Nancy C. Muir

Article / Updated 11-12-2021

Windows 7 is designed for networking and working with the internet, so when your network connection isn’t working, it can be particularly frustrating. Fortunately, Windows 7 comes with a built-in troubleshooter that you can use to repair a broken network connection. Choose Start→Control Panel→Network and Internet. Then click the Network and Sharing Center link. Click the Fix a Network Problem link. The link pulls you straight into the Control Panel’s Troubleshooting guide for the network. Click the link for the type of network connection that has been lost. There are several different troubleshooters available: Internet Connections: When you can’t connect to the Internet or to a particular Web site Connection to a Shared Folder: When you can’t connect to a file or folder that you thought was shared HomeGroup: When you’re unable to view files or computers in your homegroup Network Adapter: When you’re unable to communicate with your router or modem Incoming Connections to This Computer: When you’re unable to let other computers in your network communicate with your PC Work your way through the troubleshooting guide. Windows 7 will ask you a series of questions. As you respond, you’ll get closer and closer to the answer. If Windows suggests an action you must perform, such as plugging in a cable, do so. When the solution is found, close the Network troubleshooting guide. Sometimes the troubleshooter isn't able to correct the problem. In that case, it’s best to delete the connection and just create it again by clicking the Set up a New Connection or Network link in the Network and Sharing Center window and entering the correct settings.

Article / Updated 09-17-2021

Windows 10 allows you to create multiple user accounts; each account saves certain settings and allows you to control files and folders separately. Below are the procedures that you can follow to get a new user account set up on your new computer. You must have administrator status to create new users. When you first set up Windows 10, the first user created will automatically be an administrator account. Try a keyboard shortcut to get to the Settings window. Press the Windows key + i. Click Accounts. In the Accounts screen shown in the following figure, click Family & Other Users and then click Add Someone Else to This PC (the setting is represented by a plus sign). If the new user is a child, click Add a Family Member and then in the Add a Child or Adult window select Add a Child. This turns on Family Safety features and allows you to make safety settings. In the resulting window, shown in the following figure, enter a Microsoft email address. Note that if the person doesn't have a Microsoft email account, you should create a new account using the The Person I Want to Add Doesn't Have an Email Address link. Click Next. In the Good to Go dialog box, click Finish. After you create an account, when a user with administrative privileges is logged in, they can make changes to the user account in the Family and Other Users settings. Click on a user Account, click Change Account Type, and then choose an account type from the drop-down list in the Edit Account dialog box. If you prefer, you can log in with a four-digit PIN in place of a traditional password. This makes it quicker to sign in. When you've logged in as the user for which you want to set a PIN, go to the Accounts settings shown in the first figure and click Sign-in Options. In the PIN setting, click the Add button. You can set up several user accounts for your computer, which helps you save and access specific user settings and provides privacy for each user's files with passwords. To change to another user account after you've logged in, you can press the Windows key + L to go to the Windows lock screen. Windows 10 logs off. Click to display the sign-in screen. Click the username you want to log in as, type the password, and press the arrow key to the right of the password field to go to the Windows desktop.

Article / Updated 06-09-2021

If there's a site you intend to revisit, you may want to save it to Microsoft Edge's Favorites list in the Hub so you can easily go there again. To use this feature: Open Microsoft Edge from the desktop, enter the URL of a website that you want to add to your Favorites list, and then press Enter. Click the Add to Favorites or Reading List button on the address bar. In the pane that opens, click Favorites at the top. Modify the name of the Favorite listing to something easily recognizable, as shown in the following figure. If you wish, choose another folder from the Create In drop-down list to store the favorite in. Or, to create a new folder, click the Create New Folder link, and then type a name in the Folder Name text box that appears. Click the Add button to add the site. You can go back to one of your favorites at any time from the Hub. With Microsoft Edge open from the desktop: Click the Hub button (a set of three jagged horizontal lines) on the address bar. In the Hub pane that appears (see the following figure), click the Favorites (star) button. If you saved the favorite in a folder, click the folder in the list. (Click Favorites above the folder contents if you click the wrong folder.) When you see the favorite to open, click it. The Hub pane closes, and the favorite appears in the current tab. Additionally, the Add to Favorites or Reading List button changes to show a filled yellow star. Regularly cleaning out your favorites or reading list is a good idea — after all, do you really need the sites that you used to plan last year's vacation? With the Hub displayed, right-click any item and then choose Remove to delete it. In some cases, the shortcut menu has a Rename command, too. Click it to rename the item. If you created new folders when adding other favorites, you can manually transfer other favorites into those folders. To do this, just display the Hub and click and drag a favorite listed there onto a folder. To move a favorite from within a folder back to the main favorites list, open the folder in the Hub, and then drag the favorite onto the word Favorites above the folder content.

Article / Updated 06-09-2021

The two tricks to downloading files while staying safe from malware are to only download from sites you trust and to never download file attachments on emails that you aren't completely sure are safe. The most dangerous files to download are executable files that sport an .exe extension at the end of the filename. Clicking on these will run a program of some kind, and could therefore pose an active threat. Open a trusted website that contains downloadable files. Typically, websites offer a Download button or link that initiates a file download. If you don't know of a file to download but want to practice these steps, try downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader DC from Adobe's site. It's a handy and popular utility program. Click the appropriate link or button to proceed. (This button often is called Download, but on the Adobe site, it may be called Install.) Windows might display a dialog box asking your permission to proceed with the download; click Yes. The download also might open in a separate Microsoft Edge window in some cases. By default, a security scan runs during the download of the document. The toolbar that appears along the bottom of the Microsoft Edge window, shown in the following figure, displays different choices depending on the type of file downloaded: For an executable file, click Run to download the file to a temporary folder. You can run a software installation program, for example. However, beware: If you run a program you obtained from the internet, you could be introducing dangerous viruses to your system. You might want to set up an antivirus program to scan files before downloading them. For a document file, such as a PDF file, click Open to open the file in another browser tab or the app that's installed on your computer for that type of document. For executable files, consider using an antivirus program to scan them before opening the files. For any type of file, click View Downloads. The Hub opens and shows you recent downloads, as shown in the following figure. You can click the Clear (X) button beside a download to remove it from the list, or click Clear All to clear the list of past downloads. Or, you can click Open Folder to open your Downloads folder to work with downloaded files. Press Esc or click elsewhere on the browser window to close the Hub pane. The Downloads folder is one of your default user folders. Note that you can download some website picture files by right-clicking and clicking Save Picture. Make sure you have the proper permissions to use any content you download from the web. If you're worried that a particular file might be unsafe to download (for example, if it's from an unknown source, or if you discover that it's an executable file type, which could contain a virus), click Cancel in the download toolbar. If a particular file will take a long time to download (some can take 20 minutes or more), you may have to babysit it. If your computer goes into standby mode, it could pause the download. If your computer automatically downloads Windows updates, it may cause your computer to restart automatically as well, cancelling or halting your download. Check in periodically to keep things moving along.

Article / Updated 06-09-2021

The Microsoft Edge browser has a number of helpful features you can take advantage of to keep track of useful websites, keep websites from tracking your activity, and make notes on web pages. See where you've been lately If you went to a site recently and want to return there but can't remember the name, you might check your browsing history in Microsoft Edge's Hub to find it. In Microsoft Edge, click the Hub button in the address bar and then click the History button (with the clock face on it) in the Hub pane to display the History list (see the following figure). As the History list accumulates items, it groups them by date, such as Last Hour, Today, and Last Week. You can click any of the time category labels to expand or collapse the entries in the group (see the following figure). Once you've expanded the desired time category, you can click an item to go to it. The History pane closes. To delete a single item from the History list, move the mouse pointer over it, and click the Delete (X) that appears at the right. (Refer to preceding figure.) You can also right-click the item and click Delete. To remove all the history items, click the Clear All History link at the upper right in the History pane. You can pin the Hub pane open temporarily by clicking the Pin This Pane button (with the pushpin on it) in the upper-right corner of the pane. Click the Close (X) button that replaces the pin button when you want to unpin the pane. Block websites from tracking your browsing habits InPrivate Browsing is a feature that stops Microsoft Edge from saving information about your browsing session, such as cookies and your browsing history. InPrivate Browsing allows you to block or allow sites that automatically collect information about your browsing habits. This feature is not active by default when you open an Edge window. To use InPrivate Browsing, Open Microsoft Edge and click the More Actions button. In the menu that appears, click New InPrivate Window. As shown in the figure, the new Microsoft Edge browser window that appears displays InPrivate in the upper-left corner. The tab that appears is titled InPrivate and displays a description of InPrivate browsing. You can now surf the web privately by entering a search phrase or web address in the Search or Enter Web Address box and pressing Enter, or by clicking in the Address bar, typing a web address, and pressing Enter. To turn off InPrivate Browsing, click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the InPrivate window. If you don't want to use InPrivate Browsing but would like to periodically clear your browsing history manually, with Microsoft Edge open, click the Hub button at the right side of the address bar, and then click the History button at the top of the pane. Click the triangle icon beside any date category to review your history for that date, and click the Delete (X) button if you decide to delete it. Or, you can click Clear All History to delete all history entries. Press Esc to close the Hub when you finish. Adjust your Edge settings You can work with a variety of settings to adjust how Microsoft Edge works. Click the More Actions button at the far right end of the Microsoft Edge address bar, and then click Settings in the menu that appears. In the Settings pane that appears, make selections for settings, such as: Choose a Theme: Choose the Light or Dark theme from this drop-down list. Show the Favorites Bar: Use the On/Off slider to control whether an additional favorites bar appears below the address bar. Open With: The choices here determine what displays when you start Microsoft Edge. Open New Tabs With: This drop-down list controls the content for new browser tabs. Clear Browsing History: Click the Choose What To Clear button here to delete various types of browsing data such as your browsing history, cookies, of passwords. Reading View Style and Reading View Font Size: Make choices from these drop-down lists to change the colors and text size for the Reading view. You can move the mouse to the right edge of the screen to display the scroll bar, and then scroll down and click the View Advanced Settings button. This displays an additional pane of Microsoft Edge settings including how to handle pop-ups, using Adobe Flash Player, and managing passwords. Add notes to a web page With Microsoft Edge you can add your own highlighting and notes to a web page. For example, you might do this to capture your own experience with a recipe or instructions for a project. After you start Microsoft Edge and display the web page that you want to make notes on, click the Make a Web Note button on the address bar. In the toolbar that appears, click the lower-right corner of the pen or highlighter button, and then click the color to use (see the figure), or a size/shape option at the bottom. Drag with the mouse to write or draw on the page (refer to the figure). Release the mouse button whenever you want to stop marking, and press it again to restart your note taking. Click the Save Web Note button on the toolbar. An Add To dialog box appears. Click either Favorites or Reading List at the top, and then click the Add button. Click the Exit button on the web Notes toolbar. Writing and drawing onscreen with a regular mouse can be awkward. You can get a drawing tablet and stylus that connects to your computer via USB. After you plug it in and set it up, if needed, you can use the stylus to write and draw just like a pencil. Using one of these tablets makes adding web notes feel the same as doodling on paper. When you view your page with web notes from your Favorites list at a later time, a toolbar appears below the address bar. It offers Hide Notes and Go To Original Page buttons.

Article / Updated 06-18-2020

Despite your best efforts at using safe practices, you may find yourself with a virus or malware on your laptop. These are not fun and often slow the functionality of your computer. You can take a few proactive steps to make sure your laptop is safe by running a scan with Window Defender. To do so, just follow these easy steps. In the Settings window, click Update & Security, and then click the Windows Defender option on the left side. In the Windows Defender dialog box that appears, click Open Windows Defender Security Center. In the window that appears, click the Virus and Threat Protection button on the left side (it’s shaped like a shield). Click the Quick Scan button.Windows Defender scans your computer and reports any findings. Click Advanced Scan in the Windows Defender Security Center window to choose among a full scan, a custom scan, or an offline scan.Windows Defender scans your laptop according to your choice and reports any findings.

Article / Updated 01-05-2018

When a new operating system such as Windows 10 is released, it has been tested for many months; however, when the product is made available for general use, the manufacturer begins to get feedback about a few problems or security gaps that it couldn’t have anticipated. For that reason, companies such as Microsoft release updates to their software, both to fix those problems and deal with new threats to computers that appear after the software release. Windows Update is a tool you can use to make sure your laptop has the most up-to-date security measures in place. Today most updates happen automatically, but using Settings, you can control how frequently those installations happen. You can set Windows Update to install updates and restart to complete the installation at certain times or days by following these steps: In the Start menu, click Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update. Click the Restart Options link. In the resulting Restart Options dialog box, you find these settings: Automatic On/Off switch: Click this setting to turn the feature on, and then choose when you want updates installed. Pick a Time/Pick a Day: You can make settings to choose a time of day to install updates, or pick a day to install. In most cases a daily update is sufficient.

Article / Updated 01-05-2018

It’s important to understand the potential security threats that could impact your laptop. Every day you carry around a wallet full of cash and credit cards, and you take certain measures to protect its contents. Your laptop also contains valuable items in the form of data, and it’s just as important that you protect it from thieves and damage. Some people create damaging programs called viruses specifically designed to get at your laptop’s hard drive and destroy or scramble data. Companies might download adware on your laptop, which causes pop-up ads to appear, slowing down your laptop’s performance. Spyware is another form of malicious software that you might download by clicking a link or opening a file attachment; spyware sits on your laptop and tracks your activities, whether for use by a legitimate company in selling products to you or by a criminal to steal your identity. Your laptop comes with an operating system (such as Microsoft Windows) preinstalled, and that operating system has security features to protect your valuable data. Sometimes the operating system has flaws or new threats emerge, and you need to get an update to keep your laptop secure. You can also use Windows security tools such as Windows Defender to protect your laptop from dangerous computer programs collectively known as malware.

Article / Updated 01-05-2018

If you find yourself needing to use the Internet in a sticky situation and there is no Wi-Fi available, it’s possible to use a smartphone’s 3G or 4G connection to connect your laptop to the Internet. You may have to pay your phone service provider a monthly fee for this service, called tethering or personal hotspot. In addition, your laptop has to be Wi-Fi capable (newer laptops all are). Check with your service provider before tethering. Each provider differs on how they charge for this service and you don’t want to incur unwanted fees. Start by turning on the hotspot feature on your phone (typically this is found in Network settings). On your laptop, press Win+I, and then click Network & Internet. Click Show Available Networks and then click your phone’s Wi-Fi connection. Click Connect and enter the security key. Click Next. Be aware of the drain on your phone’s battery when tethering. Connect your phone to a power source when tethering, if possible, and turn off hotspot when you’re not using it.

Article / Updated 01-05-2018

Your Windows 10 laptop will make it easy for you to participate in discussions on the internet. A discussion board is a place where you can post written messages, pictures, and videos on a topic such as home improvement. Others can reply to you, and you can respond to their postings. In a variation on discussion boards, you’ll find blogs (web logs) everywhere you turn. Blogs are hosted on websites where the owner can post articles on a topic such as cooking or politics. You can also post your comments about those blog entries. Discussion boards and blogs are asynchronous, which means that you post a message (just as you might on a bulletin board at the grocery store) and wait for a response. Somebody might read it that hour — or ten days or several weeks after you make the posting. In other words, the response isn’t instantaneous, and the message isn’t usually directed to a specific individual. You can find a discussion board or blog about darn-near every topic under the sun, and these are tremendously helpful when you’re looking for answers. They’re also a great way to share your expertise — whether you chime in on how to remove an ink stain, provide historical trivia about button styles on military uniforms, or announce the latest breakthroughs in your given field. Postings are likely to stay up on the site for years for people to reference. To try using a discussion board, first go to Microsoft’s site. Some discussion boards require that you become a member, with a username, and sign in before you can post. This site lets you sign in with the same Microsoft account that you use to sign in to Windows 10. On the lower-left corner of the screen, the default language and region is English. You can click that link and then click another language of your choice. Then click a topic area near the top under Browse the Categories, such as OneDrive. In the topic list that appears, click another topic, such as Getting Started with OneDrive, to see more options. Continue to click until you get to a specific discussion thread. When you click a posting that has replies, you’ll see that the replies are listed down the page in easy-to-follow threads, which arrange postings and replies in an organized structure. You can review the various participants’ comments as they add their ideas to the conversation. To reply to a posting yourself, first click the posting and then click the Reply link. For this site, you then type your comments in the Reply box, scroll down, and click Submit.