Turning on the computer
Turn on the computer. There is a push button or a toggle switch, probably on the front. There may be both- a toggle switch on the back and a button on the front! The button will only work when the toggle is On.(Odds are, your computer is already on if you are reading this on a computer!)
You should see some text on the screen as this happens. First the BIOS checks the memory and looks for hardware parts. Programs that run at startup may print messages to the screen. Hopefully they just say that all is OK.
Then you will see the Windows startup screen. This picture is different for each version of Windows. There may be different words below the Windows text, depending on what other Microsoft products you have installed.
In any version of Windows, you may see a login dialog or a Welcome screen that asks for your user name and password. If so, log yourself in again.
The final screen you see shows the desktop and taskbar (and probably a prettier background then the illustration here!). Ready to work!
Options for quitting what you are doing
Recent versions of Windows have choices besides just turning off the computer. Which choices you see will depend on the version of Windows and sometimes on whether the computer is a laptop or not.
Switch user - Lets you switch to a different user account without closing down the open programs. The computer is, of course, left turned on. When you switch back to the original user, all of the programs appear just the way they were before you switched users.
Log off - Leaves the computer on but closes any open programs and returns you to the logon screen. This is useful when the computer is part of a network or there are several user accounts.
Lock - Lets you keep others from using your computer while it is still on. You must re-enter your password to unlock the computer. This feature is primarily available on network computers but can be enabled for stand-alone computers.
Restart - Closes documents and applications and shuts down the computer, but immediately restarts it. This is useful when installing software that requires a restart to finish the installation. Also, a restart can often fix a computer that is behaving oddly. Sometimes you will need to shut down to give the computer a longer rest and cool down than Restart provides.
Shut down - Closes all your programs and turns off the computer. Most programs will prompt you to save any unsaved documents as part of the shut down process.
Install updates and shut down - When one or more updates have been downloaded but not installed yet, the next time you shut down or restart the computer, the update(s) will be installed before the computer is shut down. How long the installation will take depends on the size and complexity of the updates. It can add several minutes to the shut down process AND to the next start up. You may or may not see a message about the installation during shut down. You should see a screen tip about a successful installation when you start up again.
Low-Power Modes
When you are not going to work for a while, you can save electricity and battery charge by putting the computer into a low-power mode. This is especially useful for laptops.
Which choices you have will depend on your version of Windows and on what modes your computer can use. The modes differ in how fast the computer returns to normal and in what happens if power is lost while in the low power state.
Sleep/Stand by - Saves your work to memory and puts the computer into a low-power state. If the computer loses power while asleep, the changes saved only to memory are lost. Waking up from Sleep or Stand By mode is quick.
Hibernate - Saves your work to memory and to the hard disk and then puts the computer into a lower-power state than Stand by does. If the computer loses power while in hibernate mode, your recent work is not lost. Waking up from Hibernation is slower than from Sleep/Stand By.
Hybrid Sleep - In Windows Vista on some computers, sleep combines features of stand by and hibernate. Open documents are saved to memory and to the hard disk.
Windows uses a GUI (Graphical User Interface) so almost everything can be done using mouse clicks on icons and buttons. You don't have to memorize commands or remember keystroke combinations. Instead of typing commands, you can SEE what you are doing. Later, once you know your way around, you will find it useful and often faster to type in commands or use those odd combinations of keystrokes.
Versions
Windows now comes in many different versions and often several flavors for a particular version. Confusing? Probably! Your workplace, friends, and school may all be using a different version. So it is worth a bit of trouble to get familiar with what you might see out there, as well as what you see on your own computer.
Post a Comment