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Computers today are a part of our lives.
We can play games on them, work on them, write a novel, or design a greetings card.
But the computer hardware is just a machine.
It's the software, or operating system, that lets you communicate with the machine.
Learning an operating system like Windows 98 can be a challenge.
There is a lot to learn, and if you are not familiar with computers, it can seem daunting.
But this video, Computers Made Easy, will take you through Windows 98 step-by-step and make it easy for you.
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Windows 98 has incorporated some new features to help make your computer easier and quicker to use,
more reliable, and with greater multimedia capability and easier access to the Internet.
You may have purchased Windows 98 with your computer, or upgraded from Windows 95.
Either way, Computers Made Easy, Windows 98, will help you get started with the system.
To enable you to review and understand Windows 98, we've divided this program into easily accessible segments,
like the chapters in a book, so you can go back and replay any of them as often and whenever you like.
The first part covers the basic operations you will need to know to get started with Windows 98.
Even if you know some of these basics, it's important to go back and make sure you understand the full potential of Windows 98.
From when you first switch on your computer and bring up the desktop, to the correct way to shut down your computer,
this part will give you an overview and explain the basic operations of Windows 98 on your computer.
Windows 98 allows you to use a wide range of applications that should meet your everyday needs.
In this second part of the program, we show you how to access and use the most common applications on Windows 98.
When using Windows 98, it's important to know how to work with the documents you will save and store on your computer.
The more work you do, the more folders and files you create, the more important it is to keep them organized.
The hard drive in your computer is just like a filing cabinet in an office, with drawers and file holders.
In this third part of the program, we show you how to create new folders and files, how to open, look at, and close them, and how to copy and move them.
Like any equipment, your computer system needs regular attention to keep it operating at its best.
This segment will show you what you need to do to maintain your system, and how to protect your work by regularly making a backup.
Windows 98 makes it easy, and we'll show you how.
Watching this video, Computers Made Easy, Windows 98, will give you the level of knowledge and understanding of Windows 98 you will need to use the computer with confidence.
To gain the most from this video, you will need a personal computer with Windows 98 installed.
It's also important that the computer, the mouse, and the program are operating correctly.
You will be using both the mouse and the keyboard to operate the computer during the course.
If you haven't used a computer keyboard before, don't worry, because you will learn the skills you need as we work through the video.
When you turn on your computer, Windows 98 starts automatically. You don't have to do anything else.
In a few moments, you will see a screen called the desktop.
It's called a desktop because it performs the same role as the desk you sit at.
It allows you to organize your computer in logical groups that you can access and work on whenever you want.
It's the starting point for your work, and the end point when you've finished.
This gray bar, located at the bottom of your screen, is called the taskbar.
You will see inside the taskbar the start button.
Clicking on the start button lets you start programs, get files, and perform other operations in Windows 98.
Your start menu may look slightly different than this.
It all depends on how your computer is set up, but generally you will have most of these commands.
You will notice some of the commands have a right-facing arrowhead.
This simply means that there is a secondary menu list with additional choices.
Let's have a look at some of the commands.
The programs command lets you see a list of your programs and select one to open if you want to.
The document command allows you to see and quickly open recently used documents.
The settings command lets you change your desktop or the settings on your system.
To quickly find a file or folder, you can go straight to the find command.
There is a help command to give you answers to questions you might have about the system.
The run command allows you to open items like programs, web pages, and other facilities on the computer.
And there is a shutdown command that enables you to correctly shut down or restart your computer.
Other buttons on the taskbar show which windows are open.
Even if these windows are out of sight behind other windows or minimized,
you can easily retrieve it by clicking its button on the taskbar.
Both the taskbar and the start button are always visible on your screen regardless of how many windows you have open.
This makes it easy to quickly move from window to window.
Also on the taskbar will be the clock and small graphics representing other features of your computer.
These will vary depending on how your computer is set up.
There will be a computer screen graphic which will give information about the screen on your system
and a speaker graphic that will let you easily adjust the system's audio.
Place the mouse pointer above the speaker and click the left button.
You can easily adjust the volume by moving the slider.
For more detailed controls, click on the right button.
You can then select open volume controls or adjust audio properties to let you set the system to your satisfaction.
Within the main part of the desktop, you will find a number of icons.
These are small graphics with the name displayed below.
These icons are a way you can easily access the windows that contain the information on your computer.
Once again, the icons may differ depending on how your computer is set up,
but some like my computer, recycle bin, and my documents are usually on the system.
If you want, you can change the look of the icons on your desktop by simply right-clicking on a blank part of the desktop,
select properties, and then select effects.
There are a range of options in the visual effects part of the dialog box that adjust the way the icons are displayed.
Select what you want by clicking on the small box next to each option.
To change an icon, just select it, then click the change icon button.
Select the new icon you want from the list provided by Windows 98.
Exit the dialog box by clicking OK or the X button.
So let's look at a few examples of how you can organize and manipulate your windows.
To display the contents of the window that the icon represents,
you simply move the mouse pointer to the icon and double-click on the left mouse button.
After a short while, using the mouse will be simple enough,
but it can be quite tricky at the start to get the double-click just right.
Make sure you hold the mouse still, otherwise the double-click won't work.
One of the first icons you need to understand is My Computer, which is usually towards the top of the screen.
Move the mouse pointer over the icon and click the left mouse button once.
You will see that the name is highlighted and the graphic is shaded.
This means that My Computer is now selected and there are a number of things we can do with it.
Because we want to open it, we now double-click on it with the left-hand mouse button.
Windows 98 now displays a box, which is called a window.
Inside the window are a number of other icons.
You will see that a button for the My Computer window appears on the taskbar.
To close the window, you simply click the button marked with an X,
which is located in the top right-hand corner of the window.
The window closes instantly, and you'll notice that the button on the taskbar for that window has also disappeared.
We'll open the My Computer window again so we can show you other ways you can manage windows on your desktop.
You might want to keep a window active, but move it off the work area of the desktop.
You do this with a single click of your left-hand mouse button on the Minimize button in the window that you want to reduce.
This moves the window from the desktop, but puts a button for the window on the taskbar.
To reopen the window, you just double-click on the button.
To make it easier to do your work, you might want to enlarge a window so that it fills the whole screen.
Once again, it only takes a single click of the left-hand mouse, but this time on the Maximize button.
The window fills the screen, and you'll see that the Maximize button has changed into what is called the Restore button.
When you have maximized a window, the Restore button simply lets you take it back to its original size.
Once again, just one click of the mouse button is all that's needed.
To move a window that is open, simply position the mouse pointer on the title bar and click and hold down the left mouse button.
Drag the mouse pointer towards where you want to place it, and an outline of the window will follow.
When you have it where you want it, release the mouse button.
The window will then reposition in the new location.
You can also adjust the size of a window to help keep your desktop organized.
Simply point the mouse pointer to any border of the window, top or bottom, left or right.
When you are in the correct position, you will see a double-headed arrow.
Using the left button of the mouse, drag the border to the size you want and take your finger off the mouse button.
The window will then adjust to the size you have determined.
You can adjust the height and width of the window at the same time by placing the mouse pointer on the corner of the window and moving from there.
Sometimes a window will be too small to show all its contents at the same time.
When this happens, scroll bars will appear at the bottom and right-hand edges of the window.
These scroll bars allow you to move both up and down and left and right within the window to view all of the contents.
To move around the window more quickly, you can click the scroll bar at the position you want to go to, and the window will instantly move to that point.
The tasks we've seen so far have all been performed by clicking the mouse on different icons and graphics on the screen.
While many of the tasks you will want to do with Windows 98 are performed this way, many of the other commands are organized into menus to make them easier to access.
The menus that are available in the window that you are currently working in are listed on the menu bar at the top of the window.
A menu is simply a list of the commands that are available.
If you select a command that is followed by an arrow, then a submenu will be displayed.
Just locate the command you want and click on that.
If you want to close the menu without selecting a command, you can use the mouse button to click anywhere outside the menu, or if you prefer, just press the escape button on your keyboard.
Shortcut menus allow you to do many of the common commands, like copy and paste, without going to the menu bar.
All you do is click the right-hand button on the mouse.
The shortcut menu will be displayed, and you then use the left-hand mouse button to select the command you want.
There are different shortcut menus that appear depending on what window you are working in and where you click the mouse in that window.
Windows will show command options that you are most likely to need, depending on where you have clicked the mouse.
As you work more with your computer, you will often have a number of windows open on the desktop at the same time.
This can make it difficult to easily find what you want.
There is a shortcut menu that helps keep these windows organized.
It's easy. Just right-click a part of the taskbar that is blank. A shortcut menu will appear.
Look at the top three command options on this shortcut. They rearrange the open windows on the desktop.
Let's choose the command Cascade.
The windows are neatly placed, one on top of each other, offset just enough so that you can read the title bar of each window.
The second option, Tile Horizontally, rearranges the windows so they are placed lengthwise across the screen.
The third option, Tile Vertically, again rearranges the windows so they are placed from the top to the bottom of the screen.
If you want to work in any one of the open windows that you have just rearranged, you simply click on the window you want to make active with the left mouse button.
You also have the option to undo the arrangement you last did by right-clicking the mouse and selecting Undo.
If the desktop is still too hard to work on once you've rearranged the windows, maybe it's time to clear all the windows off the desktop.
You can do this by selecting the Minimize All Windows command, which will clear the desktop.
Remember that minimizing does not close windows.
On the taskbar is a button for each of the windows that were on the desktop.
To work on that window again, you simply double-click on the button and it will quickly return to the desktop into its original size.
In this first segment of Computers Made Easy, Windows 98, you've seen many of the basic desktop management techniques that you need to understand to get the most out of your computer.
But there is one important thing you need to know, how to correctly switch off your computer.
If you switch off the power before you correctly shut down your computer, you could damage any files that are open or even permanently lose the data you've been working on.
The shutdown feature in Windows provides a safe check for open programs and files, and if it detects any work not saved, it will give a warning for you to save that work.
After you have closed all the programs you've been working on, left-click the mouse pointer on the Start button and select Shutdown from the menu.
The dialog box will give you some options.
You may want to do some work in MS-DOS. If so, select Restart in MS-DOS.
You can immediately restart the computer in Windows 98 by selecting Restart, or you can complete the shutdown procedure.
The shutdown feature prepares the program for you to switch off your computer.
Remember you should always shut down Windows 98 before you switch off the power.
There are times when you will need more space on the desktop to make room for all the windows, folders, and programs you have opened.
Normally, Windows always shows the taskbar on the desktop, but you can hide the taskbar so that it disappears while you were working in a window, thus giving you more space.
The taskbar will only reappear when you move the mouse to the bottom of the screen.
To hide the taskbar, you simply click Start with the left mouse button, select the Settings command, and then the Taskbar and Start menu.
In the dialog box, left-click on the Auto-Hide indicator, and left-click on the OK button.
The dialog box will close, and the taskbar will disappear from the bottom of the desktop.
Windows 98 also lets you move the taskbar from the bottom of the screen to the top, or the left and right, so you can set up the look of the desktop to suit your needs.
To move the taskbar, all you have to do is position the mouse anywhere on a blank part of it, avoiding buttons or the clock, press the left button on the mouse, and drag the taskbar to the place you want it.
The taskbar will immediately move to the new position as soon as you take your finger off the mouse button.
As well as making the taskbar disappear, or moving it to another position, Windows 98 also allows you to change its size.
This can help by making the buttons bigger and easier to see.
To change the size of the taskbar, you simply drag the border, just as you would when you change the size of a window.
Place the mouse pointer on the taskbar's border.
When it's positioned correctly, the mouse pointer will change to a double-headed arrow like this.
Then just drag the border to the size you want, release the button, and the taskbar will change to the new size.
In this case, we've made it bigger, but if you want to make it smaller, simply reverse the process.
Another way you can make your desktop look like you want is to add a different background, which is called wallpaper.
Windows 98 offers a large range of choices of colors and patterns.
This is just one of the many options you have to customize your desktop.
To make changes to the look of the desktop, position the mouse on any blank area and click the right button.
On the menu is a command for properties.
Click on this command and select the look you want by clicking on the background from the list of samples.
A small sample will appear on the display.
Click the OK button and your desktop will be changed to the new look you've selected.
You also have the option of patterns if that's what you prefer.
Just select none as the wallpaper setting and then pattern from the dialog box.
Select the pattern you want and click OK.
If you want to change back to the standard plain background, go through the commands again, but select none from the list of wallpapers.
Windows 98 also enables you to change the color scheme of much of the look of the screen.
As with wallpaper, display the properties dialog box, but this time click on the appearance tab.
Scroll through the scheme list and select what you want.
To make the change, all you have to do is click the OK button.
You can also have a screen saver, which is a screen with moving images.
In the past, these were useful to help preserve the quality of the monitor, but these days they are used mainly for the look they give.
Once again, you've got a lot of control over the look of the screen.
You can have your own personalized screen saver by selecting text and typing in your screen saver message.
Once you've set up the screen saver you want, you can easily select the amount of time before the screen saver kicks in.
An important control to understand is how to change the time and date on your system.
It's important because Windows 98 records the time and date on the handling of all files.
The time appears on the screen all the time, but to see the date you have to position the mouse pointer over the time.
To adjust the time or date, click on the Start menu, select Settings, and then Control Panel.
A range of icons will appear in the dialog box.
Double-click on the Date Time icon.
The dialog box that appears allows you to adjust the year, month, day, and time.
As you work with Windows 98, the more data you save, the more important the organization of your work becomes.
Windows 98 manages its data like a huge filing cabinet.
In each of the drawers, which are the disk drives on the computer, are folders, and in each of the folders are files.
There are many ways you can manipulate this data to make your work more efficient and more organized.
The first thing you need to know about a folder is how to open it.
Let's open the My Computer window and select drive C, which is normally the hard drive.
On screen you will see a range of icons.
Each one of these folders contains a group of files or programs on the hard drive you have selected.
You can double-click on any of the folders to open them, but in this case we'll open the My Documents folder.
In this window you can see more folders and also some page icons, which represent individual documents.
You can keep opening folders until you have the document you are seeking.
When you've finished, simply click on the close button to exit the window.
As you work with more files, Windows 98 lets you group them together in topics, or in any grouping you want,
to make accessing them easier, just as you would in a filing cabinet.
You will need to open the window for the folder or disk where you want the new folder to be.
We'll open the My Documents window again and show you how we can create a folder for our family letters.
Click on File, then New, then Folder.
You will see the new folder displayed in the window.
The name New Folder will be highlighted.
Windows 98 does this so you can now easily name the folder whatever you want.
In this instance we'll call it Family Letters.
You simply type the name and press Enter.
The name will change and the folder will be added to the window.
The name you give a folder can be up to 255 characters long and can include spaces.
If you need to change the name, that's no problem.
Just open the window with the folder you want to rename,
click on the folder with the right mouse button, and select Rename from the menu.
Type the new name you want and press Enter.
When you've finished, select the File pull-down menu and close the window by clicking on Close.
To help manage your work, Windows 98 lets you easily move folders around your system
or copy them for use in another computer, or even to get rid of them if you don't require them anymore.
For each of these operations you first need to open the window which has the folder you want to deal with.
To move the folder, select Edit and then Cut from the menu.
Next, open the driver window that you are moving the folder to, in this instance My Briefcase.
Select Edit and then Paste from the menu.
The folder will be moved to the new location.
Windows 98 gives you another option to perform the same operation that you might find even easier.
You can open both the Source window, which in this case is My Documents,
and the Destination window, which is My Briefcase, at the same time.
Hold the Shift key down and, using your mouse, drag the folder from one window to the other.
Release the Shift key and the mouse button and the folder will stay in its new position. It's that easy!
Copying a folder is similar to moving.
Click on the folder, select Edit, and then Copy from the menu.
Find where you want the folder to go, select Edit, and then Paste from the menu.
A copy of the folder will be displayed in its new position.
With both windows open at the same time, you can also copy the folder by simply dragging it with the mouse to the new location and releasing it.
This time, you don't need to hold the Shift key down as you did when you just moved the folder.
To get rid of a folder, or a copy of a folder, just click on the folder you want, select File, and then Delete from the menu.
Check that you definitely have the folder you want to delete, and when prompted, click the Yes button.
Folders deleted by Windows 98 end up in the recycle bin.
This means you can restore accidentally deleted folders you still need as long as you haven't emptied the bin.
To restore the folder, double-click on the icon. You will see a list of the items in the bin displayed in the window.
Select the items you want to restore and choose Restore from the menu.
The folder or file will be returned to the location it originally came from.
As you work in applications on Windows 98, the number of files you have will quickly increase.
Soon you will want to move these files, delete them, copy them, and print them.
There are several ways to do this.
For a single file, just click on the file you want with the left mouse button.
If you want to select a number of files that are spread over the window, you just click on the first file,
then hold down the Ctrl key, and click on the other files that you want.
As long as you continue to hold the Ctrl key, each file you click on will be selected.
If you want to select a number of files that are located together within a window, it's even easier.
Just click on the first file, hold down the Shift key, and then click on the last file of the group you want to select.
And to select all the files in a window, it's even easier.
Just click on Edit, and then Select All from the menu.
Now that you can easily select the files you want to deal with, let's look at how easy it is to manipulate them.
You first need to choose the file or files that you want to deal with, as we've just seen in the previous section.
To move them, you just click Edit, and then Cut on the menu.
You will then need to open the window where you want to move them to.
Once again, click Edit, and then Paste from the menu.
The file will be moved to the new location.
As with folders, you can also use the mouse to drag files between windows.
To copy files to another folder or hard disk, you first select the files, click on Edit, and then Copy.
Open the folder where you want the file to be placed, click Edit, and this time select Paste from the menu.
Windows 98 will have copied the files.
As you can see, you can also drag the files from window to window to copy them as we saw with folders.
Just remember that you need to hold down the Control key while you are dragging.
If you want to copy the files to a floppy disk, Windows 98 provides an easy way to do it.
Check the capacity of the disk, which is usually printed on it.
Then put the disk in the drive and choose the files you want to copy.
Click the selected files using the right-hand button on the mouse.
Select Send To from the menu, and click on the floppy disk.
Select Send To from the menu, and click on the floppy disk drive.
The files will be copied to the floppy.
As you complete work on the various projects and your computer disk storage fills up, you may need to delete files.
Many of your files you may want to keep on floppy disks, but there will be others that you will want to get rid of permanently.
To do this, it's a simple matter of selecting the files you want to get rid of, clicking File, and then Delete on the menu.
You will be requested to confirm the deletion, so just click Yes.
As we saw earlier with the folders, the deleted files are moved to the recycle bin where they can be retrieved if necessary.
But remember, once you've emptied the recycle bin, they are completely gone.
In this segment, we will show you how to look after your computer so you will get the best possible performance from Windows 98.
We will also show you how to back up your data.
This is probably the most important thing you need to do on a regular basis to safeguard your work.
But first, we will show you how to format your floppy disks.
You will probably use the floppy disk drive to format your floppy disks.
You will probably use disks like this to save and transport your work.
To be able to use them with your computer, they will need to be formatted.
Some disks may be correctly formatted when you buy them, but many won't be.
Also, you may have disks that have been used before, so knowing how to format disks is important.
To format a floppy disk, put the disk into the drive.
To format a floppy disk, put the disk into the drive.
Open the My Computer window, select the floppy disk drive, which is usually drive A, and choose Format from the menu.
The system will then indicate to you whether the disk is formatted or not.
If it's already formatted, select No and continue on with your work.
If it's not formatted, select Yes to format the disk.
Select the capacity of the disk you are formatting, the format type, and give the disk a name if you want to by typing it in the label bar.
Then just click Start.
The disk will be formatted automatically by Windows, and when finished, details of the disk will appear on the screen.
To end the process, just click the Close button.
It's important to understand that formatting a disk erases all existing data on that disk, so be very sure there is nothing on the disk you need.
Normally, you would not need to format your hard disk.
To keep your hard disk working at its best performance, a process called defragmenting is recommended every few months.
Because of the way a computer saves data onto disks, over a period of time it will take longer to get a program running or even open a file.
To fix this, and to make your computer work faster, you will need to regularly defragment your disks.
To defragment, open the My Computer window, choose the disk you want to defragment by clicking the right button.
To defragment, open the My Computer window, choose the disk you want to defragment by clicking the right button on your mouse.
Click Properties and select Tools.
Click the Defragment Now button.
You will see a dialog box which has a bar and percentage readout of how the process is progressing.
If you need to, you can stop or even pause the process by clicking on one of these buttons.
Unlike formatting, defragmenting doesn't wipe the information that is currently on the disk.
It simply rearranges it so that it's easier for the computer to retrieve the data when it's needed.
But always have all your work backed up before you undertake the process, just in case.
You will also need to scan your disk for any problems before you defragment.
After the defragmenting process is complete, a dialog box will appear.
If you only needed to defragment one disk, click Yes to quit.
If you want to defragment another disk, select No.
This will return you to the Select Drive dialog box and you can repeat the process with another disk.
Backing up is one of the most critical processes in protecting your data.
Windows 98 has a program that makes it easy to regularly back up your work.
There are a number of devices you can back up to.
A disk file, a floppy disk, a tape drive,
or as with this system, an external high capacity drive.
The system you use will depend on the type of work you do and how much data you need to save.
When you back up, you can choose to back up all the files on your computer or just selected files.
Normally, you would back up all files the first time you back up,
and following that, only back up the files you have worked on since the last backup.
To back up all the files on your computer, open the My Computer window,
select the disk you want to back up by clicking the right button of the mouse, and then click Backup.
Select Create a new backup job and click OK.
Select Back up my computer and click Next.
Select all selected files and click Next.
Now you need to specify where you will back up to.
The default destination for a backup is File.
In this case, we have an external drive, so we will select that and then click the Next button.
Select both the options for comparing and compressing data and click Next.
Give the backup a name, in our case we'll call it Full System Backup, and click Start.
Give the backup a name, in our case we'll call it Full System Backup, and click Start.
The Backup Progress dialog box will display the progress of the backup and let you know when the process is completed.
Check the details and click OK. Your full system backup is completed.
Once you have your full system backup in place, you can then establish a regular backup routine to suit your own needs.
This could be as often as every day, or just once a month.
It really depends on how frequently your work is changed and updated, and how easily it could be replaced if the data was lost.
To backup just selected files, you need to create a new backup job, and this time choose the Backup Selected Files, Folders, and Drives option, and click the Next button.
You have to select what you want to backup and then click the Next button again.
Choose if you want to backup all the files you have selected, or just those that are new or changed files. Click Next.
The process then proceeds as you saw with the previous backup of the full system.
Choose the destination.
Click Next.
Choose the options for how to backup. Click Next. Type a name.
Click the Start button. Wait until the process is complete.
Click on OK, and then X to exit the system.
Backing up is probably the single most important process you have to do to safely maintain the data in your computer.
It's good to make it a regular habit right from the outset.
You will be thankful you did, if you ever have a major loss of data and you have to restore the files on your system.
There is a special procedure you must use to restore files from your backup disks.
Because these are stored in a different format, you can't just copy them back onto your hard disk.
As with backing up, you need to open the Microsoft Backup dialog box.
But this time choose the Restore Backed Up Files option and click OK.
You need to choose where to restore the files from.
Select the correct drive and click Next.
Indicate which backup set you want to use and click the OK button.
Indicate the items you want to restore and click the Next button.
Choose where you want the restored files to be put and click the Next button.
Choose how to restore the files and click the Start button.
You can see how the restore process is progressing in the dialog box and you will be given a message when it's completed.
Simply click OK or the X button to exit the window. Your files will have been successfully restored.
Windows 98 can show you a lot of information about your disks to help manage your system.
To see the disk information, first open the My Computer window.
Select the disk you want information about and click with the right-hand mouse button.
Select Properties from the menu.
The dialog box will display the capacity of the disk, how much space is used, and how much free space is available.
Just click the OK or the X button when you want to exit the window.
After viewing how much space you have left on your disk, you may want to delete files that you don't need that are taking up valuable disk space.
If you have deleted files during your normal work, they will still be retained in the recycle bin just in case you need them again.
And if you have been on the internet, many temporary files may have been stored on your hard disk that you don't want.
Windows 98 makes it easy to get rid of these files and free up some disk space.
Open the My Computer window, select the disk you want to clean up, select the File pull-down menu and click Properties.
Down towards the bottom of the screen is the Disk Cleanup button.
Click on the button and the next display will show you a list of files that could be removed and how much space you will save.
Check the list for files that you want to get rid of and select them by clicking on the box.
When you've selected all the files, click the OK button.
You will need to click the Yes button on the next screen to complete the removal of the files.
Make sure you carefully check the files that will be removed. This is the last chance.
Once you click the Yes button, you cannot retrieve any of these files.
During the process, it's possible to look at the content of the files if you're not sure what they are.
Once you have chosen the files you want to remove, you can click the View Files button.
It is recommended that you look at any files to make sure you really don't want them.
Another feature that Windows 98 offers is the ability to check for any damage that may have occurred on your disks.
You may have noticed an error message when you've used a file or have missing data in a file.
ScanDisk will check the disk for any problems and fix them.
To scan your disk for errors, click Start, select Programs, then Accessories, System Tools, and finally, select ScanDisk.
The ScanDisk dialog box will give you a choice of which disk you want to scan and the type of tests you want to perform.
You have a choice of two. The standard test will normally be enough and you should use it first.
The thorough test takes a lot longer and should be used if the standard test finds problems it can't fix.
We'll choose the standard test and then select Automatically Fix Errors and then click Start.
When ScanDisk finds an error, it displays a dialog box which gives you a range of choices.
Select the option that you want and click OK.
You may get a number of these messages, so you will need to do this for each of them.
At the end of the process, a screen showing the results of the scan is displayed.
Once you have read the report, click Close.
This will take you back to the ScanDisk dialog box.
You will need to click Close again to get out of the ScanDisk window.
One of the enhancements of Windows 98 is the Maintenance Wizard.
This program helps you perform many of the necessary maintenance tasks that we have just seen to get the best out of your computer.
To access the Maintenance Wizard, click Start, then Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then select the Maintenance Wizard.
Click the Express button and click Next.
You can customize the maintenance tasks by selecting Custom and following the instructions given, but in most cases the Express system will be enough.
On the next screen you need to select a time that suits and then click Next.
Click Finish and the Maintenance Wizard will be programmed to speed up the process.
Click Finish and the Maintenance Wizard will be programmed to speed up your most frequently used programs,
check the hard disk for errors, and delete unnecessary files from the hard disk while you sleep.
Our final part of this video program covers the onboard help system that Windows 98 offers.
To access the help window, just click Start and choose Help.
There are a number of ways you can find the information you need from the help system.
You will see on the dialog box three options, Contents, Index, and Search.
With the Contents option you just keep clicking on the help topics until you find the one you need.
Read the information and then click the Close button to exit the window.
If you select the Index tab, the information is in alphabetical order.
You can either type in a word that describes the help topic you want or scroll through the list.
Search gives you another way to find the help information you need.
You type in the topic you're after, click on the List Topics button,
and Windows 98 will provide a list for you to select from.
Double-click the left mouse button over the topic you want, read the help information, and then click Close to finish.
If you want to print a hard copy of the help information during any of the processes you have just seen,
simply click on the Options button and select Print.
What we have just shown you in this program are some of the basic techniques and information
that will help you get the best out of Windows 98.
It's a computer program that has a lot to offer and making your computer easier to use.
Thank you for watching!
Thank you for watching!