Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1: The Basics
Ch. 1: What’s Gone Wrong?
How To Check the Simple Things First And Make Sure You Don’t Make Things Worse
Dr Keyboard’s List Of The Really Obvious Things To Check When Something Goes Wrong
How To Be Confident You Won’t Push The Wrong Button – And How To Stop Things Going Wrong In The First Place
Questions And Answers
Ch. 2: Identifying The Source Of The Problem
Digging Deep To Find The Causes Of A Problem
What Have You Done To It?
How To Check The Symptoms
Narrowing Down The Potential Causes
Fixing The Problem
Questions And Answers
Ch. 3: Setup And Start-Up
First Things To Check With A New Computer
What Goes Where
What To Do First When It’s All Set Up
Questions And Answers
Part 2: Peripheral Problems
Ch. 4: Inside Your PC
Description Of The Inside Of A Typical PC
Essential Precautions To Take If You Want To Open Your PC Case
Questions And Answers
Ch. 5: Monitors And Displays
Some Definitions
Picture Quality
Step-by-step Guide To Optimising Your Display Settings
How To Work Out What Kind Of Video Card Is Inside Your Computer
Adjusting Your Display
Types Of Screens
Other Screen Adjustments And Screen Problems
Questions and Answers
Ch. 6: Sounds, CDs And DVDs
What to Check First If Your Computer Won’t Produce Any Sounds
How To Check Your Sound-playing Software And Drivers
Improving The Sound Quality From Your PC
Recording From External Source Onto Your PC
MP3, Audio Copyright And What You Can Do With Your Own Music
CD And DVD Drives (Including CD/DVD Writers)
The Main Problems Encountered With CD And DVD Drives
Types Of Drives Available
Questions And Answers
Ch. 7: Printers And Printing
How To Choose The Right Kind Of Printer For Your Needs
Why Won’t It Print?
How To Buy A Printer
Making The Most Of What You Have
What Next If It Won’t Print?
Questions And Answers
Part 3: Software And Hardware
Ch. 8: Operating Systems
What Is An Operating System?
Keeping Windows Up To Date
Types Of Upgrade
Questions And Answers
Ch. 9: Application Software
What Do Applications Do?
Office Productivity Software
Other Common Software Packages
Alternatives To Microsoft Office
Shareware And Freeware
Educational Software
Questions And Answers
Part 4: The Internet
Ch. 10: Connecting To The Internet
How Does The Connection Work?
Getting Connected
Using More Than One ISP
Making The Connection
Choosing A Method Of Connection
Staying Connected
Disconnecting
Connectivity Problems
Choosing Software For The Internet
Questions And Answers
Ch. 11: E-mail
Sending And Receiving E-mail
Choosing An E-mail Address
Opening Attachments
Address Books
E-mail Software
Questions And Answers
Ch. 12: Now You’re Online
Optimising Your Internet Connection
Downloading, Saving And Installing Programs From The Internet
Netiquette
Chatting
Message Boards
Newsgroups
Questions And Answers
Part 5: Improvements And Modifications
Ch. 13: Connecting To A Network
Why Would I Want A Network?
What Do I Need?
How Networks Work
Network Protocols
Setting Up A Network
Setting Up Your PC
What You Actually Need To Buy To Connect Two Computers
Security Considerations
Questions And Answers
Ch. 14: Additional Storage
A Brief History Of Removable Storage For PCs
CD And DVD Drives And Writers
Zip, Jaz, Peerless And Other Removable Magnetic Media (Including Removable Hard Disk Caddies)
Tapes And Backup Devices
Network Storage
Online Storage
Questions And Answers
Ch. 15: Speeding Up Your Computer
Why Your Once-fast Computer Is Slowing Down
Simple Things To Do To Speed It Up Again
Getting Best Value For Money From Hardware And Software Upgrades
Questions And Answers
Ch. 16: Managing Disks And Files
How To Organise Your Files And Put Them Where You Want Them
Which Application For What Kind Of Files?
Formatting And Partitioning Your Hard Disk
Moving Files, Folders And Applications
Missing Files
Keeping Your Data And Disks In Tip-Top Condition
Questions And Answers
Part 6: Security And Avoiding Trouble
Ch. 17: Backups And Archiving
Backup Programs
What To Back Up
Keep Track Of What You’ve Done
What To Back Up Onto
Backup Methods
Backup Software
Backup Strategies
Questions And Answers
Ch. 18: Computer Security And Safety
What Are Viruses, Trojans and Worms?
Anti-virus Software
Online Security Threats
Things You Can Do Yourself
What’s A Firewall?
What To Do If You Think You’re ‘Under Attack’
Microsoft Updates
Other Product Updates
Testing The Security Of Your Computer
What Information To Give Out
Keeping The Kids Out Of Your Files
Safe Surfing For Kids
How To Verify That Someone Is Who They Say They Are/Prove That You Are Who You Say You Are
Spam
Questions And Answers
Part 7: Resources
Appendix 1: Quick Answer Guide
Appendix 2: Resource Guide
Appendix 3: Glossary