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- Welcome to the Windows desktop: System settings course. Your Windows computer lets you change lots of different settings to get it working just the way you like. In this course, you'll learn how to select your preferred language, change the date and time, adjust volume and screen brightness, and connect to your home Wi-Fi network.
To follow along with this demonstration, your Windows computer must have the latest edition of Windows, which is Windows 10. All Windows 10 computers work in a similar way, but because each computer maker does things a little differently, some of the screens in this video might vary from those on your computer. Don't worry though, you should still be able to follow along.
It should take around 20 minutes to complete the video, but you can pause or rewind to check any steps you're unsure about.
Before you begin, make sure your computer is installed with Windows 10, plugged into mains power, properly connected to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. It should also be switched on and showing the desktop, You'll also need your home Wi-Fi network name and password.
Many of your computer's settings are controlled from Windows Settings. To see Windows Settings, click on the Start button, which you can find in the bottom left corner of the screen. Then, click on the small cog icon to open Windows Settings. A panel will open to show a range of icons for different settings on your computer. This is the Windows Settings home panel. If this looks a little different on your computer, you might be seeing the Windows Settings menu, which has a menu on the left and options on the right. The Windows Settings menu opens whenever you click an icon on the Windows Settings home panel. Your computer remembers the page you visited when you were last using Windows Settings and it will open the menu on this page. So, if you're seeing a Windows Settings menu, click the Home icon in the top left to return to the Windows Settings home panel.
Now, we're going to learn how to change the time and date. Find the Time & Language icon and click on it. The Time & Language menu opens on the left and on the right are the Date & time options. If the switch under Set time automatically is blue and set to On, your computer gets the time from the internet. This means your computer automatically sets the date and time based on where you are in the world. While this is a useful feature, if your computer was not connected to the internet when you set it up or you're using a computer in a different country and haven't connected to the internet, you may need to set the time, date, and time zone manually. To do this, click the switch, so that it becomes white to turn the setting Off.
Now, take a look under Set the date and time manually and click the Change button. A box pops up in front of the Date & time options. It should be showing the current date and time. To change the date, you need to click on each of the day, month, and year boxes in turn. Click on the day box and you'll see a list of numbers appear. Use the mouse to scroll the list to find each date and click the number to set it. You can then do the same with the month... And year... And also, for the time. When you're happy with the time and date you have selected, you can click the Change button to set it. The box will disappear and you can see the Date & time options again.
If you are manually setting the time and date, your computer will also want to know which time zone you're in, so let's do that now. First, check the Set time zone automatically switch and click to set it to Off, if it isn't already. The switch will change from blue to white. Under Time zone, you can see the current time zone your computer is using. Click the box to see a list and use the mouse to scroll through to choose a time zone. If you don't know your time zone, just set it to your nearest capital city, such as Sydney, Adelaide, or Perth. You've now manually adjusted the date and time on your computer. Well done.
Allowing your computer to automatically control the date and time is a really useful feature, so for this demonstration, we'll turn it back on before moving onto the next setting. Click each switch next to Set the time automatically and Set the time zone automatically, so that they become blue. That's it for setting the time and date.
You're progressing well through this course and ready to learn about your computer's language settings. To get started click on Language in the menu on the left. The Language options open on the right, and at the top, under Windows display language is the language your computer uses for spelling. For this demonstration, the computer is using English as the display language. Yours will mostly likely say English, but you can change it to another language if you need to. To select a language for your computer, click the grey square with a plus sign in it next to Add a preferred language. You'll then be asked to choose a language. You can use your mouse to scroll through the list of languages to find the one you want. Or you can type the name of the language you want to add in the box at the top to quickly check the list for that language. Click the language you want, so it's highlighted in blue, then click Next. A new box will appear and you can click the tick box next to Set as my display language to make this the language for your computer. Then, when you're ready, click Install. The box will close and you will see the Language options in the Windows Settings menu again. At the top, in the box beneath Windows display language, should be the name of your new language.
Now that you've set your preferred language, you can check that your computer knows you're in Australia. This helps ensure that your computer provides you with information and updates specifically for Australia, and that your computer uses Australian date, time, and calendar formats. Don't worry though, this won't undo the language you've just set for your computer. In the menu on the left, click Region to open the Region options. Make sure your country or region is set to Australia and your Regional format is set to English. For this demonstration, Regional format is currently set to English. To change it, click on the box and use your mouse to scroll up through the list of options. Then, click on English to set your regional format. Underneath, you will see that the date will be presented in the day, month, and year format we use in Australia. Well done. You're making great progress.
Now, let's look at changing your computer's settings, including volume and screen brightness. Many computers have special keys on the keyboard for adjusting volume and screen brightness. These keys can be in different places, but they are usually in the top row of the keyboard, displaying just above the row of number keys. To adjust the volume, simply press the volume up key to increase volume and volume down to decrease it. A small window pops up on the screen briefly to show the volume changing, so you know how loud you're making it.
If your computer doesn't have volume buttons on the keyboard, you can adjust the volume with your mouse. In the bottom right of the screen, you can see a small speaker icon. Click on the icon and a slider control with a blue button will appear to adjust the volume. Use your mouse to slide the blue button right to increase volume or left to decrease it. You can also click the speaker next to the slider to mute the volume.
To adjust screen brightness, check if your keyboard has screen brightness keys. These usually have a little sun or light bulb symbol on the key. Press the larger light bulb or sun key to increase brightness and the smaller one to decrease it. If your keyboard doesn't have these keys, you might be able to adjust screen brightness with your mouse. How to do this depends on your computer. Since we still have the Windows Settings menu open, go ahead and click on Home in the top left. From the list of icons that appears, choose System. The System menu opens and the display options will appear. If it doesn't, click on Display in the menu on the left. In the display options, you might see a slider control with a blue button, which we can use to adjust screen brightness. If you do, use the mouse to slide the blue button to the left to decrease brightness and to the right to increase it.
If you can't see a slider control at all, this means your computer can't adjust screen brightness using Windows 10. Don't worry, it's just the way your computer is configured. Instead, you'll need to use the controls that are on your monitor. These are usually a set of physical buttons. You can check in the instruction manual that came with your monitor to find out exactly how they work.
Next, we're going to look at how to connect your computer to the internet using a Wi-Fi network. When you set up your computer, you most likely connected it to your home Wi-Fi network. Your computer should automatically reconnect to that Wi-Fi each time you turn it on. If it is already connected, you might like to follow the next few steps in this video as a demonstration for how to connect to a different Wi-Fi network. This might be at your local library or favourite cafe. The steps are the same for all Wi-Fi networks, so let's get started. Remember, public Wi-Fi networks may not be secure. You shouldn't use any public Wi-Fi for online banking or other tasks that involve your personal details. So, let's check if your computer is connected to your home Wi-Fi.
Click the Home icon in the top left of the Windows Settings menu to return to the Windows Settings home panel. From the options that appear, click Network & Internet. The Network & Internet menu will open and the Status options should already be showing. If it isn't, click Status in the menu on the left. Underneath a little diagram, it should say You're connected to the Internet. If it does, easy. You can keep using your computer. If it says Not connected, you need to check your home Wi-Fi is switched on and that you are connected to it.
To connect to a Wi-Fi network, click WiFi in the menu to the left to show the Wi-Fi options. At the top, check the switch is set to On, so your Wi-Fi is actually ready to go. Under the switch, click on Show available networks. A box will pop up in the bottom right of the screen, showing all the nearby Wi-Fi networks your computer can detect. Even if you are at home, you might see several networks listed. These can be your neighbours' Wi-Fi or a public network, such as one from a nearby library, cafe, or shopping centre. If the word Secured appears beneath a network, it's protected by a password.
For the next steps, you'll need to have the name of your home Wi-Fi network and its password ready to type into your computer. If you haven't changed these to something you find easier to remember, they will most likely be on the bottom of your home router. Now, back to the list of available networks. Find your home Wi-Fi name in the list and click on it. Then, click Connect. A box will appear asking you to Enter the network security key. This means enter your Wi-Fi password. Enter the password carefully, being sure to match all capital letters and symbols. Then, click Next. After a moment, the list of networks will disappear and the WiFi menu in Windows Settings will show your Wi-Fi network name and the words Connected Secured underneath.
You can also look at the Wi-Fi icon in the bottom right of the screen to check if you are connected to Wi-Fi. If the icon is showing a dot and some white curves, then you're connected to Wi-Fi and the internet and ready to surf the web, send emails, and more. When you're ready, click the Home icon at the top left to return to the Windows Settings home panel.
Congratulations, this is the end of the Windows desktop: System settings course. Your Windows 10 computer has a lot of settings and you can discover more about them through the Windows Settings home panel. When you're ready, feel free to explore some of the other courses and learn what else your Windows 10 computer can do.