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Overview
Are you new to the world of laptops? You've come to the right place! Laptops For Dummies covers the many topics and issues unique to laptops, including synchronizing with the desktop, coordinating email pick-up between two machines, remotely accessing the desktop, networking, power management, storage, security, and more.
Nothing is more liberating than having a computer you can take with you. A laptop offers you full computer power, a decently sized keyboard, a nice-looking display, and the ability to go wireless — not to mention how cool you look checking email and Facebook at Starbucks. © Undrey / Shutterstock.comMy laptop infoWhether you’re talking to tech support or buying a new toy for your laptop, you should have the following details about your laptop on hand.
About The Author
Dan Gookin has been writing about technology for 20 years. He has contributed articles to numerous high-tech magazines and written more than 90 books about personal computing technology, many of them accurate.
He combines his love of writing with his interest in technology to create books that are informative and entertaining, but not boring. Having sold more than 14 million titles translated into more than 30 languages, Dan can attest that his method of crafting computer tomes does seem to work.
Perhaps Dan’s most famous title is the original DOS For Dummies, published in 1991. It became the world’s fastest-selling computer book, at one time moving more copies per week than the New York Times number-one best seller (although, because it’s a reference book, it could not be listed on the NYT best seller list). That book spawned the entire line of For Dummies books, which remains a publishing phenomenon to this day.
Dan’s most recent titles include PCs For Dummies, 9th Edition; Buying a Computer For Dummies, 2005 Edition; Troubleshooting Your PC For Dummies; Dan Gookin’s Naked Windows XP; and Dan Gookin’s Naked Office. He publishes a free weekly computer newsletter, “Weekly Wambooli Salad,” and also maintains the vast and helpful Web site www.wambooli.com.
Articles From The Book
3 results
Basic Skills
Articles
The spending doesn’t stop after you buy the laptop. Nope—there are many, many laptop toys you can buy. Beyond software are gizmos and gadgets galore. Some are standard computer peripherals, like media cards, but most are wonderful and useful items you can get to enhance your laptopping experience.
Laptop bag or travel case
A handsome laptop traveling tote is a must.
Basic Skills
Articles
Most of the useful Windows keyboard shortcuts on your laptop involve the Windows key. It’s labeled with the Windows logo, and it’s referred to as the Win key. Several Win key shortcuts are good to know, especially on a laptop where using the keyboard can often be faster than using the touchpad or finding an external mouse.
Basic Skills
Articles
Without a battery, your laptop would be merely a tiny, overpriced PC. You need the battery to give the laptop its power of portability. There also comes a battery of battery issues, most of which involve squeezing the largest amount of life out of a limited supply of battery juice. © DenPhotos / Shutterstock.com
Don't drop the battery, get it wet, short it, play keep-away with it, open it, burn it, or throw it away
Enough said.
Basic Skills
Articles
Hopefully, you have purchased your laptop a handsome bag. And after you have the bag, and all that room, what are you going to put in it? Well, yes, of course: The laptop goes into the case. Duh. What else? Anything you truly need? Anything you might forget? Here’s a list of ten items you should consider throwing (or gently tossing) into your laptop’s case.
Basic Skills
Articles
As with all things in the computer universe, there are two sides to laptop maintenance: hardware and software. The good news is that nothing will ever leak out of your laptop, nor will your laptop ever emit an odor strong enough to require the use of an air freshener.
Maintaining the storage system
Disk maintenance was once a common activity, with nerds bantering back and forth about which utilities to use and how often to run them.
Basic Skills
Articles
It would be nearly impossible to mention every dang doodle problem your laptop can experience. So, rather than list every dang doodle one of them, or 1,000 or even 100, here are five that come up frequently.
“The keyboard is wacky!”
Keyboard problems happen more often than you would imagine. The solution is generally simple: You accidentally press the Num Lock key on the laptop’s keyboard, and half the alphabet keys on your keyboard start acting like numbers.
Basic Skills
Articles
One way that the laptop’s mass storage conspires with the operating system to drain the battery quickly is when the virtual memory manager pulls a disk swap. The way to prevent it is to add memory (RAM) to your laptop.
Virtual memory has nothing to do with virtue. Instead, it’s a chunk of storage space that Windows uses to help supplement real memory, or RAM.
Basic Skills
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Most laptops feature an Fn key. It’s the fun key, although Fn most likely stands for Function — but not the traditional computer keyboard function keys. On a laptop, the Fn key is used in combination with other keys to access special features. In a way, the Fn key combinations save the laptop from having an inordinate number of buttons and knobs, which is always a good thing.
Basic Skills
Articles
Need dialup internet for your laptop? Dialup modems were once the only way to get on the Internet. It was rare in the 1990s to find any computer — desktop or laptop — without a dialup modem as standard equipment. Eventually, desktops eschewed the dialup modem for Ethernet Internet access. Laptops have been slower to make the transition.
Basic Skills
Articles
Your Windows 10 laptop is capable of making a wireless connection anywhere the Wi-Fi signal is available. You need to know the network’s name and its password. Upon success, your laptop can use the network and access the Internet without the burden of wires and other encumbrances.
Avoid connecting to unknown networks in a public location.
Basic Skills
Articles
No one can use Windows 10 without signing in to an existing user account. You can’t even configure Windows without an account. So you probably already have a user account, possibly the only account on your laptop. To review that account’s information, follow these steps:
Click the Start button.
Up pops the Start menu.
Basic Skills
Articles
Media sharing, or streaming, is normally disabled for Windows 10 laptops. To activate the feature and make your laptop’s music, pictures, and video available to other computers on a private network, follow these steps:
Open the Control Panel.
Press the Win+X keyboard shortcut and choose Control Panel from the supersecret menu.
Basic Skills
Articles
Though you have music, photos, and videos stored on your OneDrive cloud storage, that media may not show up in your laptop’s Windows Media Player. To ensure that it does, you must add the OneDrive storage location to those places where the program looks to find media. Follow these steps while using the Windows Media Player program:
Choose Organize → Manage Libraries → Music.
Basic Skills
Articles
Your Windows 10 laptop is readily able to handle two monitors: the laptop’s own screen and an external monitor. That’s because a monitor connector is a standard feature on all laptops. The reason is so that you can use the external monitor or projector for making presentations. Even if you’re not making a presentation, you can use the monitor connector to add a larger or second monitor to your laptop computer system.
Basic Skills
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Most network printers or wireless printers don’t need additional setup. Windows is smart enough to find those printers (as long as the printers are turned on) and install the network or wireless printer for you.
When a network or wireless printer isn’t automatically installed, you must attempt to do the setup yourself.
Basic Skills
Articles
Unlike other, less useful Windows 10 features, the File History utility isn’t activated automatically. You must deliberately set up and configure the tool, and you should do so as soon as possible because disaster strikes like an empty room with only a lamp and cat.
To get running with File History, follow these steps:
Connect the portable, external hard drive to your laptop, if you haven’t already.
Basic Skills
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When you plan to keep your laptop in one spot and you’ve attached an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor, you can get away with closing the laptop’s lid and using only the full-size desktop computer
To ensure that the laptop doesn’t sleep or hibernate when you close the lid, you configure the system so that the laptop does nothing when the lid is closed.
Basic Skills
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Your Windows 10 computer works automatically with Microsoft’s cloud storage, known as OneDrive. Any files or media you copy to the OneDrive area on your laptop’s storage are immediately shared with other devices you own that can access the storage — including any device connected to the Internet.
To make media from your laptop available to another OneDrive gizmo, copy that media to your OneDrive folder.
Basic Skills
Articles
Two power management settings are vital for the laptop: the display and Sleep mode. Ideally, you want to use the display as little as possible on battery power, because the laptop’s screen consumes a huge amount of power — even more power for a tablet PC (touchscreen).
Automatic settings are available to turn off the screen and sleep the laptop after a given period of activity.
Basic Skills
Articles
It’s not easy to move files over from your old laptop to the new one. In earlier versions of Windows, the process was seamless, thanks to a program called the Windows Migration Wizard. It worked so well that Microsoft decided not to include that program with Windows 10.
Your only alternative is to connect both new and old laptops to the same network and then transfer files manually.
Basic Skills
Articles
If you’ve completely had it with Windows 10, you can downgrade to your laptop’s previous version of Windows. Because Windows 10 is so new, you may encounter problems that will prompt you to do this.
To restore your laptop’s previous version of Windows, follow these steps:
Plug in your laptop.
If you forget this step, you’ll be reminded after Step 6.
Basic Skills
Articles
Windows peppers you with warnings as the battery power gets low. The battery notification icon on the taskbar changes, and eventually pop-up messages appear. The idea is to alarm you: Either charge the battery, save your work, and shut down — or pray.The good news is that you have control over the warnings. You can set when they appear and which actions are taken.
Basic Skills
Articles
In order for a password to be useful on your laptop, it needs to be complex. That makes such a password a pain in the rump to type on a tablet PC, or any other time you turn on a Windows computer. To alleviate the pain, you can assign a PIN to your account.
You’re prompted to set up a PIN when you first add your account to Windows 10.
Basic Skills
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Your Windows 10 laptop can print documents to only one printer at a time. You can choose the printer when you print, or, when you don’t specify a printer, Windows uses the default printer.
The default printer isn’t a specific printer, and no manufacturer gives its printer that name. Instead, it’s one of the existing printers available on the network.
Basic Skills
Articles
Here’s the cinchy part: After you have cloud storage set up on your laptop, synchronizing files is a snap: Simply copy the files you need to access to a cloud storage folder. Perhaps an example is in order?
You create a spreadsheet using the office computer. Save the spreadsheet in your OneDrive storage. In Excel, follow these steps:
Click the File tab.
Basic Skills
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Tablet PCs feature a touchscreen. You can use your finger as an input device, but your finger is short and stubby and, please, you need a manicure. A better option is to use a digitizer pen, or stylus.
Introducing the digital pen
The stylus is a pointing device, like the mouse. For the most part, it works just like a mouse: Tap the screen to click, double-tap, right-tap, and so on.
Basic Skills
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When new storage media is added to the laptop, Windows alerts you with an AutoPlay notification. The notification slides in from the right side of the screen.
An AutoPlay notification and options.
Using the AutoPlay notification
Tap the AutoPlay notification to view the AutoPlay menu. Even if you don’t tap the notification, you can still use the storage; the notification simply presents the menu, which makes it easier to deal with the removable storage.
Basic Skills
Articles
If you recall laptop history, you know that one pillar of laptop technology is communications. That means not only computer communications, networking, and modem use but also people communications. Yes, it’s possible to use your laptop as a phone.
The go-to app on your Windows 10 laptop for chatting it up is Skype.
Basic Skills
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You can use the Battery Saver to save power on your laptop. This discussion is brought to you by the word parsimonious. It’s a polite word for stingy, which is an excellent adjective to describe how the Windows 10 Battery Saver feature works.
The Battery Saver kicks in automatically when your laptop’s power percentage drops below a certain threshold — typically, 20 percent.
Basic Skills
Articles
The first location for checking security issues on your laptop is the Action Center. To view the Action Center in Windows 10, click the Notifications icon on the taskbar. The Action Center lists items requiring attention, such as updating software or checking the status of a failed backup. At the bottom of the Action Center lie the Quick Settings buttons.
Basic Skills
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You need to know some important information about your laptop in the event of a technological emergency. Print this page, fill in the blanks, and keep this information near your computer for those dire moments when things go wrong.
My laptop computer dealer: ____________
Dealer’s number: ____________
Dealer’s email: ____________
Tech support phone line: ____________
Tech support e-mail: ____________
ISP name: ____________
ISP tech support line: ____________
ISP’s web page: ____________
ISP email: ____________
ISP’s domain name: ____________
ISP’s email POP3 server name: ____________
ISP’s email SMTP name: ____________
My Internet login name: ____________
(Save Internet password elsewhere.
Basic Skills
Articles
The airlines are making changes that will hopefully make it easier for you to fly with your laptop. The most significant issues you will probably face while flying concern power and Wi-Fi access.
Air power
The airlines have heard your cries for help, or at least those cries for in-flight power. Many commercial jets now offer AC power on many flights for use with your laptop.
Basic Skills
Articles
Here’s a smattering of items you might want to stuff into your laptop case or backpack for any sticky situations you may encounter. Beware: the more you pack, the heavier the bag!
Laptop
Power cord and adapter
Extra battery
External mouse
Ethernet cable
Pens, paper, sticky notes
Screen wipes
Basic Skills
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Your laptop was built to consume less power than its desktop computer cousin. The laptop uses a special processor that draws less power and produces less heat. Everything inside the laptop case is geared toward battery savings. Even so, they do draw power.
Here’s the short list of items that consume the most power in a laptop:
The screen
The hard drive
The optical drive
The audio system (speakers)
The dial-up modem
The wireless network interface
The (wired) network interface
The Bluetooth radio
What else?
Basic Skills
Articles
Nothing is more liberating than having a computer you can take with you. A laptop offers you full computer power, a decently sized keyboard, a nice-looking display, and the ability to go wireless — not to mention how cool you look checking email and Facebook at Starbucks. © Undrey / Shutterstock.comMy laptop infoWhether you’re talking to tech support or buying a new toy for your laptop, you should have the following details about your laptop on hand.
Basic Skills
Articles
Windows updates happen frequently — almost every Tuesday. If you’re about to leave and want to ensure that your laptop has the latest update, and its installation schedule won’t interfere with your schedule, do a manual update check. Follow these steps:
Save your stuff and close all programs.
If an update is looming, you’ll need to save anyway, so you might as well get that step out of the way.
Basic Skills
Articles
Whether you’re talking to tech support or buying a new toy for your laptop, you should have the following details about your laptop on hand. Print this page and fill in the information.
Whether you’re talking to tech support or buying a new toy for your laptop, you should have the following details about your laptop on hand.
Basic Skills
Articles
Most web browsers feature tools that are useful for surfing the web on your laptop without your having to worry whether anyone is snooping on you or trying to pull a fast one. These tools include private or incognito browsing, scanning for phony websites, and other tricks.
Browsing in secret
You can’t avoid it.
Basic Skills
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Nothing beats tips and suggestions, especially when you’re starting out with something new and different, like a laptop computer. Here are some things that are highly recommended:
Restart Windows. This fixes many common problems.
If it was working “yesterday,” try the Windows 10 feature Reset This PC.
Changes cause problems.
Basic Skills
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Taking a laptop onboard a commercial airliner today is about as normal as bringing onboard a sack lunch or a crying infant. That’s good news, unlike the old days, when having a laptop was cause for concern by airport security. Today, you most likely won’t be the only person in your row with a laptop on the tray table during the flight.
Basic Skills
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Worry not your weary head over the prospect of nasty programs descending from the Internet and infecting your Windows 10 laptop. That’s because Windows comes with an antivirus program called Windows Defender. It protects against malware and spyware. It should be active and ready to work on your laptop.
Rather than worry, be cautious.