Which category option in the Control Panel lets you change the hardware settings?

The Control panel is actually the control center that can be used to control each and every setting on a Windows Operating System. In other words, a control panel is a module that is used to perform management and administrative tasks in the operating system.

It can be used to manage every aspect of the OS which includes ‘user and password, display, desktop background, sound, network settings, power options, parental control, installed applications and their removal, speech recognition with the functionality of all the externally connected devices like keyboard, mouse, printer, joystick, USB Storage devices, speakers, headphone, etc.

A Control Panel is the most crucial part of the system’s GUI (Graphical User Interface). It consists of a group of different applets. Each applet in the Control Panel windows is assigned with a specific function and it can be accessed to make changes to that particular part of the Windows.

The Control Panel is present in all the versions of the Windows operating system, starting from Windows 95;

However, it never remained constant and has gone through various changes. 10 years back Microsoft added categories to the control panel which lists similar types of applets together. It makes using the control panel very easy.

You can perform an endless number of tasks using the control panel. A few of them are listed below;

Change Internet Explorer Settings

Configure Regional and Language Settings

Remove Your Password

Start Device Manager

Adjust Keyboard and Mouse Settings

Create a Password Reset Disk

Change Network Settings

Adjust Colour Quality

Adjust Screen Resolution

Change Your Password

Change Another User’s Password

Show Hidden Files

Add a Printer

Configure the Start Menu and Taskbar

Configure Windows Firewall Settings

Configure Regional and Language Settings

Setup Windows Backup

Change Your Monitor’s Refresh Rate

See the Windows Service Pack You Have Installed

Install Windows Updates

Change Background, Screensaver, and Windows Sounds Settings

Hide Hidden Files

Change Your Product Key

Manage Windows Gadgets

Can See Software/Hardware info i.e If You’re Running a 32-bit or 64-bit Version of Windows

Change the Default Program for a File Extension

Disable Error Reporting

Uninstall/Reinstall a Program

Change AutoPlay Settings

Configure Text to Speech and Speech Recognition Settings

Adjust the Date and Time

Configure Windows Network Settings

#So, Let’s See How to Open It;

Earlier the control panel can be accessed from the Windows system folder. In a more advanced version of Windows like Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 the panel can be open from the Start menu. Just click on the Start menu button and then the Control Panel icon to open it.

You can also use Comand Prompt or Run to open the panel. Just type the “control panel” as a command in CMD or in Run, and that will open it up for you.

In the most recent version of the operating system including Windows 8, 8.1, 10, and the latest Windows 11, it can be opened directly from the search box.

The control panel can be viewed in two ways either in Categories or Individually (i.e Small icons) in the form of icons. It is entirely up to the user which one of the two views he prefers to use.

You can easily change the view by using the above right side ‘View by:’ option on the control panel main page.

Actually, the ‘Categories’ view is set to default by windows to make it easy for the user to understand and use different components or applets effortlessly. The latest version of the control panel is divided into eight major categories namely.

1. Appearance and Personalization
2. Ease of Access
3. Network and Internet
4. System and Security
5. Clock, Language, and Region
6. Hardware and Sound
7. Programs
8. User Accounts

#Let’s see their functions and uses

Let’s now understand the different categories and their uses. Each category in the panel further expands into another set of applets sharing similar or related tasks.

Starts with;

1. System and Security

The first category of the control panel is the ‘System and Security.

It can be used to view the information about your system and it also lets you change the system’s security settings.

It contains some subcategories like;

• Security and Maintenance – Using this subcategory you can view and manage the system’s security settings i.e Change User Account Control, Troubleshoot common computer problems, and a Recovery option. This page also shows you the security risks that your Windows is having right now and how you can resolve them.
  
• Windows Defender Firewall – Here you can adjust and view the Defender Firewall settings. This setting might get disabled if your computer has an antivirus installed on it.
  
• System – This page can help to see your computer’s basic information like Windows version, RAM’s storage capacity, working speed of the processor, and its model no., Device Manager can be accessed from here and there are Remote or System Protection settings also.
  
• Power Options – On this page, you can change a bunch of computer settings like customizing your power plan, changing the brightness of your display, sleep, and hibernation configuration, etc.
  
• File history– It allows you to restore files from the history if available.
  
• Backup and Restore – This opens the Backup and Restores settings using which you can backup and restore important files. There are also some options to create an entire operating system image or a recovery disc.
  
• BitLocker Drive Encryption – It’s a full volume encryption feature and you can manage it from here. By default, it uses the AES encryption algorithm in cipher block chaining or XTS mode with a 128-bit or 256-bit key.
  
• Storage Spaces – Something RAID-like configuration to mirror your disk which protects your data from a sudden disk failure.
  
• Administrative Tools – These are the core tools that can help to manage the functionality of your computer’s hardware and operating system. Commonly you don’t need to use those tools until something broke down on your computer.
  

2. User Accounts

The user accounts category allows you to manage different User and Administrator Accounts.

Using this category, you can add or remove users, change the password, manage the web or OS credentials, and do other similar tasks. It is divided into two main subcategories which include-

3. Network and Settings

The network and internet category help you view the status of the network and let you manage other network preferences and settings. The main subcategories present inside it are listed below.

4. Appearance and Personalisation

The fourth category is ‘Appearance and Personalisation’. This category is used to change the look of Windows and also can make it easier to use. This category is further divided into subcategories.

5. Hardware and Sound

Hardware and Sounds let you manage different hardware connected to your computer and also the sound settings. The main sub-categories of Hardware and Sounds are listed below.

Other options present in this subcategory include the Infrared settings, REALTEK Audio manager, etc.

6. Clock, Language, and Region

The sixth category is the Clock, Language, and Region which allow you to change the date and time. Here is a list of the subcategories along with their functions.

7. Programs

The Programs Category in the control panel lets you install and manage programs or applications. Some of its main subcategories are;

8. Ease of Access

Ease of access allows you to change those settings which make using the windows easier. Some of the main subcategories of Ease of access are listed below.

#Extra tools

There are some tools that only get visible when you switch the view of the control panel to small icons. Here is the list of those tools:

1. Colour Management – With the help of this tool you can calibrate your monitor and make the colors look as accurate as possible on your computer’s screen. There is also an option to install and assign a custom color profile.
   
2. Indexing Options – Windows uses file indexing to make your PC’s searching capabilities faster. Here you can adjust to enable or disable indexing for any particular drive or file.
   
3. Keyboard -Here you can change the keyboard’s repeat delay or repeat rate and can check the driver’s status.
   
4. Mouse – There are a lot of different mouse and cursor settings you can manage under the Mouse Properties. You can switch primary and secondary buttons, change the speed of double-click, manage the cursor’s size and style, change the pointer’s speed, and a lot more to dig into.
   
5. Phone and Modem – This feature is still beneficial for those who live in that country where they still use the DSL Modem to connect to the internet.
   
6. RemoteApp and Desktop Connections – This feature helps you connect to the server and you can enjoy remote applications with the same look and feel as local applications.
   
7. Sync Center – This feature was introduced back in Windows Vista. It can synchronize your files within your network server so that you always have the latest files when you need them.
   
8. Troubleshooting – Here you can trace and correct faults in your PC’s Security, Network, Hardware, and Programs.
   

I hope this helps in Understanding the Windows Control Panel and its uses..

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