Unit 3

Working with Computers

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

Describe computer booting and shutdown/bootstrap loader Use Keyboard and mouse Start and quit applicationsWorking and describing a windows environment Use the help function Use the print management/print screenUse Windows Explorer Work with Files and Folders Search for files and FoldersDescribe Removable media/network storage Utilizing windows accessoriesApply multitasking Use systems tools (Disk cleanup, defragmentation)

Learning Objectives

When the computer is switched on for the first time, it performs a series of tests. These tests are not seen by the user – they in fact run in the background

When all tests have been completed the computer loads the operating system into main memory and prepares the computer for use.

Computer Booting and Shutdown

Once all the tests are done, the computer is now ready for use, the window below shows the boot program loading the operating system into main memory.

Computer Booting and Shutdown cont....

Once the operating system is fully loaded, the user can now make full use of the computer. Windows 8 functionality and feel is totally different from those of Windows 7 and XP,

The first window the user sees is the ‘START Window’, like the example below.

Computer Booting and Shutdown cont.…

Before we learn how to go about in Windows, we need to understand the tools that make this possible:

The keyboard and mouse are devices that are used to interact with the computer, we use them to tell the computer what to do and to assist in selecting items on the screen.

You navigate around the screen using your mouse, either up, down, left or right.

The proper term for moving around in a document in this way is scrolling. A computer mouse usually controls a pointer on the screen that responds or moves when the mouse is moved.

Using Keyboard and mouse

The keyboard is the second major input device on the computer, it contains keys that represent

different characters, from letters to numbers to other numerical characters a standard keyboard can have between 83 and 109 keys. Most keyboards with these number of keys use a layout referred to as QWERTY, this is the arrangement of the alphabetical characters on the keyboard. This system was

originally used by an inventor known as Christopher Sholes to prevent keys from jamming. The image below shows the most popular layout, but in a virtual form.

The Keyboard

The picture below is that of a virtual keyboard,

A virtual keyboard is either projected onto a plane surface such as your desk or it can be activated on your screen if your computer has touch screen abilities.

The Keyboard cont.…

The keyboard can be used to create documents, as is the case with traditional typewriters, but it can also be used to switch certain functions on or off. The table below gives a brief overview of some of these keys and their functions

…The Keyboard

Depending whether you are right handed or left handed, you can configure the mouse to suit your needs. Follow the steps below to configure your mouse:1. Click the window button on your keyboard2. Scroll to the right with your mouse3. Click on Control panel Ease of access Change how your mouse works4. You can change the appearance of your mouse by selecting either of

the ‘Mouse pointer’ designs.5. To change the use of your mouse from right handed to a left handed

individual for instance or vice versa, click mouse settings In the Button configuration click either right handed or left handed.

6. Also you can change the speed of how your mouse responds to your requests.

The mouse

The mouse cont.…

Left Click Right Click

Wheel

• The Right Click is used to access many of the functions available on the menu bar, access undisclosed features of a certain object, formatting a picture et.

• The Left click allows the user to access and navigate around within Windows.

• The wheel simplifies the way a user moves up and down within an application

As mentioned earlier Windows 8 has totally different features from that of Windows 7 and XP.

For starters, the start screen has all the applications, that you will need to access – all in one place

You are able to access all the applications from the START window.

To get back to Start – move your mouse pointer all the way into the lower-left corner of the screen and click the Start button.

From here onwards – everything else is essentially similar to that of windows 7 except for minor changes here and there.

Working in Windows 8

One of the minor changes is that Windows 8 does not have the start button. To access your applications, you need to scroll up or down within the Start screen.

Else you can click either to the left or to the right in the scroll bar at the bottom of the Start screen to find the different applications as mentioned earlier.

If the user is busy within an application such as Word, and now wish to open PowerPoint - click the windows logo key + D on your keyboard. You will be directed back to the SRART screen where you can then choose a different application .

To return to the application you were busy with – click on desktop.

Working in Windows 8

Working in Windows 8.…

• The MS Suite applications are all on the ‘Start Window’

• As is all the Windows System and Windows Accessories

• To access other Apps other than the ones that are shown in the picture here – right click on the Start Window, click on the Apps button in right hand corner and more Apps will be displayed.

The help function is there to assist the user whenever there is something unclear within the application

The hotkey generally used to bring up the help menu for an application is F1 (situated at the top left corner of your keyboard)

When the help dialogue box pops up, you can search for a specific topic and it will show links to related results.

Using the help function

Screen shots or print screens can assist you to display information visually, a screen shot captures whatever is displayed on your computer screen. There are two main ways of taking a screen shot.

 1) By pressing the PRT SCR key (PRINT SCREEN KEY) this key allows you to

take a picture of everything that is displayed on the screen

2) By pressing the combination keys ALT+PRT SCR this combination takes a picture of only the active window or application

we shall demonstrate by opening the following applications, search and open wordpad and calculator. Minimise wordpad and leave the calculator open on the screen.

1) Press the PRT SCR key 2) Click on the minimised wordpad application3) Right click on the white area4) Select paste5) The window on the next slide will be shown

Print Management/Print Screen

…Print Management/Print Screen

We have taken a picture of the entire window, we can repeat the same procedure, this time we can use the combination ALT+PRT SCR instead of PRT SCR only. The result will be the window shown below

…Print Management/Print Screen

Windows explorer is an application in Windows that allows the browsing, editing, copying, deleting, moving, etc. on files and folders. You will use this application most of the time while working with files and folders.

Windows explorer can also be found on the ‘Start Screen’ of Windows 8

Windows Explorer

Windows explorer has taken a new step in aspects of layout in comparison to previous versions of windows.

First notice is what we call the Ribbon The Ribbon is a categorising method to enhance

the users ability to find what they are looking for and highlight it faster.

The Ribbon has been included in other applications prior to the launch of windows 8 such as Microsoft Office 2007, 2010 an 2013.

Windows explorer cont..

Windows Explorer cont..

On the let hand side you will find all the main location of your computer neatly listed with a drop down list of items that these locations contain.

On the right hand side you will find a preview panel which shows the content of the item selected on the left hand panel.

The Ribbon at the top of the window, also highlights most common locations in the windows environment.

Windows Explorer cont..

The operating system of a machine saves the information in what are called folders. Folders will contain files. These files are the actual data and information that we use and see. E.g. of files are music, videos, pictures, documents, executable programs.

Folders are file containers. Folders that are within another folder are called sub-folders.

To differentiate between folders and files, you will be able to see the images on the next slide.

Working with Files and Folders

Working with Files and Folders cont..

Folders can be created, renamed, moved, copied and deleted all in a few clicks or a press of a keyboard button.

To do any of the above mentioned options navigate to the folder you want to edit and right click on the folder once. A drop down menu should appear with various options.

Renaming a folder will require you to type in the name of the folder as soon as you chose to rename it.

Copying and cutting options both require you to paste the folder in a desired location by right clicking and selecting paste.

The main difference between cutting and copying is that cutting a folder or file means you are moving that file from a location to another. Copying however is when you make a duplicate of the file in a different location but keeping the original file in its original location.

Working with Files and Folders cont.

To create a folder follow the following steps:  1) Go to the location were you want to create the folder, in our case we want to create the folder on the desktop

…Working with Files and Folders

2) Right click on the desktop and a drop-down menu pops up.

…Working with Files and Folders

3) Select [new ] from the drop down menu

4) Select folder

…Working with Files and Folders

5) Enter a name for your folder

Note that you can create sub folders (folders within folders) by open the folder by double clicking on it and following the five steps to create folders with the original folder.

…Working with Files and Folders

Searching for a file or folder is somewhat easier in windows 8 than previous Windows versions.

Simply open your start screen and start typing out the file or folder name and windows will return all relevant files or folders.

Alternatively, you can navigate to a folder using Explorer, clicking in the top right search field and then typing in the name of the file/folder you are looking for within that folder you navigated to.

Searching for files and Folders

Searching for files and Folders cont..

Sometimes you might need to move files between computers, one of the easiest ways of doing this is with the use of flash drives. Flash drives are portable with the advances in storage technology they are able to hold large amounts of data.

One can also use external hard disk drives to move data between computers, hard disk drives tend to be a bit bulkier but there are small ones that can be tucked away neatly in a shirt pocket.

Flash drives and External drives are regarded as removable storage, they can be connected and removed quickly from the system.

When you connect a drive to the computer the system will open a AutoPlay dialogue box like the one shown on the next slide

Removable media/network storage

Removable media/network storage cont..

Alternatively, one can also click on the My computer icon the left pane in explorer window, to view the contents of the removable drives. Once you clicked the removable drive, its contents will be shown on the right panel in the window.

Removable media/network storage cont..

 

Removing a removable drive from the computer When you want to move the removable drive to another computer you have to disconnect it first. Pulling out the drive without connecting it properly causes irreparable damage to the drive.  The steps to follow to disconnect the drive from the computer are highlighted below:  1) Click on the removable drive remove button in the bottom right hand corner of your screen the button is a icon with a Grey part that looks like the end of a USB cable and a green circle with a white tick mark.  

2) Click on the button 3) The removable devices connected to the system will be shown,

4) click on the drive that you want to remove

5) Once you have selected the drive to remove the system will display the message below. It is now safe to remove the drive and it can be removed from the system

…Removable media/network storage

A mentioned earlier – all the windows accessories are within the Start Window under Apps as below:

Windows accessories

Having multiple windows open at the same time is an important part of being efficient.

If you have more than one application open, your desktop could look like this

Multitasking

Switching windows with Alt + Tab If you like to have a lot of programs open at once,

it's a good idea to understand how your program windows are organized on the taskbar and how you can quickly sort through them. Learning to manage multiple windows makes it easier to get to a window quickly and to arrange open windows in a way that makes the most sense to you

To open or see your multiple windows – press and hold Alt + tap Tab till you get to the open window you wish to access

Multitasking

Cascading all open applications

Hard disk drives can become cluttered over time, this can result in a decrease in the hard drives efficiency, to counter this windows has a utility called disk defragmentation. This utility organizes files on the hard disk so that access times are improved.The utility can be found by searching Disk Defragmenter at the start screen.

Systems Tools(Disk cleanup, defragmenter)

To start the process click on Defragment disk, the window below will be shown to show that the process is busy, you can still continue with your work while the system is busy.

If you want to stop the process you can stop it by clicking on “Stop operation”

…Systems Tools(Disk defragmenter)

Another useful utility is the is Disk Cleanup utility, it removes unneeded temporary files and clears the recycle bin to free up space on the disk. To access it click start-accessories-system tools-disk cleanup the window below will be shown

…Systems Tools(Disk cleanup)

The system will calculate the amount of space that can be made available if you want to proceed click on “Clean up system files”

…Systems Tools(Disk cleanup)

The process will start when you click on the the “Clean up system files”

…Systems Tools(Disk cleanup)

The process will start it will request you to allow it to delete the identified files

…Systems Tools(Disk cleanup)

The window below will appear to show the progress, when it is done it will close automatically

We hope that you have found this unit rewarding and interesting read through any unit that you do not understand clearly yet. If you are comfortable with all the content attempt the end of unit task.

…Systems Tools(Disk cleanup)