If you find yourself staring at the standard Windows wallpaper, listening to same dull jingle each time your PC starts up and using run-of-the-mill screensavers, it's time for a change.

In this feature, we'll not only show you how to make quick and effective changes to the appearance of Windows, we'll guide you through the process of customising your entire Desktop, including creating your own screensaver.

For those who want the hard work done for them, our guide to hunting down and installing complete Desktop Themes will be invaluable. As well as improving the aesthetics of your Windows Desktop, we'll also show you how to make icons more visible and improve the display if you're running off an older notebook PC with a poor screen.

It might all sound like hard work but, as you'll soon find out, it's actually easy and hugely rewarding. We are working in Windows XP but the majority of tips here will work in earlier versions.

Take control
To adjust the look of your Desktop, the first step is to open the Display Properties window. There are various ways to do this, the quickest being to right-click on an empty area of the Desktop and, from the list of options that appears, select Properties. The Display Properties window should now appear on the Desktop.

Alternatively, click on the Start button, select Control Panel and then click on Display (if you're using the Windows XP Control Panel's Category view, first click on Appearance and Themes).

The Display Properties window contains five separate tabs, each housing a variety of options. The first tab, labelled Themes, allows you to make radical changes to the Desktop in just a couple of steps. A theme is basically a complete set of sounds, icons, backgrounds and other settings that can be applied to your Desktop in one go.

You can choose from a selection of preinstalled themes, download new ones or even create your own. We'll talk more about how to do this later.

The Desktop tab lets you adjust how the basic Windows screen looks. This includes the types, size and style of the wallpaper, as well as which default icons should appear on the Desktop. As you'd expect, the Screen Saver tab holds all information and settings relating to the screensaver.

You can choose from a wide range of screensavers and, among other settings, decide how long the PC must be inactive before it kicks in. From this tab, you can also review and alter the computer and monitor's power settings, although this isn't something we'll cover in this feature.

The Appearance tab allows you to fine-tune such things as Windows' colour settings and font sizes. From this tab, it's also possible to enable or disable certain Windows display effects and adjust how smooth fonts appear on screen.

The final tab, labelled Settings, can be used to adjust more advanced display options. This includes changing the resolution of your monitor and setting the colour quality of the display. By clicking on the Advanced button, you'll be taken to a new window where the graphics card settings can be changed. The options that are available within this advanced section will depend on the make and model of your graphics card.