Friday, September 26, 2014

Class Summary 9-25-2014

We talked about what to do with that old XP machine. Microsoft is no longer supporting it. If you just want to use it for playing some games you like or doing so word processing or spreadsheet work or printing some greeting cards, or something else you cannot install on your new Windows 8.x machine it should be fine to keep using it. Just UNPLUG IT FROM THE INTERNET CONNECTION which might mean turn off the wireless connection if it was using WiFi to connect.

If you want to use the internet, stay away from IE and Chrome. Neither are supported now. Also remove MSE for your anti-virus and install Avast or Avira. I believe they are still supporting XP.

Or you can take a look at a Linux OS which is free and does not need an antivirus program. I suggest using Lubuntu as it is a pretty good substitute for XP. HOWEVER it is not Windows and will not run your old software. When you install it you have two choices. One is to wipe the hard drive thus removing all your data and XP and the other option is to install Lubuntu alongside XP. This is the best option as you can boot to Lubuntu to use the internet safely and then boot to XP to run everything else.

Find it at http://lubuntu.net/

Had a printer question. Just got a new computer and want to use my old printer, the one that was connected to my XP or Vista or Windows 7 computer. I can’t find my CD that came with the printer or I have the CD but it does not include Windows 8.

Yes, you need drivers installed on your new computer so it will recognize and “talk” to your old printer. Best place to get them is at the printer manufacturer web site. For example, if the printer is an HP, go to http://hp.com and scroll down to the bottom and click on Download Drivers. Key in your product name such as Deskjet 1050 and follow the prompts. If your new operating system is not on the list then drivers are not available for it. You can always try Windows 7 drivers and see if they will work with 8 or 8.1.

Demonstrated eBay and PayPal along with a discussion of using both. See previous training sessions on both topics under Class Notes.

Used http://Ninite.com to download and install Adobe Reader and PDF writer. Explained what a PDF or Portable Document File is and created a PDF using the PDF Writer “printer” and then looked at the resulting file using Adobe reader.


Explained to the new Windows 8 and 8.1 user how to get their Start Button back just like Windows 7 b using Classic Shell. Find it at Ninite or directly at http://classicshell.net. This is a must have as far as I am concerned. 

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