About the Book
Take charge of your computer—faster,
smarter, better!
Now you can do everyday things with your
PC—from updating your antivirus software to offloading pictures from a
digital camera—faster, smarter, and better. Dive in! This friendly, high-energy
guide makes it easy to teach yourself exactly what you need. Use the quick
lists, numbered steps, and helpful examples to master the essentials—and
move on to doing the cool things you want to do!
• From motherboard to mouse, see how it
all hangs together
• Select the right set of features in
a new PC
• Sort out memory and storage options:
RAM, ROM, read, write
• Tame your printer and other peripherals
• Set up your own network and firewall
• Tune an existing setup so that it runs
faster and more efficiently
• Experience great digital video and sound
from your desktop
• Make Microsoft® Windows® XP
work your way
Related Books
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
xi
Introduction xiii
PART I: PRESENTING YOUR
COMPUTER
Once you understand how
a PC is put together and how it functions, you'll be able to tell whether
your computer meets your needs. This part of the book gives a brief history
of the PC and discusses the hardware components that make up a PC.
CHAPTER 1: The Personal
Computer 3
Not Your
Father's Computer 3
What
Business Do You Have With a Computer? 4
Writing
a Few Standards 5
I Like How You Operate 6
The PC:
A Team Effort 7
It's All About You: The User Interface 8
Looking
Behind to Look Ahead 10
CHAPTER 2: The Sum of Its
Parts 13
Balanced
Integration 13
The Parts
Inside Your PC 14
The Motherboard: Backbone for the Bare Bones 14
Brains: The CPU 17
Storage Devices 20
Adapter Cards 22
The Parts
Outside Your PC 23
The Keyboard 23
The Mouse 24
PART II: WHAT MAKES A PC?
Now that you are familiar
with what makes a PC a PC, it's time to delve deeper into the box. This
part of the book explores such important subjects as monitors, hard and
floppy disks, the difference between memory and storage, the PC's visual
and audio components, and networking hardware and software.
CHAPTER 3: Working with
Memory 29
What
Is Memory? 29
How a
PC Uses Memory 30
Bits and Bytes 30
Memory Types for Every Need 32
How Much Memory Is Enough? 38
Windows
XP Memory Management 40
Virtual Memory 41
Selecting a Hard Disk 42
CHAPTER 4: Results You
Can See 45
Monitors:
A Window on the PC 45
How Monitors Work 46
Feature Differentiation 55
Resolution: Dot's What It's About! 56
Color Deep as the Ocean 58
Video
Adapters: What They Are, What They Do 61
Feature That! 63
CHAPTER 5: Saving What's
Important 67
Storage
vs. Memory 67
Hard
Disks: Magnetic Storage for Everyone 70
How They Work 71
Feature Primer 73
Optical
Discs 75
How CDs and DVDs Work 76
Rewritable and Recordable Discs 78
CHAPTER 6: Increasing the
Volume 83
Speaking
of Digital 84
The Trouble with Digital 85
How Digital Sound Works 86
What's
a Sound Card? 91
Digital Audio 92
MIDI 94
Quality
Concerns and Compression 96
Lossy Compression Is Key 97
Windows
Media Player 99
Ripping CDs and a Replacement for MP3 103
CHAPTER 7: From Your Vision
to Your Product 107
Your
Vision: Introducing Digital Imaging 107
Digital Revolution 108
Digital
Cameras 108
How Digital Photography Works 108
How Digital Images Are Stored 112
Digital Video: A Special Case 115
Scanners
118
Interpolated Scanner Resolution 119
Scanner Color Depth 120
Printing
Your Vision, Producing Your Product 122
Basic Printer Types 122
CHAPTER 8: Reaching Out
129
Modems
and Telephone Connections 129
How Modems Work: And What's a Modem, Anyway? 129
DSL and High-Speed Modems, Which Aren't Modems 132
Windows XP and Modems 136
Connecting
to a Connection: Ports 144
Parallel and Serial: But Mostly Parallel 144
Serial Ports: A Little Bit at a Time 145
CHAPTER 9: Works Well with
Others 151
Networking
Hardware and Protocols 151
Wired Fast Ethernet 152
Wireless Networks 153
Popular Protocols 154
Introducing
Microsoft Networking for Windows XP 156
The Network Setup Wizard 157
The New Connection Wizard 157
Sharing
Resources 158
Internet Connection Sharing 158
File and Device Sharing 159
PART III: PRESENTING YOUR
OS: WINDOWS XP
Hardware is only half the
story of what makes up a PC. The other half is software—in particular,
the operating system, which functions continuously behind the scenes of
your PC. This part describes the Microsoft Windows XP operating system
and how you can customize it so it can work faster and smarter for you.
CHAPTER 10: Between You
and Your PC 165
What
the Operating System Is—And What It Does 165
System Tasks 167
User Interface 168
Windows
XP Manages Devices 170
What Are Hardware Resources? 172
The Power
of the Windows XP GUI 175
Benefits of the Windows API 176
CHAPTER 11: Your Personal
Personal Computer 179
Customizing
Windows XP 179
The Start Menu: Access to Work 180
Personalizing the Appearance of Windows 187
Personalizing
a PC for Several People 191
Tailoring
Windows to Your Personal Needs 193
Personalizing Accessibility 193
Personalizing Regional Options 194
CHAPTER 12: (Disk) Integrity
Is Important 197
Windows
XP File Systems 197
FAT32 199
NTFS 200
File
System Maintenance: Best Practices 202
Disk Defragmenter 203
Check Disk 203
CHAPTER 13: Performance
Perfection 207
What
Affects PC Performance? 207
Running Processes 209
Memory Issues 213
Disk Issues 214
CHAPTER 14: Watching Your
PC with the Device Manager 219
The Device
Manager Manages Devices 219
Managing
the Manager 222
Discovering the Device Manager 222
Understanding the Device Manager Icons 224
Reviewing Device Settings 226
Disabling
or Enabling a Device 227
Hardware
Profiles 228
PART IV: NO TIME FOR TROUBLES
Although PCs work well most
of the time, things do go wrong sometimes, and you have to be prepared.
This part of the book focuses on the most common problems and issues you'll
encounter, including resolving hardware conflicts and protecting your computer
from unauthorized access from outsiders via the Internet.
CHAPTER 15: Everybody Needs
a Little Help and Support 235
Get Help:
It's Simple When You Know How 236
Getting Help 236
Searching Help 240
Using Troubleshooters 241
Remote
Assistance 243
A Little Help from Your Friends 243
Microsoft Assisted Support 244
Calling a Complete Stranger 245
CHAPTER 16: The Good and
Bad of Adding Peripherals 249
Understanding
Plug and Play 250
Almost
Everything You Need to Know About Drivers 252
When
New Hardware Doesn't Work 256
Diagnosing Simple Hardware Problems 257
Device Driver Rollback 260
Your
BIOS 261
CHAPTER 17: Safe at Home
and Abroad 263
Basic
Hardware Security 263
The Three
P's: Profiles, Passwords, and Permissions 265
Profiles 265
Passwords 266
Permissions 271
Protecting
Your Computer from Outsiders 279
Network Security 279
Internet Security 280
INDEX 291 |
