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Welcome to the Windows laptop: Set up course. Congratulations on your new Windows laptop! A new Windows laptop computer is one that has not belonged to someone before you, or a Windows laptop that has been reset so it's safe to use.
A Windows laptop computer is a personal computer. It's also sometimes called a Windows PC or a PC. Windows laptops combine the computer, along with the screen, keyboard, and a built-in mouse, known as a track pad, all in a single device.
For this demonstration we'll use a mouse, so check that it's properly connected to your laptop before you begin this course. You might like to ask a family member or a friend to help you with this.
To follow along with this demonstration, your Windows computer must have the latest edition of Windows, which is Windows 10. Windows 10 is the operating software that makes your computer work and provides good security. It works on most Windows computers from 2015, and may work on some older computers. All Windows 10 computers work in a similar way, but each computer maker does things a little differently and Windows 10 is also being updated all the time. That means some of the screens in this video might appear a bit different, or in a different order, to those on your computer. Don't worry though, you should still be able to follow along.
It should take around 20 minutes to complete the video. You can, however, pause or rewind the video at any time to check any steps you're unsure about.
Before you start, make sure your Windows laptop is: installed with Windows 10, plugged into mains power, properly connected to a mouse, and switched on. You'll also need your: mobile phone number, or the mobile number of a family member or friend, as well as your home Wi-Fi network name and password. You can usually find these on your home router box. Because your computer is switched on, it should be showing something on the monitor. If the screen is black, your computer might have gone to sleep. Gently press the space bar on the keyboard once to wake up the computer. If nothing happens, briefly press the power button to turn your computer on.
If you see a sign in screen, you will need to reset the computer first. That means you should close this video and go to the Windows laptop: Prepare to set up course.
If you see the language screen, then you're ready to begin setting your up Windows computer. The language screen shows the language that was selected when your computer was set up. For this demonstration, English is highlighted in blue, which means the computer will show Australian spelling. We want to stick with this, so click Yes in the bottom right corner of the screen to continue.
Next, your computer will introduce you to Cortana, the Windows voice and search assistant. Cortana can be very useful, and we'll look at what she can do in another course. For now, though, we're going to put her on silent. Click the little microphone icon in the bottom left of the screen to make Cortana quiet.
After a moment, the screen will ask you to confirm your region. It's safe to tell your computer that you live in Australia. This doesn't give out your home address, and it makes sure you get all the right updates and information for Australia. Scroll up the list to find Australia, and click on it once to highlight it in blue. Then click Yes to continue setting up.
Next, your computer will ask you to confirm your keyboard layout. We use United States International keyboards in Australia, so we're going to select the "United States-International" option from the list. Once it's highlighted blue, click Yes to continue.
Your computer may ask if you want to add a second keyboard layout. Most people don't need a second keyboard layout, so for this demonstration, we'll select Skip. Well done! You're well on the way to setting up your computer!
Now it's time to get connected to the internet. Make sure you have your home Wi-Fi name and password ready to go. Your computer has highlighted the strongest Wi-Fi network in blue. If this isn't your Wi-Fi, find your home Wi-Fi network name in the list of networks, and click it once to highlight it in blue. When you're ready, click Connect to continue. A white text box will appear. You need to type your home Wi-Fi password in here. Be careful to enter the password exactly, matching all capital letters and symbols. It's okay to take your time here when typing in the characters. Unfortunately, you won't be able to see the password as you type it. This is good security, but it's hard to tell if you make a mistake. Click Next to connect. If you typed the password in incorrectly, it will ask you to try again. You can do this as many times as you need, and you won't be locked out, so don't worry if you make a mistake; those passwords can be tricky! Delete the incorrect password, type your password again, and click Next to connect to your home Wi-Fi. Once your computer is connected to your home Wi-Fi, you'll see the words "Connected, secured" under the network name. Now select Next on the bottom right of the screen to continue.
Your computer will do some setting up in the background for a moment. The next screen shows the Windows 10 Licence Agreement. There's a lot of information here, so read through the terms, and, when you're ready, select Accept to continue. Great work! You're progressing well, but there's still a bit more to go.
Your next step is to create your Microsoft account. This is the account you'll use to sign in to your computer once it's set up. Let's get started! You'll now see a sign in screen, where you should go ahead and click Create account. You can use a phone number to create your Microsoft account, but for this demonstration we'll use an email address. It's possible to use an email address you already have, but we're going to create a brand new email address. Click on Get a new email address. Your new email address will automatically end with "@outlook.com", but we need to add in a unique username at the beginning. In this next text box you will need to type in your preferred username. A username can be anything you want, but if you use your real name, there should be no spaces between your first and last name. Type in a username and click Next to continue. If your username is already taken, your computer will say you need to try a different email address. Once again, your computer is just asking you to choose a different username, so have another go. Now comes an important step, creating a strong password.
A strong password should have at least eight characters, including letters, numbers and capitals. Don't use the same password as any other email or account when choosing a password for your Microsoft account. This makes it harder for other people to guess your password and get access to your information.
You should also keep a secure record of your Microsoft account username and password in a safe place. Looking up your saved details is easier than resetting a forgotten password and username.
Enter a strong password ... and click Next.
Now it's time to add some information about you. This is okay to do and helps ensure that only you can use your Microsoft Account. First, confirm your country as Australia, and select your date of birth too. Entering your date of birth is a bit tricky. Click the date box to open up a list of dates. Scroll through the day, month, and year to find your date of birth. Then make sure to click the tick in the bottom left of the list. If you click just outside of the list, your date of birth won't be set and you won't be able to continue. Click Next when you're ready to continue.
You'll now be asked to enter your phone number. The best option is to use a mobile phone number here, so your computer can send you a text message with a security code if it needs to. If you don't have a mobile phone, you can use the mobile phone number of a friend or family member. You'll just need to make sure you have access to their phone when your computer needs to send you a code or message. The first step is to select the country code list. Scroll all the way up and select Australia. Then click on the text box, and type in your mobile phone number. Click Next when you're ready to continue.
Setting up a Windows computer is quite a job, but you're doing well! Don't worry, there aren't too many things left to do. You'll be up and running with your computer soon!
If your computer has a webcam, or camera, connected or built in, you will see a screen that tells you about how you can use your face to sign into your computer. Click on Skip to set this up later.
The next screen you see will ask you to create a PIN. A PIN can be a faster and more secure way to sign in to your computer than a password, so let's set it up now. Click on Create PIN to start. Using a PIN adds extra security, so choose a six-digit number that's easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. Avoid using your date of birth, or a family member's date of birth, numbers that are in order, or repeated digits. Remember to record your PIN and store it somewhere safe. Type your six-digit PIN into the first text box. Then press Enter on your keyboard. You'll then need to confirm the PIN in the box below, to make sure you know it. Helpfully, your computer will let you know if your PIN is too easy to guess, and insist you choose another. Click on OK when you're ready.
Your computer will now go through a few screens that offer you some extra features. These features are useful, but you can set them up later, so let's skip over them one by one. First, click the button labelled No, then the text on the left of the screen that says Do it later, then Only save files to this PC, and lastly, the button labelled Decline. We're really close to finishing now! The next screen asks you if you'd like to set up your privacy settings. We'll explain all of these options in a later course, so for now click the switch next to each setting to switch it off. You may need to scroll down to see the bottom of the page. When you've switched them all off, click Accept. Cortana now appears one more time to let you know that your computer is finalising your set up.
Your computer will now restart, so sit tight, the end is in sight! Once you see the Edge web browser, with some tips for getting started, set up is complete! Your computer is now connected to the internet and ready to go!
Congratulations! As you can imagine, there's a lot more to learn about your laptop. We recommend having a break and, when you're ready, you can start exploring the many other courses that will help you get the most out of your laptop.