Introduction 1

About This Book  1

And What about You?  2

Icons Used in This Book  3

Where to Go from Here  4

Part I: What Is Windows 7? 5

Why Are You Using Windows 7? 6

Should I Bother Switching to Windows 7? 8

Can My PC Still Run Windows 7?  11

The Seven Flavors of Windows 7  12

Part II: The Desktop, Start Menu, Taskbar, Gadgets, and Other Windows 7 Mysteries 15

Being Welcomed to the World of Windows 7  16

Working on the Desktop  24

The Start Button’s Reason to Live  30

Bellying Up to the Taskbar  36

A Gaggle of Gadgets  45

Logging Off from Windows  47

Part III: Playing with Programs and Documents     49

Starting a Program  50

Opening a Document 51

Saving a Document  53

Choosing Which Program Opens a File  55

Taking the Lazy Way with a Shortcut  59

The Essential Guide to Cutting, Copying, and Pasting  60

Windows 7’s Free Programs!  66

Part IV: Briefly Lost, but Quickly Found    71

Finding Lost Windows on the Desktop  72

Locating a Missing Program or Other File 73

Finding a Missing File inside a Folder  76

Arranging and Grouping Files  78

Organizing Photos  80

Finding Other Computers on a Network  81

Seeking Information Online  82

Saving Your Searches  82

Part V: Customizing Windows 7

with the Control Panel  85

Finding the Right Switch in the Control Panel  86

Changing Windows 7’s Appearance  88

Hardware and Sound 94

Clock, Language, and Region  102

Adding or Removing Programs  102

Modifying Windows 7 for the Physically Challenged  106

Part VI: Getting Help and Troubleshooting Windows 7   109

Consulting a Program’s Built-In Computer Guru  110

Scouring the Windows Help and Support Center  112

Summoning the Windows 7 Troubleshooters  113

Answering Some Strange Questions  116

Fixing Broken Windows  120

Part VII: Almost Ten Things You’ll Hate about Windows 7 (And How to Fix Them) 133

I can’t stand those nagging permission screens  133

I can’t copy music to my iPod  134

The menus all disappeared  134

The “glass” effects slow down my PC or laptop  135

My Quick Launch toolbar is gone!  136

The taskbar keeps disappearing  136

I can’t line up two windows on the screen  137

It won’t let me do something unless I’m an administrator!  138