Objectives

• Use Windows to interface with users, files and folders, applications, and hardware
• Use Windows tools to examine and support the system
• Explain the various ways Windows secures resources on the network and secures a
network connection
• Support customers with professionalism and respect, in addition to your technical skills

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows Interfaces

• An operating system (OS) is software that controls a computer

• All OSs share the following four main functions:
• Provide a user interface
• Manage files
• Manage hardware
• Manage applications
• Windows 10 is the latest Microsoft OS and is an upgrade to Windows 8
• Which was preceded by Windows 7
• Every Windows OS offers a graphical user interface (GUI)
• Uses graphics instead of a command-driven interface
• Windows 10 offers two GUIs: the desktop and Tablet mode via a feature called Continuum

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10 Interface (1 of 7)

• Windows 10 Desktop
• Tools used by technicians to support, secure, and troubleshoot Windows, as well as
productivity software, can be accessed from the Start menu, desktop, and taskbar
• Taskbar:
• Usually located at the bottom of the Windows desktop
• Displays information about open programs and provides quick access to others
• By default, Windows 10 pins the Task View, Microsoft Edge, File Explorer, and Store
icons in the Quick Launch toolbar on the left side of the taskbar
• The Start Menu has live tiles on the right side of the menu that offer continuous real-time
updates
• The bottom-left corner of the Start menu has a few icons that you can use to access
important functions

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10 Interface (2 of 7)

Figure 11-2 Windows 10 uses a Start

menu with live tiles

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part.
 Windows 10 Interface (3 of 7)

• Windows 10 Desktop (continued):

• To launch a program from the desktop, use one of these methods:
• Start menu
• Windows 10 search box with Cortana
• Quick Launch menu
• Pin to taskbar
• Double-click the program file name in File Explorer
• Shortcut on the desktop
• Run box or search box

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10 Interface (4 of 7)

Figure 11-5 Right-click an app to pin it

to the taskbar from the Start menu

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part.
 Windows 10 Interface (5 of 7)

Figure 11-7 Use the Run box to launch

a program

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part.
 Windows 10 Interface (6 of 7)

• Windows 10 Features
• Action Center – used to toggle several Windows features on and off, access the Settings
app, and view notifications
• Cortana – Windows 10’s digital assistant that can learn your speech, handwriting
patterns, and typing history to assist with user input
• Snap Assist – used to snap windows to an edge or corner and allows for half and
quadrant snapping
• Task View – used to create multiple virtual desktops so you can flip through to the
desired desktop as needed

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10 Interface (7 of 7)

Figure 11-10 Use Task View to

organize your open apps

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part.
 Choosing a Windows Edition (1 of 2)

• Windows 10 editions for personal computers include Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro,
Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Education
• Windows 8 options are Windows 8.1 Core, Windows 8.1 Pro, and Windows 8.1 Enterprise
• Windows 7 options are Windows 7 Home Basic and Premium, Windows 7 Professional, and
Windows 7 Enterprise
• Select Windows 10 if possible:
• Microsoft support for its latest OS will last longer and Windows 10 is an improvement
• When choosing an edition of Windows, consider the purposes for using Windows

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Choosing a Windows Edition (2 of 2)

• Consider the following features that the user or organization might require (not available in
the Home edition):
• Domain access
• BitLocker
• Encryption File System (EFS)
• Branchcache
• Media Center

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows Tools for Users and Technicians

• All users need to know how to use File Explorer or Windows Explorer
• A technician also needs to know how to use:
• Control Panel
• Power Options
• System window
• System information Window
• Action Center (for Windows 8/7)

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (1 of 16)
• To Open File Explorer or Windows Explorer
• Click the yellow File Explorer or Windows Explorer icon in the taskbar
• From Windows 10/8 desktop:
• Open the Quick Launch menu (press Win+X) and click File Explorer in the menu
• For Windows 7:
▶ Right-click Start and select Open Windows Explorer from the menu

• For Windows 10:

• Enter explorer in the search box
• In Windows 10:
• Click the microphone button in the search box and tell Cortana to “Open File
Explorer”

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (2 of 16)

Figure 11-19 The Windows 10 File

Explorer window with the Home ribbon
show

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part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (3 of 16)

Figure 11-20 The Windows 7 Windows

Explorer window with the Computer
item selected in the left pane

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part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (4 of 16)
• Files and Directories
• Every OS manages a hard drive, optical drive, USB drive, or other type of drive by using
directories (also called folders), subdirectories, and files
• The drive is organized with a single root directory
• Located at the top of the top-down hierarchical structure of subdirectories
• Exception: a hard drive
▶ Divided into partitions

▶ Each volume has its own root directory and hierarchical structure of

subdirectories
• The root directory can hold files or other directories
• These directories are called subdirectories, child directories, or folders
• Any directory can have files and other subdirectories in it

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (5 of 16)

Figure 11-21 Storage devices such as

a USB drive, DVD, or hard drive are
organized into directories and
subdirectories that contain files

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part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (6 of 16)

Figure 11-22 A hard drive can be

divided into one or more partitions that
can each contain a volume such as
drive C: or drive D:

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part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (7 of 16)

Figure 11-23 The complete path to a

file includes the volume letter,
directories, file name, and file
extension; the colon, backslashes, and
period are required to separate items
in the path

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part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (8 of 16)
• Navigate the Folder Structure
• Tips to navigate when working with File Explorer or Windows Explorer
• Click or double-click items in the left pane (called navigation pane) to drill down to
subfolders
• To control how files appear in the right pane in Windows 10/8, click one of the icons
in the lower-right corner to select Thumbnail view or Details view
▶ For Windows 7, click the View icon and select your view

 To control column headings that appear in the Details view, right-click a column
heading and select the headings that you want to appear

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (9 of 16)
• Navigate the Folder Structure (continued)
• Tips to navigate when working with File Explorer or Windows Explorer (continued)
• Use the Search box in the upper-right corner of the window
• Use the forward and back arrows in upper-left corner to move forward and backward
to previous views
• Click a right arrow in the path displayed in the address bar at the top of the Explorer
widows to see a drop-down list of subfolder

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (10 of 16)

Figure 11-26 Click a right arrow in the

address bar to move up the folder tree
and down to a new folder

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part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (11 of 16)
• Create a Folder
• Select the parent folder
• Use one of these methods to create a folder:
• In Windows 10/8, select the Home ribbon and click New folder
▶ In Windows 7, click New folder on the menu bar

• Right-click in the white area of the right pane

▶ Select New from the shortcut menu

▶ Click Folder to create a regular folder or click Compressed Folder to create a

compressed folder
• Folder is created and highlighted so that it may be renamed

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (12 of 16)

Figure 11-28 Edit the new folder’s

name

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part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (13 of 16)
• Create a File
• Use a particular application
• Use File Explorer or Windows Explorer
• Right-click in the unused white area in the right pane of the window and point to New
• Click the application you want to use in order to create a file
• You can rename the filename (keep the file extension the same)

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (14 of 16)
• Copy, Move, Rename, or Delete Files or Folders
• To copy a file or folder, right-click file, select Copy from the shortcut menu
• Right-click in folder white area where the copied item goes
• Select Paste from the shortcut menu
• Drag and drop item to its new location (move)
• To copy, hold down the Ctrl key while you drag and drop
• To rename a file or folder, right-click it and select Rename from the shortcut menu
• To delete a file or folder, select the item and press the Delete key
• Can also right-click on the item and select Delete from the shortcut menu
• To select multiple items to delete, copy, or move at the same time, hold down the Shift or
Ctrl key as you click
• Shift key selects adjacent items in a list
• Ctrl key selects nonadjacent items in a list

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (15 of 16)
• Create a Shortcut
• Use File Explorer or Windows Explorer to locate the data file or program file
• Right-click, click Create shortcut in the menu

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Windows 10/8 File Explorer and Windows 7
Windows Explorer (16 of 16)

Figure 11-29 Place a shortcut to a

program file on the Windows desktop

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Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in
part.
 Control Panel (1 of 2)

• Control Panel is a window containing applets used to manage hardware, software, users,
and the system
• To access Control Panel in Windows 10, type Control Panel in the search box on taskbar
• Accessing Control Panel in Windows 8:
• Right-click Start (click Start in Windows 7) and the click Control Panel
• By default, Control Panel appears in Category view
• Utilities are grouped by category
• Switch to classic view by clicking Category and select either Large icons or Small icons

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Control Panel (2 of 2)

Figure 11-30 Many technicians prefer

to use Control Panel in Classic view to
more easily access utilities

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part.
 Windows 10 File Explorer Options or Windows 8/7
Folder Options
• Windows 10 File Explorer Options applet or the Windows 8/7 Folder Options applet in
Control Panel can be used to view and change options assigned to folders
• Controls how users view files in a folder, what users can do with the files
• File extensions:
• Used to identify file types
• Windows does not show file extensions if it knows which application is associated
with a file extension
• Windows hides system files until you force it to show them

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Power Options

• The Power Options applet of Control Panel can help you conserve power and increase the
time before a battery pack on a laptop needs recharging
• Different power-saving states:
• Sleep mode (also called standby mode or suspend mode) – Windows saves current
state including open files to memory
• Everything is shut down except memory and enough of the system to respond to a
wake-up
• Windows can still perform Windows updates and scheduled tasks
• Windows can be configured to go to sleep after a period of inactivity, or you can
manually put it to sleep
• Hibernation – saves all work to the hard drive and powers down the system

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 System Window (1 of 2)

• The System window can give you a quick look at what hardware and software is installed
• To open in Windows 10:
• Open Control Panel and click System
• To open the System window in Windows 8:
• Open the Quick Launch menu (press Win+X)
• Click System
• In Windows 7:
• Click Start
• Right-click Computer
• Select Properties

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 System Window (2 of 2)

Figure 11-35 The System window

reports Windows 10 Pro is installed

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part.
 System Information Window (1 of 2)

• The System Information window is used to view detailed information about the system
• Important information to view:
• BIOS/UEFI version installed
• How much RAM is installed
• OS installation directory
• Hard drive size
• Names of currently running drivers
• Device drivers: small programs stored on hard drive that tell the computer how to
communicate with a specific hardware device
• List of startup programs
• Print jobs in progress and currently running tasks

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 System Information Window (2 of 2)

• To run System Information in Windows 10:

• Enter msinfo32 in the search box
• For Windows 8:
• Open the Quick Launch menu
• Click Run
• Enter msinfo32.exe in the Run box and press Enter
• For Windows 7:
• Click Start
• Enter Msinfo32.exe in the Search box and press Enter

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 Windows 10 Settings App (1 of 2)

• The Windows 10 Settings app is a user-friendly interface to access Windows settings

• Open the app from the Start menu, the Quick Launch menu, or by pressing Win+I
• The primary menu includes settings for the following:
• System
• Devices
• Network & Internet
• Personalization
• Apps
• Accounts
• Time
• Gaming
• Ease of Access, Privacy, and Update & security

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Windows 10 Settings App (2 of 2)

Figure 11-38 The new Windows 10

Settings app

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part.
 How Windows Controls Access to Network
Resources
• If a network is public (public hotspot) resources are not shared
• Private networks often share their resources
• Windows offers three ways to share resources:
• Workgroups
• Homegroups
• Domains

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows Workgroup and Homegroup (1 of 2)

• Peer-to-peer (P2P) network:

• A network that doesn’t have centralized control
• In a Windows workgroup:
• Each computer maintains a list of users and their rights on that particular computer
• In a homegroup:
• Each computer shares files, folders, libraries, and printers with other computer in the
homegroup
• Provides less security than a workgroup

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Windows Workgroup and Homegroup (2 of 2)

Figure 11-42 A Windows workgroup is

a type of peer-to-peer network where
no single computer controls the
network and each computer controls its
own resources

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part.
 Windows Domain (1 of 3)

• A Windows domain is implemented on a larger, private network:

• Forms a logical group of networked computers that share a centralized directory
database of user account information and security
• A type of client/server network where resources are managed by centralized computers
• The directory database is controlled by a network operating system (NOS)
• Windows 10/8 allows three types of accounts to sign in to Windows: a local account, a
Microsoft account, and a network ID
• Windows 7 uses local accounts and network IDs but does not use Microsoft accounts

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows Domain (2 of 3)

• Microsoft offers two options for managing a domain:

• Active Directory: Windows Server controls a network using this directory database
• Azure Active Directory: manages users in the cloud and creates a virtual network of
users connected through the Internet
• Windows 10 offers three ways to authenticate a user:
• Domain join
• Azure AD join
• Bring your own device (BYOD) experience

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Windows Domain (3 of 3)

Figure 11-45 Three ways to join a

domain

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part.
 Domain Setup

• To change the way Windows connects to the network:

• You’ll need the network ID and password to the domain provided by the network
administrator
• Open the System window
• Under Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change settings
• In the System Properties box, click Network ID and follow the directions on the screen

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not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Public and Private Networks

• Windows 10/8 offers three types of network security:

• Public network – Windows configures strong firewall settings and you cannot join a
homegroup or domain
• Private network – you can join a homegroup or domain and share files and printers
• Domain network – the domain yields control for authenticating users and sharing files,
folders, and printers to settings in Active Directory or Azure AD managing the domain
• Windows 7 security options:
• Public network – Network Discovery is turned off
• Home network – Network Discovery is on and can join a homegroup
• Work network – Network Discovery is on and you can join a domain, but not a
homegroup
• Domain network - the domain yields control for authenticating users and sharing files,
folders, and printers to settings in Active Directory

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