Instructor: David Park

Introduction to Computers and the Windows Operating System

Aug/27/08

Agenda

What is a computer?What is an operating system? The Windows ScreenStarting and shutting down your computerThe mouse according to WindowsOpening and closing programsMenu bars and Tool BarsCut/Copy and PasteFurther study

What is a personal computer

Screen

Box, tower, etc.

motherboard

hard drive

floppy drive

CD-ROM/DVD

Keyboard and mouse

Peripherals

Operating system

Program used to control computer, link between user and internal working of computer and programs

Windows vs. Mac vs. Linux

Windows

Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, NT, XP,Vista?

Desktop and icons

Task bar

Start button

Programs

Starting your computer

Before starting your computer make sure you do not have a diskette in your A drive

To start your computer just turn on the power switch or power bar (the computer will take a few minutes to go through its initialization procedure and you will eventually see your desktop and icons)

If this does not happen check that your monitor (i.e. screen ) is on.

Starting your computer, cont.

If computer was shut improperly, you may see a screen saying Windows would like to check your files for errors.

It may then say it has found an error and ask if it should fix the error. You will probably want to tell it to fix the error and skip the undo disk and next time try to do a proper shutdown

Shutting down your computer

Windows is very finicky about being shut down properly (do not just shut the power off)Move your cursor to start button and clickClick on the radio button beside Shut downClick on OK buttonWAIT (Windows will go through an elaborate process of making sure all programs are shut down. You will then see a Windows screen and eventually a black screen with the words “It’s now safe to turn off your computer”)

Shutting down your computer, cont.

You may now turn off the power button/bar.

In some cases when Windows cannot finish it’s shutdown sequence, your may have to shut down by restarting or shutting off the power before Windows is ready.

Restarting your computer

Sometimes your computer will start doing funny things or your mouse will stop working

Try ALT + CTL + DELETE

If you see a program is not responding, you can try to highlight that program and press the “End Task” button.

If nothing happens try ALT + CTL + DELETE again. This will restart your computer

Restarting your computer, cont.

If your mouse is working you can click on Start button, click on Shutdown but click on the radio button beside Restart and your computer will restart

Useful if your modem stops functioning.

Mouse

Pointing device that moves pointer or cursorPoint and click (tip of the arrow is the point)Left and right buttons Start programs - 1 click vs 2 clicksHighlight text (click and drag)Practice makes perfect

Cursor Types

Arrow

Busy

Text

Double arrow

Hand

Scrolling pages

MouseClick on up and down arrows

orClick on top of and below that darker box without touching the box

orClick and drag the darker box

Keyboard (make sure cursor is on page by clicking on empty space)

Use arrow keysUse page up, page down, home and end

Opening ProgramsIf on desktop as icon, double click on icon. If does not open press “Enter” key.Click on “Start” button, Move cursor up to “Programs”. After menu on the right appears move cursor over to menu and up or down to required program. Click on programIf program has been minimized and appears on task bar, click on square representing program.

Closing programs

Click on the X icon in the top right hand corner of the window

orPut your cursor on File in menu bar and click, then move cursor down the drop-down menu to the bottom to word “Quit” or “Exit” or “Close”. Click on the word

orHold down the Alt key and press F4.

Minimize window

Enlarge Screen

Close Program

Title bar

Menu barTool bar

Format bar

Status barTask bar

Start button

Using Menu Bars

All Windows programs have a menu bar and everything you can do with that program will be available from one of the drop-down menus

Place tip of the cursor on the word in Menu bar and click. Move cursor down drop-down menu to action you want to perform and click.

If item has an arrow pointing to the right move cursor to the right to see the submenu.

Menu items common to most Windows programs

File (includes New file, open file, save and print functions)Edit (includes Find and Cut, Copy and Paste)View (allows you to change the look of screen by adding and subtracting bars like tool bar)Tools (most programs but program specific)Window (allows you arrange windows and choose between different files)Help used to give help in program’s functions and gives version no. for troubleshooting purposes

Cut/Copy and PastePlace your cursor at the beginning of the text you would like to cut or copy, click with left-hand button keeping the button down.Move the cursor to right to highlight the section or words you want to copy (move cursor down to get whole paragraph or page)When the text you wanted to copy or move is highlighted, let go of the mouse buttonIf you highlight too much text, do not let go of the button but adjust the cursor until you have the right amount of text. If you let go, start over by clicking anywhere that is not a link and start over.

Cut/Copy and Paste, cont.Move cursor to Edit in Menu bar and move down the drop down menu until you reach “Cut” or “Copy” and click (“Cut” will remove the text and “Copy” will leave it where it is)Move the cursor to the area of the document or file where you would like to put the text and click making sure the blinking cursor is where you want the text to beMove cursor to Edit in Menu bar and move down drop down menu until you reach Paste and click

Using Tool BarsIcons which represent frequently used actionsPlace tip of cursor in middle of icon and clickOpening files, printing, and saving files are common in tool barsIf you do not know what an icon signifies, move cursor over the icon and wait for a couple of seconds and a brief description will appear.If do not need tool bar (all actions available from Menu bar) can get rid of tool bar by clicking on “View” in Menu bar

Further study – Internet sites

Computer training tutorialshttp://www.ckls.org/~crippel/computerlab/tutorials/index.htmlUsing computers http://www.elmlane.com/usingcomputers/index.aspIntroduction to using computers

http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/Learning Windowshttp://plugandwork.com/winhelp.htm http://www.eiu.edu/~mediasrv/win95_tut/win95menu.htm