10 ways to personalize your PC
Make your computer more like you by customizing its look, settings, and style
By Brenda Buckley
It is easier than you think to reinvent your computer. Each member of my family has his or her own way of personalizing a computer. My father changes his screen saver every time he receives a digital photo from one of his kids by making our smiling faces his new background. My mother-in-law has a train sound each time she receives new mail. I like to change my desktop appearance at least once a month to suit my mood and the season.
The color, size, and location of almost everything you see on your computer screen can be altered. Create a screen saver with a family portrait, make your favorite Web site the first page you see when you log on to the Internet, adjust your e-mail program so that it's one click away. Experiment with these 10 ways to customize the look, settings, and style of your PC and inject it with your unique personality.
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1. Change your language settings
Tired of pop-ups telling you the word "colour" is spelled incorrectly? Many computers are preset for United States language settings. You can modify your Windows settings to reflect the area of the world you live in. Follow these steps to change your language settings using Windows XP:
| • | Go to the Start menu and select Control Panel. |
| • | Double-click Regional and Language Options. |
| • | Click the Regional Options tab and within Standards and formats, select the language that you wish. |
| • | Click Apply and then click OK. |
2. Personalize a screen saver
Does your computer screen turn black when you step away from your desk for too long? Why not display your favorite family photo or a picture from your latest vacation instead? Follow these steps to change your screen saver to one of your digital photos using Windows XP:
| • | Store the photos that you want to display in your My Pictures folder. |
| • | Go to the Start menu and select Control Panel. |
| • | Double-click Display and select the Screen Saver tab. |
| • | Scroll through the list of screen savers and select My Pictures Slideshow. Click Apply and then click OK. This option will automatically use any photos that you have stored in the
My Pictures folder to produce your new, personalized screen saver.
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| • | For more options, click Settings before you click Apply and then OK. |
3. Choose your sounds and volume
Customizing the sounds on your computer can help alert you to important things, such as calendar appointments, incoming mail, and instant messages. If you love music, set your volume and speaker settings to the perfect listening volume. Select from the tips below to control your computer's sound.
| • | Enhance the sound of your speakers: | • | Load Microsoft Plus! onto your computer. | | • | Open Windows Media Player. | | • | Go to the Tools menu, select Plus! Speaker Enhancement, and then click Enable. | | • | You may be prompted to configure your speakers if they have not been already. | | • | Follow the instructions and you will be ready to listen to your favorite tunes. |
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| • | Control the volume levels on your computer: | • | Go to the Start menu and select Programs, then Accessories,
then Entertainment, and then Volume Control. | | • | Adjust the volume balance between speakers for different listening functions. | | • | Select Mute all to completely turn off the sound. | | • | Then, put the volume control icon on the taskbar for easy future access. |
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4. Customize the speed of your mouse
How fast do you move between programs and documents? Everyone's clicking habits and speeds are different. Follow these steps to change your mouse speed using Windows XP:
| • | Go to the Start menu and select Control Panel. Double-click Mouse. |
| • | Click the Buttons tab. Under Double Click Speed, use your mouse to slide the arrow to the desired setting. |
| • | Double-click the folder shown to confirm the setting before you click OK. |
5. Change your desktop appearance
Did you know that you can change the color and size of the text, window pane, titles, border, and even the whole screen? The desktop appearance tab is the best spot to change the look and feel of your computer in one easy step. Choose from pre-set color and size combinations, such as Rainy Day and Desert. Follow these steps to change your desktop appearance using Windows XP:
| • | Right-click on your desktop and select Properties. |
| • | Select the Appearance tab. |
| • | Make sure that Windows and buttons is showing Classic Style for a larger variety of styles. |
| • | Select from the Color scheme drop-down menu. As you select different color combinations, you can preview them in the box above. Once you have selected a setting you like, click OK. |
6. Customize your taskbar layout
Are there ten icons along the bottom taskbar of your computer screen and you only know what four of them are? Keep your favorite programs in a convenient location and hide the ones that you use infrequently. Follow these steps to customize your taskbar using Windows XP:
| • | Right-click a blank spot on the taskbar and choose Properties from the menu. |
| • | Select Lock the taskbar to prevent it from being moved to a new location or resized. |
| • | Select Auto-hide the taskbar if you wish to hide it when not in use. |
| • | Select Group similar taskbar buttons to have similar items grouped in one button when the taskbar is crowded. |
| • | Click Hide inactive icons to conceal icons that you have not recently used. |
| • | Click Apply and then OK to save your changes. |
7. Set your default Web page
Do you spend most of your day online at a certain Web site? Set your Web browser to open to your favorite online spot by making it your default page. Follow these steps to set your Web browser default page using Windows XP:
| • | Log on to the Web site you visit every day. |
| • | In Internet Explorer, click the Tools menu and select Internet Options. Under the Home Page section, click Use Current. |
8. Choose your Windows Views
When searching through your files, such as those in your My Documents folder, you can view them in five different ways: Thumbnails View, Tiles View, Icons View, List View, and Details View. Follow these steps to change the view of your lists using Windows XP:
| • | Choose the view that you want from the View menu or click the Views button on the Standard Buttons toolbar. |
| • | Use the View menu to change the way that items are arranged. |
| • | Experiment to see which view is best suited to your work and to the contents of the folder. |
9. Customize your browser size
Do you like a new window to open over the entire screen or slightly smaller? Set your windows to the exact size you want them to be when you open a new page. Follow these steps to change the size of your browser windows using Windows XP:
| • | Close all your browser windows but one. |
| • | Use your mouse to drag the sides of the window to the shape you want it to appear. |
| • | Go to the File menu and click Close. |
| • | Re-open your browser; it will open to the correct size. |
| • | Click the maximize button in the upper-right corner to take the window to full size. |
10. Give each family member a login
Now that you have chosen all of your preferences and personalized your PC, invite the whole family to do so by creating an individual login for each person. Follow the steps below to create an individual profile for each family member and encourage everyone to organize according to their personal preferences.
| • | Log on as the computer administrator to add a new user. |
| • | From the Start menu, go to Control Panel and select User Accounts. |
| • | Under Pick a task, click Create a new account. |
| • | Type a name for the new user account and click Next. |
| • | Click either Computer administrator or Limited, depending on the type of account you want to assign to the new user. |
| • | Click Create Account. |
Article written by Brenda Buckley and adapted from an original piece from Microsoft Home Magazine.
