colours on my screen do not look good

Cause : If your display color simply does not look good, you probably have a problem with your display driver, or the driver is not compatible with Windows XP. A driver is a piece of software that allows a hardware device, such as your video card, to work with Windows XP. If the driver is messed up or isn't compatible, Windows XP tries to use one of its own drivers to make everything work for you. Sometimes that works out and sometimes not. Fixing the problem, however, requires a little investigative work on your part. It is important to keep in mind that every display adapter-every piece of hardware for that matter-has a driver that enables Windows XP to control and manage it. If the driver doesn't work, the device will not work. If the driver isn't the right driver, the device might work OK, but not the way it should. The basic rule is simply this: You have to have the right driver or you will have problems for which there are no workarounds.

To fix the color problem, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Open the Display icon by double-clicking it.

Tip If you don't see Display, you need to click the Switch to Classic View option in the left Control Panel pane. Then, you'll see the Display icon.

3. Click the Settings tab, as you can see in the following illustration. The Color Quality drop-down menu should be able to display several different settings, such as 16 bit, 32 bit, and so forth. If you are stuck with only one color quality setting-and it is low-then the problem is the driver.

4. In order to resolve the driver problem, you will need to visit the video card manufacturer's Web site and see about downloading a new driver. Microsoft does not provide drivers for hardware vendors, so you'll have to get the driver from the manufacturer's Web site our list of manufacturers can be found here :- manufacturers sites list for drivers.

Back to top

Everything on my desktop is too small or too big

Cause The size of the icons on your desktop is determined by the resolution settings of your video card. If everything seems too big or too small, all you probably need to do is choose a different resolution so that items appear the size you want. This is an easy fix, fortunately!

To fix the size problem, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Open the Display icon by double-clicking it. Click the Settings tab.
3. On the Screen Resolution setting, use the slider bar to choose a different resolution-800 × 600 pixels is right for most people. If you have a larger monitor (19" +), consider using a higher resolution.
4. If that does not work, you can pull out the big guns and change the Dots Per Inch (DPI) settings for your display. On the Display tab, click the Advanced button.
5. This opens an Advanced Properties window. Click the General tab. If you want to make items on your desktop larger, change the DPI Setting using the drop-down menu, as you can see in the following illustration. You'll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. If you don't like the results, return here and change the setting back.

Tip DPI settings can cause some problems, however, such as dialog boxes getting cut off and even some distortion. You can play around with these settings to see if they help you any. However, if you plan to change settings, you would be wise to jot down the original settings first, so that you are able to change them back in the event that your new settings do not work well.
Back to top

My display seems distorted at times.

Cause More than likely, you really need a new video card. However, if you can't change the card just yet, you might resolve the problem by adjusting the hardware features of the card. This is an easy try, so if the problem doesn't go away there is no harm done.

To fix the distortion problem, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Open the Display icon by double-clicking it. Click the Settings tab.
3. Click the Advanced button, and then click the Troubleshoot tab, as you can see in the following illustration.
4. You can try to resolve the problem by lowering the Hardware Acceleration slider bar. When you move the bar a notch, you'll see what display features are being removed. You can try different settings and see if the problem is resolved.
5. Also, try clearing the Enable Write Combining check box. This may also resolve distortion problems. You'll need to experiment here to see if the settings will help you, but they may do just the trick.
6. Finally, check the controls on the monitor itself. Something in the controls might be off as well.
Back to top

My desktop fonts are too small

Cause If the fonts under your icons and on window menus are too small, you can easily change the size of the font without screwing up everything else. Windows XP automatically assigns a standard font size, but that size may not be right for you. No problem though-this headache is easy to kill.

To fix the font size problem, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Open the Display icon by double-clicking it.
3. Click the Appearance tab. You will now be presented with a drop-down menu for Font Size. Click the menu and choose a larger size. Then click OK.
Back to top

I don't like my screen saver or, my screen saver does not work the way I want it to

Cause Screen savers are great ways to give your computer something interactive to do when you step away from the screen. In the past, screen savers protected a computer screen from 'burn,' which happened when not enough activity was going on. Today's monitors are not really susceptible to this problem, but screen savers remain for entertainment purposes. The good news is that you can easily change or reconfigure the screen saver-you can even make a screen saver of your favorite pictures! You can do all of this on the Screen Saver tab of Display Properties.

To make screen saver changes, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display, and then click the Screen Saver tab.
3. On the Screen Saver tab, you can make changes to the current screen saver by clicking the Settings button and making any changes that appear. You can adjust the timeout value for the screen saver using the Wait selection box (the default is about 10 minutes). Finally, if you do not want to use the screen saver, use the drop-down menu and pick a new one. If you do not want to use a screen saver at all, choose the (None) option in the drop-down list.
Back to top

Whenever I stop using my computer, it returns to the logon screen.

Cause As a safety feature, Windows XP sends you back to the logon screen if the computer is idle for a certain period of time. This can be a real pain, but the problem is easily fixed. This XP security feature works with screen saver functions and you can easily stop it from happening.

To stop XP from taking you back to the logon screen after an idle period, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display, and then click the Screen Saver tab.
3. On the Screen Saver tab, clear the check box that says On Resume, Password Protect.
Back to top

The My Pictures screen saver does not work right

Cause Windows XP has a cool feature that allows you to easily create a screen saver from your digital pictures. This is a great way to have your family members, cat, dog, or whatever on your screen saver. My Pictures is easy to use-just access the Screen Saver tab of Display Properties and choose the My Pictures Slideshow from the drop-down menu. Windows XP will look in your My Pictures folder (found in the My Documents folder) for pictures to use, so you should put any pictures you want displayed there. After that, you can use the Settings button to configure how the pictures should be displayed.

To make the My Pictures Slideshow work the way you want, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display, and then click the Screen Saver tab.
3. On the Screen Saver tab, make sure the My Pictures Slideshow is selected in the drop-down menu and make sure you have the pictures you want to use in the My Pictures folder.
4. Click the Settings button on the Screen Saver tab. This opens the My Pictures Screen Saver Options window, as you can see in the illustration. Make any adjustments in this window as needed. You can change how often pictures should be displayed and how they should appear in the screen. You can also choose to use different transitions between pictures, which is sort of cool. When you select a transition, the effect is used to change pictures. Common examples are blend, slide left/right, cover, and so forth. Once you are done. Click OK and test your screen saver again.

Back to top

My desktop wallpaper does not look right

Cause Windows XP can display just about any kind of picture file as desktop wallpaper. However, some pictures may not display correctly if you try to make them take up the entire screen. There is no direct fix for this problem, but you can adjust how the picture is displayed so that distortion is removed.

To make the picture look good, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display. Click the Desktop tab.
3. Your current wallpaper is selected in the list and appears in the test monitor window, as you can see in the illustration. If you want to use a different wallpaper, select a new one from the list or use the Browse button to select something different on your operating system (such as your own pictures). To try and fix the distortion problem, change the Position setting from Tile or Stretch to Center. Then, you use the Color drop-down menu to choose a background color to fill the rest of the leftover space.
4. Click OK when you are done.

TIP : Desktop wallpaper settings are very forgiving. If you configure something you don't like or want to change later, you can always return to the Desktop tab and make changes at any time. Some people even change their wallpaper every week!
Back to top

I don't want to use wallpaper on my desktop-I want a colour background only

Cause Depending on your computer, wallpaper may already be set up for you. No problem, you can change it to different wallpaper or none at all. If you do not want to use wallpaper, but a simple background color, you can do that too.

To use no wallpaper, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display. Click the Desktop tab.
3. On the Desktop tab, change the Background setting to (None) in the list. Then, use the Color drop-down menu and select a background color that you want to use. Remember that you can experiment and use different colors until you find the one that is right for you.
Back to top

Icons do not appear on my desktop

Cause Windows XP attempts to make your life easier by removing all of the icons, except Recycle Bin, from the desktop. This may annoy you, however, so you can easily get back standard desktop icons if you want. You can do this in a couple of different ways, but the easiest is to use the Customize Desktop feature.

To put icons back on the desktop, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display. Click the Desktop tab.
3. Click the Customize Desktop button.
4. On the Desktop Items window, General tab, shown in the following illustration, click the check boxes next to the desktop icons you want to show, such as My Documents, My Computer, and so forth. When you are done, click OK.
Back to top

The Desktop Cleanup Wizard keeps running without my permission

Cause The good news about Windows XP is that it tries to help you. The bad news about Windows XP is that…well…it tries to help you. Case in point-the Desktop Cleanup Wizard. This handy wizard is designed to help you get rid of junk that might have collected on your desktop over a period of time. Its default setting is to run every 60 days. However, you may be like me and find the wizard annoying. In which case, you don't want it to run at all. No worries, though-you can stop this headache easily.

To stop the Desktop Cleanup Wizard from automatically running, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display. Click the Desktop tab.
3. Click the Customize Desktop button.
4. On the Desktop Items, General tab, locate the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box. Clear the check box and click OK.
Back to top

Windows XP will not let me display a Web page on my desktop

Cause Don't worry. If you loved the Web-based desktop you could first use in Windows 98, it is still found in Windows XP. In Windows 98, you had to turn on the Active Desktop to use Web content, but this feature is integrated in Windows XP. In other words, the feature is here all of the time, but the configuration place is a little more hidden.

To display a Web page on your desktop, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display. Click the Desktop tab.
3. Click the Customize Desktop button.
4. Click the Web tab. To choose a Web page to download and display on your desktop, click the New button.
Back to top