If you want to change any aspect of Windows, including how it looks or operates, you will need to head to the Control Panel.

It can be accessed directly from the Start menu and is home to a wide range of tools that can adjust anything from the wallpaper image on your desktop right through to security settings.

There are two ways to view the Control Panel: Category or Classic mode (the latter is called Icon mode in Windows 7).

In Category mode, the various options are sorted into groups, such as ‘Network and Internet’ and ‘User accounts’.

You may find it easier to use the Classic mode. This shows all Control Panel tools in a single window. In general, though, it’s best to stick to Category mode since this will direct you to the most commonly used tools.

To change the overall visual appearance of Windows, open the Personalization category (or Appearance and Themes in XP). You can also access Windows’ accessibility options from Control Panel.

Although there are lots of useful features within Control Panel, it’s also home to some more advanced tools that are best left alone unless you know what you are doing.

For example the Administrative Tools option contains lots of advanced tools, but we recommend leaving these settings as they are unless you know exactly what you are doing.

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