Choosing the Best Computer Network

Your business is growing. Is it time for a computer network? You've added 2 new staff members in the past year, and all 5 employees are complaining about the increasing difficulty of sharing files. Your billing database is on a computer which can only be accessed by your administrative assistant and you are concerned about not having a centralized backup of the files being saved on each employee's computer. If all this sounds familiar, it may be time to implement a computer network.
In this discussion, we'll look at two main computer network solutions for small and medium businesses. We'll explore the pros and cons of each type so that you can gain an understanding of which type might be the best solution for your business.

Network Basics

Networks begin when two or more computers are connected so that information can be shared. In order to connect to any kind of network, a computer requires a network card and CAT5 or CAT6 cables. (If the computer has a "wireless" network card, radio signals can be used in place of the cables.) A network also requires a piece of equipment called a switch, which acts as a central routing "hub" for the information being shared. A switch is kind of like a mail room in a large company. It makes sure the addressed messages get to the right recipient.
You may have heard the term LAN or WAN. LAN stands for Local Area Network, and usually denotes a network of computers which are fairly close together, say in the same building or office. WAN stands for Wide Area Network. WANs usually connect local area networks which are separated by great distances. (For example, a larger company may have an office LAN in Seattle, and an office LAN in Boston. These two LANs could be connected via a WAN data line.)

Peer to Peer Networks

The most basic type of network is a called a peer to peer network. This type of network consists of several computers which are connected to each other. The "network" consists of shared folders located on computers within the network.
These folders are set to a "shared" status, so that other people connected to the network can access them. Each shared folder is accessed by the users of the network, who set up a certain drive letter (say H:) as a "pointer" to the shared folders on other computers. In addition, any printers connected to any computer can be shared to other network users.

Here's an example. Susan and Joe work together in a small office and need to look at files on each other's computers. Susan creates a folder called "SusansFiles" on her computer and sets it up as a shared folder. Joe can then use the network connections to "see" the folder called "SusansFiles".
He sets up a permanent shortcut called "H:" drive to the folder called "SusansFiles". Now when he turns his computer on, Windows Explorer will show the folders on his computer's C: drive, the CDROM D: drive and the shared H: drive as his available file locations. Susan can do the same with a folder that Joe shares out from his computer.
Benefits of a Peer to Peer Network:
A peer to peer network is inexpensive to set up. It uses the built in networking capabilities of Windows XP Professional (or Vista Business), so no special software is needed. It allows for file and printer sharing, and can be an adequate choice for a very small office. Limits of a Peer to Peer Network
Peer to peer networks are dependent upon the computer knowledge of each employee, as certain rules must be followed in order to minimize network interruptions. If a user shuts down his machine in the middle of the day, other users on the network lose access to the files in that machine's shared folder. In the picture provided above, the laptop might only connect to the network when an employee is not traveling. Any files stored on that laptop are not available (and may not be backed up) when that employee is out of the office.
Network and data security are weak.
Files are not centralized, so getting a back up of all critical files is more difficult.
Ongoing tasks like anti-virus scanning and Windows updates are localized on each machine. Updating virus definitions and patches has to be done manually at each machine, which is time consuming.

Client Server Networks

A more common type of network is called a client server network. This type of network uses a central server and specialized network software. The server is dedicated and is only used to store files and run server tasks. The computers which connect to the server are called clients and these are the machines the company staff would use.
The server acts as the "hub" of the network, and does most of the "behind the scenes" maintenance and storage. Common server network operating systems include Windows Small Business Server 2003 or 2008, Windows Server or Linux.Benefits of a Client Server Network
The server stores all of the shared files for each user.
The server runs the file backups which can be scheduled in the middle of the night, minimizing network interruptions.
The server manages user security, and insures that all users who access the network are authorized to do so.
The server manages printer sharing and acts as a central repository for the printer drivers and settings.
The server manages other common tasks such as internet access, email routing, Windows updating and anti-virus definition management.
The server can also share software applications out to multiple users.
The server can also provide for an "Intranet", an internal website which holds shared company information such as news announcements, HR policies, training documents, and more.
In short, a client server network provides for easier network administration, and provides a much more robust environment in which provide secure and manageable access to company data.
Limitations of a Client Server Computer Network
The benefits of a client server computer network are substantial, but there are some limitations.
A server based computer network is more expensive to implement. Server computers are powerful machines with built-in redundancy and other hardware to provide data safety. Hence, they cost much more than a simple desktop computer.
The server network software is also much more powerful, complicated, and must be installed correctly to run all of the required tasks, and so the cost is higher for both the software and installation charges.
The server is a critical point of failure. If it goes down, the entire network comes to a halt. This drawback can be minimized with the installation of redundant drives in the server (so that if one fails, the others will still be working), and even a second server that can take over if the primary server fails completely. Cost then becomes the only issue.
Which Computer Network is Best For Your Business?
Peer to peer computer networks are reliant upon the computer users, so employee behavior is a major factor. Peer to peer networking could work for your business if you have the following:
Computer savvy employees whom you trust.
Low employee turnover.
Five or less employees.
Newer desktop or laptop machines with lots of memory and hard drive space.
A large capacity portable data storage unit for backing up files and taking them off site.
Time and motivation to keep the computer patches and maintenance up to date.
A client server computer network is more secure, easier to manage, and would be a better solution for your business if the following is true:
You want to secure your company data and provide access to certain files and folders to only a few employees.
Your business experiences high employee turnover.
You have more than 5 employees.
A secure, complete backup of all of your critical business data is needed.
A central information repository for your employees would be helpful.
You want to have a cohesive email solution using a single domain address (i.e., jack@yourcompany.com, megan@yourcompany.com).
Think of the cost of implementing a network as an investment in your business. As your business grows, implementing a computer network will help your employees share information and resources, and in the long run, will play a major role in the successful growth of your business.

Computer Troubleshooting Overview

Computer Troubleshooting is a somewhat complicated process, especially if you aren’t standing right in front of the computer, reading the error messages.
Writing a web page about how to troubleshoot a computer brings to mind all of the possible causes of computer problems, and it seems to be an overwhelming task – where do I start?
Possible issues can be eliminated one by one if the computer is in front of you, giving you feedback while you try to determine the problem.
But it’s not so easy when you are trying to imagine the computer and the problems.
This is the reason, I think, for the computer troubleshooting websites I’ve seen where every possible problem and resolution is listed in the hopes that the shotgun approach will help.
And I’m sure that it does help in many cases. But it also makes finding the solution more difficult for the novice because there is so much unfamiliar computer information to wade through.
I hesitated to even write this page, because there are so many computer troubleshooting pages out there on the web, each much more comprehensive than I could hope to produce.
But in the end, I DO know how to troubleshoot a computer and in my 15 years experience, I've found that most computer troubleshooting can be done by anyone, if they have the right information. So I decided to share my way of computer troubleshooting here, in the hope that it helps someone in some way.
Over the years, I have found that most causes of computer trouble fall into one or more of three specific categories:
Hardware issues: Problems in the hardware area cover the hard components of the computer; the power supply, the motherboard, the memory chips, the cpu, the cpu sink, the various cards and parts that make up the actual physical presence of the computer.
Because the first thing a computer does when it is turned on is check out its hardware, issues in this area tend to show up immediately upon powering up.
However, sometimes hardware issues don’t show up until the computer has been running for a while. If that happens, the cause of the problem will have something to do with the computer overheating and the heat causing the malfunction.
Operating System Issues: For our purposes here, the operating system we will look at is Windows XP. Problems with Windows XP usually arise when some process or event has corrupted or deleted settings or files that Windows depends upon to run smoothly.
At the core level, the method that Windows uses to track what is installed and removed is through the Windows registry. This registry file is quite often the source of Windows problems.
You might see errors about dll files missing, or cab files being overwritten, or you might see that Windows just won’t start, or it will start, but then crash with the “blue screen of death”, a not so happy term for a the blue screen that is associated with Windows physical memory dumps.
There are some good programs on the Internet that are written to fix registry errors, so some self help solutions are available. I personally use CCleaner. You can out more about it on my freebies page.
Windows issues can also be traced to the user profiles that are set up for each individual user who logs on to a particular computer. These profiles can get corrupted, and cause weird behavior. At that point, the offending profile may need to be deleted and a new profile created to fix the problem.
Software problems: Software issues are the main cause of most computer problems. There are so many different software programs, all written in different code, all trying to talk to each other and work together without having conflicts. Inevitably, just as in human interactions, there are conflicts, and these can cause overall computer issues.
The best way to avoid these types of problems is to keep track of what you install on your computer.
Watch how your computer behaves after you install a new program. If your computer begins to slow down or act strangely, you can troubleshoot the issue by uninstalling that program and seeing if the problem is resolved.
That’s really the best way to view computer troubleshooting, in my opinion. Know your computer, and keep track of anything new you do with it. Then when a problem shows up, ask yourself, "Since the last time my computer was working fine, what changes were made?" In this way, you can quickly narrow down the possible causes to the most likely culprit.
Computer troubleshooting is easier I think, if you know how the computer works, and especially what happens when you turn it on. If you have that information, then you can use it to troubleshoot most Windows problems.
For example, let’s say our problem computer won’t start. It gets to the Windows splash screen and just stops. Because we know what a computer does when it first starts, and how it gets to that Windows screen, and what it is supposed to do once it gets there, we know immediately where to go to look for the problem.
So then, let’s first learn how a computer works, and more specifically how it boots up, since this is where most Windows trouble will begin and end.
On the page I linked to above, you read about what happens when a computer starts. Let's get back to our computer troubleshooting and go on to what happens when Windows starts:
Windows Overview and Troubleshooting
Now that Windows has started, and you’ve logged in (either by actual entry of your login information or by being logged in automatically), you are now working in your Windows profile. A user profile basically holds all of your Windows and software settings.
Within your user profile are your desktop settings, your printers, your Internet bookmarks, and any other settings for the software that you use.
If another person logs into your machine with a different name, Windows sets up a separate profile for them. All of the desktop, favorites, and other software settings can be completely different for this new user. That's how Windows handles different users on the same computer.
You can see the various user profiles on your machine by opening Windows Explorer and looking at the C:Documents and Settings folder.
You’ll see several folders:
a folder called Administrator, which is the default profile that Windows creates,
a folder called All Users, which Windows uses to load software settings that all users have access to on the computer,
a folder with your name or whatever name you gave to your login when you first set up the computer,
and folders for anyone else who has logged into Windows on your computer.
So how do we use all this information for computer troubleshooting?
Well, we now know that:
If the computer starts beeping at you when it first powers up, you’ve probably got a hardware problem. Check to make sure everything is plugged in correctly, at the least. If the problem persists, you may have to call a computer hardware service person.
If the computer gets past all the hardware tests and begins loading Windows, but reboots and tries to load the Last Known Good Configuration, we know there’s a problem with the Windows management modules, which means some Windows configuration files have either gotten corrupted or deleted. Choose to load the Last Known Good Configuration and see if the problem resolves itself.
If the computer gets to the Windows login screen, but never loads the Windows desktop, more than likely, a Windows file has gotten corrupted. Boot the computer into safe mode with a command prompt, and run a check disk to try and fix the corrupted files. Here's a more detailed page on this.
If Windows boots up fine but then starts to act strangely once it is loaded, (slowing down, hanging, just not acting right, etc..) the cause might be a corrupted user profile, or it could be a trojan, a virus or spyware causing the problem. Run a spyware and virus scan. Make sure the anti-virus software has been updated with the latest engine and dat files.
There are links to a free antivirus and antispyware program on my Free Virus Protection page.
If Windows crashes after it has loaded, and shows the "blue screen of death" (which is to say it does a physical memory dump), it could be a poorly written device driver, a corrupt registry, an incompatible Dynamic-link library file (DLL) or bugs in the Windows kernel.
To troubleshoot it, look at the blue error screen and write down the error and the 8-digit number it presents. Then you can use one of the many websites that will tell you about specific Windows stop errors. Here’s a website that I’ve found very helpful.
You can get some great computer troubleshooting information at Microsoft’s Support Center. Search the Knowledgebase (Under Self Support) for specific error messages and resolutions.
This is also a great place to look for Microsoft Office errors and resolutions.
Well that's my best shot on computer troubleshooting. I hope this has helped you understand how to figure out the cause of any computer troubles you run into.
If you have a specific computer issue with which you need help, you are welcome to contact me. I'll do my best to point you in the right direction to get it fixed.

Computer Maintenance Tips

These computer maintenance tips are well worth the time you will spend on them. It's kind of like cleaning and organizing your house. When everything is put away in the right place, and all the junk and clutter is cleaned up, it makes it much nicer to be there, and much easier place in which to work and play.
So, here are the maintenance tasks I think are the most important:
General Computer Maintenance Tips:
Keep all of your working files in one folder. The My Documents folder is offered by Windows expressly for this purpose. The benefits of keeping all your files in one place are multiple. One, you know where all your files are, two, it's easy to back them all up at once, and three, your machine will run faster.
Don't put your personal files on the root of the C: drive. If you store a large number of files in the root folder, you could corrupt your disk file table which could lead to a "NTLDR is missing" error message when you boot the computer. Very bad. If you have personal files on the C: drive now, move them to the My Documents folder.
Uninstall programs that you are not using. But don’t just delete the program. Remove it correctly so you won’t cause Windows errors. Go to Start, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs. Find the program you want to remove in the list, and click the Remove button.
If you download a zip file and expand it, delete the original zip file when you are done.
Store your hardware drivers and purchased software installer files off your hard drive. A flash drive works great for this purpose.
If you aren’t already using one, get a good surge protector and plug your computer and peripherals into it. If you live in an area with bad lightening storms, unplug you computer and peripherals during the storm.
Practice safe computing. Don't accept software or downloads for which you didn’t ask. Delete any suspicious email without opening it. And even if the email came from your best friend, don't open any email attachments with the following extensions: * .exe, .com, .vbs, .bat, .mdb, .reg, and .js
Scheduled Computer Maintenance Tips:
Daily computer maintenance tips
Update your anti-virus scan and anti-spyware definitions, if they aren’t being done automatically.
Back up any critical files that you have changed today to your flash drive.
Weekly computer maintenance tips:
Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs have been updated with the latest definitions, and run a full scan from both programs.
Reboot your computer. (If you shutdown your computer each night, disregard this tip). If you leave your computer on all the time, definitely do this. It will reset the RAM, and your computer will run much better and faster.
Monthly computer maintenance tips:
Clean up your temp files, your temporary internet files, and other junk files about once a month. To do this easily, you can either download my favorite program for cleaning, CCleaner or run the built-in Windows Disk Cleanup tool.
Ensure you have the latest Windows updates installed. Go to Internet Explorer, Tools, Windows Update. Click on the Custom button. (I always use the Custom button so I can check what’s going to be installed before it gets installed). Windows update may ask you to download and install the latest version of itself. Go ahead and do that, then click Close when it’s finished, and then Continue. It will then check again for real updates and offer those. Choose which updates you want to install. Uncheck the ones you don’t want to install.
Clean out your email, paying special attention to your Inbox and Sent box. The easiest way I’ve found is to sort your email box by size of the message, and delete the largest unneeded emails first.
Quarterly computer maintenance tips:
Change your passwords. (Yes, I know this is a pain, I hear you groaning. But it’s really a good idea to do this).
If you have a mouse with a roller ball (non-optical) clean it out. Use a Q-tip and some isopropyl alcohol to clean the ball and the internal rollers. Remove any caked on grease, oil, and dust that may have accumulated.
Check to see if you need to defragment your computer’s hard drive. To do this in Windows XP, go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, Systems Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Run an analysis first by clicking the Analyze button. Go do something else while it runs. Windows will tell you if it needs to be defragmented. If it does, click on the Defragment button, and again go do something else while your computer runs this.
For Windows Vista, this computer maintenance tip is a little different: Go to Start, All Programs, and click on Accessories. Find Systems Tools, Disk Defragmenter and click on it. Vista will ask you for permission to continue. Click Continue. Vista doesn't give you the ability to choose to defragment, it just assumes you want to and presents a schedule to do so. You can stick with the suggested schedule, or modify it. If you want to kick off the defrag process immediately, click the Defragment Now button. It will then ask you which drive you want to defrag. Uncheck the drives you don't want to defrag, and then click OK.
Check all your computer cables and make sure they are plugged in tight, and not being pinched or pulled in a way that is damaging them.
Check your C: drive (hard disk) for disk errors. NOTE: please make sure you have a current backup of your files before you run a check disk command. (Also, do this immediately if you see a message stating that your Windows “volume is dirty”).
To run a check disk manually on your C: drive, do this:
Click Start, select Run.
In the box, type cmd and click Ok. In the black DOS window, type: chkdsk c: /f (The /f command automatically fixes any errors encountered.
Go to Start, Shutdown, and restart the computer. When the computer restarts, it will run chkdsk automatically. The Check Disk process could take over an hour, so schedule this when you have something else non-computer related to do. On rebooting the PC, you will see a window that shows the progress of the disk check. When it's finished,, it will boot back to the normal version of Windows.
Disclaimer included below. Opening your computer case could void your warranty, and expose you to possible electric shock. Please be careful.
6 month computer maintenance tips:
Go on dust patrol. FIRST, TURN OFF and UNPLUG your computer from the electrical socket. Blow out your keyboard with a compressed air can, and then turn it over and tap it with your hand a few times to shake out any other junk. Brush off the dust bunnies from your PC fan (and any other parts in the back of the PC). Also, open the computer case and GENTLY blow or vacuum out any dust in there, especially around the CPU chip (the big square chip on the mother board).
MAKE SURE you touch something metal to ground yourself before you open the case and reach in there. Even the slightest static electricity zap can ruin a computer chip. This step is especially important if you live in a dusty place like Wyoming.
Annual computer maintenance tips:
Check to see if you have the latest hardware drivers loaded for your printer, monitor and other peripherals.
I hope these computer maintenance tips help your computer run better and faster.

Basic Printer Troubleshooting

Printer troubleshooting can be challenging, given all the different types of printers available on the market.
Here are a few issues I've had to resolve many times for my customers. Hopefully, they will help to resolve any printer issues with which you are wrestling.
When you send a print job, a network printer asks you to put paper in the manual feed tray, even though your document doesn't require manual feed.
This is a printer driver issue. To fix it:
Go into the printer's menu, and reset it to the factory defaults.
Delete the old driver from the server. Install the correct driver (For HP printers, this will be the PCL5 CE version).
In the printer driver device dialog box, enable any special hardware installations such as an envelope feeder or duplexer.
Go to each computer that has access to that printer. Delete the old printer from the computer's printer and faxes listing, and install the printer again so that the new driver is downloaded.
You have an HP LaserJet printer that jams every time a job is sent to Tray 2, but you can't find any paper jam when you pull the tray or the toner cartridge out.
This is a "timing" issue. The tray is not raising the paper to the height of the paper rollers. This is one of those printer troubleshooting questions that's tough to fix without seeing the printer, but I'll give it a shot. Try this:
Pull the tray out. On the bottom, there may be a "switch" that allows the tray to raise properly. This switch is supposed to get "tripped" when you push the tray in, but sometimes that doesn't happen.
Trip the switch and put the tray back in. It should print fine now.
Note: If there's no switch on bottom of the tray, you might have a electrical problem where the printer doesn't "sense" that the paper is at the right level. Check with your local printer repair company.
A network printer works fine for a day, and then the next day it stops printing.
This is most likely an IP addressing issue. If you are on a TCP/IP network, the printer must have a static IP address assigned to it. If it is set to get an address via DHCP, the port will stop working when the IP address changes each time the IP address lease expires.
Secondly, make sure the rights to access the printer have not changed.
You have a printer connected to a single computer and it won't print.
Check the following:
Printer cable is plugged in to both the PC and printer.
Printer is on and set to Ready status (not offline).
Printer has paper and toner.
The printer is set as the default printer in Printers and Faxes.
Check your computer disk space. If there isn't enough space for the print job to spool, it won't print.
See if you can print from a different application. If you can, the problem is with the application that won't print.
Try printing from a notepad.exe file. If it doesn't print, delete the printer driver and reinstall it.
Documents don't print completely, or come out garbled.
This happens usually because the driver installed for the printer is either corrupted or is not the right driver.Verify you are using the correct driver. If so, reinstall the printer driver on the computer.
As I think of (or run into) more printer troubleshooting issues, I'll add them to this page, so keep checking back!

Computer Hardware Troubleshooting

Computer hardware troubleshooting is a lot easier than software troubleshooting. Either your mouse, monitor or keyboard works or it doesn't. Here's a list of tips, questions and advice to fix your computer hardware problems.
Monitor Questions and Tips
Computer hardware troubleshooting for monitors is complicated by the fact that there are so many different monitor manufacturers.
The hardware questions below are basic and common to most monitors. If you have a monitor issue that isn't addressed here, a good place to check for answers is at the monitor manufacturer's website.
Where do I adjust my monitor settings?
Monitor adjustments are located in the Display properties of Windows. To get there:
Right click on your Windows desktop and left click Properties.
Click on Settings and then Advanced button.
Alternatively, some of the newer monitors install a configuration manager. It would have it's own tab on the Advanced properties window (For example, NVIDIA is common monitor configuration manager).
My monitor display looks strange.
This is one of those computer hardware troubleshooting questions that is best answer in person. However, there are some basics you can check:
If your monitor has black around the edges or the image displayed looks weird, you may have the wrong resolution chosen for that monitor. For instance if you have a wide screen monitor and choose a square resolution like 1024x768, it won't display correctly.
In addition, the wrong monitor driver might have gotten installed. Go to the monitor manufacturer's website to download the correct driver and install it.
My computer screen is sideways!
Some computer monitors can be rotated, so there are video cards which support that rotation. For example, web designers and artists use rotating wide screen monitors to look at long pages.
To turn ON this feature, you probably pressed CTRL + ALT + Left Arrow.
To turn if OFF, simply press CTRL + ALT + Up Arrow instead.
Monitor says "No signal or No signal input".
Usually this means your monitor is turned on, but your computer is not. If your computer is on, and you get this error, it means the cable from the computer to the monitor is loose or unplugged.
How do I change the resolution of my screen?
Right click on the Windows desktop (where there is no icon).
Click on Properties from the menu that appears.
Click on the Settings tab.
Slide the resolution bar to where you want it to be. An 800x600 will look larger than a 1024x768 resolution.
Click Apply. Windows will give you a dialog box asking if you want to keep the new resolution. Click Yes.

Mouse Troubleshooting
My mouse died! How do move around in Windows without it?
To simply reboot and try to get your mouse back, press the ALT key + F4 and then use you arrow keys to choose Restart, then press enter. Also check to make sure your cable is not loose.
If you want to keep working without the mouse, you can press ALT + TAB to move between programs.
To open the Start button menu, press the flying Windows button on your keyboard (or if you are on the Windows desktop, press the Tab key until the Start button has a dotted box on it, then press enter). Then use your arrow key pad to get to the program you want to start.
If you are in an application when the mouse dies, press Alt + F to open the file menu, then arrow down to Save, then repeat and arrow down to Exit. Once you are back to the desktop, follow the previous step.
I've got mouse problems.. the cursor is acting strange.
Computer hardware troubleshooting for mice is different for wired versus wireless mice, so I've broken the answer up for both types.
Wireless Mice:
My wireless mouse cursor jumps and won't go where I want it to go.
Solution: Turn over the mouse and see if there is lint or hair or something blocking the hole where the optical laser head is located. It will be a hole in the bottom of any optical mouse.Also, make sure you aren't using a reflective mouse pad. Dell used to make a mousepad that had shiny diamond shapes in it.. My optical mouse would act crazy on that pad, because the shiny pattern was interfering with the laser positioning.
Wired Mice:
My wired mouse cursor won't move.
Solution: This is usually an issue with the old track ball mice. Gunk builds up on the wheels and ball of the mouse, and causes it to stick. To fix it, unscrew the cap on the bottom of the mouse that holds in the ball, and swab the insides out with a Q-tip soaked in alcohol. Do not wash the mouse in water, unless you want to buy a new mouse.
My new mouse has features I want to turn off or on.
To turn mouse features on or off, go to Start, Control Panel, Mouse. You can see all the tabs and features there.
Computer hardware troubleshooting can be complicated, but most of the time, the problem is a basic connection or driver issue.
The list above goes over the most common computer hardware troubleshooting problems and answers. I don't profess to be a hardware guru but if you've got a basic question I didn't answer here, let me know, and I'll do my best to help you out.

!!!!Cool Shortcuts To Use Windows XP More Efficiently!!!!

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows XP

ALT+ENTER View the properties for the selected item.
ALT+ENTER Display the properties of the selected object.
ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened.
ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program.
ALT+ SPACEBAR Open the shortcut menu for the active window.
ALT+ SPACEBAR Display the System menu for the active window.
ALT+ TAB Switch between the open items.
ALT+ Underlined Menu Letter Display the corresponding menu.
BACKSPACE View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer.
CTRL + Dragging Item Copy the selected item.
CTRL+ A Select all.
CTRL+ C Copy
CTRL+ DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph.
CTRL+ ESC Display the Start Menu.
CTRL+F4 Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously.
CTRL+ LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.
CTRL+ RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word.
CTRL+ SHIFT +Dragging Item Create a shortcut to the selected item.
CTRL+ SHIFT + Any Arrow Key Highlight a block of text.
CTRL+ UP ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph.
CTRL+ V Paste
CTRL+ X Cut
CTRL+ Z Undo
DELETE Delete
ESC Cancel the current task.
F10 Key Activate the menu bar in the active program.
F2 Key Rename the selected item.
F3 Key Search for a file or a folder
F4 Key Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer.
F5 Key Update the active window.
F6 Key Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop.
LEFT ARROW Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.
RIGHT ARROW Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu.
SHIFT + Insert A CD ROM Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing.
SHIFT + Any Arrow Key Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document.
SHIFT + DELETE Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin.
SHIFT+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.
Underlined Letter In Menu Command Perform the corresponding command.
Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
END Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME Display the top of the active window)
LEFT ARROW Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk Sign Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus Sign Collapse the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus Sign Display the contents of the selected folder)
RIGHT ARROW Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)