• Double-click on the My Computer icon.
• Double-click on the Control Panel icon.
• Double-click on the Fonts icon.
• The list of fonts available on your computer will appear. Choose the File menu, and then click on Install new Font.
• Select the drive to install from (drive A:) from the drop-down menu.
• The fonts on the disk will appear under List of Fonts. Click on the Font you want to install, and then click on OK. You can Select All fonts on the disk by clicking on the Select All button.

  • Note: You can also delete, rename, and print out samples of fonts using options on the File Menu. You can also right-click on a Font to access the quick menu.

• Position the mouse pointer on a blank area of the desktop, click on the right mouse button, and select Properties.
• Select the Background tab.
• Choose a pattern from the pattern list. A pattern is a design that you can put on your desktop. Several designs come with Windows. You can also customize a pattern by clicking on the Edit button.
• Click OK after you have selected the pattern/wallpaper.
• You can also choose wallpaper from the wallpaper list. Wallpaper is used to display an image in the background on you desktop. Several images come with windows. You can also click on the Browse button to select a picture stored on a disk. Images may be tiled or placed in the center of the screen. Be aware that if you tile the wallpaper, you cannot use a pattern because the wallpaper image will take the entire screen.
  • Note: Several programs let you save an image as wallpaper including Paint, Netscape, and Internet Explorer.

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Changing the Screen Saver on the Desktop:

• Position the mouse pointer on a blank area of the desktop, click on the right mouse button, and select Properties.
• Select the Screen Saver tab.
• Select from a list of screensavers from the screen saver drop down list.
• Set a password for your screen saver by clicking in the checkmark box. You can change your password by clicking on the Change box.
• Click on the Settings button to customize your screen saver.
• Click on the Preview button to preview your screen saver. Press the ESC key or clicking the mouse will return you to the option screen.
• Select a Wait time before screen saver is loaded by clicking on the up and down arrowheads.
• Click OK when you are done to close the display properties dialog box.
• Note: Bright colors/white colors can burn into your screen if left on for a long period of time. Screen savers are patterns that move around the screen when your computer is not in use to help save your screen from a burn-in effect.

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Changing the Display Appearance:

• Position the mouse pointer on the blank area of the desktop, click on the right mouse button, and select Properties.
• Select the Appearance tab.
• Choose a different color scheme from the scheme drop down list.
• You can save/delete a customized color/font scheme by clicking on the save/delete button.
• You can customize an item (Icon, Menu, etc.) on the desktop by selecting the item, and then selecting a color/size from the Item drop down list.
• You can also add a background color by clicking on the background color box.
• You can also select a font, size, and color for an item at the font drop down list. Some items (Icon, Menu, etc.) have fonts associated with them. If a font is associated with an item, you can customize the font here.
• Click OK when you are done.

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Change the Display Settings:

• Position the mouse pointer on a blank are of the desktop, click on the right button, and select Properties.
• Select the Settings tab.
• This is where you change the color palette for your display. You can see you choices from the drop down list.
• You can also change the screens resolution by dragging the lever.. The higher the resolution, the clearer and sharper your pictures are.
• Some monitors allow you to change the size of the text that is displayed. If your computer has this ability, you will see a drop down box entitled font size. Drop down the drop down list to see your options.
• Click in the checkmark box to display a monitor button on your taskbutton. You can click on this button to change monitor settings quickly.
• The Advanced Properties button allows you top customize your display settings even more. It is recommended to not change the settings unless you have a problem.
• Click on OK when you are done.

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Changing Mouse Properties:

• Double-click on My Computer.
• Double-click on the Control Panel.
• Double-click on the Mouse icon.
• Click on the Pointers tab.
• Drop down the Scheme dialog box and select mouse. Selecting a theme will change all mouse pointer actions. If you wanted this theme for your mouse, you would have to click the Save as button, then type in the name you wish to save this cursor theme as.
• Pointers Tab: If you wanted to change each mouse pointer individually, click the pointer (normal select, help select, etc.), and then click on the Browse button to select a new pointer.
• Buttons Tab: Select the buttons tab. Adjust double-click speed by dragging the lever. Click on OK when done.
• Check out other options by clicking on the tabs.

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Changing Keyboard Properties:

• Double-click on My Computer.
• Double-click on the Control Panel.
• Double-click on the Keyboard icon.
• Speed Tab: You can adjust the repeat rate at this dialog box by dragging the levers.
• You can also adjust the cursor blink rate here by dragging the lever.
• Click the OK when you're done.
• Language Tab: You can add another language by clicking on Add if you have a specialized keyboard.

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Accessibility Option:

• Double-click on My Computer.
• Double-click on the Control Panel.
• Double-click on the Date/Time icon.
• This is where you can change the Date and Time information.
• Time: You can drag the hands of the clock, type the time in the text box, or click on the up/down arrowheads.
• Date: Select the date by clicking on the number on the calendar.
• Click OK when you are done.
• To automatically adjust the date/time for daylight savings by clicking in the checkmark box.
• Click OK when you are done.

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Controlling the Sound:

• Double-click on My Computer.
• Double-click on the Control Panel.
• Double-click on the Sound icon.
• Click on the event you want to change by clicking on it, select a sound to go with the event by clicking on the arrowhead or clicking on the Browse button. Click the arrow beside the preview window to hear the sound.
• To select a scheme, click on the arrowhead to select a scheme. Select a theme by clicking on it. You can save/delete a customized scheme by clicking the Save as or Delete button.
• Click on OK when done.

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Formatting a Floppy Disk:

• Double-click on My Computer.
• Select the 3 1/2 Floppy drive by clicking on it once.
• Choose the File menu and click on Format. Select Quick erase or Full.
• Format type:
  • Quick - erases all files on the disk more quickly than erasing them.
  • Full - formats entire disk and erases all files on disk.
  • Copy system files only - copies DOS system files to disk.
  • Label - helps identify disks. Type in a name to identify it from other disks.
  • No Label - check if no label give.
  • Display summary when finished - displays format summary.
  • Copy system files - copies DOS system files.
• Click on Start button to begin the formatting process.
• Note: You can right click on the A: drive and select Format instead of selecting it from the File menu.

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Scanning a Disk:

It is a good habit to run ScanDisk on your hard disk drive once a month. ScanDisk will detect and repair hard drive errors.

• Open up the Start menu. Choose the Programs option, select Accessories, choose System Tools, and then click on ScanDisk.
• Select the disk you want to check. ScanDisk options:
  • Standard - check files and folders for errors.
  • Thorough - check files, folders, and disk surface for errors.
• Click in the check box next to Automatically fix errors, and then click on Start.
• ScanDisk will give you a summary of results at the end of the scan. If errors were found, a dialog box will appear. You will be prompted to repair the error, delete the affected file or folder, or ignore the problem before ScanDisk continues.
• Note: The Advanced button on the ScanDisk dialog window allows you to customize the scan further.

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Defragmenting a Disk:

It is good habit to Defragment your hard disk drive once a month. A fragmented hard drive stores parts of files all over the disk instead of in a contiguous area. This slows the performance of your hard disk by requiring a longer time period to access and load files. By defragmenting your hard drive, all parts of a file will be stored in one area on the disk and will reduce the amount of time your computer spends locating the file.

• Open the Start menu, choose the Programs option, select Accessories, choose System Tools, and then click on Disk Defragmenter.
• Click the disk to defragment, and then click on OK.
• The files on your disk will now be defragmented. The process takes a few minutes. You can stop or pause the defragmenting at any time by clicking on the appropriate button. Choose Yes to exit the Deframenter when done.