There are many reasons you may need to change your display settings. A new monitor maybe a wide screen and the old settings do not fill the screen or maybe software you ran changed your display settings but did not change them back when it was closed.

There are many ways to change your desktop settings. The easiest way is described here.

From the desktop of your computer (the way it appears immediately after you have booted the computer up RIGHT click anywhere on the screen where nothing else is (no icons, etc).

A menu will appear, select the bottom options PROPERTIES.

A new window will open labeled DISPLAY PROPERTIES at the top.

Immediately below the heading bar are folder tabs. Generally, from left to right they read THEMES, DESKTOP, SCREEN SAVER, APPEARANCE, and SETTINGS.

To change your actual display properties, select SETTINGS.

This screen will show your display monitor, the screen resolution setting, color quality setting, as well as three buttons labeled IDENTIFY, TROUBLESHOOT, and ADVANCED.

To make changes to the color quality and the screen resolution, simply make your adjustments on this screen. Resolution is adjusted by dragging the pointer left and right. The further right you drag the pointer, the larger your screen resolution will be - meaning the smaller text and icons will appear.

For optimal color displays, increase the color quality. Highest 32 bit provides the best color depth display. The lower this number, the lower the display quality will be.

Click the ADVANCED tab. In this window, click on "Apply the new display settings without restarting."

Doing this will prevent multiple restarts while testing various settings.

Once you make a change, click on the APPLY button on the lower right corner of this window.

This window is also where you can change your screen saver and your desktop background image. Bear in mind that placing a large photograph on your desktop may take system memory resources that can slow your machine down.

The screen saver tab allows adjustments to the screen saver including the option to require a password when stopping the screen saver upon returning to the computer.

Once you select your screen saver, a Test button allows you to see how it will look when the computer automatically starts it.

To determine how long the computer should wait, change the number in the WAIT box in minutes. An average setting is 10 15 minutes before the screen saver should activate. This can be made longer or shorter, depending on your preference.

Making changes to the display settings is an easy undertaking when you know how to access the menu that allows the changes.

Learn more about this author, B. L. Babb.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about How to change the display settings in Windows XP?
We want to hear your view. Write now!