The Control Panel, and the some...

The Control Panel and then some...

By: Scott Hendison � Published: October 1999

I assume that you've played around in your windows "Control Panel." It's one of the first places I went before I had much software. ("Start" - "Settings" - "Control Panel" or access it from "My Computer"). If you haven't been there, go play for a while, and then come back. It's safe, really. Just remember, if you're unsure about something, just "Cancel." As long as you don't click "Apply" or "Okay" your changes won't have a permanent effect.

You may have a lot of fun in the "Display" area. That's where you can change your screen saver, your color schemes, your desktop wallpaper, your screen area size (or resolution), and lots of other things too. Nearly every computer that comes in has the same default windows settings. Change it around. Live a little. If you happen to choose a screen area (resolution) setting that makes your screen go black, don't panic. Just don't press any keys, and your monitor will return to its original setting within 10 to 20 seconds. All that means is that your monitor cannot handle that high of resolution setting. Many older monitors won't go above a setting of 800 x 600.
One area in your "Control Panel" that you may have left unexplored is your "Device Manager." This is the master hardware control center for your entire computer. From the "Control Panel", go to "System" then to the "Device Manager" tab. This is where you can immediately spot a problem if one exists.

First, you'll see all of your devices listed there, from your CD Rom, to your USB (If you have Universal Serial Bus ports). There should be NO yellow circles with exclamation points inside them. If you have any of these, it means something is wrong. Usually, a driver (software for your hardware) is missing or incorrectly installed. Sometimes, even though the driver is correctly installed, there may be a conflict with another one of your devices. When Windows first installs hardware, it's called "Plug and Play." But Windows doesn't always do it properly, hence the technical term "plug and pray." When something doesn't work right, whether it's your CD drive, your sound, your modem, or anything else, the "Device Manager" is always the first place you should look.

By clicking on the individual device, you can expand the tree to show you your specific device. If you don't know what kind of modem or video card you have, click the "modem" or "display adapters" icon and there you'll see it listed. Please though, unless you know what you're doing (and if you did you probably wouldn't be reading this) don't make any changes in your device manager.

With only 500 or so words allocated to me each month, I can't really tell you how to do very much in there, but I encourage you to go look anyway. By being well informed about your computer, what's inside it, and what's wrong with it, you can more easily get your support questions answered, and you're less likely to get taken advantage of in a repair or upgrade situation.

Another great area of fun in your control panel is the "Mouse." Change your cursor to an hourglass, then sit back and howl as your family hits the "reset" button and reboots the computer over and over only to have the hourglass never go away! It's not good for your computer, but it sure is funny!