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Overview:
Many people struggle when trying to learn something new because most tutorials appear to be written for those who already have a complete understanding of the subject matter. This tutorial on basic computer operation is intended to help virtually anyone, at any skill level, who wants to learn more about using a computer... and you don't have to be a geek to understand it. It will start out with the most basic information and will progress from there. The sections on the various internal components like storage devices and building a computer are more technical, for those who want more than a basic understanding of computers. For software, I will mainly cover Microsoft Windows and its bundled software but I will also cover some of my favorite programs. For those using Windows Vista or Win7, much of what's written for XP applies. Win7 has a few added features and you have to do things a bit differently but many times, the Win7 dialog boxes are identical to XP. As time permits, I'll add more for Win7 where it differs from XP. If you're new to computers, this site will be helpful no matter which version of Windows you're using.
This tutorial is written to help even the most technically challenged users so if you're relatively comfortable with the basics, you may want to skip ahead. For the rest, I'll try to make it as easy as possible. I know some people learn more from images than from text and others prefer descriptive text. I'll try to include as much of each as possible. I know that the first few pages are relatively basic but if you're really new to computers (or vice-versa), please read through them.
Navigation Through the Tutorial:
As you can see, there is a directory to the right of this page. It has a list of links. At the top are the most basic topics. As you progress downward, the topics get a little more complex but if you follow the tutorial all of the way through, in the order that the topics are presented, you WILL be able to follow along just fine. Do not try to absorb everything here at one time. Read a little at a time at a pace with which you're comfortable. If you find it getting to a point that's more technical than you want/need on a particular page, go to the next page, skip the page, or quit reading (assuming that you've learned everything you need to learn).
Directory Legend:
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This indicates that the information on the page is hardware related.
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This indicates that the information on the page is software related.
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