Setting up the system

Setting the left and right click functions to fit the needs of the client. (P6)

Some clients may be left handed which could mean they prefer their computer to be configured with the left and right clicks on the opposite because they use their mouse on the opposite side.

Step 1 Open Control panel from the start menu shown in figure 1.

Step 2 Select “printer and other hardware”. And inside this menu select “Mouse”

Step 3 in the new window that opens under the “button configuration” section Click “Switch primary and secondary buttons this means the click buttons have been switched around, once you have clicked this your buttons automatically switch so to unclick it use the mouse as if it were the other way around.

Changing screen resolution to suit the specification provided by client.

If the user has impaired sight or difficulty reading it would be a good idea to change the resolution of the screen to something larger to help them.

 

Step 1 Open control panel and select “appearances and themes”

Step 2 Select “Change computer’s theme” or “Display” this will bring up the “display Properties” from here you can change the Screen resolution settings by opening the last tab, Settings shown in fig 6.

Changing the theme of the computer to meet the requirements from you client.

If your client has difficulty with visibility you can change your computers themes to high contrasting colours to help with sight. Below are the steps taken to do this:

Step 1 Go to control panel and select the “appearances and themes” option.

Step 2 Once again as with before, open either “change themes” or “display settings” this will open a window which give you a number of tabs, Select the appropriate tab “themes”.

Step 3 there is a drop down menu located just beneath the Tab buttons and this should say “windows XP” as windows XP is the default theme upon clicking the drop down you can change it to a number of other variations.

Undertaking routine maintenance on a standalone computer system. (P8)

Backup media files

It is important to backup your files in case anything happens to compromise security and privacy of your data. This can be done very simply, and I will explain exactly how on the Windows XP Operating system.

Step 1 Click the Start menu and hover over the “all programs” button, now scroll along and up to the “Accessories” menu > “System tools” > “Backup” this will open the Backup wizard.

Step 2 The wizard will explain what it does, click next the wizard will then ask you what you would like to do, select “backup files and settings”.

Step 3 Now the wizard will ask you what it is you want to backup media is generally located in the Documents so select “Documents” from these options

Step 4 now you will be asked where you would like to backup the files to, depending on the size of your data, it is probably best to backup to an external hard drive or set of CDs.

Step 5 Now that you have made all of your settings for the backup, make sure they are correct and Click “Finish” this will start the backup. When it is finished you will be notified.

Disc De-fragmentation

It is important to de-fragment the computers hard drive because when files are saved they are saved in a random place on the hard drive for instance, one file could in a folder could be saved on the most inside part of the hard drive and another file next to it could be on the outside of the disk meaning if you access the both your hard drive is having to move a lot more than necessary to access them both, if you are accessing different files and different times it could cause your hard drive to slow down, what the defragmenter does is place them all next to each other with no gaps, meaning it’s less likely to put strain on your hard drive. Doing this is quite simple however it may take a long time if you have a full hard drive.

go to the start menu and hover over “All programs” > Accessories > System tools > Click Disk De-fragment this will cause the disk de-fragment to run, it will ask which drive you want to de-fragment and all you have to do is click “start” shown in the picture.

Deleting Temporary files

There are numerous reasons why deleting your temporary files is a good idea. For example your Folder can get very large, if you want to access it on windows XP search for “C:\WINDOWS\Temp”. Here is a way to delete the temporary files:

Step 1 Click the start menu and hover over all programs > accessories > system tools > Click on Disk Clean-up. The program will run and ask which of the Drives you wish to clean-up; default will be your main drive with the OS on it. Click ok.

Step 2 the picture shows the menu you will be given in a small window; make sure nothing else is ticked other than “Temporary Files” then proceed (clicking ok). The systems will then ask whether you are sure, click yes.