Wiley Alan Simpson's Windows XP Bible, Desktop Edition 978-0-7645-5722-4 ユーザーズマニュアル

n the cover of this book, we promise that even
beginners will be able to understand it. As a

beginner, you need to know some basic things right off
the bat. For example, to understand what Windows XP
is, you first have to understand what software is. And 
to understand what software is, you have to first know
what hardware is. Let’s start with first things first.

Your PC (Personal Computer) is a system consisting of
many individual components. Not everybody has exactly
the same PC or exactly the same components. But
regardless of whether you’re using a desktop computer
or a notebook, your PC will probably have most of the
components shown in Figure 1-1.

Your computer probably has at least one floppy disk
drive, into which you can insert a floppy disk. You prob-
ably have a CD drive or DVD drive as well, into which
you can insert CDs and DVDs. Floppy disks, CDs, and
DVDs are often referred to as removable media, because
you can stick a disk into these drives, use the disks, and
remove them from the drives when you don’t need to
use the disks anymore.

Inside your computer is another disk drive called the
hard drive. This disk drive also goes by several other
names, including hard disk, fixed disk, primary drive, or
just C:. Your hard disk is an example of nonremovable
media, so-named because you can’t take the hard disk
out of its drive. In fact, you can’t even see the hard
drive, because it’s inside the system unit, as illustrated
in Figure 1-2.

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Getting to know your
computer’s hardware

Getting to know your
computer’s software

Using icons

Working common
controls

The right way to turn 
off your computer

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