Windows XP Tutorial Part 2 - The Windows XP Start Menu

In this second part of the tutorial we will have a look at the Windows XP^® start menu and its functions.

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

In part Two:

The Start Menu Overview.
The Turn Off Computer Menu.
The All Programs Menu.
Continue to Part 3.
Back to course menu.

Other related pages:

(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 above is an example of a typical start menu.

Here is an overview of the different options:

Log off - Log off the current user.

Turn Off Computer - shutdown, restart and standby.

All Programs - Access to installed programs.

Run - Used to manually start executable files (programs).

Search - Search your PC for pictures, music, documents, files and folders.

Help and Support - Opens the built-in Windows help system, including various help and support topics. You can control windows updates and also request remote assistance from a friend/colleague via the internet or network.

Printers and Faxes - Access to your printers and faxes folder, allows you to add and configure printers/faxes.

Control Panel - The control panel is used to configure various Windows XP settings. We will be looking at the Win XP control panel in detail later in the tutorial.

My Computer - Gives you access to your computer's disk drives and files. We will be looking more closely at the My Computer function later in the tutorial.

My Music - Links to a folder created by Windows XP which is used (by default) to store any music files on your hard drive.

My Pictures - Links to a folder (again created by Windows XP) used (by default) to store any pictures/images on your hard drive.

My Recent Documents - This folder contains any recently viewed documents.

My Documents - Gives access to a folder created by Windows XP which is used (by default) to store any documents on your hard drive.

Tour Windows XP - Starts the built-in tour of Windows XP's features.

Windows Movie Maker - Opens Windows XP's movie editing software.

Outlook Express - Opens the Outlook Express mail program.

Files and Settings Transfer Wizard - Allows you to import or export your files and settings from or to a different installation of Windows XP.

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

Turn off computer

If you click on the Turn Off Computer option on the start menu you will see a dialogue box like that shown in fig 1.2, below is a summary of the options available:

Standby - This will put your computer into standby mode. Windows XP will power down components like the monitor and hard drive to preserve energy.
Turn Off - Shuts down the PC, always use this option to turn off your PC.
Restart - this will restart the computer.

The All Programs Menu

When you hover the mouse over All Programs on the start menu, you will see a menu appear similar to that shown in fig 1.3. The menu gives you to access the programs currently installed on your PC.

Your menu will be different from our example, as you will have different programs installed on your PC.

To open a program simply left click on it with the left mouse button. Notice some options have a small black arrow to the right hand side, this indicates that it contains another sub-menu.

For example, the accessories folder in our example has a sub-menu, if you wanted to open a program from within the sub-menu, you would hover the mouse pointer over accessories and click on the program you want from the list that appears.

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

After installing new software it will (usually) appear on the programs menu.

To remove a program from the All Programs menu simply right click on it and select delete.

NOTE: if you want to uninstall a program then use the control panel (covered later in the Win XP tutorial) to uninstall it. Simply deleting it from the programs menu will not uninstall the software.

It's possible to create a desktop shortcut for any of the programs, see related pages at the top of this page.

Windows XP Tutorial part 1

Windows XP Tutorial part 3

Back to the computer courses menu