Windows 10 Tips and Tricks (includes Content Update Program)

Guy Hart-Davis is the author of Android Tips and Tricks and more than 100 other computer books.

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