Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1
What Is an Absolute Beginner? ................................................................................ 3
How This Book Is Organized .................................................................................... 3
Conventions Used in This Book ............................................................................... 5
Selects and Selecting ........................................................................................... 5
Special Elements .................................................................................................. 6
1 Starting and Stopping Windows 8 .............................................................. 7
Starting Up Windows 8 .......................................................................................8
Powering Up Your Computer .............................................................................. 8
Choosing an Operating System .......................................................................... 9
Signing In to Windows 8 ......................................................................................... 11
Handling Special Windows 8 Startup Situations .................................................. 16
Restarting Windows After a Problem ............................................................... 16
Waking Up Windows .......................................................................................... 17
Handling Messages You Might Receive While Signing In ............................. 17
Exiting Windows ...................................................................................................... 19
Signing Out of Windows 8................................................................................. 19
Locking Windows 8 ............................................................................................ 20
Putting Windows 8 to Sleep .............................................................................. 20
Shutting Down Your Windows 8 Computer ..................................................... 21
Restarting Windows 8 to Install Updates ......................................................... 21
2 Interacting with Windows 8 ...................................................................... 23
Getting to Know the Windows 8 Interfaces .......................................................... 24
Using the Mouse in Windows 8......................................................................... 24
Using the Keyboard in Windows 8 .................................................................... 26
Using Touch in Windows 8 ................................................................................ 27
Using the Virtual Keyboard ................................................................................ 29
Using Windows Controls in the Desktop App ...................................................... 30
Window ................................................................................................................ 31
Button .................................................................................................................. 32
Option Button or Group .................................................................................... 32
Text Box .............................................................................................................. 33
Check Box ........................................................................................................... 33
Windows 8 Toggle ............................................................................................. 33
List Box ................................................................................................................ 34
Drop-Down List ................................................................................................... 35
Combo Drop-Down List ..................................................................................... 36
3 Learning Windows 8 Basics ....................................................................... 39
Working at the Start Screen ................................................................................... 40
Returning to the Start Screen ............................................................................ 41
Seeing Tiles off the Screen ................................................................................ 42
Displaying All Tiles ............................................................................................. 42
Selecting a Tile ................................................................................................... 44
Moving a Tile ...................................................................................................... 45
Making a Tile Bigger or Smaller........................................................................ 45
Adding a Tile to the Start Screen ..................................................................... 46
Opening the App Bar .............................................................................................. 47
Using the Charms Bar ............................................................................................. 47
Using the Search Charm .................................................................................... 49
Using the Share Charm ...................................................................................... 52
Using the Devices Charm .................................................................................. 53
Using the Settings Charm .................................................................................. 54
Selecting Files in Windows 8 .................................................................................. 55
Finding and Using the Control Panel .................................................................... 57
4 Personalizing Windows 8 ........................................................................... 61
Personalizing Language, Keyboard, and Number Settings................................. 62
Personalizing Colors and Pictures .......................................................................... 65
Personalizing the Start Screen .......................................................................... 65
Personalizing Your Account Picture .................................................................. 67
Personalizing the Lock Screen ........................................................................... 68
Personalizing Tile Groups ....................................................................................... 69
Creating a Tile Group ........................................................................................ 70
Moving Tile Groups ............................................................................................ 71
Naming a Tile Group ......................................................................................... 71
Setting Up Accessibility Options............................................................................ 72
Personalizing How Notifications Work ................................................................. 75
Personalizing How Your Windows 8 Settings Synchronize ................................. 77
Personalizing the Desktop ...................................................................................... 77
Changing the Desktop Background ................................................................. 77
Changing the Mouse Pointers Used on the Desktop ..................................... 79
Change the Desktop's Color Scheme .............................................................. 81
Setting Up a Desktop Screen Saver ................................................................. 81
5 Connecting to the Internet ........................................................................ 85
Reviewing Important Internet Connection Basics ................................................ 86
Learning About Internet Service Providers ...................................................... 86
Checking the Hardware Required to Connect ................................................ 86
Learning the Internet Connection Services Typically Available .......................... 87
Understanding Routers for Internet Connection Sharing ............................... 90
Understanding Network Adapters .................................................................... 91
Connecting to the Internet ..................................................................................... 91
Connecting to a Wireless Network ................................................................... 91
Connecting Where Free Wi-Fi Is Advertised ................................................... 94
Connecting to Pay-as-You-Go Wi-Fi................................................................. 95
Connecting to a LAN/Wired Network .............................................................. 95
Connecting After Upgrading to Windows 8 .................................................... 96
Connecting After You Restart Your Device ...................................................... 96
Connecting in Other Scenarios ......................................................................... 96
6 Surfing the Web in Windows 8 .................................................................. 99
Introducing Internet Explorer ............................................................................... 100
Navigating to Websites ........................................................................................ 103
Enhancing Your Browsing ..................................................................................... 109
Zooming In and Out ......................................................................................... 109
Viewing Web Pages in the Desktop Browser ................................................ 110
Pinning Websites to the Start Screen ............................................................. 110
Sharing and Printing While You're Web Browsing ............................................. 112
Sharing Web Pages .......................................................................................... 113
Printing Web Pages .......................................................................................... 113
7 Connecting with the People App ............................................................ 117
Introducing the People App ...........................................................................118
Connecting with Your People .........................................................................121
Checking What's New with Your People ........................................................125
The Me Page ...................................................................................................127
Setting Up Your Contacts ................................................................................128
Linking to Facebook ......................................................................................... 128
Linking to Google, Hotmail, and Exchange/Outlook/Office 365 ................ 130
Linking to Twitter .............................................................................................. 133
Linking to LinkedIn ........................................................................................... 135
8 Using the Mail App and Messaging to Stay Connected .......................... 137
Exploring the Mail App ......................................................................................... 138
Setting Up Email .................................................................................................... 139
Setting Up Your Email Accounts ..................................................................... 140
Reading Your Email ............................................................................................... 143
Replying to a Message..................................................................................... 144
Filing a Message in a Folder ........................................................................... 145
Deleting a Message ......................................................................................... 146
Forward a Message .......................................................................................... 146
Mark a Message as Unread ............................................................................. 147
Writing an Email Message .................................................................................... 148
Formatting Your Email Message ..................................................................... 149
Addressing Your Message ............................................................................... 151
Attaching a Photo or Another File to Your Message .................................... 152
Checking Spelling in Your Message ............................................................... 152
Using the Messaging App .................................................................................... 153
9 Using the Calendar App .......................................................................... 157
Getting to Know the Calendar App ..................................................................... 158
Starting the Calendar App .............................................................................. 158
Controlling the Calendar View ........................................................................ 159
Setting Calendar Colors .................................................................................. 161
Synchronizing with Other Calendars ................................................................... 162
Connecting to Your Hotmail Account ............................................................ 163
Connecting to Your Gmail Account ............................................................... 164
Connecting to Your Exchange/Outlook/Office 365 Account....................... 165
Entering New Events into Your Calendar............................................................ 167
10 Sharing Your Windows 8 Computer with Others .................................... 171
Windows 8 Users and Account Basics ................................................................. 172
Adding a New User ............................................................................................... 174
Adding a New User with a Local Account ..................................................... 175
Adding a New User with a Windows Account ............................................... 176
Creating a PIN or Picture Password ..................................................................... 179
Adding a PIN to Your Account ....................................................................... 180
Adding a Picture Password to Your Account ................................................. 180
Making Changes to User Accounts ..................................................................... 184
Changing a User's Type ................................................................................... 184
Removing a User Account ............................................................................... 185
11 Sharing Files and Printers with Homegroup ............................................ 187
Networking with Homegroup ............................................................................... 188
Using the Windows Homegroup .......................................................................... 189
Creating a Homegroup .................................................................................... 191
Joining a Homegroup ...................................................................................... 194
Leaving a Homegroup ..................................................................................... 195
Troubleshooting Homegroup Connections ................................................... 195
Setting Up Sharing ................................................................................................ 196
Disabling Sharing for Specific Files or Folders .............................................. 196
Sharing Files and Folders Only with Specific Users ...................................... 197
Sharing Your Printer ............................................................................................. 198
Seeing Stuff Shared By Others ............................................................................. 199
12 Mastering Windows 8 Apps .................................................................... 203
Learning Basic Windows 8 Apps Info .................................................................. 204
Running Windows 8 Apps ..................................................................................... 205
Starting a Windows 8 App ............................................................................... 205
Starting Additional Windows 8 Apps ............................................................. 206
Stopping a Windows 8 App (If You Must) ...................................................... 207
Using the App bar to Change a Windows 8 App's Settings ........................ 207
Managing Windows 8 Apps ................................................................................. 208
Using the App Switcher ................................................................................... 209
Switching to the Previous App ........................................................................ 210
Showing Two Windows 8 Apps on the Screen .............................................. 210
Shopping at the Windows Store .......................................................................... 214
Purchasing an App ........................................................................................... 215
Managing Your Account .................................................................................. 216
13 Working with the Desktop App .............................................................. 221
Introducing the Desktop App .............................................................................. 222
Starting the Desktop ........................................................................................ 222
Returning to the Start Screen .......................................................................... 224
Keeping the Desktop Organized ........................................................................ 225
Automatically Line Up Icons on the Desktop ............................................... 226
Arrange the Desktop by Icon Type ................................................................ 227
Change the Size of Desktop Icons.................................................................. 227
Hide All Desktop Icons .................................................................................... 228
Working with the Taskbar ..................................................................................... 228
Receiving Alerts and Notifications .................................................................. 228
Adding Toolbars to the Taskbar ..................................................................... 230
Displaying Special Icons on the Desktop ....................................................... 231
14 Using Windows Desktop Programs ......................................................... 235
Introducing Windows Desktop Programs ........................................................... 236
Running Programs on the Desktop...................................................................... 237
Running Multiple Windows Desktop Programs ............................................. 237
Making It Easy to Start Your Favorite Desktop Programs ............................ 239
Saving Files to the Desktop ............................................................................. 239
Exiting Desktop Programs ............................................................................... 241
Working with Windows ......................................................................................... 241
Installing and Removing Programs ...................................................................... 245
Installing Program............................................................................................. 245
Removing Windows Programs ........................................................................ 245
15 Organizing Files and Folders with Windows Explorer ............................. 249
Files and Folder Basics .......................................................................................... 250
Understanding Files ......................................................................................... 250
Understanding Folders .................................................................................... 251
Exploring Your Files and Folders with Windows Explorer ................................. 252
Working with Libraries ..................................................................................... 254
Navigating the Folder Tree ............................................................................. 255
Customizing the Content Pane ....................................................................... 257
Exploring the Preview and Details Pane ........................................................ 259
Folder Options .................................................................................................. 261
Navigating Through Your Folders ....................................................................... 263
Selecting Files and Folders ................................................................................. 266
Selecting a Single File at a Time ..................................................................... 266
Selecting Multiple Contiguous Files ............................................................... 267
Selecting Multiple Noncontiguous Files ........................................................ 268
Common Files and Folders Tasks ........................................................................ 269
16 Storing Files on Drives, Disks, and the Cloud ......................................... 273
Working with External Drives ............................................................................... 274
Connecting Your Drive the First Time ............................................................ 275
Naming Your New Drive .................................................................................. 275
Storing and Sharing in the Cloud ........................................................................ 276
Saving Data to DVDs ............................................................................................. 279
Data Backup Strategies ......................................................................................... 282
Backing Up with File History ................................................................................. 283
Setting Up File History ..................................................................................... 283
Backing Up ........................................................................................................ 287
Restoring Files .................................................................................................. 287
17 Setting Up Hardware the Easy Way ........................................................ 289
Setting Up Your Display ........................................................................................ 290
Adjusting the Resolution (Making the Screen Bigger or Smaller) ............... 290
Setting Up Multiple Monitors .......................................................................... 292
Setting Up Your Mouse ......................................................................................... 294
Changing the Mouse Pointers Used on the Desktop ................................... 298
Setting Up Your Keyboard .................................................................................... 299
Setting Up Sound .................................................................................................. 301
Setting Up Your Speakers ................................................................................ 301
Selecting Sounds for Windows Events ........................................................... 303
Setting Up Power Use ........................................................................................... 305
The Easy Method to Set Up Power Use ......................................................... 306
The Really Easy Method to Set Up Power Use .............................................. 306
The Manual Method to Set Up Power Use .................................................... 308
18 Printing, Scanning, and Faxing in Windows 8 ......................................... 309
Printing in Windows 8 ........................................................................................... 310
Setting Up a New Printer ................................................................................. 310
Printing in Windows 8 ...................................................................................... 311
Faxing in Windows 8 ............................................................................................. 313
Sending a Fax ................................................................................................... 314
Receiving a Fax ................................................................................................. 315
Scanning in Windows 8 ......................................................................................... 316
Setting Up Your Scanner ................................................................................. 316
Scanning in Windows 8 .................................................................................... 316
19 Safe and Private Internet Computing ...................................................... 319
Understanding Internet Threats and Risks .......................................................... 320
Web Browsing Risks ......................................................................................... 320
Learning About Risky Attachments and Other Email-Related Threats ....... 321
Learning Phishing Threats ............................................................................... 322
Avoiding Virus Threats ..................................................................................... 325
Defending Yourself ................................................................................................ 325
Reviewing All-in-One Internet Defense Suites .............................................. 325
Defending with Windows Defender ............................................................... 326
Checking Your Security Status at the Action Center .................................... 330
Using SmartScreen to Avoid Dangerous Websites ....................................... 330
Covering Your Internet Tracks ......................................................................... 332
Browsing Quietly and Invisibly with InPrivate Browsing ............................... 333
Using Windows Firewall ................................................................................... 334
Managing All Your IDs and Passwords ................................................................ 334
20 Performing Routine Maintenance ............................................................ 337
Keeping Current on Windows Update ................................................................ 338
Delete Unused Files .............................................................................................. 341
Defragmenting Your Drive .................................................................................... 343
Update Internet Security Definitions ................................................................... 345
Sample Maintenance Schedule ............................................................................ 345
21 Troubleshooting and Solving Problems in Windows 8 ............................ 347
Using the Troubleshooting Wizards .................................................................... 348
Using Task Manager to Close Unresponsive Programs ..................................... 349
Understanding Refresh and Restore .................................................................... 350
Getting a Do-Over with Refresh ..................................................................... 351
Restarting from Scratch with the Reset Option ............................................. 352
Reviewing Your System Core Info ........................................................................ 353
22 Keeping Current with the Bing Apps ...................................................... 355
Introducing the Bing Apps ................................................................................... 356
Read the News That's Fit to Bing ........................................................................ 357
Getting the Bing Weather Report ........................................................................ 359
Keeping Score with Bing Sports .......................................................................... 361
Getting the Bing Money Story ............................................................................. 362
Vacationing with the Bing Travel App ................................................................. 364
Trending Topics with Bing .................................................................................... 366
Finding Your Way with Bing Maps ....................................................................... 367
23 Enjoying Your Digital Photos .................................................................. 369
Learning Photos App Basics ................................................................................. 370
Browsing Through Your Photos ........................................................................... 374
Working with Your Photos .................................................................................... 375
Bringing In Your Facebook and Flickr Photos .................................................... 377
Bringing In Facebook Photos .......................................................................... 377
Bringing In Flickr Photos .................................................................................. 379
Bringing In SkyDrive Photos ............................................................................ 379
24 Enjoying Movies and Videos in Windows 8 ............................................. 381
Getting Started with the xbox video App ........................................................... 382
Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account .............................................................. 382
Adding Your Videos to the Videos Library .................................................... 384
Moving Through the xbox video App ................................................................ 386
Shopping for Videos.............................................................................................. 391
Making a Purchase ........................................................................................... 391
Renting a Selection .......................................................................................... 392
25 Listening to the Music in Windows 8 ...................................................... 395
Getting Started with the Music App .................................................................... 396
Learning What's Where in the Music App ..................................................... 397
Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account .............................................................. 399
Loading Your Music into Windows 8 ................................................................... 401
How to Link Your Music ................................................................................... 401
How to Move Your Music ................................................................................ 402
Browsing Through Your Music ............................................................................. 403
Playing Music ......................................................................................................... 405
Purchasing Music ................................................................................................... 405
Importing and Creating Music CDs ..................................................................... 407
Importing Music from a CD ............................................................................. 408
Creating a Playlist and Music CD .................................................................... 409
26 Gametime with Windows 8 and Xbox 360 .............................................. 411
Using Xbox LIVE with Windows 8 ........................................................................ 412
Setting Up Your Xbox LIVE Account .................................................................... 413
Controlling Xbox from Windows 8 ....................................................................... 416
Installing Xbox SmartGlass .............................................................................. 417
Using Xbox SmartGlass .................................................................................... 418
Learning the Xbox Games App ........................................................................... 420
Index .............................................................................................................. 423