There are many things you can do to change the appearance of your computer. You can change everything from the background, to the screen saver, and even how the error message sounds. Leave the old boring look behind and give your computer a distinctive look by following this guide.
Step
Method 1 of 8: Changing Theme
Step 1. Understand what a theme is
Themes are icon packs, wallpapers, fonts, screensavers, and sounds that make up the Windows user interface. You can change the theme to simultaneously change the look and feel of your computer.
Most Windows only have one or two ready-made themes, but you can download many more online
Step 2. Change the computer theme
Not the Personalization screen in Control Panel. For Windows 7 and 8, the theme selection window is in Personalization. You can browse the existing themes on your computer and choose the one you like. If you want to find more options on the internet, click the “Get more themes online…” link.
For Windows Vista, the theme selection is in a more hidden place. In the Personalization menu, click the Theme link. This will open the Theme menu which is where you select a theme that is already on your computer. To add more themes, you will first need to find and download them to your computer. Theme files usually have a “.theme” extension
Method 2 of 8: Changing Wallpaper
Step 1. Find the new image you want to use
Windows gives you several choices of wallpaper images that you can choose from. But if you want a wallpaper that is truly yours, then you need to find the image first. First you have to know the size of the image you should download.
Open the Display screen. In WIndows XP, 7, and 8 instead of Control Panel and go to Display. In Windows Vista, go to Control Panel, then Personalization, then click Display Settings at the bottom
Step 2. Remember your screen size
In order for your image to look perfect, you need to find an image that is exactly the same size as your screen size. If the image fits the size of your screen, it won't look elongated and broken or still leave free space on your screen. Look for a slider in the Display window that shows a list of your screen resolutions. For example, you might see “1920x1080 pixels”. This means that your monitor shows an image that is 1920 pixels wide and 1080 high.
Step 3. Download the image
Go to the internet and search for the image you like. If you use a regular search engine like Google, you can type in the keywords you want as well as your screen resolution to get a list of images that match your screen size. Once you find an image you like, download it to your computer.
Step 4. Install the wallpaper
Open the Personalization screen in the Control Panel. The Personalization option should be in the Appearance and Personalization category, depending on your Control Panel display settings. From there, open the Desktop Background option. Click Browse to find the image you downloaded earlier.
If the image you downloaded is not the same size as your screen, you have the option of stretching, tiling, or leaving a thick border at the edge of your image
Method 3 of 8: Changing the Screen Saver
Step 1. Open the Personalization menu
This menu can be found in the Control Panel, in the Appearances and Personalization category. Click the screen saver option. This will open the Settings screen saver screen.
Step 2. Change the computer screen saver
Use the menu that opens to select one of the various pre-installed screen savers.
Step 3. Change screen saver settings
You can specify when the screen saver appears, and whether you want the screen saver to lock the computer. Depending on the screen saver you choose, you may be able to change its settings by clicking the Settings button.
Step 4. Download a new screen saver
To install a new screen saver, you need to download it from the internet. the screen saver has a.scr format. Make sure you download screen savers only from trusted sources or websites, because screen savers are executable files and can be used for virus distribution.
To install the screen saver you downloaded, simply right-click the file you downloaded and select Install in the menu that appears
Method 4 of 8: Changing Icon
Step 1. Open the Personalization menu
You can find this menu in the Control panel, in the Appearances and Personalization category. Click “Change desktop icons” on the left. This will open the Desktop Icon Settings.
Step 2. Bring up the icon you want
First, use the checkboxes to decide which icon you want to appear on your screen. Generally, only the Recycle Bin is selected, so you can choose My Computer, Control Panel, and more.
Step 3. Change the icon
To change the icon for each item on the menu, select the item you want to change and click the Change Icon button. Windows will open the icon folder and you can select the icons that are already available.
To change the icon to a custom icon, you must first download the icon. Icons have an.ico format. Click Change Icon and click Browse to find the icon you have downloaded, then select the icon you want to use
Step 4. Change other icons
To change another shortcut icon, right click on the icon and select Properties. From the Properties screen, select the Shortcut tab. Click the Change Icon button to select a replacement icon.
You can only change the icon on the program shortcut, which can be found in the Start menu and on the desktop. The program icon itself (which is in Program Files) cannot be changed
Method 5 of 8: Changing the Mouse Cursor
Step 1. Open the Personalization menu
This menu can be found in the Control Panel, in the Appearances and Personalization category. Click on “Change mouse pointers” which you can find on the left for Windows 7 and 8, and on the main screen in Windows Vista to open Mouse Properties. For Windows XP, you can access it directly in the Control Panel.
Step 2. Select the Pointers tab
This will allow you to choose from various existing cursor packs to change all of your current cursors. You can change one by one by selecting the cursor you want to replace and clicking Browse.
Cursors can be downloaded from the internet, and have the format.cur for static cursors and.ani for animated cursors
Step 3. Save
After you change your cursor, save it as a new package and you can select it as an option if you want to change again.
Method 6 of 8: Changing the Sound
Step 1. Open the Personalization menu
This menu can be found in the Control Panel, in the Appearances and Personalization category. Click the Sounds link at the bottom for Windows 7 and 8 users, or on the main screen in Vista. This will open the Sounds screen.
Step 2. Select the sound package you want
Generally, you only have two sound packs available on your computer. To replace it, you need the sound to be included. Windows only supports the.wav file format for use in this feature. But on the internet there are many.wav files that you can use.
Step 3. Use a custom sound
Once you find and download the sound file you like, install it in a specific state in Windows. On the Sounds screen, select the conditions you want to change, click the Browse button at the bottom and select the.wav file you just downloaded. Click Test to make sure the sound is working as intended.
Step 4. Save
Once you've changed your sound, save it so you can reactivate it if you ever change to another sound plan.
Method 7 of 8: Changing Windows Color
Step 1. Open the Personalization menu
You can find this menu in the Control Panel, in the Appearances and Personalization category. Click the Color link at the bottom for Windows 7 and 8 users, or the Window Color and Appearance link on the main screen for Vista users. You will enter the Colors screen.
Step 2. Choose an existing color
You can choose from the existing colors, and choose whether you want the color to be slightly transparent or not. Use the “Color intensity” slider to determine the color composition.
Step 3. Create your own color
Open the color mixer to create your own colors. You can adjust saturation, brightness, and so on to create a unique color for your Windows.
Method 8 of 8: Tips for Mac
Step 1. Change the basic visual effects
Open the Apple menu and select System Preferences. From there you have several options:
- The Desktop & screen saver option will allow you to set a new wallpaper and set a screen saver.
- The Appearance option lets you change the color of menus, rows, and windows. You can also change and color for text.
Step 2. Change the icon
You can change the icon for most things in Mac OS X. First, download the new icon, which is a file in the.icns format.
- Copy the file you just downloaded.
- Select the application or folder for which you want to change the icon. Open the icon's Info screen.
- Select the small icon in the top left corner of the Info screen. Paste the icon you copied earlier.
- To change back to the original icon, select the new icon on the Window screen and press backspace.
Tips
- You can find many things on the internet. So if you are looking for something to personalize your computer, just search the internet.
- Dreamscene has a video that you can set as wallpaper.
- You can create your own images in Paint or other similar applications.
- If you want to change the cursor or icon back to the beginning, just press the “Default” button.
- You can also set an animation as your wallpaper.
