The software equivalent of a physical control panel that provides options for the user to change the appearance or actions in an application; in system software such as the operating system; or in the hardware. In Windows, control panels are used to configure the OS and hardware, while "options," "tools" or "preferences" menus are used to change functions within applications.
If a control panel is not modified by the user, the default settings are used. See default and preferences.
Windows Control Panels
The Windows operating system provides a series of control panels for changing settings in the hardware and software.
If a control panel is not modified by the user, the default settings are used. See default and preferences.
Windows Control Panels
The Windows operating system provides a series of control panels for changing settings in the hardware and software.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Maingear Shift
- With its new Shift gaming desktop, Maingear joins the ranks of Alienware, Falcon Northwest, and Velocity Micro in providing its customers a distinctive-looking case you can't get anywhere else. And despite a misstep with the build and a questionable processor choice both of which should be easily remedied, we found...
- Product reviews 2009-11-25
- BenQ V2400 Eco
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- Product reviews 2009-11-25
- SysCheckUp 2.1.1 (Windows)
- SysCheckUp is software designed for Windows systems (32-bit only) to keep your computer running at maximum performance. The innovative repair tool can repair multiple problems including: missing desktop icons, missing taskbar, missing drives, no audio, and denied access to the task manager and control panel. The registry cleaner can remove...
- Software downloads 2009-11-25
- LG 32LH20
- Photo gallery: LG LH20 seriesWe can't fault the LG LH20 series for trying. The company's least-expensive lineup of LCDs for 2009 offers more features than its competition, including the only USB port for digital photos and by far the best selection of picture adjustments. All of those tweaks...
- Product reviews 2009-11-24
- U.S. will propose emissions reduction before Copehagen talks
- Total controlWhat a bunch of lies, nothing more than socialist control over the world.You cannot eat meat, you cannot drive, you cannot use A/C, you cannot use a dryer.Next thing will be a limit on children like in China.I guess our new leader will let us know if we can...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Exploit published for critical IE 7 zero-day flaw
- Do you mean:"The vulnerability was confirmed on fully patched Windows XP SP3 systems with Internet Explorer 6 and [b]7[/b]."Also how effective is the exploit with Protected Mode and limited user account usage? I'd like to see more information on how these two mitigation techniques work against exploits. I suspect the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Samsung LN26B360
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- Product reviews 2009-11-20
- Samsung LN32B360
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- Product reviews 2009-11-20
- Panel: do cloud computing economic advantages break down in enterprises?
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Spice up your power management
- InterestingChecking out the plug-in. Nice article. Harry should take notes.Power management messed up my laptop.Long, long ago in a land far, far away (Win 98) I had a laptop that I upgraded to Win XP. After upgrading the laptop and installing SP2, Laptop performance went in the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Web Controller 2003 (Windows)
- Australian Web Hosting controller for the windows hosting account. With the Windows hosting control panel you can control programs like iis6, ftp, dns, frontpage extension, asp.net an many other related services like email and other features like xmail server. The Windows hosting control panel works with all versions of windows...
- Software downloads 2009-11-20
- 3D New Years Countdown 3.6 (Mac)
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- Software downloads 2009-11-20
- 2010 Honda Fit Sport
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- Product reviews 2009-11-19
- Zvox Z-Base 575
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- Product reviews 2009-11-16
- Vizio VO320E
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- Product reviews 2009-11-16
- Toshiba 32AV502U
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- Product reviews 2009-11-16
- More evidence of the coming collision between home broadband and the smart grid
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-16
- Boston Acoustics Duo-i plus
- Editors' note: The Boston Acoustics Duo-i Plus is nearly identical to the Horizon Duo-i we reviewed a year ago. Not a lot has changed since then aside from the addition of full support for iPhone playback. While the Horizon Duo-i worked with the iPhone, the device had...
- Product reviews 2009-11-13
- BwanaDik 3.3 (Mac)
- BwanaDik is an IP address WAN and LAN menu item. Yes, another IP address app. Just what the world needs. You may be asking yourself "why the heck does the world need another IP address application?" Well, it doesn't. But I did. I looked all over for an IP address...
- Software downloads 2009-11-13
- 1st Security Center Pro 7.5.5.31 (Windows)
- 1st Security Center is a powerful security utility that allows you to restrict access to Windows important resources. This easy-to-use utility helps you to keep your computer in order. It enables you to impose a variety of access restrictions to protect your privacy. You can deny access to each individual...
- Software downloads 2009-11-12
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