Home / Windows 10

Control Panel

The Control Panel is where you can change the settings of Windows. The options here will affect how Windows looks and works. By taking time to learn them you can tweak your setup into working how you want it to.

Launching Control Panel

There is more than one way to launch Control Panel and also more than one way to view it. First let's look at how to open Control Panel. Using your mouse, you can move your pointer to the upper or lower corner of the right-hand side of the display. From here, drag the pointer up or down to make the Charms bar appear. Select Settings followed by Control Panel. Alternatively, drag your mouse to the bottom left of the screen and right-click on the Windows icon. You can then select Control Panel from the menu that appears.

Once the Control Panel is open, you'll see the options that are available to you. By default they are summarized by category.

If you wish, you can also use the 'View By' option to adjust how the icons are visualized. You can choose to have either large or small icons displayed next to the tools that are at your disposal.

Device Manager

The Device Manager is where you can view and maintain all of the internal and external devices that connect to your computer. From here you can update drivers, disable or uninstall devices. Click an arrow next to a device type to view the related installed hardware. Right-click on a device to access the Device Manager menu. If a device is not installed correctly it will be highlighted with a yellow icon.

Manage Power Options

Whether you're using a laptop or desktop PC, power consumption is an important aspect to understand and set up correctly. With a desktop setup you may want your computer to sleep or shut down after a certain amount of inactivity. When using Windows on a laptop you may want it to conserve power when running purely on batteries. Such setups can be created by customizing a Power Plan. Open the Control Panel and select Power Options (in the category view you will find it under Hardware and Sound). Windows will now display the current plan that is in effect. You can also select an alternative plan and Windows will apply it immediately.

Next to each option is a link titled 'Change Plan Settings'. Select this to further tweak settings such as the general screen brightness (the brighter the screen the higher the battery drain) and how long it takes for the computer to switch of the display or go to sleep when not in use.

You can always reset Power Plans back to default settings if you make unwanted changes.

Create a Restore Point

  1. Search for System Restore: Enter 'System Restore' in the Control Panel search box.
  2. Initiate System Restore: Select 'Create a Restore Point' from the results followed by 'Create'.
  3. Name your restore point: Add a title that relates to why you're creating a restore point.
  4. Restore point created: Now sit back as Windows creates your system restore point.

Using Task Scheduler

The Control Panel provides access to the Task Scheduler. With this you can create automated tasks that come into effect at a time chosen by yourself. It's a useful tool for setting up your own regular procedures. Perhaps you want to create your own regular maintenance cycle or have a daily blank word document open up as a prompt to write a new blog post.

Task Manager can be accessed by selecting 'System & Security' from the Category view in Control Panel followed by Schedule Tasks. If you're viewing Control Panel in an icon view you will need to select Administrative Tools and then Task Scheduler. It's worth noting at this point that you will need to be logged in as an administrator on your PC.

With the Task Scheduler open, click on 'Create Basic Task' in the top-right section of the screen. In the next window you can enter a name and description of the task. After this you can set how often the task occurs. Options include time-based measurements or event-based triggers such as when you log in. You can then choose the action that occurs; it will then be added to the task list.

Ease of access

Windows includes a number of settings that help make your PC easier to use should you have difficulty with the standard setup. These can be found by opening the Ease of Access center from within the Control Panel. Upon doing so you'll notice that your computer will be audibly explaining the contents of the screen; this is the narrator, a tool that conveys the screen content via speech, assisting users who find it difficult to view the display. Another tool that can also help visually is the magnifier. Select this and the display will enlarge along with zoom controls that allow you to manipulate the display. There is also a high contrast option which can greatly alter the color scheme into a more readable palette. This can be toggled by pressing left Alt, left Shift and Print Screen together.

Alternative input Devices:

  1. On-screen keyboard: Select this to display a large keyboard to input text and navigate menus.
  2. Speech recognition: You can also use your microphone to control Windows via speech.

Set default actions

  1. Open defaults: Select Default Programs in the Control Panel (under 'Programs').
  2. Set defaults: We will set default apps to open certain file types. Click 'Set Your Default Programs'.
  3. Pick a program: Select a program from the left-hand side of the display.
  4. Choose types: Now choose the file types that this program will open by default.
Search for Control Panel in the Start screen, then create a shortcut by right-clicking the result.

Adjust system sound

At some point you will likely need to access to the audio capabilities of your PC. From the Control Panel's category view, select 'Hardware and Sound'. On the next page, click 'Adjust System Volume'. This will open a new window that resembles a mixer. Depending on your setup you may see more than one fader. On the left is the device volume, which controls the overall volume. Other faders relate to other programs that may be running on your PC at the time. This means you can set varying levels of volume between a music-playing program, for example, and audio that may be playing in a web browser. Under every fader is a speaker icon; click it to mute the sound for that particular channel. If you mute the leftmost channel (device volume), all channels will be muted.

PC display options

There is a good deal of flexibility available when it comes to the appearance of Windows. Open the Control Panel and, in category view, select 'Appearance and Personalization'. You will be presented with a list of options that range from cosmetic options (wallpapers, themes etc) to more system-based ones such as screen resolutions.

Change Screen Saver

  1. Pick one: Click 'Change Screen Saver' from the Personalization menu. Select a screen saver from the menu.
  2. Set a time: Now select how many minutes it will take for the screen saver to activate.

Restore your PC

  1. Roll back: To revert to a previous restore point, search Restore Point in Control Panel.
  2. System restore: Click 'Create Restore Point' from the results; 'System Restore' on next screen.
  3. View previous points: Click Next to see saved restore points. Select one and click Next.
  4. Confirm restore: Windows 10 will confirm that you wish to proceed. Click Next to do so.

Starting at the top we have the Personalization section. This includes options for changing your desktop background, the color of the taskbar and border, plus selecting a screen saver. Once you've set your preferences, you can save your background/screen saver/ border combination as a theme. To do this, select 'Change the theme'. At the top you'll see a section titled 'My Themes'. Your current choices will be collated within the theme marked 'Unsaved Theme'. Click 'Save Theme' and enter a new name for your theme in the pop-up box. This will create a new theme in your chosen name.

Going back to the main 'Appearance and Personalization' menu, underneath the 'Personalization' section is a link titled 'Display'. This link contains more technical-based options that are concern tweaks such as screen brightness, color calibration and resolution. With resolution you can make everything smaller to fit more things on the screen. Click on the adjust option and move the slider to tweak this setting.