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A reader wrote to tell us he doesn't like Windows Explorer in Windows 7, and asking if he could use it in a Windows XP mode. Our Helproom expert told him how to configure Windows Explorer so it works just the way you want.

QUESTION I'm running Windows 7, but I don't like Windows Explorer. It doesn't sort files alphabetically, instead splitting them across several columns. I can no longer bring up the folder I want with a single click – I now have to click the Explorer symbol, then choose a folder. From a productivity point of view it has slowed me down considerably. Is there any way (either by tinkering with Windows 7 or using third-party software) that I can return to the methods used by Windows XP to browse through folders and files? Glyn Foster

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HELPROOM ANSWER Believe it or not, Windows 7's Explorer is far more flexible and configurable than the XP version. Not only can you arrange files alphabetically, but you can also adjust the size of folder icons.

Additional features also make the updated version much faster. For example, Favorites can be pinned to the left side of any Explorer window. This will allow you to access these folders with a single click.

If your files and folders are presented as multiple columns, you probably have the List view selected. Click the first of the three icons at the top right of the window, just below the search box, to cycle through five layout options. Clicking the small down arrow to the right brings up a vertical slider that lets you change the size of the folder icons or select a view style by name.

If you pick the ‘details' view, you can sort files and folders in any order you want – including alphabetically.

Selecting the My Computer icon is in essence the same as selecting Computer in Windows 7. Both bring up an Explorer window containing icons for your available drives. These behave in the same fashion

as they do in Windows XP.

You may be having some trouble with the Taskbar. Whereas XP would create a separate button for each open window, Windows 7 combines all the windows for each program under a single button. It's worth sticking with the Taskbar and getting used to its many features, but you can view your windows as individual buttons if you prefer.

Right-click on any empty area of the Taskbar and select Properties. Select ‘Use small icons'. Next, in the same window, select the option ‘Never combine' under Taskbar buttons. Click Ok when you're done. If you find there's not enough room for all your buttons when you have several windows open, you can select ‘Combine when Taskbar is full' instead.

Our Helproom Editor explains how to speed up the startup on a Windows 8 PC and laptop, as well as how to check out what is stopping your Windows 8 system booting quickly.

QUESTION My Windows 8 PC seems to be taking longer to start up than when it was new. I haven't changed any Bios settings. Is there anything I can do to find out what's causing the slowdown?

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HELPROOM ANSWER A quick and easy first step would be to open the Task Manager and take a look at the new Start-up tab. To launch Task Manager, hold down the Windows Key and press X, then select Task Manager from the pop-up menu.

Select the Start-up tab and look at the Start-up impact column. Here, each item is graded according to its impact on your system startup time – either Low, Medium or High. Re-order the entries to display high-impact services by clicking the Start-up impact column heading.

If anything is shown in this list that doesn't need to launch at system startup, it will be slowing down your PC. Right-click the entry and, from the context menu, either disable this behaviour, browse to the folder on your hard drive in which the application is stored, or perform a quick search online to help you decide whether it needs to run at system startup.

If you received a shiny new Windows 10 laptop or PC for Christmas and want to really make it your own, or have just grown bored with the look of your existing Windows 10 machine, then there are plenty of things you can do to improve its aesthetics. From new themes to vivid wallpaper, we'll show you how to make these refinements and have your PC looking resplendent in its new livery.

How to personalise Windows 10: Changing the background wallpaper

All of the appearance settings in Windows 10 are helpfully grouped together in one place, which makes life easy. To find them go to the Start Menu, then click on Settings > Personalisation and you'll be presented with a list of options on the left side of the window that appears.

Top of the list is Background, and you can see the current defaults displayed in the right hand pane under Preview. Beneath the preview there is a drop-down menu for the Background which allows you to choose between a picture, solid colour, or slideshow. If you select Picture then you'll be able to browse to a folder on your PC and choose a single image by either clicking on the Browse option or selecting one of the existing images that Windows has installed. There is also an option titled Choose a fit, that can be used if the picture you have is either too big or too small for your screen. Feel free to experiment with each one, as they don't alter the original image in any way.

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Slideshow is similar to Picture but allows for a range of images instead, which again are selected from a folder on your PC. Once you've pointed at the folder you wish to use, you can adjust the setting for the frequency at which the images will rotate and whether their order is shuffled or not.

Solid colour does what you would expect, bringing up a number of preset tones that you can use for the wallpaper.

How to personalise Windows 10: Changing the accent colour

The next option in the left hand column is Colour, which is different from the background colour as it instead affects the accent colour. This is the one that fills the Windows tile backgrounds, appears when a menu option is highlighted, and on the outer frames of windows.

Under the blocks of colours are a couple of options that give you the opportunity to let the accent colour be used on the Start Menu, Taskbar, Title bar, and Action Centre. This will be a subtle change, as the colour defaults to transparent, but if you prefer the solid Windows 8 style then you can select that too.

How to customise Windows 10: Changing the Lock Screen display

The Lock Screen is the first visage you usually encounter when you turn on your PC or wake it from sleep. Usually Windows 10 sets it to use a default range of images sourced by Windows Spotlight. You can change this in much the same way as the background by using a Picture or Slideshow. There is a helpful added feature here where you can set the information you see displayed on the Lock Screen.

In the Choose an app to show detailed status section click on whatever app is currently there and you'll see a list appear. Now, if you prefer the Weather to Calendar entries, just click on that. Below you'll also find the Choose apps to show quick status, which works in the same way, but this time click on the boxes with plus signs inside to add new apps from the pop up menu. In this lower part of the pane you can also adjust the Screen saver settings as well as ones for when you would like the screen to timeout and go to sleep.

How to personalise Windows 10: Changing Themes

Themes are essentially defaults that use all of the settings listed above in certain combinations. In fact if you've been altering your settings while reading this tutorial, and are happy with the results, then when you're in the Theme section click on Theme settings and then in the windows that appears go over to the right and click Save theme. Now you'll be able to select it whenever you want.

On this page you'll also see the other default themes available, plus there's an option to Get more themes online, which takes you to the Microsoft Themes webpage where you can download various themes for free. Once on your machine they should appear as options in the Windows Default Themes panel, and clicking on it will automatically make the changes to your machine.

If you want to go deeper then you can also use the settings for changing the system icons, mouse pointers, and sound settings, all of which can be found back in the Personalisation window.

How to personalise Windows 10: Changing the Start Menu

The final section covers the Start Menu, giving you control over the amount of tiles you want to appear, and whether to include recently added or most used apps. The various options are all on/off switches and while they don't offer much in the way of granular control, they can at least help you tune the appearance closer to your preferences.

That's it, now you can tailor your PC to just how you like it, and if you get tired of the same old thing then a new look is only a few clicks away.

You can use the filtering capabilities that are included in this spreadsheet to view a specific subset of data, based on one value or a combination of values that are available in one or more of the columns. In addition, you can click Custom in the drop-down list of any of the column headings to add additional filtering criteria within that column.

To view a specific subset of data, click the drop-down arrow in the column heading of cells that contain the value or combination of values on which you want to filter, and then click the desired value in the drop-down list. For example, to view policy settings that are available for Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 8.1, in the Administrative Template worksheet, click the drop-down arrow next to Supported On, and then click At least Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 8.1.

The Administrative Template spreadsheet contains three columns that provide more information about each policy setting's behavior related to reboots, logoffs, and schema extensions. These columns are the following:

Reboot Required: A "Yes" in this column means that the Windows operating systems requires a restart before it applies the described policy setting.

Logoff Required: A "Yes" in this column means that the Windows operating system requires the user to log off and log on again before it applies the described policy setting.

Active Directory Schema or Domain Requirements: A "Yes" in this column means that you must extend the Active Directory schema before you can deploy this policy setting.

Status: A "New" in this column means that the setting did not exist prior to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1. It does not mean that the setting applies only to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1. Refer to the column entitled "supported on" to determine to which operating system the policy setting applies.