Modifying the system sounds

The sound file Windows plays when you log in, log out, minimize and maximize a window are saved inside a theme file. Because I am taking you through all of the different things that a theme file will save the settings for, I will go over how to change the settings for the sounds that Windows XP uses so that you can customize this aspect of your computer as well.

Changing the event sounds is very simple. Just follow these steps to launch and configure the Sound Properties:

1. Click the Start Menu and select Run.

2. Type mmsys.cpl in the box and click OK to launch the system Sounds and Audio
Devices Properties.

3. Once the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties loads, click the Sounds tab.

4. Next, to adjust the sound clip for a specific event, click the event that you want to modify, by navigating though the Program Events box.

5. Once you have an event selected, the Sounds drop-down list will become enabled and you will be able to select the sound clip that you want to use. You can select (None) from the top of the list if you do not want to use a sound for a specific program event. If you cannot find a sound that you like on the list, you can use the Browse button to pick a specific sound file on your computer to use.

6. When you are finished with your changes, just click OK to save your work.

You are now finished with customizing the sound events on your computer. The next step is to customize the cursors of the mouse so that they too will be included in your theme file.