Change backgrounds, add a screen saver and remove the Aero interface from Windows Vista

We think Windows Vista is beautiful even in default mode, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved. Windows Vista provides you with lots of personalisation options, some of which you'll recognise from Windows XP and some of which are brand new. To change the way Windows looks and feels, right-click the Desktop and select Personalize, or click Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Personalization. Here, Windows Vista pulls together all the main tools for tweaking its appearance.

Make Windows Vista your own with the Personalization menu, a one-stop shop for customising your computer.

Windows color and appearance

You can adjust the transparency of windows in the default Glass theme and also change the overall tint. Both colour changes and transparency effects can be previewed live just by clicking on the appropriate boxes and moving the transparency slider (the further to the left the slider, the greater the transparency).

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If you find that your computer struggles with transparency, or if you just don’t like it, click the 'classic appearance' link and opt for Windows Vista Basic rather than Aero. You'll now have flat windows but the same overall look, feel and colour scheme.

Windows Vista is bound to have at least one colour that suits your tastes, even if your tastes are bubblegum pink.

Desktop background

Choose your wallpaper. Windows Vista comes with seven 'Vistas', all of which are stunning, but you can of course select any other image. Use the Browse button or the drop-down Picture Location menu (this has shortcuts to your personal and public, or shared, Pictures folders).

If you haven't already got a favourite background, there's a good selection to choose from

Screen saver

Our favourite is Bubbles. You can also access power management settings here, which affords three basic schemes – Balanced, Power Saver and High Performance – plus useful links such as 'Choose what the power button does'.

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere - the screensavers in Windows Vista are pretty nifty.

Sounds

Familiar territory again, with tabs for customising Windows' sounds, recording settings and the sound quality and/or volume for speakers or headphones.

There's little change from Windows XP, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Mouse pointers

This feature's been carried across from Windows XP, enabling you to select a slightly different-looking mouse pointer.

There's a selection of pointer icons for those who want to go all out personalising Windows Vista. We went with the Dinosaur option, naturally.

Theme

Themes could perhaps have been more logically located in the Windows Color and Appearance section, but then again you probably won't use it very often: Vista ships with just two themes. The default is Aero, which we like, and the other option is Windows Classic, which makes your PC party like it's 1998.

The 'classic' view - only included, in our opinion, to demonstrate how bad it could have been.

Display settings

Again, standard stuff: use this section to adjust your screen resolution, colour depth and monitor settings.

Viva Resolution? No changes at all. Windows XP users should feel right at home here.

The Personalization side panel also provides links to related features, such as selecting which icons appear on the Desktop, connecting an external display for presentations and even increasing the font size for Windows dialogue boxes (a real boon for the short-sighted among us). Check out the See Also section for further links of potential interest and relevance.

What's nice about Personalization is that it pulls together related features into one helpful, graphical menu with logical links rather than lumping everything together as tabs in a single dialogue box or, worse, spreading them around all over the OS. Clearly some real thought has gone into this approach in Windows Vista – and if you forget about old-style features like the familiar Display Properties in Windows XP, we have to say that it makes life somewhat easier.

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