Windows 10 tips and tricks

Introduction   1What Does This Book Cover?    1What Do I Need to Know to Get Started?    3Chapter 1: Setting Up Windows   5Starting the Installation   5Choosing Between an Upgrade and a Custom Installation   6Choosing the Drive and Partition for a Custom Installation   7Making the Right Choices on the Setup Screens   10Choosing Between Using Default Settings and Configuring Windows Manually    10Choosing Personalization and Location Settings   13Choosing Browser, Protection, Connectivity, and Error Reporting Settings   14Working on the Who Owns This PC? Screen   15Working on the Make It Yours Screen   16Setting a PIN and Meeting Cortana   17Working on the Create an Account for This PC Screen   17Working in the Networks Pane   20Signing In and Out of Windows    21Locking Windows   22Restarting Windows   22Putting Your Computer to Sleep or into Hibernation   22Configuring and Using Cortana   25Configuring Cortana   25Searching with Cortana   27Shutting Down Your Computer   28Chapter 2: Navigating Windows Like a Pro   29Using the Start Menu   29Opening the Start Menu   30Getting Around the Start Menu   30Tweaking Your Input Devices   31Adjusting the Mouse or Touchpad   32Choosing the Right Pen and Touch Settings   38Configuring Pen and Touch Input   42Configuring Your Keyboard   43Configuring Typing Settings   44Configuring Your Language and Keyboard Layout   46Setting Up Speech Recognition   48Inputting Text   50Inputting Text with a Hardware Keyboard   50Inputting Text with the Touch Keyboard and the Handwriting Panel   51Inputting Text via Speech Recognition   54Resizing and Arranging Windows   55Resizing and Closing Windows with the Command Buttons   55Using Snap and Snap Assist   56Arranging Windows Manually   57Resizing, Arranging, and Closing Windows with Keyboard Shortcuts   58Switching Among Open Windows   58Chapter 3: Connecting to Networks and the Internet   61Connecting to a Wired Network   62Connecting to a Wireless Network   63Connecting to a Wireless Network That Broadcasts Its Name   64Connecting to a Hidden Wireless Network   67Disconnecting from and Reconnecting to Wireless Networks   70Whitelisting Your Device on a Wi-Fi Network   70Managing Your Network Connections   71Using Airplane Mode and Turning Off Wireless Devices   71Configuring IP Settings Manually   72Connecting Through a Proxy Server   78Prioritizing One Network Connection over Another   81Bridging Two or More Network Connections   82Improving Wireless Speed and Reliability   84Forgetting a Wireless Network   87Connecting Through a VPN   88Setting Up a VPN Connection   88Connecting via the VPN   90Mapping a Drive to a Network Folder   91Sharing Your Computer’s Internet Connection   94Diagnosing and Repairing Network Problems   95Determining Whether a Problem Has Occurred   96Using the Troubleshoot Problems Feature    97Chapter 4: Connecting External Hardware   99Connecting External Drives   99Making the Physical Connection   99Formatting a Drive   100Configuring an External Drive for Better Performance   102Ejecting an External Drive.    104Sorting Out Your Displays   104Connecting a Display   105Opening the Display Pane in Settings   105Choosing Essential Display Settings   106Choosing Advanced Display Settings   107Using Virtual Desktops   111Setting Up Your Printers   112Connecting a Local Printer   113Connecting a Network Printer   113Configuring Your Printer   114Chapter 5: Customizing Windows to Suit Your Needs   121Customizing the Start Menu   122Choosing Which Categories of Items to Display on the Start Menu   122Customizing the Start Menu Directly   124Customizing the Taskbar   125Moving and Resizing the Taskbar   126Configuring the Taskbar’s Behavior   126Putting the Apps You Need Most on the Taskbar   128Making the Most of Taskbar Toolbars   128Choosing Which Icons to Display in the Notification Area   130Saving Time with Automatic Login--and Why You Shouldn’t   133Making the Lock Screen Show the Information You Need   135Displaying the Lock Screen Pane   135Setting the Picture or Slideshow   135Adding Apps to the Lock Screen for Quick Reference   136Making the Recycle Bin Work the Way You Prefer   137Telling Windows Which Notifications You Want to Receive   139Opening the Notifications & Actions Pane   140Choosing Essential Notifications Settings   140Chapter 6: Sorting Out Your Files, Folders, and Storage   143Navigating File Explorer Quickly and Efficiently   144Opening a File Explorer Window   144Putting Useful Buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar   144Using the File Menu   146Finding Your Way Around the Ribbon   147Customizing How File Explorer Looks and Works   148Changing the Layout   149Customizing the Quick Access View   150Choosing How to Lay Out the Items   150Sorting and Grouping Items   151Choosing Which Items to Show and Which to Hide   152Adjusting Folder and Search Options   152Finding the Files and Folders You Need   162Using Libraries and Folders the Smart Way   163Coming to Grips with the Default Libraries   164Creating a New Library   165Including Folders in Your Library   166Setting the Library’s Default Save Location and Public Save Location   167Configuring the Library to Work Your Way   168Restoring Your Default Libraries   169Managing Your Storage   170Seeing What’s Taking Up Space on Your Computer   170Controlling Where Windows Saves Games, Apps, Music, and Other Items   174Creating Pooled Storage with Storage Spaces   175Understanding Simple Spaces, Mirror Spaces, and Parity Spaces   175Creating a Storage Space    176Using the Storage Space   179Changing an Existing Storage Space   180Deleting a Storage Space   180Chapter 7: Securing and Sharing Your Computer   181Configuring Accounts for Practicality and Security   182Setting Your Profile Picture   182Connecting a Local Account to a Microsoft Account   182Securing Your Account with a Password, Picture Password, PIN, or Windows Hello   184Creating Accounts for Others   186Tightening Your Computer’s Security   189Locking Your Computer with a Startup Password   189Setting Your Computer to Lock Automatically   192Increasing Login Security with Secure Sign-In   193Configuring User Account Control   194Controlling Recent App Switching   197Setting Up Assigned Access   199Configuring Sharing   200Sharing via a Homegroup   200Using Advanced Sharing   205Chapter 8: Optimizing Your Computer’s Performance   211Adding Memory If You Can   212Turning Off Eye Candy to Boost Performance   214Configuring the Paging File   217Controlling Data Execution Prevention   221Stopping Unnecessary Services   222Turning Off Superfetch and Prefetch   227Turning Off Superfetch   227Turning Off Prefetch   227Reducing the Number of Startup Items   229Optimizing and Defragmenting Your Computer’s Hard Drive   231Checking Free Space and Opening the Optimize Drives Window   231Analyzing and Optimizing a Drive   233Choosing Settings for Scheduled Optimization   234Getting Rid of Useless Apps   235Extending Runtime on the Battery   237Setting a Sensible Power Plan   237Using Airplane Mode and Turning Off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth   242Avoiding Power-Hungry Apps   242Choosing Settings for Playing Games   242Chapter 9: Installing, Running, and Managing Apps   245Getting the Apps You Need   245Getting Apps from the Store   246Getting and Installing Apps from Other Sources   252Managing the Apps You’re Running   261Closing an App That Stops Responding   261Going Further with Other Actions in Task Manager   262Removing Unwanted Apps   271Setting the Default Apps You Need   272Opening the Default Apps Pane in the Settings App   273Choosing Your Default Apps   274Choosing Default Apps by File Types or by Protocols   274Choosing Default Apps by Apps   274Opening a File in a Non-Default App and Changing the Default App   276Chapter 10: Enjoying Music, Photos, and Videos   279Understanding Windows Media Player and Groove Music   279Using Windows Media Player   280Setting Up Windows Media Player to Protect Your Privacy   280Navigating Windows Media Player   284Adding Your Music to Windows Media Player   286Playing Music with Windows Media Player   295Syncing Music with Your Phone or Tablet   295Importing Photos and Videos Using Windows Media Player   297Sharing Media Libraries   297Exploring the Groove Music App and the Groove Service   302Getting Started with Groove Music   302Adding Music to Your Groove Music Collection   304Playing Music with Groove Music   306Creating Playlists in Groove Music   306Watching Videos and DVDs   307Chapter 11: Browsing the Internet Safely   309Navigating Microsoft Edge Like a Pro   309Viewing Pages   312Working with Tabs and Windows   313Browsing Fast with Page Prediction   314Copying Text with Caret Browsing   315Removing Distractions with Reading Mode   315Browsing the Smart Way with Favorites   315Returning to Pages You Viewed Earlier   316Catching Up with Your Reading List   317Annotating Web Pages with Web Note   318Controlling Microsoft Edge with Keyboard Shortcuts   320Configuring Microsoft Edge for Comfort and Security   321Configuring General Settings   321Configuring Essential Advanced Settings   323Configuring Privacy and Services Settings   325Clearing Your Browsing Data   327Chapter 12: Communicating via Email and Skype   331Communicating via Email   331Setting Up Your Email Accounts   332Navigating in the Mail App   343Configuring Your Email Accounts and the Mail App   348Communicating via Skype   354Getting the Skype App   354Completing the Initial Setup Routine   356Navigating the Skype Screen   357Communicating via Skype   359Configuring Skype to Work Your Way   360Configuring Keyboard Shortcuts on the Hotkeys Screen   369Choosing Options on the Accessibility Screen   370Saving Your Configuration Changes   371Chapter 13: Updating and Troubleshooting Windows   373Making Windows Update Work Your Way   374Configuring Windows Update   374Applying an Update   377Backing Up Key Files with File History   378Enabling File History   379Using History to Restore Files   381Resolving Issues in Action Center   382Reviewing Security and Maintenance Issues   384Creating and Using System Restore Points   386Creating System Restore Points   386Restoring Windows to a System Restore Point   389Undoing a System Restore Operation   393Solving Problems with the Recovery Tools   395Accessing the Recovery Tools   395Resetting Your PC   396Going Back to an Earlier Build of Windows   397Using the Advanced Startup Tools   398Chapter 14: Going Further with Advanced Moves   405Working with Partitions   405Examining the Partitions on Your Computer’s Drive   406Shrinking a Partition   409Creating a New Partition   410Extending a Partition   413Deleting a Partition   414Running Multiple Operating Systems on Your Computer   416Dual-Booting or Multi-Booting Windows with Another Operating System   416Installing and Running Other Operating Systems with Hyper-V   419Installing and Running Other Operating Systems with Third-Party Virtual-Machine Software   430Making Advanced Changes by Editing the Registry    430Opening Registry Editor and Navigating Its Interface   431Understanding What’s What in the Registry   432Backing Up and Restoring the Registry   433An Example: Removing an App from the Open With Submenu in File Explorer   435Index   437