700 likes | 719 Views
Explore Windows 8 and 7 interfaces, features, tools, and functions. Learn to manage users, applications, hardware, and files. Understand the modern interface, charms bar, and desktop functionality.
E N D
A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition Chapter 7 Survey of Windows Features and Support Tools
Objectives • Use Windows to interface with users, files and folders, applications, and hardware • Use Windows tools to examine and support the system • Make network connections using Windows • Manage local user accounts and Microsoft accounts in Windows A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Interfaces • Operating system (OS) software • Controls a computer • Four main functions of all OSs • Provide a user interface • Manage files • Manage hardware • Manage applications • Windows 8 is an upgrade to Windows 7, which was preceded by Windows Vista A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Interfaces Figure 7-1 Users and applications depend on the OS to relate to all applications and hardware components A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Interfaces • Editions of Windows 8: • Windows 8, Windows 8 Professional, Windows 8 Enterprise, and Windows RT • Windows 8.1 is a free update • Editions of Windows 7: • Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Home Basic, and Windows 7 Starter • Every Windows OS provides a graphical user interface (GUI) A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Modern Interface • Windows 8 modern interface • Also called the Windows 8 interface and formerly called the Metro User Interface or Metro UI • The Start screen contains tiles that represent lean apps (use few system resources) • Some apps use live tiles • Offer continuous real-time updates • Uses pages in comparison to windows used on the desktop • Designed for touch screens A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Modern Interface Figure 7-2 The Windows 8 Start screen is used to view app tiles and to open apps A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Modern Interface • Charms bar appears on the right side of the screen when you move your pointer to a right corner • Click a charm to select it • Settings charm can be useful • Items at the top of the Settings pane can change depending on the situation A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Modern Interface Figure 7-3 (a) The charms bar, (b) the Settings pane on the Start screen, and (c) the Settings pane on the desktop A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Modern Interface • Power icon in the upper-right corner of the Start screen can be used to shut down or restart computer • Items on this menu might include Sleep and Hibernate Figure 7-4 Use the Power icon at the top of the Start screen to shut down or restart the system A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Desktop • To access the desktop, click the Desktop tile on the Start screen • You can click the Start button in the taskbar to return to the Start screen • Taskbar is normally located at the bottom of the Windows desktop • Notification area (system tray or systray) is usually on the right side of the taskbar and displays open services • Service is a program that runs in the background A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Desktop • To launch a program from the desktop, use one of these methods: • Start screen • Quick Launch menu • Pin to taskbar • Double-click the program file in File Explorer • Shortcut on desktop • Run box A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Desktop Figure 7-9 Windows 8 desktop with charms bar in view A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 Desktop • Tips about managing windows on the desktop: • Press and drag the title bar of a window to move the window • Drag a window to the top of the screen to maximize it • Press and shake the title bar of a window to minimize all other windows except the one you shake A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 7 Desktop • Desktop is the initial screen that is displayed • Windows 7/Vista desktop provides a 3-D user interface called the Aero user interface • Aero interface is not available for the Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic editions • Windows 7 requires 1 GB of RAM and a video card that supports Aero • Can have gadgets on the desktop • Gadget is a mini-app that provides information such as the time, date, news headlines, or weather A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 7 Desktop Figure 7-13 The Windows 7 desktop using the Aero interface has a glassy transparent look A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 7 Desktop • Start menu • Username shown at the top right • Applications used often are listed in the white left column (can change from time to time) • User libraries, files and OS utilities are listed in the dark right column • A Windows 7 library is a collection of folders A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 7 Desktop Figure 7-14 The Windows 7 Start menu A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Tools for Users and Technicians • All users need to know how to use File Explorer or Windows Explorer • A technician also needs to know how to use: • Control Panel • Power Options • System Window • System Information Window • Action Center A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 File Explorer And Windows 7 Windows Explorer • To Open File Explorer or Windows Explorer • Click the yellow File Explorer or Windows Explorer icon in the taskbar • From Windows 8 desktop: • Open the Quick Launch menu (press Win+X) and click File Explorer in the menu • For Windows 7: • Right-click Start and select Open Windows Explorer from the menu A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 File Explorer And Windows 7 Windows Explorer Figure 7-15 Windows 8 File Explorer window with the Computer ribbon showing A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows 8 File Explorer And Windows 7 Windows Explorer Figure 7-16 Windows 7 Windows Explorer window with the Computer item in the left pane showing A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Files and Directories • Every OS manages a hard drive, optical drive, USB drive, or other type of drive by using directories (also called folders), subdirectories, and files • Drive is organized with a single root directory • At top of the top-down hierarchical structure of subdirectories • Exception: hard drive • Divided into partitions • Each volume has its own root directory and hierarchical structure of subdirectories A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Files and Directories Figure 7-17 Storage devices such as a USB drive, CD, or hard drive, are organized into directories and subdirectories that contain files A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Files and Directories • Root directory can hold files or other directories • These directories are called subdirectories, child directories, or folders • Any directory can have files and other subdirectories in it Figure 7-18 A hard drive can be divided into one or more partitions that can each contain a volume such as drive C: or drive D: A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Files and Directories • Path:location of a file referenced by a drive and directories Figure 7-19 The complete path to a file includes the volume letter, directories, filename, and file extension; the colon, backslashes, and period are required to separate items in the path A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Navigate the Folder Structure • Tips to navigate when working with File Explorer or Windows Explorer • Click or double-click items in the left pane (called navigation pane) to drill down to subfolders • To control how files appear in the right pane in Windows 8, click one of the icons in the lower-right corner to select Thumbnail view or Details view • For Windows 7, click the View icon and select your view A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Navigate the Folder Structure • Tips to navigate when working with File Explorer or Windows Explorer (cont’d): • To control column headings that appear in the Details view, right-click a column heading and select the headings that you want to appear Figure 7-21 Right-click a column heading to select columns to display in Details view A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Navigate the Folder Structure • Tips to navigate when working with File Explorer or Windows Explorer (cont’d): • Use the Search box in the upper-right corner of the window • Use the forward and back arrows in upper-left corner to move forward and backward to previous views • Click a right arrow in the path displayed in the address bar at the top of the Explorer widows to see a drop-down list of subfolder A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Navigate the Folder Structure Figure 7-22 Click a right arrow in the address bar to move up the folder tree and down to a new folder A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Create a Folder • Create a folder: • Select parent folder • Use one of these methods to create a folder: • In Windows 8, select the Home ribbon and click New folder • In Windows 7, click New folder on the menu bar • Right-click in the white area of the right pane • Select New from the shortcut menu • Click Folder to create a regular folder of click Compressed Folder to create a compressed folder • Folder is created and highlighted so that it may be renamed A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Navigate the Folder Structure Figure 7-24 Edit the new folder’s name A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Create a File • Methods to create a file • Use a particular application • Use File Explorer or Windows Explorer • Right-click in the unused white area in the right pane of the window and point to New • Click the application you want to use in order to create a file • You can rename the filename (keep file extension the same) A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Copy, Move, Rename, or Delete Files or Folders • Copy • Right-click file, select Copy from the shortcut menu • Click in folder white area where the copied item goes • Select Paste from the shortcut menu • Alternative way to copy or move • Drag and drop item to its new location (move) • To copy, hold down the Ctrl key while you drag and drop • Rename a file or folder • Right-click it and select Rename A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Copy, Move, Rename, or Delete Files or Folders • Delete a file or folder • Select the item and press the Delete key • Can also, right-click on the item and select Delete from the shortcut menu • To select multiple items to delete, copy, or move at the same time, hold down the Shift or Ctrl key as you click • Shift key selects adjacent items in a list • Ctrl key selects nonadjacent items in a list • Deleted files are stored in Recycle Bin on desktop A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Create a Shortcut • Use File Explorer or Windows Explorer to locate the data file or program file • Right-click, click Create shortcut in the menu Figure 7-25 Place a shortcut to a program file on the Windows desktop A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
The Control Panel • Contains applets used to manage the system • Accessing Control Panel in Windows • Right-click Start (click Start in Windows 7) and the click Control Panel • By default, Control Panel appears in category view • Utilities are grouped by category • Can switch to classic view by clicking Category A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
The Control Panel Figure 7-26 Many technicians prefer to use Control in Classic view to more easily access utilities A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Folder Options • Folder Options applet in Control Panel can be used to view and change options assigned to folders • Controls how users view files in a folder, what users can do with the files • File extension • Used to identify file types • Windows does not show file extensions if it knows which application is associated with a file extension • Windows hides system files until you force it to show them A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Power Options • Power Options applet of Control Panel can help you conserve power and increase the time before a battery pack on a laptop needs recharging • Different power-saving states: • Sleep mode (suspend mode) – Windows saves current state including open files to memory • Everything is shut down except memory and enough of system to respond to a wake-up • Hibernation – saves all work to the hard drive and powers down the system A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
System Window • System window: can give you a quick look at what hardware and software is installed • To open the System window in Windows 8: • Open the Quick Launch menu (press Win+X) • Click System • In Windows 7: • Click Start • Right-click Computer • Select Properties A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
System Window • Useful information found there: • Edition of Windows • Type of OS installed • Type of processor installed • Whether Windows has been activated A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
System Information Window • Used to view detailed information about the system • Important features to view • BIOS version installed • RAM is installed • OS installation directory • Hard drive size • Names of currently running drivers • Device drivers: small programs stored on hard drive that tell the computer how to communicate with a specific hardware device A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
System Information Window • To run System Information in Windows 8: • Open the Quick Launch menu • Click Run • Enter msinfo32.exe in the Run box and press Enter • To run System Information in Windows 7: • Click Start • Enter Msinfo32.exe in the Search box and press Enter A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Action Center • Action Center: tool to use when you want to make a quick jab at solving a computer problem • Lists errors and issues that need attention • Action center flag appears in the notification area of the taskbar Figure 7-35 A red X on the Action Center flag in the taskbar indicates a critical issue needs resolving A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Action Center Figure 7-36 The Action Center shows a critical problem that needs a resolution A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Network Connections • If a network is public (public hotspot) resources are not shared • Private networks often share their resources • Windows offers three ways to share resources: • Workgroups • Homegroups • Domain A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Workgroup and Homegroup • Peer-to-peer (P2P) network • A network that doesn’t have centralized control • In a Windows workgroup • Each computer maintains a list of users and their rights on that particular computer • In a homegroup • Each computer shares files, folders, libraries, and printers with other computer in the homegroup • Provides less security than a workgroup A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Domain • Windows domain is implemented on a larger, private network • Forms a logical group of networked computers that share a centralized directory database of user account information and security for entire group of computers • A type of client-server network where resources are managed by centralized computers • The directory database is controlled by a network operating system (NOS) A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition
Windows Domain Figure 7-38 A Windows domain is a type of client/server network where security on each computer or other device is controlled by a centralized database on a domain controller A+ Guide to IT Technical Support, 9th Edition