Windows 7 plays sounds in response to a wide variety of events, such as when you log on, when you open or close programs, or when you type an asterisk. Programs you install, such as America Online, can have their own sounds as well. You can configure all of these sounds and manage them collectively using sound schemes. A sound scheme is simply a set of sounds that you want to use together.
Windows 7 has two standard sound schemes: No Sounds, which turns off all program sounds except the Windows Startup sound played when you log on; and Windows Default, which is configured to use the standard Windows sounds. Other sound schemes available typically depend on the Windows 7 edition your computer is running and the extras you’ve installed. Some of the available sound schemes include Afternoon, Calligraphy, Characters, Cityscape, Delta, Festival, Garden, Heritage, Landscape, Quirky, Raga, Savanna, and Sonata.
Selecting a sound scheme
You can configure your system to use an existing sound scheme by completing the following steps:
- Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select Personalize. (On Windows 7 Starter, select Control Panel?Hardware and Sound.)
- Click the Sounds link to display the Sound dialog box with the Sounds tab selected, as shown in below screenshot. (On Windows 7 Starter, choose Change System Sounds under Sounds.)
- Use the Sound Scheme listbox to choose the sound scheme to use.
- Click OK to save your settings.
Customizing your sound scheme
You can configure your system to use a customized sound scheme by completing the
following steps:
- Right-click an open area of the desktop and then select Personalize. (On Windows 7 Starter, select Control Panel?Hardware and Sound.)
- Click the Sounds link to display the Sound dialog box with the Sounds tab selected, as shown in below screenshot. (On Windows 7 Starter, choose Change System Sounds under Sounds.)
- In the Program Events list, sounds are organized according to the program to which they relate and the related event that triggers the sound. To preview a sound for a particular event, select the event in the Program list and then click the Test button.
- To change the sound for an event, select the event in the Program Events list and then use the Sounds list to choose an available sound. You can also click Browse to select other sounds available on the system. The sound files must be in Microsoft .wav format.
- To save a changed sound scheme, click Save As, type a name for the scheme in the field provided, and then click OK.
- Click OK to close the Sounds dialog box.