How Windows works

Windows is the most common operating system in personal computers, but there are others....including MacOS, and Linux.
Classroom computers use Windows 95 or 98 (they look similar),
some computers in the school offices use an earlier version (Windows 3.1) which looks different.

How to start windows:

starting:
turn on the computer and wait.......
The computer has to load in the operating system, device drivers to run everything attached to it and all the programs you have added to the start menu.
If Windows doesn't start up see the pages on "The computer doesn't work"

How to close down Windows 95/98

o Click the Start button and move the mouse up to "Shut down" on the pop-up menu.
o Click "Shut down" with the mouse button.
o Select the "Shut down the computer" radio button and click the OK button.
o Wait until you will see a message letting you know it is safe to turn off your computer.
o switch off the computer (some computers switch themselves off)

How to start a new program

Click on start (bottom left)
Click on Programs
Choose the program you want to start and double click

File management: loading and saving files

How to save:

In order to keep data (picture/words/sounds etc) when the computer is turned off it needs to be saved onto a permament storage area (either the harddisc or a floppy disc).
How to save data from a program:
At the top of any program there will a File menu this will have a Save and a Save As option.
If you are saving the data for the first time choose Save As this will then give the option of typing in a filename.
If you are simply saving a later version of the same file choose Save which simply save the file. It will keep the old filename (but it will overwrite the old file).
Choosing Save As allows you to alter the way the program is saved and the area in the computers storage within which it is saved. Choose this if you want to save onto a floppy drive, a particular folder on the harddrive or if you're just not sure.

How to load:

Go to the file menu and choose open.
choose the file you wish to open and double click on it.
Window will normally only show the files that the program recognises

About file types
Windows saves files so that it knows which program to use to open them. For example Word files are saved so that when they are double clicked a copy of Word will start.
The file type is simply stored in the letters of the filename, for example Microsoft word files are called -------.doc, Bitmap pictures have the extension -------.bmp, and writing with symbols files have the extension -------.wws.
You don't usually see the file extension letters but various types of files are shown with different pictures.
All this allows windows to know what to do with different types of programs
Some programs allow files to be saved in a number of ways (for example Word allows you to save as a word document, plain text or rich text). In the file menu using Save As allows you to choose how to save your file.
About storing and retrieving your files
The computer saves your file on its harddisc in a specific location. The harddisc is organised so that the computer knows where individual programs are located and can quickly retrieve them.
The hardisc is organised into folders and the files (pictures, text, sounds or program data) is saved into a specific folder.

Windows is the most common operating system in personal computers, but there are others....including MacOS, and Linux. Classroom computers use Windows 95 or 98 (they look similar), some computers in the school offices use an earlier version (Windows 3.1) which looks different.