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Control Panel - Hardware and Sound
I started off with the intent of ripping this category
because it appeared to me it was just a catch-all for
whatever didn't slot nicely into another category. Then I
went ahead and looked it over more closely, and truthfully
everything here really does have to do with hardware in some
way or another. I still find this category unwieldy and
dread having to come here, but as long as Vista is designed
for the total computer novice I'm sure it will serve a
purpose. On to a brief description of each category with
more in depth articles to be added later.
Figure
01
Printers
- Since the paperless office and home have yet to become a
reality this is still a necessary category. Clicking on
Printers will open Windows Explorer as shown below, as will
a click on the 'Change Default Printer' and 'Remove A
Printer' options. Once you get to this point there isn't any
necessity to go back to the main category Printers in
Control Panel. Everything you need is accessible from the
'ribbon' right above the main Windows Explorer window. The
'ribbon' is the area where you see the 'Add A Printer', 'See
What's Printing', and 'Set As Default' options displayed.
Unless you have an absolutely huge monitor with the window
fully maximized, there will be additional 'ribbon' options
available by clicking the double chevron to the right of the
last entry. Clicking on Fax will open the Windows Fax and
Scan program. Finally, clicking 'Add A Printer' will open
the Add Printer dialog where you can add a local or network
printer.
Figure
02
Auto-Play -
In my Windows XP experience, auto-play has always been
one of the sketchiest processes as far as reliability goes.
Half the time when media was inserted nothing at all would
happen and the other half of the time was pretty much a
crapshoot what would actually occur. Vista seems to be a lot
better as far as recognition and follow through when you
insert media. This is where you can go through each type of
media and device to set your preferences.
Figure
03
Sound
-
There's no real mystery in this section. Clicking the
[Sound] icon opens the main Sound dialogue box where you can
set [Playback}, [Recording], and [Sounds] options using the
different tabs. There are many other dialogue screens and
options to drill down through on each of the tabs depending
on what type of sound devices are installed in the system.
Power
Options
- The power options in XP were always a fairly weak point of
the operating system and drew criticism quite frequently.
Unfortunately, Vista is drawing a lot of the same criticism,
especially with sleep mode and getting the system to awaken
reliably. At any rate, this is the section where you can
choose your power management settings. You can select one of
the three preconfigured plans or modify any one of them to
your exact specifications.
Figure
14
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Figure 15
Power Plan -
Balanced |
Figure 16
Power Plan -
Power Saver |
Figure 17
Power Plan -
High Performance |
Figure
18
Personalization -
Click the [Personalization]
icon and you open up a whole host of options for customizing
the appearance of Vista. Some of the options such as Mouse
Pointers and Sounds are repeated elsewhere in separate
categories. This screen is also the same place you arrive at
when right clicking an open area of the desktop and
selecting Properties. Why the developers chose to split all
the functions out into separate windows rather than have
them integrated into one tabbed window as in XP is a
mystery. The old method was far more convenient in my
opinion. This is exactly the same thing found in
CP > Appearance and
Personalization > Personalization.
Figure
19
Scanners and Cameras
- The chances are pretty good that unless you are using
an ancient scanner or camera there will never be any use
for this screen. Read the 'Do I need to use this to
install my scanner or camera' link and it will tell you
in most circumstances you can just plug in the device,
power it on, and Vista will recognize it and supply the
appropriate driver. There will of course be exceptions,
but even if your device isn't automatically recognized,
the manufacturer normally supplies a CD with the device
containing an installation routine if anything out of
the ordinary is required.
Figure 26
Keyboard
- Opens the Keyboard Properties window where the
keyboard can be fine tuned to user preference. This is
another situation where the tabs you see will depend on
the installed hardware. At the very minimum you should
see [Speed] and [Hardware] tabs. If the hardware
supports key assignments, zooming, or is a wireless
keyboard there should be other tabs to support
configuring and monitoring those functions. The screen
captures below illustrate what tabs are present with a
Microsoft USB Dual Receiver Wireless Keyboard installed.
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Figure 27
Speed Tab |
Figure 28
Hardware Tab |
Figure 29
Key Settings |
Figure 30
Zooming Tab |
Figure 31
Wireless Tab |
Device Manager
- Here's an oldie but a goodie. I can't even begin to
tell you how many times I've visited this location on
different Windows versions, and I'm willing to bet
you've spent a fair amount of time here as well. There
are many things you can do with Device Manager and I'll
cover those in later articles, but for right now if you
are having a problem with a piece of hardware or you
want to reinstall a device driver, this is the place to
visit.
Figure 32
Phone and Modem Options -
Obviously the place to go if you're having issues with a
modem. If you don't see this screen when you click [
Phone and Modem Options ] category then you haven't
specified your location on the previous screen where you
must supply at least one area code. After that is done,
you can add more, but you must have at least one for the
screen to be visible.
Figure 33
Game
Controllers -
The
only thing I can say about this screen is that it exists
and I'll post a screen capture of it for you to see. I'm
not a gamer and have absolutely no idea what happens if
you have a connected gaming device. I assume it means
joysticks or perhaps steering wheels or pilot console
type devices.
Figure 34
Windows SideShow
- Not too long ago somebody asked me about SideShow in
Vista, wanting to know how to set it up with a SideShow
compatible device. I just looked at them and said I have
no idea at all what you're talking about. That was the
truth. I seem to remember reading a little blurb about
it quite a while back, but past that it just slipped my
mind completely. According to the Vista help
documentation it's a secondary display that accesses
information from your computer without having to turn on
the computer. It says there are two types of devices,
integrated and separate, that range from displays built
into a laptop lid to mobile phones and TV's. I've never
seen a device labeled 'SideShow Compatible' but I'll
check the next time I visit an electronics retailer. My
guess is cell phones would be the most likely and
available devices, but since I have never owned a cell
phone and have no intention of ever owning one, I'll
have to rely on you readers to supply me with
information about your experiences with Windows SideShow.
Figure 35
Pen
and Input Devices -
If
you have a PC fitted with a touch screen or even a
separate tablet input device, use this section to set
pen, pointer, and flick options.
Figure 36
Color Management -
This
is another category you likely will not ever have a need
to access. Basically, it's a process used to modify the
way colors are displayed and executed across different
devices, primarily printers. How this is accomplished
can be achieved in different ways, but usually a color
profile is used that is supplied by the device
manufacturer. Unless you have a specific rendering
problem with a device I suggest you leave this screen
alone, and if you do feel you want to make changes, read
through the 'Understanding Color Management Settings'
link before making any changes or adding any color
profiles.
Figure 37
Tablet PC Settings -
Unless you are using a Tablet PC there is nothing here
of interest. If I had one I'd post some screen caps. I
don't, so that's it for this category.
Figure 38
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There are two additional Categories listed in
the first screen capture on this page; SigmaTel
Audio and NVIDIA Control Panel. They are
specific to this PC only and may/may not appear
on your specific Control Panel depending on
your installed hardware. In addition, you may
have other categories listed that don't appear
here. |
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Control Panel -
Hardware and Sound ]
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