INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS

Windows is a graphical user interface-based operating system (OS) developed and marketed by
Microsoft Corporation. It is an OS developed for desktop computers and is an improvement on
Windows 8.1. An operating system is the main software that supports and controls all the
hardware and other software on a computer. A computer without an operating system cannot
function. The operating system is loaded into memory when the computer is booted. It stays in
memory until the computer shuts down.

BOOTING
Booting is the process of turning on a computer. Booting is the process by which a computer or
other digital device loads its operating system and becomes ready to use. The booting process
typically begins when the computer is turned on or restarted.

There are two main types of booting: cold booting and warm booting.

1. Cold Booting: Cold booting, also known as a hard boot, is the process of starting a
computer from a completely powered off state. During a cold boot, the computer goes
through the entire booting process, starting with the POST and ending with the loading of
the operating system and its user interface. Cold booting is typically done when a computer
has been turned off or after a power outage or system failure.
2. Warm Booting: Warm booting, also known as a soft boot or a reboot, is the process of
restarting a computer while it is still powered on. During a warm boot, the computer skips
the POST and other hardware tests, and goes straight to the boot loader, which then loads
the operating system. Warm booting is typically done to restart the operating system or to
apply software updates or changes that require a restart.

In addition to cold and warm booting, there is also a concept called hibernation, which is a
hybrid of both.
In hibernation mode, the computer saves the current system state to the hard disk and then
powers down.
When the computer is turned on again, it restores the saved state and resumes operation.

WINDOWS: SALIENT FEATURES

• Graphical User Interface (GUI) – Items represented by pictures, which are
easier to remember.
• User friendly – Easier to learn and use.
• Multitasking – Facility to run more than one application at a time. For
e.g. You can type a letter while printing another one.
• Multithreading – Facility to transfer data between different applications. For e.g.
A cartoon can be inserted in a Letter or vice versa.
• Common Menus. For e.g. Same commands for printing in all software’s.
• Runs in protected mode – The protected mode ensures that the failure of any
one programme does not halt the computer.
• Faster processing (called 32 Bit processing) enhances system efficiency.
• Support for –LAN, Multimedia and Internet.
• On-Line Help facility.
• Windowing capability.
EXPLORING THE WINDOWS DESKTOP
Desktop is the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons and windows
appear. The desktop is what appears on the screen after a successful logon. The desktop can
contain icons, windows, the taskbar and other graphical items.
Parts of the Desktop

Icons: An icon is a graphical symbol or representation that represents a file, folder, program, or
application on a computer system. Icons are typically small, visually distinctive images that are
designed to quickly convey information about the item they represent.
Wallpaper: A wallpaper, also known as a desktop background, is an image or pattern that is
displayed on the desktop of a computer screen. Wallpapers can be either static images or
dynamic, animated backgrounds that change over time.
Start Button: This is the first button on the taskbar used to open the start menu. The Start menu
provides access to programs and files on your computer.
Search Box: The search box lets you execute searches on the Internet, and in Windows. After
typing in your search text, press Enter to open the highlighted file or program in the search
results. Task View: In Task View will list all current windows you are using on the desktop, and
you can select any to quickly open.
Taskbar Icons: A group of icons on taskbar to the right of the Task View, which can be used to
quickly launch the applications they denote.
Taskbar buttons: These are button on the taskbar which denote applications or windows that
are opened, and they allow users to switch between different open apps and programs.
Taskbar: It is a horizontal bar located at the bottom of the screen, and it provides quick access to
frequently used apps and programs, as well as system notifications and settings.
Notification Area: It is the right end of the taskbar where date/time, system notifications,
network icon, etc. are displayed. It is also called the system tray.
Action Center: The Action Center is a centralized location for managing notifications and
system settings. It can be accessed by clicking on the speech bubble icon in the notification area.
Mouse Pointer: This is the pointer arrow on the screen which you control with the mouse.

USING THE START MENU

The Start menu is a central location for accessing frequently used apps, documents, settings, and
more. It is accessed by clicking on the Start button on the left side of the taskbar. A Menu is a list
from which you can give an instruction by clicking a command. It can also be opened by
pressing the Windows logo key.

User Account: User Account section where you can find the active user account name and
picture. Click/tap on this and you can lock the screen, sign out from the account, or change the
account settings.
Documents/Pictures: This opens the file explorer for the documents or pictures folder on the
computer.
Settings: Clicking/tapping on this will open the Settings menu in a different window. From the
Settings menu, you can personalize your desktop, manage wired and wireless devices, set time
and language, set privacy options, update Windows, among others.
Power Button: The Power button where you can shut down, restart, or hibernate your device.
Recently Added: Shows the list of recently installed applications.
All Apps/Programs: All programs and apps installed in your computer will be listed in
alphabetical order, and you can launch the app or program by clicking/tapping on it.
Tiles: The “tiles” (tablet-style icons) that are shortcuts to folders or apps (usually Windows Store
apps or built-in Windows apps). Clicking/tapping on a tile launches the app. Some of these tiles
are “live” tiles, some are “static” tiles. Live tiles continuously display updated information from
the app (weather updates, latest news, stock market movement, etc.). Static tiles are just app
shortcuts.

USING THE MOUSE

The mouse is a handheld pointing device used to control the onscreen pointer and select items on
the screen. The mouse has three buttons, namely; the left mouse button, the right mouse button
and the mouse wheel. Depressing any of the mouse buttons is called clicking. The mouse
buttons can be used in any of the following ways:
 • Depressing the left mouse button is called left clicking. Left clicking allows us to select an
item.
• Depressing the right mouse button is called right clicking. Right clicking opens the context
menu.
• Depressing the left mouse button in two quick successions is called Double clicking.
Double clicking allows us to open a program, file or folder using it icon or shortcut on the
desktop.
• Depressing any of the mouse buttons whilst moving the mouse is called dragging. Dragging
allows you to move icons, files or folders from one position to another.

CHANGING BASIC WINDOWS SETTINGS

Windows settings are behaviors, rules and designs that affect the look and feel of the graphical
user interface, programs and files in windows. Some of the basic Window’s settings that can be
changing are wallpaper setting, windows theme, date/time setting, lock screen setting, icon
arrangement and size, etc.

Setting Windows Theme

1. Right click the desktop

2. On the context menu that appears, click Personalize
3. In the left pane, select themes
4. In the right pane, select the theme of your choice to apply it

Setting Wallpaper / Desktop Background

1. Right click the desktop
2. On the context menu that appears, click Personalize
3. In the left pane, click Background
4. In the right pane,
a. In the Background box, Select the background type
b. Under the “Choose your picture” section, click an existing picture or browse to
upload yours.
c. In the “Choose a fit” box, select the fit type
Setting the System Date and Time
1. Right-Click the Date and Time in the System Tray
2. Click Adjust Date/Time
a. To manually set the date/time,
i. Turn off “Set time automatically”
ii. Click Change under “Set the date and time manually”
iii. Set the date/time and click Change
b. To manually set the time zone,
i. Turn off “Set time zone automatically” ii. In the “Time Zone” box select
the time zone
c. To synchronise your clock with the time server, click “Sync now”
 WINDOWS XP OPERATING SYSTEM

The Desktop
• is always in the background, the "office desk"
• users can adjust the outlook of the desktop in many ways
• it contains: o the Start button
o icons
o the taskbar

Start:
• to begin working on the computer, click with the left mouse button on the Start button. A
menu with submenus will open

in the left column of the Start menu you can find:

o shortcuts to installed Internet browsers (programs that
search
the Internet and enable viewing of web pages), examples of
these shortcuts on the picture are Mozilla Firefox and Internet
Explorer; software for sending and receiving electronic mail
(e-mail), an example of this kind of software on the picture is
Mozilla Thunderbird o shortcuts to the most frequently used
applications, examples on
the picture are: FileZilla, Media Player Classic, Notepad,
etc.
o All Programs – the menu that lists all installed programs
enabling you to run the desired software
in the right column of the Start menu you can find:
o My Documents – the default folder for user files o My Recent
Documents – the list of recently used files
o My Pictures – the default folder for user pictures
o My Computer –
browses the
computer for folders
and files

o Printers and Faxes

– enables viewing
of installed
printers and faxes
o Control Panel –
this panel provides
all options for
 managing the computer (display, sound, add or remove program
etc.) o Help and Support
Icons:
• images that represent applications, program shortcuts, folders, or files
• predefined Microsoft Widows icons are: My Computer, My Documents and the Recycle
Bin
• most frequent icons: folders, applications for text editing (OpenOffice.org Writer,
Microsoft Word)

Working with icons

• Selecting icons: position the mouse pointer (cursor, arrow) over the desired icon, press
and release the left mouse button; the icon will become colored meaning that it is selected
Moving icons (the drag-and-drop method):
1. press and hold down the left mouse button on the desired icon
2. drag the icon to the desired position
3. release the left mouse button
• Opening an icon:
o double-click on the icon with the left mouse button, or o select the icon and press
Enter

Shortcuts to programs or files

This is an icon for a file in the PDF format named syllabus

• double-click on the shortcut with the left mouse button in order to open a file or start a
program
• shortcut icons have an arrow within the white square in the lower left corner
• its size is 1 kb; you can delete shortcuts without consequences to the program or
document that the shortcut points to
• creating a shortcut:
1. press and hold down the right mouse button on the icon of the application,
folder, or file
2. drag the icon to the desktop using the mouse and release the right mouse
button
3. choose the option Create Shortcut Here
Taskbar:

• it is located on the bottom of the desktop

• shows running programs, open folders and files;
• can be moved, hidden
• has an area called Quick launch to place shortcuts of favorite applications

Windows
• folders and files open within a window, some programs open in full screen (games for
example)
• Window elements:
1. Title bar
2. Menu bar
3. Toolbar
4. Status bar
5. Side bar – horizontal and vertical
6. Buttons: minimize, maximize (restore) and close
• Moving a window:
o press and hold down the left mouse button on the windows title bar, move it in a
desired direction, release the mouse button (the drag and drop method)

• Resizing a window:
o Position the mouse pointer over the edge of the window, press and hold the left mouse
button, change the window size as you please, release the mouse button

o buttons in the upper right corner of the window:

Minimize: minimizes the window placing it on the taskbar
Maximize: resizes the window to cover the entire desktop
Restore: restores the window to the size it was before maximizing it
Close: closes down the program or folder

• Working with multiple windows o you can have more than one window open, but only
one active
o the active window has a highlighted title bar which is greyed out when inactive

o you can activate a window by pressing on it with the left mouse button
o when on the taskbar, you can activate the window by pressing the left mouse button
on its slot