Easily Master Microsoft Windows 11 - The Comprehensive Guide

Here we will show you how to upgrade your Windows 10 computer to Windows 11 while keeping your programs and files intact.

If you prefer to start with a clean installation of Windows 11 rather than performing an upgrade, you can do so by using a Windows 11 DVD or USB flash drive.

Windows Update is used to keep your computer up to date with the latest features and security patches.

When installing Windows, you will be forced to use a Microsoft account when creating your user account. If you do not have an internet connection, you may get stuck not being able to validate your Microsoft account since you cannot get online. Or lets say you would rather not use a Microsoft account but rather a local account when installing Windows. This video shows you how to accomplish these goals.

In order to become a proficient Windows user, you will need to know how to navigate the Start Menu and where to find your programs and apps.

In this lesson, we will be showing you how to fine tune the Windows Start Menu and Taskbar to help personalize your Windows experience.

One of the first things people do after setting up their new operating system is to customize things such as their desktop background and theme. You can also adjust your display settings as needed to ensure that everything looks correct on your monitor.

Widgets are used to display content such as news stories, weather, sports scores and stock prices etc. based on your own personal specifications.

Before Windows had its own dedicated settings app, you would use the Control Panel to change system settings. You can still use the Control Panel tools along with the Windows settings app to make changes to your computer's configuration.

Windows has built in power schemes to control things such as powering off your monitor and putting your computer to sleep. These settings can be adjusted by selecting a different power plan or editing an existing one.

Screen savers have been around since the beginning of Windows and haven't really changed since. If you would like to use one on your computer, they are very easy to setup assuming you know where to find the setting.

In this lesson, you will learn how to configure your mouse settings such as mouse movement and double click speed, button and scroll wheel settings, and how to apply custom cursors.

You can have one or more printers configured on your computer and they can be connected in multiple ways such as by USB, Wi-Fir or by using a network connection.

Most computerized devices have wireless capabilities these days and most of us connect to the internet via a Wi-Fi connection rather than "plugging in". Fortunately, its fairly simple to connect your Windows computer to a wireless internet connection.

Windows likes to notify you of specific events such as when you receive a new email or when your print job has completed. These notifications can be configured so you will only be shown the ones you need want to see.

Computers running Windows have the ability to be networked together in order to share resources such as files and printers. But in order to do so, you will need to perform some configuration steps on these computers.

Windows has many options to make your computer easier to use for those with hearing, vision or other physical impairments.

Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft introduced us to apps which were designed to run on multiple Windows platforms. These differ from programs which are intended to be used only on Windows PCs and offer more configuration options.

The Microsoft Store is an app you can use to download additional applications, games, movies and TV shows for your Windows PC.

In this lesson, you will learn how to install and uninstall programs and apps from your Windows PC using various methods.

Knowing how the Windows file and folder structure works is an essential part of becoming a true Windows power user.

Windows offers several ways for you to view your files and folders such as a thumbnail view or the details view that will show you information such as the modified date and size of your files and folders.

File extensions tell Windows what program to use to open a certain type of file.

Knowing how to manage your files and folders and how to copy or move them is an essential skill to have because you will be using these skills on a daily basis.

In this lesson, you will learn how to create and name a new folder as well as create various types of file in any folder of you choosing.

Windows has always had its own set of default folders such as Documents, Photos and Program Files. In this lesson, you will learn what purpose these folders serve.

Shortcuts are icons that you can use to open a file, folder or program that are located at a different location on your computer.

Being able to pin shortcuts to your favorite folders comes in handy so you have quick access to those particular folders.

Windows Storage Spaces is a storage virtualization feature in Windows that allows users to group multiple physical drives into a single logical pool of storage, which can then be divided into virtual drives (called storage spaces). These storage spaces can be configured for performance, redundancy, and scalability, making it easier to manage large amounts of data and protect against drive failures.

In order to use Windows, you will need to have a user account and password to log in with. There are two main types of user accounts you can use and each have their own permission levels.

In this lesson, you will learn how to create and remove user accounts from your computer so only the people you want to access your computer are able to do so.

Microsoft prefers that you log into Windows with a Microsoft account (email address), but it is still possible to use a local account for your login and even change your Microsoft account to a local account.

Its a good idea to change your password if your account has been compromised or if it has been the same for a while. In this lesson we will show you how to change your password for your Microsoft account and also for a local user account.

If you are using a local account for Windows, its possible to make a USB password reset disk that you can use in case you forgot your password.

Windows Security Identifiers (SIDs) are unique alphanumeric strings assigned to every user, group, and computer in a Windows environment to manage access and permissions. SIDs are used internally by the operating system to identify and authenticate entities, ensuring that security settings and access controls are consistently applied. Each SID is unique within a given security context, allowing Windows to accurately distinguish between different users and groups when managing file permissions, group policies, and other security-related functions.

If your password or PIN is not working (or you forgot it) and you do not have any other user accounts to log into your computer with, you can enable the Windows built in administrator account to then log into your computer with and proceed to fix your regular account. This also comes in handy if you do not have an admin account on the computer and need to use one to fix a user account problem.

Edge is the web browser built into Windows. In this video we will show you the features you need to know about in order to start using it to surf the internet.

Just like all other modern web browsers, Edge has the ability to use tabs to open multiple websites within on browser window.

Favorites, also known as bookmarks, are used to mark web pages you use on a regular basis so they are easy to go back to without needing to type in the address or search for them.

Edge has many configuration and customization options. In this lesson, we will be discussing the ones you need to know about.

Browser extensions are used to enhance the functionality of Edge and to add additional features.

Microsoft Edge lets you store names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and so on so you do not need to manually type them into online forms. But if you want to edit, delete or create new entries, is easy to do so.

Windows 11 has its own dedicated settings app that you can use to configure and customize your PC and also to diagnose any problems you might have.

Task Manager is used to view and manage programs and processes that are running on your computer. It comes in handy if you need to do things such as kill a non responsive app or see what is using your CPU or memory.

Windows services are background apps that run without a GUI and are essential for many programs to function as well as Windows itself.

The Windows Recourse Monitor is a tool you can use to view detailed statistics on your CPU, RAM, hard disk and network traffic.

Your computer contains may different hardware components and Device Manager is a tool you can use to manage and troubleshoot this hardware.

The new Windows Terminal app lets you run a standard command prompt, PowerShell windows or Azure Cloud Shell window all from one place.

The Windows Disk Management tool is used to add and modify partitions on your hard drive. Its also where you can go to setup a new physical hard disk in your PC.

Windows comes with many additional applications and features that are not enabled by default. If you would like to view and install them, you can easily do so if you know where to find them.

User Account Control is a Windows security feature that is used to prevent software or users from running applications that could make system wide changes to the computer and potentially cause harm.

Windows God Mode is a custom folder that has many Windows administrative tools all in one place.

The System Information Tool is a utility you can use to view information about your computer. You cant make changes using this tool but it provides a lot of potentially useful information.

The Windows Event Viewer is used to view logs that Windows creates for things such as security events, application failures and overall system occurrences.

The Computer Management tool has many of the commonly used Windows administrative tools all within one place, making them easy to access.

The MMC is used to add many of the Windows administration tools so they can be accessed from one place. You can then add or remove tools as needed and save your management console wherever you like.

The WinX menu can be used to access shortcuts to various Windows settings and system tools.

You can use the Windows Reliability Monitor to assess your computers overall stability over time.

There are potentially many apps and programs that are set to startup with your computer. In this lesson, we will show you how to check what is configure to start with Windows and how to disable them if needed.

Running out of space on your hard drive is a common problem but fortunately there are ways to free up disk space without having to buy expensive software to do so.

Windows has a built in app called Quick Assist that you can use to remotely view and control other people's computers to offer technical support.

Eventually, you will have problems with your computer crashing, giving you errors or not even booting. Fortunately Windows has some recovery and troubleshooting options that should be able to help you out.

Windows comes with its own security and antivirus app. You can manage this app and other security settings from the Windows Security Center.

Backing up your important files is a must for any computer user. In this lesson we will show you how to back up your files and also make a backup system image of Windows in case you need to restore it later.

If you are not a fan of the new Windows 11 Start Menu, there is a free program you can install to give your Start Menu the look and feel of Windows 10 or Windows 7.

If you would rather not stick Post It Notes to your monitor, you can try the Sticky Notes app to use virtual Post It Notes.

With artificial intelligence being the latest technological craze, it only makes sense that Microsoft would integrate AI into Windows and the Edge web browser.

Microsoft just released their Copilot AI assistant for Windows 11. This is similar to the Bing AI from the other lesson but is more integrated with Windows itself.

Zip files are commonly used to store multiple files in one file or to compress larger files to make them smaller. Windows has its own zipping and unzipping functionally that you can use to unzip or create your own zip files.

The Windows Snipping tool has been upgraded for Windows 11 and now has a video recording feature.

Windows 11 has an updated version of the Photos app which you can use to view and edit your photos.

Windows comes with its own virtual printer that will allow you convert almost any file to a PDF file.