- Windows Vista™ Plain & Simple
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- Acknowledgments
- 1. About This Book
- 2. Jump Right In
- 3. Running Programs and Gadgets
- Composing a Document
- Saving, Closing, and Opening a Document
- Copying Material Between Documents
- Copying Your Screen Content
- Dialog Box Decisions
- Inserting Special Characters
- Crunching Numbers
- Writing Your Text
- Typing on Your Screen
- Writing Quick Notes
- Writing and Drawing Notes
- Annotating a Document
- Sharing Your Journal Notes
- Controlling Your Gadgets
- Controlling the Sidebar
- Running Commands
- Running Older Programs
- 4. Communicating and Scheduling
- Sending E-Mail
- Saving and Sending a Draft Message
- Receiving and Reading E-Mail
- Replying to or Forwarding a Message
- Designing Your Default Message
- Adding Your Contacts
- Creating a Contacts Group
- Transferring Files
- Sharing Contacts
- E-Mailing a File
- E-Mailing Your Photos
- Organizing Your Messages
- Managing Your Messages Automatically
- Tracking Your Schedule
- Tracking Your Tasks
- Scheduling a Meeting
- Tracking Multiple Schedules
- Sharing Schedules
- Subscribing to Newsgroups
- Reading and Writing the News
- 5. Exploring the Internet
- What’s Where in Internet Explorer?
- Finding a Web Page
- Opening Multiple Web Pages
- Viewing Multiple Web Pages
- Returning to Your Favorite Sites
- Going to a Specific Web Page
- Setting Your Home Page or Pages
- Finding Something on the Internet
- Saving a Web Page
- Controlling Pop-Up Windows
- Reading RSS Feeds
- Transferring Your Settings
- Copying Material from a Web Page
- 6. Playing Games
- 7. Working with Pictures
- Viewing Your Photos
- Viewing a Photo Slide Show
- Adding Photos to the Gallery
- Importing Photos from Your Camera or Removable Media
- Viewing Photos Stored in Different Locations
- Labeling and Tagging Your Photos
- Editing Your Photos
- Sharing Your Photos
- Getting Camera Information
- Managing Your Photos
- Drawing Pictures
- 8. Working with Multimedia
- Creating a Multimedia Slide Show
- Playing with Multimedia
- Creating a Video DVD
- Downloading a Video from a Camera
- Downloading Video Clips from a Camera
- Downloading Video to a DVD
- Recording a Video from a Camera
- Playing Multimedia with Media Player
- Arranging Your Media with Playlists
- Copying CD Music
- Controlling Video Playback
- Playing a Music CD
- Playing a DVD
- Changing Media Player’s Shape
- Downloading Music
- Sharing Media on Your Network
- Automatically Synchronizing Media with a Portable Device
- Manually Synchronizing Media with a Portable Device
- Watching Windows Media Center
- Using Windows Media Center
- Creating a Simple Movie
- Making Movies That People Actually Enjoy
- Preparing to Produce a Movie
- Creating an AutoMovie
- Creating a Custom Movie
- Adding Transitions to Your Movie
- Using Video Effects
- Adding Titles and Credits
- Adding Audio to Your Movie
- Adding Slides to Your Movie
- Editing Your Movie Layout
- Publishing Your Movie
- 9. Using Voice and Sounds
- 10. Printing and Scanning
- 11. Managing Files and Folders
- Windows Views
- Changing the Window View
- Sorting Your Files and Folders
- Viewing File Information
- Classifying Your Files
- Navigating Folders
- Adding a Link to a Folder
- Finding Specific Types of Files
- Creating Quick Access to a File or Folder
- Organizing Your Files
- Sharing Files with Other Users
- Recovering a Deleted Item
- Using a Removable Memory Device
- Copying Files to a CD or DVD
- Compressing Files
- Navigating with Toolbars
- 12. Networking
- Connecting to a Network Computer
- Exploring Your Network
- Sharing Your Files over the Network
- Sharing a Folder over the Network
- Sharing a Printer over the Network
- Creating a Connection to a Network Folder
- Connecting to a Network over the Internet
- Connecting to a Public Wireless Network
- Connecting Without a Network
- Hosting a Network Meeting
- Joining a Network Meeting
- Participating in a Network Meeting
- Identifying Yourself on a Local Network
- Controlling a Computer over the Network
- Holding a Wireless Meeting
- Using a Network Projector
- 13. Setting Up
- 14. Customizing
- Changing the Overall Look
- Adjusting the Windows Aero Glass Effect
- Changing the Color Scheme
- Setting Your Desktop Background
- Using a Screen Saver
- Customizing Your Mouse
- Customizing the Taskbar
- Moving the Taskbar
- Customizing the Desktop Icons
- Customizing the Start Menu
- Customizing Your Folders
- Changing Your Account Picture
- Changing the Way a CD Starts
- Using Alternative Ways of Working
- Working Alternatives
- Working in a Different Part of the World
- Adding Time Zone Clocks
- 15. Maintaining Security
- Know Your Rights
- Setting Your Password
- Changing Your Password
- Resetting Your Password
- Restricting User Rights
- Protecting Your Account
- Monitoring Your Security Settings
- Configuring the Windows Firewall
- Authorizing Administrative Actions
- Restricting Access to Web Content
- Restricting Access on the Computer
- Maintaining High Security
- Setting Internet Explorer Security
- Restricting DVD Movies in Windows Media Player
- Preventing Access While Using Windows Media Player
- Restricting Content in Windows Media Center
- Creating Trusted Contacts
- Foiling E-Mail Viruses
- Installing Critical Fixes
- 16. Managing Windows Vista
- Adding or Deleting User Accounts
- Changing the Date and Time
- Changing the Display
- Checking the Status of Windows
- So Many Tools and Settings
- Controlling the Power Options
- Managing Settings for a Presentation
- Controlling Your Startup Programs
- Maintaining Your Hard Disk
- Downloading Free Software
- Removing a Software Program
- Starting Up When There’s a Problem
- Fixing System Problems
- Managing Everything
- Removing Spyware
- Helping Each Other
- Backing Up Your Files
- Restoring Backed-Up Files
- Upgrading Windows Vista
- About the Authors
- Choose the Right Book for You
- Index
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With time and use, your computer’s contents can become a bit disorganized. As the information stored in the computer gets used, moved, copied, added to, or deleted, the computer’s hard disk, or drive, can become cluttered with useless or inefficiently organized files. Windows Vista provides a group of maintenance tools whose occasional use can make your computer run more smoothly, more efficiently, and (usually) faster. The table below describes what each of these tools does.
Click the Start button, choose Computer from the Start menu, click the drive that needs attention, and click Properties on the toolbar to display the drive’s Properties dialog box.
Click the appropriate button to use the tool you need, and follow the instructions provided by the program:On the General tab, click Disk Cleanup.
On the Tools tab, under Error-Checking, click Check Now.
On the Tools tab, under Defragmentation, click Defragment Now.
Tip
By default, the Defragmentation program is set to run automatically every week. If it doesn’t run, or if you want to change the schedule, click Modify Schedule in the Disk Defragmenter dialog box.
Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
Disk Cleanup | Checks the disk for unused files that can be deleted. |
Error-Checking | Scans the disk to see whether there are disk errors in any files or folders. Optionally, fixes file-system errors and attempts to recover bad sectors on the hard disk. If the disk is in use, error-checking will be scheduled for the next time you log on. |
Defragmentation | Analyzes the disk to see whether defragmentation is necessary. Re-orders the items on your disk so that files aren’t separated into several noncontiguous parts. Can take a long time to run but speeds up disk performance. |
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