subject: Personalize Your Windows 7 Starter [print this page] Personalize Your Windows 7 Starter Personalize Your Windows 7 Starter
Do you know there are lots of hidden personalization options in Windows 7 Starter we can use to customize our machines? Actually they are removed by Microsoft by default...Today we will take a look at how to use them to personalize our Windows 7 starter.
Fortunately, in all other Windows 7 editions, you can easily personalize your computer by simply right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Personalize. This will give you a wide range of options to change, including sounds, screensaver, themes, background, mouse pointers, and desktop icons...
But this Personalization panel is not available Windows 7 Starter.If you right-click on the desktop, all you will see are options just to change your resolution and add Desktop Gadgets.
Here's how to change your window sounds, screensaver, theme... and more in Windows 7 Starter. All of these options are in the normal Personalization panel in other editions of Windows 7, but here we'll show you how to find them in Starter.
Sounds
If you want to make your PC sound different than the default settings when you boot a laptop in a public place...Windows 7 provides several very nice sound schemes.
Just type in "change sounds" in your Start Menu search, and then select "Change system sounds".
In the new screen, you can change or remove any of the sounds or even turn on or off the Windows boot sound.
Also you can choose one of the other sound schemes...7 Starter still includes all of the new sound schemes!
Screensaver
Most netbooks will have the screen turn off to conserve power.If you would like your netbook to have a screensaver, Windows 7 Starter does still include all the default Windows 7 screensavers. Simply enter "screensaver" in your start menu search, and choose "Change screen saver".
The screensaver option dialog is opened and you can choose the screensaver and settings you want.
Theme
Windows 7 Starter uses the Aero Classic theme by default which is similar to the default Aero Glass theme on other editions of Windows 7, but without the transparency.
If you would like the classic Windows look (from Windows 95/98/2000/ME), or need to use a high contrast theme, you can still revert to this.Just enter "theme" in the start menu search, and click the link "Change the color scheme" .
The classic theme selector opens and you can choose the theme you want, and click OK.
Here's the Windows Classic theme on Windows 7 Starter.
Now you can change your theme options in the Windows Classic theme, including the desktop background color.Just click Advanced in the previous dialog, click on the background color in the picture, and then choose the color you want from the box.
Background Picture
Also Windows 7 Starter doesn't allow you to directly change the background as well.One of the best ways around this is the Slide Show desktop gadget. Just right-click on your desktop, and click Gadgets to add this.
Then double-click on the Slide Show gadget, or click and drag it to your desktop.
Actually the gadget is small by default. In order to make it larger, just hover your mouse over the right hand side of the gadget, then click on the middle button with the arrow.
Now the gadget will show a 320240 image.
Do you think it looks fairly nice for a background, especially on the standard 1024600 resolution screens on netbooks?
Desktop Icons
In order to change the icons for common items (like My Computer and the Recycle Bin...), type "icons" in the start menu search and click the link "Show or hide common icons on the desktop".
Here you can show or hide icons, change the icons for these items as well.
Choose the item you wish to change, and click Change Icon. You can select from icons included with Windows, or others you may have on your computer.
Mouse Pointers
To customize your mouse pointers, type "cursors" in the start menu search, and choose the link "Change how the mouse pointer looks" .
The classic mouse properties dialog opens and you can choose mouse pointer schemes and change individual cursors.
Conclusion
In fact, Windows 7 Starter still has a lot of customization options, but they're not as apparent as they are in other editions of Windows 7.With these tips, you can customize your netbook more than you originally thought possible.What's more...these all work without installing any 3rd party software! Just enjoy yourself!
You can get more Windows 7 tips, Windows 7 Wallpapers, Windows 7 Software from http://www.Newton360.com
