Windows 11 For Dummies

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 11 Stuff Everybody Thinks You Already Know 7 Chapter 1: What Is Windows 11? 9 What Is Windows, and Why Are You Using It? 10 What’s New in Windows 11? 12 What’s Missing from Windows 11? 14 Why Does Windows 11 Keep Changing? 16 Can My Current PC Run Windows 11? 16 The Different Flavors of Windows 11 18 Chapter 2: Starting with the Start Menu 19 Being Welcomed to the World of Windows 20 Understanding user accounts 22 Keeping your account private and secure 23 Signing up for a Microsoft account 25 Figuring Out the Windows 11 Start Menu 27 Launching a Start menu program or app 29 Finding something on the Start menu 29 Viewing, closing, or returning to open apps 31 Getting to know your free apps 32 Adding or removing Start menu items 35 Customizing the Start menu 36 Exiting from Windows 39 Temporarily leaving your computer 39 Leaving your computer for the day 41 Chapter 3: The Traditional Desktop 43 Finding the Desktop and the Start Menu 44 Working with the Desktop 45 Launching apps with the Start menu 47 Jazzing up the desktop’s background 48 Dumpster diving in the Recycle Bin 50 Bellying Up to the Taskbar 52 Shrinking windows to the taskbar and retrieving them 54 Switching to different tasks from the taskbar’s Jump Lists 54 Clicking the taskbar’s sensitive areas 55 Seeing the Action Center and Notifications 58 Viewing notifications 58 Seeing Quick Settings icons 60 Watching Widgets 60 Customizing the taskbar 62 Setting Up Virtual Desktops 63 Making Programs Easier to Find 66 Chapter 4: Basic Desktop Window Mechanics 69 Dissecting a Typical Desktop Window 70 Tugging on a window’s title bar 71 Navigating folders with a window’s Address bar 73 Figuring out your folder’s new Menu bars 74 Quick shortcuts with the Navigation pane 76 Moving inside a window with its scroll bar 78 Boring borders 80 Maneuvering Windows Around the Desktop 81 Moving a window to the top of the pile 81 Moving a window from here to there 82 Making a window fill the whole desktop 82 Closing a window 83 Making a window bigger or smaller 83 Neatly placing windows side by side 83 Making windows open to the same darn size 85 Chapter 5: Storing and Organizing Files 87 Browsing the File Explorer File Cabinets 89 Getting the Lowdown on Folders 92 Peering into Your Drives, Folders, and Other Media 93 Seeing the files on a drive 93 Seeing what’s inside a folder 95 Creating a New Folder 98 Renaming a File or Folder 100 Selecting Bunches of Files or Folders 100 Getting Rid of a File or Folder 101 Copying or Moving Files and Folders 103 Seeing More Information about Files and Folders 105 Writing to CDs and DVDs 107 Buying the right kind of blank CDs and DVDs for burning 108 Copying files to or from a CD or DVD 109 Working with Flash Drives and Memory Cards 112 OneDrive: Your Cubbyhole in the Clouds 113 Setting up OneDrive 114 Changing your OneDrive settings 116 Opening and saving files from OneDrive 118 Understanding which files live on OneDrive, your PC, or both places 120 Accessing OneDrive from the internet 122 Part 2: Working with Programs, Apps, and Files 125 Chapter 6: Playing with Programs, Apps, and Documents 127 Starting an App or Program 128 Opening a Document 130 Saving a Document 133 Choosing Which Program Should Open Which File 134 Navigating the Microsoft Store 138 Adding new apps from the Microsoft Store app 138 Uninstalling apps 141 Taking the Lazy Way with a Desktop Shortcut 142 Absolutely Essential Guide to Cutting, Copying, and Pasting 144 The quick ’n’ dirty guide to cut ’n’ paste 144 Selecting things to cut or copy 145 Cutting or copying your selected goods 147 Pasting information to another place 148 Chapter 7: Finding the Lost 151 Finding Currently Running Apps and Programs 151 Finding Lost Windows on the Desktop 153 Locating a Missing App, Program, Setting, or File 154 Finding a Missing File inside a Folder 158 Finding Lost Photos 160 Finding Other Computers on a Network 161 Chapter 8: Printing and Scanning Your Work 163 Printing from a Start Menu App 164 Printing Your Masterpiece from the Desktop 166 Adjusting how your work fits on the page 167 Adjusting your printer’s settings 169 Canceling a print job 171 Printing a web page 172 Troubleshooting your printer 174 Scanning from the Start Menu 176 Part 3: Getting Things Done on the Internet 179 Chapter 9: Cruising the Web 181 What’s an ISP, and Why Do I Need One? 182 Connecting Wirelessly to the Internet 183 Browsing the Web with Microsoft Edge 186 Moving from one web page to another 188 Making Microsoft Edge open to your favorite site 190 Revisiting favorite places 191 Finding things on the internet 193 Finding More Information on a Website 194 Saving Information from the Internet 195 Saving a web page 195 Saving text 196 Saving a picture 196 Downloading a program, song, or other type of file 197 Chapter 10: Being Social: Mail, Calendar, and Teams Chat 199 Adding Your Accounts to Windows 200 Understanding the Mail App 202 Switching among the Mail app’s views, menus, and accounts 202 Composing and sending email 205 Reading a received email 208 Sending and receiving files through email 209 Managing Your Contacts in the People App 212 Adding contacts 214 Deleting or editing contacts 215 Managing Appointments in Calendar 216 Meeting Online with Teams Chat 219 Starting Teams Chat 219 Sending text messages 221 Holding video chats 222 Chapter 11: Safe Computing 227 Understanding Those Annoying Permission Messages 227 Staying Safe with Windows Security 228 Avoiding and removing viruses 230 Avoiding phishing scams 232 Setting up controls for children 234 Part 4: Customizing and Upgrading Windows 11 237 Chapter 12: Customizing Settings in Windows 239 Finding the Right Switch 240 Flipping Switches with the Windows Settings App 241 Adjusting the System settings 242 Connecting and adjusting Bluetooth and other devices 249 Connecting to nearby Wi-Fi networks and internet 255 Personalizing your PC’s look and feel 256 Fixing and removing apps 260 Creating and changing accounts for others 263 Changing date, time, and language settings quickly 263 Setting up for video games 264 Adapting Windows for your special physical needs 264 Managing your privacy and security 266 Staying current and safe with Windows Update 267 Chapter 13: Keeping Windows from Breaking 269 Backing Up Your Computer with File History 271 Finding Technical Information about Your Computer 275 Freeing Up Space on Your Hard Drive 276 Setting Up Devices That Don’t Work (Fiddling with Drivers) 278 Chapter 14: Sharing One Computer with Several People 281 Understanding User Accounts 282 Changing or Adding User Accounts 284 Adding an account for a family member or friend 284 Changing existing accounts 288 Switching Quickly between Users 290 Changing a User Account’s Picture 292 Setting Up Passwords and Security 294 Signing in with Windows Hello 296 Chapter 15: Connecting Computers with a Network 299 Understanding a Network’s Parts 300 Setting Up a Small Network 302 Buying parts for a network 302 Setting up a wireless router 303 Setting up Windows computers to connect to a network 304 Sharing Files with Your Networked Computers 306 Setting your home network to private 306 Sharing files and folders on your private network 310 Accessing what others have shared 312 Sharing a printer on the network 313 Sharing with Nearby Sharing 314 Turning on Nearby Sharing 315 Sharing files with Nearby Sharing 316 Part 5: Music, Photos, and Videos 319 Chapter 16: Playing and Copying Music 321 Playing Music with the Groove Music App 322 Handing Music-Playing Chores Back to Windows Media Player 325 Stocking the Windows Media Player Library 328 Browsing the Windows Media Player Libraries 331 Playing Music Files in a Playlist 334 Controlling Your Now Playing Items 335 Playing CDs 337 Playing DVDs 338 Playing Videos and TV Shows 338 Creating, Saving, and Editing Playlists 339 Ripping (Copying) CDs to Your PC 341 Burning (Creating) Music CDs 342 Chapter 17: Fiddling with Photos, Videos, and Phones 345 Dumping Photos from a Phone or Camera to Your Computer 346 Making Photos and Videos with the Camera App 349 Grabbing Photos from Your Android Phone through the Your Phone App 351 Viewing Photos with the Photos App 354 Viewing your photo collection 355 Viewing photo albums 358 Viewing a slideshow 360 Part 6: Help! 361 Chapter 18: The Case of the Broken Window 363 The Magic Fixes in Windows 364 Resetting your computer 364 Restoring backups with File History 368 Windows Keeps Asking Me for Permission 372 I Need to Retrieve Deleted Files 374 I Need to Fix Broken Apps 374 My Settings Are Messed Up 375 I Forgot My Password 377 My Computer Is Frozen Solid 378 Chapter 19: Strange Messages: What You Did Does Not Compute 381 Add Your Microsoft Account 382 Calendar Notifications 382 Choose What Happens with This Device 383 Deleted Files Are Removed Everywhere 384 Did You Mean to Switch Apps? 385 Do You Want to Allow This App to Make Changes to Your Device? 385 Do You Want to Pin This App to the Taskbar? 386 Do You Want to Save Changes? 386 Enter Network Credentials 387 How Do You Want to Open This File? 388 Keep These Display Settings? 389 Let’s Finish Setting Up 389 No Usable Drive Found 390 Save to OneDrive 391 Select to Choose What Happens with Removable Drives 391 Threats Found 392 USB Device Not Recognized 393 Verify Your Identity on This PC 394 We’re Not Allowed to Find You 394 You Don’t Currently Have Permission to Access This Folder 395 Your Privacy Settings Blocked Access to Your Location 395 Chapter 20: Moving from an Old PC to a New Windows 11 PC 397 Moving to Windows 11 the Microsoft Way 397 Hiring a Third Party to Make the Move 399 Buying Laplink’s PCmover program 399 Visiting a repair shop 401 Transferring Files Yourself 401 Chapter 21: Help on the Windows Help System 407 Getting Started with Windows 11 408 Contacting Support 409 Microsoft’s support options 410 Microsoft’s free support options 410 Part 7: the Part of Tens 413 Chapter 22: Ten Things You’ll Hate about Windows 11 (and How to Fix Them) 415 Knowing Whether Your PC Can Upgrade to Windows 11 416 There’s No Backup Program! 416 I Want the Start Button and Menu in the Lower-Left Corner! 417 Windows 11 Keeps Changing! 418 I Don’t Want a Microsoft Account 418 Windows Makes Me Sign in All the Time 419 I Can’t Line Up Two Windows on the Screen 420 It Won’t Let Me Do Something Unless I’m an Administrator! 421 I Don’t Know What Version of Windows I Have 421 My Print Screen Key Doesn’t Work 422 Chapter 23: Ten or So Tips for Tablet and Laptop Owners 425 Using the New Touchscreen Gestures 426 Switching to Airplane Mode 427 Connecting to a New Wireless Internet Network 428 Toggling Your Tablet’s Screen Rotation 429 Adjusting to Different Locations 430 Turning on the Traffic Widget 431 Backing Up Your Laptop Before Traveling 432 Accessing the Mobility Center 432 Turning Calculator into a Road Warrior Tool 433 Index 435