How to Setup your Windows System-The Desktop (Everything You Need to Know!)

A Comprehensive Guide to Setting Up Your System (with images)

Setup Your Windows System like a PRO!

Welcome to the world of Windows, where the possibilities are endless, and your digital journey begins. Knowing How to set up your Windows System Desktop is the crucial first step towards harnessing the full potential of your computer. Whether you’re a seasoned user or just starting on this adventure, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to configure your Windows system effectively. From the basics to the advanced, we’ve got you covered, ensuring that you get the most out of your Windows experience. So, let’s embark on this journey and unveil the secrets to a seamlessly configured Windows system.

This article is a part of a whole and you can check through here for more!

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Some Quick Assumptions

• This article assumes that you have already installed your Windows Image or your system came with a preinstalled Windows image. Otherwise, you can head over to how to install Windows Disk Image on your computer.

• Although most of the guide here is applicable to older versions of Windows (7 & 8), this guide uses Windows 10 & 11 as the primary examples.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THE WINDOWS DESKTOP

The Windows operating system is very easy and it is user friendly, so navigating through the Windows OS
is very simple and easy to learn.

On your Windows interface there are apps, files, and displays on your screen that come in the form of an
image or animations, all of these is to make your interface beautiful and attractive. As I said the
Windows operating system is user-friendly; that means you as the user have the ability to choose how
the interface of your Windows OS should look like.

But before we proceed, let’s quickly look at What Icons are.

What is a Desktop icon?

A desktop icon is a pictorial representation of something, in the form of an image in this context our icons are the apps that we have on our Windows interface (screen). On the drop-down menu, there are options for you to choose from.

Having known these, let’s head on to how we can navigate through our Windows OS.

What happens when I Right-Click on an Empty Space on the Desktop?

When you right-click on your mouse on an empty space on your desktop, you will see a drop-down
menu, on the menu we have some functionalities such as View, Sort by, Refresh, Paste, Paste shortcut, Next desktop background, New, Screen Resolution (Display Settings), and Personalise.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR DISPLAY VIEW USING THE ‘VIEW’ TOOL.

When you hover your mouse over the ‘View‘ you will see a drop-down menu it we have; Large icons,
Medium icons, Small icons, Auto arrange icons, Align icons to the grid, and Show desktop icons.

Let’s take a moment to explain these options:

• Large Icons: If you are the type of person who prefers your icons to be really big, then you would want to check the ‘Large icons’ option.
• Medium Icons: This size of the icons is neither too large nor too small.
• Small Icons: This is my preferred size of icon as you can see above. I think it is because it gives me enough room to have as many items as I want on my desktop.
• Auto Arrange Icons: When this function is checked as seen above, the icons on your desktop get automatically arranged. I think this helps keep the desktop window tidy and organized, otherwise, everything would just be scattered across the screen making it difficult to find items when you need them, especially when you have a lot on your desktop.
• Align Icons to Grid: The desktop interface has some ‘invisible’ grid lines that run vertically from the left to right of the screen. When this option is checked, all icons are arranged following the grid lines. This results in a well-arranged desktop where the icons align vertically to each other. See image ‘Windows Desktop Example’
• Show Desktop Icons: This is as simple as it sounds. Without this option active, all your desktop icons will be displayed on the screen, otherwise what you will have is a blank desktop screen.

HOW TO SORT FILES AND FOLDERS USING THE ‘SORT BY’ TOOL

When you hover your mouse on ‘Sort by‘ you will see different ways by which you can sort your files;
as we have on the drop-down menu you can sort by Name, Size, and Item type and you can also sort by
the Date-modified.

Now let’s quickly explain them:

• Name: Sorting by name helps you sort your files or icons alphabetically (in ascending or descending order) based on their names.
• Size: It is just as the name implies, here you are sorting your desktop files based on the size of the file (in ascending or descending order).
• Item type: Sorting based on the item type has to do with arranging the files based on the type of document or file they are. This has to do mostly with the file name extension.
• Date Modified: It is sorting based on the date the files or items were created or changed.

Let’s continue by quickly talking about the ‘Refresh’ option, As I said, it is a comprehensive guide, so we will talk about everything there. Feel free to jump to your desired section using the Table of Contents.

HOW TO REFRESH YOUR PC USING ‘REFRESH TOOL’

What does Refresh do?
Refreshing your PC helps to synchronize your system performance.

Three Top Benefits of Refreshing your PC from the Desktop

1. Quickly Update Desktop Contents: The “Refresh” option is a handy way to update the contents of your desktop without having to manually rearrange or restart your computer. When you select “Refresh,” Windows will re-read the desktop folder and display any new files or changes that may not have been reflected on the desktop previously. This is especially useful if you’ve recently downloaded or added files to your desktop and want them to appear without logging out or restarting your computer.
2. Resolve Display Issues: Sometimes, the desktop icons or background may not display correctly due to graphical glitches or temporary issues. Selecting “Refresh” can help resolve these display problems by redrawing the desktop, and ensuring that icons and wallpaper are correctly rendered.
3. Update Icon Positions: If you’ve manually rearranged the icons on your desktop, the “Refresh” option can also be used to save and apply those changes. It ensures that your preferred icon positions are retained, preventing them from getting accidentally rearranged.

The “Refresh” option in the Windows desktop right-click menu is a simple but useful tool for quickly updating, refreshing, and resolving minor display and icon positioning issues on your desktop without the need for a full system reboot.

USING THE PASTE TOOL

The paste option is only active when you have copied a file and it remains active with the same file you copied until you copy another file.
As long as you click the paste option it will keep on pasting (the same file).

USING THE PASTE SHORTCUT TOOL

Paste shortcut as the name implies, is used to paste shortcuts of a copied item on the desktop or
into the desired location.

USING THE ‘NEXT DESKTOP BACKGROUND’ TOOL

This is used when you have a variety of desktop backgrounds and you want to change the current
one. So when you click on ‘Next desktop background’ another one comes up and if you keep clicking
it will keep changing. Just to let you know you can get more desktop backgrounds from the internet
by clicking the Get more themes online link on the top of your personalized interface. For a quick guide on setting up your desktop background, see How to Change/Select Desktop Background in Windows.

HOW TO USE THE ‘NEW’ TOOL

The ‘New’ Tool helps you create new files quickly ranging from document files to folders and shortcuts as you can see in the image below.