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Contents

Acknowledgments ...... xxiii Introduction ...... xxiv

Part I: Beginner’s Crash Course 1

Chapter 1: Getting Started ...... 3 Getting to Know Your Computer’s Hardware...... 3 Using Your Mouse or Touchpad...... 5 Using Your Keyboard...... 6 Typing Those key1 + key2 Things ...... 8 Getting to Know Your Computer’s Software ...... 9 What Is ? ...... 9 Why Learn Windows Vista? ...... 9 Starting Windows Vista ...... 10 The Windows Desktop ...... 13 The ...... 15 The Notification Area ...... 17 Using Icons...... 17 Working Common Controls ...... 19 Using Scroll Bars ...... 20 Hiding and Showing Details ...... 21 Using Dragging Handles ...... 22 About Disabled (Dimmed) Controls ...... 23 The Right Way to Turn Off Your Computer ...... 24 Summary ...... 25 Chapter 2: Workin’ It...... 27 Understanding Objects and Properties ...... 27 Introducing ...... 28 COPYRIGHTEDControl Panel Home View and ClassicMATERIAL View ...... 30 Using Dialog Boxes ...... 31 Using Tabs ...... 33 Using Option Buttons...... 34 Using Check Boxes ...... 34 Using Spin Boxes ...... 35 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page viii

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Using Drop-Down Lists ...... 35 Using List Boxes...... 36 Using Sliders...... 38 Getting Help in Dialog Boxes...... 39 Using Buttons ...... 40 What’s the Default? ...... 41 Typing Text and Passwords ...... 41 Changing Text in a Text Box ...... 42 Changing Chunks of Text ...... 42 Combo Boxes and AutoComplete ...... 44 Typing Passwords...... 44 Summary ...... 45 Chapter 3: Getting Help When You Need It...... 47 Using Help and Support ...... 47 Searching for Specific Information ...... 51 Getting Around in Help and Support ...... 53 Troubleshooting...... 54 Getting Guided Help...... 54 Windows Vista Maintenance Help...... 56 Asking for Help ...... 57 Getting Help Online...... 58 Closing Help and Support ...... 59 Getting Help with Your Computer ...... 59 Other Sources of Help...... 60 Summary ...... 61

Part II: Programs, Documents, and Folders 63

Chapter 4: Running Programs...... 65 Starting Programs ...... 65 Finding a Lost Program ...... 67 Taking Control of Program Windows ...... 68 Tools Found in Most Program Windows ...... 69 About the Active Window ...... 70 Arranging Open Program Windows ...... 73 Maximizing and Minimizing Program Windows ...... 75 See the Desktop by Minimizing All Open Windows . . . . . 77 Sizing a Window ...... 77 Moving a Program Window...... 79 Working the Menu Bars...... 79 Watch Out for Collapsible Menus!...... 81 Using Toggles on Menus ...... 81 Getting Help in Programs...... 82 Closing Program Windows ...... 82 Saving Your Work Before Closing ...... 83 Closing Multiple Windows ...... 83 Summary ...... 84 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page ix

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Chapter 5: Navigating Your Folders ...... 85 Understanding Documents...... 85 All About Folders ...... 87 How Folders Are Organized ...... 88 Parent Folder and Subfolders ...... 90 Using Windows Explorer ...... 91 Windows Explorer Components...... 92 The Windows Explorer Toolbar ...... 93 Explorer’s Search ...... 93 The Windows Explorer Detail Pane ...... 93 The Windows Explorer Navigation Pane ...... 93 The Windows Explorer Menu Bar ...... 94 The Preview Pane...... 95 The Windows Explorer Taskbar Button...... 95 Navigating Through Folders ...... 96 Different Ways to View Icons...... 98 The Icon View ...... 99 The Tiles View ...... 100 The List View...... 101 The Details View ...... 102 Arranging Icons in Explorer ...... 105 Closing Windows Explorer ...... 106 Summary ...... 107 Chapter 6: Working with Documents ...... 109 Understanding Document Types ...... 109 Showing/Hiding File Name Extensions...... 110 Common Document File Types ...... 112 Using a Program to Create a Document ...... 113 Saving a Document...... 114 How to Save a Document ...... 114 Using the Save As Dialog Box...... 115 Save Your Work Often!...... 118 Troubleshooting Saves ...... 118 Closing a Document ...... 119 Opening Documents ...... 120 Opening a Recent Document ...... 120 Opening a Document from Its Folder ...... 122 Using the Open Dialog Box ...... 122 Opening a Document in a Different Program ...... 124 Changing the Default Program ...... 125 When Windows Can’t Open a Document ...... 126 Changing the Document Type...... 128 Working with Multiple Document Windows ...... 129 Summary ...... 131 Chapter 7: Type, Edit, Copy, and Paste ...... 133 Typing on a Screen ...... 134 Indenting and Aligning Text...... 135 Setting Margins...... 136 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page x

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Choosing a Page Orientation ...... 137 Printing Text ...... 137 Navigating Text ...... 138 Selecting Text to Change ...... 139 Changing Text ...... 140 Deleting and Replacing Large Chunks of Text...... 141 Styling Text ...... 141 Copying, Moving, and Pasting Text ...... 143 Copying from One Document to Another ...... 144 Copy and Paste a Picture ...... 146 Move a Chunk of Text within a Document...... 147 Dragging and Dropping Text ...... 147 Adding Special Characters to Text ...... 148 Saving Your Text ...... 150 Summary ...... 150 Chapter 8: Printing Documents ...... 151 Printing a Document...... 151 Common Printing Options ...... 152 Choosing a Print Quality ...... 153 Previewing What You’re Printing...... 154 Stopping the Printer, Managing Print Jobs...... 155 Managing Printers and Faxes ...... 157 Changing the Default Printer ...... 159 Using a Different Printer for One Job ...... 160 Installing a Printer...... 160 Sharing Unmodifiable Documents with Others ...... 162 Printing the Screen ...... 163 Troubleshooting Common Printer Problems ...... 164 Faxing Documents ...... 165 Faxing Without a Fax Modem ...... 169 More on Faxing...... 170 Summary ...... 170

Part III: Using the 171

Chapter 9: Getting Online ...... 173 What Is the Internet?...... 173 What Is Bandwidth? ...... 174 Clients and Servers ...... 175 Online and Offline ...... 175 Downloading and Uploading ...... 176 Getting an Internet Account...... 176 Connecting to the Internet ...... 177 Wireless Network Setup with the Wizard ...... 178 Broadband and Dialup Network Setup with the Wizard . . . 179 Network and Sharing Center ...... 181 Internet Options ...... 182 Troubleshooting a Network Connection...... 184 Summary ...... 184 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xi

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Chapter 10: Browsing the World Wide Web...... 187 Using ...... 188 Getting to a Web Site ...... 189 Using AutoComplete...... 189 Changing a URL ...... 190 Weird Ways to the Web ...... 191 Navigating the Web...... 192 Using Hyperlinks...... 192 Other Navigation Tools ...... 196 Printing a Web Page ...... 197 Revisiting Previous Sites...... 199 Using the History Bar ...... 200 Closing the History Bar ...... 200 Getting Rid of Cookies, Files, and History ...... 200 Changing Your Default Home Page...... 202 Tracking Favorite Web Sites...... 203 Viewing Your Favorite Sites...... 204 Organizing Your Favorites ...... 205 Closing Up Favorites...... 207 Choosing and Creating Favorites Folders on-the-Fly . . . . 208 Creating Desktop Shortcuts to Web Pages ...... 208 General Browsing versus Secure Browsing ...... 209 Searching the Web ...... 210 Searching Without the Search Bar ...... 211 Downloading from the Web ...... 212 Downloading and Installing Programs ...... 212 Downloading Documents ...... 215 Playing Online Music and Video ...... 216 Troubleshooting Web Browsing...... 217 Page not Found Error ...... 218 Do You Want to Debug? ...... 218 Using the Internet Explorer Troubleshooter ...... 218 Internet Explorer Help and Support ...... 219 Summary ...... 219 Chapter 11: Sending and Receiving E- ...... 221 Introducing Windows Mail...... 221 Setting Up Your E-mail Account ...... 222 Sending E-mail with Windows Mail...... 224 Composing Fancier E-mail Messages ...... 225 Attaching Files to E-mail Messages...... 229 Sending the Message ...... 231 Reading Your E-mail with Windows Mail...... 232 Opening Attachments...... 234 Saving Attachments ...... 237 Managing E-mail Messages ...... 239 Selecting Messages ...... 239 Deleting Messages...... 241 Grouping Messages into Folders...... 242 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xii

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Using ...... 244 Tracking Names and Addresses Automatically...... 244 Opening Windows Contacts ...... 245 Managing Contacts ...... 246 Deleting Contacts ...... 247 Printing Contacts ...... 248 Creating Groups and Mailing Lists...... 248 Using the Address Book to Send E-mail ...... 249 Customizing and Configuring Windows Mail ...... 250 General Options ...... 251 Read Options...... 251 Receipt Options ...... 252 Send Options...... 252 Compose Options ...... 253 Automatic Signature Options...... 254 E-mail Spelling Options ...... 255 E-mail Security Options...... 256 Connection Options...... 257 Advanced Options...... 257 Dealing with Junk Mail...... 258 Troubleshooting E-mail ...... 260 Summary ...... 260 Chapter 12: Chatting and Interacting Using the Internet. . . 263 What Is a Windows Live ID?...... 264 Creating Your Windows Live ID...... 265 Installing and Opening ...... 267 Running Windows Live Messenger...... 268 Has Blocked...... 270 E-mail Address Not Verified...... 270 A New Version of Windows Live Messenger Is Available. . . 271 with ...... 271 Setting Up Your List of Contacts ...... 271 Starting a Conversation...... 273 When Someone Contacts You ...... 278 Inviting Others to Join In ...... 279 Inviting Others to Get Lost ...... 279 Ending a Conversation ...... 280 Your Do Not Disturb Options ...... 280 Transferring Files and Photos...... 281 Toll-Free Talking ...... 283 Calling Phones ...... 285 Twenty-First Century Toll-Free Videophone ...... 286 Using Remote Assistance ...... 288 Starting a Remote Assistance Session...... 288 Ending a Remote Assistance Session ...... 290 Sharing Multiple Files ...... 290 Managing Your Contacts...... 291 Grouping Contacts...... 291 Deleting a Contact...... 293 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xiii

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Configuring Windows Messenger...... 293 Choosing Your Display Name and Font ...... 293 Changing Your Message Options...... 294 To Autostart or Not to Autostart ...... 295 Maintaining Your Privacy...... 297 Signing Off, Closing, and Terminating ...... 299 Working with Windows Meeting Space...... 299 Starting and Setting Up Windows Meeting Space...... 300 Starting a Meeting ...... 301 Sharing an Application or Your Desktop...... 302 Sharing a Handout ...... 305 Ending a Meeting...... 306 Still More Windows Live ID Stuff ...... 306 Summary ...... 307 Chapter 13: Keeping It Safe ...... 309 Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses ...... 309 Installing Anti-Virus Software...... 312 Using Anti-Virus Software ...... 313 Scanning Downloaded Files...... 313 Hackers and Crackers ...... 314 Dealing with Pop-up Ads: Windows Pop-up Blocker ...... 318 Blocking Pop-ups ...... 318 Allowing Pop-ups ...... 320 Adjusting the Pop-up Blocking ...... 322 Dealing with Spam (Junk E-mail) ...... 322 Blocking Spammers in Windows Mail ...... 322 Marking Safe Senders in Windows Mail ...... 324 Setting the Level of Spam Protection in Windows Mail . . . 325 Avoiding Phishing ...... 326 Adware, Spyware, and Windows Defender...... 328 Running Windows Defender ...... 328 Doing Scans on Demand ...... 329 Changing Windows Defender Settings...... 330 Dealing with Found Adware and Spyware ...... 331 The Windows Defender Software Explorer ...... 333 Parental Controls...... 334 Keep Windows Vista Up-to-Date ...... 334 Getting Everything Up-to-Date ...... 336 Windows Vista Security Center...... 336 Summary ...... 337

Part IV: Fun with Multimedia 339

Chapter 14: Using Your Camera and Scanner...... 341 About Pictures ...... 341 Viewing Picture Icons ...... 343 Types of Pictures ...... 343 Copying Pictures from a CD...... 345 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xiv

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Getting Pictures from a Digital Camera ...... 350 Scanning Documents...... 351 Copying Pictures from a Web Page...... 351 Installing Cameras and Scanners...... 353 Troubleshooting Cameras and Scanners...... 354 Summary ...... 355 Chapter 15: Playing with Pictures and the Photo Gallery ...... 357 Using Your Pictures Folder ...... 357 Printing Pictures ...... 359 Making a Working Copy of a Picture ...... 361 Rotating a Picture ...... 361 Recording Details About Your Photos...... 362 Using Slide Show...... 363 Using the Photo Gallery ...... 364 Viewing Pictures ...... 364 Fixing Photos with the Photo Gallery ...... 367 Sharing Photos from Photo Gallery ...... 369 Editing Pictures with Paint ...... 370 Opening Paint ...... 371 Copy and Paste a Picture into Paint ...... 372 Cropping a Picture in Paint...... 373 Sizing a Picture in Paint...... 375 Adding to a Picture ...... 375 Printing and Saving a Picture in Paint ...... 375 Summary ...... 376 Chapter 16: Music and Video with Media Player 11 . . . . 379 Introducing 11...... 379 Using the Features Taskbar ...... 380 Using the Play Controls ...... 382 Using Mini Mode in the Taskbar ...... 383 Closing Windows Media Player...... 384 Using Your Music Folder...... 384 Types of Media Files...... 386 Searching Your Hard Disk for Your Media Files ...... 388 Opening a Media File ...... 389 Playing Music CDs ...... 389 Playing a Video ...... 391 Watching a DVD ...... 392 Watching a VCD...... 393 Digital Media on the Web ...... 394 Streaming Media...... 396 Downloading Licensed Content ...... 396 How to Download ...... 397 Managing Digital Licenses ...... 397 Downloading Free Stuff from the Internet ...... 398 Using the Now Playing Feature ...... 399 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xv

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Radio Tuner and Premium Services ...... 401 Playing with Skins ...... 402 Downloading Skins...... 403 ...... 404 Summary ...... 405 Chapter 17: Managing Music, Making CDs ...... 407 Media File Hidden Properties ...... 407 Where Media Information Comes From ...... 409 Getting Media Player to Fill in the Blanks...... 410 Media Player Privacy Settings ...... 412 Copying Music CDs to Your Media Library ...... 413 Preparing to Copy Music ...... 414 Digital or Analog? ...... 418 Copying a Music CD...... 419 Finding Copied Songs ...... 421 Using Your Media Library ...... 421 Keeping Your Media Library Up-to-Date...... 421 Managing Your Media Collection...... 423 Changing How You See Things ...... 424 Special Views...... 425 Editing Media Information in Media Library ...... 426 Creating Custom Playlists...... 427 Creating Playlists Automatically ...... 429 Creating a Custom Audio CD ...... 431 Copying Music to Portable Players...... 433 More on Media Player ...... 433 Summary ...... 434 Chapter 18: Making Home Movies ...... 435 Introducing ...... 435 Taking Control of Movie Maker...... 436 Windows Movie Maker Panes...... 436 Getting Content for Your Movie...... 440 Getting Video from Your Camcorder ...... 440 Importing Video from Files ...... 447 Creating the Movie...... 448 Arranging Your Scenes ...... 450 Previewing Your Movie ...... 451 Trimming Scenes...... 452 Overlapping Scenes ...... 452 Spicing Up Your Movie ...... 453 Saving a Project (Work in Progress) ...... 459 Creating the Final Movie...... 460 Trying Other Quality Settings ...... 462 Copying Movies to Tape and DVD ...... 463 Closing Windows Movie Maker...... 465 Letting Movie Maker Do It for You: AutoMovie ...... 465 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xvi

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Managing Collections ...... 467 Splitting a Clip ...... 467 Combining Clips ...... 468 Moving, Renaming, and Deleting Clips and Collections. . . 469 Summary ...... 470

Part V: Getting Organized, Staying Organized 471

Chapter 19: Managing Files and Folders ...... 473 Creating Folders ...... 476 Creating Your Own Folders ...... 479 Creating a Folder on-the-Fly ...... 480 Renaming Files and Folders...... 481 Working with Multiple Files and Folders...... 482 Selecting Multiple Icons by Dragging ...... 483 Selecting All Icons in a Folder ...... 484 Selecting Multiple Icons Using Ctrl and Shift keys . . . . . 485 Inverting a Selection...... 488 Selecting Multiple Icons Without Using the Keyboard . . . 489 Deleting Files and Folders...... 491 Using the Recycle Bin ...... 492 Moving and Copying Files...... 495 Move versus Copy...... 495 Moving Files to a Subfolder...... 496 Moving and Copying Across Any Folders ...... 498 File Clashes with Copies and Moves...... 502 Undoing a Move or Copy ...... 503 Summary ...... 504 Chapter 20: Finding Things on Your Computer ...... 505 Searching for Lost Files ...... 505 Using the Windows Vista Search ...... 506 Searching for Programs from the ...... 506 Searching Within a Specific Folder...... 509 Searching with the Search Folder ...... 510 Advanced Search Options...... 512 Setting Where to Look...... 513 Using a File Name to Narrow a Search ...... 514 Stating When You Created, Last Used, or Last Modified the File...... 514 Stating the Size of the File to Narrow a Search ...... 515 Providing the Author’s Name to Narrow a Search . . . . . 516 Using Tags to Narrow a Search ...... 516 More Advanced Options ...... 516 Starting the Search ...... 517 Using Search to Gather Like Files ...... 518 Saving Searches ...... 519 What’s Searched ...... 521 Tagging Files and Folders ...... 523 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xvii

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Customizing Windows Explorer Search Tools ...... 525 Setting Search Options for Windows Explorer ...... 525 Setting the Index locations in Windows Explorer...... 526 Activating the Search Pane in Windows Explorer . . . . . 526 Condensed Searches ...... 526 Using Conditions on Your Searches ...... 527 Summary ...... 528 Chapter 21: Using Your Hard Drive ...... 529 Managing Your Hard Drive ...... 529 Discovering How Much Hard-Disk Space You Have . . . . 531 Maintaining Your Hard Drive ...... 533 Recovering Wasted Hard Disk Space...... 533 Scanning the Disk for Errors ...... 535 Defragmenting Your Hard Drive ...... 538 Scheduling Disk Defragmenter ...... 540 Exploring Your Hard Drive...... 541 A Note on User Accounts, Documents, and Settings . . . . 544 Simple Names and Paths ...... 545 Entering the Path in the Address Bar ...... 547 Folder and File Tips and Tricks ...... 548 Choosing Your Own Folder Icon ...... 548 Replacing the Icon Preview with Your Own Picture . . . . 551 Creating Shortcuts to Favorite Files and Folders ...... 552 Making Views Stick ...... 553 Summary ...... 554 Chapter 22: Using Floppies, Thumb Drives, CDs, and DVDs ...... 555 Why Use Removable Disks?...... 557 Using Floppy Disks and Zip Disks...... 559 Viewing the Contents of Floppy and Zip Disks ...... 559 Formatting a Disk ...... 560 Copying Files to Floppy and Zip Disks...... 561 Finding the Combined Sizes of Multiple Files...... 561 Write-Protect a Floppy ...... 564 Cloning a Floppy Disk ...... 565 Using CDs and DVDs...... 565 Using Prerecorded CDs and DVDs ...... 565 Exploring the Contents of a CD or DVD ...... 567 Copying Files from CDs and DVDs ...... 568 Copying Files to CDs...... 569 Using a Blank CD...... 570 General Method for Copying to CDs...... 571 Deleting All the Files on a CD-RW Disk...... 574 Using Third-Party Programs to Burn CDs ...... 574 Copying Files to DVDs...... 575 Copying Files with DVD Maker ...... 576 Changing the Default Behavior of CDs and DVDs...... 577 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xviii

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Troubleshooting CDs and DVDs ...... 579 Using USB Thumb Drives ...... 580 Using a USB Drive to Speed Up Your Computer ...... 580 Using Windows Vista ReadyBoost ...... 581 Using Other Storage Devices ...... 582 Summary ...... 583 Chapter 23: Working with Compressed (Zip) Files . . . . . 585 Programs for Managing Zip Files ...... 585 Generating Zip Files in Windows Vista ...... 586 E-Mailing a Zip File...... 588 Shortcut for Attaching Files to E-mail ...... 589 Attaching Files Without the Shortcut ...... 590 Using Zip Files ...... 591 Dragging and Dropping with Compressed Folders ...... 594 Weird Compression Facts ...... 594 Summary ...... 595 Chapter 24: Managing Your Time, Tasks, and Appointments ...... 597 Viewing a ...... 597 Setting Different Calendar Views ...... 598 Viewing the Windows Calendar Panes...... 599 Creating a New Calendar ...... 600 Working with Appointments ...... 602 Creating Reoccurring Appointments or Events...... 603 Reminding Yourself ...... 604 Finding Appointments...... 606 Working with Tasks ...... 607 Sorting and Prioritizing Your Tasks ...... 609 Changing and Resolving Tasks ...... 609 Sharing Calendars ...... 610 Publishing Calendars ...... 610 Subscribing to Calendars ...... 613 Printing Your Calendars...... 615 Modifying Other Windows Calendar Settings ...... 616 Changing Calendar Options...... 616 Changing Appointment Options ...... 617 Importing and Exporting ...... 617 Summary ...... 618

Part VI: Have It Your Way 621

Chapter 25: Creating and Managing User Accounts . . . . 623 What’s a User Account? ...... 624 Administrators versus Standard Users ...... 625 Private Documents versus Public Documents ...... 626 Password-Protecting a User Account ...... 626 The Guest Account ...... 627 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xix

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How to Create a User Account ...... 627 Logging on to a New Account...... 629 Getting Back to Your Own User Account ...... 630 Changing a User Account ...... 631 Deleting a User Account...... 632 Activating/Deactivating the Guest Account...... 634 Keeping Your Documents Private...... 634 Signing into and out of User Accounts...... 635 Switching Users ...... 636 Snooping Through User Accounts ...... 637 Turning off the ...... 640 Summary ...... 642 Chapter 26: Personalizing Your Desktop ...... 643 Creating Your Own Desktop...... 644 Choosing a Theme...... 645 Changing the Picture on Your Desktop ...... 646 Choosing a Screen Saver ...... 648 Fine-Tuning Your Color Scheme ...... 650 Choosing a Screen Resolution and Color Depth ...... 652 Saving Display Properties Settings...... 653 Customizing Mouse Pointers...... 654 Choosing Icons to Display on the Desktop ...... 654 Arranging Icons on Your Desktop ...... 655 Personalizing Your Start Menu ...... 655 Controlling What You See on the Start Menu ...... 656 Pinning Items to the Start Menu ...... 659 Unpinning, Renaming, and Removing Start Menu Items . . 659 Rearranging Start and All Programs Menu Items ...... 659 Displaying Recently Opened Files and Programs ...... 660 Personalizing Your Taskbar ...... 660 Moving and Sizing Taskbar Items ...... 663 Using the Quick Launch Toolbar ...... 664 Personalizing the Notification Area...... 665 Optional Taskbar Toolbars ...... 667 Creating Your Own Shortcuts ...... 668 Using the Sidebar...... 669 Customizing the Sidebar ...... 670 Using Included Gadgets...... 671 Adding New Gadgets ...... 673 Summary ...... 673 Chapter 27: Using Parental Controls...... 675 Accessing Parental Control Features ...... 676 The Use of Passwords ...... 676 Other Steps for Effective Parental Control ...... 678 Turning on Parental Controls ...... 680 Reviewing Others’ Activity on the Computer...... 681 Seeing Specific Details on an Activity Report ...... 683 Seeing General Activity ...... 684 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xx

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Limiting Time on the Computer...... 685 Restricting What Games Can Be Played...... 686 Restricting Access to Applications...... 690 Restricting Access to Web Sites ...... 691 Setting up a Parental Control Plan ...... 695 Summary ...... 696 Chapter 28: Speech, Writing, and Other Accessibility Features ...... 697 Ease of Access Questionnaire...... 699 Modifying General Accessibility Settings ...... 700 General Accessibility Features ...... 702 Accessibility Utilities for Everyone ...... 703 Using the Windows Vista Magnifier ...... 703 Using the Windows Vista Narrator...... 705 Using the Windows Vista On-Screen Keyboard ...... 705 Using the Windows Vista Speech Recognition ...... 706 Setting up Speech Recognition...... 707 Training the Speech Software...... 709 Training You ...... 710 Using Speech Recognition ...... 711 Speech Recognition Options ...... 713 Summary ...... 714 Chapter 29: Expanding Your System...... 715 Learning About Hardware and Software for Windows Vista . . . 715 Playing It Safe with Installations ...... 716 Setting a Restore Point ...... 716 Installing New Software ...... 718 Installing Software from CDs, DVDs, and Floppies . . . . . 719 If Nothing Happens when You Insert the Disk ...... 719 Downloading and Installing Programs ...... 720 Turning on or off Windows Components ...... 721 Installing New Hardware...... 722 Installing USB Devices...... 723 Installing Non-USB Devices ...... 724 Uninstalling Programs ...... 725 Uninstalling Hardware ...... 727 Removing USB Devices ...... 727 Uninstalling Other Types of Hardware...... 728 Restoring Your System Files...... 729 Summary ...... 731 Chapter 30: Disaster Prevention and Recovery...... 733 Dealing with Error Messages ...... 733 Easy Troubleshooting ...... 735 What to Do If the Computer Freezes Up ...... 737 Getting Information About Your Computer ...... 739 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xxi

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Fixing Startup Problems ...... 740 Making Backups ...... 742 The Windows Vista Center ...... 743 Backing up Windows and Programs ...... 743 Backing up Documents ...... 744 Using the Windows Vista Backup and Restore Center . . . 745 Checking Backup Status and Settings ...... 749 Restoring a Backup ...... 749 Using ...... 751 Turning off User Account Control (UAC)...... 752 Summary ...... 753

Part VII: Connecting Your Computers 755

Chapter 31: Design and Create Your Own Network . . . . 757 What Is a LAN? ...... 757 Planning a LAN ...... 758 Connect Two Computers on a Traditional LAN...... 759 Connect Three or More Computers on a Traditional LAN...... 759 Connect Computers without Ethernet Cables ...... 760 Connecting Computers in a Wireless LAN...... 761 Networking with a Router...... 763 Mixed-Mode Networking ...... 764 Setting up a Network ...... 766 Setting up an Internet Connection Sharing Host ...... 768 Setting up a Shared Connection ...... 768 Using the Internet in a LAN ...... 772 Securing a LAN...... 773 Beyond Firewalls...... 774 Testing and Troubleshooting Your LAN ...... 774 Network Troubleshooting ...... 775 You Did It!...... 777 Summary ...... 777 Chapter 32: Sharing Things on a Network...... 779 Some Networking Buzzwords ...... 779 Turning Sharing On ...... 781 Using a Shared Printer...... 782 Sharing a Printer...... 783 Adding a Shared Printer to Your Computer...... 784 Using Shared Documents and Folders ...... 785 Using the Network Folder...... 786 Opening Public Documents and Folders ...... 787 Sharing Folders ...... 789 Moving and Copying Files on a LAN ...... 792 Sharing Media Files ...... 793 Seeing What You’re Sharing...... 796 Summary ...... 796 02_046401 ftoc.qxp 3/12/07 10:57 PM Page xxii

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Appendix A: Installing Windows Vista ...... 799

Appendix B: Shortcut Key Quick Reference...... 807

Index ...... 813