Introduction 1
What Does This Book Cover? 1
What Do I Need to Know to Get
Started? 3
Chapter 1: Setting Up Windows 5
Starting the Installation 5
Choosing Between an Upgrade and a Custom
Installation 6
Choosing the Drive and Partition for a Custom
Installation 7
Making the Right Choices on the Setup
Screens 10
Choosing Between Using Default Settings and Configuring Windows
Manually 10
Choosing Personalization and Location
Settings 13
Choosing Browser, Protection, Connectivity, and Error Reporting
Settings 14
Working on the Who Owns This PC? Screen
15
Working on the Make It Yours Screen 16
Setting a PIN and Meeting Cortana 17
Working on the Create an Account for This PC
Screen 17
Working in the Networks Pane 20
Signing In and Out of Windows 21
Locking Windows 22
Restarting Windows 22
Putting Your Computer to Sleep or into
Hibernation 22
Configuring and Using Cortana 25
Configuring Cortana 25
Searching with Cortana 27
Shutting Down Your Computer 28
Chapter 2: Navigating Windows Like a Pro
29
Using the Start Menu 29
Opening the Start Menu 30
Getting Around the Start Menu 30
Tweaking Your Input Devices 31
Adjusting the Mouse or Touchpad 32
Choosing the Right Pen and Touch Settings
38
Configuring Pen and Touch Input 42
Configuring Your Keyboard 43
Configuring Typing Settings 44
Configuring Your Language and Keyboard
Layout 46
Setting Up Speech Recognition 48
Inputting Text 50
Inputting Text with a Hardware Keyboard
50
Inputting Text with the Touch Keyboard and the Handwriting
Panel 51
Inputting Text via Speech Recognition
54
Resizing and Arranging Windows 55
Resizing and Closing Windows with the Command
Buttons 55
Using Snap and Snap Assist 56
Arranging Windows Manually 57
Resizing, Arranging, and Closing Windows with Keyboard
Shortcuts 58
Switching Among Open Windows 58
Chapter 3: Connecting to Networks and the
Internet 61
Connecting to a Wired Network 62
Connecting to a Wireless Network 63
Connecting to a Wireless Network That Broadcasts Its
Name 64
Connecting to a Hidden Wireless Network
67
Disconnecting from and Reconnecting to Wireless
Networks 70
Whitelisting Your Device on a Wi-Fi Network
70
Managing Your Network Connections 71
Using Airplane Mode and Turning Off Wireless
Devices 71
Configuring IP Settings Manually 72
Connecting Through a Proxy Server 78
Prioritizing One Network Connection over
Another 81
Bridging Two or More Network Connections
82
Improving Wireless Speed and Reliability
84
Forgetting a Wireless Network 87
Connecting Through a VPN 88
Setting Up a VPN Connection 88
Connecting via the VPN 90
Mapping a Drive to a Network Folder 91
Sharing Your Computer’s Internet Connection
94
Diagnosing and Repairing Network Problems
95
Determining Whether a Problem Has Occurred
96
Using the Troubleshoot Problems
Feature 97
Chapter 4: Connecting External Hardware
99
Connecting External Drives 99
Making the Physical Connection 99
Formatting a Drive 100
Configuring an External Drive for Better
Performance 102
Ejecting an External Drive. 104
Sorting Out Your Displays 104
Connecting a Display 105
Opening the Display Pane in Settings
105
Choosing Essential Display Settings 106
Choosing Advanced Display Settings 107
Using Virtual Desktops 111
Setting Up Your Printers 112
Connecting a Local Printer 113
Connecting a Network Printer 113
Configuring Your Printer 114
Chapter 5: Customizing Windows to Suit Your
Needs 121
Customizing the Start Menu 122
Choosing Which Categories of Items to Display on the Start
Menu 122
Customizing the Start Menu Directly 124
Customizing the Taskbar 125
Moving and Resizing the Taskbar 126
Configuring the Taskbar’s Behavior 126
Putting the Apps You Need Most on the
Taskbar 128
Making the Most of Taskbar Toolbars 128
Choosing Which Icons to Display in the Notification
Area 130
Saving Time with Automatic Login--and Why You
Shouldn’t 133
Making the Lock Screen Show the Information You
Need 135
Displaying the Lock Screen Pane 135
Setting the Picture or Slideshow 135
Adding Apps to the Lock Screen for Quick
Reference 136
Making the Recycle Bin Work the Way You
Prefer 137
Telling Windows Which Notifications You Want to
Receive 139
Opening the Notifications & Actions Pane
140
Choosing Essential Notifications Settings
140
Chapter 6: Sorting Out Your Files, Folders, and
Storage 143
Navigating File Explorer Quickly and
Efficiently 144
Opening a File Explorer Window 144
Putting Useful Buttons on the Quick Access
Toolbar 144
Using the File Menu 146
Finding Your Way Around the Ribbon 147
Customizing How File Explorer Looks and
Works 148
Changing the Layout 149
Customizing the Quick Access View 150
Choosing How to Lay Out the Items 150
Sorting and Grouping Items 151
Choosing Which Items to Show and Which to
Hide 152
Adjusting Folder and Search Options 152
Finding the Files and Folders You Need
162
Using Libraries and Folders the Smart Way
163
Coming to Grips with the Default Libraries
164
Creating a New Library 165
Including Folders in Your Library 166
Setting the Library’s Default Save Location and Public Save
Location 167
Configuring the Library to Work Your Way
168
Restoring Your Default Libraries 169
Managing Your Storage 170
Seeing What’s Taking Up Space on Your
Computer 170
Controlling Where Windows Saves Games, Apps, Music, and Other
Items 174
Creating Pooled Storage with Storage Spaces
175
Understanding Simple Spaces, Mirror Spaces, and Parity
Spaces 175
Creating a Storage Space 176
Using the Storage Space 179
Changing an Existing Storage Space 180
Deleting a Storage Space 180
Chapter 7: Securing and Sharing Your
Computer 181
Configuring Accounts for Practicality and
Security 182
Setting Your Profile Picture 182
Connecting a Local Account to a Microsoft
Account 182
Securing Your Account with a Password, Picture Password, PIN, or
Windows Hello 184
Creating Accounts for Others 186
Tightening Your Computer’s Security 189
Locking Your Computer with a Startup
Password 189
Setting Your Computer to Lock Automatically
192
Increasing Login Security with Secure
Sign-In 193
Configuring User Account Control 194
Controlling Recent App Switching 197
Setting Up Assigned Access 199
Configuring Sharing 200
Sharing via a Homegroup 200
Using Advanced Sharing 205
Chapter 8: Optimizing Your Computer’s
Performance 211
Adding Memory If You Can 212
Turning Off Eye Candy to Boost Performance
214
Configuring the Paging File 217
Controlling Data Execution Prevention
221
Stopping Unnecessary Services 222
Turning Off Superfetch and Prefetch 227
Turning Off Superfetch 227
Turning Off Prefetch 227
Reducing the Number of Startup Items
229
Optimizing and Defragmenting Your Computer’s Hard
Drive 231
Checking Free Space and Opening the Optimize Drives
Window 231
Analyzing and Optimizing a Drive 233
Choosing Settings for Scheduled
Optimization 234
Getting Rid of Useless Apps 235
Extending Runtime on the Battery 237
Setting a Sensible Power Plan 237
Using Airplane Mode and Turning Off Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth 242
Avoiding Power-Hungry Apps 242
Choosing Settings for Playing Games 242
Chapter 9: Installing, Running, and Managing
Apps 245
Getting the Apps You Need 245
Getting Apps from the Store 246
Getting and Installing Apps from Other
Sources 252
Managing the Apps You’re Running 261
Closing an App That Stops Responding
261
Going Further with Other Actions in Task
Manager 262
Removing Unwanted Apps 271
Setting the Default Apps You Need 272
Opening the Default Apps Pane in the Settings
App 273
Choosing Your Default Apps 274
Choosing Default Apps by File Types or by
Protocols 274
Choosing Default Apps by Apps 274
Opening a File in a Non-Default App and Changing the Default
App 276
Chapter 10: Enjoying Music, Photos, and
Videos 279
Understanding Windows Media Player and Groove
Music 279
Using Windows Media Player 280
Setting Up Windows Media Player to Protect Your
Privacy 280
Navigating Windows Media Player 284
Adding Your Music to Windows Media Player
286
Playing Music with Windows Media Player
295
Syncing Music with Your Phone or Tablet
295
Importing Photos and Videos Using Windows Media
Player 297
Sharing Media Libraries 297
Exploring the Groove Music App and the Groove
Service 302
Getting Started with Groove Music 302
Adding Music to Your Groove Music
Collection 304
Playing Music with Groove Music 306
Creating Playlists in Groove Music 306
Watching Videos and DVDs 307
Chapter 11: Browsing the Internet Safely
309
Navigating Microsoft Edge Like a Pro
309
Viewing Pages 312
Working with Tabs and Windows 313
Browsing Fast with Page Prediction 314
Copying Text with Caret Browsing 315
Removing Distractions with Reading Mode
315
Browsing the Smart Way with Favorites
315
Returning to Pages You Viewed Earlier
316
Catching Up with Your Reading List 317
Annotating Web Pages with Web Note 318
Controlling Microsoft Edge with Keyboard
Shortcuts 320
Configuring Microsoft Edge for Comfort and
Security 321
Configuring General Settings 321
Configuring Essential Advanced Settings
323
Configuring Privacy and Services Settings
325
Clearing Your Browsing Data 327
Chapter 12: Communicating via Email and
Skype 331
Communicating via Email 331
Setting Up Your Email Accounts 332
Navigating in the Mail App 343
Configuring Your Email Accounts and the Mail
App 348
Communicating via Skype 354
Getting the Skype App 354
Completing the Initial Setup Routine
356
Navigating the Skype Screen 357
Communicating via Skype 359
Configuring Skype to Work Your Way 360
Configuring Keyboard Shortcuts on the Hotkeys
Screen 369
Choosing Options on the Accessibility
Screen 370
Saving Your Configuration Changes 371
Chapter 13: Updating and Troubleshooting
Windows 373
Making Windows Update Work Your Way 374
Configuring Windows Update 374
Applying an Update 377
Backing Up Key Files with File History
378
Enabling File History 379
Using History to Restore Files 381
Resolving Issues in Action Center 382
Reviewing Security and Maintenance Issues
384
Creating and Using System Restore Points
386
Creating System Restore Points 386
Restoring Windows to a System Restore Point
389
Undoing a System Restore Operation 393
Solving Problems with the Recovery Tools
395
Accessing the Recovery Tools 395
Resetting Your PC 396
Going Back to an Earlier Build of Windows
397
Using the Advanced Startup Tools 398
Chapter 14: Going Further with Advanced
Moves 405
Working with Partitions 405
Examining the Partitions on Your Computer’s
Drive 406
Shrinking a Partition 409
Creating a New Partition 410
Extending a Partition 413
Deleting a Partition 414
Running Multiple Operating Systems on Your
Computer 416
Dual-Booting or Multi-Booting Windows with Another Operating
System 416
Installing and Running Other Operating Systems with
Hyper-V 419
Installing and Running Other Operating Systems with Third-Party
Virtual-Machine Software 430
Making Advanced Changes by Editing the
Registry 430
Opening Registry Editor and Navigating Its
Interface 431
Understanding What’s What in the Registry
432
Backing Up and Restoring the Registry
433
An Example: Removing an App from the Open With Submenu in File
Explorer 435
Index 437
Guy Hart-Davis is the author of Android Tips and Tricks and more than 100 other computer books.
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