Operate Personal Computer.

Operate Personal Computer

What is a computer?
Computer is an electronic device that stores, retrieves and processes data, and can be
programmed with instructions. A computer is composed of hardware and software, and can exist
in a variety of size and configurations.

There are two components of computer

1. Hardware
2. Software
 The Hardware part consists of one or more processing units, memory units, and input and
output devices. It is the equipment you see and the parts you touch.
 The software part is the set of instructions, called program that tells the computer what to
do, when and how to do it.

Types of computers
According to their size capacity and performance, computer systems are classified as
Microcomputers, Minicomputers, Mainframe computers and Supercomputers.

1. Microcomputers

 Are the most familiar computers. The personal computers in your school, office or home
are good examples of microcomputers. They are used to run easy to use applications
software.
 The general applications of microcomputers are word processing (creating different types
of documents like letters or business reports ), spreadsheet applications (specially for
business ), database management (electronic record keeping, in)

Microcomputers are further classified into three types

I. Desktop Computers
These are personal computers (PCs) with a keyboard, a monitor and a system unit (containing the
microprocessor, the storage device and other internal parts), you may other peripheral device like
the Mouse, Printer, Scanner, and etc.

II. Laptop (Notebook) Computer

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These are smaller computer than PCs. They are portable and at the same time, powerful. There is
no separate keyboard, Monitor or System unit. Even mouse, the pointer device in personal
computers, here can be replaced with trackball, etc. they can be AC-Powered or battery powered.

III. Palmtop or Personal Digital Assistants (PADs)

PADs are very small and Handheld Computers. They have Pen input, writing recognition,
personal organization tools and communication in a very small package. They are typically used
for tracking appointments, maintaining contact lists, and jotting notes on the go.

2. Minicomputers
 Are more powerful than microcomputers.
 Are used for
o Large number of business and scientific applications.
o Industrial process Control manufacturing plant computers.
o Distributed data processing like client-server model.

3. Mainframe Computers

 Are physically larger than micros and mini room sized systems.
 Their speed is highly than the speed of all the former seen computers.
 They can process several million instructions per second and handles of
different peripheral devices (like Printer)
 Some of the common application of mainframes are
 In organizations, which have many employers and customers needing
simultaneous access to the centralized database and libraries of
application programs.
 In scientific and engineering analysis and simulation of complex
design project.
 In distributed data processing, they can also act a host computer.

Generally, they are mainly used by Airlines, Banks etc.

4. Super Computers

 These are almost out of our expectations. They are the largest and the fastest
devices, when we talk about speed (time) here, we are talking about
Nanoseconds and Pico Seconds.
 Super computers are specifically, designed for high-speed numeric computations
and they were produced as extremely powerful Mainframes.

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 Only a few Super computers are produced each year. Super computers are used
by government agencies and they are designed for applications requiring very
large program and huge amounts of data that must be processed quickly like
weather, oil exploration, large-scale simulation etc.

Characteristics of computers
Computers have some important characteristics that make them so powerful. These include:

 Speed computer can work very fast. It takes only few seconds for calculation. That we
take hours to complete. Computers are capable of processing several millions and
billions of instruction per second.
 Accuracy the degree of accuracy of computer is very high. The error in computers is due
human and inaccurate data.
Computers are accurate. However, it must be remembered that they do only what they
are instructed to do. If faulty instruction or wrong input is given to the computer, the
result will also be wrong.
 Diligence a computer is free from tiredness. They never get tired and are suitable for to
carry out repetitive and voluminous work
 Versatility computer can be programmed for different purpose.

Limitation of computer
There are activities that computer cannot perform. Computer cannot do the following

 Computer cannot decide how to be programmed. It is always person or humans that are
responsible for programming the computers
 Computers don’t provide their own inputs unless people provides its inputs
 Interpretations of data and implementation of decision is always left for humans. That is a
computer does not interpret the information it produces and it does not implement
decision

Hardware components
I. Input devices consist of external devices that are components outside of the computer’s
CPU that provides information and instruction to the computer. They convert the data we
give them in to the from that can be manipulated in the computer (electronic format )
commonly used input devices includes :-

a. Keyboard
b. Mouse
c. Scanning devices
d. Microphone
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II. CPU (Central Processing Unit) this is the component that actually executes instructions
and performs the computer process activities. The heart or brain of the computer. The
central processing unit is the one who performs the central functions. It has two parts
called Arithmetic logic Unit (ALU) and the Control Unit (CU)
The ALU is primarily devoted to carry out any arithmetic and / or logical operations.
Arithmetic operations include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The control unit CU monitors the overall process

III. Output Device are used to get data out of a computer so that it can be examined,
analyzed or distributed to others. It converts information from machine understandable
form to a human understandable form. The outputs are of two types.

Softcopy displayed on monitor, projector or similar devices

Hardcopy printed or paper

IV. Storage device it used to store data in the computer. Computer memory measured in Bit,
Byte, GB, KB, MB and etc.
There are two types of storage devices
1. Primary storage device: is that stores data firstly
a. RAM (Random Access Memory): is working area, it’s also volatile memory.
Temporary storage device.
b. ROM (Read Only Memory): is non volatile. It store basic of information
computer. Permanent storage
2. Secondary storage device: stores data permanently
a. Magnetic storage devices: eg. Hard disk, floppy disk, flash disk etc..
b. Optical storage: CD (compact disk) and DVD (digital video disk)

Software components

I. System software : the term also usually covers any software used for mange
Operating Systems perform basic tasks such as
 Recognizing input from the keyboard
 Sending output to the display screen
 Keeping track of files and directories on the disk
 Control peripheral devices such as disk drivers printers

II. Application Software: enables you to solve specific problems. Applications

software allows a user to accomplish one or more specific tasks. The following
are examples of application software
 Word processing
 Desktop publishing

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 Spreadsheet
 PowerPoint

Mouse symbol
You see the position of the mouse on the screen by seeing a symbol. The mouse symbol moves
around the screen as you move the mouse. Depending on the task you are doing, the mouse
symbol could look like any of the following.

A mouse pointer: means you can click on an item, such as a folder icon, to select it or move it.

A timer: means the computer is busy processing a task so you need to wait until the computer
finishes the task and the symbol changes back.

Flashing insertion point: When you click the mouse the insertion point will flash if text can be
entered or deleted.
I I-beam: This shows you where your mouse is when it is hovering over text.

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Properly shutdown the computer

Step

1. Close al files (remember to save if necessary ).

2. Close all applications
3. Remove flash disks and or thumb drives.
4. Click on start on the taskbar
5. Select Turn Off computer from the start menu.

6. Check that Turn off is selected.

7. Click on OK to confirm

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Major parts of the window screen

 Desktop: gives you access to everything you need in windows XP it

occupies the entire screen, and unlike a window, it can’t be deduced
the size.
 My computer: lets you see everything on your computer. It shows
you the contents of the floppy disk (if there is one), hard disk, CD and
removable devices.
 My document: is a special folder that provides a convenient place to
store and quickly access files and documents you create on your
computer.
 My Network Places: lists and provides access to computers on your
network if your computer is connected to a network.
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 Recycle Bin: when you delete files or folders, windows put them in
the recycle bin. They will stay there until you empty the recycle bin.
 Task Bar: is display opened files, folders and programs when multiple
windows are open. You can switch programs or file and also you can
arrange a programs.
 Start Button: used to access all programs that are installed to the
computer.
 Quick launch Toolbar: gives you access to the programs you use most
often.
 Notification Area: the portion of the taskbar that displays icons for
system and program features that have no presence on the desktop
as well as the time and the volume icon. It contains mainly icons that
show status information

Using Help

If you don’t know how to do something in Windows you can

access the Help and support center. The topics in help give
you advice on the Windows XP operating system. Other
programs installed on your computer (for example,
Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel) have their own help
facilities that you can view in those programs.

To open the Help and Support Center:

Steps

1. Click on the Start button.

2. Click on Help and Support. The Help and Support
Center page will be displayed.

To find what you need in Help and Support Center, try one
of the following methods:

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1. Browse through topics by categories, starting with the

top-level categories
2. Pick a task on the Help and Support Center home
page.
3. Click on Index on the navigation bar at the top of the
window, and then either type a keyword or scroll
through the keyword list.
4. Type a word or short phrase in the Search box, and
then choose a topic from the result of your query.

How to organize the desktop icons

1. Click on the desktop with the right button of the

mouse.
2. Select on the menu Arrange Icon By.
3. As the menu is displayed you can chose to organize
them by Name, Type, Size, or Modified (date).

NAVIGATE AND MANIPULATE DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT

Changing Desktop Settings

The Desktop is the work area on which windows, icons,

menus, and dialog boxes appear. You can change the way
the desktop appears by accessing its properties:

To open the Display Properties dialog box

Steps

1. Right click on a free area on the desktop.

2. From the shortcut menu, select Properties. The
Display Properties dialog displayed. or

Steps

1. Click on the Start button, then

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2. Select Control Panel. From the list of options, select

Appearance and themes and
3. Click on the Display Option

Customize desktop icon

You can add or remove the icons for My Computer, My

Documents, My Network Places, or Internet Explorer using
the following steps.

Steps

1. Go into Display Properties

2. Click on the Desktop tab
3. Click on the Customize Desktop button from the
bottom part
4. From the options of Desktop icons, check/uncheck as
you wish
5. Click on the OK button in the Desktop Items dialog
box
6. Click on the OK button in the Display Properties
dialog box

Changing Desktop Settings

The Desktop is the work area on which windows, icons,

menus, and dialog boxes appear. You can change the way
the desktop appears by accessing its properties:

To open the Display Properties dialog box

Steps

3. Right click on a free area on the desktop.

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4. From the shortcut menu, select Properties. The

Display Properties dialog displayed. or

Steps

4. Click on the Start button, then

5. Select Control Panel. From the list of options, select
Appearance and themes and
6. Click on the Display option.

Setting Desktop Theme

Themes affect the overall look of your desktop, including

the background, screen saver, icons, windows, mouse
pointers, and sounds. Windows installs several themes on
your computer.

To select a theme:

Steps

1. Go into Display Properties.

2. Click on the Themes tab if it is not already active.
3. From the Theme combo box, select the theme you
like. While selecting a theme, watch what it will look
like in the sample area.
4. Click on the OK button.

Setting the Desktop Background

Setting the desktop background means choosing a picture

to be on the desktop. You can also change the color of the
background.

To change the desktop background:

1. Go into Display Properties.

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2. Click on the Desktop tab if it is not already active.

While making selections, watch what it will look like
in the top area of the dialog box.
3. From the Background drop down list (combo box),
select a background

Increasing the Size of Windows Text Fonts

If the text on your screen is too small for easy reading, you
can increasing the size of the fonts used.

To change your windows fonts:

Steps

1. Go into Display Properties.

2. Click on the Appearance tab if it is not already active.
3. From the font size drop down list, select one of
Normal, Extra Large, or Large according to your need.
4. Click on the OK button.

For some themes, styles, or Schemes, you may have one

font size option.

Setting a Screen Saver

A Screen Saver is a moving picture or pattern that appears

on your screen when you have not used the mouse or
keyboard for a period time you specified. After you set a
screen saver, it will automatically start when your
computer is not used for the number of minutes you chose.

To set or change a screen saver:

Steps

1. Go into Display Properties

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2. Click on the Screen Saver tab if it is not already

active.
3. From the Screen Saver drop down list, select any
screen saver you want.
4. Click on Settings to view possible setting options for a
particular screen saver.
5. Click on the preview button to see how the screen
saver will appear on the monitor.
6. In the Wait box, specify the number of minutes that
must be elapsed before the screen saver is displayed.
7. Click on the OK button

To clear the screen saver after it has started, move your

mouse or press any key.

Changing the Screen Resolution

The screen resolution affects how big things look on your

screen. This is because the higher the resolution, the more
pixels the computer uses to display something. Generally,
the higher the resolution the better something looks.

To change the resolution:

Steps

1. Go into Display Properties.

2. Click on the Setting tab
3. Use the slider to change the screen resolution
4. Click on OK. Your screen will take few seconds to adjust.
5. You will see the new settings and be shown a dialog box.
6. Click yes if you want to keep the new setting or No to
return your desktop to the way it was before.

Date and Time Option

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Click on the Date and Time option in the Control Panel to

set the time and date on the computer.

To make changes:

Steps

1. Click on current time on the task bar

2. Click on the Date & Time tab
3. Click on the drop down arrow and select the correct
month.
4. Use the up and down arrows to select the year.
5. Click on the date in the calendar to select the day.
6. Use the up and down arrows to select the correct time.
7. Click on apply then click on OK to save the settings.

Customizing the Start Menu

The start menu shows the programs you use most often,
programs that you want to display always when the start
button is clicked, lets you access all your programs and
gives you links to some things that you use all the time,
such as my computer and my documents
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To customize start menu

Steps

1. Right-click on the Start button.

2. Click on Properties. The Taskbar and Start Menu
Properties dialog box will be displayed.
3. You can choose the Windows XP start menu or a
classic start menu.
4. You can control the look of the start menu even
further by clicking on the customize button. This will
take you to another dialog box

For example, you may want your start menu to show

documents that you have opened recently. To do this:

1. Go into the Start Menu, Properties.

2. Click on Customize
3. Select the Advanced tab

Check the box next to List my recently opened documents

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Windows
A Window refers to a rectangular area of the screen, within
which you may view program folders and files, or display
file contents such as documents, spreadsheets, and graphic
images.

Control Box
Title bar
Menu bar

Toolbars
Standard Toolbar
Address Bar

Status bar

 Title Bar: it is collard bar used to show opened

program and it holds Control menus.

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 Menu Bar: It contains different menus like File, Edit,

View and etc. Each of these menus contains
commands. For example the edit menu contains
commands like Copy, Cut and Paste. Commands are
instruction we use while we work in certain
applications.
 Standard Toolbar: This is a bar, which is found at the
bottom of the windows. It basically displays
information about the windows and objects inside the
windows.
 Address Bar: This is a bar which allows you to change
drives or folders.
 Toolbar: It contains button of frequently used
commands. When we place the mouse pointer on the
button command a tool-tip appears which displays the
name of the command.
 Scroll bars: These bars enable the user to navigate
inside the working area of the windows. There are two
types of scroll bars. The Vertical scroll bar and the
Horizontal scroll bar. The Vertical scroll bar is used to
navigate vertically where as the Horizontal scroll bar
is used to navigate horizontally.

 Control menu: It contains control menu, the name of

the windows, minimize, maximize/restore and close
buttons. We can move windows on the desktop by
dragging its title bar.
 Minimize (on the left) keeps your program open, but
reduces it to a rectangular icon on the taskbar.
 Restore / maximize (in the middle) reduces the size
of a full-screen window, or maximizes a window that is
not full-screen.
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 Close (on the right) closes the window or program.

2.1 Open,
close and access features by selecting correct
desktop icons

Open a program

Using icons

If the application you want to use has an icon, either on

the desktop or inside a window, Double-click the icon and
the program will start

Using the Programs menu

Most of the applications on your computer probably won’t

have desktop icons associated with them – the desktop
would get too cluttered! So you need to be able to start
applications using the Programs menu:

To start programs using start

Steps

1. Click on the Start button

2. Point to the All Programs option on the Start menu.
The Programs menu will appear.
3. Click the name of the application that you want to
use, and the corresponding program will open in a
new window.
Some applications (such as MS Office) consist of several
related programs which may be grouped together in a
submenu. If this is the case, then the application name on
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the Programs menu will be followed by an arrow. Move the

mouse pointer over the arrow to see the submenu, and
then click on the required program.

To close a program

Steps

1. Click on close button

Resizing windows

Resizing window allows the operating system to manage

the available space on the screen and to know how much
space each application is using. This aspect is controlled
by both the operating system and the programmer who
created the window. If the window's size can be changed by
you, the window is said to be resizable.

To resized a window

1. Position the mouse on the top border until you see a

short vertical line with arrows:

2. Click and drag up

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Position the mouse on the right border of the Control

Panel window until a horizontal line with arrows appears:

3. Click and drag right

Position the mouse on the lower right corner until a
short diagonal line with double arrows appears:

4. Click and drag up and left

To move a window

Steps

1. Position the mouse pointer over the title bar of

the window.
2. Drag the window to a new location.

Switching between Windows

Steps

1. You can have several programs or windows open, but

you can only work in one window at a time.
2. The window you are working in is called the active
window and always appears on top of any other
windows that you have opened. Only one may be
active and you may need to switch between windows
when you are interested in the other windows.
3. To switch between windows, click on the button from
the list of buttons of open programs and folders on the

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Taskbar or press the Tab key while holding down the

Alt key.

Tiling and Cascading Windows

When you have several windows or programs open, you can

have windows automatically arrange them for you.
Windows can organize your windows in two different ways:
tiling and cascading.

To tile of cascade windows:

1. Right click on an empty area on the taskbar. A

shortcut menu as shown on the right appears. You
have to be very careful and make sure you right-click
an empty area of the taskbar; otherwise the wrong
shortcut menu will appear.

2. Select either of Cascade Windows, Tile Windows

Horizontally, or Tile Windows Vertically.
3. If you select Tile Windows Horizontally, windows
organize all the open windows by tiling them
horizontally across the screen and giving each
window equal space.
4. If you select the Tile Windows Vertically option, the
window would have been tiled vertically instead of
horizontally.

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Tiling windows is useful when you have a few windows

open and want to view their contents at the same time.
Cascade Windows is the other method of automatically
arranging your windows is useful when you have several
windows open and want to quickly see all of them, but not
display their contents.

Closing a Window

You can close a window by doing one of the following:

1. Click on the Close button.

or
2. From the File menu, select Exit.
or
3. Press F4 while holding down the Alt key.

2.2 Createshortcuts from the desktop, if necessary, with

assistance from appropriate persons

Creating Shortcuts for an Application

A shortcut is a link to any item on your computer or on a

network. Most of the time it is a link to a program. It is
possible to create shortcuts to almost anything. A
shortcut lets you access the item just by double-clicking
on the shortcut, instead of having to navigate to the file

To put a shortcut on the desktop:

Steps

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1. Navigate to the file or program you want to create a

shortcut for
2. Click on the item you want
3. From the File menu, click on Create Shortcut. A
shortcut will appear near to the item you clicked on.
4. Resize the window so that you can see the desktop.
5. Drag the new shortcut to the desktop.

To delete this shortcut:

Steps

1. Right click on the shortcut

2. Click on DELETE
3. Click on YES to accept the Delete

Creating Folders

You organize your files by creating folders to hold your

files and documents.

To create a folder:

1. Open Windows Explorer(right click on start then click

on Explore)
2. From the Folder Pane, select the folder or drive under
which you want to create the new folder.
3. Click on the File menu.
4. Point to new, select Folder. A new folder will appear in
the Content Pane.
5. Type the name of the new folder Press the Enter key

Directories and subdirectories let you group similar files

together. For example:

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Directories

Sub-directories of the
CUSTOMERS
directory

You can view the directories and sub-directories through

My Computer:

Steps

1. Double click on the drive that you have your files

located.
2. Double click on the directory or sub-directory to see
files.
3. You can see different views of the directories and sub-
directories.
4. Click on View Menu

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5. Select the view you require (Thumbnails, Icons, List,

Details)
6. Try each of these to see the different views.

A file is a collection of information stored under a single

name
File names contain two parts – name and extension
separated by a dot.

Rules for Windows file names

 Every file must have a name, which can be up to 255

characters long (including the extension).
 Extensions are optional.
 Windows is not sensitive to case. You can use
ABC.DOC or abc.doc or Abc.Doc or any other
combination of upper and lower case letters, and
windows would consider them the same.
 The following special characters are not allowed in
windows file names: \ / : * ? “ < > |
 Files can be organized using folders. These folders can
contain groups of files

Managing Files and Folders

When using computer you should organize your files (using

folders) so that you can find any document you want. To do
this we normally use Windows Explorer:

Windows Explorer contents

The tree pan (left pane) in the explorer window the content
of the computer as the highest level in the tree. Some of
these components have a plus sign (+) in front of them to

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indicate that there is deeper level of components

underneath.
The Content pan (Right pane) in the explorer screen above
shows the content of folders and drives.

Men

Tree pan

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Navigating in Windows Explorer

Navigating is moving around in windows.

To navigate using explorer:

1. In folder pane, select the folder which contains the

file you are looking for. You can use the scroll bars to
move through the list of folders.
2. In the content pane, double-click the file you want to
work on

Copying, Moving, and Deleting Files and Folders

To copy or move a file or folder

Steps

1. Open Windows Explorer

2. From the Folder Pane, select the folder or drive that
contains the file or folder you want to copy or move.
3. From the Content Pane, click on the file or folder you
want to copy or move
4. From the Edit menu, select Copy for copying or select
Cut for moving
5. Navigate to the place where you want to copy or move
the file to
6. From the Edit menu, select Paste

To delete a file of folder

Steps
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1. From the Folder Pane, select the driver or folder that

contains the file you want to delete. You can click on
the + signs when you want to see the subfolders.
2. From the Content Pane, select the file or folder you
want to delete.
3. Press the Delete key.
4. Click on the Yes button to confirm the deletion.

Selecting Multiple Files and Folders

Selecting more than one file or folder at a time may be

important to move, copy, or delete a group of files or
folders.

To select multiple files or folders that is next to each

other.

Steps

3. Click on the first file/folder to select it.

4. Press and hold down the Shift key and click on the
last file/ or folder.

To select multiple files/folders that are not next to each

other

Steps

1. Click on the first file folder.

2. Press and hold down the ctrl key and click in each
file folder that you want to select

Rename directories as required

You can rename your directories at any time. To do this:

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To rename a directories

Steps

1. Right click on the directory or subdirectory

2. Left Click on rename
3. Key in the new directory name
4. Press enter

To permanently delete a file or folder:

Steps

1. Press and hold down the Shift key while you press the
Delete key. The item will be permanently deleted and
will not be sent to the Recycle Bin

To permanently delete all files and folders in the recycle

bin

1. From the File menu of the Recycle Bin, select Empty

Recycle Bin. All files and folders will be permanently
deleted.

Identify attributes of directories

Attributes define the type of file or directory.

 Read-only
 Hidden

Sometimes you will need to check the attributes of a file to

ensure you can use it appropriately. You may wish to set
attributes to ensure that data is not lost.

To check attributes of a file:

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Steps

1. Click on my computer (at the Desktop)

2. Click on the drive the file is located in
3. Right click on the file
4. Click on properties

Search for folders/files using appropriate software tools

Use system browser to search drives for specific files.

Steps

1. Right click on the My Computer Icon

2. Enter the filename you wish to search for
3. Enter the location you wish to search
4. Click on Search

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