by Chris Shamati

Created on: September 28, 2009

Tired of your boring desktop and the cluttered old icons that block out your background picture? Be prepared to see your computer in a whole new light after this quick article on how to make your desktop truly your own (PCs only).

To transform your desktop you will need to download several programs which I will go into more detail later but will list them now. They are Rainmeter and RocketDock. Rainmeter can be found at

www.rainmeter.net and rocketdock can be found at www.rocketdock.com.

Now we are ready to begin! First make a system restore point in case things don't turn out how you like by going to Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Back Up and Restore Center > Back Up. Create a save point and proceed to download rocketdock via the link.

Rocketdock is a cool dock that allows the user to move icons to the dock and to hide it away out of site when not needed, reducing the clutter of the icons. Rocketdock is almost infinitely customizable and almost every aspect of it can be changed, truly making it as unique as its user. In addition even the icons can be changed and modded. The online forums for rocketdock supply many cool icons that you are guaranteed to like.

Once rocketdock has been installed run the installation process and get it onto your desktop. Now begin dragging your icons onto it and arranging them anyway you like. If you have time, now is an excellent time to remove any folders or icons that you no longer use as they can slow down the performance of your computer. After the installation of rocketdock feel free to go through the settings on it, for the most part they are user friendly and you should be able to manipulate it to suit your needs pretty quickly. If you feel comfortable with rocketdock great, however if for some reason you don't you can uninstall it via Start > Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall. I'm going to assume you kept it though and proceed with step two.

Now it is time to go to www.rainmeter.net, making sure that you get the NET part. Once at that page choose between the 32 Bit system and the 64 Bit system. If you don't know which one you have you can check it via Start > Computer > System Properties (it's one of the buttons at the top of "computer"). Download and install rainmeter following the on screen installation instructions. Once it is done you should have the default Enigma skin. I find that most people like this skin however if you don't you can easily find more rainmeter skins by googling for them.

That's basically it, you now have a unique desktop that your friends, family, and coworkers definitely will stop and look at. Oh, just a side note but all of these sites are free money wise and virus wise so download in comfort.

Happy Customizing!

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