Quick Reference Guide
Table Of Contents
- Contents
- About This Reference
- Checking Out Your Computer
- Setting Up and Getting Started
- Working safely and comfortably
- Preparing power connections
- Connecting to a broadband modem or network
- Connecting a dial-up modem
- Starting your computer
- Turning off your computer
- Restarting (rebooting) your computer
- Using the keyboard
- Using the mouse
- Adjusting the volume
- Configuring the audio jacks
- Installing a printer, scanner, or other device
- Setting up RAID
- Upgrading Your Computer
- Preventing static electricity discharge
- Opening the case
- Closing the case
- Adding or replacing memory
- Replacing the system battery
- Adding or replacing an optical disc drive
- Adding or replacing an optional diskette drive
- Adding or replacing the memory card reader
- Adding or replacing a harddrive
- Replacing the front fan
- Replacing the rear fan
- Replacing the power supply
- Replacing the heat sink and processor
- Replacing the I/O board
- Adding or replacing an expansion card
- Replacing the system board
- Maintaining Your Computer
- Troubleshooting
- Safety guidelines
- First steps
- Troubleshooting
- Add-in cards
- Audio
- CD or DVD drives
- DVD drives
- Ethernet
- File management
- Hard drive
- Internet
- Keyboard
- Media Center
- The Media Center video display looks bad on your TV
- You need to configure your Media Center computer to output to aTV
- You want to change display settings to get better TV or DVD image quality
- You want to know whether you can burn programs that were recorded with your Media Center computer...
- You want to know whether you can play recorded programs on other computers
- You want to know whether you can play recorded programs on your home DVD player
- You get a “Download Error” message when the Media Center tries to update the Program Guide:
- Memory
- Memory card reader
- Modem (cable or DSL)
- Modem (dial-up)
- Your modem does not dial or does not connect
- You cannot connect to the Internet
- Your 56K modem does not connect at 56K
- Your fax communications program only sends and receives faxes at 14,400bps when you have a 56K m...
- The modem is not recognized by your computer
- The modem is noisy when it dials and connects
- Monitor
- Mouse
- Networks
- Passwords
- Power
- Printer
- Sound
- Recovering your system
- Recovering pre-installed software and drivers
- Using Microsoft System Restore
- Recovering your system to its factory condition
- Recovering your system using the WindowsDVD
- Telephone support
- Legal Notices
- Index

CHAPTER 5: Maintaining Your Computer
78
Updating Windows
Windows Update helps you keep your computer up-to-date.
Use Windows Update to choose updates for your computer’s
operating system, software, and hardware. New content is
added to the site regularly, so you can always get the most
recent updates and fixes to protect your computer and keep
it running smoothly. Windows Update scans your computer
and provides you with a tailored selection of updates that
apply only to the software and hardware on your computer.
For information on running Windows Update, see “Windows
Update” in your online User Guide. Windows Update can also
be controlled through the Windows Security Center. For more
information, see “Protecting Your Computer” in your online
User Guide.
Using BigFix
BigFix monitors your computer for problems and conflicts. It
automatically gathers information about the latest bugs,
security alerts, and updates from BigFix sites on the Internet.
Whenever BigFix detects a problem, it alerts you by flashing
the blue taskbar icon. To fix the problem, click on that icon
to open BigFix.
To start BigFix:
1 Click (Start), All Programs, Accessories, System
Tools, then click BigFix.
2 To learn more about BigFix, click Help, then click
Tutorial.
Managing hard drive space
Windows provides several utilities you can use to check hard
drive space, delete unnecessary files, defragment files, and
back up files.
Help
For more information about Windows Update, click Start, then click Help
and Support. Type windows update in the Search Help box, then press
E
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