Ed Bott - Windows 10 Support Secrets

1 CHAPTER 1 | Getting started with Windows 10 CHAP T E R 1 Getting started with Windows 10 Whether you’re training a classroom full of office workers or engaged one- on-one with a harried small business owner, your first challenge in introducing Windows 10 is helping each user to become comfortable with new ways of doing familiar tasks. The amount of change can be overwhelming, especially for nontechnical users who’ve grown accustomed to Windows 7 after years of everyday use. This chapter offers a roadmap for providing that sort of reassurance, by showing off 10 features every new user should learn on their first day using Windows 10. In this chapter, I focus on how to demonstrate these capabilities rather than digging into details. The goal is to avoid overwhelming the first-time user with step-by-step instructions; instead, you want to build a natural sense of excitement and what’s possible. Of course, what your users see on their screens might vary from what I describe here, based on what your IT department policy allows them to do. Your options for signing in The best place to begin introducing Windows 10 to a new user is the sign-in screen. Start by explaining the four different account types that Windows 10 supports:  Microsoft account On desktop PCs and laptops that aren’t joined to a Windows domain, this is the most commonly used account type. Signing in with a Microsoft account allows access to online services such as Microsoft OneDrive and Outlook Mail. More important, it makes it possible for the user to sync settings (including saved passwords and access to Store apps) between Windows 10 devices.  Local account This is the traditional account type, consisting of a user name and password that are stored locally and not linked to any cloud services. It takes a few extra steps to create a local account, but some traditional users are more comfortable with this configuration.