Microsoft Windows Vista Peachpit Learning Series

by Magid, Larry; Silverman, Dwight

• ISBN13: 9780321441928
• ISBN10: 0321441923
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-31
• Publisher: Peachpit Press

Summary

With this book, you can learn the way you like to learn-whether it is working through the lessons from start to finish, jumping to exercises about the most exciting features, or looking up just what you need to find at that moment.

Author Biography

A syndicated technology columnist and broadcaster for more than two decades, Larry Magid contributes to CBS News, the New York Times, and other media outlets. He served for 18 years as a technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times and his columns have also appeared in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, CNN.COM and numerous other newspapers and Web sites throughout the world. Larry is also the author of the best-selling Little PC Book and MySpace Unraveled.

Dwight Silverman is a veteran journalist who has written about personal computers since the mid-1980s. He currently is the computing columnist and technology blogger at the Houston Chronicle, as well as the co-host of “Technology Bytes,” a weekly PC-help call-in radio show on KPFT-FM. You can read his blog and columns at www.chron.com. He lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife and two children. This is his first book.

Table of Contents

Meet Vista	p. 3
Better than XP?	p. 4
There's more to like	p. 4
But think before you buy	p. 5
Vista in a Nutshell	p. 5
New Features	p. 6
Security	p. 7
Performance	p. 10
User Interface Enhancements	p. 12
Welcome Center	p. 12
The Aero interface	p. 13
The Start menu	p. 15
Five Versions of Vista: Which Is Right for You?	p. 17
Consumer versions	p. 17
Business versions	p. 17
The best of both worlds: The Ultimate edition	p. 18
Upgrade to Vista	p. 21
Is Your Existing PC Vista-Compatible?	p. 22
Buying a New PC	p. 24
Upgrading an Older PC	p. 25
Upgrade install	p. 25
Full or clean install	p. 29
Get to Know Vista	p. 37
Starting Out with a Clean Screen	p. 38
Optimizing Vista's Performance	p. 38
Customizing Your Desktop	p. 41
Customizing the Start Menu	p. 43
View your options and programs	p. 43
Add or remove Start menu items	p. 44
Rearrange the Start menu or revert to Classic Style	p. 44
Access applications from the All Programs menu	p. 45
Run a program that's missing from the Start menu	p. 46
Explore with the right pane	p. 47
Getting Acquainted with the Taskbar	p. 49
Thumbnail views	p. 49
Notification area	p. 50
System clock	p. 50
Exploring Folders and Files	p. 52
Review the primary Vista folders	p. 52
Notice the common elements of folders	p. 54
Recognize unique elements of folders	p. 55
Get acquainted with other types of folders	p. 56
Change your folder's headings bar	p. 56
Change a folder's properties	p. 57
Browse for other folders	p. 59
Use Windows Explorer to work with files	p. 59
Using the Help System	p. 60
Browse help topics	p. 61
Search for help	p. 61
Let someone else help	p. 62
Use Other Programs with Vista	p. 65
Evaluating Existing Program Compatibility	p. 66
Use the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor	p. 66
Get a sense of what works	p. 67
Evaluating Compatibility for New Programs	p. 68
Installing Programs	p. 69
Install software from a disc	p. 69
Install software from the Web	p. 72
Launching Programs	p. 74
Add and organize icons on the desktop	p. 74
Add and delete Quick Launch icons	p. 76
Launch programs from the Start menu	p. 77
Setting Default Programs	p. 78
Set default programs at the file level	p. 79
Set default programs from the Control Panel	p. 80
Managing Startup Programs	p. 82
Launch a program at startup	p. 82
Prevent programs from launching at startup	p. 84
Find It with Vista Search	p. 87
Conducting an Instant Search	p. 88
Search using the Search box	p. 88
Search within a folder and its subfolders	p. 90
Search using the Search option	p. 90
Running an Advanced Search	p. 92
Expand or narrow your search	p. 92
Use Vista to search the Internet	p. 94
Saving Your Search Criteria	p. 94
Save a search	p. 94
Access saved searches	p. 95
Adding Directories to Your Search	p. 96
Learning About Other Search Options	p. 98
Make Vista Safer and More Secure	p. 101
What Is Safe Computing?	p. 102
Working with User Account Control	p. 103
A built-in warning signal	p. 104
Turn off UAC	p. 104
Using the Windows Security Center	p. 105
Get to know Windows Firewall	p. 106
Use Windows Update	p. 110
Use Windows Defender	p. 114
Bolstering Vista Security	p. 116
Watch out for overblocking	p. 116
Discover the free route to security	p. 116
Configuring User Accounts	p. 117
Create and administer accounts	p. 117
Set up parental controls	p. 122
Backing Up Is (Not) Hard to Do	p. 133
Understanding Backup Concepts	p. 134
Back up files and folders	p. 134
Back up the entire hard drive	p. 134
Backing Up with Vista	p. 135
Create your first full backup	p. 135
Back up your entire computer	p. 138
Restoring Files and Systems	p. 140
Recover files and folders	p. 140
Restore a complete system backup	p. 142
Considering the Alternatives	p. 145
Pick a third-party program	p. 146
Back up online	p. 146
Back up on the cheap	p. 147
Manage Information Using Gadgets	p. 149
Gadget Basics	p. 150
What is the Sidebar?	p. 151
What is RSS?	p. 151
Configuring the Sidebar	p. 152
Launch the Sidebar manually	p. 152
Put the Sidebar in its place	p. 152
Control the Sidebar's behavior	p. 153
Getting Your Gadgets Going	p. 154
Set your gadgets free	p. 154
Add gadgets to the Sidebar or desktop	p. 155
Configure and organize your gadgets	p. 155
Getting More Gadgets	p. 157
Download and install gadgets	p. 157
Roll your own gadgets	p. 158
Discover Internet Explorer 7	p. 161
What's New in IE7?	p. 162
Launching Internet Explorer	p. 162
Exploring IE7's Prettier Face	p. 164
Customize the toolbar	p. 165
Bring back the menu bar	p. 166
Turning On to Tabbed Browsing	p. 166
Configure tabs	p. 167
Open multiple tabs at once	p. 168
Setting Up Built-In Search	p. 170
Add a search provider	p. 170
Change the default provider	p. 171
Reading RSS Feeds in IE7	p. 172
Subscribe to a feed	p. 172
View and read feeds	p. 173
Control feed updates and properties	p. 173
Securing Internet Borders	p. 175
Run in protected mode	p. 176
Fending off the phishers	p. 178
Managing IE7	p. 179
Manage add-ons	p. 180
Clean up with a click	p. 181
Improving Your Printing	p. 184
Preview and print your pages	p. 185
Work with Images	p. 189
Getting Pictures into Your PC	p. 190
The easy way to import photos into your PC	p. 190
Other ways to get images onto your PC	p. 191
Exploring Windows Photo Gallery	p. 192
Launch Photo Gallery	p. 193
Add photo tags	p. 193
Manage images in Photo Gallery	p. 196
Edit photos in Photo Gallery	p. 199
Sharing Photos	p. 203
Print your photos	p. 203
Order prints from a service	p. 205
Copy photos to the desktop	p. 205
Email photos from Photo Gallery	p. 206
Burn CDs	p. 207
Consume and Create Media	p. 209
Media Player or Media Center?	p. 210
Exploring Windows Media Player	p. 210
Get to know the face of Media Player	p. 215
Get music into Windows Media Player	p. 218
Add album art	p. 220
Search music	p. 221
Create and use playlists	p. 221
Rip music from CDs	p. 223
Synchronize your digital music player	p. 225
Watch movies	p. 226
Creating Media Using Windows Movie Maker	p. 227
Make movies with Movie Maker	p. 227
Create a slideshow	p. 236
Publish your movie	p. 238
Making DVDs Using DVD Maker	p. 240
Enhance Your Productivity	p. 245
Using Windows Mail	p. 246
Run and configure Mail	p. 246
Change your Mail settings	p. 249
Create and send a message	p. 250
Send and receive mail	p. 252
Read and reply to mail	p. 252
Deal with junk mail	p. 253
Protect yourself against phishing	p. 255
Create and use signatures	p. 256
Create message rules	p. 258
Access newsgroups	p. 260
Using Windows Contacts	p. 261
Enter a new contact	p. 261
Find a contact	p. 262
Create contact groups	p. 262
Using Windows Calendar	p. 263
Launch Windows Calendar	p. 264
Schedule an appointment	p. 264
Create tasks	p. 265
Change the calendar view	p. 266
Other Tools	p. 266
Go Mobile	p. 269
Using Vista on a Notebook	p. 270
Diving into Windows Mobility Center	p. 270
Display Brightness	p. 271
Volume	p. 272
Battery Status	p. 272
Wireless Network	p. 272
Screen Orientation	p. 273
External Display	p. 273
Sync Center	p. 274
Presentation Settings	p. 275
Managing Power	p. 276
Turn on to a new way to turn off	p. 276
Tweak and create power plans	p. 281
Seeing the SideShow	p. 285
Manage SideShow gadgets	p. 285
Get more SideShow gadgets	p. 286
Remove a SideShow gadget	p. 287
Syncing Up with Sync Center	p. 287
Access the Sync Center	p. 288
Synchronize folders, files, or devices	p. 288
Getting in Touch with Tablet PCs	p. 289
Write or speak a Sticky Note	p. 290
Insert text by using the Tablet PC Input Panel	p. 291
Take smarter notes using Windows Journal	p. 294
Vista on the Network	p. 299
Understanding Networking	p. 300
Connecting to the Internet	p. 301
Connect via Ethernet	p. 302
Connect via Wi-Fi	p. 303
Connect via cellular broadband	p. 306
Connect via dial-up	p. 308
Networking with Vista	p. 309
Gather your gear	p. 309
Add computers to a network	p. 311
Manage your network using Network and Sharing Center	p. 316
Share folders, files, and printers	p. 321
Get into Games	p. 335
Using the Games Folder	p. 336
Take a tour of the Games folder	p. 336
Add games to the Games folder	p. 339
Playing Vista's Games	p. 340
Play Chess Titans	p. 340
Play InkBall	p. 343
Play Mahjong Titans	p. 344
Play Purble Place	p. 345
Rediscover old favorites	p. 347
Getting Your Game On	p. 350
Load up on hardware	p. 350
Tweak your system	p. 351
Find games	p. 356
Troubleshoot Vista	p. 359
Understanding Common Problems	p. 360
Examining hardware problems	p. 360
Exploring software problems	p. 362
Fixing Problems	p. 363
System Restore: Let your computer fix itself	p. 364
Let Microsoft fix it	p. 368
Manage running programs with Task Manager	p. 370
Start in Safe Mode	p. 372
Test for bad memory	p. 375
Troubleshoot startup with MSCONFIG	p. 376
Roll back drivers	p. 381
Use Reliability and Performance Monitor	p. 382
Index	p. 387
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