PCs For Dummies

Introduction

It may have been more than 30 years since that first IBM PC rolled off the assembly line, but that timespan doesn’t make the entire realm of computers easier to understand. For all the advances, the graphics, the fun, and the availability of computers for sale in the same place you buy your booze, a PC remains a daunting, intimidating piece of technology. That can make you feel like a dummy.

This book’s job is to convince you that you’re not a dummy. Computers are intimidating only when you believe them to be. Peel back that sleek case and you find a timid, frightened beast that wants only to help you. This book takes you on a journey that makes that task easy, fun, and enjoyable.

Oh, and don’t peel back the skin on your computer. It doesn’t hurt the computer if you do so, but you can better get in touch with your PC’s emotional core in ways that don’t require tin snips and a blow torch.

What’s New in This Edition?

Hey! Thanks for continuing to read this Introduction. Most people don’t bother, so you’re special! I mean, why read all this nonsense when you could open the book to some random page, stroke your chin, and say, Wow! This is really appealing. Anyone watching would be impressed. But no, you’re reading the very front of the book. The best you can hope for is that any onlooker believes you can’t find the price or are trying to look up a relative on the details page. Sorry about that.

This is the 14th edition of PCs For Dummies, which begs the question, What the hell happened to the 13th edition? That’s right, the publisher just skipped over 13 as if it would belie the fact that only 16 percent of Americans bothered to visit a bookstore last year and most people steal this book online. Still, if you want to be specific, this book’s 12th edition was titled Windows 7 Edition. Then when the 13th edition came out, the publisher called it the 12th edition. So now you’re all caught up.

Beyond updating many of this book’s less important parts to reflect the Windows 10 operating system, I’ve invigorated the text with all the new whiz-bang technology introduced since the last edition. Here I address some new topics that have arisen, including

Updates on new PC features that have become standards, such as USB 3.0, media cards, and solid-state drives (SSDs)

Details on cloud storage and how it’s used to synchronize your files across multiple devices

Sharing media on the cloud

Connecting your PC to another gizmo, such as a smartphone, camera, or tablet

Updates on security and the ever-looming threats on the Internet

A new, sassy attitude that didn’t involve heavy drinking

As in years past, I present all the information in this book in a sane, soothing, and gentle tone that calms even the most panicked computerphobe.

Where to Start

This book is a reference. You can start reading at any point. Use the index or table of contents to see what interests you. After you read the information, feel free to close the book and perform whatever task you need; there’s no need to read any further. Well, unless you just enjoy my pithy writing style.

Each of this book’s 27 chapters covers a specific aspect of the computer: turning it on, using a printer, using software, or heaving the computer out a window without incurring back injury. Each chapter is divided into self-contained sections, which are nuggets of knowledge all relating to the major theme of the chapter. Sample sections you may find include

Restarting the PC

Using the Internet to set the clock

Ejecting media

Stopping a printer run amok

Obtaining software from the Internet

Connecting to a wireless network

Accessing cloud storage pictures

You don’t have to memorize anything in this book. Nothing about a computer is memorable. Each section is designed so that you can read the information quickly, digest what you have read, and then put down the book and get on with using the computer. If anything technical crops up, you’re alerted to its presence so that you can cleanly avoid it.

Conventions Used in This Book

Menu items, links, and other controls on the screen are written using initial-cap text. So if the option is named Turn off the computer, you see the text Turn Off the Computer (without quotes or commas) shown in this book, whether it appears that way onscreen or not.

If you have to type something, it looks like this:

Type me

You type the text Type me as shown. You’re told when and whether to press the Enter key. You’re also told whether to type a period; periods end sentences written in English, but not always when you type text on a computer.

Windows menu commands are shown like this:

Choose File ⇒ Exit.

This line directs you to choose the File menu and then choose the Exit command.

Key combinations you may have to press are shown like this:

Ctrl+S

This line says to press and hold down the Ctrl (Control) key, type an S, and then release the Ctrl key. It works the same as pressing Shift+S on the keyboard to produce an uppercase S. Same deal, different shift key.

Foolish Assumptions

You have a PC, which is an acronym for Personal Computer and describes all computers that run the Windows operating system. You do not have a Macintosh. And you are not a superintelligent gerbil desiring to program an Arduino in FORTRAN.

This book was updated to coincide with the release of Windows 10, a deadline I missed by two months. The book primarily covers Windows 10, although I pay homage to Windows 7, which is the most popular version of Windows as this book goes to press. I do not cover the horrid atrocity that was Windows 8, nor will you find material here on Windows XP or other primitive operating systems.

When this book refers to Windows without a specific edition or version, the information applies generically to both Windows 10 and Windows 7.

Icons Used in This Book

technicalstuff This icon alerts you to needless technical information — drivel I added because I can’t help but unleash my inner nerd. Feel free to skip over anything tagged with this little picture.

tip This icon indicates helpful advice or an insight that makes using the computer interesting. For example, when you’re dunking the computer into liquid nitrogen, be sure to wear protective goggles.

remember This icon indicates something to remember, like wearing pants.

warning This icon is a reminder for you not to do something, like trying to use a leaf blower to dry your hair.

Where to Go from Here

This book features an online support page, which you can find here:

www.dummies.com/extras/pcs

This book’s online cheat sheet, which was once included with the book before the publisher got all cheap, can be located at this web page:

www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/pcs

And bonus material is located on this page:

www.dummies.com/extras/pcs

My email address is listed here, in case you want to send me a note: dgookin@wambooli.com.

Yes, that’s my email address, and I respond to every email message. Expect a fast answer when you write a short, to-the-point message directly related to this book. Longer messages take me longer to read — sometimes weeks — but I will get back to you. Also, please understand that I cannot troubleshoot or fix your PC.

You can also visit my website, which is chock-full of helpful support pages, bonus information, games, and fun. Go to www.wambooli.com.

With this book in hand, you’re now ready to go out and conquer your PC. Start by looking through the table of contents or the index. Find a topic and turn to the page indicated, and you’re ready to go. Also, feel free to write in this book, fill in the blanks, dog-ear the pages, and do anything else that would make a librarian blanch. Enjoy.

Part I

Hello, PC!

webextra Visit www.dummies.com for exciting online content.

In this part …

check.png Discover what a PC is and what it can do

check.png Explore the various parts of a computer

check.png Set up and configure a PC

check.png Cope with turning a computer on or off

Chapter 1

What Is This Thing, This PC?

In This Chapter

arrow Answering some common PC questions

arrow Understanding basic computer concepts

arrow Knowing about hardware and software

arrow Buying a computer

arrow Realizing that your PC is quite dumb

Iwish that computers were evil. It would be easier to understand the computer if it were upfront about being evil and expressed its malevolent desire to get you. Minus that negative assurance, you end up operating the PC under a constant suspicion. That’s not healthy. So instead of fearing, try understanding. Maybe Mr. PC isn’t so bad after all?

Some Quick Questions to Get Out of the Way

Doubtless, your mind is abuzz with various questions about computers. I ask myself computer questions often, so don’t think that your curiosity is unusual. Trust me: Few people over the age of 26 are comfortable when first encountering anything high-tech.

What is a PC?

A PC is a computer — specifically, an acronym for personal computer.

Historically, the beast was known as a microcomputer. That’s because back in the 1970s, computers were huge, room-sized things that required legions of bespectacled scientists to operate. Individuals didn’t own such computers — well, unless you were eccentric or enjoyed printing your own phone bill. So mere mortals were sold a smaller version, which the Computer Professionals Union insisted be called a microcomputer.

Micro means teensy. The term is preferred by computer scientists because you can’t wear a white lab coat and be taken seriously when you use the word teensy.

Actually, the term micro comes from microprocessor, the main computer chip inside the early personal computers.

When IBM unveiled its first business microcomputer back in 1982, they called it the IBM Personal Computer — or PC, for short. All of today’s personal computers are descended from that original model, so they’ve inherited the term PC. Figure 1-1 displays a timeline of the PC’s history, in case you’re curious.

Figure 1-1: Timeline of the personal computer.

The only PC that’s not called PC is Apple’s Macintosh computer. Mac users refer to their computers as Macs. That’s based on an old IBM–Apple rivalry that no one cares about any more. Still, many Mac users get all huffy when you call their computers PCs. So it’s fine by me to tease those crybabies by referring to their expensive toys as PCs.

The term PC generically refers to any computer that can run the Windows operating system.

Although your car or sewing machine or the machine that goes boop at the hospital may contain computer electronics, those devices are not PCs.

Curiously, IBM got out of the PC manufacturing business in the early 2000s.

technicalstuff The success of the PC is based on its use of off-the-shelf parts that are easily replaced. The PC can also be configured and upgraded with ease, which is the main reason that it’s so popular.

Why not just use a tablet or smartphone instead of a PC?

Sure, you can get by in today’s well-connected, digital world by getting yourself a tablet or smartphone. To hell with computers!

Smartphones and tablets can send and receive email, browse the web, play games, and do all sorts of interesting things. They have several downfalls when compared with PCs:

Mobile devices are designed for data consumption, not data production. If you’re merely passing through this digital life, you can get by with a phone or tablet and never own a PC. If you need to create something, you need a computer.

PCs offer several input devices — specifically, the keyboard and the mouse. You can even add a touchscreen to a PC, if you’re into that touchy-tappy-swipey stuff.

Mobile devices lack the expandability of a PC. You can upgrade a PC, adding more storage, memory, a better monitor, a mouse with 20,000 buttons, and so on.

The typical computer lasts for years. A mobile device is usually replaced every other year.

remember Now, if you’ve changed your mind about getting a PC, remember that you cannot return this book once you’ve started reading this material.

Should I buy a Dell?

I get this question all the time, though Dell might be replaced by some other brand name. See the later section "Buy Yourself a PC!"

Will my computer explode?

This question is important, so please skip all the other questions I’ve placed before this question and read this question first!

If you’re a fan of science fiction television or film, you’re probably familiar with the concept of the exploding computer. Sparks, smoke, flying debris — it all appears to be a common function of computers in the future. Sure, they could just beep and display error messages when they die, but that’s not visually exciting.

The answer is no, your computer will not explode. At least, not spontaneously. If you pour fruit punch into the computer or lightning strikes or the power supply unexplainably fails, the most you may see is a puff of blue smoke, but no explosions.

Basic Computer Concepts in Easily Digestible Chunks

You either use or are about to purchase one of the most advanced pieces of technology ever made available to humans. Why not be a sport about it and take a few moments to not avoid some of the more technical mumbo jumbo surrounding that technology? Don’t fret: I’ll be gentle.

What a computer does

Computers can do anything and try to do just about everything. At their core, however, computers are simple gizmos. Their advantage is that computers have oodles of potential.

A computer takes input, processes it, and then generates output. That’s kind of how a baby works, though to keep you from being utterly befuddled, you can refer to Figure 1-2, which completely illustrates that basic computer concept.

Figure 1-2: What a computer does at its simplest level.

The input goes into the computer, gets processed, and then produces output equation is the foundation of these three primary computer concepts:

I/O

Processing

Storage

I/O: I/O stands for input and output. It’s pronounced I owe, like Io, the third-largest moon of Jupiter. I/O is pretty much the only thing a computer does: It receives input from devices — the keyboard, mouse, Internet. It generates output, displayed on the screen, printed, or sent back to the Internet. That’s I/O.

Processing: What the computer does between input and output is processing. It’s what happens to the input to make the output significant. Otherwise, the computer would simply be a tube, and computer science would be the same as plumbing.

Processing is handled inside the computer by a gizmo known as (logically enough) a processor. See Chapter 5 for more information on the processor.

Storage: The final part of the basic computer equation is storage, which is where the processing takes place. Two types of storage are used: temporary and long-term. Temporary storage is the computer memory, or RAM. Long-term storage is provided by the computer’s storage media.

Computer memory is covered in Chapter 6. Long-term storage is covered in Chapter 7.

Hardware and software

The computer universe is divided into two parts. One part is hardware. The other part is software.

Hardware is the physical part of a computer: anything you can touch and anything you can see — or anything that smells like burning plastic. The computer console, the monitor, the keyboard, the mouse. All that physical stuff is hardware.

Software is the computer’s brain. Software tells the hardware what to do.

In a way, it helps to think of hardware and software as a symphony orchestra. For hardware, you have the musicians and their instruments. Their software is the music. As with a computer, the music (software) tells the musicians and their instruments (hardware) what to do.

Without software, hardware just sits around and looks pretty. It can’t do anything because it has no instructions and nothing telling it what to do next. And, like a symphony orchestra without music, that can be an expensive waste of time, especially at union scale.

To make the computer system work, software must be in charge. In fact, software determines your computer’s personality and potential.

If you can throw it out a window, it’s hardware.

If you can throw it out a window and it comes back, it’s a cat.

Computer software includes all the programs you use on the PC.

The most important piece of software is the computer’s operating system. That’s the main program in charge of everything.

Chapter 13 covers Windows, which is the PC’s least popular yet most common operating system.

Chapter 14 covers computer programs, also considered software.

Buy Yourself a PC!

If you don’t yet have a PC, you can rush out and buy one. My advice is not to rush, despite having just directed you to do so.

A computer is a complex piece of electronics. Buying one isn’t like purchasing a riding lawnmower or nose-hair trimmer. To make your purchase a successful one, consider my friendly, 5-step method for buying a PC.

Know what it is that you want the computer to do.

Find software to accomplish that task.

Find hardware to match the software.

Locate service and support.

Buy the computer!

Yes, it’s really that easy. If you obey these steps and pay attention, you’ll be a lot more satisfied with your computer purchase.

Step 1. What do you want the PC to do?

Believe it or not, most people don’t know why they want a computer. If that’s you, consider what you’re getting into. Computers aren’t for everyone, especially with smartphones and tablets available at far less cost.

If you really do need a computer, figure out what you want it to do for you. Do you just want to do some word processing, emailing, and social networking? Perhaps you want a machine that plays the latest games? Or maybe you need some graphics horsepower to create illustrations or animation? Limitless possibilities exist with a computer, but the more you know about what you want to do, the better you can get the perfect PC for your needs.

Step 2. Find software

Software makes the computer go, so before you discuss PC brand names or big box stores, you need to look at the programs you plan on using. That’s because some software — games, video production, graphics — requires specific computer hardware. Knowing about that hardware ahead of time means you’ll be happier with your purchase.

By recognizing which software you need first, you can easily move on to the next step.

Step 3. Match hardware to the software

How can you match hardware to the software you need? Simple: Read the software requirements. These are listed on the side of the software box or on the software developer’s website. The requirements explain exactly what kind of hardware is required. Specifically, the requirements suggest what kind of processor is best, how much memory is preferred, and how much storage the software demands. You might also learn of other requirements, such as a high-end graphics card or a specialized interface.

For general computer uses, any PC that can run the Windows operating system will probably work just fine for you. When you have specific software you plan on running, however, you should make sure that the computer you get has the hardware you need.

remember All that hardware nonsense is covered later in this book. Don’t worry about trying to understand software requirements when you’re just starting out. Use this book’s index to help you learn about different PC hardware thingies.

Step 4. Locate service and support

Most people assume that Step 4 would have to do with brand names or famously-not-bankrupt brick-and-mortar stores. Nope! What’s more important is ensuring that you get proper service and support for your new computer purchase — especially when you’re just starting out and you blanch at the thought of opening the computer’s case.

Service means one thing: Who fixes the computer? That’s the main reason I recommend buying a PC at a local, mom-and-pop type of store. You develop a personal relationship with the people who service your computer. If you choose not to buy at a local store, you must ask to discover who really fixes your computer and where it gets fixed.

Support is about getting help for your computer. Some people need lots of help. If that’s you, buy from a place that offers free classes or has a toll-free support number. That support may add to the purchase price, but it’s worth every penny if it saves you aggravation in the future.

Step 5. Buy it!

The final step to getting a new computer — or your first computer — is to buy it. Do it!

The hesitation many people have about buying a new computer is that a newer, better, faster model is coming down the pike. That’s always true! So rather than wait forever, just get up and buy the computer! ’Nuff said.

What To Do With An Old Computer

For heaven’s sake, don’t throw out your old computer! That’s because a computer can be recycled.

The first stage for recycling is to use the old keyboard, mouse, and monitor with your new PC. If you know this recycling tidbit before you buy the new computer, you can save money by buying just the console, or the main part of the PC.

The second stage for recycling is to turn in your old PC to a recycling center. Though the computer guts may be useless to you, they do have value.

Of course, you can always hang on to your old PCs for a while. In fact, I keep my old PC on the network for a few weeks to ensure that the new one has everything I need. If not, I can fire up the old one and copy over files or jot down information.

Eventually my old computers end up in my garage on some shelves. I call it the Bone Yard. After a few years, I recycle the old computer.

If the new PC comes with its own keyboard and mouse, keep the old ones as spares.

You can always retire the old PC to the rumpus room for the kids to use. They’ll hate you for it and whine about buying a new one. Don’t worry: You’ll give in soon enough.

Old PCs can be donated to charities, but call first to see if they want one. Sometimes old computers aren’t worth the trouble. (Ask your kids.)

One item you might not want to recycle is the old PC’s hard drive. If possible, remove it from the old computer’s console. If the hard drive contains sensitive information, have it destroyed. Outfits that shred documents offer hard drive destruction services, should security be a concern to you or your presidential campaign.

A Final Thing to Remember

remember Computers aren’t evil. They harbor no sinister intelligence. In fact, when you get to know them, you see that they’re rather dumb.

Now robots, on the other hand! Well, that’s a topic for another book.

Chapter 2

The PC Knobs, Buttons, and Doodads Tour

In This Chapter

arrow Looking at the basic PC hardware

arrow Recognizing different types of PCs

arrow Perusing items on the console

arrow Locating PC connectors, holes, and jacks

arrow Using helpful symbols and colors

If I were to use one word to describe the typical PC design, that word would be uninspired. Face it: The PC is a box. It’s not aerodynamic or sleek or award-winning. No one will confuse a PC sitting on your desk with modern art. People in the year 2045 won’t hang posters of early 21st century PCs on their walls. Sad, but true.

Forgiving its utilitarian look, it’s important to identify some of the basic parts of a computer system, as well as know the purpose behind the many buttons, holes, nooks, and crannies that festoon the plain, dull tin can known as a PC.

The Big Picture

Figure 2-1 shows a typical personal computer system. It may not match what you have, because I’m trying to label the pieces and not stalk you.

Figure 2-1: A typical computer system.

Here are