The "Start" Menu in Windows XP

Following on from the "Start" menu sections, we have added this section that deals with the options in the "Start" menu that are specific to Windows XP.

1. Printers and Faxes - again this section really is self explanatory and the fax section now is almost obsolete, but if you have a printer attached to the computer you will find the installed file for it here.
2. Search - this section allows you to find the files that you have stored on your computer.
3. Run - this section goes back to the earlier versions of operating systems and is what is known as a Command Line, which allows you to type specific commands into the computer, most of these commands in newer versions of Windows are handled in a different way.

The "Start" Menu in Vista

Following on from the "Start" menu sections, we have added this section that deals with the options in the "Start" menu that are specific to Windows Vista.

1. Network - this section again will mainly be used by the more advanced user and we will cover more on this section as time goes on, the main object of this section is so that you can set up a network of computers and share files with each other.
2. Connect To - this section really is something that you won't use very often, if the computer you use is a laptop and you move it around from house to house or house to work you may have different Internet connections, this section allows you to select and connect to the Internet connection you would prefer, Windows Vista will usually atomatically connect to the Internet connection it finds first.
3. Default Programs - this section deals with the software that you use, if you would like a particular MP3 player for example to connect to a specific program you can select this in here.
4. Help & Support - click this and you can get help on a specific subject realted to your computer.

The "Start" Menu in Windows 7

Following on from the "Start" menu sections, we have added this section that deals with the options in the "Start" menu that are specific to Windows 7

1. Devices and Printers - This section allows you to view which extra items you have connected to your computer such as MP3 Players, Scanners and also Printers.
2. Default Programs - this section deals with the software that you use, if you would like a particular MP3 player for example to connect to a specific program you can select this in here.

The "Start" Menu Part 1

This week we will be focussing on the "Start" menu, this is a 3 part item that will take you through the basics of th e "Start" menu and what it all means. Most of the tips will cover all versions of Windows, but there are more specific tips on the relevant page at the top of the site.

Now you have your computer switched on and it has started up, you can now see your Microsoft Windows Operating System ready and waiting to take your "commands".
The "Start" menu is represented in Windows nowadays as a symbol which you can see in the pictures we have here, on Windows XP this symbol is obvious as it is labelled "Start", on newer versions of Windows the "Start" menu is represented by the Windows branded symbol, which many cal the Windows Orb.
You will also notice on your keyboard somewhere near to the bottom left there is also a Windows symbol, which if you press it will also access the "Start" menu.
The "Start" menu is the point you where you start to search for software and files on your computer, on newer versions of Windows there are different ways to do this now, but we will concentrate on that method in another article.

Readers Questions - What is a plug-in

We have had an email from an anomymous follower of PCQuickTips, the reader asks

Hi, could you please tell me what a plug-in is?

A plug-in is a piece of software that your Internet browser needs to load a certain part of a website, mainly this will be a video but plug-ins can be used for various tasks within you browser, we will be looking into plug-ins in more detail at a later date.

One of the more common plug-ins you will be asked to install is Flash  which is from a company called Adobe

The Recycle Bin

The recycle bin in Windows is used to when you delete an item from your computer, such as a photo or letter, the deleted item goes into the recycle bin.

The deleted item will stay there until youu choose to "empty" the recycle bin. you can also open up the recycle bin to see which files you have deleted.

To delete all items in the recycle bin, hov over the bin with the mouse pointer, then using your mouse or the buttons on your laptop click the right hand button, you will then see and small menu appear, the two main options you will need are "Empty Recycle Bin" and also "Open", remember if you select the option of "empty" the contents of the reycyle bin are gone.
The option to "open" will bring up another window with various options, here you can empty the recycle bin or to delete a certain file you can click with the left button and then press the delete key on your keyboard to delete forever. You can also "right" click the item and select delete that way.

The Task Bar

The Task bar is situated to the right hand side of the "Start" menu and runs along the bottom of the screen.

You will probably notice that there are 2 or 3 small icons on the taskbar already, these are usually an Internet Explorer icon and a "Show Desktop" icon, this small area is known as the quick launch area, you can place your own items here for quick launch, say if you use a program a lot, such as a word processor this would give you quick access to the program.

The "show desktop" icon is illustrated below, the picture for this icon is very similar on Windows Vista & XP but for Windows 7 the icon appears on the far right hand side of the taskbar.

When you open a program you will also notice that the open program shows up on the taskbar, this will allow you to minimise that program and leave it running so that you can access the items on your desktop.

Another handy feature of the task bar in Windows 7 is the ability to "pin" items to it, which basically means that you can attach your most used folders and software to it, we will be covering this feature in the future.

Handy Quick Tip - Easy Access To "Start" Menu

You can quickly access the "Start" menu from your keyboard by pressing the windows key, usually situated to the bottom left of the keyboard.

Readers Questions - Windows XP Support

We have had a question via email, from Dave,

Dave asks:
How long will Microsoft continue supporting XP?

Well Dave this is an open ended question, Microsoft will support XP as an ongoing product, as long as people are using it, it will generally be supported, our advice is to upgrade as soon as you can, you will not only get better features but also a more secure operating system

The Desktop

The desktop is the large space that takes up most of your screen, we have provided a screenshot of the Windows 7 desktop.

The desktop can also be used to store files and shortcuts to programs, as you can see from our screenshot we have no shortcuts on our desktop.
One of the icons that is there all of the time is the Recycle Bin, this is used to store files that you have deleted, although the recycle bin holds all the files until you "empty" it, once emptied these files have been deleted from your computer.

Handy Quick Tip - Deleting

To permenantly delete a file without it going into the recycle bin, first highlight the file by pointing to it and clicking the left mouse button then hold down the Shift Key and press the Delete key (sometimes marked Del).

Welcome

PCQuickTips will concentrate on all aspects of day to day computing, we aim to do this in a way that is simple to follow.

We will cover all kinds of tips, from basic, to more advanced tips. Most of the tips we provide will be relevant to all versions of Windows, but some will be specific to the version of Windows you have,  for this reason we have split the extra tips up into labels which you can find on the right hand side of this site, you will also see under the tip the version it refers to.
We will also be providing tips on software that you can buy and in some cases download for free and the web sites you can download it from.
We will try and explain thing as simply as we can, but if you are confused by a certain term we use we also have a Jargon Buster.
Also please feel free to post a comment or question under the topic we are discussing or reviewing, there will be a box under the topic for you to do so.

Operating Systems

Computers nowadays use an Operating System, this is the screen you see when you start up your computer, the main operating system used is Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft Windows is supplied in different versions, here we concentrate on Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP as these are the most commonly used
An Operating system in basic terms allows you to use the computer, it lets you give the computer instructions by using the mouse/keyboard. There are many, many commands "built into" all versions of Windows and this site will help you with allthe ones you need to know.

Left & Right Click

You may have heard talk of left and right click, this involves using the mouse or on a laptop the buttons below the mouse "trackpad".
Using a computer on a day to day basis you will notice that to select most items you will use the left button of the mouse, the right button of the mouse is used to open up different options to the user, there are a lot of different options available as the right click option can change from file to file and we will be covering more of the right click options as we go along.