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Contents

Introduction

Who Should Read This Book?
What's Inside?
What's Included with the Book
How to Contact Sybex
IC3 GS4 Exam Objectives

Assessment Test

Answers to Assessment Test

Chapter 1 Understanding Operating Systems

Operating Systems and Their Roles When Using Computers and Devices
Working with Files, Folders, and Libraries
Customizing Your Computer
Summary
Exam Essentials
Key Terms
Review Questions

Chapter 2 Understanding Hardware

The Internal Hardware Components of a Computer
Peripheral Devices That Can Be Connected to a Computer
The Most Common Types of Computers and Devices
How Information Is Transmitted inside a Computer
How to Evaluate the Performance of a Computer or Device
Summary
Exam Essentials
Key Terms
Review Questions

Chapter 3 Understanding Software

The Dependencies between Hardware and Software
Installing, Removing, or Reinstalling Software
Software Licensing and Its Implications
The Most Common Types of Office Applications
Using Templates to Get Started with an Application
Personal Entertainment Applications
Compressing Files to Save Space
Optimizing Your Computer’s Hard Disk Performance
Protecting Yourself from Malware
Summary
Exam Essentials
Key Terms
Review Questions

Chapter 4 Troubleshooting Problems with Your Computer

Dealing with Problems Caused by Software
Dealing with Problems Caused by Hardware
Creating Your Own Backup System
Summary
Exam Essentials
Key Terms
Review Questions

Appendix A Answers to Review Questions

Chapter 1: Understanding Operating Systems
Chapter 2: Understanding Hardware
Chapter 3: Understanding Software
Chapter 4: Troubleshooting Problems with Your Computer

Appendix B Using the Practice Files

IC3—Module 1: Computing Fundamentals

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List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1 The flow of information among the user, software applications, the operating system, and the hardware
Figure 1.2 The Windows log-in screen showing the user accounts that exist on your computer
Figure 1.3 The sign-in screen for your user account
Figure 1.4 Options for switching the user, logging off, locking the computer, restarting it, or putting it to sleep
Figure 1.5 The Sleep button
Figure 1.6 The System And Security section in Control Panel
Figure 1.7 The Windows Update window
Figure 1.8 Windows Update informing you how many updates are available
Figure 1.9 Windows Update informing you that updates were successfully installed
Figure 1.10 Where you change the Windows Update settings
Figure 1.11 A folder and its contents displayed by Windows Explorer
Figure 1.12 The shortcuts on the Windows taskbar, including the one for Windows Explorer
Figure 1.13 The Windows Explorer window
Figure 1.14 The different navigation elements of the Windows Explorer window
Figure 1.15 The views that are available in Windows Explorer
Figure 1.16 The Save As options that are available in Paint
Figure 1.17 The types of files that can be created using the context menu in Windows Explorer
Figure 1.18 The options available in the context menu when right-clicking a file
Figure 1.19 The Paste option in the context menu
Figure 1.20 The Move Here option
Figure 1.21 The Send To menu in Windows Explorer
Figure 1.22 The Search box in Windows Explorer
Figure 1.23 The Search window that is accessed by pressing F3
Figure 1.24 The Start menu search
Figure 1.25 The Appearance And Personalization section in the Control Panel
Figure 1.26 The Resolution slider from the Screen Resolution window
Figure 1.27 The Display window
Figure 1.28 The Personalization window
Figure 1.29 The Desktop Background window
Figure 1.30 The Keyboard And Languages tab in the Region And Language window
Figure 1.31 The Add Input Language window where you can add a new input language
Figure 1.32 The keyboard input language switcher
Figure 1.33 The Install Or Uninstall Display Languages Wizard
Figure 1.34 Windows Update displaying the number of optional updates available
Figure 1.35 A list of the optional updates that are available
Figure 1.36 The Date And Time Settings window
Figure 1.37 The Ease Of Access Center in the Control Panel
Figure 1.38 The settings recommended by the Ease Of Access Center
Figure 1.39 The Manage Accounts window where you can see the user accounts existing on your computer
Figure 1.40 The Create New Account window
Figure 1.41 The Share With menu in Windows Explorer
Figure 1.42 Choosing with whom to share in the File Sharing Wizard

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1 A desktop computer and several peripherals that are connected to it: printer, scanner, and projector
Figure 2.2 A desktop computer on the left and a laptop on the right
Figure 2.3 The Performance tab in Task Manager
Figure 2.4 The System And Security section in Control Panel
Figure 2.5 The System panel
Figure 2.6 The Performance Information And Tools window

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1 The installation for the popular KMPlayer application
Figure 3.2 The installation for avast! free antivirus
Figure 3.3 The Mozilla Firefox installation program
Figure 3.4 Customizing the Mozilla Firefox installation
Figure 3.5 The Mozilla Firefox Import Wizard
Figure 3.6 The Mozilla Firefox browser
Figure 3.7 The Programs And Features panel in Windows
Figure 3.8 The Change button in the Programs And Features panel
Figure 3.9 The Repair button in the Programs And Features panel
Figure 3.10 The Uninstall/Change button in the Programs And Features panel
Figure 3.11 Control Panel
Figure 3.12 The Programs And Features panel
Figure 3.13 The Mozilla Firefox Uninstall Wizard
Figure 3.14 The Mozilla Firefox uninstall location
Figure 3.15 Finalizing the Mozilla Firefox uninstall process
Figure 3.16 The Winamp license agreement
Figure 3.17 The Start menu
Figure 3.18 Creating new documents in Microsoft Word
Figure 3.19 Choosing a template in Microsoft Word
Figure 3.20 A new document in Microsoft Word
Figure 3.21 The context menu in Windows Explorer
Figure 3.22 The Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders Wizard
Figure 3.23 The Start menu
Figure 3.24 Disk Cleanup
Figure 3.25 Confirmation dialog for Disk Cleanup
Figure 3.26 The Start menu
Figure 3.27 Disk Defragmenter

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1 The Windows Compatibility Center
Figure 4.2 The context menu for an executable file
Figure 4.3 The Compatibility tab in the Properties window
Figure 4.4 Selecting the compatibility mode for a file
Figure 4.5 The Task Manager in Windows 7
Figure 4.6 Closing an application with the Task Manager
Figure 4.7 The warning shown when a program is not responding
Figure 4.8 The Task Manager showing running processes
Figure 4.9 The Processes tab in the Task Manager, sorted by CPU use
Figure 4.10 A Microsoft Security Essentials prompt
Figure 4.11 The Start menu in Windows 7
Figure 4.12 Microsoft Security Essentials
Figure 4.13 Potential threats detected by Microsoft Security Essentials
Figure 4.14 Threats removed by Microsoft Security Essentials
Figure 4.15 Safe Mode
Figure 4.16 Advanced Boot Options
Figure 4.17 The BIOS
Figure 4.18 The HP System BIOS Update Utility
Figure 4.19 Windows 7 installing device driver software
Figure 4.20 The Windows Compatibility Center
Figure 4.21 The Device Manager shortcut
Figure 4.22 The Device Manager window
Figure 4.23 The Set Up Backup Wizard
Figure 4.24 The Backup And Restore entry in the Control Panel
Figure 4.25 The Backup And Restore window
Figure 4.26 Selecting where to save your backup
Figure 4.27 Selecting what you want to back up
Figure 4.28 Reviewing your backup settings
Figure 4.29 The backup in progress
Figure 4.30 The Restore Files Wizard
Figure 4.31 The Backup And Restore window
Figure 4.32 The Restore Files Wizard
Figure 4.33 The Browse The Backup For Folders Or Drives dialog
Figure 4.34 The folders that will be restored
Figure 4.35 Selecting where to restore your files
Figure 4.36 The Copy File dialog
Figure 4.37 The Microsoft OneDrive setup program
Figure 4.38 Signing in to OneDrive
Figure 4.39 Entering your two-step verification code
Figure 4.40 The location of your OneDrive folder
Figure 4.41 Selecting what you want to sync
Figure 4.42 Setting the fetch feature in OneDrive
Figure 4.43 The OneDrive folder

IC^3® Internet and Computing Core Certification Computing Fundamentals

Study Guide

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