Windows Vista Annoyances

Start→[Your Name]: The Personal Folder

As the box makes clear, Windows Vista keeps all of your stuff—your files, folders, email, pictures, music, bookmarks, even settings and preferences—in one handy, central location: your Personal folder. That’s a folder bearing your name (or whatever account name you typed when you installed Vista).

Everyone with an account on your PC has a Personal folder—even if you’re the only one with an account.

Note

See Chapter 15 for the full scoop on user accounts.

Technically, your Personal folder lurks inside the C:→Users folder. But that’s a lot of burrowing when you just want a view of your entire empire.

That’s why your Personal folder is also listed here, at the top of the Start menu’s right-side column. Choose this listing to open the folder that you’ll eventually fill with new folders, organize, back up, and so on.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: On and Off

OK, this is a little embarrassing—but hey, it’s supposed to be a beginner’s book, right? OK, here goes. How do I turn my PC on and off?

Don’t be shy; everybody has to start somewhere.

Somewhere on your PC is an On button. It’s usuallymarked by the

symbol. Pushing it turns your computer on.

Pushing it again, however (or closing the lid, if it’s a laptop), just puts the computer to sleep (Section 2.5).

If you’re really determined to shut off the PC for real, see Section 2.8.

But truth is, you’re better off using ...