Windows 7 / Getting Started

Changing system sounds

To change your system sounds, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Windows Start button, and in the Start menu's search box, type Sound.
  2. In the results list, click Change system sounds.
    The Control Panel's Sound dialog box appears, displaying the Sounds tab.
    The Sound dialog box Sound dialog box in the Control Panel provides settings for changing Windows system sounds.
  3. Change the settings if desired:
    • To turn off the sound that is played when Windows starts, clear the Play Windows Startup sound check box.
    • To turn off all Windows sounds for program events, click the Sound Scheme drop-down list, and then click No Sounds.
    • To change the sound scheme, click the Sound Scheme dropdown list, and then click a different sound scheme.
    • To listen to the sound for a specific program event, in the Program Events list click the event and then click Test.
    • To change the sound for a specific event, in the Program Events list click the event, click the Sounds drop-down list, and then select the sound or select (None) at the top of the list if you don't want any sound for that event.
    • To save all your changes without overriding the existing sound scheme your changes are based on, click Save As to create a new sound scheme.

The Windows 7 Ease of Access Center provides a feature to use text or visual alternatives for sounds. To access settings for this feature, in the Start menu's search box, type Sounds, and in the list that appears, click Replace sounds with visual cues. For more information about the Ease of Access Center, see "Customizing Windows for visual, audio, mobility, or cognitive needs" later in this tutorial.

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