatconnectsacomputertoanetworkandmanagesthedatatransfersbetweenthenetworkandthecomputer.Networkcardscanuseeithernetworkcablesorwirelesssignalstoconnecttothenetworkbutneverbothatthesametime.Youwillneedtwoseparatenetworkcardsforthat:onefornetworkcablesandoneforwirelesssignals.Duetotheadvancesintechnology,networkcardscanalsobesmallchipsthatarebuiltintothemotherboard.

DVDDriveThisdevicecanreadandwritetoadigitalvideodisc(DVD)thatisusedtostoreallkindsofdata,frommoviestogamesandalltypesoffiles.

Blu-rayDriveThisisadevicethatcanreadBlu-raydiscs.Blu-rayisthemodernalternativetotheDVDandisslowlyreplacingit.Blu-raydiscsaresimilarinshapeandsizetoDVDs,buttheystorealotmoredata.Typically,Blu-raydiscsstoresixtimesmoredatathanDVDs.Blu-raydrivescanalsoreadDVDs,soyouwon’tneedbothaBlu-raydriveandaDVD-ROMdriveinyourcomputer.

MotherboardThisisthemainboardinacomputer.Itholdsallthecrucialhardwarecomponentsofthecomputer,liketheprocessorandtheRAM.Alltheinternalhardwarecomponentsofacomputerareconnectedtoitinsomeway.Thisisbecausethemotherboardactsasthehubthatmanagesallthecommunicationbetweenhardwarecomponents.Withoutamotherboard,thehardwarecomponentsofacomputerwouldnotbeabletointeractandcooperatewitheachother.Manymodernmotherboardsintegratechipsthatreplaceotherhardwarecomponentslikeasoundcard,networkcard,orgraphicscard.

PowerSupplyUnitThismanagesthealternatingcurrentfromthewallsocketandtransformsitintodirectcurrent,whichisnecessaryforyourcomputertorun.Itisoneofthemostimportantcomponentsofacomputersinceitprovidesthenecessaryelectricalpowerforallothercomponents.

ComputerCoolingAllthehardwarecomponentsofacomputergenerateheat.Ifanycomponentgetsoverheated,itwillmalfunctionandstopworking.Allcomputersanddevices,nomatterhowbigorsmall,havesomeformofcoolingbuiltin.Inatypicalcomputer,coolingisprovidedthroughtheuseofsmallfanstoreducetemperaturebyactivelyexhaustinghotair.

Allthesecomponentsmakeupallcomputers,includinglaptopsandmobiledeviceslikesmartphonesandtablets.Becausemobiledevicesaresmallersothattheycanbeeasilycarried,theirhardwarecomponentsaremuchsmallerthanontraditionalcomputers.Also,theyareoptimizedtoconsumeaslittleenergyaspossibleandreleaseaslittleheataspossible.Desktopcomputersarebiggerbecausetheircomponentsaremorepowerful.Theydelivermoreperformancewhileconsumingmorepowerandrequiringmorecoolingandventilation.

Volatilevs.NonvolatileMemory

WementionedthatRAMisvolatilememory.Volatilemeansthatitcanstoredataonlywhilepoweredon.Whenit’spoweredoff,datastoredinRAMislost.Thisiswhythistypeofmemoryisusedonlyformakingreal-timecalculationsinacomputerandnotforstoringfilesandotherdatathatneedstobeusedonalong-termbasis.

Nonvolatilememorycanstoredataevenwhenpoweredoff.Obviously,youcannotusethedatafromnonvolatilememoryifitispoweredoff,butthedatawillneverbelostunlessthememoryisphysicallydamaged.Nonvolatilememorycancomeinmanyformsandshapes.Themostcommontypesofnonvolatilememoryareharddisks,SSDs,DVDs,Blu-raydiscs,externalharddisks,andUSBflashdrives.

PeripheralDevicesThatCanBeConnectedtoaComputerPreviouslywelistedtheinternalhardwarecomponentsofacomputer.Therearealsoexternalhardwarecomponentsthatcanbeconnectedtothecomputer;seeFigure2.1.Thesearecalledperipherals.Herearethetypesofperipheralsyoucanconnecttoacomputer.

Figure2.1Adesktopcomputerandseveralperipheralsthatareconnectedtoit:printer,scanner,andprojector

MonitorThisisthevisualdisplayforthecomputer.Ittakesthedatasentbythegraphicscardanddisplaysittotheuser.Onsmalldeviceslikelaptops,tablets,andsmartphones,themonitorisbuiltintothedevice,andthereforeitisnotconsideredaperipheralbutaninternalhardwarecomponentofthatdevice.Moderndevicesliketabletsandsmartphoneshavemoreevolveddisplaysthatincludesensorsfortouchgestures.Theyarecalledtouchscreens.Userscanusethetouchscreentoreacttowhatisdisplayedandcontrolhowitisdisplayed.Touchscreensgenerallyreplacemiceandkeyboards.

MouseAmouseisapointingdevicethatdetectsmotionrelativetothesurfaceyouplaceiton.Thismotionistranslatedintoapointerthatisshownonthedisplayofyourcomputer.Thepointercanbeusedtocontrolwhatisdisplayedandhowitisdisplayed.

KeyboardThisdeviceissimilartoatypewriter.Ithascharactersengravedorprintedonitskeys,andeachpressofakeycorrespondstothesinglewrittensymbolontopofit.Itisthemostcommonlyuseddeviceforprovidingdatainputtocomputers.

SpeakersSpeakersproducethesoundinresponsetothedatasentbythesoundcardofacomputer.

MicrophoneThisdeviceconvertsthesoundinairintoanelectricalsignalthatcanbesenttothesoundcardandlateronprocessedandusedbythecomputer.

WebcamAwebcamisavideocamerathattakestheimageinrealtimeandsendsittothecomputerthatitisconnectedto.Theresultingvideocanbeviewed,saved,streamed,orsenttoothers.Webcamsgenerallyincludeamicrophonesothattheycanrecordboththesoundandtheimagefromtheirarea.

PrinterThisisadevicethatprintsgraphicsortextonpaperandothersimilarmedia.

ScannerThisdeviceopticallyscansimages,printedtext,andhandwritingandconvertsittoadigitalimage.Itistheoppositeofaprinter:whereastheprintertakesdigitalinputandturnsitintophysicaloutputliketextonpaper,thescannertakesthephysicalinput(thetextonpaper)andturnsitintoadigitalimage.

FlashDrivesThesedevicesusenonvolatileflashmemory(atypeofmemorythatcanbeerasedandreprogrammedwithelectricalsignals)forstoringdata.TheyaresimilartoSSDswhenitcomestothetypesofmemoryusedforstorage,buttheyhavelessadvancedcircuitry,chips,andsoon.ThemostcommonexamplesofflashdrivesaretheUSBflashdriveandtheSecureDigital(SD)cards.USBflashdrivesarepluggedintoacomputerviaUSBports,andtheyareusedtoeasilystoreandcarrydatabetweencomputers.TheyareusedforthesamepurposesasaDVDorBlu-raydisc.SDcardsareusedinthesamewaysasUSBflashdrives.However,theyaresmallerinsizeandareoptimizedforuseinportabledeviceslikesmartphones,digitalcameras,andtablets.

StylusThisdeviceisusedtoassistinnavigatingorprovidingmoreprecisionwhenusingtouchscreens.Astylusgenerallylookslikeapen.Theyareespeciallyusefulwithsmallerscreensortouchscreensthathavelessprecisionandsensitivity.Youcanuseastylustoaccuratelynavigatethroughmenusandwindows,sendmessages,andwriteonyourtouchscreen.

ProjectorThisopticaldeviceprojectstheimagesitreceivesfromyourcomputerontoasurfacelikewallsorprojectionscreens.

Peripheralscomplementtheinternalhardwareofacomputer.Forexample,youcandomorewithasoundcardifyouhaveamicrophoneconnectedtoit.Someperipheralsarealsomandatoryinordertouseacomputer.Forexample,ifyouhaveadesktopcomputer,youmusthaveamonitorattachedtoitinordertoviewtheimage.Themouseandkeyboardarealsomandatoryonadesktopcomputerbecausewithoutthemyoucannotcontrolthecomputer.

Ontheotherhand,laptopshaveamonitorbuiltinanddonotneedanexternalmonitorinordertobeusedsuccessfully.Also,mobiledevicesliketabletsandsmartphonesdon’tneedamouseandkeyboardbecausetheyhavetouchscreensthatusetouchinputfromtheusertocontrolthosedevices.

Peripheralsvs.InternalHardwareComponents

Witheachnewgenerationofmobiledevices,moreandmorehardwarecomponentsgetincludedineachdevice.Forexample,inclassicdesktopcomputers,themonitorisaperipheralbecauseitisnotinsidethecomputercase.Inasmartphone,themonitorisincludedinthedeviceitselfandisnolongeraperipheral.Itisacorepartofthedevice.Also,thedisplayofasmartphoneincludestouchsensorsthatallowyoutocontrolitwithyourfingers.Asaresult,youdon’tneedamouseandkeyboardlikeyoudotocontroladesktopcomputer.Speakersandmicrophonesarealsoaninternalpartofmorecomputersanddevices.Thistrendwillonlycontinuewithtime.Youwillseeevenmoredevicesthatmovefrombeinganexternalperipheraltoanintegralhardwarecomponentofacomputerordevice.

Peripheralsaregenerallysplitintwotypes:

InputDevicesTheseperipheralsareusedtoprovidedataandcontrolcommandstothecomputertheyareconnectedto.Forexample,thekeyboardisaninputdevicebecauseyouuseittoentertextandsendcommandstothecomputer.Themouseisaninputdevicebecauseyouuseittocontrolwhatisdisplayedonthescreen.Thescannerisanotherinputdevicethattakesimages,printedtext,andhandwritingandconvertsittoadigitalimage.Otherexamplesofinputdevicesarethewebcam,thestylus,andthemicrophone.

OutputDevicesTheseperipheralsareusedtocommunicatetheoutcomeofthedataprocessingthatwascarriedoutbythecomputertotheuser.Themonitorisanoutputdevicebecauseitdisplaystheimageonthescreen,basedonthecommandssentbytheuser.Otherexamplesofoutputdevicesarethespeakers,theprinter,andtheprojector.

Someperipheralscanbebothinputandoutputdevices.Forexample,therearemultifunctionalprintersthatarebothaprinterandascanner,andyoucanusethemforinputtingdatatothecomputerthroughtheuseofthescannerandoutputtingdatafromitthroughtheuseoftheprinter.Let’sgothroughExercise2.1andhelpyouidentifyinputandoutputdevices,basedonthedefinitionsthatweresharedearlier.

EXERCISE2.1

SeparatingOutputDevicesfromInputDevicesBesideeachentrywriteeither“Input”or“Output”todenotethetypeofdevice:

1. Printer

2. Scanners

3. Speakers

4. Mouse

5. Multifunctionalprinter

TheanswerstoExercises2.1,2.2,and2.3arefoundattheendofthis

chapterbeforethesummary.

TheMostCommonTypesofComputersandDevicesComputersanddevicesnowhaveincreasinglydifferentformsandproperties;seeFigure2.2.Somearebig,powerful,lessmobile,andlesspowerefficient.Othersaremorepowerefficientandmobilewhilebeinglesspowerfulintermsofperformance.Ingeneral,weusethefollowingtypesofdevices:

Figure2.2Adesktopcomputerontheleftandalaptopontheright

DesktopComputersAdesktopcomputerisapersonalcomputerthatitisintendedtobeusedatasinglelocation,usuallyonadeskoratable.Desktopcomputersgenerallyrequiremanyperipheralslikeamonitor,akeyboardandmouse,speakers,andmore.Also,theyneedanexternalpowersourceinordertofunction.Theircomponentsaregenerallyplacedinacasethatisanuprighttowerorhorizontaldesktop.Performance-wise,desktopcomputerstendtobemorepowerfulthanlaptopsandothermobiledevices,buttheyhavehigherenergyrequirements.

ServersAserverisaspecializedbusinesscomputerthatisintendedtobeusedatasinglecontrolledlocation.Serversgenerallyhavepowerfulhardware(likefasterprocessors,increasedstoragecapacity,andsoon),andtheyrequiremoreenergythanothertypesofcomputers.Theyarerunusingspecialsoftwarethatprovidesservicestoothercomputersonanetwork.

Aservercanbeusedtostoredatafromacompany’snetwork,manageusers,manageprinters,andsoon.Thereareprintservers,dataservers,emailservers,andmore.Anenterprisegenerallyusesoneormoreserverstomanageadomain,whichallowsnetworkadministratorstomanagehundredsorthousandsofusersandtheirdataeffectively.

LaptopsAlaptopisaportablecomputerthatissuitableformobileuse.Laptops,sometimescallednotebookcomputers,includeadisplay,speakers,akeyboard,andapointingdevicecombinedintoasingleunit.Mostmodernlaptopsalsocomewithanintegratedwebcamandmicrophone.Laptopscanbepoweredbyusingabuilt-inrechargeablebatteryaswellasanexternalpowersupply.Theyareeasytocarryaroundandcanbeusedinmanylocationsandondifferentsurfaces.

TabletsAtabletisamobilecomputerwiththedisplay,itsbattery,andallitsothercomponentsinasingleunit.Theymayincludephysicalbuttons(likeOn/Offand/orvolumeswitches),buttheydonotalwaysincludeanexternalkeyboard,althoughavirtualkeyboardisincludedintheoperatingsystem.Youcontrolthembyusingyourfingersorastylustotouchtheirdisplay.Tabletsarehighlymobiledevicesduetotheirsmallsize,energyefficiency,andlongbatterylife.

HybridDevicesThesearenewertypesofdevicesthatcombinethepropertiesoftwodifferentdevices.Theyaregrowingbothinthenumberofdevicesavailableandinpopularity.Oneexampleofhybriddevicesisall-in-ones:desktopcomputersthatintegratealltheirhardwarecomponentsinthesamecaseasthedisplay.Also,thescreencanincludetouchsensors,makingiteasytocontrolwithyourfingers.Suchdevicesaremoremobilethantraditionaldesktopcomputers,andtheyrequirelessspace.

Anotherexampleofhybriddevicesisconvertibles.Theyaremobiledevicesthatgenerallymixthepropertiesofatabletwiththoseofalaptop.Forexample,MicrosoftSurfacedevicesaretabletstowhichyoucanmagneticallyattachakeyboard.Theyalsohaveakickstand,whichallowsyoutoplacethemonyourdeskandusethemaslaptops.However,whenyouareonthego,youcandetachthekeyboardandusethedeviceasatablet.

SmartphonesSmartphonesaremobilephoneswithadvancedcomputingcapabilities.Theycombinethefeaturesofacomputerwiththoseofamobilephone.Justlikeacomputer,theyhaveanoperatingsysteminstalled,andyoucaninstallapplications(whicharecalledapps).YoucanusethemtobrowsetheInternet,takepictures,viewdocuments,andsoon.Youcanalsousethemtocallotherpeopleorsendthemtextmessages.Somesmartphonesarenearlylargeenoughtodoubleasatablet,suchasApple’siPhone6Plus.

Anaveragepersonmayownanduseareasonablylargenumberofdevices.Youmayhaveasmartphonetokeepintouchwithotherswhileonthego,adesktopcomputerathomewithalargemonitorsothatyoucanhavefunwithyourfamily,andalaptopatworkthatyoualsotakewithyouonbusinesstrips.

InExercise2.2wewillaskyoutodistinguishbetweenexamplesofoperatingsystems,applications,andtypesofcomputers.

EXERCISE2.2

DistinguishingamongtheOperatingSystem,Applications,andTypesofComputersSpecifythecategoryofeachofthefollowingitems.ChoosefromOperatingSystem,Application,orTypeofComputer:

1. Windows7

2. Laptop

3. MicrosoftOffice

4. Android

5. Server

Whenpurchasinganewcomputerordevice,youshouldtakeintoconsiderationitsprice,itsperformance,andhowwellitmeetsyourneeds.Butbeforeyoudothat,youneedtoknowhowinformationflowsinsideacomputerandhowyoucanevaluatetheperformanceofthedevicesthatyouareconsidering.

HowInformationIsTransmittedinsideaComputerComputersareelectronicdevices,andtheycaninterpretandproduceonlytwokindsofinput:onoroff.Likeelectricitytravelingthroughalightswitch,whichiseitheracompletecircuit(lightison)orabrokencircuit(lightisoff),dataandinstructionsaretransmittedinthesamemannerthroughacomputer,viaelectricalcircuitsfoundonthecomputer’smotherboard.Becauseofthat,datamustbeofferedtothecomputerwithonlytwotypesofsymbolstorepresentit.Thosesymbolsare1and0:1ison;0isoff.Thesearecalledbits.

Each1andeach0isasinglebit.Abitisthesmallestunitofstorage.Abitisn’tanythingonitsown,butwhenyoucombine8bits,yougetabyte,andabyteissomethingmuchmoreimportant.Infact,1bytecanrepresentaletter,suchasA,B,C,orD.Ifyouthinkaboutspellingoutasingleword,thenyoucanimaginethatseveralbytesarecreatedtorepresentthatword.

So,movingonfromasinglebyte,notethefollowing:

Akilobyte(KB)is1,024bytes(210).

Amegabyte(MB)is1,024kilobytes.

Agigabyte(GB)is1,024megabytes.

Aterabyte(TB)is1,024gigabytes.

Apetabyte(PB)is1,024terabytes.

Togetanideaofhowmuchdatatheseentriesrepresent,considerthataCDholdsabout700MBofdata,whichisaround80minutesofmusicor60minutesofvideo.Sevenminutesofhigh-definitiontelevision(HDTV)videoisabout1GBofdata;100,000digitalpicturestakenwitha6-megapixelcameracomestoabout500GB.

Tohelpyourememberalltheseunitsofmeasureandthedifferencesbetweenthem,let’sgothroughExercise2.3.

EXERCISE2.3

ConvertingBitsandBytesFillintheblanks:

1. Abyte=________bits.

2. Akilobyte=________bytes.

3. Aterabyte=________gigabytes.

HowtoEvaluatethePerformanceofaComputerorDeviceInordertoevaluatetheperformanceofanycomputerordevice,youfirstneedtoknowitsmostimportantcharacteristicsandunderstandwhattheymean.Forexample,whenbuyinganewcomputerorlaptop,youwillencountertermslikenumberofcores,processorspeed,storagespace,andsoon.Ifyoudon’tknowwhatthesetermsmean,youwon’thaveanideaofhowwellthedevicewillperformandwhetheritwillmeetyourneeds.

Let’stakethemostimportantcomponentsofacomputeranddiscusstheirmostimportantproperties:

TheProcessor(CPU)Mostcomputermanufacturersmentionthespeedoftheprocessorusingaunitofmeasurenamedhertz(Hz).Ahertzisonecomputingcyclepersecond.Acycleisdescribedasonecomputerinstruction;100Hzmeans100cyclespersecondor100computerinstructions.Moderncomputershavereallyfastprocessors,andtheycanrunmillionsofcyclespersecond.Tomakeiteasiertoexpresstheirspeed,multiplesareused:KHz(kilohertz,10^3Hz),MHz(megahertz,10^6Hz),andGHz(gigahertz,10^9Hz).Themostcommonmultiplierusedwhenexpressingaprocessor’sspeedisGHz;1GHzmeansonebillionhertz.Thebiggerthenumberofgigahertzes,thefastertheprocessoris.

Earlyprocessorshadonephysicalcomputingcomponentnamedcore.Sincetheearly2000s,processorsstartedincludingmorethanonecore.Becauseoftheimprovementsinthetechnologyusedtobuildprocessors,manufacturerscannowaddmorecoresintoaprocessorwithoutmakingitbiggerinsize.Therefore,wehavedual-core,quad-core,hexa-core,andeight-coreprocessorsandsoon.Eachcorehasthesamespeedastheothers(measuredinhertz),andeachcorecanprocessitsowncomputerinstructionsinparallelwiththeothercores.Therefore,themorecoresavailable,thehighertheperformanceofthatprocessor.

RAMWhenreferringtotherandom-accessmemoryofacomputer,oneofthemostimportantpropertiesishowmuchisphysicallyinstalled.ThemoreRAMyouhave,thegreatertheamountofdatathatcanbestoredinit.YouwilloftenseeRAMdescribedusingGBs;acomputermighthave2GB,4GB,8GB,ormoreofinstalledRAM.Whenacomputerhas8GBofRAM,itmeansthatitcanfillupto8GBofdataintheRAMtoperformcalculations.ThemoreRAMyouhave,thebetteryourcomputerwillperform.

HardDriveTheamountofstoragespaceisalsomeasuredinbytes.Moderncomputerstendtohavelargeharddriveswithlotsofstoragespace.Itisverycommontohaveaharddiskinyourcomputerwith500GBofstoragespaceoreven1TB.However,ifyouareusinganSSDinsideacomputer,itwillmostprobablyhaveasmalleramountofstoragespace,duetothefactthatSSDsaremoreexpensivetomanufacturethantraditionalharddisks.That’swhyyouwilloftenseeSSDshavingonly64GBor128GBofstoragespace.

DisplaySizeOneofthemostimportantpropertiesofamonitorisitssize.Thisisdescribedbythelengthofitsdiagonal,whichisthedistancebetweenoppositecorners.Thisdistanceismeasuredininches.Thesizeofthedisplaydiffersfromdevicetodevice.Forexample,atabletmaybe9or10inchesindiagonal,alaptopmayhaveascreenwitha

diagonalfrom11inchesto17inches,whileadesktopcomputermayhaveascreenwitha24-inchdiagonal.

Obviouslythesearenottheonlypropertiesofacomputer;theremanyothercharacteristicsthatyoucanusetogetanideaofwhatithastooffer.Forexample,weightisanimportantfactorwhenchoosingamobiledevicelikealaptoporatablet.Ifyoubuyadesktopcomputer,youmaywantonewithapowerfulgraphicscardandsoon.

YoucangetabetterviewoftheperformancedeliveredbyacomputerbyusingtheoperatingsystemandtheinformationsharedbytoolslikeTaskManagerortheWindowsExperienceIndex.Forexample,youcanuseTaskManagertoseehowyourcomputer’sresourcesarecurrentlybeingusedandifthereareanybottlenecks,asexplainedinExercise2.4.

EXERCISE2.4

DeterminingtheAvailableHardwareResourcesUsingTaskManager1. InWindows7,openTaskManagerbypressingCtrl+Alt+Esconyourkeyboard.

2. ClickthePerformancetabandwaitforacoupleofseconds(Figure2.3).

Figure2.3ThePerformancetabinTaskManager

3. LookattheCPUUsagegraphtolearnhowmuchoftheCPUprocessingpoweriscurrentlybeingused.

4. LookattheCPUUsageHistorygraphtolearnhowmuchofyourCPU’sprocessingpowerwasusedinthelastcoupleofminutes.IfyouareusingacomputerthathasaCPUwithmultiplecores,youwillseeanindividualgraphforeachcore.

5. LookattheMemorygraphtolearnhowmuchRAMisinuse.

6. LookatthePhysicalMemoryUsageHistorygraphtolearnhowmuchRAMwasusedinthelastcoupleofminutes.

7. CloseTaskManagerbyclickingtheXinthetop-rightcornerofthewindow.

AnothertoolthatyoucanusetointerprettheperformancethatisdeliveredbyaWindowscomputerordeviceistheWindowsExperienceIndex,asexplainedinExercise2.5.ThisisMicrosoft’smeasurementofhowwellacomputercanrunWindows.Acomputerwithabasescoreof2.0hastheabilitytorungeneralcomputingtasks,butitwouldnotbepowerfulenoughtorunadvancedmultimediafeaturesinWindows7orWindows8.Acomputerwithabasescoreof3.0canrunmanyWindowsfeaturesatabasiclevel,butit

mighthaveissuesrunninghigher-levelfunctions,suchasplayinghigh-definitioncontent.MostcomputersrunningWindows7shouldhaveascoreofatleast4.Ascoreof7andabovegenerallymeansahigher-endcomputerwithpowerfulhardware.

Tocalculateacomputer’sWindowsExperienceIndexscore,Windowsratescertaincomponentsandgivesthemasubscore.Thosecomponentsaredefinedbythefollowingareas:

ProcessorCalculationspersecond

Memory(RAM)Memoryoperationspersecond

GraphicsDesktopgraphicsperformanceforWindowsfeatures

GamingGraphicsTheperformancedeliveredwhenrunninggamesthataredemandingfromavisualperspectiveorwhenrunningimage-editingapplications

PrimaryHardDiskDiskdatatransferratefortheharddiskwheretheoperatingsystemisinstalled

Thebaseperformancescoreofyourcomputeristhelowestsubscoreinanyoftheareasjustmentioned.Forexample,ifyourcomputerhasaprocessorsubscoreof7andagraphicssubscoreof3,thebaseperformancescorewillbe3andnottheaverageofalltheindividualsubscores.Thesesubscoreswillhelpyouidentifywhichhardwarecomponentistheweakestpartofyourcomputer.Youmayusethisinformationwhendecidingwhichcomponentisworthreplacingwithabetterone.Forexample,there’snopointinchangingtheprocessoriftheprimaryharddiskisthecomponentreceivingaverylowsubscore.

EXERCISE2.5

DeterminingtheWindowsExperienceIndexofYourComputer1. ClickStartandthenControlPanel.

2. ClickSystemAndSecurityandthenSystem(Figure2.4).


3. IntheSystemwindow,lookfortheRatinglineintheSystemsection.Thereyouwillseethebasescoreforyourcomputer(Figure2.5).

Figure2.5TheSystempanel

4. ClicktheWindowsExperienceIndexlinktoseealistwithalltheindividualsubscoresforeachcomponent.

5. Notethecomponentwiththehighestsubscoreandtheonewiththelowest(Figure2.6).

Figure2.6ThePerformanceInformationAndToolswindow

***************

AnswerstoExercises2.1–2.3

AnswerstoExercise2.11. Output

2. Input

3. Output

4. Input

5. Inputandoutput

AnswerstoExercise2.21. Operatingsystem

2. Typeofcomputer

3. Application

4. Operatingsystem

5. Typeofcomputer

AnswerstoExercise2.31. 8

2. 1024

3. 1024

SummaryTherearemanydifferenttypesofcomputers(servers,laptops,tablets,andsoon),andeachhasseveralinternalhardwarecomponentsthatallowittowork.Youcan’thaveacomputerwithoutamotherboard,aprocessor,RAM,aharddisk,andsoon.Also,externalhardwaredevicescanbeconnectedtoacomputertoallowyoutodomorewithit.Forexample,connectingaprintertoyourcomputerallowsyoutoprintyourworkonapieceofpaper,whichwouldn’tbepossibleotherwise.

Everypieceofhardwarehasitsownuniqueproperties,andsomehardwareisfasterthanotherhardware,orcanstoremoredata,andsoon.Thesumofthepropertiesofeachhardwaredevicethatmakesupacomputerdeterminesitsoverallperformanceandwhatyoucandowithit.That’swhy,beforepurchasinganewcomputerordevice,itisrecommendedthatyoulookatitsmostimportantpropertiesinordertounderstandifitofferswhatyouneed.

Nowthatyouunderstandthebasicsaboutsoftwareandhardwareinacomputer,inthenextchapterwewillstarttogomoreindepthaboutsoftware,howtoinstallanduninstallvariouskindsofsoftware,thelicensingmodelsusedforsoftware,andthemostimportanttypesofsoftwareapplicationsthatyoucanusetodoyourwork.

ExamEssentialsUnderstandtheroleofeachhardwarecomponent.Makesureyouknowwhathardwareisusedforwhattypeoftasksothatyouhaveagoodunderstandingofhowcomputerswork.KnowthattheCPUisforprocessingcomputerinstructions,RAMisforstoringdatatemporarily,andtheharddiskisforstoringdatainthelongterm.

Understandthedifferencebetweenperipheralsandinternalhardware.Knowwhatkindsofdevicesareconsideredperipherals,whattheydo,andhowtheyexpandwhatacomputercando.Youshouldalsoknowthedifferencebetweeninputandoutputdevicesandbeabletodistinguishthetypeofeachcommonlyusedperipheraldevice.

Knowtheunitsofmeasurementusedwithhardware.Learnwhatabitis,whatabyteis,andthevariousextensionsofthese(MB,GB,andsoon).Beabletoconvert,oratleaststate,howmanybitsareinabyteandperformsimilarconversions.

Understandthemostimportantpropertiesforthemostimportantcomponentsthatmakeupadevice.Learnhowprocessorspeedismeasuredandhowthenumberofcoresavailableimpactsperformance.KnowhowstoragespaceismeasuredaswellastheamountofavailableRAM.Also,youshouldknowhowthedisplaysizeismeasured.

Knowhowtoevaluateperformance.TaskManagercanhelpyouunderstandhowyourcomputer’shardwareresourcesareusedandhowmanyresourcesareavailable.TheWindowsExperienceIndexwillhelpyouevaluatetheoverallperformanceofyoursystemandidentifythecomponentsthathavelowerperformancethanothers.


Blu-raydrive MouseComputercooling NetworkcardCPU PowersupplyunitDesktopcomputers PrinterDiskstorage ProcessorDVDdrive RAMFlashdrives ScannerGraphicscard ServersHybriddevices SmartphonesKeyboard SoundcardLaptops SpeakersMicrophone StylusMonitor TabletsMotherboard Webcam

ReviewQuestions1. Whichoftheseareconsideredinternalhardware?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. RAM

B. Mouse

C. CPU

D. Printer

2. Whichofthesetypesofmemoryarenonvolatile?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. SSD

B. RAM

C. DVD

D. USBflashdrive

3. Whichofthesehardwarecomponentsareperipheralsforadesktopcomputer?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. SSD

B. Speakers

C. Webcam

D. Soundcard

4. Whichofthesedevicesareconsideredoutputdevices?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Monitor

B. Speakers

C. Microphone

D. Keyboard

5. Whichtypeofcomputerhasverypowerfulhardwareandisusedtoprovidespecializedservicestoothercomputersonthenetwork?

A. Laptop

B. Tablet

C. Smartphone

D. Server

6. Howarebitsrelatedtobytes?

A. 1bit=8bytes

B. 1byte=8bits

C. 1bit=2bytes

D. 1bit=24bytes

7. Whatcanyourepresentwithasinglebyte?

A. AletterlikeAorZ

B. Asinglepicture

C. Asinglevideo

D. Youcan’trepresentanythingwithasinglebyte.Youhavetogroup8bytestogethertorepresentsomething.

8. WhatunitofmeasurementisgenerallyusedtodenotetheamountofRAMinstalledinacomputer?

A. GHz

B. MB

C. GB

D. MHz

9. YouwanttouseTaskManagertoviewRAMusageandusagehistory.WhattabinTaskManageroffersagraphthatdetailsthis?

A. Processes

B. Services

C. ResourceMonitor

D. Performance

10. Whatdoes1hertzstandforwhenmeasuringaprocessor’sspeed?

A. Onebitpersecond

B. Onecomputerinstructionpersecond

C. Onecomputerinstructionperminute

D. Onecomputingcycleperminute

Chapter3UnderstandingSoftwareTHEFOLLOWINGIC3GS4:COMPUTERFUNDAMENTALSEXAMOBJECTIVESARECOVEREDINTHISCHAPTER:

✓SoftwareManagement

Describehowtoinstall,uninstallandreinstallvariouskindsofsoftware,includingapplicationsoftware,driversandsystemsoftware,upgradesandpatches,onvarioustypesofpersonalcomputersandconfiguretheenvironmentforuse.

✓Licensing

Understandthevariouslicensingmodelsusedforcomputersoftwaresuchasoperatingsystems,applicationprograms,systemsoftware,databases,browsers,etc.Freeware,shareware,open-source,premiumapplications.

DemonstrateanunderstandingofthelegalandethicalobligationsassociatedwithEULAsandtheuser’sresponsibilities,commitments,andbenefitsthatcanbederivedbyenteringintoatypicalcomputerindustryEULA.

DemonstrateanunderstandingoftheconceptofasingleseatandsiteLicenseoptions,howeachpartybenefits,restrictions,obligations,etc.

✓SoftwareUsage

Describethedependenciesandconstraintsthatexistbetweenhardwareandsoftwareoperation.

Demonstrateanunderstandingofthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenabasic,consumer-levelrelationaldatabasemanagementsystemandatypicalspreadsheetprogram,includinganunderstandingofwhichsituationswouldbebettersuitedtowhichproduct.

Describewhatdesktoppublishingis,howandwhendesktoppublishingsoftwareshouldbeused,andthegeneralfeaturesetincludedinarepresentativedesktoppublishingprogram.

DescribewhataPresentationprogramis,itspurpose,howitisused,andthegeneralfeaturesetincludedinatypicalconsumer-levelpresentationprogram.

Demonstratehowtousetemplates,defaultsettings,andquickstartaidstorapidlygenerateusableapplicationuserdata.

Describethepurposeanduseofapersonalcomputer-basedentertainmentprogram.Listthefeaturesthatcouldbeexpectedtobefoundinsuchaprogramandexplainhowtheywork.

✓SoftwareTools

Explainwhatfilecompressionisandhowitworkswithvariousfiletypes.

ExplainhowfilesarestoredonaHardDisk.Demonstratehowtoorganize,

compress,defragment,andotherwiseoptimizeacomputer’sharddiskperformance.

Explainthedangerposedbyvirusesandmalwareandhowvirusandmalwarescanningsoftwarework.Listseveralcommon/popularbrandsandtypesofvirusandmalwarescanningsoftware.

Inordertouseacomputerordeviceasproductivelyaspossible,youshouldn’tsticktousingonlytheoperatingsystemandthetoolsandapplicationsthatarebuiltintothesystem.Youshouldconsiderinstallingotherkindsofsoftwareapplicationsthatallowyoutodomanythingsrangingfromcreatingdocumentsandpresentationstodoingyourworkandtohavingfun.

Whendealingwithsoftwareapplications,youshouldfirstunderstandwhatrequirementstheyhaveandhowtoinstallthemandremovethemwhenyounolongerneedthem.WewillstartthischapterbyexplainingtheconceptofsystemrequirementsanddemonstratinghowtoinstallandremoveapplicationsinWindows7.

Wheninstallingsoftwareapplications,youwilloftenencounterastepwhereyouhavetoacceptthelicenseagreement,whichisthecontractbetweenyouastheuserandthepublisherofthesoftwarethatyouareinstalling.Therearemanytypesofsoftwarelicenseagreements,andeachhasitsrightsandlimitationsfortheuser.Wewilldiscussthemostimportanttypesoflicensesandhowtheyaffectyouruseofthesoftwarethatyouareinstalling.

Thenwewillmoveonanddiscussthemostcommontypesofsoftwareapplicationsthatyouarelikelytoinstallonyourcomputerandsharewhatyoucandowiththem.

Finally,wewilldiscusscommonsoftwaretoolslikefile-compressionapplications,toolsthatcanoptimizeyourcomputer’sperformance,andapplicationsthatcanhelpyoukeepitsafefromdigitalthreatslikecomputerviruses.

TheDependenciesbetweenHardwareandSoftwareInordertobeusedefficiently,softwareneedscertainhardwarecomponentsorothersoftwareresourcestobepresentonthecomputerordevicewhereyouwanttouseit,prerequisitesthatarecalledsystemrequirements.Theyareoftensharedbythepublisherofthesoftwareyouareusingandserveasaguideline.Somesoftware,especiallycomputergames,hastwosetsofsystemrequirements:minimumandrecommended.Theminimumsystemrequirementsaretheminimumhardwareandsoftwarecomponentsyoushouldhaveinordertorunthatsoftware,eventhoughitsperformanceandresponsivenessmightnotbegreat.Therecommendedsoftwarerequirementsarewhatyouneedinordertorunthatsoftwarewithoptimalperformanceandresponsiveness.

Themostimportantsystemrequirementsarethoseoftheoperatingsystemthatyouwanttouse.Anyoperatingsystemneedstobeinstalledonacomputerordevicewithaminimumhardwareconfigurationthatallowsittoruncorrectly.Forexample,MicrosoftsaysthatWindows7needsatleastthefollowing:

Acomputerwithaprocessorrunningat1GHz

1GBofRAM

16GBoffreespaceonitsharddisk

Obviously,ifyourcomputerhasafasterprocessor,moreRAM,ormorefreespaceonitsharddisk,Windows7willrunfasterandbetter.

Applicationsalsohavesystemrequirementsthatmustbemetinordertorun.Forexample,MicrosoftOffice2010hasthefollowinghardwarerequirements:

Aprocessorrunningat500MHz,with256MBofRAM

3GBoffreespaceonyourharddisk

Acomputerdisplaywithaminimumresolutionof1024×768pixels

Applicationsmighthavesoftwarerequirementsaswell.Forexample,MicrosoftOffice2010worksonlywhenusingthefollowingoperatingsystems:

WindowsVista

Windows7

Windows8

Windows8.1

MicrosoftOffice2010doesn’tworkonolderWindowsversionslike

WindowsXP,whichwasdiscontinuedbyMicrosoft.

Thesamegoesformobileapps.Forexample,ifyouhaveanAndroidsmartphone,someappswillworkonlywiththelatestversionofAndroidandnotwitholderversions.Otherappsmayrequireyourdevicetohaveatleast512MBofRAM,whileothers(especiallymobilegames)mayrequireseveralgigabytesoffreespaceinorderforyoutodownload,

install,andusethem.

Beforepurchasingandinstallinganysoftware,itisbesttocheckitssystemrequirementsandconsiderwhetheryourcomputerorotherdevicemeetsthem.Ifitmeetstheminimumhardwareandsoftwareconfigurationthat’srequestedbythepublisher,thenitisOKtousethatsoftware.Ifitdoesn’t,thenyoushouldreconsider.

Installing,Removing,orReinstallingSoftwareInordertotakefulladvantageofyourcomputeranduseitforasmanythingsaspossible,youwillneedtoinstallmanykindsofsoftwareonit:

ApplicationsSoftwarethatyouinstallinordertoperformspecializedtasks.Forexample,ifyouwanttocreatedocumentsorpresentations,youwillwanttoinstallMicrosoftOfficeorLibreOffice.Ifyouareagraphicdesigner,youmayneedtoinstalladvancedphoto-editingapplicationslikeAdobePhotoshop.

DriversSoftwarethatoperatesandcontrolsparticularhardwaredevicesconnectedtoyourcomputer.Driversensurethatyouroperatingsystemtakesfulladvantageofyourhardware.Operatingsystemscomewithgenericdrivers,butforfullaccess,youoftenneedspecificdrivers.

Forexample,ifyouinstallthedriverforyourcomputer’svideocard,Windowswillbeabletoidentifyitcorrectlyandfullyuseallitsfeatures.EitherdriversareinstalledautomaticallybyWindowsforthehardwarecomponentsitidentifiesandknowsoryouneedtoinstallthemseparately,justlikeanyotherprogram.Generally,manycomponentsbundleadiscwithdriversthatyoucanusewheninstallingthemonyourcomputer.

InstallinganyWindowsapplicationisgenerallyaquickandsimpleprocess.Thestepsinvolvedaresimilarfromapplicationtoapplication,andtheirflowisgenerallythesame:

1. Youstartthesetupprogramandconfirmthatyouwanttoinstalltheapplication.

2. Youselectwhetheryouwantaquickinstallationoraslowercustominstallation.

Itisbettertogoforthelengthier,custominstallationprocessbecauseyoucancontrolwheretheapplicationisinstalled,whichshortcutsareinstalled,andwhatfeaturesareenabled,andyoucanpreventunwantedthingsfrombeinginstalledoractivatedonyourcomputer.

3. Commercialapplicationsthatcostmoneygenerallyaskyoutoenteranactivationcodeorserialnumberthatprovesthatyouhavepurchasedthemfromalegitimatesource.

4. Youselectthefolderwhereyouwanttoinstalltheapplicationandwhichfeaturesandmodulesyouwantinstalled.

5. Theinstallationisperformed.Theprocesstakeslongerforlargerapplicationswithlotsoffiles.Asmallerapplicationlikeawebbrowsergenerallyinstallsitselfinseconds.

6. Oncethesetupprogramfinishestheinstallation,youcloseit,andyoucanthenusetheapplication.

Thewaythesetupprogramlooksisdifferentfromapplicationtoapplication,andthestepsinvolvedmaynotalwaysbeinthesameorderasmentionedhere.However,thebasicprinciplesarethesamewheninstallingallapplications.

Installingdriversforyourhardwarecomponentsisverysimilartoinstallingapplications.Theonlydifferenceisthatthesetupprogramincludesfewerstepsandoffersfewercustomizationoptions.Also,youmaybeaskedtorestartyourcomputersothattheoperatingsystemcanloadthedriveranduseittomanagethehardwarecomponentitwas

madefor.Whendownloadingadriver,youneedtopayattentionandmakesurethatyoudownloadthedriverthat’sappropriateforyourspecifichardwarecomponent.Youmustdownloadandinstallthedriverthatwascreatedbythemanufacturerofthehardwarecomponentyouareusingandforitsexactmodelnameandnumber.

ThingstoPayAttentiontoWhenInstallingFreeSoftwareApplications

Wheninstallingafreesoftwareapplication,itisveryimportantthatyougoforalengthiercustominstallationprocessinwhichyoupayattentiontoallthedetailsthataredisplayed.That’sbecauseitisverylikelythatthedevelopersofthatfreeapplicationwilltrytotakeadvantageofyourinstallationtomakesomemoney.Therearetwocommonmethodsthattheycoulduseformonetizingtheirfreeapplications:

Theydisplayadsthatrunduringtheinstallation,encouragingyoutodownloadotherapplications.InFigure3.1,youcanseeanexampleofanadthatisdisplayedwheninstallingapopularapplicationnamedKMPlayer.IfyouclickthelinkforPandoraTV,youwillbetakentoawebpagefromwhichyoucandownloadandinstalltheapplicationrecommendedbythatad.

Figure3.1TheinstallationforthepopularKMPlayerapplication

Theyrecommendthatyouinstallsoftwareapplicationsmadebyothercompanies,whichyoumaynotneedorwant.Forexample,thepopularavast!freeantivirussoftwarerecommendsthatyouinstallbothGoogleChromeandtheGoogleToolbar,asshowninFigure3.2.Ifyoudonotpayattentionandyoudonot

uncheckthetwoboxesthatallowtheinstallationofthesetwoadditionalapplications,youwillendupinstallingthreesoftwareapplicationsinsteadofjustone.

Figure3.2Theinstallationforavast!freeantivirus

Suchpracticesaresowidespreadthatifyouautomaticallychoosethequickinstallations,youwillendupwithallkindsofapplicationsyoudon’twantorneed.Theseadditionalprogramsloweryourcomputer’sresponsivenessandperformance.Someoftheseadditionalprogramsmayalsoexposeyourcomputertosecurityrisks.

Tohelpyougetabetterunderstandingofthestepsinvolvedwheninstallinganapplication,workthroughExercise3.1andinstallapopularfreeInternetbrowser,MozillaFirefox.

EXERCISE3.1

InstallinganApplicationLikeMozillaFirefox1. DownloadMozillaFirefoxfromhttps://www.mozilla.org/.

YouwilldownloadanexecutablesetupfilethatincludesthewordsFirefoxSetupinitsname.

2. OpenWindowsExplorerandnavigatetowhereyouhavedownloadedtheFirefoxSetupfileanddouble-clickit.GenerallyyouwillfinditintheDownloadsfolder.

3. Inordertodoacustominstallation,clickOptions,asshowninFigure3.3.

https://www.mozilla.org/

Figure3.3TheMozillaFirefoxinstallationprogram

YoucannowchoosetheshortcutsthatarecreatedforFirefox,selectthedestinationfolderwhereFirefoxisinstalled,andconfigurethesettingsthatcontrolhowitworks.

4. CustomizetheinstallationasyoupreferandclickInstall,asshowninFigure3.4.

Figure3.4CustomizingtheMozillaFirefoxinstallation

5. WaitfortheFirefoxSetuptodownloadandinstallthenecessaryfiles.

6. Whentheinstallationiscomplete,youareaskedwhetheryouwanttoimportsettingsanddatafromotherinstalledbrowsers.SelectDon’tImportAnythingandclickNext(Figure3.5).

Figure3.5TheMozillaFirefoxImportWizard

Firefoxisnowstarted,andyoucanstartusingit.MostprobablyyouwillalsobeaskedwhetheryouwantFirefoxtobesetasyourdefaultbrowser(Figure3.6).

Figure3.6TheMozillaFirefoxbrowser

7. AnswerwhetheryouwouldliketomakeityourdefaultbrowserandthenclosetheMozillaFirefoxwindow.

Removinganapplicationfromyourcomputerissomewhatsimilartoinstallingit.The

stepsinvolvedarealmostthesame,butsomeoptionswillbedifferentfromapplicationtoapplication.Also,theuninstallprogramwilllookdifferentfromapplicationtoapplication.Tomakesurethattheuninstallworkswithoutissues,youshouldfirstclosetheapplicationthatyouwanttoremovefromyourcomputer.

YoustarttheuninstallationprocessfromControlPanel.YouclicktheUninstallAProgramlinkunderPrograms,andthenyou’llseealistwithalltheprogramsthatareinstalledonyourcomputer(Figure3.7).

Figure3.7TheProgramsAndFeaturespanelinWindows

Ifyouselecteachinstalledprogramonebyone,youwillnoticethatthetoolbaratthetopofthelistdisplaysdifferentbuttonsforeachapplication:

UninstallTriggerstheuninstallprogramfortheapplicationthatyouhaveselected.

ChangeTriggersthesetupprogramthatallowsyoutochangehowtheselectedapplicationisinstalledonyourcomputer(Figure3.8).

Figure3.8TheChangebuttonintheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

RepairTriggersthesetupprogramthatallowsyoutorepairtheselectedapplication.Atypicalrepairreinstallstheapplicationandallitsfilesandsettings(Figure3.9).

Figure3.9TheRepairbuttonintheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

Uninstall/ChangeTriggerstheuninstallprogramfortheapplicationthatyouhaveselected,whichallowsyoutoremoveitorchangethewayitisinstalledonyourcomputer(Figure3.10).

Figure3.10TheUninstall/ChangebuttonintheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

FormostapplicationsyouwillseeonlytheUninstallbutton.ForsomeapplicationsyouwillseetheUninstall/Changebutton,whileforothersyouwillseetwoorthreebuttons:Uninstall,Change,and/orRepair.Thisvariesfromapplicationtoapplication,dependingonhowitwascreatedbyitsdeveloper.

Tohelpyougetabetterunderstandingofthestepsinvolvedwhenuninstallinganapplication,workthroughExercise3.2anduninstallMozillaFirefox.

EXERCISE3.2

UninstallinganApplicationLikeMozillaFirefox1. MakesurethatMozillaFirefoxisnotrunning.Closeitifitisrunning.

2. ClickStartandthenControlPanel.

3. UnderPrograms,clicktheUninstallAProgramlink(Figure3.11).

Figure3.11ControlPanel

4. IntheProgramsAndFeatureswindow,selectMozillaFirefox(Figure3.12).

Figure3.12TheProgramsAndFeaturespanel

5. ClickUninstall.TheMozillaFirefoxUninstallWizardisnowstarted(Figure3.13).

Figure3.13TheMozillaFirefoxUninstallWizard

6. ClickNext.

7. YouareinformedthatFirefoxwillbeuninstalledfromthelocationwhereitiscurrentlyinstalled.ClickUninstall(Figure3.14).

Figure3.14TheMozillaFirefoxuninstalllocation

8. WhenyouareinformedthatMozillaFirefoxhasbeenuninstalledfromyour

computer,clickFinish(Figure3.15).

Figure3.15FinalizingtheMozillaFirefoxuninstallprocess

Onethingyoumaynoticewheninstallingdriversforyourcomputer’shardwarecomponentsisthattheytendnottobelistedintheProgramsAndFeatureswindowfromwhichyouuninstallsoftwareapplications.Thisisbecauseonceadriverisinstalled,itisbesttoleaveitinstalledsothattheoperatingsystemcanuseit.Ifanewversionofadriverisavailableforahardwarecomponent,youcansimplyinstallitandtheolddriverversionwillbeautomaticallyreplacedbythenewerversion.

SoftwareLicensingandItsImplicationsEachtimeyouinstallasoftwareapplicationordriver,youwillgothroughastepthatrequiresyoutoreadandaccepttheend-userlicenseagreement(EULA)orsoftwarelicenseagreement.ThisstepismandatorywhendealingwithsoftwareinstallationsbecausetheEULAisthecontractbetweenthecompanythatpublishedthesoftwareyouwanttouseandyou,theuser.TheEULAcommunicatesthelicenseusedbytheapplicationyouareinstalling.Itgivesyoutherighttousetheapplicationinsomemannerwhilealsostatingtherestrictionsthatareimposedbythesoftwarepublisher.InthescreencaptureshowninFigure3.16,youcanseeaportionoftheEULAforthepopularWinampmusicplayer.

Figure3.16TheWinamplicenseagreement

EULAsarenotlegallybindingcontracts.Thesoftwarepublisherseekstheuser’sagreementtoitsrequirementspriortoinstallingandusingthesoftware.Whentheuseragreestothespecifiedterms,theyarepurchasingorrentingalicensefromthesoftwarepublisher.WithoutacceptingtheEULA,theusercannotinstallandusethesoftware.

DoesAnyoneReadEULAs?

Oneofthemostcriticizedaspectsofend-userlicenseagreementsisthefactthattheyareoftentoolongandusersdon’ttaketimetoreadthem.Sometimestheyarealsofilledwithlegaljargonthatmaybehardtounderstandforapersonwithoutanylegalbackgroundorstudies.That’swhymostusersblindlyaccepttheEULAforthesoftwaretheywanttoinstallanduse,andtheydonotknowtheirrightsandlimitationswhenusingit.

AnimportantcaveatofEULAsisthattheytendnottoprotecttheuser,onlythesoftwarepublisherthatownsthecopyright.Also,EULAsarenotdesignedtobeanykindofwarranty.Mostsoftwaresoldatretaildisclaimsanywarrantyontheperformanceofthesoftwareandlimitsliabilityforanydamagestothepurchasepriceofthesoftware.

Whendealingwithsoftwarelicenseagreements,youwillencounterthreemajortypesoflicenses:

ProprietaryLicensesThesoftwarepublishergrantstheuseofoneormorecopiesofitssoftwareundertheend-userlicenseagreement,buttheownershipofthosecopiesremainswiththesoftwarepublisher.Theusercanusethesoftwareonlyundercertainconditionsandisrestrictedfrommodifying,sharing,orredistributingthesoftware.Herearesomeofthemostcommonrestrictionsthatareimposedbyproprietarylicenses:

Onlyaspecificnumberofinstallationsmaybeallowedperuser.Forexample,thesoftwaremaybelicensedforuseononlyonecomputer,andtheusermayinstallitasmanytimestheywantonthatcomputer.However,installingitonasecondorthirdcomputerrequiresthepurchaseofanotherlicense.RetailversionsofMicrosoftOfficegenerallyhavesuchrestrictions.

Onlyaspecificnumberofusersareallowedtousethesoftware.Licensesthatinvolvethistypeofrestrictionarecalledper-seatlicenses.Thistypeoflicensingandrestrictionsiscommonforproductsusedbyspecializedprofessionalsinindustrialsettings:designers,chemists,biologists,researchers,andthelike.Forexample,aninstitutionmaypurchasea10-seatlicenseforaspecializedsoftwareapplication,whichmeansthatamaximumof10userscanuseit.Ausermaybeaperson,anotherapplication,oradeviceaccessingthatapplication.

Onlyaspecificgroupofuserscanusethesoftware.Thistypeoflicensingistypicallyappliedtobusiness,government,andeducationalinstitutions.Anorganizationpurchasesavolumelicenseorasitelicenseofasoftwareapplication.Theorganizationisallowedtoinstallthesoftwareinitssitesorfacilities,andthelicenserestrictstheuseofthatapplicationtoonlytheuserswhoarepartofthatorganization.TheWindowsoperatingsystemisgenerallylicensedthiswaytoorganizations.

Theusercanusethesoftwareforfreeforalimitedtime,andinordertocontinueusingit,theymustpaythelicensefee.Thistypeofsoftwareiscalledshareware,anditspurposeistogivepotentialuserstheopportunitytotryouttheapplicationonalimitedbasis,foralimitedtime,andtojudgeitsusefulnessbeforepurchasingalicenseforthefullversion.Oncethefreetrialperiodhaspassed,theapplicationmaystoprunninguntilalicenseispurchasedormaycontinuetorunwithlimitations(forexample,theinabilitytosaveyourwork)untilalicenseispurchased.Themostpopularexampleofsharewareiscomputergames.Manygameshaveasharewareversionthat’savailableforfreesothatuserscantryitandseeiftheyenjoyplayingitbeforepurchasingthefullversion.

Theusercanusethesoftwareonlyafterpayingasubscriptionfee.Itissometimesreferredtoassoftwareasaservice(SaaS)oron-demandsoftware.Manybusinessapplicationsarelicensedthiswayaswellasanincreasingnumberofconsumerapplications.Thistypeoflicensinginvolvesamonthlyorannualsubscriptionfee.

Whenthesubscriptionexpires,theuserhastorenewitandpayanotherfeeinordertocontinueusingthesoftware.ThebestknownexampleofsuchsoftwareisOffice365,fromMicrosoft.Mostproprietarylicensesareperpetual,meaningthatthereisnotimelimitationinvolvedwhenusingthesoftware.Theadvantageofsubscription-basedlicensingisthatthemonthlyorannualfeeisalotmoreaffordablethantraditionalperpetuallicenses.Usershavetopayforsoftwareonlyforaslongastheyneedtouseit.

Proprietarylicensescancombinemultipletypesofrestrictions.Forexample,somesoftwarelicensingmayinvolverestrictionsforbothtimeandnumberofusers.Otherlicensingmayinvolverestrictionsforbothnumberofusersandnumberofinstallations.

FreewareThistypeoflicensedoesn’tinvolveanymonetarycostfortheuserbutrestrictstheusagerightsinwaysthataresimilartoproprietarylicenses.Forexample,somefreewaresoftwareisfullyfunctionalforanunlimitedtimebutdoesn’tallowtheusertomodifyitorredistributeit.Otherfreewarehasonlybasicfunctionsenabled,butfullyfunctionalversionsareavailablecommercially,undertypicalproprietarylicenses.Thesoftwarepublishermayalsorestricttheuserfromcopying,distributing,modifying,ormakingderivativeworksofthatsoftware.OneofthemostpopularexamplesoffreewareistheGoogleChromewebbrowser.

Open-SourceLicensesEitherthesetypesoflicenseshaveminimalrequirementsthataffecthowthesoftwarecanberedistributedtootherusersortheydon’tinvolvemonetarycostsfortheirusersortheypreservethefreedomsthataregiventotheusers.Themostpopularfreesoftwarelicensesarethefollowing:

GPL(GNUGeneralPublicLicense)Thisfreesoftwarelicensingguaranteesendusersthefreedomstouse,study,share,andmodifythesoftwaretheyareusing.ThemostpopularexampleofGPLsoftwareistheLinuxoperatingsystem.ManydistributionslikeUbuntuLinuxandLinuxMintaredistributedusingaGPL.

MITLicenseThislicenseoriginatedattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT),anditpermitsreusewithinproprietarysoftwareprovidedallcopiesofthelicensedsoftwareincludeacopyoftheMITlicensetermsandthecopyrightnotice.ManysoftwaredevelopmenttoolsarelicensedusinganMITlicense.

FreeSoftwarevs.CommercialSoftware

Thereisanever-endingdebateaboutwhetherpeopleshouldusefreeandopen-sourcesoftwareinsteadofcommercialsoftwarewithproprietarylicenses.Unfortunatelythereisnoclear-cutanswer,andchoosingthesoftwarethatyouwanttousedependsonamixoffactorslikefinancialcosts,thelevelofsupportyoureceive,thealternativesthatyouhave,andsoon.

Freeandopen-sourcesoftwarehastheadvantagethatitdoesn’trequireadirectmonetarycostfortheuserinordertouseit.Also,ittendstoprotecttheuser’srightsalotmorethanproprietarysoftware,atleastfromalicensingperspective.Open-sourcesoftwaretendstoadoptnewtrendsandtechnologiesfasterthancommercialsoftwarewithproprietarylicenses.Becauseopen-sourcesoftwareisfree,itmeansthatitisdevelopedbyacommunitythat’snotinterestedinmakingmoneyfromthesoftwarebutratherindevelopingtheproductasmuchaspossible,asfastaspossible.Thisisthereasonwhyyouwillencountermanygreatopen-sourceapplicationsliketheMozillaFirefoxwebbrowser,manydifferentversionsanddistributionsoftheLinuxoperatingsystems,orofficeapplicationslikeLibreOffice.

Therearealsodisadvantagestousingopen-sourceproductsinsteadofproprietarysoftware.Forexample,someopen-sourceapplicationsareoflowerqualitythanproprietaryalternativesbecausetheyaredevelopedandmaintainedbyasmallnumberofpeople,withlimitedtimeandresourcesavailable.Largecompaniesmaydevelophigher-qualitysoftwarebecausetheycaninvolvemorepeopleandresourcesintheirsoftwaredevelopmentprocess.

Whenusingopen-sourcesoftware,there’snocompanyresponsiblefortheproductthatyouareusing.Thismeansthatifyouencounterproblemsandissues,there’snocompanytogotoandaskforhelp.Youaredependentonthecommunitythatisdevelopingthatsoftware,anditmayormaynothelpyou.Thisisgenerallyaproblemforbusinessenvironments,andmanycompaniespreferproprietarysoftwareforthisreason.

Anotherargumentagainstusingopen-sourcesoftware,especiallyinbusinessenvironments,isthatwhileitdoesn’tincurmonetarycoststoinstallanduseit,thatdoesn’tmeanthatitisfree.Becauseopen-sourcesoftwareisnotsowidelyusedasproprietarysoftwareanditisgenerallydevelopedbysmallcommunitiesofsoftwaredevelopers,youmaynothaveaccesstocompleteproductdocumentation,trainingmaterials,orsupportservices.Havingalloftheseelementsinplaceinvolvescostsforthecompany,whichsometimesmaybehigherthanwhenusingproprietarysoftware.

Asyoucansee,thereisnorightanswertowhichtypeofsoftwareyoushoulduse.Beforemakingadecision,youmustbalanceyourneedsasauserwiththealternativesthatareavailableandthecostsinvolvedwhenchoosingonetypeofsoftwareversusanother.

TheMostCommonTypesofOfficeApplicationsWhetheryouareathomeoratwork,inordertouseyourcomputerproductively,youwillneedtoinstallanduseasuiteofofficeapplications.ThemostpopularsuiteisMicrosoftOffice,anditincludesadiversenumberofapplications,dependingontheexactversionyouareusing.Mostofficesuiteswillincludethefollowingtypesofapplications:

WordProcessingProgramTheseapplicationsallowuserstocompose,edit,format,andprintwrittendocuments.Modernwordprocessorspermittheuseofspecificfonts,canperformspellcheckingandgrammarchecking,andincludeautomatictextcorrectionandotheradvancedfeatures.ThemostpopularexamplesofwordprocessorsforWindowsareMicrosoftWord(includedinMicrosoftOffice)andWriter(includedinLibreOffice).

PresentationProgramTheseapplicationsallowuserstodisplayinformationintheformofaslideshow.Theypermituserstoinsertformattedtext,images,videos,andsoundandarrangeeverythingintoaslide-showsystemtodisplaythiscontent.ThemostpopularexamplesofpresentationprogramsareMicrosoftPowerPoint(includedinMicrosoftOffice)andImpress(includedinLibreOffice).

DesktopPublishingApplicationTheseapplicationsgeneratelayoutsandproducetypographic-qualitytextandimagesthatarecomparabletotraditionaltypographyandprinting.Thistypeofapplicationallowsuserstoproduceawidevarietyofmaterialsrangingfrommagazinestobookstopromotionalposters.SomeofthemostpopulardesktoppublishingapplicationsareAdobeInDesign,CorelDraw,andMicrosoftPublisher(includedinsomeversionsofMicrosoftOffice).

SpreadsheetProgramTheseapplicationscanbeusedtoorganize,analyze,andstoredataintabularform,usingrowsandcolumns.Theyarecomputerizedsimulationsofpaperaccountingworksheets.Modernspreadsheetprogramscanhavemultipleinteractingsheetsfilledwithdataandcandisplaythedataastext,numerals,orgraphics.Whenusingspreadsheetprograms,itisveryeasytoperformmathematical,statistical,orfinancialoperations.ThemostpopularexamplesofspreadsheetprogramsareMicrosoftExcel(includedinMicrosoftOffice)andCalc(includedinLibreOffice).

DatabaseManagementSystemAnycompanywilluseoneormoredatabasestocollectandstoredataaboutitsoperations.Databasesareorganizedcollectionsofdata.Theyarecreatedtocollectlargequantitiesofinformation;inordertousethedatainameaningfulway,adatabasemanagementsystemisrequired.Thissystemprovidesaninterfacebetweentheusersandthedatabase.Therearemanytypesofdatabasesanddatabasemanagementsystems.TwoexamplesofdatabasemanagementsystemsareMicrosoftAccess(includedinmostversionsofMicrosoftOffice)andBase(includedinLibreOffice).

PersonalInformationManagerTheseareapplicationsthatfunctionasapersonalorganizer.Theyallowuserstostore,organize,andsharedifferenttypesofpersonalinformation:documents,addressbooks,significantcalendardates(birthdays,meetings,andappointments),reminders,emailmessages,faxcommunications,andmore.ThemostpopularapplicationofthistypeisMicrosoftOutlook(includedinsomeversionsofMicrosoftOffice).

Othersuitesofofficeapplicationsmayincludeapplicationsformakingdiagramsandflowcharts(forexample,MicrosoftVisio,LibreOfficeDraw)orformanagingprojects(forexample,MicrosoftProject).

Databasesvs.Spreadsheets—WhichIsBestatWhat?

Althoughthetablesinadatabaselooksimilartospreadsheetsinthewaytheyareorganized,theyarenotthesame,andtheyshouldbeusedfordifferentpurposes.

Firstofall,databasesareusedtostorerawdata,whilespreadsheetsareusedtostoreformatteddata.Thereisnoneedtoformattheinformationinadatabasetable.Inordertoviewtheinformationfromadatabase,youmustcreatereports,whichthendisplaythedatainahuman-readableformat.Spreadsheetsareformattedduringthedata-entryprocesssothatuserscanunderstandandusethemassoonastheyarecreated.

Databasesareoptimizedforentering,storing,andmanaginglargeamountsofdata.Doingthesamewithspreadsheetsisunmanageable.Spreadsheetsarebestusedwhenworkingwithlimiteddatasetsthatonepersoncaneasilymanage.

Anotherimportantdifferenceisthatdatabasesmakeiteasytomaintaindata,butdoingthesamewithspreadsheetsisdifficultandrequireslotsofmanualintervention.

Oneadvantageofspreadsheetsoverdatabasesisthatspreadsheetsallowquickanalysisandthecreationofwhat-ifscenariosthatsimulatewhatwillhappenindifferentsituationsbasedonexistingdata.Suchanalysiscanbedonewhenworkingwithdatabases,butitgenerallyrequirescustomtoolsandreportsthatarebuiltspecificallyforthatdatabase.Spreadsheetsarecreatedandoptimizedforperformingquickanalysisandcalculationsforallkindsofdatasets.

Finally,databasesallowmultipleuserstoworkwiththematthesametimeandperformdifferenttasksrangingfromdataentrytodatamaintenanceandreporting.Althoughitispossibletoworkcollaborativelyonspreadsheets,itisalotmoredifficultforconcurrentuserstousethesamespreadsheet.

UsingTemplatestoGetStartedwithanApplicationManyapplicationsofferavarietyofpredefinedtemplatesthatallowyoutobemoreproductiveandcreateneededdocuments,spreadsheets,orpresentationsfasterthanifyouhadstartedfromscratch.

Forexample,MicrosoftExcelhasplentyoftemplatesforcreatingthingslikebudgets,inventories,invoices,reports,timesheets,andsoon.Youbrowsethroughtheavailablechoices,selectthepredefinedtemplatethatyouwanttouse,waitforittodownload,andthenstartcreatingyourspreadsheet.Thegreatthingabouttemplatesisthattheyarepreformattedandpopulatedwithstandardfieldsofdata.Youjustenteryourowndata,makesomeminoradjustments,andyouarefinished.Youdon’thavetocreateeverythingfromscratch.

ThesamegoesforMicrosoftWord,PowerPoint,andotherapplicationsintheMicrosoftOfficesuite.Togiveyouonelastexample,MicrosoftWordhastemplatesforthingslikeagendas,cards,certificates,contracts,letters,jobdescriptions,memos,resumes,andsoon.

Tohelpyougetabetterunderstandingoftemplatesandhowtheywork,gothroughExercise3.3andusearesumetemplateinMicrosoftWordtohelpyoucreateyourresumefaster.

EXERCISE3.3

UsingaTemplateinMicrosoftWord1. ClickStartandthenAllPrograms.

2. ClickMicrosoftOfficeandthenMicrosoftWord2010(Figure3.17).


3. IntheMicrosoftWordwindow,clickFileandthenNew.Alistofalltheavailabletemplatesisnowloaded.

4. ScrolldownuntilyoufindResumesAndCVsandclickit(Figure3.18).

Figure3.18CreatingnewdocumentsinMicrosoftWord

5. ClickBasicResumesandthendouble-clickChronologicalResume(Traditional

Design).TheselectedtemplateisdownloadedintoMicrosoftWord(Figure3.19).

Figure3.19ChoosingatemplateinMicrosoftWord

6. Scrolldownthedocument,andnoticehowthistemplateincludesthenecessarysectionsandfieldsforcompletingyourresume.

7. Enteryourpersonaldataintotheappropriatefields.

Theresumeisorganizedandformattedforyou(Figure3.20).

Figure3.20AnewdocumentinMicrosoftWord

8. CloseMicrosoftWordbyclickingthesmallXonthetop-rightsideofthewindow.

PersonalEntertainmentApplicationsWeusecomputersanddevicesnotonlytoworkbutalsotohavefun.Andhavingfunmeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople.That’swhyyouwillencounterlotsofentertainmentsoftwareofallkinds.

Forexample,ifyouwanttolistentomusicorwatchmovies,youmaywanttouseamediaplayerlikeWinamp,WindowsMediaPlayer,orVLCMediaPlayer.Youmaywanttouseyourcomputertoviewandrecordlivetelevision.YoucandosobyusingprogramslikeWindowsMediaCenter.

Manypeoplehavefunplayinggamesontheircomputers.That’swhytherearethousandsofgamesdevelopedeachyear.Yes,WindowsdoesincludesomecasualgameslikeSolitaire,Chess,orMinesweeper,butyoumaywanttoplaydifferentgames,includingsomewithveryadvancedgraphics.Youcanpurchaseandinstallallkindsofgamesaslongasyourcomputermeetstheirminimumsystemrequirements.

CompressingFilestoSaveSpaceWhendealingwithlargefilesthattakeupalotofdiskspace,itisagoodideatocompressorarchivethosefilessothattheytakefewerbitsthanintheiroriginalrepresentation.Compressionisusefulbecauseithelpsreducethespaceoccupiedontheharddiskaswellasreducethetimeittakestotransferthefilefromasourcetoanother.

Therearetwotypesofcompression:

LosslessSomedatacompressionalgorithmsallowyoutocompressdatawithoutlosinginformation,soyoucaneasilyreturnafiletoitsuncompressedstate.Therearemanyformatsandfiletypesforstoringcompresseddatainalosslessway.Forexample,thePNGandBMPfileformatsareusedforstoringimagesinacompressed,losslessmanner.Whencompressingfilesofdiversetypes,theyareusuallycompressedintoarchiveswithformatslikeZIPorRAR.However,compressingthemintotheseformatsrequiresspecializedapplicationslike7-Zip,WinZip,orWinRAR.

LossySuchcompressionalgorithmsgenerallydropnonessentialdatafromthesourceinordertosavestoragespace.Thistypeofcompressionreducesthefilesizeusingapproximationsofdata,andthefilesarenotreversible.However,thecompressedfileiscloseenoughtotheoriginaltomakethistypeofcompressionworthusing.Lossycompressionisgenerallyusedwhenworkingwithmultimediafileslikepictures,videos,andmusic.Forexample,JPEGisthemostpopularlossycompressiontypeforimagesthatallowsyoutosavealotofspacewhilestillhavinganimagethat’scloseenoughtotheoriginalthatyoureyewon’tnoticethedifferenceswithoutanalyzingitindetail.Whenworkingwithaudiofiles,MP3isthemostpopulartypeoflossycompression,andwhenworkingwithvideo,MPEGisthemostpopular.

Whenstoringandtransferringdocumentsofallkinds,ifyouwanttosavespaceandmakefiletransfersfaster,itisagoodideatocompressthemintooneormorearchiveswithapopularformatlikeZIP.Whilecreatingsucharchivesrequiresyoutoinstallspecializedsoftwarelikethepopular7-Zip,extractingtheircontentsiseasilydonebyWindows,withouthavingtoinstallanyfile-compressionapplication.Exercise3.4shareshowtoextractthecontentsofanyarchiveinWindows7.Inordertocompletethisexercise,pleasedownloadthedocuments.zippracticefiletoyourcomputer.

EXERCISE3.4

ExtractingtheContentsofaZIPFileArchive1. Navigatetothelocationofthedocuments.zipfilethatyouwanttoextract.

2. Right-clickthatfileandthenclickExtractAll(Figure3.21).TheExtractCompressed(Zipped)FoldersWizardappears.

Figure3.21ThecontextmenuinWindowsExplorer

3. ClickExtract(Figure3.22).

Figure3.22TheExtractCompressed(Zipped)FoldersWizard

Thecontentsofthearchiveareextractedandshown.Youcannowusethefilesthatwereinsidethearchiveandmodifythemasyouwish.

OptimizingYourComputer’sHardDiskPerformanceWhenyouuseyourcomputer,theoperatingsystemandyourapplicationsgenerateallkindsoftemporaryfilesthatarestoredinspecialfoldersdesignatedforthistask.Forexample,ifyoubrowsetheInternetandvisitseveralwebsites,yourbrowserwillcopytemporaryfileslikeimagesandallkindsofdatafromthosewebsites.IfyouworkonadocumentinMicrosoftWord,temporarycopiesofitarestoredonthedisksothattheycanbeusedincasesomethinggoeswrongandyouareindangeroflosingyourdata.WheninstallingWindowsUpdatesornewapplications,logfilesarecreated.Yougettheidea:whendoinganykindofworkonyourcomputer,chancesarethatmanytemporaryfilesandfoldersarecreated,forallkindsofpurposesbothbyWindowsandbyyourapplications.

Thetroublewiththesefilesisthatsomeofthemareneverdeletedfromyourcomputerso,astimegoesby,youwillhavelessdiskspaceavailable.Inordertohelpwiththisproblem,Windows7includesanapplicationnamedDiskCleanup.Withit,youcanremoveunnecessaryfilesfromyourcomputer:temporaryInternetfiles,deletedfilesfromtheRecycleBin,setuplogfiles,errorreports,userfilehistory,andsoon.InExercise3.5youwilllearnhowtouseittocleanupunnecessaryfilesandsavespaceonyourharddisk.

EXERCISE3.5

FreeingUpDiskSpacewithDiskCleanup1. ClickStartandthenAllPrograms.

2. ClickAccessories➢SystemTools➢DiskCleanup(Figure3.23).


DiskCleanupautomaticallyscansyourcomputerforfilesthatcanbedeleted.Whenfinished,itdisplayswhatitfinds.

3. SelectthetypesoffilesthatyouwanttodeleteandclickOK(Figure3.24).

Figure3.24DiskCleanup

Youareaskedtoconfirmthatyouaresureyouwanttopermanentlydeletethosefiles.

4. ClickDeleteFilesandwaitforDiskCleanuptoremovethem(Figure3.25).

Figure3.25ConfirmationdialogforDiskCleanup

Whenfinished,theDiskCleanupapplicationwillcloseitselfautomatically.

Anothercommonissuewithcomputersisinthewayfilesarestoredontraditionalharddisks.Becauseofthewayharddiskswork,whenyousaveafileonyourcomputer,itisstoredinaspecificlocationontheharddisk.Whenyoumakechangestoit,thosechanges

endupbeingsavedinadifferentphysicalplaceontheharddisk.Thisdoesn’tchangewherethefileappearsinWindows,onlywherethebitsofinformationthatmakeupthefilearestoredontheharddisk.Asyouworkwithmoreandmorefiles,theygetmoreandmorefragmented.Thisfragmentationmaydegradetheperformanceofyourcomputer.Inordertohelpwiththisproblem,Windows7includesanapplicationnamedDiskDefragmenter.Withit,youcanconsolidateallfragmenteddataonyourharddisk.Itrearrangesthedataonyourharddiskandreunitesthefragmenteddatasothatyourcomputercanrunmoreefficiently.

DependingonhowWindowsissetup,thistoolmayrunautomatically,once

everyfewdays.Onothercomputersitmaynot.That’swhyitisbesttorunitmanuallyatleastonetimeandseewhetherthediskisfragmentedornot.

Exercise3.6showshowtouseDiskDefragmenterinWindows7toimproveyourcomputer’sperformance.

EXERCISE3.6

UsingDiskDefragmenter1. ClickStartandthenAllPrograms.

2. ClickAccessories➢SystemTools➢DiskDefragmenter(Figure3.26).

Theapplicationopens,andyoucanseethestatusofthedisksthatarefoundinsideyourcomputer.

3. SelectthediskthatyouwanttodefragmentandclickDefragmentDisk(Figure3.27).

Thediskisanalyzedandthendefragmented,ifnecessary.Whenfinished,DiskDefragmenterwillshowyouthepercentageoffragmentationthat’sleftattheendofitswork.

4. CloseDiskDefragmenter.


Figure3.27DiskDefragmenter

Itisveryimportanttonotethatfragmentationaffectsonlytraditionalhard

disksbecauseofthewaytheystoredata.ModernSSDdrivesarenotaffectedbyfragmentationbecausetheyhaveadifferentwayofstoringdata.ThisiswhyDiskDefragmenterdoesn’tworkoncomputersanddeviceswithSSDdrives.IfyouforcethedefragmentationprocessonanSSDdrive,youwillloweritslifeexpectancy.

Nowthatyouknowthebasicsofoptimizingyourcomputer’sperformance,let’stalkabitaboutprotectingitfromsecuritythreats.

ProtectingYourselffromMalwareWhenyouuseanycomputerordeviceandconnectittotheInternet,youwillexposeyourselftoallkindsofsecuritythreats.Thosethreatsarereferredtousingallkindsofnames,themostpopularbeingmalwareandviruses.

Malwareisthebroadesttermwhenreferringtosecuritythreats,anditincludesanysoftwarethatisusedtodisrupttheoperationofyourcomputer,togathersensitiveinformation,ortogainaccesstoprivatecomputers.Malwarecanappearinallkindsofformsandinallkindsofplaces.Itevolvesataveryfastpace,andnewformsareinventedeachyear.However,whenreferringtodifferenttypesofmalware,youwillmostprobablyencountertermslikethefollowing:

VirusesVirusesaremalwareapplicationsthat,whenexecuted,replicatethemselves.Theyoftendoharmfulthingslikestealingprivateinformation,corruptingdata,sabotagingothercomputers,displayinghumorousmessagesonyourscreen,orloggingyourkeystrokes.Thedefiningcharacteristicofvirusesisthattheyself-replicatewithouttheuser’sconsent.

SpywareSpywareissoftwarethataidsingatheringinformationaboutapersonororganizationwithouttheirknowledge.Thissoftwarewillsendtheinformationitcollectstoanotherentitywithouttheuser’sconsent.

KeyloggersThesearesoftwarethatrecordsthekeystrokesonyourkeyboard.Generallythistypeofsoftwareisinstalledwithouttheuser’sconsent,anditspurposeistoactivelymonitorwhattheuserdoes.

RootkitsThisisastealthytypeofmalicioussoftwarethathidesitsexistencefromnormalmethodsofdetectioninordertorunwithprivilegedaccesstoacomputer.Rootkitsarehardtodetect,andtheygenerallygainfullcontrolovertheinfectedcomputer.Theyareusedforallkindsofmaliciouspurposes,fromcorporateespionagetoattackingothercomputersandsystems.

TrojansTheseareanon-self-replicatingtypeofmalwarethat,whenexecuted,carriestheactionsthatweredeterminedbyitscreator.Trojansgenerallymaskthemselvesaslegitimatesoftwareapplications.Onceinstalled,theycanbeusedforallkindsofpurposes,includingcorruptingdata,stealingpersonalinformation,watchingtheuser’sscreenand/orwebcam,controllingthesystemremotely,andsoon.

Toprotectyourselffrommalware,youneedtoinstallspecializedsecuritysoftwarethat’susedtoprevent,detect,andremovemalicioussoftware.Thistypeofsoftwareiscalledantivirus,anditprovidesprotectionfromallkindsofmalware.

Anantivirusprogramactivelymonitorswhatisgoingonwithacomputer,andifitdetectsanyunusualactivity,itblocksitorinformstheuser.Antivirussoftwarealsoregularlyscansyourcomputerformalware,andifitfindsanyinfectedfiles,itremovesthem.

Antivirussoftwarecanbeeitherfreeorcostmoney.Generally,freeantivirussoftwareoffersonlythebasicsintermsofmalwareprotection,thingslikereal-timescanningofyoursystem,manualscans,andmalwaredetectionandremoval.Commercialantivirussoftwaretendstobemoreadvancedand,alongsidethefeaturesofferedbyfreeantivirussoftware,includesthingslikeadvancedbehavioralanalysisandrootkitprotection.

Tokeepyourcomputerassafeaspossible,youshouldinstallatleastafreeantivirusproduct.SomeofthemostpopularfreeantivirusapplicationsareMicrosoftSecurityEssentials,avast!antivirus,andAVGAntivirusFree.Ifyouarewillingtopurchaseacommercialantivirusproduct,youwillhaveplentyofoptionstochoosefrom.YoushouldconsiderproductslikeKasperskyAnti-Virus,BitdefenderAntivirus,NortonAntiVirus,ESETNOD32Antivirus,orWebrootSecureAnywhereAntivirus.

SummaryInordertobeproductivewhenusingacomputer,youwillneedtoinstallallkindsofsoftwareapplications.Themostcommontypeofapplicationsthatareinstalledoncomputersworldwideisofficesuites,likeMicrosoftOffice.Itisimportanttolearnwhateachapplicationfromthissuitedoesandwhatitisgoodat.

Whenyouinstallsoftware,youfirstneedtomakesurethatyourcomputermeetsitssystemrequirements.Ifitdoesn’thavethenecessaryminimumintermsofhardwareandsoftware,itwon’truncorrectly.Then,duringtheinstallationprocess,youwillencountertheend-userlicenseagreement.Ifyoudon’tagreewithitstermsandconditions,thenyouwon’tbeabletoinstallandusethatsoftware.That’swhyyoushouldhaveagoodunderstandingofthosetermsbeforepurchasingandinstallinganykindofsoftware.

Obviously,youwillalsowanttouseyourcomputertohavefun.Youshouldconsiderinstallingamultimediaplayeronyourcomputerifyouwanttolistentomusicandwatchvideos.Gamesarealsoanotherwayyoucanhavefunonyourcomputer,butbeforeinstallingthem,youshouldmakesurethatyourcomputermeetstheminimumsystemrequirements.Gamestendtobemoredemandingthanothertypesofsoftware,andpayingattentiontotheirsystemrequirementsisveryimportantforagoodexperience.

Whileyouworkonyourcomputer,bothyourapplicationsandtheoperatingsystemwillgenerateallkindsoftemporaryfilesthatarenotalwayscleanedupautomatically.Also,fileswillbecomemoreandmorefragmented.That’swhyyouwillenduphavinglessdiskspaceavailableonyourcomputer,anditsgeneralperformancemaydecreaseintime.WiththehelpoftoolslikeDiskCleanupandDiskDefragmenter,youcanincreasethespaceavailableonyourdiskandimproveyourcomputer’sperformance.

Finally,itisveryimportanttounderstandtherisksthatyouexposeyourcomputertowhenconnectingittotheInternet.Thereareallkindsofsecuritythreatsandmalwarethatcaninfectitanddoharminonewayoranother.Itisimportanttoinstallanantivirusapplicationonyourcomputersothatyoukeepitassafeandsecureaspossible.

Nowthatyouunderstandsthebasicsofinstallingandusingsoftware,wewilldiscusswaystotroubleshootandfixproblemswithyourcomputer.Inthenextchapteryouwilllearnhowtoremovemalwarefromyourcomputer,howtofigureoutwhat’scausingproblemsonyourcomputer,andhowtocreateyourownbackupsysteminWindows.

ExamEssentialsUnderstandthedependenciesbetweenhardwareandsoftware.Knowwhatsystemrequirementsareandtheirroleinyourdecisionofwhethertopurchaseandinstallsoftwareonyourcomputer.

Knowhowtoinstallorremoveapplications.Youwillneedtoinstallplentyofapplicationsonyourcomputerinordertouseitmoreproductively.Youshouldknowhowtoinstallanapplicationandhowtoremoveitwhenyounolongerneedit.

Understandthebasicsofsoftwarelicensing.Softwarelicensingisabittricky,anditisimportanttoknowthebasicsonthissubject.Youshouldunderstandthedifferencesbetweenopen-sourcesoftwareandproprietarysoftwareaswellastheadvantagesofferedbythemostimportanttypesoflicenses.

Knowthemostimportanttypesofofficeapplications.Inordertouseyourcomputerproductively,itisverylikelythatyouwillneedtoinstallanduseanofficesuiteofapplicationslikeMicrosoftOffice.Youshouldknowthetypesofapplicationsthataregenerallyincludedinsuchsuitesandwhattheyareusedfor.

Knowhowtosavespaceonyourcomputerandmaintainitsperformance.Overtime,youwillhavelessspaceavailableonyourcomputer’sharddisk.KnowinghowtosavespaceusingfilecompressionortoolslikeDiskCleanupwillbeveryuseful.Also,diskfragmentationmayloweryourcomputer’sperformancelevels,especiallyafteryouhaveuseditforalongtime.Knowinghowtodefragmentyourfileswillhelpyoukeepitsperformanceatnormallevelsforalongertime.


Applications MITlicenseDatabasemanagementsystem Open-sourcelicensesDesktoppublishingapplication Per-seatlicensesDiskCleanup PersonalinformationmanagerDiskDefragmenter PresentationprogramDrivers ProprietarylicensesEULA SharewareFreeware SpreadsheetprogramGPL(GNUGeneralPublicLicense) VirusesMalware Wordprocessing

ReviewQuestions1. Whatdosystemrequirementstellyou?

A. Thehardwareconfigurationyourcomputershouldhaveinordertorunanapplicationwithmaximumperformance

B. Theminimumhardwareconfigurationandothersoftwareresourcesyourcomputershouldhaveinordertorunanapplication

C. Thebestconfigurationyourcomputershouldhaveinordertorunanapplication

D. Theminimumsoftwareconfigurationyourcomputershouldhaveinordertorunanapplication

2. Whatarethethingsyoucangenerallycustomizewheninstallinganapplication?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Theinstallationfolder

B. TheEULA

C. Whentoremovetheapplication

D. Whichshortcutsareinstalled

3. Wheredoyouremoveinstalledapplicationsfrom?

A. Start➢ControlPanel➢SystemAndSecurity

B. Start➢DefaultPrograms

C. Start➢ControlPanel➢UninstallAProgram

D. Start➢ControlPanel➢Programs

4. WhatisaEULA?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Theend-userlicenseagreement

B. Theend-userlegaladvisor

C. Thecontractbetweenthecompanythathaspublishedthesoftwarethatyouwanttouseandyou,theuser

D. Thecontractbetweenthedevelopersofthesoftwarethatyouwanttouseandyou,theuser

5. Whichofthefollowingisanopen-sourcelicense?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Freeware

B. GPL

C. Shareware

D. MITLicense

6. Whicharethecharacteristicsofspreadsheetprograms?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Itiseasyformultipleuserstoworkonthesamedatasetatthesametime,

performingdifferenttypesofoperations.

B. Theyareusedtostorerawdata.

C. Theymakeiteasytoperformmathematical,statistical,orfinancialoperations.

D. Theyarecomputerizedsimulationsofpaperaccountingworksheets.

7. Whatarethedifferencesbetweenadesktoppublishingprogramandawordprocessingprogram?

A. Wordprocessingprogramsallowyoutocomposewrittendocuments,whereasdesktoppublishingprogramsallowyoutoproducetypographical-qualitytextandimages.

B. Wordprocessingprogramsallowyoutoproducebooks,anddesktoppublishingprogramsallowyoutocreatepromotionalposters.

C. Wordprocessingprogramscannotworkwithimages,whereasdesktoppublishingprogramscanworkwithimages.

D. Wordprocessingprogramsallowyoutoeditwords,whereasdesktoppublishingprogramsallowyoutoeditimages.

8. Whichisanexampleofapresentationprogram?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. MicrosoftPublisher

B. MicrosoftPowerPoint

C. LibreOfficeImpress

D. MicrosoftWord

9. Howyoucanincreasetheamountoffreespaceavailableonyourcomputer’sharddisk?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Compresslargefiles

B. Deletethefilesyounolongerneed

C. Installanantivirusprogram

D. RunDiskCleanup

10. Whatisthemaincharacteristicofavirus?

A. Itcancorruptdataonyourcomputer.

B. Itcanlogyourkeystrokes.

C. Itcanmonitoryourwebcam.

D. Itself-replicateswithouttheuser’sconsent.

Chapter4TroubleshootingProblemswithYourComputerTHEFOLLOWINGIC3GS4:COMPUTERFUNDAMENTALSEXAMOBJECTIVESARECOVEREDINTHISCHAPTER:

✓Software

ExplaintheconceptsassociatedwithversioncontrolofOperatingSystem(OS)software.FurtherexplainhowtheOSversioncanaffectthecompatibilityofothersoftwareonthePC.

DemonstratehowtoidentifyandremoveavirusorothermalwarefromaninfectedPC.

Explainwhat’safemode’isinpopularPCoperatingsystems(OSs),andhowandwhenitshouldbeusedwhentroubleshootingproblemsonapersonalcomputersystem.

ExplainwhereandhowtofindinformationbeyondthatstoredonthePCtohelptroubleshootproblemsonaPC.ListpopularKnowledgebase,forums,andself-helpwebsitesandexplainhowtousethemfortroubleshooting.

DemonstratehowtoinvokeandinterprettheinformationavailableinaPC’sTask,Process,orApplicationManager.FurtherdemonstratehowtousethistoolwhentroubleshootingaproblemontheaffectedPC.

✓Hardware

ExplainhowdifferentversionsoffirmwareaffectperformanceofhardwaresubsystemsonaPCandhowthatinformationmaybeusedintroubleshootingaproblemonaPC.

ExplaintheroleofCablesandotherconnectorsthatconnectthevariouspartsofacomputertogetherandwhatcanhappenwhenoneormorecableorconnectordoesnotmaketheproperconnection.

✓DevicesandPeripherals

ExplainhowdifferentversionsoffirmwarecanaffectperformanceofperipheraldevicesandhardwareattachedtoaPCandhowthatinformationmaybeusedintroubleshootingaproblemonaPC.

Explainwhatadevicedriveris,howitfitsintotheoperatingsystemarchitecture,andhowincompatibilitiesmayleadtoproblems.FurtherexplainhowthisinformationmaybeusedintroubleshootingaproblemonaPC.

✓Backup/Restore

Demonstratehowtobackupandthenrestoresoftwareanddatato:Safeoffsitelocation,Externaldrive,Cloud.

Explaintheimplicationsofversioningandre-cyclingofbackupsinanincrementalbackupsystem.Explainhowtoproperlyrestorefromanincrementalbackup

system.

Whenyouusecomputersonaregularbasis,youwillencounterproblemsofallkinds.Someapplicationsmightstopworkingcorrectly,whileothersmayusewaytoomanyresources.Yourcomputermaygetinfectedwithmalware,puttingyourdataindanger.Windowsmightsuddenlystopworkingandyouwon’tknowwhattodotofixit.Hardwarecomponentsmightstarttofailorperhapshavebugsthatcanbefixedonlybyinstallingnewfirmwareordrivers.Let’sfaceit:youcanencounterproblemswithcomputersjustasyoucanwithanyothertool.

Inthischapterwewillcoverallthebasicthingsyouneedtoknowinordertotroubleshootproblemsatbothasoftwarelevelandahardwarelevel.Finally,youwilllearnaboutseveralmethodsthatyoucanusetokeepyourdatasafesothatnomatterwhathappenswithyourcomputer,youneverloseyourdata.Let’sgetstarted.

DealingwithProblemsCausedbySoftwareWhenyouuseacomputer,yougettoinstalllotsofsoftwareapplicationsthatcanbeusedforallkindsoftasks.Sincesoftwareissodiverse,chancesarethatsomethingsmightnotworkasyouexpectthemto.Forexample,youmaywanttouseanoldapplicationthatisnotcompatiblewithyouroperatingsystem,oryoumayuseanotherapplicationthatconsumestoomanyofyourcomputer’sresources,makingitslowdowndramatically.Or,whilebrowsingtheInternetorcheckingyouremail,youmaygetyourcomputerinfectedwithsomeharmfulvirus.Thekindsofproblemsyoumayencounterareasdiverseasthenumberandtypesofapplicationsyouareinstallingonyourcomputer.

Togiveyouahandandhelpyouunderstandwhatisgoingonandhowtodealwithsoftware-relatedproblems,wewillcoverseveralcommonscenariosthatmostusersdealwithatsomepointwhenusingcomputers.First,we’llexplainhowtodealwithincompatibilitiesbetweentheoperatingsystemandtheapplicationsthatausermayattempttoinstall.

DealingwithIncompatibilitiesbetweentheOperatingSystemVersionandYourApplicationsEachnewversionofanyoperatingsystemintroducesallkindsofchangesandadvancements.Sometimes,newerversionsalsointroduceproblemsthatdidnotexistinthepreviousversions,aswellasincompatibilitieswitholderapplications.Thisiswhyitisveryimportanttokeepbothyouroperatingsystemandyourinstalledapplicationsuptodate.Boththeoperatingsystemandtheapplicationsyouareusingneedtoimproveandevolveovertimesothatyouhaveaccesstothelatestfeatures,bugfixes,andproductivityandsecurityimprovements.

WhenyouinstallanewversionofWindowsonyourcomputer,mostofyourapplicationswillkeepworkingastheydidinthepast.However,someofyouroldersoftwaremightstopworking.Theseapplicationsjustmightbetoooldandoutdated,andthenewversionofWindowsintroducesenoughchangesthattheoldversiondoesn’tworkanymore.Ifthishappens,thenyouneedtocheckfornewerversionsofthoseapplicationsthatworkwithyournewversionofWindows.

WhilethisisOKforhomeuserswhoinstallmostlyfreeoraffordablesoftwarethat’seasilyupgradableontheircomputers,businessesmighthavesomeissues.Applicationsthataredesignedforbusinesstendtobemoreexpensive,andupgradingthemonaregularbasismayincurveryhighcostsforthecompany.That’swhy,beforeupgradingtoanewversionofWindows,eachcompanymustevaluatethecompatibilityofitsapplicationswiththatversion.Tohelpyouwiththisevaluation,MicrosofthascreatedawebsitenamedWindowsCompatibilityCenter.Youcanfinditatthisaddress:http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/Home.

Ifyoupreferashorteraddressthatiseasiertotype,usethisaddress:http://bit.ly/19fq1xr.

Whenyouvisitthiswebsite,followthesesteps:

1. Typethenameoftheapplicationforwhichyouwanttocheckthecompatibilitywitha

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/Home

http://bit.ly/19fq1xr

certainversionofWindows.

2. 2.PressEnteronyourkeyboard.

3. Selectitfromthelistofresults.

4. SelecttheversionofWindowsyouareinterestedin.

TheWindowsCompatibilityCenterwilltellyouwhetherthisapplicationiscompatiblewiththeversionofWindowsyouselectedandwhetheryouneedtotakeanykindofaction(seeFigure4.1).


IfyoucannotupgradeaspecificapplicationtoanewerversionthatworksonyournewversionofWindows,there’sanothersolutionthatmighthelp:theCompatibilityModefeaturethat’sincludedineveryversionofWindows.ItallowsyoutoeditthepropertiesoftheapplicationthatiscausingyoutroubleandsetWindowstorunitincompatibilitymodewithanolderversionofWindows.Whenyoudothat,WindowstriestoadjustitssettingsandsimulateanenvironmentthatissimilartotheolderversionofWindowsyouselected.Incertainscenariosthishelpsyourunolderapplicationsthatotherwisewouldrefusetoruncorrectly.

InExercise4.1youwilllearnhowtosetthecompatibilitymodeforanyapplicationthatisinstalledonyourWindowscomputer.

EXERCISE4.1

SettingtheCompatibilityModeforAnyWindowsApplication1. ClickStartandthenComputer.

2. Browseyourcomputer’sC:driveandfindtheexecutable(.exe)fileoftheapplicationthatisnotworking.

ApplicationsaregenerallyinstalledintheProgramFilesfolder.

3. Right-clicktheexecutablefileofthatapplicationandselectProperties(Figure4.2).

Figure4.2Thecontextmenuforanexecutablefile

4. InthePropertieswindowofthatfile,clicktheCompatibilitytab.

5. Checktheboxthatsays“Runthisprogramincompatibilitymodefor”(Figure4.3).

Figure4.3TheCompatibilitytabinthePropertieswindow

6. SelecttheolderWindowsversiononwhichthisapplicationusedtowork(Figure4.4).

Figure4.4Selectingthecompatibilitymodeforafile

7. ClickOK.

Thenexttimeyouruntheselectedapplication,itwillruninanenvironmentthat

issimilartotheolderversionofWindowsthatyouselectedatthepreviousstep.

DealingwithUnresponsiveApplicationsWhileyouareusingapplicationsonyourcomputer,somemaybecomeunresponsiveatsomepoint,forallkindsofreasons.Forexample,theantivirusmightscanafileyouhaveopenedwithanotherapplicationandthefilegetslockedoutandunusableforawhilebythatapplication,causingittostopworking.Or,youmaybeusinganapplicationthatrequiresanInternetconnectionandtheInternetconnectiondrops,causingtheapplicationtostopworking.Thislackofresponsemaylastonlyafewseconds,oritmaybepermanent.That’swhyifyounoticethatanapplicationisnolongerrespondingtoyourcommands,itisbesttofirstwaitforacoupleofseconds.Ifnothingchanges,thenyouneedtotakeaction.

Thereasonswhyanapplicationmaystopworkingvary.What’scommontomostunresponsiveapplicationsisthattheytendtoslowyourcomputerdownuntilyouforcethemtoclose.WiththehelpoftheTaskManager,youcanforceanyapplicationtostopandclose.

WhenyouopentheTaskManagerandselecttheApplicationstab(Figure4.5),youwillseealltheapplicationsthatyouhavestarted.

Figure4.5TheTaskManagerinWindows7

TheTaskcolumnliststhenameofeachapplication,whiletheStatuscolumnshowswhethereachapplicationisrunningornotresponding.IfanapplicationismarkedasNotResponding,youwon’tbeabletocontinueusingit,andinordertofixthisproblem,youneedtousetheTaskManagertostopit.

InExercise4.2youwilllearnhowtousetheTaskManagerinWindowstoidentify

applicationsthatarenotrespondingandhowtomakethemstopandclose.

EXERCISE4.2

IdentifyingNonresponsiveApplicationsandEndingTheirFunctioning1. Whenyouareusinganapplicationthatisnolongerresponding,press

Ctrl+Shift+EsconyourkeyboardtoopentheTaskManager.

2. ClicktheApplicationstabandidentifytheapplicationthatisnolongerresponding.

3. SelectitandthenclickEndTask(Figure4.6).

Figure4.6ClosinganapplicationwiththeTaskManager

4. Windows7willtellyouthattheselectedapplicationisnotresponding,andyoucanselectwhatyouwanttodo.SelectCloseTheProgram(Figure4.7).

Figure4.7Thewarningshownwhenaprogramisnotresponding

Nowthatyouknowhowtodealwithunresponsiveapplications,let’sdiscussanotherscenariothat’slikelytohappenwhenyouuseacomputeronaregularbasis.

DealingwithApplicationsThatConsumeTooManyResourcesSomeapplicationsmayconsumeabigpercentageofyourcomputer’sresources.Theywon’tbecomeunresponsive,butifyouwanttorunotherapplicationsatthesametime,thoseotherapplicationswillhavelimitedhardwareresourcesattheirdisposal,andtheywillworkslowerthanusual.Ifyouopenseveralapplicationsatthesametime,yourcomputerwillbecomeslowtorespond,andallyourcommandswilltakealongtimetowork.

Ifyouaredealingwiththisscenario,TaskManagerisagainthetoolthatcanhelpyou.IfyouopenitandselecttheProcessestab,youwillseealltheprocessesthatarerunning.TheyincludebothapplicationsthatyouhavestartedandprocessesthatarerunautomaticallybyWindows.Inthistabthereareseveralcolumnswithinformation:

ImageNameThenameoftheprocessthatisrunning.Theprocessisalwaysnamedusingthenameofthefilethatitisrunning.Whenyourunanapplication,youwillnotseeitsnamebutthenameofthatapplication’sexecutablefile(with.exeattheendofitsname).

UserNameThenameoftheuseraccountthatstartedtheprocess.

CPUThepercentageofyourcomputer’sprocessorpowerusedbytheprocess.

MemoryTheamountofRAMusedbythatprocess.Thisisgenerallymeasuredinkilobytes.

DescriptionAdescriptionoftheprocess.Inthecaseofapplications,youwillseethenameoftheapplicationthatstartedtheprocess.

Bydefault,TaskManagerdisplaysonlytheprocessesthatyouhavestartedorthatWindowshasstartedautomaticallyforyouruseraccount.Ifyouwanttoseeallthe

processesthatarerunningonyourcomputer,includingthosestartedbyotherusers,clicktheShowProcessesFromAllUsersbutton(seeFigure4.8).TaskManagerwillnowdisplayallrunningprocesses,fromalluseraccounts.

Figure4.8TheTaskManagershowingrunningprocesses

Ifyouwanttoidentifytheprocessthatisusingthebiggestshareofyourcomputer’sprocessorpower,followthesesteps:

1. ClicktheCPUcolumntosortitindescendingorder(seeFigure4.9).

Figure4.9TheProcessestabintheTaskManager,sortedbyCPUuse

Youwillfirstseetheprocessesthatareusingthemostofyourcomputer’sprocessor.

2. Clickthiscolumnagain,andyouwillsortitinascendingorderwiththeprocessesthatusethefewestresourceslistedfirst.

3. IfyouwanttoidentifytheapplicationsthatareusingthemostRAM,clicktheMemorycolumnoncetosortitindescendingorder.

4. LookattheDescriptioncolumntolearnthenameoftheapplicationthatisconsumingthemostmemory.

5. Closethatapplicationandnoticehowyourcomputer’sresourcesarefreedandotherapplicationsbecomemoreresponsive.

DealingwithMalwareInfectionsAnotherproblemyoumayencounterwhenusingyourcomputerismalwareinfections.YoumaytrytodownloadaninfectedfilefromtheInternet,fromanuntrustedsource.Youmayhavereceivedamaliciousemailwithaninfectedattachment,oryoumayhavepluggedinaUSBmemorystickthatwasusedonanothercomputer,whichwasinfectedwithsomeformofmalware.

Ifyouhaveanantivirusprograminstalled,itsreal-timeprotectionengineshouldbeabletoidentifythethreatandblockitbeforeitgetsthechancetoinfectyourcomputerandcauseharm.Forexample,whenyoudownloadanewfiletoyourcomputer,itshouldbeautomaticallyscannedbytheantivirus.IfyoupluginaUSBmemorystick,theantivirusshouldautomaticallyscanit.Ifitdoesn’t,youshouldscanityourselftomakesurethatyouarenotexposingyourselftosecurityproblems.

Ifasecurityproblemisdetected,theantivirusprogramwillinformyouaboutitand

shouldbeabletoautomaticallydealwithit.Forexample,inFigure4.10,MicrosoftSecurityEssentials(thefreeantivirusprovidedbyMicrosoftforWindows7users)informstheuserthatdetectedthreatsarebeingcleanedandthatnoactionisneededfromtheuserafteramaliciousfilewasdownloadedfromtheInternet.

Figure4.10AMicrosoftSecurityEssentialsprompt

Whileotherantivirussoftwarewilllookdifferentanddisplaydifferentpromptswithmoreorlessinformationbeingrevealed,itsreal-timeprotectionengineshouldworkinasimilarway.

Werecommendthatyouregularlyscanyourcomputerformalwareatleastonceamonth.Youcanperformthescanmanuallyoryoucansetyourantivirustodothatforyou,automatically.However,somefreeantivirusproductslikeMicrosoftSecurityEssentialsdon’tincludeanyschedulingfeatures,andyouwillhavetoperformthescansyourself.InExercise4.3wewilldemonstratehowtoperformafull-systemscanonyourcomputerwithMicrosoftSecurityEssentialsandhowtodealwiththeinfectedfilesthatitdetects.

EXERCISE4.3

ScanningYourComputerforMalwarewithMicrosoftSecurityEssentialsandRemovingInfectedFiles1. ClickStartandthenAllProgramstoseealistwithshortcutstoyourprograms

(Figure4.11).

Figure4.11TheStartmenuinWindows7

2. ClickMicrosoftSecurityEssentialstostartthisantivirusprogram.

3. IntheHometab,selectFullasthescanoptionandthenclickScanNow(Figure4.12).

Figure4.12MicrosoftSecurityEssentials

4. Waitforthescantoendandthenlookattheresultsdisplayed.

5. Ifthreatsaredetected,clickCleanPC(Figure4.13).

Figure4.13PotentialthreatsdetectedbyMicrosoftSecurityEssentials

6. WaitforMicrosoftSecurityEssentialstodealwiththem.Whenithasfinished,clickClose(Figure4.14).

Figure4.14ThreatsremovedbyMicrosoftSecurityEssentials

UsingSafeModetoFixProblemswithWindowsIfyouhaveproblemswiththewayWindowsworks,thenonequickwaytofixitistostartitusingtheSafeModefeature.SafeModeisadifferentwayofstartingWindowsthatloadsonlythebarestessentialsthatarerequiredforWindowstofunction.Forexample,mostdriversarenotloaded,andmostWindowsservicesarenotstarted.Also,theapplicationsthatarenormallysettorunatstartuparenotloaded.WheninSafeMode,Windowswillrunusingthelowestpossiblegraphicsandtheminimumresolutionthatissupported—800×600pixels(seeFigure4.15).

Figure4.15SafeMode

BecauseSafeModeisaminimalwayofrunningWindows,itshouldbeusedonlyfordiagnosingcomputerproblemsandforfixingthem.

SafeModecanstartinoneofthreeways:

SafeModeNormalSafeModeloadsonlythebareessentialsthatarerequiredforWindowstofunction.

SafeModewithNetworkingThiswayalsoloadsthedriversforyourcomputer’snetworkcardsothatyoucanaccessthenetworkortheInternet.

SafeModewithCommandPromptWhenyoustartWindowsusingthismode,itautomaticallylaunchesthecommandpromptwithoutdisplayingotherelementsoftheuserinterface,suchastheStartbutton.ThismodeisusefulonlytoITprofessionalswhoknowhowtousecommand-lineutilitiestoadministerWindows.

YoucanuseSafeModetosolveallkindsofproblems,includingbutnotlimitedtothefollowing:

DiskcorruptionproblemsthatdonotallowWindowstostartorrunnormally

Instabilitycausedbymalfunctioningdriversthatneedtoberemoved

IncompatibleapplicationsthatcauseWindowstomalfunction

Malwareinfectionsthatarehardtoremove

InExercise4.4youwilllearnhowtostartWindows7inSafeMode.

EXERCISE4.4

StartingWindows7inSafeMode1. ShutdownyourWindows7computer.

2. PressthepowerbuttontostartyourcomputerandthenpresstheF8keyonyourkeyboard.

3. KeeptheF8keypresseduntilyouseetheAdvancedBootOptionsscreenshowninFigure4.16.

Figure4.16AdvancedBootOptions

4. Usingthearrowkeysonyourkeyboard,movethecursortooneoftheSafeModebootoptionsandthenpressEnter.

5. WaitforWindows7tostartinSafeModeandthenloginwithyouruseraccount,ifrequired.

Windows7isnowstartedusingSafeMode.

FindingHelpOnline

Ifyouhaveacomputerproblemthatyoucan’tfixusinganyofthemethodssharedearlierinthischapter,thenyourbestchoiceistosearchforhelponline.OntheInternetyouwillfindplentyofwebsites,knowledgebases,forums,andtechnicalcommunitieswhereyoucanfindsolutionstoyourproblemsoraskforhelpfromothers.

OneofthebestplacestogetstartedisMicrosoft’sFixItSolutionCenter.Itisaportalwhereyoucanfindinformationtohelpyoufixallkindsofproblems.Whenyouvisitit,youareaskedtoselecttheproblemareaandwhatyouweretryingtodo.Thenyouaregivenalistofdocumentedproblemsandtheirsolutions.Forsomeproblemsyoucandownloadandrunaspeciallycraftedfilethatwillhelpyoufixtheproblemthatyouhave.YoucanaccesstheFixItSolutionCenterbyenteringinyourbrowsereitherofthefollowingtwoaddresses:

http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

http://bit.ly/1cjQQlU

YoucanalsotryonlinecommunitieslikeMicrosoftAnswers,whereyoucangethelpfromMicrosoft’semployees,technicalexpertswhoareactiveinthatcommunity,orotheruserslikeyourself.Whenvisitingthiscommunity,selecttheproductyouarehavingtroublewith,andthenyouwillseealltheavailablediscussionthreadsorwikiswithdocumentation.YoucanaccessMicrosoftAnswersbyenteringinyourbrowsereitherofthetwofollowingaddresses:

http://answers.microsoft.com

http://bit.ly/1peZGaz

Therearemanyothercommunitieswhereyoucanaskforhelpfromothers,eventhoughtheyarenotmanagedbyMicrosoft.Anexampleofagreattechnicalcommunityissuperuser.com.Also,youcanfindplentyofwebsiteswithlotsofhow-toarticlesandguidesthatshowyouhowtobestuseWindowsanditsapplicationsandhowtofixproblems.Twosuchgreatwebsitesare7tutorials.comandhowtogeek.com.Don’thesitatetovisitthemandreadtheirarticles.Youwilldefinitelylearnmoreaboutusingyourcomputer,andyouwillfindplentyofhelpforfixingyourtechnicalproblems.

http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

http://bit.ly/1cjQQlU

http://answers.microsoft.com

http://bit.ly/1peZGaz

DealingwithProblemsCausedbyHardwareHardwarecanalsocauseproblemsfromtimetotime.Youmayhavetodealwithsimpleissueslikeyourmonitornotpoweringonormorecomplexissueslikenever-endingcrashesandcontinuousrestartloops.Sincehardwarecomponentsareverydiverse,theproblemsthattheymaycausearejustasdiverse.

Tohelpyouunderstandhowtodealwithhardware-relatedproblems,wewillcoverseveralcommonscenariosthatmostusersdealwithatsomepoint.Wewillstartwiththesimplestofissues,whicharecausedbycablesandconnectorsnotbeingpluggedincorrectly.

DealingwithProblemsCausedbyCablesandConnectorsWhenyouuseacomputer,youmayencountersmallincidentsthatwillstopitfromworkingcorrectly.Thesearemostoftencausedbyminorissueslikecablesandconnectorsnotbeingpluggedincorrectly.

Forexample,ifyoutrytotypesomethingandthecomputerseemstoignoreyourkeypresses,thenthefirstthingyoushoulddoistocheckthecablethatconnectsthekeyboardtothecomputer.Takealookatitandseewhetheritisstillpluggedintothebackofyourcomputer.MaybethekeyboardisnolongerpluggedcorrectlyintotheUSBorPS/2port.Thesamegoesforthemouse—ifallofasuddenitstopsregisteringyourcommands,thenmostprobablythecauseforthisissueisthatitscableisnolongerpluggedincorrectly.Ifyouhavewirelessmiceandkeyboardsthatrunusingbatteriesandtheydon’twork,youshouldalsocheckwhethertheirbatteriesareemptyorwhethertheyarecorrectlyinsertedintotheappropriateslots.

Thesameprincipleapplieseachtimeyourcomputersuddenlyignoresyourinputorwhenitnolongerprovidestheexpectedoutput.Forexample,ifyoupressthepowerbuttononyourcomputerandthecomputerdoesn’tstart,thenmaybeitnolongerisreceivingpower.Checkthatthepowercableiscorrectlypluggedintoyourcomputer,thatthepowerison,andthatthepowersupplyunitisturnedon.MostpowersuppliesgenerallyhaveanOn/Offswitchontheirback,anditmightbesettoOff.

Anotherissuethatmayhappenisforyourmonitortostopdisplayingtheimageonthescreen.Itjuststaysblack,nomatterwhatyoudo.Inthiscase,therearethreethingsthatyoucancheck:

Checkwhetherthemonitorispluggedcorrectlyintothepowersocket.

Checkwhetherthemonitoriscorrectlyconnectedtothecomputer.

Checkwhetherthemonitoristurnedon.

Chancesarethatoneofthesesituationsisthecauseofyourproblemandyoucanfixitquickly.

Thesameprinciplesapplyalsowhendealingwithperipheralslikeprintersorwebcams.Ifaprinternolongerprintsanything,checkthatitisturnedon,thatitisreceivingpower,andthatitisconnectedcorrectlytoyourcomputer.

Obviously,itmayhappenthatallcablesandconnectorsarepluggedincorrectlyandyour

computerstilldoesn’tworkbecausesomehardwarecomponentisbrokenandneedstobefixedorreplaced.Butinmostcases,simplethingslikethesearethecauseofyourissues.

UpgradingtheFirmwareforYourComputer’sComponentsandPeripheralsInordertofunction,everypieceofhardwarehassomesmallpermanentsoftwarethatisprogrammedintoitsmemory.Becauseitisnotreallysoftwareintheclassicsenseanditexistsattheboundarybetweenhardwareandsoftware,itisnamedfirmware.

Generally,firmwareisaverybasicpieceofsoftwarethatcontainsonlytheinstructionsthatarerequiredforthehardwaretoworkasintended.Itisthefirstsoftwaretorunonadevicewhenitispoweredon.Withoutit,thehardwarewouldbeimpossibletouse.Eventhoughitisnotevident,youwillfindfirmwareinallkindsofproducts,fromwashingmachinestotheindividualcomponentsthatmakeupacomputertoperipheralslikeprinters,portablemusicplayers,scanners,andsoon.

Changingthefirmwareofadevicemayrarelyorneverbedoneduringitslifetime;somefirmwarememorydevicesarepermanentlyinstalledandcannotbechangedaftertheyareproduced.ExamplesofsuchdevicesareUSBmemorysticks,CPUs,andnetworkcards.However,forsomehardwarecomponents,updatingthefirmwareispossibleandadvisablebecauseitcanhelpfixannoyingbugsoraddnewfeatures.Themostcommoncomponentinacomputerforwhichitisadvisabletoupgradethefirmwareisthemotherboard.Also,manymobiledevicesliketabletsandsmartphonesgetregularfirmwareupdatesthatfixproblemsoraddnewfeatures.

Inthemotherboardofacomputerordevice,thefirmwareisnamedBIOS,meaningBasicInput/OutputSystem.Thetermwascoinedin1975,andithasbeenusedeversincewhenreferringtothefirmwareofamotherboardoracomputer.Ithasadifferentnamefromotherfirmwarebecausemotherboardsaremorecomplexhardwarethatmanagestheinteractionamongallkindsofhardwarethatmakeupacomputer.

TheBIOSisoneofthemostadvancedformsoffirmware.Itisinchargeofinitializingandtestingallthehardwarecomponentsofacomputer,providingthenecessarypowerforotherhardware,includingthecoolingdevicesfoundinsideacomputer,anditisalsoresponsibleforloadingtheoperatingsystem.FromtheBIOSyoucanconfigurethewayyourcomputer’smotherboardworks.

TheBIOSistheonlyformoffirmwarethathasavisualinterface,whichyoucanaccessbypressingakeyonyourkeyboardimmediatelyafterstartingyourcomputer.Thekeythatyouhavetopressvariesfromcomputertocomputer.InFigure4.17youcanseetheuserinterfaceforatypicalBIOS.Pleasekeepinmindthatthenumberofconfigurationoptionsdisplayedvariesfromcomputertocomputer,andonyourcomputerthingswillbedifferentthaninthisfigure.

Figure4.17TheBIOS

Theupgradeprocessforthefirmwareiscalledflashing,anditinvolvesoverwritingtheexistingfirmwareanddataonthatdevice.Flashingthefirmwareofanycomputerordeviceisdoneusingspecializedsoftwareforthistask.Thissoftwareworksdifferentlyandlooksdifferentforeachcomponentandmanufacturer.InFigure4.18youcanseetheHPSystemBIOSUpdateUtilitythatisusedtoupdatetheBIOSonHPcomputers.

Figure4.18TheHPSystemBIOSUpdateUtility

Itisveryimportantthatthisprocessrunswithoutproblemsandthatthe

deviceremainspoweredonthroughthedurationofitsflashing.Iftheprocessisinterruptedinanyway,thedevicebecomesunusablebecauseitnolongerhasthefirmwarenecessarytofunction.Ithasonlyapartialcopyofthefirmwarethat’snotabletoworkonitsown.

Thefirmwareforanyhardwaredeviceisalwaysfoundonitsmanufacturer’swebsite.Youhavetobecarefulandlookforthefirmwarethat’screatedspecificallyforyourhardwarecomponent’snameandmodelnumber.Ifyoutrytoinstallthefirmwarethatwascreatedforanothermodelnumberoranothercomponent,youwilldamagethatcomponent,anditwillstopworking,possiblyforgood.

DealingwithDriversforYourComputer’sHardwareWefirstintroducedtheconceptofdriversinChapter3,“UnderstandingSoftware,”andwesaidthattheyaresoftwarethatoperatesandcontrolsparticularhardwaredevicesattachedtoyourcomputer.Theyensurethatyouroperatingsystemtakesfulladvantageofyourhardware.Operatingsystemscomewithsomegenericdrivers,butforfullaccessyouoftenneedspecificdrivers.Driverscanbeaproblem,andtheycancauseperformanceandstabilityissuesiftheyarenothandledcorrectly.

Windowshasalargedatabaseofhardwarecomponentsanddriversforthem.Ifyourcomputerhascommonlyusedhardware,chancesarethatWindowsautomaticallydetectsitandinstallstheappropriatedriversthroughtheWindowsUpdateservice.WhenthathappensinWindows7,youwillseeanotificationliketheoneshowninFigure4.19,statingthatWindowsisinstallingdevicedriversoftware.Waitfortheinstallationtofinishpriortousingthatdevice.ThispromptismostoftenencounteredwhenyouconnectperipheralstoyourcomputerlikeUSBmemorysticks,externalharddisks,webcams,orprinters.

Figure4.19Windows7installingdevicedriversoftware

Driversarealsorequiredforperipherals.Forexample,ifyouwanttouseaprinterorascanner,youhavetoinstallthedriversthatarefoundonitsinstallationdiskoronthemanufacturer’swebsite.Again,downloadthedriversforyourexactprinterorscanner,andmakesurethattheyarecompatiblewiththeoperatingsystemversionyouareusing.

Beforeinstallingadriveryouneedtodouble-checkthefollowing:

Thatitismadefortheexacthardwarecomponentyouareusing.Youneedtomakesurethatitwasmadefortheexactmodelandmodelnumberofthatcomponentandnotforanotherone.Thisisespeciallytruewhendealingwithdriversformorecomplexhardwarelikethegraphicscardorthesoundcard.Ifyoudon’tinstalltheappropriatedriver,yourcomponentwillnotwork,andyouwillalmostcertainlycauseinstabilityorperformanceissues.

Thatthedriveriscompatiblewiththeexactversionoftheoperatingsystemyouareusing.ThisisabigproblemwhenyouwanttoupgradeanoldercomputerorlaptoptoanewerversionofWindows.EventhoughthelatestversionofWindowstheoreticallyworksonyourcomputer’shardwareconfiguration,someofyourcomputer’scomponentsmightnothavedriversavailableforthisversionofWindows.That’swhyyoushouldalwayscheckbeforeupgradingtoanewerversionofWindowswhetheryourcomputer’shardwarecomponentshavedriversforit.

If,bymistake,youinstalldriversthatweremadetoworkonanotherversionofWindows,chancesarethatyourcomputerwillcrashandstopworkingnormally.Inthesection“DealingwithIncompatibilitiesbetweentheOperatingSystemVersionandYourApplications”earlierinthischapter,wementionedtheWindowsCompatibilityCenterwebsite,whichcanhelpyouevaluatewhetherthesoftwarethatyouwanttouseiscompatiblewithyourversionofWindows.Luckilythiswebsitealsoincludesmany

hardwarecomponentsinitsdatabase,soyoucanuseittocheckwhetheryourcomputer’scomponentsarecompatiblewiththelatestversionofWindowsbeforeupgradingtoit(Figure4.20).


Typethenameofthehardwarecomponentthatyouwanttocheck,clickSearch,andlookthroughtheresultsthatarereturned.YoucanfindtheWindowsCompatibilityCenterateitherofthesetwoaddresses:



AfterinstallingWindowsonacomputerandaddingtheappropriatedriversforitshardware,youshoulddouble-checkthatyouhaveinstalledallthenecessarydriversandthatyoudidnotforgetanything.ThischeckcanbequicklyperformedusingatoolnamedDeviceManagerthat’sfoundinWindows.Exercise4.5demonstrateshowtouseittocheckwhetherthereareanyhardwarecomponentsforwhichyouaremissingdrivers.

EXERCISE4.5

CheckingWhetherThereAreAnyMissingDriversinWindows1. ClickStartandthentypetheworddeviceinthesearchbox.

2. ClicktheDeviceManagersearchresult(Figure4.21),andthetoolwillopen.



Figure4.21TheDeviceManagershortcut

Hereyoucanseeallthehardwarecomponentsthatareinsideyourcomputeraswellastheperipheralsthatareconnectedtoit.

3. IntheDeviceManagerwindow,lookforasectionnamedOtherDevices(Figure4.22).

Figure4.22TheDeviceManagerwindow

Ifyoufindit,thereyouwillseeatleastonedeviceforwhichWindowsdoesnothavetheappropriatedrivers.

4. WritedowntheinformationthatisdisplayedbytheDeviceManagerforeachdeviceintheOtherDevicescategory,anduseittofindthemissingdriversthatneedtobeinstalledonyourcomputer.

IfyoufindatleastonedevicelistedintheOtherDevicessectionoftheDeviceManager,itmeansthatyouhavenotinstalledallthenecessarydriversforyourcomputer.IfthiscategorydoesnotexistinDeviceManager,itmeansthatallthenecessarydrivershavebeeninstalledandthere’snoneedtoworry.

Withthisinformationinhand,youshouldlookonthewebsiteofyourcomputer’smanufacturerforanydevicesthatyoumayhavemissedinyoursearchfordrivers.Youwillsurelyfindadriverthat’savailablefordownloadthatyoudidnotinstall.

CreatingYourOwnBackupSystemInordertohaveasafecomputingexperience,itisveryimportanttohavesomesortofbackupsysteminplacesothatyouwon’tloseyourdataifyourcomputerhasproblemsorgetsstolen.Backupscanbedoneinmanyways,usingdifferentkindsoftoolsandstoragemedia.Firstofall,youcanusetoolsthatareincludedinWindows7,likeBackupandRestore,oryoucanusethird-partysoftwarethatisdesignedforthistask.

Intermsofthemediawhereyoucanbackupyourdata,youhavethefollowingoptions:

ExternalDriveYoucanuseanexternalharddrivethatisconnectedtoyourcomputer,multipleDVDs,oroneormoreBlu-raydiscs,ifyouhaveadrivethatcanburnthistypeofdiskwithdata.

NetworkLocationYoucanstoreyourbackuponasharedfolderonanothercomputerinyournetworkoronanetworkserverthat’susedbyyourcompanyforbackingupuserdata.Generallycompaniestendtohavetheirownautomatedbackupsystemsthatusersdon’tcontrol.Inbusinessenvironments,thenetworkadministratorhandlesthedatabackup,thebackupserver,andwhenandhowthedataisbackedupforeachuser.

CloudStorageThecloudisamodelofdatastoragewhereyourdataisstoredonmultiplephysicalserversthatareownedandmanagedbyacompanythatspecializesinstoringandsecuringuserdata.Usersbuyorleasestoragecapacityfromtheprovidersofthistypeofservice.Therearemanycloudstorageservices.ThemostpopularareDropbox,OneDrivefromMicrosoft,GoogleDrive,andBox.Whileallofthemarecommercialservicesthatrequireapaidsubscription,theyallhaveafreeplanwithlimitedstorageincluded.

Intermsofdatasafety,thesafeststoragesolutionisthecloudbecauseyourdataisstoredinspecializeddatacentersthatareactivelymaintainedandadministeredbyspecializedcompanies.Also,yourdatahascopiessothatitdoesn’tgetlostifaspecificservercrashes.Yourdatawon’tbelostevenifyourcomputersarelostoranaturaldisastertakesplaceinyourarea.

Inthissectionwewilldiscusshowtobackupyourdataonallthreekindsofmedia.Wewillalsosharehowtorestoreyourdatawhenrequired.

BackingUpYourDatawithBackupandRestoreWhiletherearemanysoftwareapplicationsthatyoucanusetomakebackupsofyourcomputerandyourdata,manyprefertousetheBackupandRestoretoolthat’sincludedinWindows7.That’sbecauseitisfreeanditisrelativelyeasytouse.

Withit,youcanbackupyourentireoperatingsystem,itssettings,andallyourdata.YoucanallowWindows7tochoosewhattobackup,oryoucanselectindividualfolders,libraries,andthediskdrivesthatyouwantbackedup.Whenyouusethistoolforthefirsttime,youcansetittorunonanautomaticscheduleandmakesurethatitbacksupyourdataregularly,withoutyouhavingtodoitmanually.BackupandRestoreisabletokeeptrackofyourfilesandfoldersautomatically,anditaddsonlyyournewormodifiedfilestoyourrecurringbackupssothatitdoesn’twastespace.

Withthistoolyoucanbackupyourdataonallkindsofmedia:anexternalharddrive

that’sconnectedtoyourcomputer,onDVDsorBlu-Raydiscs,oronnetworklocationslikesharedfoldersonothercomputers.Duringthebackupprocedure,allyouhavetodoisselectthedesiredlocationforyourbackup,andBackupandRestorewilltakecareofthenecessarytransfersforyou.Whenyoustoreyourbackupinanetworklocation,youhavetoprovidethenetworklocationandthenecessarycredentialsifyouneedtoauthenticateyourselfinordertoaccessthatlocation,asshowninFigure4.23.

Figure4.23TheSetUpBackupWizard

InExercise4.6youwilllearnhowtobackupyourcomputerwithBackupandRestoreonanexternalharddisk.Beforeyoustartthisexercise,makesurethatyoupluganexternalharddiskintoyourcomputerandwaitforittobedetectedandinstalledbyWindows.

EXERCISE4.6

BackingUpYourDatawithBackupandRestore1. ClickStartandthenControlPanel.

2. ClickSystemAndSecurityandthenBackupAndRestore(Figure4.24).

Figure4.24TheBackupAndRestoreentryintheControlPanel

3. IntheBackupAndRestorewindow,clicktheSetUpBackuplinkinthetopright(Figure4.25).


WindowstakesawhiletostarttheSetUpBackupWizard.

Youareaskedtoselectwherethebackupistobesaved.

4. SelecttheexternalharddiskthatisconnectedtoyourcomputerandclickNext

(Figure4.26).

Figure4.26Selectingwheretosaveyourbackup

5. Youareaskedwhattobackup.SelectLetWindowsChoose(Recommended)andclickNext(Figure4.27).

Figure4.27Selectingwhatyouwanttobackup

TheSetUpBackupWizardsharesitssettingsandwhatitwillbackup.

6. ReadtheinformationdisplayedandclickSaveSettingsAndRunBackup(Figure4.28).

Figure4.28Reviewingyourbackupsettings

YoureturntotheBackupAndRestorewindow,whereyoucanseetheprogressofthebackupprocess(Figure4.29).Waitforittofinish.

Figure4.29Thebackupinprogress

Whenthebackupisfinished,youareshownthedateandtimewhenitwasdoneaswellasthescheduleofthenextautomaticbackup.

7. ClosetheBackupAndRestorewindow.

RestoringYourDatawithBackupandRestoreYoucanalsousetheBackupandRestoretoolfromWindowstorestoreyourbackups.Youcanrestoreallthefilesofalltheuseraccountsthatareonyourcomputer,oryoucanrestoreonlyyourownfilesfromthelatestbackup.

Ifyouchoosetorestoreyourownfiles,theeasiestwaytorestorethemistoselectBrowseForFolders(Figure4.30)andselectthefoldersthatyouwanttorestore.


Duringtherestoreprocessyouarealsoaskedwhereyouwanttorestoreyourfiles.Youcanrestorethemtotheiroriginallocation,inwhichcaseyouwillhavetooverwritetheonesthatcurrentlyexistthere,oryoucanchoosetorestorethemtoanotherlocationlikeanotherfolderoranexternalharddisk.

InExercise4.7youwilllearnhowtouseBackupandRestoreinWindows7torestoresomeofyourfilesfromthelatestbackup.

EXERCISE4.7

RestoringYourBacked-UpDatawithBackupandRestore1. ClickStartandthenControlPanel.

2. ClickSystemAndSecurityandthenBackupAndRestore.

3. ClicktheRestoreMyFilesbuttonfoundatthebottomoftheBackupAndRestorewindow(Figure4.31).


4. Youneedtoselectwhichfileswillberestoredtotheirlatestversion.ClickBrowseForFolders(Figure4.32).


5. Browsethefoldersfoundinsideyourlatestbackupandselectthefolderthatyou

wanttorestore.ClickAddFolder(Figure4.33).

Figure4.33TheBrowseTheBackupForFoldersOrDrivesdialog

6. IntheRestoreFilesWizard,clickNext(Figure4.34).

Figure4.34Thefoldersthatwillberestored

7. Youareaskedwhereyouwanttorestoreyourfiles.ChooseInTheOriginalLocationandclickRestore(Figure4.35).

Figure4.35Selectingwheretorestoreyourfiles

Yourfilesarecopiedfromthebackuptotheiroriginallocation.Duringthisprocessyouareaskedwhetheryouwantthefilesfromthebackuptoreplacethefilesfoundcurrentlyinthatlocation.

8. ChecktheboxthatsaysDoThisForAllConflictsasshowninFigure4.36,andthenclickCopyAndReplace.

Figure4.36TheCopyFiledialog

Whenthebackupfilesfromtheselectedfolderarecopiedtotheiroriginallocation,youareinformedthatyourfileshavebeenrestored.

9. ClickFinish.

BackingUpYourDatatotheCloudwithOneDriveTherearemanycloudstoragesolutionsthatyoucanusetobackupyourdata,andwhiletheylookandworkdifferently,thebasicprincipleisthesame:theyareservicesthatallowyoutobackupandaccessyourdatafromanydevicewithanInternetconnection.Evenifyourcomputercrashesandnolongerworks,yourdataissafeandcaneasilybeaccessedandrecoveredfromanywhere.Theonlyconditionisthatyouknowthenecessarycredentialstoauthenticateyourselfasauserofthatservice.

Anotheradvantageofcloudstoragesolutionsisthattheyaremorereliableinthesensethattheyalwaysupdateyourlatestfilesautomatically,aslongasthebackupandsynchronizationapplicationrunsinthebackground.WindowstoolslikeBackupandRestorerunonceeverycoupleofdays,soyoumayloseafewdays’worthoffilesoratleastafewhours’worthifsomethingbadhappens.Cloudstoragesolutionsdiminishtheriskoflosingyourwork.Also,storingyourfilesonseveralphysicalserversofaspecializedcompanymakesyourdatahardertolosethanwithtraditionalbackupsystems.

OneofthemostpopularcloudstorageservicesisOneDrivefromMicrosoft.Withit,youcanbackupyourdataonanyofyourcomputersanddevices,includingsmartphonesandtablets.YoucanalsohaveitsynchronizedacrossallofthemandbeabletoalsoaccessitbyusingtheOneDrivewebsite.

InordertouseOneDrive,youneedtohaveaMicrosoftaccount,meaninganaccountthat’sregisteredwithMicrosoft,withanemailaddressandpassword.YoucancreateyourownMicrosoftaccountbygoingtohttps://signup.live.com/andfollowingtheinstructionsdisplayedonthescreen.

Somepeopleprefertoenabletwo-stepverification,meaningthatinorderto

login,theyneedtoprovidenotonlytheiremailandpasswordbutalsoatemporarycodethat’ssharedwiththemviaemail,SMS,phone,oranappfortheirsmartphone.Thishelpsprotecttheiraccountsfromunauthorizedpeoplewhomightlearntheirpasswordthroughvariousmethodsandthentrytoaccesstheiraccountswithouttheirapproval.

IfyouareusingWindows7,youneedtodownloadtheOneDriveapplicationandinstallitonyourcomputer.Thisapplicationisfoundbygoingtohttps://onedrive.live.com.

Onceyoudownloadit,youneedtoinstallandconfigureOneDrive.Exercise4.8demonstrateshowthisisdone.

EXERCISE4.8

https://signup.live.com/

https://onedrive.live.com

InstallingandSettingUpOneDriveonYourWindows7Computer1. OpenFileExplorerandnavigatetothelocationwhereyoudownloadedthe

OneDriveSetup.exefile.Thendouble-clickit.

TheOneDrivesetupprocessstarts.

2. ClicktheGetStartedbuttonshowninFigure4.37.

Figure4.37TheMicrosoftOneDrivesetupprogram

YouareaskedtosigninwithyourMicrosoftaccount.

3. TypeyourusernameandpasswordandclickSignIn(Figure4.38).

Figure4.38SigningintoOneDrive

DependingonhowyouhavesetupyourMicrosoftaccount,youmaybeaskedtoenteracodetoverifyyouridentity.Ifthathappens,thecodewillbegeneratedbyaspecialAuthenticatorapponyoursmartphone.

4. EnterthatcodeandclickSubmit(Figure4.39).Ifyouarenotaskedforthiscode,skiptothenextstep.

Figure4.39Enteringyourtwo-stepverificationcode

YouareinformedthattheOneDrivefolderwillbecreatedinyouruseraccount.

5. ClicktheNextbuttonshowninFigure4.40.

Figure4.40ThelocationofyourOneDrivefolder

Youareaskedwhatyouwanttosynchronize.

6. SelectAllFilesAndFoldersOnMyOneDrive(Figure4.41)andclickNext.

Figure4.41Selectingwhatyouwanttosync

YoucanthenselectwhetheryouwantOneDrivetoallowyoutofetchanyofyourfilesfromthisPCfromanywhereontheInternet.

7. LeavetheboxcheckedandclickDone(Figure4.42).

Figure4.42SettingthefetchfeatureinOneDrive

OneDriveisnowinstalled,andWindowsExplorerisopeneddirectlytoyourOneDrivefolder(Figure4.43).

Figure4.43TheOneDrivefolder

8. Copythefilesandfoldersthatyouwanttobackupinthecloudtothisfolder.

9. Whenfinished,closeWindowsExplorer.

OnceOneDriveisinstalledonyourWindows7computer,youcanaccessitusingtheshortcutsfromWindowsExplorer.OneDriveworksjustlikeanyotherfolder.Youcancut,copy,paste,anddeleteanyfileorfolderjustasyouwouldnormallydo.Anythingthat’sfoundinsidetheOneDrivefolderisautomaticallysynchronizedtothecloudandwithotherdevicesandcomputerswhereyouareusingOneDrivewiththesameMicrosoftaccount.

IfWindowscrashesandyouneedtoreinstallit,yourdataissafelystoredinthecloud.AfterreinstallingWindows,allyouhavetodoistoreinstallOneDrive,andallofyourbackedupfileswillbeautomaticallydownloadedtoyourcomputer.YoucanalsoaccessthosefilesatanytimefromtheOneDrivewebsitebyusingtheOneDriveappsfortabletsandsmartphones.Onceafileissynchronizedwiththisserver,itisneverlost,nomatterwhathappens,unlessyoudeleteitfromOneDrive.

SummaryAsyouhaveseeninthischapter,thereareplentyofcomputerissuesyoumayhavetodealwith,andthelistdoesn’tstopatwhatwemanagedtocoverinthischapter.Wediscussedonlythemostcommontypesofissuesthatarecausedbyhardwareandsoftwarecomponents,notalloftheissuesthatyoumayencounter.

Knowinghowtotroubleshootcommoncomputingproblemsisveryusefulinyoureverydaywork,andnothavingtocalltechsupportforeverysimpleproblemwillsaveyousomefrustration,time,andsometimesevenmoney.

Finally,buildingyourownbackupsystemisagreatwaytoensurethatyourdataisalwayssafe,nomatterwhathappens.Computersanddevicesareperishable,andatsomepointtheywillstopworkingforvariousreasons,includingoldage.Havingabackupsysteminplaceensuresthatyouwon’tloseyourpreciousdatawhenyourcomputerstopsworking.Whileyoumaybeabletoaffordtoreplaceahardwarecomponentorbuyanewcomputer,youmaynotbeabletoaffordtoloseyourworkandyourpersonalfiles.Abackupwillalwayshelpyourecoveryourfileswhenyouneedthemandrestorethemonothercomputers,ifyourownisnolongerworking.

ExamEssentialsLearnhowtoidentifyapplicationsthatarenotcompatiblewithyouroperatingsystemandlearnhowtodealwiththem.WhenupgradingtoanewerversionofWindows,youmayencounteroldapplicationsthatdon’tworkwiththatversion.Itisimportanttoknowhowtoidentifyincompatibleapplicationsandwhatyoucandoinordertousethem.

Knowhowtoendunresponsiveapplications.Whileusingacomputer,someapplicationsmaystopworking,causingyourcomputertoslowdown.Itisgoodtoknowhowtoendthoseapplicationsthathavestoppedworkingandfindthoseapplicationsthatareconsumingabigpercentageofyourcomputer’shardwareresources.

Knowhowtoremovemalwarefromyourcomputer.IfyourcomputerisconnectedtotheInternet,thenyouwillencounterallkindsofmalwarethatmayormaynotinfectyourcomputer,dependingontheeffectivenessofyourantivirusapplication.Knowinghowtoremovevirusesandothermalwarefromyourcomputeriscrucialforhavingasecurecomputingexperience.

Knowhowtodealwithsimplehardware-relatedproblems.Whileusingacomputer,youmayhavetodealwithsimpleissuesthatarecausedbycablesandconnectorsnotbeingpluggedincorrectly.Yourkeyboardmaystopworkingsuddenly,yourcomputermaynotstartwhenyoupressthepowerbutton,andsoon.Itisverygoodtoknowhowtodealwiththesekindsofissuesandfixthemquickly.

Understandtheroleoffirmwareanddriverswhendealingwithhardware.Inorderforacomputertorunwell,itscomponentsmusthaveup-to-datefirmwareanddriversinstalled.Thesetypesofsoftwarehaveabigimpactonyourcomputer’sperformanceandonthewayyouareusingthecomputer.That’swhyyoushouldhaveagoodunderstandingoftheseconceptsandtheroletheyplaywhenusingacomputer.

Knowhowtosetupyourownbackupsystem.Yourworkandyourdataareevenmoreimportantthanyourcomputer,andyoushouldalwayshaveasystemtokeepitsafe.Settingupyourownbackupsystemisvitaltoagoodcomputingexperience,andhavingawaytorecoveryourdatawhensomethinggoeswrongwillsaveyoulotsoffrustration,time,andmoney.


BackupandRestore MicrosoftAnswersBIOS MicrosoftSecurityEssentialsCompatibilityMode OneDriveDrivers SafeModeFirmware TaskManagerFixItSolutionCenter WindowsCompatibilityCenterFlashing

ReviewQuestions1. Whattoolyoucanusetocheckwhetheranapplicationiscompatiblewithyour

Windowsversion?

A. MicrosoftFixItSolutionCenter

B. CompatibilityMode

C. SafeMode

D. WindowsCompatibilityCenter

2. Whattoolyoucanusetocloseapplicationsthatarenotresponding?

A. WindowsDefender

B. MicrosoftSecurityEssentials

C. TaskManager

D. MicrosoftWord

3. Whichofthefollowingarewaysofpreventingmalwareinfections?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Whendownloadinganewfileonyourcomputer,youscanitwithanantivirus.

B. WhenpluggingaUSBmemorystickintoyourcomputer,youscanitwithanantivirus.

C. BootintoSafeMode.

D. Youuseyourantivirustoscanyourcomputerformalwareregularly,atleastonceamonth.

4. WhatisSafeMode?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Windowsloadingonlythebarestessentialsthatarerequiredforittorun

B. Windowsloadingwithoutauserinterface

C. AwayofloadingWindowsthatallowsyoutotroubleshootandfixproblemswiththeoperatingsystem

D. Windowsloadingwithoutadesktopbackground

5. WhichofthefollowingareresourceswhereyoucangethelpfromMicrosoft?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. MicrosoftWord

B. MicrosoftAnswers

C. Yahoo!Answers

D. FixItSolutionCenter

6. Whenyourcomputer’smonitorremainsblackafterturningonthecomputer,whatshouldyoudotofixthisproblem?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Checkwhetherthemonitoristurnedon.

B. Checkwhetherthemonitoriscorrectlyconnectedtothecomputer.

C. Checkwhetherthemonitorisfullofdust.

D. Checkwhetherthemonitorispluggedcorrectlyintothepowersocket.

7. Whatshouldyoucheckbeforeinstallingadriverforahardwarecomponent?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Thatitwasreleasedinthelast30days

B. Thatitiscompatiblewiththeexactversionoftheoperatingsystemyouareusing

C. Thatitismadefortheexacthardwarecomponentthatyouareusing

D. Thatitwascreatedbythemanufacturerofyourhardware’scomponent

8. WhatistheBIOS?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Firmwarewithauserinterface

B. Softwarethatrunswhentheoperatingsystemisstarted

C. Thefirmwarethatisinchargeofinitializingandtestingallthehardwarecomponentsofacomputer

D. BasicInput/OutputSystem

9. Whyshouldyoubackupyourdata?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Toloseitwhenyourcomputercrashes

B. Tobeabletorecoveritwhenyourcomputercrashes

C. Tobeabletorecoveritwhenyourcomputergetsstolen

D. Tohaveitinthecloud

10. Whichofthefollowingarecharacteristicsofcloudstorage?(Chooseallthatapply.)

A. Yourdataisstoredonmultiplephysicalservers.

B. YourdatacanbeaccessedfromdifferentcomputersanddeviceswithanInternetconnectionaslongasyouhavethecorrectcredentialstoaccessit.

C. Yourdatacanberecoveredfromanywhereatanytime.

D. Yourdatacanberecoveredonlyforalimitedtime.

AppendixAAnswerstoReviewQuestions

Chapter1:UnderstandingOperatingSystems1. C.Operatingsystemsarethemiddlemanbetweenthehardwareofthecomputer,the

user,andthesoftwareapplicationsthatareinstalled.Theoperatingsystemalwaystakestheinputfromtheuser,translatesitintocommandsforthehardware,andreturnstheresult.

2. A,D.WindowsandAndroidareoperatingsystems.MicrosoftOfficeisanapplicationthatmustbeinstalledontopoftheoperatingsystem.Hardwareisthecollectionofthephysicalelementsthatconstituteacomputer.

3. B,C.Whenyoulockyourcomputerorswitchusers,thecomputingsessionispaused,andyourapplicationsandfilesremainopen.Youdonothavetosaveyourworkbecauseyouarenotendingthesession.Ifyouopttologoffthecomputer,yoursessionisended.Also,ifyoushutdownthecomputer,thecomputeristurnedoff,andyoursessionhasended.

4. B,D.Whenyoucutsomethingandthenpasteit,theitemismoved.Ifyouweretocopyitinstead,theitemwouldnotbemoved,butacopyofitwouldbecreated.ThereisnospecificMovecommand,butifyouright-clickanddragafolderfromoneareaoftheharddrivetoanother,MoveHereisanoptionafteryoudroptheitem.

5. A,C,D.WhenusingWindowsExplorer,youcanlearnthefiletypeofeachfilewhenyouareusingtheContent,Tiles,andDetailsviews.TheListviewdisplaysalistwithallyourfiles,withoutanyadditionalinformation.

6. A.Ctrl+CistheshortcutforCopy;Ctrl+XistheshortcutforCut;Ctrl+VistheshortcutforPaste;Ctrl+Pistheshortcutforprintingadocument.

7. A,B,D.TheMagnifierisatoolavailablefromtheAccessibilityCenterthatenablesyoutozoominonwhatisshowingonthescreen.Youcandecreasethescreenresolutiontomakeeverythinglarger,whileincreasingitwouldmakeeverythingsmaller.YoucanalsoopttomaketextandotheritemslargerfromtheDisplaywindow.

8. C.TheonlyplacewhereyoucangotocustomizeboththeDesktopbackgroundandthethemeusedbyWindowsisStart➢ControlPanel➢AppearanceAndPersonalization➢Personalization.Theotheroptionstakeyoutopanelswhereyoucancustomizeotheritems.

9. D.Onlyadministratorsareallowedtomakechangesthataffectallusersofthecomputerandcreateotherusers.

10. D.Readisthepermissionthatoffersaccesstoafilebutdoesnotallowanyalterationtoit.Read/Writeallowsaccessandediting.ViewandDeletearenotvalidpermissions.

Chapter2:UnderstandingHardware1. A,C.RAMandtheCPUarehousedinsidethecomputerandarethusinternal

hardware.Amouseandaprinterareconnectedexternallysotheyareexternalhardwareorperipherals.

2. A,C,D.RAMistheonlytypeofvolatilememoryinthislist.Itlosesallitsstoreddatawhenpoweredoff.SSDs,DVDs,andUSBflashdrivesdonotlosetheirdatawhenpoweredoff.

3. B,C.Thespeakersandthewebcamaregenerallyconnectedtoadesktopcomputerandarenotfoundinsidethecaseofthecomputer.Theyareperipherals.

4. A,B.Amonitorshowsthevisualoutputofthecomputer.Speakersoutputsound.Amicrophoneacceptsdata,soit’saninputdevice.Akeyboardacceptskeystrokes,soitisalsoaninputdevice.

5. D.Serverstendtohaveverypowerfulhardware,whichrequiresmoreenergythanothercomputers.Theyareusedtoprovideallkindsofspecializedservicestoothercomputers.

6. B.Onebytecontains8bits(or8bitsmakeup1byte).

7. A.Abyterepresentsasingleletter.Itwouldtakemanybytestorepresentapictureoravideo.Youdonothavetogroup8bytestogethertorepresentsomething;1bytewillsuffice.

8. C.RAMisdenotedinGBs.GHzandMHzareusedwiththeCPU;MBistoosmallameasure.NotethatinthepastMBwasusedasaunitofmeasureforRAM,butnowitcomesinGBs.

9. D.ThePerformancetaboffersgraphstorepresentusagehistory.TheProcessesandServicestabsdonotoffergraphs.ResourceMonitorisabuttononthePerformancetabandisalsoanapplication.

10. B.Onehertzisonecomputingcyclepersecondoronecomputerinstructionpersecond.TheonlycorrectanswerisB.Theotheranswersareincorrect.

Chapter3:UnderstandingSoftware1. B.Systemrequirementsdescribethehardwarecomponentsorothersoftwareresources

thatneedtobepresentonthecomputerwhereyouwanttouseanapplication.

2. A,D.Typicalapplicationinstallationsallowuserstochangetheinstallationfolderandspecifywhichshortcutstheywantinstalled.

3. C.YoucanstarttheremovalprocessforanyofyourinstalledapplicationsbyclickingStart➢ControlPanel➢UninstallAProgram.Thereyouwillseealistofallyourinstalledapplications,andyoucanremoveanyofthem.

4. A,C.EULAstandsforend-userlicenseagreement,anditisthecontractbetweenthecompanythatpublishedthesoftwarethatyouwanttouseandyou,theuser.

5. B,D.GPL(GNUGeneralPublicLicense)andMITarethemostcommonlyusedopen-sourcelicenses.Freewareandsharewareareproprietarylicenses.

6. C,D.AandBarecharacteristicsofdatabases,whereasCandDarecharacteristicsofspreadsheetsandspreadsheetprogramslikeMicrosoftExcel.

7. A.Whilebothwordprocessingprogramsanddesktoppublishingprogramscanworkwithtextandimages,wordprocessingprogramsspecializeincreatingwrittendocuments,whereasdesktoppublishingprogramsspecializeincreatingmaterialsthatarecomparabletotraditionaltypographyandprinting.

8. B,C.MicrosoftPowerPointandLibreOfficeImpressaresimilarprogramsthatcanbeusedtocreatepresentations.

9. A,B,D.Installinganantivirusprogramistheonlyactionlistedthatyoucantakethatdoesnotincreasetheamountoffreespaceavailableonyourcomputer’sharddisk.

10. D.A,B,andCareharmfulactivitiesthatcanbeperformedbyallkindsofmalware.Whatseparatesavirusfromothertypesofmalwareisitscapacitytoreplicateitself.

Chapter4:TroubleshootingProblemswithYourComputer1. D.WindowsCompatibilityCenterisawebsitewhereyoucancheckwhetheran

applicationiscompatiblewithyourversionofWindows.

2. C.TaskManageristhetoolthatyoucanusetolearnthestatusofyourrunningapplicationsandclosethosethatarenolongerrespondingtoyourcommands.

3. A,B,D.BootingintoSafeModeistheonlythingthatdoesn’tpreventmalwareinfections.

4. A,C.SafeModeisawayofloadingWindowswithonlythebarestessentialsthatarerequiredforittorun,whichallowsuserstotroubleshootandfixproblemsthatcannotbesolvedwhenloadingWindowsnormally.

5. B,D.MicrosoftAnswersisanonlinecommunitywhereyoucangethelpfromMicrosoftemployees,technicalexperts,andotherusers.FixItSolutionCenterisaportalcreatedbyMicrosoftwhereyoucanfindsolutionstomanyWindows-relatedproblems.

6. A,B,D.Dustdoesn’tcausemonitorstostopdisplayingtheimageonthescreen.Alltheotherpossiblecausesdo.

7. B,C.Youshouldinstalladriveronyourcomputeronlyifitwasmadefortheexacthardwarecomponentthatyouareusingandonlyifitiscompatiblewiththeversionoftheoperatingsystemyouareusing.

8. A,C,D.Bistheonlyanswerthatdoesn’tdescribeacharacteristicoftheBIOS.

9. B,C.Ifyouhaveabackupsysteminplace,youcaneasilyrecoveryourdatawhenyourcomputercrashesorgetsstolen.

10. A,B,C.Cloudstoragesolutionsdonotimposeatimelimitforrecoveringyourdata.Allotheroptionsarecharacteristicsofcloudstoragesolutions.

AppendixBUsingthePracticeFiles

Thisappendixliststhepracticefilesthataccompanythebook.Theinformationisorganizedbychapterforeasyreference.Youcanfindallpracticefilesonline,inthe“OtherStudyTools”sectionoftheinteractivelearningenvironmentthatwascreatedforthisbook.Beforegoingthroughalltheexercisesthatareoffered,pleaseregisteranddownloadallthepracticefiles.

IC3—Module1:ComputingFundamentalsPartIChapter PracticeFilesChapter1:UnderstandingOperatingSystems NoneChapter2:UnderstandingHardware NoneChapter3:UnderstandingSoftware documents.zipChapter4:TroubleshootingProblemswithYourComputer None

FreeOnlineLearningEnvironmentRegisteronSybex.comtogainaccesstothefreeonlineinteractivelearningenvironmentandtestbanktohelpyoustudyforyourIC3InternetandComputingCoreCertificationGlobalStandard4exam.

Theonlinetestbankincludes:

AssessmentTesttohelpyoufocusyourstudytospecificobjectives

ChapterTeststoreinforcewhatyoulearned

PracticeExamstotestyourknowledgeofthematerial

ElectronicFlashcardstoreinforceyourlearningandprovidelast-minutetestprepbeforetheexam

SearchableGlossarytogiveyouinstantaccesstothekeytermsyou'llneedtoknowfortheexam

PracticeFilesforyoutouseinchapterexercisesandactivities

Gotohttp://sybextestbanks.wiley.comtoregisterandgainaccesstothiscomprehensivestudytoolpackage.


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