Windows 7 All-in-One For Dummies

by Leonhard, Woody

• ISBN13: 9780470487631
• ISBN10: 0470487631
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-15
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Eight references in one-fully revised to include all the new features and updates to Windows 7. As the #1 operating system in the world, Windows provides the platform upon which all essential computing activities occur. This much-anticipated version of the popular operating system offers an improved user experience with an enhanced interface to allow for greater user control. This All-in-One reference is packed with valuable information from eight minibooks, making it the ultimate resource. You'll discover the improved ways in which Windows 7 interacts with other devices, including mobile and home theater. Windows 7 boasts numerous exciting new features, and this reference is one-stop shopping for discovering them all! Eight minibooks cover Windows 7 basics, security, customizing, the Internet, searching and sharing, hardware, multimedia, Windows media center, and wired and wireless networking. Addresses the new multi-touch feature that will allow you to control movement on the screen with your fingers. With this comprehensive guide at your fingertips, you'll quickly start taking advantages of all the exciting new features of Windows 7.

Author Biography

Woody Leonhard describes himself as a "Windows victim." Since 1992, he's been sharing the solutions to his own tech problems with millions of readers. In addition to writing several books in the For Dummies series, Woody is a Contributing Editor for Windows Secrets newsletter. He also runs his own blog at AskWoody.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
About This Book	p. 2
Conventions	p. 3
What Your Don't Have to Read	p. 4
Foolish Assumptions	p. 4
Organization	p. 5
Icons	p. 6
Where to Go from Here	p. 7
Cranking Up Windows 7	p. 9
Windows 7 4 Noobs	p. 11
Hardware and Software	p. 12
Why Do PCs Have to Run Windows?	p. 13
A Terminology Survival Kit	p. 14
Buying a Windows 7 Computer	p. 17
Inside the big box	p. 19
Screening	p. 22
Managing disks and drives	p. 23
Making PC connections	p. 24
Futzing with video, sound, and multitudinous media	p. 27
Netbooks	p. 28
Windows 7 for the Experienced	p. 29
What's New for Vista Victims	p. 29
Better performance	p. 30
Improved interface	p. 30
Search that (finally!) works	p. 31
Security improvements	p. 32
Mo' media and more	p. 32
What you lose	p. 32
What's New for the XP Crowd	p. 33
Looking through the Aero Glass	p. 33
Checking out improved video effects	p. 34
Interacting with gadgets	p. 35
Sizing up other improvements	p. 36
Do You Need Windows 7?	p. 37
Which Version? Pick a 7, Any 7	p. 39
Pick a 7 - Any 7	p. 39
Buying the right version the first time	p. 41
Narrowing the choices	p. 42
Choosing 32-Bit versus 64-Bit	p. 43
Upgrades, Clean Installs, Transfers	p. 45
Can Your Computer Handle Windows 7?	p. 45
Upgrading a Vista computer	p. 46
Upgrading a Windows XP computer	p. 47
Running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor	p. 48
Performing a Clean Install	p. 50
Using Easy Transfer	p. 56
Knowing what will transfer	p. 57
Making the transfer	p. 57
Activating the Product	p. 60
How Windows activates	p. 60
Windows Activation Technologies	p. 63
What If the Wheels Fall Off?	p. 64
Getting Essentials: The Rest of Windows 7	p. 65
Understanding the Move to Downloadable Programs	p. 66
Inventorying the Essentials	p. 66
Distinguishing Essentials from the Other Live Components	p. 71
Installing Essentially	p. 72
Windows 7 Boot Camp	p. 75
Running Windows from Start to Finish	p. 77
A Few Quick Steps to Make the Desktop Your Own	p. 77
Changing the background	p. 79
Getting gadgets	p. 81
Cleaning up useless icons and programs	p. 83
Mousing with Your Mouse	p. 83
What's up, Dock?	p. 84
Changing the mouse	p. 85
Starting with the Start Button	p. 86
Touching on the Taskbar	p. 89
Working with Files and Folders	p. 91
Creating files and folders	p. 92
Modifying files and folders	p. 93
Bringing back previous versions	p. 94
Showing filename extensions	p. 96
Sharing folders	p. 98
Recycling	p. 103
Getting Around	p. 104
Using Windows Explorer	p. 105
Navigating	p. 105
Viewing	p. 106
Arranging Libraries	p. 108
Creating Shortcuts	p. 110
Sleep: Perchance to Dream	p. 111
Controlling Users	p. 115
Logging On	p. 116
Choosing Account Types	p. 118
What's a standard account?	p. 118
What's an administrator account?	p. 118
Choosing between standard or administrator accounts	p. 119
Controlling User Account Control	p. 121
Adding Users	p. 124
Enabling the Guest Account	p. 125
Changing Accounts	p. 126
Changing other users' settings	p. 126
Changing your own settings	p. 129
Creating a password reset disk	p. 130
Switching Users	p. 130
Maintaining Your System	p. 133
Coping with Start-Up Problems	p. 133
Creating a system repair disc	p. 134
Using the system repair disc	p. 136
Working with Backups	p. 138
Restoring a file with shadow copies (previous versions)	p. 139
Maintaining previous versions on different drives	p. 142
Creating data backups	p. 144
Managing and restoring data backups	p. 148
Getting back the image backup (don't give up the ghost)	p. 150
Maintaining Drives	p. 152
Running an error check	p. 153
Defragmenting a drive	p. 154
Using System Restore and Restore Points	p. 155
Creating a restore point	p. 156
Rolling back to a restore point	p. 157
Scheduling the Task Scheduler	p. 158
Starting with your parameters	p. 159
Scheduling a task	p. 160
Zipping and Compressing	p. 162
Compressing with NTFS	p. 164
Zipping the easy way with Compressed (zipped) Folders	p. 165
Using the Windows 7 Resource Monitor and Reliability Monitor	p. 166
Controlling the Control Panel	p. 167
Removing and changing programs	p. 170
Removing Windows patches	p. 172
Getting the Basic Stuff Done	p. 173
Burning CDs and DVDs	p. 173
Understanding -R and -RW	p. 175
What to burn	p. 176
Mastered or Live File System?	p. 177
Burning with windows 7	p. 178
Improving Your Experience Index	p. 186
Interpreting the numbers	p. 188
Turning the numbers into real improvement	p. 189
Getting Word Processing-Free	p. 191
Running Notepad	p. 191
Writing with WordPad	p. 193
Taming the Character Map	p. 196
Calculating-Free	p. 197
Painting	p. 198
Sticking Sticky Notes	p. 200
Using Sneaky Key Commands	p. 200
Conjuring up the Task Manager	p. 201
Switching coolly	p. 202
Troubleshooting and Getting Help	p. 205
Troubleshooting in the Action Center	p. 206
Tracking Your System's Stability	p. 207
Trackling Windows Help and Support	p. 208
The problem(s) with Windows Help	p. 208
Using different kinds of help	p. 210
Staying online	p. 210
Choosing the index versus search	p. 211
How to Really Get Help	p. 211
Snapping and Recording Your Problems	p. 213
Connecting to Remote Assistance	p. 216
Understanding the interaction	p. 216
Making the connection	p. 217
Limiting an invitation	p. 221
Troubleshooting Remote Assistance	p. 222
Getting Help on the Web	p. 222
Customizing Windows 7	p. 225
Personalizing Your Desktop	p. 227
Recognizing Desktop Levels	p. 227
Setting Color Schemes in Windows 7	p. 229
Picking a Background	p. 232
Controlling Icons	p. 234
Changing Mouse Pointers	p. 236
Selecting Screen Savers	p. 237
Changing the screen saver	p. 238
Setting up a Super Boss Key	p. 240
Using Desktop Themes	p. 242
Seeing Your Desktop Clearly	p. 243
Setting the screen resolution	p. 244
Activating and adjusting Clear Type	p. 245
Showing larger fonts	p. 245
Using magnification	p. 246
Organizing Your Interface	p. 247
Tricking Out the Taskbar	p. 247
Anatomy of the taskbar	p. 248
Jumping	p. 249
Changing the toolbar	p. 250
Making your own little toolbars	p. 251
Working with the taskbar	p. 254
Controlling the notification area	p. 254
Customizing the Start Menu	p. 256
Genesis of the Start menu	p. 256
Pinning to the Start menu	p. 258
Reclaiming most recently used programs	p. 262
Changing the All Programs menu	p. 264
Making minor tweaks to the Start menu	p. 265
Searching Your Computer	p. 269
Searching Basics	p. 270
Engaging your brain before the search	p. 270
Stepping through a basic search	p. 271
What Windows can (and can't) find	p. 273
Adding Boolean operators to a search	p. 274
Breaking out the wildcard characters	p. 275
Searching from the Start menu	p. 275
Indexing for Fun and Profit	p. 277
Setting index file type options	p. 279
Adding locations to the index	p. 281
Using Advanced Search Setting	p. 282
Finding Files That Got Lost	p. 285
First, don't panic	p. 285
Second, get determined	p. 286
Beating and Cheating Windows 7 Games	p. 287
Get Yer Games Goin'	p. 288
Solitaire	p. 290
Standard scoring	p. 291
Vegas scoring	p. 292
FreeCell	p. 292
Spider Solitaire	p. 294
Minesweeper	p. 295
The Internet Games	p. 297
The Other Games	p. 298
Joining the Multimedia Mix	p. 301
Jammin' with Windows Media Player	p. 303
What You Need to Know about C.R.A.P	p. 304
Adjusting WMP Privacy Settings	p. 305
Setting options when you install WMP	p. 306
Tweaking options after installation	p. 309
Playing with Now Playing	p. 310
Playback buttons	p. 313
Playing a CD	p. 314
Buying Music and Videos Online	p. 316
Copying from a CD (Also Known As Ripping)	p. 318
Organizing Your Media Library	p. 323
Leafing through the library	p. 323
Finding the tracks you want	p. 324
Rating songs	p. 325
Sorting songs	p. 325
Searching	p. 326
Managing Playlists	p. 326
Creating a new playlist	p. 327
Adding a track to a playlist	p. 329
Renaming and deleting playlists	p. 329
Managing the contents of playlists	p. 330
Deleting tracks from the library	p. 330
Burning CDs and DVDs	p. 331
Burning and audio CD	p. 332
Burning data CDs and DVDs with Media Player	p. 336
Syncing with a Portable Player or Mobile Phone	p. 337
Moving tracks to the player	p. 338
Moving tracks from the player to your PC	p. 339
Deleting tracks from your player	p. 340
Sharing Your Windows Media Player Media	p. 341
Customizing WMP	p. 343
iPod and iTunes in Windows 7	p. 345
What You Can't Do	p. 346
iPod the Apple Way	p. 348
Installing the iTunes program	p. 348
Setting up iTunes	p. 351
Moving music to your iPod	p. 356
Controlling syncing with playlists	p. 359
Copying Songs to Your PC	p. 360
Taking a Look at the iPod Ecosystem	p. 362
Discovering Digital Cameras and Recorders	p. 365
Buying a Camera or Camcorder: The Bottom Line	p. 366
Moving Images to Your Computer	p. 368
Sharing Your Pictures on the Web	p. 373
Managing Pics with Windows Live Photo Gallery	p. 375
Getting the Gallery Going	p. 376
Leafing through the Gallery	p. 378
Adding Photos to the Photo Gallery	p. 382
Importing photos	p. 382
Copying photos to the Pictures folder	p. 385
Adding photos from a different folder	p. 386
Scanning photos	p. 387
Tagging Pictures	p. 389
Skipping through tags	p. 389
Tagging a picture	p. 390
Tagging en masse	p. 391
Rearranging the tag list	p. 391
Finding a tagged picture	p. 392
Touching Up Pictures	p. 393
Stitching a Panoramic Photo	p. 396
Getting Your Photos into Flicker	p. 397
Lights! Action! Windows Live Movie Maker	p. 401
Installing Windows Live Movie Maker	p. 402
Meet Your Maker	p. 404
Gathering Clips	p. 406
Assembling a Movie	p. 407
Creating a project	p. 407
Playing a clip or a movie	p. 409
Making transitions and adding effects	p. 410
Trimming a clip	p. 412
Typing titles	p. 413
Mixing in the sound	p. 414
Publishing a Movie	p. 416
Finding the right publication method	p. 416
Publishing directly to the Web	p. 416
Using Windows DVD Maker	p. 418
Making a DVD	p. 419
Ripping, burning, and converting movies	p. 422
Setting Up Media Center	p. 423
Determining Whether You Need Media Center	p. 424
Organizing the Normandy Invasion	p. 427
Gathering the tools for an easier setup	p. 427
Getting Windows in gear	p. 429
Gathering folders for libraries	p. 432
Setting Up Media Center	p. 433
Beyond the Basics	p. 435
Playing recorded TV shows	p. 436
Burning DVDs	p. 438
Windows 7 and the Internet	p. 441
Getting the Most from the Internet	p. 443
What is the Internet?	p. 444
Getting Inside the Internet	p. 445
What is the World Wide Web?	p. 448
Who Pays for All This Stuff?	p. 450
Connecting with Broadband	p. 451
The last mile	p. 452
Uses and excuses for broadband	p. 454
Setting Up an Internet Connection	p. 455
Finding Internet Reference Tools	p. 456
Speakeasy speed test	p. 457
DNSStuff	p. 457
3d Traceroute	p. 458
Down for everyone or just me?	p. 458
The Wayback Machine	p. 459
Finding Your Way Around Browsers	p. 461
Exploring Internet Explorer Alternatives: Firefox and Chrome	p. 461
Ready, Set, Browse!	p. 464
Configuring your browser	p. 468
Taking a walk around the Internet Explorer window	p. 472
Pick a tab, any tab	p. 474
Kicking your browsing up a notch	p. 476
InPrivate Browsing: Porn mode	p. 478
Thwarting Phishers	p. 479
Saving and Printing Web Pages	p. 483
Saving Web pages	p. 483
Printing Web pages	p. 485
Playing Favorites	p. 486
Adding Favorites or Bookmarks of your own	p. 488
Organizing your Favorites or Bookmarks	p. 489
Making Internet Explorer Your Own	p. 491
Getting the Most from Internet Explorer	p. 492
Making Internet Explorer Run Faster	p. 494
Turning off graphics	p. 494
Turning off animations and sounds	p. 495
Increasing your storage space	p. 496
Putting the Pedal to the Metal: Working with Accelerators	p. 497
Hardening Internet Explorer 8	p. 498
Dealing with Cookies	p. 502
Deleting cookies	p. 503
InPrivate Filtering	p. 503
Working with RSS Feeds	p. 507
Using Firefox: The Advanced Course	p. 511
Installing Firefox	p. 512
Recapping Firefox Tips	p. 514
Speeding Up Firelox	p. 515
Bookmarking with the Fox	p. 517
Creating Smart Folders	p. 519
Working with RSS Feeds-the Real Way	p. 520
Adding Firefox's Best Add-Ons	p. 523
Using Smart Keywords in Firefox	p. 525
Searching on the Internet	p. 527
Understanding What a Search Engine Can Do for You	p. 528
Searching for text	p. 528
Searching for images	p. 532
Searching for everything else: Blogs, news, and more	p. 534
Finding What You're Looking For	p. 534
Using the other Google engines	p. 534
Searching wisely	p. 536
Using Advanced Search	p. 537
Pulling out Google parlor tricks	p. 539
Posting on Newsgroups	p. 540
Sending Windows Mail Live	p. 543
Counting the Microsoft E-Mail Programs	p. 544
Outlook	p. 544
Hotmail	p. 545
Windows Live Mail	p. 546
Chooisng an E-Mail Program	p. 546
Getting Started with Windows Live Mail	p. 549
Conversing with E-Mail	p. 553
Setting up mail accounts	p. 554
Retrieving messages and attachments	p. 556
Creating a message	p. 560
Adding a signature	p. 561
Attaching files	p. 562
Sending a message	p. 564
Making Windows Live Mail wait to send and receive	p. 564
Chatting with Windows Live Messenger	p. 567
Exploring the Alternatives	p. 568
Making Windows Live Messenger Work	p. 570
Choosing one or more Windows Live IDs	p. 570
Signing up for an ID - or two	p. 571
Installing Windows Live Messenger	p. 573
Starting Windows Live Messenger the first time	p. 575
Working with Contacts	p. 579
Adding contacts	p. 579
Making contacts	p. 581
Tweaking Settings in windows Live Messenger	p. 583
Revealing your Webcam	p. 584
Making Messenger forget your password	p. 585
Stopping Windows Live Messenger from starting automatically	p. 586
Using the fancier features	p. 587
Securing Windows 7	p. 591
Lock Down: Spies, Spams, Scams, and Slams	p. 593
Understanding the Hazards-and the Hoaxes	p. 594
Zombies and botnets	p. 596
Phishing	p. 598
0day exploits	p. 602
Staying Informed	p. 603
Relying on reliable sources	p. 603
Ditching the hoaxes	p. 604
Am I Infected?	p. 606
Evaluating telltale signs	p. 606
What to do next	p. 608
Shunning scareware	p. 609
Getting Protected	p. 611
Protecting against malware	p. 612
Using your credit card safely online	p. 613
Defending your privacy	p. 615
Keeping cookies at bay	p. 616
Reducing spam	p. 620
Action Center Overview	p. 623
Entering the Action Center	p. 624
Working with the Action Center	p. 625
Watching Security Settings	p. 625
Checking Maintenance Settings	p. 628
Rooting out Rootkits	p. 629
Windows Firewall	p. 633
Comparing Firewalls	p. 633
Understanding Windows 7 Firewall's Basic Features	p. 635
Speaking Your Firewall's Lingo	p. 637
Peeking into Your Firewall	p. 638
Using Public and Private Networks	p. 639
Making Inbound Exceptions	p. 640
Allowing designated programs to bypass the firewall	p. 641
Opening specific ports	p. 645
Coping with the Windows 7 Outbound Firewall	p. 648
Patching and Plugging	p. 653
Patching Woes	p. 654
Choosing an Update Level	p. 656
Selectively Patching: A Penacea for Those Woes	p. 662
Getting What You Need from a Security Bulletin	p. 666
Decoding a security bulletin	p. 667
Getting patches through a security bulletin	p. 667
Checking and Uninstalling Updates	p. 668
Fighting Viruses and Other Scum	p. 671
Making Sense of Malware	p. 672
Understanding Antivirus Software	p. 673
Identifying the challenges for antivirus software	p. 675
Understanding false positives	p. 676
Caring for your antivirus software	p. 676
Downloading and Installing AVG Free	p. 678
Dealing with Spyware	p. 685
Where's Defender?	p. 686
Blocking spies with Spybot-S&D	p. 687
Blocking Bad Autostarting Programs	p. 690
Networking with Windows 7	p. 695
Attaching to a Network	p. 697
Choosing Between Home, Work, and Public	p. 698
Understanding HomeGroups	p. 700
Hooking Up to a Wireless Network	p. 703
Hooking Up to a Wired Network	p. 709
Caring for Your HomeGroup	p. 712
Changing your network type	p. 712
Changing the HomeGroup password	p. 713
Adding or blocking folders in the HomeGroup	p. 715
Setting Up Your Own Network	p. 719
Understanding Networks	p. 720
What a networks can do for you	p. 720
How a network networks	p. 721
Organizing Networks	p. 722
Understanding servers and serfs	p. 723
Introducing client/server networks	p. 724
Introducing peer-to-peer networks	p. 725
Comparing the p-pros and c-cons	p. 728
Cutting through the Terminology	p. 729
Making Computers Talk	p. 730
Understanding Ethernet	p. 731
Adding wireless	p. 733
Building Your Network	p. 735
Planning Your Network	p. 736
Using a wired network	p. 736
Blocking out the major parts	p. 737
Using Internet Connection Sharing	p. 740
Installing (or Reinstalling) Your Network	p. 742
More Troubleshooting	p. 747
Networking on the road	p. 747
Getting your computer to see another computer	p. 748
Putting the Why in Wi-Fi	p. 753
Choosing a Protocol	p. 754
Installing a Wireless System	p. 756
Wireless adapters and access points	p. 757
Location, location, location	p. 758
Setting Up a Secure Wireless Network	p. 759
Connecting to a WPA2 Protected Network	p. 764
Calming Two Fighting Mother Hens	p. 767
Using Other Hardware	p. 771
Finding and Installing the Hardware You Need	p. 773
Knowing What Windows 7 Wants	p. 774
Upgrading the Basic Stuff	p. 775
Choosing a new monitor	p. 776
Changing resolutions and multiple monitors	p. 782
Picking a video adapter	p. 784
Upgrading keyboards	p. 785
Choosing a mouse - or alternatives	p. 787
Getting more out of USB	p. 789
Understanding flash memory and USB key drives	p. 790
Installing New Hardware	p. 792
Having the store do it	p. 792
Doing it Yourself	p. 793
Checking a driver's version	p. 794
Knowing what to do if anything goes wrong	p. 795
Restarting with the last known good configuration	p. 796
Installing USB hardware	p. 797
Using Device Stage	p. 799
Getting a Grip on Device Stage	p. 800
Taking Device Stage for a Spin	p. 803
Establishing a Bluetooth Connection	p. 805
Printing (Almost) Effortlessly	p. 811
Installing a Printer	p. 812
Attaching a local printer	p. 812
Connecting a network printer	p. 814
Using the Print Queue	p. 817
Displaying a print queue	p. 818
Pausing and resuming a print queue	p. 819
Pausing, restarting, and resuming a document	p. 819
Canceling a document	p. 820
Troubleshooting Printing	p. 821
Catching a Runaway Printer	p. 823
Index	p. 825
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