6. Choosing and Managing Your ThemesDesktop themes are combinations of the visual and audio
elements Windows 7 uses to set the appearance of menus, icons,
backgrounds, screensavers, system sounds, and mouse pointers. The
default themes your computer uses are based on the user experience
level. NOTE To change the theme in Windows 7 Starter, open Control
Panel→Appearance→Display→Change Color Scheme from the list of items to
the left. You will be able to select from Windows 7 Basic, Windows
Classic, and several high-contrast themes. As you customize the backgrounds, screensavers, system sounds, and
mouse pointers that your computer uses, you modify the default theme;
you can then save these modified settings together as a new theme by
following these steps: Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select
Personalize. Click Save Theme. In the Save Theme As dialog box, enter a
name for your custom theme and then click Save. Theme definition files end with the .theme file extension. Unless deleted in
the future, the custom theme will appear as a My Themes
option.
In addition to any custom themes you create, several default
themes are available. You can apply a default or saved theme by
completing these steps: Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select
Personalize. Use the Theme list to select the theme you want to use. If you
want to use a saved them from Microsoft’s web site, click Get more
themes online and then select the .theme file that contains the saved
theme.
7. Configuring Your MonitorsWindows 7 automatically configures your monitor settings
the first time you log on. Windows does this by choosing the best
display settings for your monitor. The optimized settings
include: - Screen resolution
Determines how much information is displayed on the
screen, measured horizontally and vertically in pixels. Low
resolutions, such as 640 × 480 or 800 × 600 pixels, fit fewer
items on the screen but those items appear larger. High
resolutions, such as 1,280 × 1,024 or 1,920 × 1,200, fit more
items on the screen, but those items appear smaller. Clarity
typically is determined by the dots per inch (dpi) being
displayed. Generally, the higher the dpi, the better the text and
on-screen elements will look. However, if you set the screen
resolution too high, you might affect the supported refresh rate
and color options, which could reduce clarity as well. - Refresh rate
Controls the frequency at which the screen is redrawn. To
get the best possible display, you’ll want to be sure you use as
fast a refresh rate as possible. If the refresh rate is set too
low, the screen can flicker, which can cause eyestrain and
headaches. To reduce or eliminate flicker, you’ll want the refresh
rate to be at least 72 hz. On an LCD monitor, you should generally
leave this at the default setting. - Color
Controls the number of color bits associated with
each pixel. To get the best possible display, you’ll want to use
at least 32-bit color. With 24-bit color, you won’t see most of
Windows 7’s visual effects. With 16-bit color, the edges of
interface elements may appear to be jagged rather than
smooth.
Your computer’s video card and monitor together determine the
screen resolution, refresh rates, and colors that you can use.
Generally, you’ll want to use the highest quality setting that is
mutually supported. Most monitors have a base or native resolution,
which is the resolution that the monitor was designed to display
best. Proper display depends on your computer using accurate information
about your graphics card and monitor. Depending on which graphics card
and monitor models Windows 7 thinks you have, different driver files are
installed. These drivers determine which display resolutions, colors,
and refresh rates are available and appropriate for the system. If the
graphics card and monitor aren’t detected and configured properly,
Windows 7 won’t be able to take advantage of their capabilities. Your display settings can be less than optimal for many reasons.
Sometimes Windows 7 doesn’t detect the device, and a generic device
driver is used. At other times, Windows 7 detects the wrong type of
device, such as a different model, in which case the device will
probably work but some features won’t be available, or worse, incorrect
(and incompatible) options will be available. 7.1. Setting the screen resolution and orientationYou can set the screen resolution and orientation by
completing the following steps: 
Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select
Screen Resolution. This opens the Screen Resolution page in the
Control Panel, as shown in Figure 8. If you want to configure the second monitor on a system with
multiple monitors or graphics cards, click 2 to select the second
monitor. Use the Resolution list to set the display size, such as
1,920 × 1,200 pixels. Optionally, use the Orientation list to specify an alternate
orientation for a monitor. The default orientation is
landscape.
7.2. Setting the refresh rate and color qualityYou can set the refresh rate and color quality for a monitor by completing the following
steps: Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select
Screen Resolution. If you want to configure the second monitor on a system with
or graphics cards, click 2 to select the second monitor. Click Advanced Settings. This opens a properties dialog box.
Set the color quality or refresh rate using one of the following
options: On the Adapter tab, click “List all modes.” The “List
all modes” dialog box shows the color qualities and refresh
rates supported by the selected monitor. Click OK. On the Monitor tab, use the “Screen refresh rate” list
to set the desired refresh rate. Use the Colors list to select
a color quality, such as True Color (32 bit).
NOTE If you clear the “Hide modes that this monitor cannot display”
checkbox, Windows 7 will display refresh rates that exceed the
capabilities of the monitor and graphics card. Select these
additional hidden modes only when you know for sure that your
monitor and graphics card support a particular mode, such as may be
the case when you are using a generic driver. Keep in mind that
running the computer at a higher refresh rate than it supports can
damage the monitor and video adapter. This checkbox may be disabled for certain displays, such as
LCD monitors. Click OK twice to save your settings.
7.3. Customizing multiple-monitor configurationsIf multiple monitors are connected to your computer, you
can designate one monitor as the primary and the other as the
secondary monitor. You can also extend the desktop onto your second
monitor. To configure options for multiple monitors, complete the
following steps: Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select
Screen Resolution. Select the monitor you want to work with. Monitor 1 is the
primary monitor. Monitor 2 is the secondary monitor. By default, the primary monitor is assumed to be on
the left and the secondary monitor on the right. Because of this,
when you move the mouse pointer off the right edge of the primary
monitor, the mouse pointer appears on the left side of the
secondary monitor. If you want the monitor on the right to be the
primary monitor, you can reverse this order by clicking 2 and
dragging to the left. Now when you move the mouse pointer off the
left edge of the primary monitor, the mouse pointer appears on the
right side of the secondary monitor. To extend the desktop onto your secondary monitor’s display,
select the “Extend the desktop onto this monitor” checkbox.
Once you’ve configured your monitors, you’ll find the pressing
the Windows Key and P is a convenient way to quickly change the
monitor configuration. After pressing Windows Key and P, you
can: Select Computer Only to use only the main computer monitor
or the built-in screen on a laptop. Select Duplicate to display the main computer monitor or the
built-in screen on a laptop on a second monitor. Select Extend to extend the display across two
monitors. Select Projector Only to display only on an external
monitor or projector.
7.4. Setting the monitor or graphics card driverIf the monitor or graphics card shown in the Display
Settings dialog box does not match the one you are using, you should
visit your computer, monitor, or graphics card manufacturer’s website
and obtain the proper driver. Typically, you can do this by
accessing the manufacturer’s support page and entering the serial
number or model of your computer, monitor, or graphics card. Most
manufacturers maintain drivers for a number of years and provide
updates for these drivers as they become available. NOTE In most cases, you’ll either download a zipped file
containing the drivers you need or an executable installer. To
extract the files from a ZIP, you’ll need to right-click the
.zip file and then select
Extract All. After you select a destination folder, click
Extract. You install monitor and graphics card drivers using separate
procedures. To specify the monitor driver to use, follow these
steps: Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select
Screen Resolution. On a system with multiple monitors or graphics cards, click
2 to configure settings for the second monitor. Click Advanced Settings. On the Monitor tab, click
Properties. In the Driver tab, click Update Driver. This starts the
Update Driver Software Wizard. Click “Browse my computer for driver software.” Click Browse to select a search location. Use the Browse for
Folder dialog box to select the start folder for the search, and
then click OK. Because Windows 7 searches all subfolders of the
selected folder automatically, you can select the drive root path,
such as C, to search an
entire drive. Click Next. Click Close when the driver installation is
completed.
Most graphics drivers are installed using an executable
installer. Run the installer and reboot if the installer asks you to
do so. If you need to manually specify the graphics card driver to
use, follow these steps: Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select
Screen Resolution. On a system with multiple monitors or graphics cards, click
2 to configure settings for the second graphics card. Click Advanced Settings. On the Adapter tab, click
Properties. In the Driver tab, click Update Driver. This starts the
Update Driver Software Wizard. Click “Browse my computer for driver software.” Click Browse to select a search location. Use the Browse for
Folder dialog box to select the start folder for the search, and
then click OK. Because Windows 7 searches all subfolders of the
selected folder automatically, you can select the drive root path,
such as C, to search an
entire drive. Click Next. Click Close when the driver installation is
completed.
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