Configuring Display and Power Options

One of the major ways to configure your Windows XP system’s appearance is by using your Display Properties dialog box. Display is an icon in Control Panel that you can click to display a tab on which you can configure various settings that affect the appearance of your Windows XP display. Just click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, then double-click the Display icon to open the Display Properties dialog box. Or, right-click an empty area of the desktop and click Properties. Once you open the Display Properties dialog box, you see several tabs, all of which are explored in the following sections.

Themes

A theme is a group of settings that are applied to Windows XP under a single name. The settings usually relate to each other, thus creating a theme of some kind. If you’ve used Windows before, you are familiar with the concept of themes, but you are not used to seeing a Themes tab, shown in Figure 2-9, on the Display Properties dialog box. Microsoft placed the Themes option in this dialog box in Windows XP because the default Windows XP interface is simply a theme. You can use the XP interface, or you can change to a different theme, or even use a “Windows Classic” theme, which basically gives you the plain Windows interface you saw in Windows 9x, Me, and 2000. Simply use the drop- down menu to select a desired theme and click Apply to see all of the settings that the theme has to offer. You can also modify any theme (including the default XP interface theme) by making changes to the other tabs available on the Display Properties dialog box.

click to expand
Figure 2-9: The Themes tab

Secret 

If you modify the XP theme, it will appear on the themes tab as Windows XP (Modified).

Desktop

The second tab you see on the Display Properties dialog box is the Desktop tab (formerly called Background), shown in Figure 2-10. The Desktop tab lets you decide how your Windows XP desktop area should look. In other words, the Desktop tab lets you decide what color, style, or even picture appears on your desktop.

click to expand
Figure 2-10: The Desktop tab lets you choose a desired desktop background

In the Background scroll box of the Desktop tab, Windows XP gives you several built-in options that you can choose for your background. Some files give your desktop a pattern, whereas others give your desktop a picture.

In the Background scroll box of the Desktop tab, each file has a name and an icon picture next to it. The background patterns and pictures are simply .JPEG, .BMP, .GIF, and related picture file formats that you commonly see on the Internet, as well as HTML files.

On the Desktop tab, when you can select one of the files, it appears in the test monitor window on the Desktop tab. By default, Window XP stretches pictures across your screen so that they take up the entire desktop area, and sets patterns to tile so that they repeat until the entire desktop area is used. This causes the pattern to fill the entire test screen so you can see how it looks before you decide to use it. You can also use the Center option in the Background scroll box to center the pattern in the middle of the test screen, which will give you a different look. If you like what you have selected, click the Apply button at the bottom of the window. Windows XP will then apply the new pattern to your desktop. If you don’t like it, just pick something else from the Desktop tab’s Background scroll box. You can look at all of the patterns and even reapply different patterns until you find the one you want.

When you choose to center a picture or pattern, Windows XP leaves an area of your desktop showing. You can use a color to alter the remaining desktop area. For example, suppose that you choose a wallpaper pattern from the Background scroll box on the Display tab and you center the picture. You will have additional leftover background space. You can use the color drop-down menu to select a color for the remaining portion of the desktop area. Once you have finished your background pattern and selected anything else from the Background scroll box on the Display tab that you want to use for the main pattern, just click Apply and then click OK.

Finally, a Customize Desktop button appears near the bottom of the Desktop tab. If you click this button, you are taken to the Desktop Items dialog box, which contains a General and Web tab. On the General tab, shown in Figure 2-11, you can choose which desktop icons you want to display, such as My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, and Internet Explorer. All of these items are selected by default. You also see a window showing the default icons that are used for each of these items. If you want to use different icons, just click the Change Icon button and select different icons from the provided list. If you manage to foul up your configuration, just click the Restore Default button to return to XP’s default icon settings.

click to expand
Figure 2-11: The Desktop Items dialog box’s General tab

At the bottom of the tab, you see the option Run the Desktop Cleanup Wizard Every 60 Days. The Cleanup Wizard is configured to run every 60 days by default, but you can run it at any other time by clicking the Clean Desktop Now button. This wizard simply removes old shortcuts (ones not used in the last 60 days) and puts them in a folder called Unused Shortcuts. If you create many shortcuts but use them infrequently, this wizard can help keep your desktop free of clutter.

The Desktop Items dialog box’s Web tab, shown in Figure 2-12, allows you to place a complete Web page on your desktop.

click to expand
Figure 2-12: The Desktop Items dialog box’s Web tab

You can use the wallpaper feature to place an HTML file on your desktop, but if you choose the Web option, you can place on your desktop a Web page that you can synchronize with the Web page that appears on the Internet. To place a Web page on your desktop, just click the New button and enter the URL in the New Desktop Item dialog box, as shown in Figure 2-13. You’ll need an Internet connection to finish adding the Web page.

click to expand
Figure 2-13: The New Desktop Item dialog box

Once you click OK, a confirmation message appears. If the Web site requires you to enter a password, click the Customize button and enter your password; otherwise, just click OK. When you choose the Web page option, the entire Web site is downloaded and stored on your computer so that you can use the site just as if you were actually using a browser.

Screen Saver

The Screen Saver tab of the Display Properties dialog box provides two functions: It enables you to configure a screen saver for your computer and to configure power management options. A screen saver is a simple program that runs after your computer has been idle for a certain period of time. In the past, the screen savers protected monitors from “screen burn.” When you left a monitor unattended for too long with one continuous picture or window displayed, the image could burn itself onto the monitor and always be vaguely visible in the background. Monitors today are less susceptible to this problem, so screen savers are used mostly for decoration. However, you can also use the On Resume, Password Protect option so that your password has to be entered to regain the desktop when a screen saver is in use. This is an additional security feature.

You can also access Windows XP’s power management options from the Screen Saver tab. If you press the Power button, the Power Options Properties dialog box appears, opening to the Power Schemes tab, shown in Figure 2-14.

click to expand
Figure 2-14: Use the Power Options Properties dialog box’s Power Schemes tab to manage the power used by your computer

The Power Schemes tab offers a few options to manage how your computer conserves energy when it is idle. First, you see a drop-down menu called Power Schemes. There are a few basic schemes, which will vary slightly if you are using a laptop computer:

  • Home/Office Desk  When you select this scheme, Windows XP automatically turns off your monitor after 15 minutes of inactivity, shuts down hard disks after 30 minutes, and places your system on standby after 20 minutes.

  • Portable/Laptop  This scheme uses the same settings as Home/Office Desk.

  • Presentation  This scheme is used for laptops or computers used for teaching or presentations. Essentially, the power options are turned off and the system never goes on standby.

  • Always On  This scheme automatically turns off your monitor after 30 minutes of inactivity and your hard drives after one hour. However, your system never goes on standby.

  • Minimal Power Management  This scheme simply turns off your monitor after 15 minutes, but never shuts down the hard drive.

  • Max Battery  This scheme contains the same settings as Minimal Power Management.

You can use a particular scheme and change any of the settings you want simply by using the drop-down menus. For example, suppose that you want to use the Home/Office Desk scheme, but do not want your monitor to turn off until 30 minutes of inactivity. To accomplish this, just use the drop-down menu for the monitor and change its setting to 30 minutes. You can also change all of the settings and click Save As to create your own scheme. Just give the scheme a name and it will appear in your scheme list. To bring the computer out of standby mode, just press SPACEBAR or ENTER.

Secret 

Keep in mind that the default power options that you see are simply suggestions for power conservation when the computer is used in a particular way. The options, however, can easily be edited so that you can make custom power schemes, which may meet the needs of your users more accurately than the default options.

The Power Options Properties dialog box also has an Advanced tab (which really isn’t that advanced). It offers only two check box options that you can select:

  • Always Show Icon on the Taskbar  This option puts a power icon on your taskbar.

  • Prompt for Password When Computer Goes Off Standby  This option requires you to reenter your password when your computer goes off standby before you can use the system again. This helps prevent someone from gaining access to your system when you are away from it.

On the Hibernate tab, you can simply click the check box to enable the hibernate feature. Hibernation allows Windows XP to store information that is in memory on your hard disk before the operating system shuts down. When the computer is brought back online, XP can remember its previous state so that you do not lose any data. The computer’s BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), however, must support hibernation. Computers that support the ACPI (Advanced Configuration Power Interface) standard support the hibernation feature. If the computer does not support ACPI, the feature will not be available. Check your computer’s BIOS to see whether it supports ACPI. To return the computer from hibernation, simply turn on the computer.

For laptop computers, you’ll see button options to sleep, hibernate, or shut down after a period of time has passed while running on batteries.

The APM (Advanced Power Management) tab is for computers that support the APM standard. APM allows your computer to use less power and gives you information about battery life if you are using a battery (such as with a laptop). The tab has no settings to configure; if this tab tells you that your computer supports APM, you can enable the feature by clicking the single check box option.

The final tab is UPS, which stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply. UPS devices are basically batteries that give your desktop computer enough power to remain online in the event of a power failure. This gives you enough time to shut down your system properly. A UPS is typically used with server systems and rarely used with desktop systems, but if you have a UPS, you can enable the feature on this tab. Be sure to follow the UPS manufacturer’s suggestions for configuration and settings.

Appearance

The Appearance tab, shown in Figure 2-15, enables you to pick an appearance scheme for your Windows XP computer.

click to expand
Figure 2-15: Use the Appearance tab to pick an appearance scheme

This tab offers a few standard options:

  • Windows and Buttons  You can use the drop-down menu either to choose XP style or Windows Classic style.

  • Color Scheme  A number of color schemes are available. Use this drop-down menu to select one you like. You can experiment with this setting and change it at any time.

  • Font Size  You can choose normal, large, and extra large from the drop-down menu.

  • Effects  Click the Effects button to open the Effects window, which gives you some basic check box options such as fade, shadows under menus, and so on.

  • Advanced  If you click the Advanced button, you can make specific font and color changes to different window components, such as menus, buttons, the active title bar, and a host of others. Usually you will not want to edit all of the settings. However, if you want to change a specific window component, just select it using the drop-down menu and configure its available options.

Settings

The final Display Properties tab is the Settings tab. You use this tab to manage the actual video card hardware that resides within your computer. As you can see in Figure 2-16, the tab presents a few basic options.

click to expand
Figure 2-16: Use the Settings tab to configure your video adapter card

First, you see the Color Quality drop-down menu. This menu enables you to select the number of colors that Windows XP can use to generate all of the graphics and pictures that appear on your monitor. You can select a different color quality, depending on the option supported by your video card (such as 24-bit and 32-bit color).

The Settings tab also offers the Screen Resolution slider bar. Using this control, you can adjust the screen area to suit your needs. As you adjust it, your desktop area (including your icons) will become either larger or smaller depending on the option that you select.

The tab also has an Advanced button. This option opens the properties pages for your video card. For most systems, the default settings should suffice, but these pages offer a few options that can help you solve particular problems:

  • On the General tab, you can change the dots per inch (DPI) setting, which by default is typically set around 96. Increasing this value can increase the size of the items found on the screen. However, this setting increases all items. If you want to change only the font size, use the Appearance tab on the Display Properties dialog box to change the font.

  • On the Monitor tab, you can adjust the screen refresh rate. If the screen seems to respond slowly to keyboard strokes, increasing this rate may improve performance, depending on the quality of your monitor. Again, as a general rule, the default setting is best.

  • On the Troubleshoot tab, you can change the rate of hardware acceleration for the video card. If you are having no problems, you should leave this setting at Full. However, if you are having performance problems, you can try to resolve the problem by reducing the acceleration value in slight increments.

start sidebar
Tech Talk: Video Cards and Problems

Configuring video cards can be problematic for A+ technicians. If your environment is starting out with new computers that meet all of the Windows XP standards, you may not experience any problems. However, in the case of upgrades, video card compatibility and performance can become an issue. As you are working with video cards in your Windows environment, keep the following points in mind:

  • Video card compatibility is a must. Visit the Hardware Compatibility List at http://www.microsoft.com/hcl for an up-to-date list of video cards that are compatible with Windows XP.

  • In the case of upgrades, make sure you have the correct driver. Visit the manufacturer's Web site and look for any updated drivers designed for Windows XP. If you need help installing a new driver, see Chapter 4 for details.

  • If the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box does not give you many color options or resolution options, again, the problem is the driver. To fix the problem, you'll need a driver that is compatible with Windows XP. If one does not exist, try using a driver written for Windows 2000.

  • You can adjust the Advanced settings from the Settings tab if necessary, but in most cases, these fixes really do not solve all of the problems. Again, compatibility is the key.

end sidebar




A+ Technician's on the Job Guide to Windows XP
A+ Technician's on the Job Guide to Windows XP
ISBN: 72226900
EAN: N/A
Year: 2003
Pages: 164

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net