Tip #3408 - Change Your XP Sounds
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Change
Your XP Sounds
Are you are getting
tired of hearing the same old sounds that Windows XP makes when it's going
through its routine tasks (or non-routine tasks, for that matter?!) If
you are, did you know that you can easily change the sounds to something
more pleasing to you and your ears?
Now, I'm talking about
sounds that accompany events and tasks, such as when Windows XP starts
up, displays an error message, receives an e-mail or an instant message,
connects to a wireless network and dozens others. All of them can be changed.
You can even change the sounds to something that is already loaded on
your computer or you can search the Web and download any sound that appeals
to you. We will talk about both in this tutorial, so let's get started!
1.) Click Start
and then Control Panel.
2.) Click Sounds,
Speech and Audio Devices.
3.) Next, click Change
the Sound Scheme.
The Sounds
and Audio Devices Properties box appears. You should be at the
Sounds tab, but if not, go ahead and click on it.
Note: In
the Program events box, you can listen to the sounds
Windows XP has already associated with each task and event. Click on the
Program event you would like to listen to. Then, click
the right arrow button near the Browse
button.
4.) To browse through
the preloaded Windows XP available sounds, click the down arrow button
on the Sounds box. You can listen to each of these preloaded
sounds by clicking the right arrow button to the left
of the Browse button. Many of these sounds should sound
very familiar.
5.) To change the
sound assigned to a particular event, click on the Program event
you want to change in the Program events box
and highlight the sound that you want it to be changed to in the Sounds
box. If you only want to change one sound, click on Apply
in the lower right corner of the dialogue box.
If you want to change
a number of different sounds, repeat steps four and five to change any
and all Program event sounds that you desire. Once you are satisfied with
all of your sound changes, click the Save As button at
the top of the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties box.
Add the name you want to label it for these custom changed sounds and
then click OK to finish up.
Lastly, if you want
to personalize your sounds even further, you can locate your favorite
sounds on the Internet. There are plenty of free sounds on the Internet.
You can search for your favorite television shows, favorite songs or your
favorite movie sound clips and download those to your computer. Just make
sure that when you download the new sounds, they are downloaded to the
C:\Windows\Media folder. As long as they are included
in that folder, they will be available for you to change, as described
in the above steps. Also, the sounds should be in a .wav file format,
so be sure to include that term in your Internet search for free sounds.
One final
point: You can record your own sound clips or copy clips from
a CD or DVD. You can do this by using a program called Sound Recorder,
which is preinstalled with Windows XP. You can find this program by clicking
on Start, Programs, Accessories,
Entertainment and then Sound Recorder.
You can record family members’ voices, your baby’s babbles
or your pet's noises. Once you have them recorded, you can assign them
to your Windows XP events. The possibilities are literally endless!
~ Liz Magill
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