Microsoft Windows 10: The Easy Way!

By Chris Cataldo

If you have read my first book, you will really appreciate this one. In this book, we will learn how to install Windows 10 and how to configure everything that you can ever want to configure. I will warn you that this book is larger than the first book but still maintains the step-by-step approach on how to do something. We will also have screenshots so you can see what to expect when you are doing something in Windows 10.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524699963

Chris Cataldo

My name is Chris Cataldo. I have 30 years of professional computer experience. In 2012, I had decided to write a computer book for kids. This was my first book I wrote and did not expect it to take off. It is now almost 5 years later and I feel it is time for another book! My first book: Computers For Kids (https://www.amazon.com/Computers-Kids-Chris-Cataldo-2012-09-10/dp/B01NH06U6M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486092426&sr=8-2&keywords=chris+cataldo) was a basic book to help kids learn about the computer and its functions. With the great feedback and sales from the first book it is my pleasure to bring to you Windows 10 The Easy Way! This book will take you step by step into the world of Windows 10. This book will also be more detailed than the first book. I am also A+, Network+, MCP and MCSA certified. So, roll up your sleeves and dig right in and learn everything there is to know about Windows 10!

Book preview

2017 Chris Cataldo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse    12/05/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9995-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9996-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017910971

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Microsoft Windows 10 is an independent publication and is neither affiliated with, nor authorized, sponsored, or approved by, Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft products and services—including images, text, and software downloads (the content)—are owned either by Microsoft Corporation or by third parties who have granted Microsoft permission to use the content. Microsoft cannot grant you permission for content that is owned by third parties. You may only copy, modify, distribute, display, license, or sell the content if you are granted explicit permission within the End-User License Agreement (EULA) or License Terms that accompany the content or are provided in the following guidelines. For more information, consult your copyright attorney.

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Windows 10: An Introduction

Chapter 1: Installing Windows 10

Chapter 2: Navigating Windows

Chapter 3: The Settings Applet – Part 1: System

Chapter 4: The Settings Applet – Part 2: Devices

Chapter 5: The Settings Applet – Part 3: Network and Internet

Chapter 6: The Settings Applet – Part 4: Personalization

Chapter 7: The Settings Applet – Part 5: Apps

Chapter 8: The Settings Applet – Part 6: Accounts

Chapter 9: The Settings Applet – Part 7: Time and Language

Chapter 10: The Settings Applet – Part 8: Gaming

Chapter 11: The Settings Applet – Part 9: Ease Of Access

Chapter 12: The Settings Applet – Part 10: Privacy

Chapter 13: The Settings Applet – Part 11: Update And Security

Chapter 14: Microsoft Edge – Your New Browser

Chapter 15: The Recycle Bin – The Windows Trash Can

Book Exercises

Last Words from The Author

Contact the Author:

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for the support of this book. These names are not listed in any special order:

Kelly Aponte: I’ve known you for 33 years and you were and still are always by me in whatever I do. I have been stalling this book for months and when I told you I was thinking about writing this, I got Just Do It!.

My mom and Frank (my stepfather): Both of you were so excited when I said I was writing my 2nd book. Both of you have been by my side 100% of the way in no matter what I do.

You, the reader: Without the success and support of the first book, there would be no second book. Let me personally thank you for supporting my books. If anyone would like to contact me directly, please feel free to see the Contact the Author section in this book.

Windows 10:

An Introduction

What is Windows 10?

Windows 10 is Microsoft’s latest operating system. An operating system is the software part of the overall functionality of the personal computer. It works with the computer’s hardware to display something on your computer screen, print a document, or even something as simple as getting onto the internet.

What Do I Need to Run Microsoft Windows 10?

Do you agree with these recommendations?

Microsoft recommends the following specifications to run Windows 10 on a PC:

In my own professional opinion, these recommendations are on the low end. To be quite honest, these specifications would not be hard to fulfill but they will not be sufficient to run a PC effectively. If you are interested in purchasing a Windows 10 PC, please my recommendations below. Please keep in mind that my specifications are average and basically a standard at this point (February 2017). I will also show you what I believe you should get, not only to fulfill requirements but to also make your PC last longer.

Here are my recommendations:

STANDARD CONFIGURATION

RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION

You might be saying to yourself, are you nuts? I will never use all that! The truth is, my recommended configurations will most likely be the standard in less than five years. Why spend $700 now for a standard PC when you can spend $1000 and have that PC last you almost double the time. The key here is, when you purchase a PC always buy more than what you need. The reason behind this is to avoid spending extra money and allowing for growth. Whether you buy a desktop, laptop or tablet, always plan 5 years out. You should not have to buy a computer every two years. A standard configured computer will only last you about two to three years and will run you about $400-$600.

Now that you know what Windows 10 is and what the basic requirements are, you are now ready to install Windows 10 on your PC. In the next chapter we will start by installing Windows 10 step by step. Let’s get started!

Chapter 1

Installing Windows 10

What is BIOS and Why Do We Need to Know About It?

The BIOS of the computer is a chip inside the computer that controls all input and output operations. You might be saying to yourself, Who cares? I thought this chapter was about installing Windows 10! Well, it is. You need to know a little about BIOS because you will need to get into this utility to boot the computer to a DVD or flash drive where Windows 10 is located. If you do not change the boot order in BIOS, you will never be able to boot the computer off the proper device. The term boot means to start up" the computer. BIOS comes up before Windows does in the next few paragraphs we will explain this in further detail.

So, what does this BIOS thing look like?

Every computer requires a certain function key that enables you to get into BIOS. If you look at your keyboard, the function keys are at the top and they are labeled as follows: F1, F2, F3 and so on. You need to hit a certain key or key combination to access BIOS. For example, on a HP computer, once turned on, you will need to press the ESC F10 key. This will get you into the BIOS.

1.jpg

In this screenshot, it wants you to press the ESC key. Once you press the ESC key, you then press F10. When you press the ESC key, you not only get the option to go into BIOS, but you get other options as well. Some of these options are:

➢ Viewing system information.

➢ Booting to other devices such as internal hard drives or USB devices.

➢ Entering BIOS

Once you are in BIOS, you will see a screen that has a bunch of information on it.

At the top, you will see a menu. One of the menu options is BOOT. This option may vary slightly on your computer. Once you are in the boot menu option, you will see something that reads Boot Order or Boot Priority.

See the below screenshot.

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Your computer will have very similar options. As you can see, there are multiple boot options available. What does this mean though? The first boot device tells the computer to use this item first. If the first boot device isn’t working or does not exist, it will go to the 2nd boot device. This process continues until all boot devices are exhausted. If the computer goes through all boot devices and cannot find a device to boot from, it will return an error message such as the below screenshot.

4.jpg

You will now need to make your CD/DVD ROM drive your primary or 1st boot device. There are a few different ways to do this. When on the boot priority screen, use your arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate to the CD/DVD ROM drive. Once this is highlighted (usually gray or blue), you will need to press the + or – keys to move the CD/DVD ROM drive up to the 1st boot device position. On some BIOS versions, you will need to tap your F5 or F6 to accomplish this task.

Once you have the CD/DVD ROM drive in the 1st boot device slot, you may now go ahead and press the ENTER key. Okay, so now you are saying to yourself, That wasn’t so bad!. Well, here comes the tricky part. After you press the ENTER key, you may get prompted with a message that only lasts for 3 seconds! The message that may display on your screen is "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD…". You will once again need to press the ENTER key. If you miss this prompt, you will need to shut down the computer and start the whole process over again by going back into BIOS and verifying that your CD/DVD ROM drive is your first boot device and trying to boot from CD/DVD. If all goes well, Windows 10 installation is starting! You are now ready to move on to the next section in this chapter to install Windows 10 on your computer!

The Windows 10 Installation

Once you go through the BIOS and boot off the computer off your CD/DVD drive or flash drive, (depending on the format of your Windows 10 installation media), you will start to see the actual Windows 10 installation screens. This will lead you through the options that you will need to get Windows 10 up and running on your computer.

Once the installation starts, the first screen you will see, will look like the one below:

5.jpg

On this initial screen, you will see three (3) items that you need to set:

a) Language to install

b) Time and currency format

c) Keyboard or input method

In the first item, Language to install, here in the U.S. you would click on English. The screen looks like this when you click on the arrow to choose your language.

6.jpg

In my case here, per the screenshot, there is only one (1) option. That is English.

The next item, Time and currency format, has some more choices that you can pick from when you click on the arrow to choose:

7.jpg

In this screenshot, you can pick English (United States) if you live in the U.S. If you want English and are not in the U.S., then you can choose English (World). This is just the Time and currency format that you want Windows 10 to display. Since we are in the United States, we will choose that and move on to the next item that we need to configure.

The next item, Keyboard and input method, will match the Time and currency format country. In the previous screenshot, we had chosen English (United States). In this item, we will choose US". Please see the screenshot below:

8.jpg

Once you have chosen all three items and have reviewed them, you may now move forward by clicking NEXT.

9.jpg

Once we click Next, we will see the next screen that allows us to "Install Now".

10.jpg

Go ahead and click Install Now and we will move ahead with the next part of the installation. Here’s where things get interesting! Setup now starts!

11.jpg

After this screen changes, we will be presented with the dialog box for the Microsoft license terms. You will need to accept these terms to move on with the installation. There is no way to bypass this.

12.jpg

Here we are at the Microsoft license terms. On this screen, you will need to click in the box next to the words that read "I accept the license terms. After doing this, the Next" button will be clickable.

NOTE: Unfortunately, people do not read license agreement or any sort of terms and conditions. These documents are included not to annoy you but are there to make you aware of possible limitations or software incompatibilities. You should read through these no matter how short or long they are. They are there for your protection.

On this next screen, we will have two options to do the installation. The first option is to do an Upgrade. The second option is to do a Custom or Advanced install. The screen looks like this:

13.jpg

You might be wondering what the difference is between the two options. Let me explain it in more detail:

Upgrade: This option does exactly what it sounds like. It UPGRADES your existing Windows installation. When upgrading to Windows 10, you must have one of the following already installed:

Microsoft gives you this upgrade option to make it easier to go from one version of Windows to another. Keep in mind, in my opinion, this is NOT the best way to go. We will get into this in the next few pages.

The Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant

It is strongly recommended that