Windows 10 For Dummies
3rd Edition
Published on 29. June 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-119-47086-1 (ISBN)
Description
The #1 source for Windows 10 help
Millions of Windows users have turned to Windows For Dummies for quick, friendly, and easy-to-understand help with their computers. Windows 10 For Dummies, 3rd Edition continues this tradition as it helps you navigate the twists and turns of Windows. Start at the beginning to discover the basics of the Windows interface or flip to later chapters to help you work with Windows apps, connect to the Internet, or customize your privacy settings.
Updated to cover the latest changes to Windows 10, this revised edition is ideal for first-time Windows users who need a guide to their operating system as well as experienced users who need a road map to the latest features. Inside, the book quickly and easily shows you how to do everything from establishing a user account, to corralling your photos, to setting up a printer, to using Windows on a tablet-and everything in between.
Manage the start-up menu and the Windows desktop
Get to know the programs that come with Windows 10
Discover troubleshooting tips and privacy tricks
Be productive at home or in the office
If you use Windows 10, you'll want to keep this updated edition of the trusty companion nearby as you make your way around the new OS.
Millions of Windows users have turned to Windows For Dummies for quick, friendly, and easy-to-understand help with their computers. Windows 10 For Dummies, 3rd Edition continues this tradition as it helps you navigate the twists and turns of Windows. Start at the beginning to discover the basics of the Windows interface or flip to later chapters to help you work with Windows apps, connect to the Internet, or customize your privacy settings.
Updated to cover the latest changes to Windows 10, this revised edition is ideal for first-time Windows users who need a guide to their operating system as well as experienced users who need a road map to the latest features. Inside, the book quickly and easily shows you how to do everything from establishing a user account, to corralling your photos, to setting up a printer, to using Windows on a tablet-and everything in between.
Manage the start-up menu and the Windows desktop
Get to know the programs that come with Windows 10
Discover troubleshooting tips and privacy tricks
Be productive at home or in the office
If you use Windows 10, you'll want to keep this updated edition of the trusty companion nearby as you make your way around the new OS.
More details
Other editions
New editions
Previous edition
Person
Andy Rathbone is author of all previous editions of Windows For Dummies. His expertise has helped millions of Windows users since the first edition of the book published over 20 years ago. Andy answers reader questions and shares his tech insight at www.andyrathbone.com.
Content
Introduction 1
About This Book 2
How to Use This Book 3
Touchscreen Owners Aren't Left Out 4
And What about You? 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Beyond the Book 6
Where to Go from Here 6
Part 1: Windows 10 Stuff Everybody Thinks You Already Know 7
Chapter 1: What Is Windows 10? 9
What Is Windows, and Why Are You Using It? 10
What's New in Windows 10? 12
Should I Bother Upgrading to Windows 10? 14
What's So Different About Windows 10? 16
Why Does Windows 10 Keep Changing? 17
Can My Current PC Still Run Windows 10? 18
The Different Flavors of Windows 10 19
Chapter 2: Starting with the Start Menu 21
Being Welcomed to the World of Windows 22
Understanding user accounts 24
Keeping your account private with a password 25
Signing up for a Microsoft account 27
Figuring Out the Windows 10 Start Menu 29
Toggling between Tablet and Desktop mode 32
Launching a Start menu program or app 33
Finding something on the Start menu 35
Viewing, closing, or returning to apps 36
Getting to know your free apps 38
Adding or removing Start menu items 41
Customizing the Start menu 42
Exiting from Windows 46
Temporarily leaving your computer 47
Leaving your computer for the day 48
Chapter 3: The Traditional Desktop 51
Finding the Desktop and the Start Menu 52
Working with the Desktop 53
Launching apps with the Start menu 55
Jazzing up the desktop's background 56
Toggling between Tablet mode and the desktop 58
Dumpster diving in the Recycle Bin 60
Bellying Up to the Taskbar 61
Shrinking windows to the taskbar and retrieving them 63
Switching to different tasks from the taskbar's Jump Lists 64
Clicking the taskbar's sensitive areas 65
Opening the Action Center 67
Customizing the taskbar 69
Setting Up Multiple Desktops 71
Making Programs Easier to Find 74
Chapter 4: Basic Desktop Window Mechanics 75
Dissecting a Typical Desktop Window 76
Tugging on a window's title bar 77
Navigating folders with a window's Address bar 79
Finding commands on the Ribbon 80
Quick shortcuts with the Navigation Pane 82
Moving inside a window with its scroll bar 84
Boring borders 85
Maneuvering Windows Around the Desktop 86
Moving a window to the top of the pile 87
Moving a window from here to there 87
Making a window fill the whole desktop 88
Closing a window 88
Making a window bigger or smaller 89
Placing two windows side by side 89
Making windows open to the same darn size 90
Chapter 5: Storage: Internal, External, and in the Cloud 91
Browsing the File Explorer File Cabinets 92
Getting the Lowdown on Folders 96
Peering into Your Drives, Folders, and Other Media 97
Seeing the files on a drive 97
Seeing what's inside a folder 100
Creating a New Folder 101
Renaming a File or Folder 103
Selecting Bunches of Files or Folders 104
Getting Rid of a File or Folder 105
Copying or Moving Files and Folders 106
Seeing More Information about Files and Folders 108
Writing to CDs and DVDs 111
Buying the right kind of blank CDs and DVDs for burning 111
Copying files to or from a CD or DVD 112
Working with Flash Drives and Memory Cards 115
OneDrive: Your Cubbyhole in the Clouds 116
Setting up OneDrive 117
Changing your OneDrive settings 120
Opening and saving files from OneDrive 122
Customizing OneDrive for different devices with OneDrive Files On Demand 123
Accessing OneDrive from the Internet 126
Part 2: Working with Programs, Apps, and Files 129
Chapter 6: Playing with Programs, Apps, and Documents 131
Starting a Program or an App 132
Opening a Document 134
Saving a Document 136
Choosing Which Program Should Open Which File 138
Navigating the Microsoft Store 141
Adding new apps from the Store app 142
Uninstalling apps 145
Taking the Lazy Way with a Desktop Shortcut 146
Absolutely Essential Guide to Cutting, Copying, and Pasting 147
The quick 'n' dirty guide to cut 'n' paste 147
Selecting things to cut or copy 148
Cutting or copying your selected goods 149
Pasting information to another place 151
Chapter 7: Finding the Lost 153
Finding Currently Running Apps and Programs 153
Finding Lost Windows on the Desktop 155
Locating a Missing App, Program, Setting, or File 156
Searching with Cortana 159
Setting up Cortana for the first time 160
Turning off Cortana 163
Finding a Missing File inside a Folder 164
Finding Lost Photos 166
Finding Other Computers on a Network 167
Chapter 8: Printing and Scanning Your Work 169
Printing from a Start Menu App 170
Printing Your Masterpiece from the Desktop 172
Adjusting how your work fits on the page 173
Adjusting your printer's settings 175
Canceling a print job 177
Printing a web page 178
Troubleshooting your printer 180
Scanning from the Start Menu 181
Part 3: Getting Things Done on the Internet 185
Chapter 9: Cruising the Web 187
What's an ISP, and Why Do I Need One? 188
Connecting Wirelessly to the Internet 189
Browsing the Web with Microsoft Edge 191
Moving from one web page to another 194
Making Microsoft Edge open to your favorite site 195
Revisiting favorite places 197
Finding things on the Internet 198
Finding More Information with Cortana 199
Saving Information from the Internet 201
Saving a web page 201
Saving text 202
Saving a picture 202
Downloading a program, song, or other type of file 203
Chapter 10: Being Social: Mail, People, and Calendar 205
Adding Your Accounts to Windows 205
Understanding the Mail App 207
Switching among the Mail app's views, menus, and accounts 208
Composing and sending an email 211
Reading a received email 213
Sending and receiving files through email 215
Managing Your Contacts in the People App 217
Adding contacts 219
Deleting or editing contacts 220
Managing Appointments in Calendar 221
Chapter 11: Safe Computing 225
Understanding Those Annoying Permission Messages 225
Staying Safe with the New Windows Defender Security Center 226
Avoiding and removing viruses 228
Avoiding Phishing Scams 231
Setting Up Controls for Children 232
Part 4: Customizing and Upgrading Windows 10 235
Chapter 12: Customizing Settings in Windows 237
Finding the Right Switch 238
Flipping Switches with the Windows Settings App 239
System 240
Devices (Adjusting mice, keyboards, scanners, and other gadgets) 246
Phone (Android, iPhone, and Windows) 250
Network & Internet 250
Personalization (Changing your PC's look and feel) 250
Apps 255
Accounts 258
Time & Language 258
Gaming 259
Ease of Access 259
Cortana 260
Privacy 261
Update & Security 261
Chapter 13: Keeping Windows from Breaking 263
Backing Up Your Computer with File History 264
Finding Technical Information about Your Computer 268
Freeing Up Space on Your Hard Drive 270
Setting Up Devices That Don't Work (Fiddling with Drivers) 272
Chapter 14: Sharing One Computer with Several People 275
Understanding User Accounts 276
Changing or Adding User Accounts 277
Adding an account for a family member or friend 278
Changing existing accounts 282
Switching Quickly between Users 283
Changing a User Account's Picture 285
Setting Up Passwords and Security 287
Signing in with Windows Hello 289
Chapter 15: Connecting Computers with a Network 291
Understanding a Network's Parts 292
Setting Up a Small Network 294
Buying parts for a network 294
Setting up a wireless router 295
Setting up Windows computers to connect to a network 296
Sharing Files with Your Networked Computers 298
Setting your home network to private 298
Sharing files and folders on your private network 301
Accessing what others have shared 303
Sharing a printer on the network 305
Sharing with Nearby Sharing 306
Turning on Nearby Sharing 306
Sharing files with Nearby Sharing 308
Part 5: Music, Photos, and Movies 311
Chapter 16: Playing and Copying Music 313
Playing Music with the Groove Music app 314
Handing Music-Playing Chores Back to Windows Media Player 317
Stocking the Windows Media Player Library 320
Browsing Windows Media Player's Libraries 323
Playing Music Files in a Playlist 326
Controlling Your Now Playing Items 327
Playing CDs 329
Playing DVDs 330
Playing Videos and TV Shows 330
Creating, Saving, and Editing Playlists 331
Ripping (Copying) CDs to Your PC 333
Burning (Creating) Music CDs 334
Chapter 17: Fiddling with Photos (And Videos) 337
Dumping a Camera's Photos into Your Computer 338
Taking Photos with the Camera App 342
Viewing Photos with the Photos App 343
Viewing your photo collection 344
Viewing photo albums 346
Viewing a slideshow 349
Copying digital photos to a CD or DVD 350
Part 6: help! 353
Chapter 18: The Case of the Broken Window 355
Toggling between Tablet and Desktop Mode 356
The Magic Fixes in Windows 357
Resetting your computer 357
Restoring backups with File History 361
Windows Keeps Asking Me for Permission 366
I Need to Retrieve Deleted Files 367
Fixing Broken Apps 368
My Settings Are Messed Up 368
I Forgot My Password 370
My Computer Is Frozen Solid 371
Chapter 19: Strange Messages: What You Did Does Not Compute 373
Add Your Microsoft Account 374
Choose What Happens with This Device 374
Did You Mean to Switch Apps? 375
Do You Want to Allow This App to Make Changes to This Computer? 376
Do You Want to Save Changes? 376
Threats Found 377
How Do You Want to Open This? 378
We're Not Allowed to Find You 378
Reconnect Your Drive 379
There Is No Email Program Associated to Perform the Requested Action 379
You Don't Currently Have Permission to Access This Folder 380
Chapter 20: Moving from an Old PC to a New Windows 10 PC 381
Hiring a Third Party to Make the Move 382
Buying Laplink's PCmover program 382
Visiting a repair shop 384
Transferring Files Yourself 385
Chapter 21: Help on the Windows Help System 389
Getting Started with Windows 10 390
Contacting Support 391
Microsoft's paid support options 392
Microsoft's free support options 393
Part 7: The Part of Tens 397
Chapter 22: Ten Things You'll Hate about Windows 10 (And How to Fix Them) 399
I Don't Want Windows 10! 399
Windows 10 Keeps Changing! 400
I Want to Avoid the Apps! 401
Pruning apps from the Start menu and your PC 401
Telling desktop programs, not apps, to open your files 402
I Want to Avoid the Desktop! 403
I Don't Want a Microsoft Account 404
Windows Makes Me Sign In All the Time 405
The Taskbar Keeps Disappearing 406
I Can't Line Up Two Windows on the Screen 406
It Won't Let Me Do Something Unless I'm an Administrator! 407
I Don't Know What Version of Windows I Have 408
My Print Screen Key Doesn't Work 409
Chapter 23: Ten or So Tips for Tablet and Laptop Owners 411
Turning on Tablet Mode 412
Switching to Airplane Mode 413
Connecting to a New Wireless Internet Network 414
Toggling Your Tablet's Screen Rotation 415
Adjusting to Different Locations 416
Backing Up Your Laptop Before Traveling 417
Accessing the Mobility Center 418
Turning Calculator into a Road Warrior Tool 418
Index 421
About This Book 2
How to Use This Book 3
Touchscreen Owners Aren't Left Out 4
And What about You? 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Beyond the Book 6
Where to Go from Here 6
Part 1: Windows 10 Stuff Everybody Thinks You Already Know 7
Chapter 1: What Is Windows 10? 9
What Is Windows, and Why Are You Using It? 10
What's New in Windows 10? 12
Should I Bother Upgrading to Windows 10? 14
What's So Different About Windows 10? 16
Why Does Windows 10 Keep Changing? 17
Can My Current PC Still Run Windows 10? 18
The Different Flavors of Windows 10 19
Chapter 2: Starting with the Start Menu 21
Being Welcomed to the World of Windows 22
Understanding user accounts 24
Keeping your account private with a password 25
Signing up for a Microsoft account 27
Figuring Out the Windows 10 Start Menu 29
Toggling between Tablet and Desktop mode 32
Launching a Start menu program or app 33
Finding something on the Start menu 35
Viewing, closing, or returning to apps 36
Getting to know your free apps 38
Adding or removing Start menu items 41
Customizing the Start menu 42
Exiting from Windows 46
Temporarily leaving your computer 47
Leaving your computer for the day 48
Chapter 3: The Traditional Desktop 51
Finding the Desktop and the Start Menu 52
Working with the Desktop 53
Launching apps with the Start menu 55
Jazzing up the desktop's background 56
Toggling between Tablet mode and the desktop 58
Dumpster diving in the Recycle Bin 60
Bellying Up to the Taskbar 61
Shrinking windows to the taskbar and retrieving them 63
Switching to different tasks from the taskbar's Jump Lists 64
Clicking the taskbar's sensitive areas 65
Opening the Action Center 67
Customizing the taskbar 69
Setting Up Multiple Desktops 71
Making Programs Easier to Find 74
Chapter 4: Basic Desktop Window Mechanics 75
Dissecting a Typical Desktop Window 76
Tugging on a window's title bar 77
Navigating folders with a window's Address bar 79
Finding commands on the Ribbon 80
Quick shortcuts with the Navigation Pane 82
Moving inside a window with its scroll bar 84
Boring borders 85
Maneuvering Windows Around the Desktop 86
Moving a window to the top of the pile 87
Moving a window from here to there 87
Making a window fill the whole desktop 88
Closing a window 88
Making a window bigger or smaller 89
Placing two windows side by side 89
Making windows open to the same darn size 90
Chapter 5: Storage: Internal, External, and in the Cloud 91
Browsing the File Explorer File Cabinets 92
Getting the Lowdown on Folders 96
Peering into Your Drives, Folders, and Other Media 97
Seeing the files on a drive 97
Seeing what's inside a folder 100
Creating a New Folder 101
Renaming a File or Folder 103
Selecting Bunches of Files or Folders 104
Getting Rid of a File or Folder 105
Copying or Moving Files and Folders 106
Seeing More Information about Files and Folders 108
Writing to CDs and DVDs 111
Buying the right kind of blank CDs and DVDs for burning 111
Copying files to or from a CD or DVD 112
Working with Flash Drives and Memory Cards 115
OneDrive: Your Cubbyhole in the Clouds 116
Setting up OneDrive 117
Changing your OneDrive settings 120
Opening and saving files from OneDrive 122
Customizing OneDrive for different devices with OneDrive Files On Demand 123
Accessing OneDrive from the Internet 126
Part 2: Working with Programs, Apps, and Files 129
Chapter 6: Playing with Programs, Apps, and Documents 131
Starting a Program or an App 132
Opening a Document 134
Saving a Document 136
Choosing Which Program Should Open Which File 138
Navigating the Microsoft Store 141
Adding new apps from the Store app 142
Uninstalling apps 145
Taking the Lazy Way with a Desktop Shortcut 146
Absolutely Essential Guide to Cutting, Copying, and Pasting 147
The quick 'n' dirty guide to cut 'n' paste 147
Selecting things to cut or copy 148
Cutting or copying your selected goods 149
Pasting information to another place 151
Chapter 7: Finding the Lost 153
Finding Currently Running Apps and Programs 153
Finding Lost Windows on the Desktop 155
Locating a Missing App, Program, Setting, or File 156
Searching with Cortana 159
Setting up Cortana for the first time 160
Turning off Cortana 163
Finding a Missing File inside a Folder 164
Finding Lost Photos 166
Finding Other Computers on a Network 167
Chapter 8: Printing and Scanning Your Work 169
Printing from a Start Menu App 170
Printing Your Masterpiece from the Desktop 172
Adjusting how your work fits on the page 173
Adjusting your printer's settings 175
Canceling a print job 177
Printing a web page 178
Troubleshooting your printer 180
Scanning from the Start Menu 181
Part 3: Getting Things Done on the Internet 185
Chapter 9: Cruising the Web 187
What's an ISP, and Why Do I Need One? 188
Connecting Wirelessly to the Internet 189
Browsing the Web with Microsoft Edge 191
Moving from one web page to another 194
Making Microsoft Edge open to your favorite site 195
Revisiting favorite places 197
Finding things on the Internet 198
Finding More Information with Cortana 199
Saving Information from the Internet 201
Saving a web page 201
Saving text 202
Saving a picture 202
Downloading a program, song, or other type of file 203
Chapter 10: Being Social: Mail, People, and Calendar 205
Adding Your Accounts to Windows 205
Understanding the Mail App 207
Switching among the Mail app's views, menus, and accounts 208
Composing and sending an email 211
Reading a received email 213
Sending and receiving files through email 215
Managing Your Contacts in the People App 217
Adding contacts 219
Deleting or editing contacts 220
Managing Appointments in Calendar 221
Chapter 11: Safe Computing 225
Understanding Those Annoying Permission Messages 225
Staying Safe with the New Windows Defender Security Center 226
Avoiding and removing viruses 228
Avoiding Phishing Scams 231
Setting Up Controls for Children 232
Part 4: Customizing and Upgrading Windows 10 235
Chapter 12: Customizing Settings in Windows 237
Finding the Right Switch 238
Flipping Switches with the Windows Settings App 239
System 240
Devices (Adjusting mice, keyboards, scanners, and other gadgets) 246
Phone (Android, iPhone, and Windows) 250
Network & Internet 250
Personalization (Changing your PC's look and feel) 250
Apps 255
Accounts 258
Time & Language 258
Gaming 259
Ease of Access 259
Cortana 260
Privacy 261
Update & Security 261
Chapter 13: Keeping Windows from Breaking 263
Backing Up Your Computer with File History 264
Finding Technical Information about Your Computer 268
Freeing Up Space on Your Hard Drive 270
Setting Up Devices That Don't Work (Fiddling with Drivers) 272
Chapter 14: Sharing One Computer with Several People 275
Understanding User Accounts 276
Changing or Adding User Accounts 277
Adding an account for a family member or friend 278
Changing existing accounts 282
Switching Quickly between Users 283
Changing a User Account's Picture 285
Setting Up Passwords and Security 287
Signing in with Windows Hello 289
Chapter 15: Connecting Computers with a Network 291
Understanding a Network's Parts 292
Setting Up a Small Network 294
Buying parts for a network 294
Setting up a wireless router 295
Setting up Windows computers to connect to a network 296
Sharing Files with Your Networked Computers 298
Setting your home network to private 298
Sharing files and folders on your private network 301
Accessing what others have shared 303
Sharing a printer on the network 305
Sharing with Nearby Sharing 306
Turning on Nearby Sharing 306
Sharing files with Nearby Sharing 308
Part 5: Music, Photos, and Movies 311
Chapter 16: Playing and Copying Music 313
Playing Music with the Groove Music app 314
Handing Music-Playing Chores Back to Windows Media Player 317
Stocking the Windows Media Player Library 320
Browsing Windows Media Player's Libraries 323
Playing Music Files in a Playlist 326
Controlling Your Now Playing Items 327
Playing CDs 329
Playing DVDs 330
Playing Videos and TV Shows 330
Creating, Saving, and Editing Playlists 331
Ripping (Copying) CDs to Your PC 333
Burning (Creating) Music CDs 334
Chapter 17: Fiddling with Photos (And Videos) 337
Dumping a Camera's Photos into Your Computer 338
Taking Photos with the Camera App 342
Viewing Photos with the Photos App 343
Viewing your photo collection 344
Viewing photo albums 346
Viewing a slideshow 349
Copying digital photos to a CD or DVD 350
Part 6: help! 353
Chapter 18: The Case of the Broken Window 355
Toggling between Tablet and Desktop Mode 356
The Magic Fixes in Windows 357
Resetting your computer 357
Restoring backups with File History 361
Windows Keeps Asking Me for Permission 366
I Need to Retrieve Deleted Files 367
Fixing Broken Apps 368
My Settings Are Messed Up 368
I Forgot My Password 370
My Computer Is Frozen Solid 371
Chapter 19: Strange Messages: What You Did Does Not Compute 373
Add Your Microsoft Account 374
Choose What Happens with This Device 374
Did You Mean to Switch Apps? 375
Do You Want to Allow This App to Make Changes to This Computer? 376
Do You Want to Save Changes? 376
Threats Found 377
How Do You Want to Open This? 378
We're Not Allowed to Find You 378
Reconnect Your Drive 379
There Is No Email Program Associated to Perform the Requested Action 379
You Don't Currently Have Permission to Access This Folder 380
Chapter 20: Moving from an Old PC to a New Windows 10 PC 381
Hiring a Third Party to Make the Move 382
Buying Laplink's PCmover program 382
Visiting a repair shop 384
Transferring Files Yourself 385
Chapter 21: Help on the Windows Help System 389
Getting Started with Windows 10 390
Contacting Support 391
Microsoft's paid support options 392
Microsoft's free support options 393
Part 7: The Part of Tens 397
Chapter 22: Ten Things You'll Hate about Windows 10 (And How to Fix Them) 399
I Don't Want Windows 10! 399
Windows 10 Keeps Changing! 400
I Want to Avoid the Apps! 401
Pruning apps from the Start menu and your PC 401
Telling desktop programs, not apps, to open your files 402
I Want to Avoid the Desktop! 403
I Don't Want a Microsoft Account 404
Windows Makes Me Sign In All the Time 405
The Taskbar Keeps Disappearing 406
I Can't Line Up Two Windows on the Screen 406
It Won't Let Me Do Something Unless I'm an Administrator! 407
I Don't Know What Version of Windows I Have 408
My Print Screen Key Doesn't Work 409
Chapter 23: Ten or So Tips for Tablet and Laptop Owners 411
Turning on Tablet Mode 412
Switching to Airplane Mode 413
Connecting to a New Wireless Internet Network 414
Toggling Your Tablet's Screen Rotation 415
Adjusting to Different Locations 416
Backing Up Your Laptop Before Traveling 417
Accessing the Mobility Center 418
Turning Calculator into a Road Warrior Tool 418
Index 421