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Customizing
Your Computer
This chapter provides information about customizing your 
computer by changing settings in Windows. Read this 
chapter to learn how to:

Change screen and display settings

Change the background and screen saver

Adjust the touchpad settings

Add, change, and switch user accounts in Windows XP 

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Adjusting the screen and desktop 
settings
Adjusting the color depth and screen area are two of the most basic display 
settings you may need to change. You can also adjust settings such as the screen 
background and screen saver.
Adjusting the color depth
Color depth is the number of colors your screen displays. Various image types 
require various color depths for optimum appearance. For example, simple color 
drawings may appear adequately in...

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3Click the Settings tab.
4Click the arrow button to open the Color quality or Colors list, then click 
the color depth you want.
5To save your changes in Windows XP, click OK, then click Ye s.
- OR -
To save your changes in Windows 2000, click 
OK, then click OK again.
Help and 
SupportFor more information about adjusting display settings in 
Windows XP, click Start, then click Help and Support.
Type the keyword changing display settings in...

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Adjusting the screen resolution
You can increase the screen resolution to fit more icons on your desktop, or 
you can decrease the resolution to make reading the display easier. The higher 
the resolution, the smaller individual components of the screen (such as icons 
and menu bars) appear.
To adjust the screen resolution:
1In Windows XP, click Start, then click Control Panel. The Control Panel 
window opens. If your Control Panel is in Category...

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5To save your changes in Windows XP, click OK, then click Ye s.
- OR -
To save your changes in Windows 2000, click 
OK, then click OK again.
Changing the colors on your Windows 
desktop
You can change the colors of Windows desktop items, such as the background 
color and dialog box title bars.
To change desktop colors in Windows XP:
1Click Start, then click Control Panel. The Control Panel w i n d o w  o p e n s .  I f  y o u r  
Control Panel...

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3Click the Appearance tab.
4Click the arrow button to open the Color scheme list, click the color scheme 
you want, then click 
OK. The new colors appear on your desktop.
- OR -
If you want to create a new color scheme as part of a desktop theme:
aClick Advanced. The Advanced Appearance dialog box opens.
bClick the arrow button to open the Item list, then click the item you 
want to change.
cChange the color or font settings for the item.
dClick...

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To change desktop colors in Windows 2000:
1Click Start, Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control Panel window 
opens.
2Double-click the Display icon. The Display Properties dialog box opens.
3Click the Appearance tab.
4If you want to apply one of Windows’ color schemes, click the arrow button 
to open the 
Scheme list, click the scheme you want, then clickOK. The 
new scheme appears on your desktop.
- OR -
If you want to create a new...

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Changing the desktop background
In Windows XP, you can change the Windows desktop background picture. 
Windows provides several backgrounds, or you can use pictures that you have 
created or retrieved from other sources.
In Windows 2000, you can change the Windows desktop background to a 
picture or an HTML document. Windows provides several background pictures. 
You can also use pictures or HTML documents that you have created or retrieved 
from...

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5If you want the picture you chose to cover the entire screen, click the arrow 
button to open the 
Position list, then click Stretch or Tile.
6If the picture you chose does not cover the entire screen and you did not 
choose to stretch or tile the image in Step 5, you can change the solid color 
behind the picture by clicking the arrow button to open the 
Color list, then 
clicking a color.
7Click OK.
To change the desktop background in...