Lesson 3: Making A Start
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We have gone through some the basic points of buying a PC and described in some details the PCs internal workings, so I suppose now is the best time for you to actually switch the machine on, load Windows and then, just for this lesson, close down windows.
Okay you may have already gone through the sequence of turning the machine on and off but other people viewing these lessons may not have, so this is for their benefit.
If you already know how to switch your computer on, load Windows and then shut everything down again, then you can skip this lesson.
Because starting the PC and loading the operating system etc is achieved via a series of steps, I shall, in this lesson, number each step in sequence.
Log On To Windows
1/ If you have a Desktop PC then first turn on the Monitor. If you are using a Laptop you can proceed straight to step 2.
2/ Next Click the Power button on the PC tower or on your Laptop
3/ The monitor screen will either display your PC manufacturers logo or else the BIOS details will be displayed.
4/ A progress bar will now appear on the screen (See Fig: 1)
Fig: 1 Microsoft progress bar
5/ A few seconds later Windows will start to load and the Windows logo will appear (see Fig: 2)
Fig: 2 The Windows Logo Screen
6/ Next the Windows log on screen appears. At this point type in your user password and then Click the Arrow button to the right of the password dialogue box (See Fig: 3)
Fig: 3 Windows Log On Screen
6/ Finally the Windows Desktop appears (See Fig: 4)
Fig: 4 Details of the Windows Desktop
7/ Explore the desktop and identify all the component parts outlined in Fig: 4. You can also start to read lesson 4 'Handling the mouse' which will give you some hints and tips on how to move the mouse around he desktop.
8/ After you have gained some experience with the mouse and familiarised yourself with the Windows desktop you can close the PC down following the instructions in the 'Shut Down PC' section below.
Shut Down PC
Shut down closes all open programs and then turns the PC off. Of course, this isn't the only option available from the shut own menu, you could, for instance, put the PC to sleep, Hibernate the PC or even Restart the PC from this same menu, but for now let's just concentrate on shutting the PC down completely.
You do this as follows:
1/ Click the Start button
2/ To the far Right of the Search dialogue box you will see a 'switch' icon, a 'lock' icon and, finally, an 'arrow' > icon. Click on the > (arrow) icon to display the menu in Fig: 5
Fig: 5 Shut Down option highlighted in red
3/ To Shut Down the PC click on the 'Shut Down' option (marked in red in Fig: 5, above)
4/ Windows will now start to shut down.
5/ The first screen to appear after clicking the shut down button is the logging off screen (see Fig: 6. below)
Fig: 6 The logging off warning screen
6/ Next you will see the shutting down screen (see Fig: 7, below)
Fig: 7 The shutting down message
7/ A few seconds after the screen above appears your PC will turn off completely.
8/ All you need do now is turn off the PC monitor. If you have a laptop PC then the laptop screen will automatically turn itself off when the laptop shuts own.