[NOTE: File extensions (types) identify the program (.doc Word, .exe Excel...) the document was created in and makes Windows open the file in the appropriate program when double clicked]

Folder Options Window

1. Open start/Settings/Control Panel/Folder Options 
2. Choose View tab
   
3. Under Advanced settings: choose your options.
4. Click by Hidden files and folders to show hidden files. Make sure there is no check by  Hide extensions for known file types to show file extensions.

Simplified control panel window

Classic control panel

Add New Hardware: Lets you add new hardware drivers not handled automatically

Add/Remove Programs: Lets you add (install) or remove applications and to create a start up disk

Administrative Tools: Configure administrative services, not a necessary for most home users.

Date/Time: Lets you set the time, date, time zone and automate change for daylight saving.

 Display: Lets you set display options including Background, Screen saver (including power saver settings for your monitor and hard drive), Appearance (schemes [appearance options], items, etc.) , Effects (icons, menus and fonts), Web (choose to make your folders behave like web pages) and Settings (colors, screen area [pixels] and Advanced  for other selections.

 Folder Options: Change the display for files and folders (e.g. viewing file extensions), change applications a file type is associated with, make network files available.

 Fonts: Add, change and modify fonts on your computer

 Game Controller: Setup game controller joysticks,  game pad, etc.

Internet Options: Lets you set display and connection options for your internet access including, General (set your browsers startup/homepage, make choices for how often you check for new versions of internet pages, clear history of the internet pages you have visited, determine colors, fonts, language, etc. ), Security (sets security level for internet, local area network, etc.), Content (set content advisor [lets you enable filters for language, nudity, sex and/or violence] , certificates (if you have obtained one as positive identification), personal information [choose options for auto completion of web addresses, forms, user names and passwords and My Profile information about you), Connections (to set dial up connections to your ISP and LAN settings ), Programs (set your email preference, newsgroups program, etc. )
and  Advanced (appearance, security selections, etc.)

 Java: Control panel for java, a programing language that runs with internet applications

Keyboard: Lets you select options including character repeat delay and rate, cursor blink rate choices.

 Mail: Set Profiles for Microsoft Outlook users of this computer

Mouse: Lets you choose options including button operations (right or left), pointers (type and size), motion (speed and trail).

 Network Connections: Configurations for connecting to the internet, other computers, networks (wireless and ethernet). 

 Phone and Modem: Setup your telephone and modem settings to connect to an ISP

Power Options: Set up energy saving options for your computer. Lets you set power saving options including your system, monitor and hard disk drives.  This can save 40% or more of the energy your computer requires when fully "awake"

 Printers and Fax: Vew installed printers and faxs and install new ones. Lets you choose a default printer if you are ona network (click on the printer you want as default, choose Set as Default  from the  File menu and a check mark will appear on the top of your printer) and printer options (click on the printer icon with the right mouse button and choose properties) including the default quality of your printers output ( Preferences).  Choose draft quality to get the longest life from print cartridges.

 Regional and Language:  Lets you choose regional settings such as language, number, currency, time and date

 Camera and Scanners: Settings for cameras and scanners

 Scheduled Tasks: Schedule tasks to automatically run. This is particularly important for virus updates and computer scans.

 Sounds and Audio Devices: Lets you choose specific sounds for events on your computer (start up, exit window, file done, etc.) volume for speakers, recording devices.

 Speech: Change settings for text to speech and speech recognition if installed.

Semantic Live Update: These are the connection options for my anti virus program. It allows my anti virus program to update virus profiles.

 System: Displays general information about your computer. Lets you add and change device managers,  hardware profiles and performance and update setup. One tab System Restore lets you track and reverse harmful changes to your computer and another Automatic Updates lets you set times for your computer to update  Microsoft changes which is very important in the current virus environment.

 Taskbar and Start: Lets you change the appearance contents and actions of the Taskbar and Start menu

User Accounts: Displays and lets you change the current users (add and delete) and passwords for this computer.

Wireless Link: These are the setup options for wireless connections to cameras and other external devices.

Connecting to an ISP with a phone modem connection (####ASAP check web)
Connecting to an ISP with a DSL or Cable Modem connection
Connecting to a LAN (####ASAP check web)

1. Find a blank floppy diskette and stick it in Drive A.
2. Format the disk.
• Click on Full format, and check Create an MS-DOS startup disk .
• Click OK. It should start to format. Make sure the disk isn't write-protected. If it is, Windows will tell you. When done, you will probably have COMMAND.COM, DRVSPACE.BIN, IO.SYS, and MSDOS.SYS on the disk.
• Check your disk by trying a startup with your new system disk in the floppy drive.

1. Copy FDISK.EXE, FORMAT.COM, EDIT.COM, REGEDIT.EXE,UNINSTALL.EXE, SYS.COM, SCANDISK.INI, CHKDSK.EXE, and ATTRIB.EXE to the diskette. Some of these files are not really necessary, but may be of help in certain situations. (use Start/Find if you do not know where these files are located.
2. Add MSCDEX.EXE and SBCD.SYS or some variants for your CD-ROM can be useful in case your hard drive fails, You need these drivers to reinstall your Operating System  from scratch on a new drive.  If there are any other files you think should be there, by all means, copy them over.
3. Remove the diskette from the drive.
4. Flip the write-protect latch over to keep this disk from being corrupted.
5. Test the disk by booting your system with this disk in the floppy drive.

1. Open My Computer, select the local disk you want to check.
2. On the File menu, click Properties.
3. On the Tools tab, under Error-checking, click Check Now.
4. Under Check disk options, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box.
5. Patience this may take awhile but you should not Shut Down or turn off your computer until the process is complete.  Click the Stop button  if it is necessary to quit before the process is complete

1. Click and drag across to: Start/Programs/Accessories/System tools/Disk Defragment
2. Select a drive if necessary
3. Click the Defragment button
4. Patience this may take awhile but do not Shut Down or turn off your computer until the process is complete.  Click the Stop button  if it is necessary t quit before the process is complete

Open System Information

• Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type msinfo32.exe.

(1) Start/Windows Update

(2) Your web browser will start and open Microsoft Windows Update page
(3) Click the Scan for updates link
(4) A check will be made for needed updates. This may take a few seconds
(5) Continue and install the updates

• Place the latest Windows update you have in the CD drive