Windows Help & Advice - USA (2019-11)

56 |^ |^ November 2019

46

Takeprecautions

We’re now entering potential risk

territorywithsomeofthesetips.Therefore,

makesureyouhavesomekindofsystem

backupin place –either arollback option

suchasSystemRestoreorRollbackRx(https://

horizondatasys.com/download),oranup-to-

datedriveimageusingMacriumReflectFree

(www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx). Done

that?Good,let’smoveon...

47

Customiselockscreen

Can’ttweak thelockscreentoyour

satisfactionusing the optionsfound under

Settings> Personalisation> LockScreen?Then

takea lookattheBootandLogonsectionof

WinaeroTweakerformorepossibilities,such

asnotautomaticallyselectingthelastlogged-

onuserbydefault,oraddinga limittohow

longtheslideshowfeatureplaysfor.

48

Grablockscreenimages

If you’reusingtheWindowsSpotlight

featuretodisplayrotatingbackgroundimages,

andyou’dlikea permanentcopyofanyorall

ofthem,selectFindLockScreenImagesin

Winaero Tweaker,followed byGetthis one

underthecurrentphoto(ifit’sdisplayed)to

saveit,orGetallimagesstoredonthisPCto

copythemtoa desktopfolder.

49

ApplyAeroLitetheme

Aero Lite is ano-frills theme that’s

particularly suited for low-end PCs, such

as2-in-1 tablets.If youthink it mighthelp

withperformance– orwanttoseeif itsclean

and simple lines appeal – open Winaero

TweakerandclickEnableAeroLite(default)

underAppearance> AeroLite.Youcanundo

it fromhere,too.

50

CustomiseAeroLite

Onceenabled,selectWindowBorders

under Advanced Appearance Settings to

changethewidthandpaddingofwindows

• changesareperformedinrealtime.Youcan
  alsochangetheheightofthewindowtitlebar
  andchangethefont–thisrequireslogging
  offandonagain,butalsoworkswithother
  desktopthemes,too.

51

ChangeWindows’

start-upsound

You can customise your Windows sound

schemebytyping“sounds”intotheSettings

search box and selecting Change system

sounds. What you can’t do from here is

changetheWindowsstart-upsound.Instead,

navigate to Appearance > Startup Sound

in Winaero Tweaker, where you can apply

your own choice of WAV file in place of

thedefault.Ifyourchosenfileisinanother

audio format, convert it using PazeraFree

AudioExtractor(www.pazera-software.com/

products/audio-extractor).

52

Switchsystemfonts

TiredoftheratherconservativeSegoe

UIfontusedbyWindowsforitsdesktop

components (and the headings in this

feature)?Thenswapit outforsomethingmore

glamorous(butlegible)viaWinaeroTweaker’s

Advanced Appearance Settings > System

Fontscreen.Logoutandbackinagaintosee

theeffect.

53

Reducewindowclutter

You’veaddedtabstoFileExplorer,

howaboutgroupingapplicationwindowsin

a singlemulti-tabbedwindow,too?TidyTabs

(www.nurgo-software.com) enables you to

draguptothreewindowsontopofeachother

togroupthem,thenusethetabstoswitch.

UpgradetotheProversion(ameasly$9)and

youcanautomaticallygroup windowsfrom

the same application together, plus group

morethanthreewindowsatonce.

54

GettheAeroGlasslook

If you’rea tech -sav v yWindows8.1user,

headtowww.glass8.eutodownloadAero

GlassforWindows8 if you’dliketorestorethe

translucentAeroeffectsfromWindows7. Aero

GlasstechnicallyworkswithWindows10,too,

althoughwehaven’thadmuchluckingetting

anyoftheeffectstowork.

55

Trya newshell

The most radical change you can

maketoWindowsistoreplacethedefault

There are plenty of failsafes and reset options built into our tweak tools.

Give your low-end PC a breather by trying the svelte Aero Lite theme.

TAKE THINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL