To start a computer, you press the power button. This may cause a small light to turn on and then the monitor to turn on. The computer will check all of its components and if everything is running smoothly, it will display the welcome screen, and then to the user screen. Here you may login into your personal user, or as a guest.

All new computers now have an energy-saving mode called Sleep that allows the computer to temporarily shut down all nonessentials. Usually, there is a light flashing to indicate that it is asleep. This is a huge energy saver, using as much electricity as a Night light and taking seconds to start up. The computer may seem to be shut down, except all of your work will still open and will not be lost. It takes seconds to turn back on and continue to work on any pages that were open, sleep is a very useful tool on a computer. There are other options; such as Log off, Restart, and Shut down. Before doing any of those options, make sure to save all unsaved items because they can become lost.

Do not press the power button to shut down the computer unless the whole computer has stopped responding and you can no longer restart it.

Log Off

Logging off will exit you from the current user that you are using. Any open programs will remain open and once logged back in will open up, unless the computer is shut down. Any other users may have their information open as well.

Restart

The Restart option is usually used when something is not corresponding. The Restart option will shut down the computer and automatically begin to turn on the computer again. Remember that any unsaved information will be lost if it is not saved if the computer is restarted.

Shut Down

Shutting down the computer will completely turn off the whole system. Any unsaved information will be lost, so remember to save before shutting down the computer.