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b
Learning More About Your
Computer
Compaq Presario Computers
Document Part Number: 277958-001
March 2002
The guide provides basic information to assist you in using the
hardware and software features of your computer.
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© 2002 Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. Compaq, the Compaq logo and Presario are trademarks of Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. in the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Intel, Pentium, Intel Inside, and Celeron are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
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Contents 1 Performing Common Tasks Modifying the Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1 Modifying the Keyboard Language Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2 Modifying the Mouse Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–3 Shutting Down the Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Contents Defragmenting the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–5 Protecting from a Virus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–6 Preparing for Shipping or Travel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–7 4 Saving Energy Using Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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1 Performing Common Tasks You may find yourself wanting to perform tasks such as: Modifying your display Modifying your keyboard language setting Modifying your mouse settings Shutting down your system Printing Playing games Listening to digital audio files Modifying the Display You can modify how information displays on the monitor. To Modify the Display 1. Click the Start button from the Windows taskbar. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Click Appearance and Themes. 4. Click Change t
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Performing Common Tasks Modifying the Keyboard Language Setting You can modify the language setting for your keyboard. To Modify the Keyboard Language Setting 1. Click the Start button from the Windows taskbar. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options. 4. Click Regional and Language Options. 5. Click the Language tab. 6. Click the Details button. 7. Click Keyboard, then the Add button. 1–2 Learning More About Your Computer
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Performing Common Tasks 8. Click the Keyboard layout/IME down arrow and select a language from the list. 9. Click OK. 10. Click OK to apply the changes. Modifying the Mouse Properties You can view and modify different properties of the mouse from the Mouse Properties dialog box. The dialog box may vary depending on the type of mouse you purchased. From the Mouse Properties dialog box, you can: Change the type of pointer Modify button assignments Modify the speed of your mouse Check
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Performing Common Tasks 6. Click OK to apply the changes. 1–4 Learning More About Your Computer
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Performing Common Tasks Shutting Down the Computer When you are finished working or playing on the computer, it is a good idea to shut it down. To Shut Down the Computer 1. Click the Start button from the Windows taskbar. 2. Click Turn Off Computer. Printing You can print text and graphics from most applications and Internet sites as long as you have your computer connected to a printer and the necessary software installed for your printer. For additional information on connecting the print
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Performing Common Tasks To Use the Print Menu 1. Click File on the menu bar. 2. Click Print... 3. Select your printing options. Remember, the look and feel of the Print dialog box varies from application to application. 4. Click OK. Playing Games You can use the computer to play games that were: Installed when you bought your computer Downloaded from the Internet Purchased 1–6 Learning More About Your Computer
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Performing Common Tasks Before you download or purchase any games, check the computer requirements for the game. These are usually listed on the Internet site or outside of the game box. You should pay particular attention to the amount of disk space required for the game and make sure you have at least that amount available. To Check Hard Disk Space 1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar. 2. Click My Computer. 3. Click the hard disk drive where you want to store the game files. 4
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Performing Common Tasks It is recommended that you use the same disc drive (CD or DVD) to ✎ play a game that you used to install it. If you have problems installing or playing a game, contact the game manufacturer. Playing Digital Audio You can play digital audio files that you download from the Internet. To Play Digital Audio 1. Click the Start button from the Windows taskbar. 2. Click All Programs, then your media player application. 3. Follow the on-screen instructions for creating a play
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2 Using Your Computer Drives Computers can have several types of drives that include: Diskette (floppy) Hard CD-ROM (compact disk - read only memory) CD-RW (compact disk - re-writable) DVD-ROM (digital versatile disk- read only memory) DVD-R/RW (digital versatile disk- recordable/re-writable) The type of drive or drives your computer has depends on the model you purchased. Using the Diskette (Floppy) Drive The diskette drive uses a diskette or floppy disk to store files. You can c
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Using Your Computer Drives If you have a tower model, hold the diskette with the label facing left ✎ and the arrow pointing toward the drive. 2. Gently push the diskette into the drive. Removing a diskette You should remove the diskette from the diskette drive when you are: Finished copying information to your diskette, hard drive, or computer Shutting down Microsoft Windows To remove a diskette 1. Make sure the activity light 2 is not glowing The activity light will glow until the disket
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Using Your Computer Drives CAUTION: If you remove a diskette while the activity light is glowing, Ä you can damage the diskette or the information stored on it. Using the Hard Drive You can store computer operating files, applications, data, Internet, and personal files on your hard drive. As you create and save files, download information from the Internet, install applications, or receive e-mail messages and attachments, your hard drive storage space diminishes. The amount of information
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Using Your Computer Drives Using the CD or DVD Drive The CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, and DVD-R/RW drives allow you to perform several different actions (such as, store information, listen to music, view and create movies). The DVD-ROM and DVD-R/RW drives take longer to begin playback than CD drives because they must determine the type of media being played. If any of the drives fail to play a disc, check to make sure that the disc is inserted with the label facing up (facing left on tower mod
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Using Your Computer Drives It is important to read all directions before attempting to record onto a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc. You should make sure that all open applications are closed and remain closed while you are burning the DVD-R or DVD-RW disc. Your 4.7 Gigabyte (GB) (where 1GB = 1000 cubed or 1 billion bytes ✎ as is used on the disc packaging) DVD-R or DVD-RW disc is capable of storing data up to 4.38 GB (where 1GB = 1024 cubed or 1,073,741,824 bytes as is used by Windows). Multimedia
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Using Your Computer Drives Table 2-2: Media Comparison (Continued) Ability to Ability to Ability to Playback Media File Type Record Playback on other PCs DVD Set-top CD-R Data Yes Yes Requires CD-RW or Varies (only once) DVD-R/RW hardware per model MP3 Music Yes Yes Requires CD-RW or Varies (only once) DVD-R/RW hardware per model CD-RW Data Yes Yes Requires CD-RW or Varies DVD-R/RW hardware per model MP3 Music Yes Yes Requires CD-RW or Varies DVD-R/RW hardware per model DVD-ROM Data No Yes
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Using Your Computer Drives Inserting a CD or DVD To Insert a CD or DVD 1. Power on the computer. 2. Press the load/eject button to open the drive. 3. Carefully lift the CD or DVD from its case. You should avoid touching the surface of the CD or DVD. If possible, hold the CD or DVD by the edges. Learning More About Your Computer 2–7
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Using Your Computer Drives 4. Place the CD or DVD, label side up (label side left if tower model), into the round tray If the tray has support tabs, carefully slide the disc under the tabs to ✎ position it correctly in the tray. 5. Press the load/eject button to close the drive tray. 2–8 Learning More About Your Computer
