PCsALL-IN-ONE

6th edition

by Mark L. Chambers

FOR

DUMffiSS

Table of Contents

Introduction /What's Really Required 1

What's Not Required 2About This Book 2

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Stuff that you type..' 2Menu commands 3

Display messages 3How This Book Is Organized 3

Book I: Getting Started with PCs 3

Book II: Windows 8 3Book III: The Internet 3

Book IV: PC Troubleshooting and Maintenance 4

BookV: Office 2013 4

Book VI: Fun with Movies, Music, and Photos 4

Book VII: Upgrading and Supercharging 4Book VIII: Home Networking 4

Book K: Gaming 4Icons Used in This Book 5

Book 1: Getting Started With PCs 7

Chapter 1: Starting with the Basics 9

Basic Terms 10Hardware 10

Software 10

Peripherals 12

The Common Components of a Desktop PC 13The computer

~

13

The monitor 15The keyboard and mouse 16

Speakers 18

Desktop PCs versus Mobile PCs 18RAM and Processors: The Keys to Performance 19

Your Friend, Your Operating System 21

X PCs Mtin-One For dummies, 6th Edition

Chapter 2: Additional Toys Your PC Will Enjoy 23

Printers 24

Inkjet versus laser printers 24

Photo printers 25

Label printers 26

Scanners 27

Keyboards, Tablets, and Pointing Things 28

Tickling keys wirelessly 29

Putting a graphics tablet to work 30

Repeat after me: Buy a trackball! 30

Big-Time Game Controllers 31

Video and Digital Cameras 32

External Drives 33

Portable hard drives and DVD/Blu-Ray recorders 34

Backup drives 35

USB flash drives 36

Surge Protectors and UPS Units 36

Chapter 3: Connectors, Ports, and Sundry Openings 39

Using USB Stuff 39

Making the FireWire Connection 41

Riding in the Fast Lane with eSATA and Thunderbolt 42

Your Fossilized Serial Port 42

The Once-Renowned Parallel Port 43

Meet Your Video Port 44

Audio Connectors You Likely Need 45

Keyboard and Mouse Ports on Parade 47

Book U: Windows 8 M

Chapter 1: Shake Hands with Windows 8 51

A Windows 8 Primer 51

Why Windows 8, anyway? 52

Flavors a la Windows 52

Upgrade or clean install 53

System requirements for the Big 8 53

Starting and Shutting Down Windows 8 55

Shutting down completely 55

Restarting your PC 57

Using sleep mode 57

Multiuser options 57

Your Windows 8 Controls 58

Icons 59

Tiles 60

That constantly changing cursor 60

The Start screen 60

4

Tabte of Contents XI

The Desktop and taskbar 62Menus and the Ribbon 63

Using Bill's Funky Keys 65The Windows keys 66The Shortcut key 67Other important keys 67

Using the Windows 8 Help System 68Displaying Help 68

Searching for specific help 69Yelling for assistance 71

Chapter 2: The Many Windows of Windows 73

Managing Windows Means Productivity 73Opening and closing windows 74

Scrolling windows 75Minimizing and restoring windows 77

Maximizing and restoring windows 78Moving windows 79Resizing windows 79Switching windows 79

A Field Guide to Icons 80Hardware icons 82Program icons 83File icons 83Folder icons 84Shortcut icons 84Tile icons 87System icons 87

Selecting Icons 87Selecting a single icon 88Selecting multiple contiguous icons by dragging 88Selecting multiple contiguous icons by clicking 88Selecting multiple separated icons by clicking 88

Using the Toolbar 88

Chapter 3: Windows 8 Basics 91

Running Applications from the Start Screen 92Running Applications from Your Hard Drive 93Running Applications from Your Optical Drive 94Running Applications from a Network Drive 95

Exiting a Program 96Putting Your Files in Order 98

Copying and moving stuff 99Creating a new folder 100

Deleting stuff with mouse and keyboard 100Displaying properties 101

Renaming items 102

Xli PCs Att-in-One For dummies, 6th Edition

Emptying the Recycle Bin 102

Recovering Items from the Recycle Bin 103

Putting the Start Screen through Its Paces 104

Adding a tile 104

Deleting a tile 105

Resizing tiles 105

Choosing a Start screen background and color 106

Choosing an account picture 107

Changing system settings 107

Searching for files, apps, and settings 107

Adding and Using Printers 108

Handling the Taskbar 111

Switching programs Ill

Controlling the notification area Ill

Adding icons to the taskbar 112

Configuring the taskbar 113

Terminating a Program with Prejudice 114

Chapter 4: Advanced Windows 8 117

Personalizing Your Desktop 118

Changing the background 118

Using themes 120

Changing system sounds 120

Downloading Apps from the Windows Store 121

Switching Views and Sorting Items 124

Don't Forget the Preview Pane! 125

What's This Stuff in the My Users Folder? 126

A Word about Libraries 128

Share the Documents...

and Other Stuff 129

Using the Windows 8 Sharing Charm 130

Syncing devices with Windows 8 131

Using Your HomeGroup 132

Creating a Shortcut 134

Multiuser Operation For Dummies 135

Signing in 135

Be my guest 137

Fax Me, Please 137

Setting up faxing under Windows 8 137

Sending faxes 139

Doing the Multimedia Thing 140

Playing your MP3 files 140

Viewing and downloading digital photographs 141

Recording your own CDs 143

Watching a DVD movie 143

•««

Table of Contents XIII

Chapter 5: Taking Control of the Control Panel 145

The Control Panel at a Glance 146Configuring the Date and Time 148

Date and Time tab 148Additional Clocks tab 149The Internet Time tab 149

Changing Personalization Settings 150Theme 150Desktop background 151Sounds 152Screen saver 152

Adjusting Display Settings 153

Choosing AutoPlay Options 154Adjusting the Power Options 155

Tweaking the Keyboard 157The Speed tab 158The Hardware tab 158

Adjusting Thy Mouse 158Configuring Internet Options 159

The General tab 160The Security tab 162The Privacy tab 163The Content tab 164The Connections tab 165The Programs tab 165The Advanced tab 167

Uninstalling and Repairing Programs and Features 167

Fine-Tuning User Accounts 169

Book 111: The Internet 171

Chapter 1: Making Sense of the Internet 173

Exactly What Is the Internet, Anyway? 174

Exploring the Potential of the Web 175Surf the Web 176Build a website 177

Blogging 177E-mail and instant messaging 178FTP file transfer 179

Newsgroups 180Webcams and web videoconferencing 181

Enjoy digital media over the Internet 181

JP/V PCs All-in-One For Dummies, 6th Edition

Understanding Internet Connections 182

Dialup connections 182

DSL connections 182

Cable modem connections 183

Satellite connections 184

"What Exactly Do I Need?" 184

Chapter 2: Adding an Internet Connection to Windows 8 187

Gathering the Account Incantations 187

Making the Physical Connection 189

Creating a New Dialup Connection in Windows 8 189

Creating a New DSL, Satellite, or Cable Connection in Windows 8 191

"Is My Connection Alive?" 192

"My Connection Appears to Be Dead" 193

Chapter 3: Protecting Your Internet Privacy 195

What Can Really Happen? 195

Common Sense Goes a Long Way 197

Passwords 197

Risky behavior 198

E-mail 201

Using the Built-in Windows 8 Firewall 201

Using Antivirus Software 204

Chapter 4: Cruising the Web with Internet Explorer 10 207

Running Internet Explorer 10 207

The Explorer Window(s) and Basic Controls 208

More buttons for your buck 212

Finding a home page 215

Navigating the Web 216

Simplifying surfing with Favorites 216

Adding a web tile to your Start screen 220

Searching for the hay in the needlestack 221

Doing the Tab thing 222

Downloading Files 223

Keeping Track of Where You've Been 224

Printing and Saving Web Pages 226

Putting the web in print 226

Saving the best (for last) 227

Chapter 5: Harnessing Your E-Mail 229

Introducing the Mail Window 230

Setting Up Your Mailbox 233

The Three R's: Receiving, Reading, and Replying 235

Ta&te of Contents

Receiving e-mail 235

Reading e-mail 236Replying to and forwarding e-mail 237To Bcc, or not to Bcc 238E-mail housekeeping: Deleting and filing 239

Creating and Sending E-Mail 240

Formatting a message 241

Creating and sending a draft 242

Message tricks and tips 242Sending and Receiving File Attachments 244

Spam: I Hate It — Truly I Do! 245Working with Your Contacts 247

Book IV: PC Troubleshooting and Maintenance........... 251

Chapter 1: Easy PC Troubleshooting 253

Relax and Breathe Easy 253The Troubleshooting Process, Step by Step 255Drastic Things That You Won't Do Often 262

Using System Recovery Options 262

Refreshing, resetting, and reinstalling 263HELP!: Additional Troubleshooting Resources 265

The Windows 8 Help system 265Microsoft tech support 265The Microsoft website 265

Chapter 2: Maintaining Windows 8 267Device Manager: The Hardware Tool 267

Checking Your Hard Drives in Windows 8 270

Defragmenting Just Plain Rocks 272Be Smart: Back Up Your Stuff 275Safeguarding Your System with System Restore 280Have at Thee, Foul Virus! 282Using Windows Defender 284Using Safe Mode 286

Using Windows Update 287The fully automatic way 287The (somewhat) manual way 287

Chapter 3: Maintaining Your Hardware 291

When Should You Move Your PC? 291

Avoiding Dust Bunnies 292Watching Your Cables 294

Xl/i PCs Att-in-One For Dummies, 6th Edition

Cleaning Monitors and Scanners 294

Cleaning Your Mouse and Keyboard 295

Cleaning and Maintaining Your Printer 296

Cleaning laser printers 297

Changing inkjet cartridges 297

Calibrating your printer 299

Cleaning inkjet cartridges 300

Refilling inkjet cartridges 301

Book V: Office 2013 . .... 303

Chapter 1: Introducing Office 2013 305

The Components of Office 2013 306

Word 2013 306

Excel 2013 308

PowerPoint 2013 309

Access 2013 311

Outlook 2013 312

Putting the Office Clipboard to Work 313

Using the Office Help System 314

Displaying the Help system 314

The Help controls of justice 314

Chapter 2: Using Word 317

Running Word 318

The Elements of Word 318

A Word about Views 321

Draft view 322

Outline view 322

Print Layout view 323

Web Layout view 323

Reading view 323

Typing, Selecting, and Editing Text 324

Typing like the wind 324

Selecting what you will 325

Editing text in Word 326

Finding and Replacing Stuff 327

Building Tables 329

Adding Bulleted and Numbered Lists 332

Adjusting Tabs and Margins 333

Setting margins with the ruler 334

Setting margins from the Ribbon 335

Setting tabs with the ruler 336

Setting tabs from the Ribbon 336

Table of Contents XtfH

Applying Formatting 337

Font formatting 337

Paragraph formatting 339

AutoFormatting 340

Adding Graphics 342

Doing the Collaboration Thing 343

Using revision marks 343

Using comments 344

Using highlighting 345

Printing Your Document 346

Creating Web Pages with Word 347

Chapter 3: Putting Excel to Work 349

Running Excel 350

Waltzing Around the Excel Window 350

Selecting, Entering, and Editing Cell Data 352

Filling a cell to the top 353

Moving around the worksheet 353

Selecting cells the easy way 354

Editing cell contents 356

Working with Numbers and Dates 356

Working with Rows and Columns 358

Resizing rows and columns 359

Inserting blank cells 360

Inserting cells from the Clipboard 360

Inserting rows and columns 361

Formatting in Excel 361

Font formatting 361

Cell alignment 362

Changing borders and shading 363

The Basics of Excel Formulas 365

Working with Graphics in Excel 368

Adding a Chart 370

Linking Cells 373

Adding Headers and Footers 373

Printing Your Worksheets 375

Chapter 4: Performing with PowerPoint 377

Getting Your Bearings in PowerPoint 378

Changing Views 380

Normal view 380

Slide Sorter view 381

Notes Page view 382

Reading view 382

Outline view 383

Slide Show 383

jtViti PCs All-in-One For dummies, 6th Edition

Creating Slides 383

Inserting slides 384

Inserting a document 386

Typing, Selecting, and Editing Text 386

Adding text 386

Moving within text fields 387

Selecting text and objects 388

Editing text 389

Moving slide elements 390

Installing Graphics in Your Slides 390

Applying a Theme 392

Entering Notes 394

Using Movies and Sound 395

Building and Running a Slide Show 397

Making a Transition 'twixt Slides 399

Using Package for CD 400

Printing Your Document 402

Chapter 5: Doing Database Magic with Access 405

Running Access 406A Quick Tour of the Access Window 407

Creating Access Tables 408

Creating a Form with the Wizard 410

Entering and Editing Fields Manually 414

Printing Your Data 415

Chapter 6: Staying in Touch with Outlook 417

Running Outlook 418

Elements of the Outlook Window 418

Configuring Your Mail Account 420

Reading and Replying to E-Mail 422

Composing and Sending Messages 426

Using File Attachments 427

Keeping Track of Your Contacts 429

Entering a contact 430

Editing a contact 432

Using the Outlook Calendar 432

Creating an appointment 433

Displaying today's appointments in Outlook 435

Printing within Outlook 435

Chapter 7: Working with SkyDrive 437

Answers to Your Online Storage Queries 437

Signing In to SkyDrive 438

Marking Your Own Territory and Adding Files 440

Saving Files within Office Applications 443

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Table of Contents XIX

Book VI: Fun tfith Moi/ies, Music, and Photos 445

Chapter 1: Scanning with Gusto 447

What Happens inside a Scanner? 447Your Friend, the Flatbed 448Popular Scanner Features 451Basic Scanning with Windows Photo Gallery 451

Acquiring the image 452Rotating and cropping images 454

Scanning Do's and Don'ts 457Those Irritating (Or Invaluable) Copyrights 458

Chapter 2: Dude, MP3 Rocks! 461

An MP3 Primer 461Ripping Your Own MP3 Files 463Listening to Your Stuff 466

Downloading to an MP3 Player 469Using Other Sound Formats 469

WAV format 470WMA format 470AAC format 470AU format 470AIFF format 471MIDI format 471

Burning Audio CDs from MP3 Files 471

Chapter 3: Making Movies with Your PC 475

Getting the Lowdown on Windows Movie Maker 475Rounding Up Clips and Images 477Building Your First Movie 479Adding Transitions without Breaking a Sweat 480Adding Special Effects without Paying George Lucas 481Adding Sound 483You've Just Gotta Have Titles! 484Previewing Your Oscar-Winning Work 485Saving and Sharing Before Traveling to Cannes 485

Creating a digital video file 486

Sharing your masterpiece on YouTube 486

Chapter 4: I'm Okay, You're a Digital Camera 487

How Does a Digital Camera Work? 488The Pros and Cons of Digital Photography 490

Digital Camera Extras to Covet 493External card readers 493

Rechargeable batteries 494

XX PCs Att-in-One For dummies, 6th Edition

Lenses 494

Tripods 495

The Lazy Man's Guide to Composing Photographs 495

The rule of thirds 496

The rule of asymmetry 497

Organizing Your Pictures 500

Downloading Your Images 500

Book (/ll: Upgrading and Supercharging 505

Chapter 1: Determining What to Upgrade 507

Making Performance Upgrades: CPU, Motherboard, and Memory 508

Upgrading your CPU and motherboard 508

Adding memory 509

Expansion Upgrades: eSATA, USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, and FireWire 510

Making Storage Upgrades: Internal and External Drives 511

Adding a hard drive 511

Adding a recorder 512

Making Sound and Video Upgrades: Sound and Video Cards 512

Sound cards on parade 512

Deciding which video card is right for you 513

Chapter 2: Adding RAM to Your Hot Rod 515

Defining the Different Types of RAM 515

DDR 516

DDR2 516

DDR3 516

RDRAM 516

SDRAM,

516

Figuring Out Which Type of RAM to Buy 517

Deciding How Much RAM Is Enough 518

Installing Extra RAM 519

Chapter 3: Adding Hard Drive Territory to Your System 523

The Tale of Virtual Memory 523

Recognizing a Well-Dressed Hard Drive 526

Size definitely matters 526

How fast is your access? 526

What does rpm have to do with hard drives? 526

Internal versus External Storage 527

Adding a Second Internal Hard Drive 528

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Table of Contents XXI

Chapter 4: Partying with USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt,and eSATA 535

A Tale of Four Fine Ports 536Comparing USB ports 536The two flavors of FireWire 538Putting internal on the outside with eSATA 538The power user port of choice: Thunderbolt 539

Or Do You Just Need a Hub? 539Installing a Port Card 540

Chapter 5: Pumping Up Your Sound and Video 545Sound Card Features to Covet 545

3D spatial imaging 546Surround sound support 546MP3 encoding support 547

SP/DIF ports 547Game and FireWire ports 547MIDI ports 547

Shopping for a Monster Graphics Card 548Just say, "PCI Express" 548

Exploring the differences between chipsets 549Other video card features that you'll want 549

Installing Sound and Video Cards 551

Book (/111: Home NeWork'mq 555

Chapter 1: Do I Really Need a Network? 557

Discovering the Advantages of a Network 558File transfer 558Sharing that-there Internet 559One word: Games! 559Shared documents and applications 560

What Can I Connect To? 561What Hardware Do I Need? 562What Software Do I Need? 563

Chapter 2: Ethernet to the Rescue 565

A Quickie Ethernet Primer 566The Hardware You Need 567

Cables 567Switches 569NICs 569

Doing the Cable Dance 570

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Configuring Windows 8 for Your Network 571

Ah, sweet DHCP 571

Browsing the neighborhood 576

Sharing folders and documents 577

Printing across the Network 579

Using a Standard Switch with a Cable or DSL Modem 579

Troubleshooting Your Network 580

Windows 8 doesn't recognize my NIC 580

No lights show up on my network card(s) or switch 581

Nothing shows up when I browse 582

I can't connect (or print) to a shared printer 582

Chapter 3: Going Wireless 583

Understanding Wireless Networking 583

Comparing wireless with wired 584

Keeping track of the standards involved 584

AC and phoneline networking 589

Using Wireless Hardware in Windows 8 591

Preparing to install 591

After the installation 592

Making the connection 593

Chapter 4: Sharing Your Internet Connection 595

Why Share Your Internet Connection? 595

Sharing through Hardware 596

Wired sharing devices 596

Wireless sharing devices 600

Sharing through Software in Windows 8 601

Chapter 5: Securing Your Home Network 605

Common Sense Tips for Wired Networks 605

Ensuring Security on Your Wireless Network 608

Using Shared Folders (the Right Way) 610

Knowing Why You Need NAT 611

Marveling at the Magic of Virtual Private Networking 612

Book VC: Gaming 617

Chapter 1: What's Different About a Gaming PC? 619

But First, the Gamer Disclaimer 619

Introducing the Big Three 620

Your PC's processor 620

Your PC's memory 621

Your PC's graphics card 622

« « «

Tiifcfe 0/ Contents KKIII

What Version of Windows Is Best for Gaming? 624Other Gaming Hardware that Pushes Performance 625

Fast hard drives 625External ports 626Sound hardware 627Heavy-duty cooling 627

Should I Overclock My Processors? 628

Chapter 2: Gaming Hardware That Helps You Win 631

Aren't All Controllers Created Equal? 631Not Your Average Keyboard and Mouse 634Great Gamers Demand In-Game Chatter 635Eye Candy for the Dedicated Gamer 637

Chapter 3: Software for Gamers 639

Gaming Through the Steam Cloud 639Comparing Hardware with Benchmarks 641

How do benchmarks work? 642Popular benchmark programs 642

Recording Those Epic Battles 644

Playing Games for Other Systems 645Game ROMs and binary files explained 646Are emulators legal? 647Top emulators for the PC 648

Chapter 4: Playing Milestone PC Games 651What Makes a Milestone Game? 651

Doing Your Gaming Homework 652Examples of Milestone Games 654

First-person: The Call of Duty franchise 654Turn-based: The Civilization franchise 654

Multiplayer online: The World of Warcraft franchise 655Simulation: The Tropico franchise 657Puzzles: The Microsoft Classics franchise 657

Index 661