Win 98 Tutorial Part 2 - The Start Menu

The second part of our Windows 98 tutorial looks at the Start Menu,
the start menu is activated when you click the start button.

We will show you how to customise your start menu in an upcoming tutorial.

Before you follow this tutorial you must read the terms of our disclaimer.

In part two:	Other related pages:
The Start Menu Overview. The Shutdown Menu. The Find Menu. The Settings Menu. The Documents Folder. The Settings Menu. The Programs Menu. Continue to Part 3. Back to course menu.	Find Files or Folders. Installing a printer. Clear the documents folder. Create a Desktop Shortcut. (these pages open in a new window)

If you have any trouble with any of the terms see our computer dictionary.

The Start Menu Overview

In fig 1.1 on the left is an example of a typical start menu.

We will move onto each option in turn, but first here is an overview:

Shutdown - shutdown, restart and standby.
Log off - Log off the current user.
Run - Used to run executable files (programs).
Help - Opens the built-in Windows help.
Find - Search for files, folders, etc.
Settings - Printers and other settings.
Documents - Recently viewed documents.
Favorites - Links to your favorite web pages.
Programs - Gives access to all of your programs.

note: some of the options have a small black arrow to their right, this means that another submenu will appear when you hover your mouse pointer over it

The Shutdown Menu

If you select the shutdown option from the start menu you will be presented with a dialogue box similar to that shown in fig 1.2, below is a summary of what each option will achieve:

Standby - This will put the PC into standby mode (if available), basically it will power down components like the monitor and hard drive to preserve energy.
Shutdown - Shuts down the PC, always use this option to turn off your PC.
Restart - this will restart the computer.
Restart in MS-DOS Mode - this will cause the PC to restart in the MS-DOS enviroment.

The Find Menu

If you hover your mouse over the find option you will see a submenu similar to that in fig 1.3, below is a description of each option.

Files or Folders - This is used to search for files or folders on your PC (see related pages at top of this page for a guide).
Computer - This is used to find computers on your network.
On the Internet - This will search the internet for your query.
People - This will search your PC and other sources for people.

The Settings Menu

Hovering your mouse over the settings option reveals a sub menu similar to that in fig 1.4, below is a summary of the menu options.

Control Panel - The control panel is used to configure Windows 98, we will be looking at the control panel in detail later in the tutorial.
Printers - Used to add and configure printers, see related pages at top of this page for details of how to add a printer.
Taskbar & Start Menu - Here you can customise your taskbar & start menu.
Folder Options - Here you can change the look and feel of your folders.
Active Desktop - Changes the desktop settings.
Windows Update - starts the automated windows update.

The Documents folder

This acts like a folder, it will contain any recently viewed documents for fast access as well as a link to the main My Documents folder.

note: see related pages at top of this page for a guide to clearing the documents folder.

The Programs Menu

When you hover the mouse over programs you will see a sub menu similar to that shown in fig 1.5, this is where you can find all the programs currently installed on your computer.

Yours will differ from the example in fig 1.5 because you will have different programs installed.

To open a program simply left click on it, as with the start menu the options with the small black arrow to the right hand side contain another sub menu. For example if you wanted to open a program in the accessories folder, then you would hover the mouse over accessories and then click on the program you want from the sub menu that appears.

You can rename any program on the menu by right clicking on it and selecting rename from the menu that appears.

Whenever you install software it will (normally) appear on the programs menu, if you ever want to remove a program then use the control panel to uninstall it, simply deleting it from the programs menu will not uninstall the software.

You can also create a desktop shortcut to any of the programs, see related pages at top of this page.