Updated to cover Microsoft’s new version of Windows, Windows 11 For Dummies is available now from Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I’ll even earn a small stipend from qualifying purchases.

Have a question about the book? Ask me!

Q: How do I know if my computer has the Anniversary Update installed?

Windows 10’s Anniversary Update, a large release of updates and fixes that substantially changes Windows 10, began arriving on computers in early August, 2016.

However, Microsoft says the update could take up to three months to arrive on your PC. So, how can you tell if your computer already has the Anniversary Update?

It’s actually pretty easy to tell with a quick look at the Start menu. Click to read more »

Microsoft released a big update to Windows 10 in early August, 2016. In the past, Microsoft would have bumped the name to Windows 11 and asked everybody to buy a new copy.

But Microsoft now treats Windows 10 as a service rather than a product. Accordingly, Microsoft simply sends your computer this free update through Windows Update, and the name of Windows 10 remains the same.

The update visibly changes Windows 10’s Start menu, and leaves its mark throughout the operating system. When your Windows 10 PC wakes up with the new update, you’ll probably notice these changes: Click to read more »

Q: When I click on an e-mailed link in Windows 8’s Mail app, the Start screen’s version of Internet Explorer opens.

I prefer that the link open in the “real” Internet Explorer that runs on the desktop.

How can I make the desktop’s version of Internet Explorer open when I click a link in the Mail app?

A: Windows 8 shook up and shocked millions of computer owners by introducing two ways of working on one computer.

Tablet owners tend to prefer the touch-oriented Start screen, and its gang of apps. Desktop owners naturally prefer the mouse-and-keyboard oriented desktop.

However, Windows 8 and 8.1 only include one e-mail program, and it’s the Start screen’s Mail app. When you click an e-mailed link, the Start screen’s version of Internet Explorer naturally opens the link.

Desktop lovers don’t have to put up with that, though. To make those links open in Internet Explorer on the desktop, follow these steps: Click to read more »

Q: After running Windows Update this morning, Windows 8.1 now acts differently. What gives?

Is there anything major I should know about?

A: Microsoft continues to tweak Windows 8, a major overhaul to Windows that caught many computer owners off guard.

Microsoft tried to repair some of the damage with Windows 8.1, and today Microsoft released an update to Windows 8.1 that changes Windows yet again.

Microsoft officially calls the April 8, 2014 update “Windows 8.1 Update 1.” (Others call it the “Spring Update.”) But no matter what it’s named, the April update changes Windows 8.1 in many small ways. Luckily, most of the changes are welcome.

Windows 8 aimed mostly at mobile touchscreen tablet owners, leaving desktop owners out of luck. This new update embraces desktop PC owners, letting them control Windows 8.1 more easily with a mouse and keyboard. Specifically, the update brings these changes: Click to read more »