Module 2.4

Computer management

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Contents•Initial maintenance•Setting up accounts•Configuring the desktop•Security settings•Ongoing maintenance•Adding and removing software and hardware

•Other housekeeping tasks•Glossary

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Initial maintenance

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Setting up accountsUser account

Users are assigned their own profiles:

what folders they have access to what changes they can make to the settings of the computer.

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Setting up accountsAdministrator

accountallows the administrator to perform tasks that other users may not be able to do, such as change security settings and install software and hardware

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Configuring the desktop

The Control Panel provides us with a number of options to change desktop settings as well as the screen resolution.

Right-click on the desktop - pop-up menu - options for customising the desktop.

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Configuring the desktop

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Windows will automatically try to set the best settings for you.

The resolution of the monitor

The resolution The refresh rate A refresh rate of at least 75 Hertz is recommended. The so-called colour depth which refers the number of different colours that a pixel can be set to.

Security settingsFirewalls

Software that allows you to control which programs can access the Internet – and tries to hide your computer from the others ‘out there’

NB:

updated

anti-vir

us,

anti-sp

yware an

d

anti-adw

are

software

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Ongoing maintenance

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Ongoing maintenance

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Adding and removing software and hardware Installing software

You are guided through the process by an installation wizard

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Adding and removing software and hardware Uninstalling software

You cannot simply delete the folder in which the program is located.

The uninstall utility program ensures that the program and its associated components are removed correctly

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Adding and removing software and hardware Adding new hardware

Plug-and-play Drivers

the technology whereby devices that are added or connected to a PC are automatically ‘detected’ and the PC is configured to use them

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Other housekeeping tasksDisk defragmentation

A disk defragmenter is a tool that reorganises the parts of files and speeds your computer up again.

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Defragmentation does not free up disk space. It simply re-arranges the files’ parts so they are quicker to load from the disk

Other housekeeping tasksArchiving

Archiving refers to storing files that are static (not going to be changed), usually onto a secondary system or onto a DVD.

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Glossary

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