Windows 8 Absolute Beginner's Guide

Description

• Copyright 2013
• Edition: 1st

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-7897-4993-9
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4993-2

Windows 8 Absolute Beginner’s Guide

Make the most of your new Windows 8 device—without becoming a technical expert! This book is the fastest way to take control of Windows 8, and use it to create, connect, and discover… simplify and organize your whole life… learn more, play more, do more, live better! Even if you’ve never used Windows 8 before, this book will show you how to do what you want, one incredibly clear and easy step at a time. Windows 8 has never, ever been this simple!

Who knew how simple Windows 8 could be? This is the easiest, most practical beginner’s guide to navigating Windows 8—whether from a desktop, notebook, or tablet… simple, reliable instructions for doing everything you really want
to do! Here’s a small sample of what you’ll learn:

•     Discover Windows 8’s whole new approach to running a computer

•     Run Windows 8 the way that’s easiest for you: mouse, touch, or keyboard

•     Find and use the old Windows Desktop along with all your favorite Windows XP and 7 programs

•     Get online with Internet Explorer® 10 and master its new tools and shortcuts

•     Set up your home network, printer, and other devices

•     Master quick, easy new ways to use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn®

•     Safeguard your personal information and keep it private

•     Enjoy all your digital photos, videos, movies, and music

•     Connect with anyone through email, messaging, and video chat

•     Discover and play new Windows 8 games, and use Windows to control your Xbox 360

•     Manage even the most gigantic collections of data and media

•     Automatically back up your information to external drives, DVDs, or Microsoft SkyDrive®

•     Fix problems, protect yourself from viruses, and keep Windows 8 working reliably

Paul Sanna is the author of almost two dozen computer books on topics such as Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, and Windows security. He has extensive experience working with and explaining pre-release versions of Windows. He currently advises his clients on software decisions, both for the desktop and for large business projects. 



Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Starting and Stopping Windows 8

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 1 and Index)

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1

What Is an Absolute Beginner? ................................................................................ 3

How This Book Is Organized .................................................................................... 3

Conventions Used in This Book ............................................................................... 5

    Selects and Selecting ........................................................................................... 5

    Special Elements .................................................................................................. 6

1 Starting and Stopping Windows 8 .............................................................. 7

Starting Up Windows 8 .......................................................................................8

    Powering Up Your Computer .............................................................................. 8

    Choosing an Operating System .......................................................................... 9

Signing In to Windows 8 ......................................................................................... 11

Handling Special Windows 8 Startup Situations .................................................. 16

    Restarting Windows After a Problem ............................................................... 16

    Waking Up Windows .......................................................................................... 17

    Handling Messages You Might Receive While Signing In ............................. 17

Exiting Windows ...................................................................................................... 19

    Signing Out of Windows 8................................................................................. 19

    Locking Windows 8 ............................................................................................ 20

    Putting Windows 8 to Sleep .............................................................................. 20

    Shutting Down Your Windows 8 Computer ..................................................... 21

    Restarting Windows 8 to Install Updates ......................................................... 21

2 Interacting with Windows 8 ...................................................................... 23

Getting to Know the Windows 8 Interfaces .......................................................... 24

    Using the Mouse in Windows 8......................................................................... 24

    Using the Keyboard in Windows 8 .................................................................... 26

    Using Touch in Windows 8 ................................................................................ 27

    Using the Virtual Keyboard ................................................................................ 29

Using Windows Controls in the Desktop App ...................................................... 30

    Window ................................................................................................................ 31

    Button .................................................................................................................. 32

    Option Button or Group .................................................................................... 32

    Text Box .............................................................................................................. 33

    Check Box ........................................................................................................... 33

    Windows 8 Toggle ............................................................................................. 33

    List Box ................................................................................................................ 34

    Drop-Down List ................................................................................................... 35

    Combo Drop-Down List ..................................................................................... 36

3 Learning Windows 8 Basics ....................................................................... 39

Working at the Start Screen ................................................................................... 40

    Returning to the Start Screen ............................................................................ 41

    Seeing Tiles off the Screen ................................................................................ 42

    Displaying All Tiles ............................................................................................. 42

    Selecting a Tile ................................................................................................... 44

    Moving a Tile ...................................................................................................... 45

    Making a Tile Bigger or Smaller........................................................................ 45

    Adding a Tile to the Start Screen ..................................................................... 46

Opening the App Bar .............................................................................................. 47

Using the Charms Bar ............................................................................................. 47

    Using the Search Charm .................................................................................... 49

    Using the Share Charm ...................................................................................... 52

    Using the Devices Charm .................................................................................. 53

    Using the Settings Charm .................................................................................. 54

Selecting Files in Windows 8 .................................................................................. 55

Finding and Using the Control Panel .................................................................... 57

4 Personalizing Windows 8 ........................................................................... 61

Personalizing Language, Keyboard, and Number Settings................................. 62

Personalizing Colors and Pictures .......................................................................... 65

    Personalizing the Start Screen .......................................................................... 65

    Personalizing Your Account Picture .................................................................. 67

    Personalizing the Lock Screen ........................................................................... 68

Personalizing Tile Groups ....................................................................................... 69

    Creating a Tile Group ........................................................................................ 70

    Moving Tile Groups ............................................................................................ 71

    Naming a Tile Group ......................................................................................... 71

Setting Up Accessibility Options............................................................................ 72

Personalizing How Notifications Work ................................................................. 75

Personalizing How Your Windows 8 Settings Synchronize ................................. 77

Personalizing the Desktop ...................................................................................... 77

    Changing the Desktop Background ................................................................. 77

    Changing the Mouse Pointers Used on the Desktop ..................................... 79

    Change the Desktop’s Color Scheme .............................................................. 81

    Setting Up a Desktop Screen Saver ................................................................. 81

5 Connecting to the Internet ........................................................................ 85

Reviewing Important Internet Connection Basics ................................................ 86

    Learning About Internet Service Providers ...................................................... 86

    Checking the Hardware Required to Connect ................................................ 86

Learning the Internet Connection Services Typically Available .......................... 87

    Understanding Routers for Internet Connection Sharing ............................... 90

    Understanding Network Adapters .................................................................... 91

Connecting to the Internet ..................................................................................... 91

    Connecting to a Wireless Network ................................................................... 91

    Connecting Where Free Wi-Fi Is Advertised ................................................... 94

    Connecting to Pay-as-You-Go Wi-Fi................................................................. 95

    Connecting to a LAN/Wired Network .............................................................. 95

    Connecting After Upgrading to Windows 8 .................................................... 96

    Connecting After You Restart Your Device ...................................................... 96

    Connecting in Other Scenarios ......................................................................... 96

6 Surfing the Web in Windows 8 .................................................................. 99

Introducing Internet Explorer ............................................................................... 100

Navigating to Websites ........................................................................................ 103

Enhancing Your Browsing ..................................................................................... 109

    Zooming In and Out ......................................................................................... 109

    Viewing Web Pages in the Desktop Browser ................................................ 110

    Pinning Websites to the Start Screen ............................................................. 110

Sharing and Printing While You’re Web Browsing ............................................. 112

    Sharing Web Pages .......................................................................................... 113

    Printing Web Pages .......................................................................................... 113

7 Connecting with the People App ............................................................ 117

Introducing the People App ...........................................................................118

Connecting with Your People .........................................................................121

Checking What’s New with Your People ........................................................125

The Me Page ...................................................................................................127

Setting Up Your Contacts ................................................................................128

    Linking to Facebook ......................................................................................... 128

    Linking to Google, Hotmail, and Exchange/Outlook/Office 365 ................ 130

    Linking to Twitter .............................................................................................. 133

    Linking to LinkedIn ........................................................................................... 135

8 Using the Mail App and Messaging to Stay Connected .......................... 137

Exploring the Mail App ......................................................................................... 138

Setting Up Email .................................................................................................... 139

    Setting Up Your Email Accounts ..................................................................... 140

Reading Your Email ............................................................................................... 143

    Replying to a Message..................................................................................... 144

    Filing a Message in a Folder ........................................................................... 145

    Deleting a Message ......................................................................................... 146

    Forward a Message .......................................................................................... 146

    Mark a Message as Unread ............................................................................. 147

Writing an Email Message .................................................................................... 148

    Formatting Your Email Message ..................................................................... 149

    Addressing Your Message ............................................................................... 151

    Attaching a Photo or Another File to Your Message .................................... 152

    Checking Spelling in Your Message ............................................................... 152

Using the Messaging App .................................................................................... 153

9 Using the Calendar App .......................................................................... 157

Getting to Know the Calendar App ..................................................................... 158

    Starting the Calendar App .............................................................................. 158

    Controlling the Calendar View ........................................................................ 159

    Setting Calendar Colors .................................................................................. 161

Synchronizing with Other Calendars ................................................................... 162

    Connecting to Your Hotmail Account ............................................................ 163

    Connecting to Your Gmail Account ............................................................... 164

    Connecting to Your Exchange/Outlook/Office 365 Account....................... 165

Entering New Events into Your Calendar............................................................ 167

10 Sharing Your Windows 8 Computer with Others .................................... 171

Windows 8 Users and Account Basics ................................................................. 172

Adding a New User ............................................................................................... 174

    Adding a New User with a Local Account ..................................................... 175

    Adding a New User with a Windows Account ............................................... 176

Creating a PIN or Picture Password ..................................................................... 179

    Adding a PIN to Your Account ....................................................................... 180

    Adding a Picture Password to Your Account ................................................. 180

Making Changes to User Accounts ..................................................................... 184

    Changing a User’s Type ................................................................................... 184

    Removing a User Account ............................................................................... 185

11 Sharing Files and Printers with Homegroup ............................................ 187

Networking with Homegroup ............................................................................... 188

Using the Windows Homegroup .......................................................................... 189

    Creating a Homegroup .................................................................................... 191

    Joining a Homegroup ...................................................................................... 194

    Leaving a Homegroup ..................................................................................... 195

    Troubleshooting Homegroup Connections ................................................... 195

Setting Up Sharing ................................................................................................ 196

    Disabling Sharing for Specific Files or Folders .............................................. 196

    Sharing Files and Folders Only with Specific Users ...................................... 197

Sharing Your Printer ............................................................................................. 198

Seeing Stuff Shared By Others ............................................................................. 199

12 Mastering Windows 8 Apps .................................................................... 203

Learning Basic Windows 8 Apps Info .................................................................. 204

Running Windows 8 Apps ..................................................................................... 205

    Starting a Windows 8 App ............................................................................... 205

    Starting Additional Windows 8 Apps ............................................................. 206

    Stopping a Windows 8 App (If You Must) ...................................................... 207

    Using the App bar to Change a Windows 8 App’s Settings ........................ 207

Managing Windows 8 Apps ................................................................................. 208

    Using the App Switcher ................................................................................... 209

    Switching to the Previous App ........................................................................ 210

    Showing Two Windows 8 Apps on the Screen .............................................. 210

Shopping at the Windows Store .......................................................................... 214

    Purchasing an App ........................................................................................... 215

    Managing Your Account .................................................................................. 216

13 Working with the Desktop App .............................................................. 221

Introducing the Desktop App .............................................................................. 222

    Starting the Desktop ........................................................................................ 222

    Returning to the Start Screen .......................................................................... 224

Keeping the Desktop Organized ........................................................................ 225

    Automatically Line Up Icons on the Desktop ............................................... 226

    Arrange the Desktop by Icon Type ................................................................ 227

    Change the Size of Desktop Icons.................................................................. 227

    Hide All Desktop Icons .................................................................................... 228

Working with the Taskbar ..................................................................................... 228

    Receiving Alerts and Notifications .................................................................. 228

    Adding Toolbars to the Taskbar ..................................................................... 230

    Displaying Special Icons on the Desktop ....................................................... 231

14 Using Windows Desktop Programs ......................................................... 235

Introducing Windows Desktop Programs ........................................................... 236

Running Programs on the Desktop...................................................................... 237

    Running Multiple Windows Desktop Programs ............................................. 237

    Making It Easy to Start Your Favorite Desktop Programs ............................ 239

    Saving Files to the Desktop ............................................................................. 239

    Exiting Desktop Programs ............................................................................... 241

Working with Windows ......................................................................................... 241

Installing and Removing Programs ...................................................................... 245

    Installing Program............................................................................................. 245

    Removing Windows Programs ........................................................................ 245

15 Organizing Files and Folders with Windows Explorer ............................. 249

Files and Folder Basics .......................................................................................... 250

    Understanding Files ......................................................................................... 250

    Understanding Folders .................................................................................... 251

Exploring Your Files and Folders with Windows Explorer ................................. 252

    Working with Libraries ..................................................................................... 254

    Navigating the Folder Tree ............................................................................. 255

    Customizing the Content Pane ....................................................................... 257

    Exploring the Preview and Details Pane ........................................................ 259

    Folder Options .................................................................................................. 261

Navigating Through Your Folders ....................................................................... 263

Selecting Files and Folders ................................................................................. 266

    Selecting a Single File at a Time ..................................................................... 266

    Selecting Multiple Contiguous Files ............................................................... 267

    Selecting Multiple Noncontiguous Files ........................................................ 268

Common Files and Folders Tasks ........................................................................ 269

16 Storing Files on Drives, Disks, and the Cloud ......................................... 273

Working with External Drives ............................................................................... 274

    Connecting Your Drive the First Time ............................................................ 275

    Naming Your New Drive .................................................................................. 275

Storing and Sharing in the Cloud ........................................................................ 276

Saving Data to DVDs ............................................................................................. 279

Data Backup Strategies ......................................................................................... 282

Backing Up with File History ................................................................................. 283

    Setting Up File History ..................................................................................... 283

    Backing Up ........................................................................................................ 287

    Restoring Files .................................................................................................. 287

17 Setting Up Hardware the Easy Way ........................................................ 289

Setting Up Your Display ........................................................................................ 290

    Adjusting the Resolution (Making the Screen Bigger or Smaller) ............... 290

    Setting Up Multiple Monitors .......................................................................... 292

Setting Up Your Mouse ......................................................................................... 294

    Changing the Mouse Pointers Used on the Desktop ................................... 298

Setting Up Your Keyboard .................................................................................... 299

Setting Up Sound .................................................................................................. 301

    Setting Up Your Speakers ................................................................................ 301

    Selecting Sounds for Windows Events ........................................................... 303

Setting Up Power Use ........................................................................................... 305

    The Easy Method to Set Up Power Use ......................................................... 306

    The Really Easy Method to Set Up Power Use .............................................. 306

    The Manual Method to Set Up Power Use .................................................... 308

18 Printing, Scanning, and Faxing in Windows 8 ......................................... 309

Printing in Windows 8 ........................................................................................... 310

    Setting Up a New Printer ................................................................................. 310

    Printing in Windows 8 ...................................................................................... 311

Faxing in Windows 8 ............................................................................................. 313

    Sending a Fax ................................................................................................... 314

    Receiving a Fax ................................................................................................. 315

Scanning in Windows 8 ......................................................................................... 316

    Setting Up Your Scanner ................................................................................. 316

    Scanning in Windows 8 .................................................................................... 316

19 Safe and Private Internet Computing ...................................................... 319

Understanding Internet Threats and Risks .......................................................... 320

    Web Browsing Risks ......................................................................................... 320

    Learning About Risky Attachments and Other Email-Related Threats ....... 321

    Learning Phishing Threats ............................................................................... 322

    Avoiding Virus Threats ..................................................................................... 325

Defending Yourself ................................................................................................ 325

    Reviewing All-in-One Internet Defense Suites .............................................. 325

    Defending with Windows Defender ............................................................... 326

    Checking Your Security Status at the Action Center .................................... 330

    Using SmartScreen to Avoid Dangerous Websites ....................................... 330

    Covering Your Internet Tracks ......................................................................... 332

    Browsing Quietly and Invisibly with InPrivate Browsing ............................... 333

    Using Windows Firewall ................................................................................... 334

Managing All Your IDs and Passwords ................................................................ 334

20 Performing Routine Maintenance ............................................................ 337

Keeping Current on Windows Update ................................................................ 338

Delete Unused Files .............................................................................................. 341

Defragmenting Your Drive .................................................................................... 343

Update Internet Security Definitions ................................................................... 345

Sample Maintenance Schedule ............................................................................ 345

21 Troubleshooting and Solving Problems in Windows 8 ............................ 347

Using the Troubleshooting Wizards .................................................................... 348

Using Task Manager to Close Unresponsive Programs ..................................... 349

Understanding Refresh and Restore .................................................................... 350

    Getting a Do-Over with Refresh ..................................................................... 351

    Restarting from Scratch with the Reset Option ............................................. 352

Reviewing Your System Core Info ........................................................................ 353

22 Keeping Current with the Bing Apps ...................................................... 355

Introducing the Bing Apps ................................................................................... 356

Read the News That’s Fit to Bing ........................................................................ 357

Getting the Bing Weather Report ........................................................................ 359

Keeping Score with Bing Sports .......................................................................... 361

Getting the Bing Money Story ............................................................................. 362

Vacationing with the Bing Travel App ................................................................. 364

Trending Topics with Bing .................................................................................... 366

Finding Your Way with Bing Maps ....................................................................... 367

23 Enjoying Your Digital Photos .................................................................. 369

Learning Photos App Basics ................................................................................. 370

Browsing Through Your Photos ........................................................................... 374

Working with Your Photos .................................................................................... 375

Bringing In Your Facebook and Flickr Photos .................................................... 377

    Bringing In Facebook Photos .......................................................................... 377

    Bringing In Flickr Photos .................................................................................. 379

    Bringing In SkyDrive Photos ............................................................................ 379

24 Enjoying Movies and Videos in Windows 8 ............................................. 381

Getting Started with the xbox video App ........................................................... 382

    Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account .............................................................. 382

    Adding Your Videos to the Videos Library .................................................... 384

Moving Through the xbox video App ................................................................ 386

Shopping for Videos.............................................................................................. 391

    Making a Purchase ........................................................................................... 391

    Renting a Selection .......................................................................................... 392

25 Listening to the Music in Windows 8 ...................................................... 395

Getting Started with the Music App .................................................................... 396

    Learning What’s Where in the Music App ..................................................... 397

    Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account .............................................................. 399

Loading Your Music into Windows 8 ................................................................... 401

    How to Link Your Music ................................................................................... 401

    How to Move Your Music ................................................................................ 402

Browsing Through Your Music ............................................................................. 403

Playing Music ......................................................................................................... 405

Purchasing Music ................................................................................................... 405

Importing and Creating Music CDs ..................................................................... 407

    Importing Music from a CD ............................................................................. 408

    Creating a Playlist and Music CD .................................................................... 409

26 Gametime with Windows 8 and Xbox 360 .............................................. 411

Using Xbox LIVE with Windows 8 ........................................................................ 412

Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account .................................................................... 413

Controlling Xbox from Windows 8 ....................................................................... 416

    Installing Xbox SmartGlass .............................................................................. 417

    Using Xbox SmartGlass .................................................................................... 418

Learning the Xbox Games App ........................................................................... 420

Index .............................................................................................................. 423



Updates

Submit Errata

