COMPUTER MANAGEMENT

BY
ICT DEPARTMENT

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 COMPUTER MANAGEMENT
• Sub Topic 2.1 Booting Process
• Sub Topic 2.2 File Management
• Sub Topic 2.3 Common Utilities
• Sub Topic 2.4 Print Management

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 THE BOOTING PROCESS
• Booting (also known as booting up) is the initial set of
operations that a computer system performs when electrical
power is switched on.
• Booting is the process of starting or restarting a computer.
During Booting, the operating system (OS) loads from disk
into working memory (RAM) .
• The process begins when a computer is powered on and ends
when the computer is ready to perform its normal operations.
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 TYPES OF BOOTING
There are basically two types of booting:
1. Cold booting: This is the process of turning on a
computer after it had been powered off completely.
2. Warm booting: This is the process of restarting a
computer that already is powered on.

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 REASONS FOR WARM BOOTING
• When the computer stops responding
• After installing a software program
• After uninstalling a software program
• To recover from errors that cannot be recovered.
• When a computer freezes or locks
• When the computer slows down.
• When switching operating systems in case of multi-boot system
• When a computer is infected with a virus.
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Reasons for warm booting a computer
• After troubleshooting the computer
• Automated software can also cause a warm boot.
• Unexpected power loss can also cause a reboot
• Under voltage can also cause frequent warm
bootings.

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 Benefits of restarting a computer
1. It flushes RAM and removes other files that could be
causing computer freezing.
2. Fast Performance. Reboots are known to keep computers
running quickly.
3. Stops Memory Leaks. These occur when a program
doesn't close properly.
4. Fixes Internet Connection.
• Recovers the computer from errors
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 STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS OF BOOTING
• The power supply sends a signal to the components in the system unit.
• The processor finds the ROM chip(s) that contain the
BIOS (Basic input/output system).
• The BIOS performs the POST (Power-On Self-Test) which checks
components such as the mouse, keyboard and adapter cards. A series of
messages may display.
• The results of the POST are compared with data in a CMOS chip
• The BIOS looks for system files on the Hard disk (C:)
• The system files and the kernel of the Operating System load into RAM
from the Hard
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 STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS OF BOOTING
• The OS loads configuration information and displays the welcome screen.
• A series of messages that may be displayed during a POST
• On startup, the OS may verify that the person attempting to use the
computer is a legitimate user through use of a password.
• After the user logs on, the desktop and icons are displayed on the screen.
• Finally, the operating system also executes programs in the Startup folder,
which contains a list of programs that open automatically when you boot
the computer.

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 Terms used in the Booting process
• A boot loader is a computer program that loads the main
operating system or runtime environment for the
computer after completion of self-tests. Examples of boot
loaders include NTLDR, BOOTMGR, GNU GRUB, Syslinux,
etc.
• A boot drive is the drive from which your personal
computer boots (starts).
• In most cases, drive C (the hard disk) is the boot drive.
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 Computer programs
• A computer program is a set of instructions that a computer uses to
perform a specific task, such
as word processing, accounting, or data management. Also called an
application.
• Almost everything you do on your computer requires using a program.
For example, if you want to draw a picture, you need to use a drawing
or painting program. To write a letter, you use a word processing
program. To explore the Internet, you use a program called a web
browser. Thousands of programs are available for Windows.

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 Starting a program
• The Start menu is the gateway to all of the programs on your
computer. To open the Start menu, click the Start button . The
left pane of the Start menu contains a small list of programs.. To
open a program, click it.
• If you don't see the program you want to open, but you know its
name, type all or part of the name into the search box at the
bottom of the left pane.
• To browse a complete list of your programs, click the Start
button, and then click All Programs
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 FILE MANAGEMENT
• File management involves operations on files and
folders on a computers disks.

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 File management operations include
• Creating files and folders
• Moving
• Copying
• Selecting single or multiple files (ctrl+click / Shift+click)
• Renaming
• Searching and Sorting by name, date or file extension (type)
• Printing
• Deleting
• Restoring or emptying recycle bin etc.
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 Folders
• A Folder is a virtual container for storing files and
subfolders in the computer.
• A folder is a named storage location where related files
can be stored. In contrast, a file is a collection of related
data saved with a given name on a storage medium.
• A folder is also known as a directory in some operating
systems and has the following features / properties:
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 Features of a folder

• A folder has a name

• A folder has a path originating from a special directory called root
directory
• A folder has special access permissions for authenticated users.
• A folder or directory may be created inside another folder or
directory. Such a folder or directory is called a subfolder or a
subdirectory.

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 Creating a new folder
To create a new folder:
• Using my computer icon, on the folder tree on the left pane, select
the location (desktop) in which you want to create a new folder.
• 1. On the File menu tab, Click new folder
• 2. Type a new name for the folder to Replace the temporary name,
then press Enter key or click the icon once.
• Or Right Click on the free space on the desktop,
• Point to New, click folder. Type a new name for the folder

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 Renaming a folder or file
• Renaming refers to changing the previous name to a new name. To rename
a file or folder proceed as follows:
• Using My Computer icon, display the Explorer window.
• On the folder tree on the left pane, select the file or folder to be renamed.
• On the File menu, click Rename. Type the new name, and then press Enter
key.
• Or Right Click on folder or file and choose Rename option from the pop up
menu.
• Or Select the file or folder icon and Press F2 function key, Type the new
name, and then press Enter key
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 Deleting a folder or file
In Windows, when you delete an item from the hard disk, it is temporarily held in
a special folder called the Recycle bin from where it can be restored if necessary.
• Warning: Items deleted from a removable storage are not held in the recycle
bin and are completely lost.
To delete a file or folder proceed as follows:
• Using My computer icon, display the Explorer window.
• On the folder tree on the left pane, select the item that is to be deleted. On
the File menu, click Delete.
• A message appears on the screen asking whether you actually want to delete
the item. Confirm by clicking Yes
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 Restoring deleted files and folders
• To restore a file or folder from the recycle bin to its
original location proceed as follows:
• Double click the Recycle Bin icon.
• Select the deleted item(s) to be restored.
• Click File then Restore

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 Empting the recycle bin
• To completely discard files and folders you deleted,
you need to empty the Recycle Bin. To empty the
Recycling Bin proceed as follows:
• Double click the recycle Bin icon on the desktop to
open.
• Choose Empty Recycle Bin from File menu.
• Click Yes when prompted to confirm deletion of the
files. 21
 Copying files and folders
• Cut or copy command are used to move or create a duplicate of an
item respectively. When you cut or copy an item, it is temporarily held
in a temporary storage location known as the clipboard. To copy a file
or folder:
• Using my computer icon, display the Explorer window.
• Select the file or folder to be copied.
• On the Edit menu, click copy.
• Select the drive or folder where you want the item to be copied.
• From the edit menu, click paste. Information or item is pasted to a
new location.
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 To move a file or folder proceeds as follows:
• Using My computer icon, display the Explorer windows.
• On the Edit menu, click Cut.
• Select the drive or folder where you want the item moved.
• From the Edit menu, click paste.
• Move progress dialog will be displayed on the screen.
Moving a folder
• To move a folder to a desired location:
• Click the folder and hold
• Drag and drop to the desired location
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 To sort files and folders:
• Right-click any open space within Windows Explorer
and select Sort By.
• Choose to sort by Name, Date modified, Type, or
Size.
• To view more sorting options, click More

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 Files
• Every document, picture, sound or video saved on a computer’s storage is a file.
• A file is associated with the program that is used to read it, so if you double-click
a file that was created in Notepad, the Notepad program starts and displays the
file.
• For example, you can edit the text in a document or change the colors in a
picture.
• All files have names, and all file names consist of two parts—the name and the
extension—separated by a period. The type of file or the program in which it
was created is indicated by the extension. The extension is a short abbreviation
of the file type. Its commonly 3 letters

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 Files and file extensions
• By default, Windows hides common file extensions.
• If you would prefer to see your file extensions, open My
Documents (or any folder) in Windows Explorer, and on the Tools
menu, click Folder Options, and display the View tab. Clear the
Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK
to close the dialog box and apply your settings.
• Files also have icons, which are graphic representations of the file
type. Depending on the way you’re looking at your files, you
might see a large icon, or a small icon.
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 Creating a new file
• Depending on the programs installed in your computer, you can create
different types of files such as drawings, text document etc. To create
a new text document:
• On the free space on the desktop, right click.
• Point new, click Text Document. From the list available on application.
• Type a new name for the new file to replace the temporary name and
press Enter key. NB: In windows, file name can contain up to 255
characters, including spaces but, with no special symbols such
as \|/:*?”<>.
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 Selecting Multiple Files
• Sometimes, though, you’ll want to select more than one file at a time. For
example, you might need to move a group of files, or copy several files at
once.
There are many ways to select multiple files:
• Shift+Click If the files you want to select are listed one after another, click
the first file in the group, hold down Shift, and then click the last file in the
group.
• Ctrl+Click If the files you want to select are not listed together, hold down
Ctrl while you click each file. If you select a file that you don’t want to
include in the group, hold down Ctrl, and click the file again to deselect it.
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 Types of files
There are three types of files namely:
i). System files ii). Application files iii). Data files
• System files: contain information that is critical for
the operation of the computer.
• Application files: holds programs and are executable.
• Data files: contains user specific data

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 File Attributes
Every file has the following details:
• A file name and an optional extension. The name and
extension are separated by a period (.) e.g. [Link]. In
this case, the file name is Jeff and the extension is doc.
• The size in bytes,
• date, and
• time the file was created
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 Table below shows some file extensions and file types.
Extension File type Description

.doc Data Microsoft Word document file.

.xls Data Microsoft Excel document file.
.ppt Data Microsoft PowerPoint document file.
.pub Data Microsoft Publisher document file.
.accdb Data Microsoft Access document file.
.txt Data A plain text file created using note pad editor
.exe Application files The file that launches a particular application, e.g.
[Link]

.bat System files Files containing a series of commands loaded during boot up.

.sys System files System files that perform fundamental operations in a computer.
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 Saving a file
• After typing the content of the file in the work area,
click file and then click save. Otherwise, if the file will be
saved with a different name or location then: Save As
1. Click File menu and then
2. From the Save As dialog box, select where the
document is to be saved then type its name.
3. Click the save button
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 Finding Files
When you are saving your work you must always be aware of:
1. The drive it is saved on.
2. The folder it is placed in.
3. The file name.
• If you follow these simple rules it will make finding your files
much easier.
• If you lose a file, you can use the Search utility in Windows
Explorer to look for the file
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 File Specification and File path
• A file specification is the name given to identify a
file. The path is the first part of the file specification.
The file name and extension make up the remainder
of the file specification. Also, In Windows, the folder
containing information specific to one user, including
the My Documents, Desktop and the like is known as
the Profile.
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 The file specification

C:\Users\Rogers\Desktop\Music\Gospel\
Worship.mp3
identifies the file named Worship.mp3 in the Gospel
subfolder under Music folder on the Desktop (Location)
under Rogers’ Profile in the Users directory on Disk Drive
C. The file extension .mp3 denotes that Worship.mp3 is an
audio file.
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 Desktop
• The desktop is the main screen area that you see after
you turn on your computer and log on to Windows or
other operating system with a GUI.
• Like the top of an actual desk, it serves as a surface for
your work. When you open programs or folders, they
appear on the desktop.
• You can also put things on the desktop, such as files and
folders, and arrange them however you want.
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 Features of a desktop
• Desktop Background: Windows lets the user to customize the desktop
background by applying favorite themes, colors, pictures and
wallpapers.
• Icons: An icon is a graphical representation of a program on the screen.
Icons are mostly manipulated using a pointing device e.g. the mouse.
• Taskbar: Taskbar is the band where the buttons of currently open
program windows are displayed. You can switch between various tasks
by clicking their respective buttons on the taskbar. Whenever the user
starts a program or opens a file, its button appears on the taskbar and
stays there until the user exits the program.
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 Basic Features of a desktop
• System tray/Notification area: The notification area,
on the far right side of the taskbar, includes a clock
and a group of icons that communicate the status of
something on the computer or provide access to
certain settings.
• Start button: The left most button on the taskbar
that the user clicks to display the start menu.
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 Customizing the Desktop
• Windows lets the user change desktop appearance, background, screen
savers and resolution

• Screensavers display moving designs on the computer screen

when you haven’t typed or moved the mouse for a while.
• To set a screen saver,
1. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and click Personalize.
2. Click Screen Saver at the bottom of the window.
3. Select a screensaver from the Screen Saver drop-down list.
• Click OK when you’re done
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 Theme and background
To apply a new theme or wallpaper:
[Link]-click anywhere on the desktop and click
Personalize.
[Link] Desktop Background at the bottom of the
window.
[Link] the next window opens, select one of
Windows’s built-in backgrounds from the list.
[Link] Save Changes.
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 Common Utilities
• Utility program is a system software designed to enhance the
working conditions of a computer.
• Utility a program assists in the operation of a computer but does
not do the main work for which the computer was bought.
• For instance, programs that compress data or defragment disks
are utilities.
• By contrast, word processors, financial programs, engineering
programs, and other programs that do actual work for the user are
called application programs.
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 Common terms used in File Management
• A file is a collection of logically related records. Or It is an object on a computer that
stores data, information, settings, or commands used with a computer program.
• Folder-This is a virtual container in a computer’s file system in which groups of files and
other folders are kept and organized. Or It’s a virtual storage area of a file, a program etc
on a computer
• File name .This is a name by which a file is identified .e.g for [Link]. Ictseminar is
the file name. file names have some invalid characters e.g. / \ : ? “ <
• Icons: These are small graphic images or pictures that represent a file, program, web
page, or a command.
• Desktop: This is the first computer screen display before any program is opened.
• File extension. It’s a group of letters that occur after a period after the file name
indicating the format of the file
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 List of utilities
Search utility: used to locate a file or folder by name located on any of your hard drives
in less than a second.
File compression utility: reduces the amount of space used by files stored on that
drive.
Disk defragmenter: consolidates scattered file fragments so that each file occupies a
single, contiguous space on a hard drive. Disk Defragmenter rearranges fragmented
data so your disks and drives can work more efficiently.
Screen saver: Takes over screen and displays graphics after some period of inactivity.
Used primarily for entertainment or security. Prevents CRT from phosphor burn-in
(ghosting).
Anti-virus program is a utility used to prevent, detect, scan and remove computer
viruses from storage devices and memory.
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 Using search tools to locate files or folders
• You can use the search box on the Start menu to find files, folders, programs, and
e‑mail messages stored on your computer.
To find an item using the Start menu:
• Click the Start button , and then type a word or part of a word in the search box.
• As you type, items that match your text will appear on the Start menu. The search
is based on text in the file name, text in the file, tags, and other file properties.
• Note: When searching from the Start menu, only files that have been indexed will
appear in search results. Most files on your computer are indexed automatically.
For example, anything you include in a library is automatically indexed. Other third
party utilities like Ava Find and Everything can be used to search files faster than
the windows search utitity.
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 Compressing Files
• Really big files can be difficult to copy or share. Fortunately, Windows lets
you create compressed folders, which take big files and compress them in
size (called a “zipped” file). After the file has been transferred, you can then
uncompress / extract the file back to its original state.
• To compress files or folders,
1. Click the file(s) you want to compress. (To select more than one file, hold down the
Ctrl key when clicking.)
2. Right-click the selected file(s) to display the pop-up menu.
3. Select Send To, Compressed (Zipped) Folder.
4. Windows creates a new zipped folder in this same folder that contains copies of the
selected files.
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 Defragmenting a storage medium.
• If you notice that your system takes longer and longer to open and close files or
run applications, it’s probably because little fragments of files are spread all over
your hard disk. You fix the problem by putting all the pieces of the fragmented
files back next to each other—which is known as defragmenting your disk.
To defragment disks on Windows,
• Click the Start button and select All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk
Defragmenter.
• To manually defragment your hard drive, click Defragment Disk.
• To set up automatic disk defragmenting, click Configure Schedule.
• NB: It Takes Time Defragmenting your drive can take an hour or more, especially if
you have a large hard drive or your drive is highly fragmented.
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 Using Antivirus Programs
• Computer viruses can be even very damaging, causing data loss and
malfunctioning of the computer. For that reason, you should install on
your PC an antivirus program.
• Examples of the antivirus programs include: as AVG Anti-Virus Free
Edition ([Link]), McAfee VirusScan Plus ([Link]), Norton
AntiVirus ([Link]), or Zone-Alarm Antivirus
([Link]), Kaspersky, Avast, Avira, BitDefender, F-Secure,
Panda security, ESET nod32. etc.
• One of the more popular antivirus programs is AVG Anti-Virus Free
Edition, download it from [Link], and install it.
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 Print Management
• To print is to produce a hardcopy of a document.
• When you’re using a computer, you might want to
keep a copy of what you can see on the screen. If you
have a printer connected to your computer, or have
access to a network printer, you can create a “hard
copy” of your work

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 Selecting a printer
• The two most common types are laser printers and inkjet printers. Laser
printers work much like copy machines, applying toner (powdered ink) to
paper by using a small laser. Inkjet printers shoot jets of ink onto the
paper’s surface to create the printed image.
Installing a printer
• There are several ways to connect a printer to your PC. Which option you
choose depends on the device itself, and whether you're at home or at
the office.
• Always consult the information that came with your model for specific
instructions.
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 Selecting a printer
• Local printers: The most common way to install a printer is to connect
it directly to your computer. This is known as a local printer. If your
printer is a universal serial bus (USB) model, Windows should
automatically detect and install it when you plug it in. If it's an older
model that connects using the serial or parallel port, you might have
to install it manually. You need to install print drivers which are usually
downloadable form the printer manufacturers website.
• Network printers: In the workplace, many printers are network
printers. These connect directly to a network as a stand-alone device.

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 To select a default printer
• If you regularly use multiple printers, you can pick one as your default
printer. Windows and other programs will then automatically use that
printer whenever you print.
• 1. Click to open Devices and Printers on the start menu.
• [Link]-click the printer you want to use, and then click Set as default
printer. (You'll see a check mark on the printer's icon signifying that it's
ready and now your default printer.)
• Tip: A default printer doesn't have to be an actual physical device.
Depending on your computer, you might have the option to send
documents as faxes, or to save them as PDF or XPS files when you print.
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 To print a document
• Click file menu
• Choose option print. This will bring the print dialog
box
• Select the printer name i.e. HP Deskjet F4200 series.
And change the necessary preferences such as A4
paper size for by clicking on the preferences button.
• Click Print button when done
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 View, pause, or cancel a print job
• Once your document or photo has started to print, you can pause or cancel it via the
print queue or print spool.
• The print queue shows you what's printing or waiting to print. It also displays handy
information such as job status, who's printing what, and how many unprinted pages
remain.
• Click to open Devices and Printers from the start menu.
• Select your printer's icon and then click See what's printing on the command bar.
• The print queue
uses the FIFO
principle (First in
First Out)
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