Table of Contents

Introduction     1
What Does This Book Cover?      1
What Do I Need to Know to Get Started?      3
Chapter 1: Setting Up Windows     5
Starting the Installation     5
Choosing Between an Upgrade and a Custom Installation     6
Choosing the Drive and Partition for a Custom Installation     7
Making the Right Choices on the Setup Screens     10
Choosing Between Using Default Settings and Configuring Windows Manually      10
Choosing Personalization and Location Settings     13
Choosing Browser, Protection, Connectivity, and Error Reporting Settings     14
Working on the Who Owns This PC? Screen     15
Working on the Make It Yours Screen     16
Setting a PIN and Meeting Cortana     17
Working on the Create an Account for This PC Screen     17
Working in the Networks Pane     20
Signing In and Out of Windows      21
Locking Windows     22
Restarting Windows     22
Putting Your Computer to Sleep or into Hibernation     22
Configuring and Using Cortana     25
Configuring Cortana     25
Searching with Cortana     27
Shutting Down Your Computer     28
Chapter 2: Navigating Windows Like a Pro     29
Using the Start Menu     29
Opening the Start Menu     30
Getting Around the Start Menu     30
Tweaking Your Input Devices     31
Adjusting the Mouse or Touchpad     32
Choosing the Right Pen and Touch Settings     38
Configuring Pen and Touch Input     42
Configuring Your Keyboard     43
Configuring Typing Settings     44
Configuring Your Language and Keyboard Layout     46
Setting Up Speech Recognition     48
Inputting Text     50
Inputting Text with a Hardware Keyboard     50
Inputting Text with the Touch Keyboard and the Handwriting Panel     51
Inputting Text via Speech Recognition     54
Resizing and Arranging Windows     55
Resizing and Closing Windows with the Command Buttons     55
Using Snap and Snap Assist     56
Arranging Windows Manually     57
Resizing, Arranging, and Closing Windows with Keyboard Shortcuts     58
Switching Among Open Windows     58
Chapter 3: Connecting to Networks and the Internet     61
Connecting to a Wired Network     62
Connecting to a Wireless Network     63
Connecting to a Wireless Network That Broadcasts Its Name     64
Connecting to a Hidden Wireless Network     67
Disconnecting from and Reconnecting to Wireless Networks     70
Whitelisting Your Device on a Wi-Fi Network     70
Managing Your Network Connections     71
Using Airplane Mode and Turning Off Wireless Devices     71
Configuring IP Settings Manually     72
Connecting Through a Proxy Server     78
Prioritizing One Network Connection over Another     81
Bridging Two or More Network Connections     82
Improving Wireless Speed and Reliability     84
Forgetting a Wireless Network     87
Connecting Through a VPN     88
Setting Up a VPN Connection     88
Connecting via the VPN     90
Mapping a Drive to a Network Folder     91
Sharing Your Computer’s Internet Connection     94
Diagnosing and Repairing Network Problems     95
Determining Whether a Problem Has Occurred     96
Using the Troubleshoot Problems Feature      97
Chapter 4: Connecting External Hardware     99
Connecting External Drives     99
Making the Physical Connection     99
Formatting a Drive     100
Configuring an External Drive for Better Performance     102
Ejecting an External Drive.      104
Sorting Out Your Displays     104
Connecting a Display     105
Opening the Display Pane in Settings     105
Choosing Essential Display Settings     106
Choosing Advanced Display Settings     107
Using Virtual Desktops     111
Setting Up Your Printers     112
Connecting a Local Printer     113
Connecting a Network Printer     113
Configuring Your Printer     114
Chapter 5: Customizing Windows to Suit Your Needs     121
Customizing the Start Menu     122
Choosing Which Categories of Items to Display on the Start Menu     122
Customizing the Start Menu Directly     124
Customizing the Taskbar     125
Moving and Resizing the Taskbar     126
Configuring the Taskbar’s Behavior     126
Putting the Apps You Need Most on the Taskbar     128
Making the Most of Taskbar Toolbars     128
Choosing Which Icons to Display in the Notification Area     130
Saving Time with Automatic Login--and Why You Shouldn’t     133
Making the Lock Screen Show the Information You Need     135
Displaying the Lock Screen Pane     135
Setting the Picture or Slideshow     135
Adding Apps to the Lock Screen for Quick Reference     136
Making the Recycle Bin Work the Way You Prefer     137
Telling Windows Which Notifications You Want to Receive     139
Opening the Notifications & Actions Pane     140
Choosing Essential Notifications Settings     140
Chapter 6: Sorting Out Your Files, Folders, and Storage     143
Navigating File Explorer Quickly and Efficiently     144
Opening a File Explorer Window     144
Putting Useful Buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar     144
Using the File Menu     146
Finding Your Way Around the Ribbon     147
Customizing How File Explorer Looks and Works     148
Changing the Layout     149
Customizing the Quick Access View     150
Choosing How to Lay Out the Items     150
Sorting and Grouping Items     151
Choosing Which Items to Show and Which to Hide     152
Adjusting Folder and Search Options     152
Finding the Files and Folders You Need     162
Using Libraries and Folders the Smart Way     163
Coming to Grips with the Default Libraries     164
Creating a New Library     165
Including Folders in Your Library     166
Setting the Library’s Default Save Location and Public Save Location     167
Configuring the Library to Work Your Way     168
Restoring Your Default Libraries     169
Managing Your Storage     170
Seeing What’s Taking Up Space on Your Computer     170
Controlling Where Windows Saves Games, Apps, Music, and Other Items     174
Creating Pooled Storage with Storage Spaces     175
Understanding Simple Spaces, Mirror Spaces, and Parity Spaces     175
Creating a Storage Space      176
Using the Storage Space     179
Changing an Existing Storage Space     180
Deleting a Storage Space     180
Chapter 7: Securing and Sharing Your Computer     181
Configuring Accounts for Practicality and Security     182
Setting Your Profile Picture     182
Connecting a Local Account to a Microsoft Account     182
Securing Your Account with a Password, Picture Password, PIN, or Windows Hello     184
Creating Accounts for Others     186
Tightening Your Computer’s Security     189
Locking Your Computer with a Startup Password     189
Setting Your Computer to Lock Automatically     192
Increasing Login Security with Secure Sign-In     193
Configuring User Account Control     194
Controlling Recent App Switching     197
Setting Up Assigned Access     199
Configuring Sharing     200
Sharing via a Homegroup     200
Using Advanced Sharing     205
Chapter 8: Optimizing Your Computer’s Performance     211
Adding Memory If You Can     212
Turning Off Eye Candy to Boost Performance     214
Configuring the Paging File     217
Controlling Data Execution Prevention     221
Stopping Unnecessary Services     222
Turning Off Superfetch and Prefetch     227
Turning Off Superfetch     227
Turning Off Prefetch     227
Reducing the Number of Startup Items     229
Optimizing and Defragmenting Your Computer’s Hard Drive     231
Checking Free Space and Opening the Optimize Drives Window     231
Analyzing and Optimizing a Drive     233
Choosing Settings for Scheduled Optimization     234
Getting Rid of Useless Apps     235
Extending Runtime on the Battery     237
Setting a Sensible Power Plan     237
Using Airplane Mode and Turning Off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth     242
Avoiding Power-Hungry Apps     242
Choosing Settings for Playing Games     242
Chapter 9: Installing, Running, and Managing Apps     245
Getting the Apps You Need     245
Getting Apps from the Store     246
Getting and Installing Apps from Other Sources     252
Managing the Apps You’re Running     261
Closing an App That Stops Responding     261
Going Further with Other Actions in Task Manager     262
Removing Unwanted Apps     271
Setting the Default Apps You Need     272
Opening the Default Apps Pane in the Settings App     273
Choosing Your Default Apps     274
Choosing Default Apps by File Types or by Protocols     274
Choosing Default Apps by Apps     274
Opening a File in a Non-Default App and Changing the Default App     276
Chapter 10: Enjoying Music, Photos, and Videos     279
Understanding Windows Media Player and Groove Music     279
Using Windows Media Player     280
Setting Up Windows Media Player to Protect Your Privacy     280
Navigating Windows Media Player     284
Adding Your Music to Windows Media Player     286
Playing Music with Windows Media Player     295
Syncing Music with Your Phone or Tablet     295
Importing Photos and Videos Using Windows Media Player     297
Sharing Media Libraries     297
Exploring the Groove Music App and the Groove Service     302
Getting Started with Groove Music     302
Adding Music to Your Groove Music Collection     304
Playing Music with Groove Music     306
Creating Playlists in Groove Music     306
Watching Videos and DVDs     307
Chapter 11: Browsing the Internet Safely     309
Navigating Microsoft Edge Like a Pro     309
Viewing Pages     312
Working with Tabs and Windows     313
Browsing Fast with Page Prediction     314
Copying Text with Caret Browsing     315
Removing Distractions with Reading Mode     315
Browsing the Smart Way with Favorites     315
Returning to Pages You Viewed Earlier     316
Catching Up with Your Reading List     317
Annotating Web Pages with Web Note     318
Controlling Microsoft Edge with Keyboard Shortcuts     320
Configuring Microsoft Edge for Comfort and Security     321
Configuring General Settings     321
Configuring Essential Advanced Settings     323
Configuring Privacy and Services Settings     325
Clearing Your Browsing Data     327
Chapter 12: Communicating via Email and Skype     331
Communicating via Email     331
Setting Up Your Email Accounts     332
Navigating in the Mail App     343
Configuring Your Email Accounts and the Mail App     348
Communicating via Skype     354
Getting the Skype App     354
Completing the Initial Setup Routine     356
Navigating the Skype Screen     357
Communicating via Skype     359
Configuring Skype to Work Your Way     360
Configuring Keyboard Shortcuts on the Hotkeys Screen     369
Choosing Options on the Accessibility Screen     370
Saving Your Configuration Changes     371
Chapter 13: Updating and Troubleshooting Windows     373
Making Windows Update Work Your Way     374
Configuring Windows Update     374
Applying an Update     377
Backing Up Key Files with File History     378
Enabling File History     379
Using History to Restore Files     381
Resolving Issues in Action Center     382
Reviewing Security and Maintenance Issues     384
Creating and Using System Restore Points     386
Creating System Restore Points     386
Restoring Windows to a System Restore Point     389
Undoing a System Restore Operation     393
Solving Problems with the Recovery Tools     395
Accessing the Recovery Tools     395
Resetting Your PC     396
Going Back to an Earlier Build of Windows     397
Using the Advanced Startup Tools     398
Chapter 14: Going Further with Advanced Moves     405
Working with Partitions     405
Examining the Partitions on Your Computer’s Drive     406
Shrinking a Partition     409
Creating a New Partition     410
Extending a Partition     413
Deleting a Partition     414
Running Multiple Operating Systems on Your Computer     416
Dual-Booting or Multi-Booting Windows with Another Operating System     416
Installing and Running Other Operating Systems with Hyper-V     419
Installing and Running Other Operating Systems with Third-Party Virtual-Machine Software     430
Making Advanced Changes by Editing the Registry      430
Opening Registry Editor and Navigating Its Interface     431
Understanding What’s What in the Registry     432
Backing Up and Restoring the Registry     433
An Example: Removing an App from the Open With Submenu in File Explorer     435
Index     437

About the Author

Guy Hart-Davis is the author of Android Tips and Tricks and more than 100 other computer books.