This document is to help ease the transition from Windows 95, 98, ME, or 2000 to Windows XP. It is intended to show the user some of the changes they may notice when first starting Windows XP.
One of the first things you may notice about Windows XP is its look and feel. Although Windows XP has a flashier interface, you may be a little confused by the new button layout. For instance, where did the My Computer icon go? Or how about My Documents?
You can find your old icons in the Start button on the taskbar. By right clicking (On a right handed mouse) on the icon you want, you can bring up menu options to show the icon on the desktop. This can be done for many of the icons from your old windows setup.
Many of the menu displays can be switched back to Classic Windows Mode in the menu box on the left. If you go to your Start button on the taskbar and go to Control Panel you can see the new Category view layout.
By clicking Switch to Classic Mode the window will then look like the figure below.
The new file path layout of Windows XP puts many of your folders in different places. If you are used to Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME you'll find your folders are in different locations. For instance, if Windows 98 is installed on C:\, then your My Documents folder is located in C:\. For Windows XP if you install it to C:\ then the path to your My Documents folder is C:\Documents and Settings\<login name>\My Documents. Or if you wanted to find your desktop folder it would be C:\Documents and Settings\<login name>\Desktop.
With Windows XP Home and Professional you have the ability to have multiple users on your machine. Each user can have their own account with their own settings and customizations on Windows startup. You will typically see a screen like this on startup to select who you are logging in as. Each user can enforce their own passwords for their account.
Windows update is the place to go for all your latest Windows XP updates. It is important to stay current, especially for security updates. Prevention is the always the best medicine. To perform Windows Update, launch Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu at the top, and select Windows Update.
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the process.
Just like all the previous version of Windows, removing programs can be done using the Add/Remove Program tool in the Control Panel.
To add or remove a program, run the Add/Remove utility.
Next, select the program you would like to remove and click Change/Remove. Then follow the on screen instructions to remove the program.
Fast Switching is a feature in Windows XP that allows users to quickly switch from one user to another, while keeping the original user logged in. It puts all of the currently running programs on hold until switched back to the original user. This is just a fast and convenient way to swap users on the same computer.
