Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 7 in 10 Minutes

Mark Edward Soper is the author or coauthor of more than 20 books on technology topics, including two books on Windows Vista, one previous book on Windows 7, and many print and online articles on Windows Vista and Windows 7 for Maximum PC print and online editions and InformIT.com. Mark has also contributed to Special Edition Using and In Depth books on Windows versions from Me and XP through Windows 7 and has also written and coauthored three A+ Certification books. Mark also has 20 years of consumer and corporate training experience in Windows, application software, networking, and hardware upgrading and repair.

Introduction     1

1   Getting Started with Windows 7     5

Logging In to Windows 7     5

Using the Start Menu     7

Searching for Files and Programs     14

Using the Password Reset Disk     19

Working with Jump Lists     21

Shut Down and Other Options     26

2   Managing Your Desktop     29

Working with the Taskbar and Jump Lists      29

Personalizing Your Desktop with Themes     32

Saving a New Theme    42

Adjusting Screen Resolution     43

Configuring Additional Displays     45

Adding Programs (Gadgets) to the Desktop     46

Summary     48

3   Working with Libraries     49

Windows 7’s Libraries     49

Adding a Folder to a Library     50

Viewing, Sorting, and Grouping Folders and Files     52

Learning More About a File     66

Managing Your Library     68

4   Enjoying Photos and Media      71

Windows 7 Media Tools     71

Starting Windows Photo Viewer     71

Using Windows Photo Viewer     73

Printing a Picture     81

Using Windows Media Player     83

Using Windows Media Center     91

5   Managing Devices and Printers     101

Accessing Devices and Printers     101

Managing Devices     103

Managing Printers and Faxes     114

Installing or Removing a Device or Printer     118

Troubleshooting a Device     119

Viewing Device Properties     120

6   Connecting to a Wireless Network     123

Checking Your System for Wireless Network Support     123

Troubleshooting Network Adapter Problems     126

Viewing Available Wireless Networks     128

Connecting to a Wireless Network.     130

Configuring Network Location Settings     135

Managing Wireless Connections     136

7   Browsing the Web Faster and More Securely with IE8     143

Starting Internet Explorer 8     143

Changing Your Home Page     144

Selecting Search Providers     145

Using Compatibility View     147

Revisiting Websites More Quickly     148

Using InPrivate Browsing     149

Creating and Using New Tabs     150

Closing a Tab     152

Saving a Tab Group as a Favorite     154

Making a Tab Group Your Home Page     155

Opening a Tab Group     156

8   Creating and Using a Homegroup     159

Understanding Homegroups       159

Setting the Network Location to Home     159

Creating a Homegroup     162

Adding Other Windows 7 PCs to a Homegroup     163

Using Files and Printers on Other Homegroup Computers     165

Changing Sharing Settings     167

Changing Homegroup Settings     168

Leaving a Homegroup.     175

9   Connecting to Other Windows Computers     177

Viewing Computers Running Older Versions of Windows     177

Connecting to Windows XP—Based PCs     179

Opening Shared Folders     185

Adding a Shared Printer to Your Printer Menu     186

Printing to a Shared Printer     188

10   Using Windows Backup     191

Understanding Windows Backup     191

Using Windows Backup     191

Running Your First Backup     192

Creating a System Repair Disc     197

Restoring Files and Testing Your Backup     199

11 Using Action Center     203

Understanding Action Center     203

Starting Action Center      203

The Action Center Interface     205

Launching Troubleshooters from Action Center     209

Index     213