Configuring
simply means setting up Windows so that it looks and behaves the way you
want it to.
Configuring the Taskbar and the Notification area:
Windows XP
has an irritating habit of deleting icons from the
Desktop
and also of covering up icons in the
Notification Area
(the tray of small items at right hand end of the task bar). To stop this
silly behaviour,
Right
click a clear area on the
Taskbar. On the pop-up menu click
Properties, remove the tick from the box labelled
Hide inactive icons
by clicking it. Click
OK.
Now, RIGHT click an empty area on the
Desktop. On the pop-up menu click
Properties. In the
Display Properties
window click the tab labelled
Desktop. Click the button labelled
Customize Desktop. On the
Desktop items
window, click to un-tick the box labelled Run Desktop Cleanup wizard every
60 days. Click
OK.
If icons are not showing on the Desktop
for some of your favourite programs, this is how you place them on the
Desktop.
Click
Start
then
right
click a program for which you want an icon on the Desktop. Click Send To.
Click the words
Desktop (create a short cut). Repeat this for the rest of the
programs.
Windows will probably place your icons
in inconvenient and illogical locations on the Desktop. Force Windows to
allow you to place icons where you want them to be.
Right click
an empty area on the
Desktop
and click
Arrange Icons By. On the next fly-out menu, un-tick everything
except
Show Desktop Icons
which must be ticked. Then click anywhere on the
Desktop
to close the little menus.
If you would like the icons to be in neat rows
then also tick
Align to Grid
in the above fly-out menu.
Now you need to re-arrange the icons
on the
Desk top
so that they are in the most convenient position for your method of working.
Click on an icon and holding down the left mouse button, drag the icon to
the preferred position.
My preferred arrangement
for Desktop icons is as follows: Recycle bin in top right corner to prevent
accidentally dropping an icon into it. Then similar functions are grouped in
rows e.g. internet and email icons in one row, anti-virus and anti-spy icons
in another row.
Be sure to put icons on the
Desktop
for the folders
My Computer,
My Documents
and
My Pictures. Click
Start.
At the top of the
Start
list,
RIGHT
click the item labelled
My Documents.
A menu will drop down. Click the item labelled
Show on Desktop
so that a tick appears next to it. A shortcut icon for the
My Documents
folder will have appeared on the
Desktop. Repeat this for the other two folders
Passwords and user accounts:
Avoid having passwords and separate user accounts if you can. They are an
extra chore every time you switch on your computer. These are only necessary
if you wish to keep your files and settings secret from other members of the
family or staff members. Separate user accounts and passwords may be
necessary if you have badly behaved children who tend to mess up your
settings and who insist on down loading dodgy programs.
If you must have passwords
and/or user accounts click Password
to see how to go about setting them up.
If you wish to remove a password or user account click
Password to see how.
Icons
are the little pictures which you double click to access a program or
folder. Icons are
only signposts, if you delete an icon, the program or folder
is not deleted. Similarly, if you destroy the signpost pointing to your town
or village, the town/village is not destroyed.
Configuring the Desktop:
To choose the
wallpaper
(back ground picture) for the
Desktop.
Always choose an un-fussy restful picture so that you can see your icons
clearly.
Right
click in the following instructions means click the the right hand mouse
button. All other clicks refer to the left hand mouse button.
Right
click an empty space on the the
Desktop. Click
Properties
then click the tab labelled
Desktop
.
Now you can choose either to:
(1)
Click the name of a picture in the left hand window, or:
(2)
Choose one of your own photos, click the button labelled
Browse.
You will be taken to the
My Pictures
folder. Open the folder which contains the photo and click your photo.
Then click the
Open
button
In either case
you will be shown a miniature version of the picture in the preview
screen, When you have chosen your preferred photo it might not fill the
little preview screen, in which case, click the down arrow to the right
of the field labelled
Position
and select
Stretch. Click
Apply
and then
OK.
To stop those silly noises
that occur every time you press certain keys. Double click the
Click Start-->Control Panel
(in Windows XP make sure you have the Classic view selected). Double
click the icon labelled
Sounds and audio devices
. Click the tab labelled
Sounds
, then click the
Delete
button. This will remove all those ghastly squeaks, beeps and burps. Now
click
Apply
and then
OK.
If you just want the Windows
Start up
and Windows
Shut down
sounds, delete the sounds as described above. Then in the
Program Events field, scroll down to the words
Exit Windows
and click them. Then in the field below the
Sounds
heading, click the little down-arrow and scroll down to the words
Windows XP Shutdown
and click them. To hear what it sounds like click the little square
containing a right arrow. Return to the
Program Events field
and scroll down to find the words
Start Windows
and click them. Then look in the
Sounds
field for the words
Windows XP Start
and click them.
Move to the upper part of the window and click the
Save As
button. In the pop-up field type a name for the sounds such as
Fred's sounds
and click
OK. Now click the
Apply
button and then click the
OK
button.
Configure the computer for UK English
like this:-
Click Start-->Control Panel-->Regional and Language Options. In
the next dialogue box, under the
Regional Options
tab, Select
English (United Kingdom)
in the first field. In the last field under
Location
select
United Kingdom.
On the same dialogue box click the tab labelled
Advanced
. Select
English (United Kingdom)
in the top field. In the bottom field select
United Kingdom. Now click the tab labelled
Languages
. Click the button labelled
Details
. A dialogue box will appear, in the top field select
English (United Kingdom)
. In the pane below that, you may see both
English
and
US. If so, select the
US
one and click the
Remove
button. If the only one displayed is
US
, then click the
Add
button and add the
UK, then remove the
US
item. Click
Apply
and then click
OK.
Click
Apply
and then click
OK
on the next dialogue box. Close the
Control Panel.
Some favourite programs
may not appear on the
Start
list, so how do you find them to put a shortcut icon on the
Desktop? Access these from the
Start
list by clicking
All Programs.
Then
right
click a program for which you want an icon on the
Desktop
. Click
Send To. Click the words
Desktop (create a short cut).
