Topic Four: GETTING STARTED

Here, we will be looking at the various ways and the functionality of the system. Get started with the system as a new user a whole lot things will be looking at here; perhaps, as a new user, there’re different you need to be familiar with.

However, there are many programmes you need to be familiar with on this topic; you will make use of those programmes mention in this topic.

Here are the following rules to this level:-

START MENU DIAGRAM 4.1

The above diagram 4.1 shows the START MENU, which contains two wings; the Right Wing and Left Wing.

The Right Wings contains the My Documents, My Recent Documents, My Pictures, My Music, My Computer, My Networks Place, Control Panel, Printers and Faxes, Help and Support, Search and Run.

While the Left Wing contains the First partition Icon such as Internet Explorer, Email (Outlook Express) and the second partition Icon Paint, WordPad, Window Media Player, MSN explorer etc.

MY DOCUMENT

Is a Microsoft Windows folder that stores document, program settings, and other files that are used with many of the programs run on the computer. For example, when saving a file in Microsoft Word the default folder will often be My Documents. Saving all the personal files into the My Documents folder makes backing up and locating your personal files easier.

4.1.1   MY DOCUMENT DIAGRAM

The below diagram 1.4.3 shows the My Document, which contains common Files inside the folders such as the My Picture, My Music, Download, and other resources saved by the users of the computer system. Folders Inside

My Documents 4.1.1

4.1.2   MY COMPUTER

This is mostly described as the drives and removable device home such as local disk (C:), floppy disk (A:), CD/DVD drive (D:), Flash drive (E:) and other external device etc.

My Computer also contains programs files and information saved on the system memory. Transfer data (information) stored on the system to the various external drives connected to any of the available drives.

Location My Computer:

My Computer icon can be located at the left top on the system screen called desktop, and Start Menu on the right wing.

My Computer on Start Menu Diagram 4.4

4.1.3  MY NETWORK PLACES

My Network Places displays shortcuts to shared computers, printers, and other resources on the network. The shortcuts are created automatically in My Network Places whenever you open a shared network resource, such as a printer or shared folder. The My Network Places folder also contains hyperlinks to tasks and locations on your computer. These links can help you view your network connections, add shortcuts to network places, and view computers in your network domain or in your workgroup.

Click the Add a network place task to start the Add Network Place Wizard. This wizard helps you to create new shortcuts to shared folders and resources on your network, Web, and FTP servers. If you don't have folders on a Web server already, the Add Network Place Wizard will help you create a new folder for storing your files online.

You can view, manage, move, copy, save, and rename the files and folders you have stored on a Web server just as you would files and folders stored on your computer. When you view the contents of a folder that is stored on the Web, the folder's Internet address is displayed in the Address bar.

OPEN MY NETWORK PLACES

Note

·        To open My Network Places, click Start, and then click My Computer. Under Other Places, click My Network Places.

·        The View workgroup computers task is displayed in My Network Places when your computer is in a workgroup and not in a domain. Double-click this icon to narrow your search to only those computers, printers, and resources that share a workgroup with your computer.

·        If your computer is connected to a workgroup that has less than 32 computers, Windows will automatically create shortcuts in My Network Places to the shared resources in your workgroup.

CONCEPTS ON NETWORKING

Local Area Network

LAN is a communications network serving multiple users within a confined geographical area

(as in the same building or group of adjacent buildings). 

    It usually refers to the interconnection of personal computers (usually called workstations). Shared data is stored in a high performance PC called a file server, which serves as a remote disk drive to all network users.

    Users may also share printers, modems and other peripheral devices. All these computers and devices are connected to a network backbone.

Local Area Network (LAN) Diagram 4.7

WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)

Several LANs can be linked together so that computers in one LAN can exchange data with computers in another LAN. Such inter-network is usually called Wide Area Network (WAN). An example of a WAN can be an education group wishing to connect all its schools over a wide area by one network.