How to open the control panel in windows 7. Using search

When you find that your microphone or headphones are not working during a conversation, it causes irritation for both you and the person you are communicating with. Before you start testing the microphone on your headphones in Windows, make sure they are working correctly. Some Internet voice and video chat programs, such as Skype, also have the ability to test your audio devices before calling. If there's no sound from your headphones, or your microphone isn't detecting your voice, following some basic troubleshooting procedures can help you quickly identify and fix the problem.

Testing audio devices in Windows

Connect the devices to the appropriate sockets on your computer. They are usually indicated by corresponding icons. On your laptop or speaker set, the headphone jack will be marked with an icon. Some jacks are color-coded: green is usually for headphones and line-out jacks, and pink is for a microphone.
Launch your media player. You can select it from the list of programs in the Start menu. Select sound file, which you want to play, from the media player library. You can also double-click the audio file in Windows Explorer to launch the default media player and play the track automatically. You should hear a sound.
If the microphone has a power button, turn it on. Open the Start menu and then go to Control Panel | Hardware and Sound | Sound". Select the Recording tab, select your microphone from the list of devices, and click Properties.
Go to the "Listen" tab and check the "Listen with" checkbox. of this device" Click "OK" and then position your microphone so that you can speak comfortably. Try talking. You should hear your own voice coming through the headphones. Open the Listen menu again, uncheck Listen to this device, and click OK.

Voice chat test

Start the service voice chat, which allows you to make test calls, such as Skype. Log in with your username and password, if applicable.
Open the menu for audio levels. The menu will be slightly different depending on which service you're using, but is usually called something like Sound Settings and can be found under Tools. Make sure your headphones and microphone are turned on. Save your settings.
Activate a test call or similar feature. Typically you do this by selecting a dummy contact labeled Test Call or something similar from your contact list. Then initiate the call. When you speak into the microphone, you will be able to hear your voice.

You can manage your PC through the “Control Panel” in Windows, where you can find maximum quantity useful points for setting up your PC. Using this part of the system, you can uninstall programs, manage updates, change settings and terminate processes. You can also get full information about the equipment and the system as a whole. To do this, you just need to determine where the “Control Panel” is located in Windows.

Control Panel in Windows XP

The Control Panel is a special dynamic libraries, compiled in C:WindowsSystem32. It can be called in several ways. Let's look at each step by step to find out where the Control Panel is in Windows XP.

The easiest way to find this component is to go to the Start menu. Then you need to select the “Settings” section, and select “Control Panel” from the options offered.
You can also find the Run application in the Start menu (in some versions of the OS it is called Run). In the application line that appears, enter control and confirm your action by clicking on the “Ok” button.
You can also get to the required library through the "Task Manager". It is called by one of the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + Alt + Del or Shift + Ctrl + Esc. At the bottom of the window there will be a “New task” button, enter control in the line and click “OK”.
Advanced users may be advised to use " Command line" You can find it in the list standard programs Start menu. Enter the command: control. The application will open the desired menu for you.

Now you know where to find the Control Panel in Windows XP. It has two views - classically and by category; you can switch the display using the right side of the menu.

Windows 7

The difference with this system is that for some methods of calling the Control Panel you will need to have administrator rights. Therefore, it is best to work with it from an account that has such rights. Launching the panel is done almost the same as in XP. Let's list everything possible ways:

Call search bar keyboard shortcut Win + R. After the “Run” panel opens, you need to enter the control command and click on the “Ok” button.
In the Start menu, Control Panel is accessed from the right column. If it is not in the list, you can use the search bar at the bottom of the menu. Enter a name required component and it will appear at the top of the results.
Using the Command Line. You can get into it using the “Start” menu: go to the “Programs” list and select “Accessories”. Select Command Prompt and enter explorer shell:ControlPanelFolder.

Now you know where the Control Panel is in Windows 7. If you often use its components, then it is best to create a shortcut on the Desktop. It will help you have access to it in just two clicks. To create a shortcut, click right key mouse by free space on the “Desktop”, and then select the “Create” context menu item. From the list of available objects to create, you need to select a shortcut. Run it to enter the value. Enter the word control in the line to link the “Control Panel” to it. In the shortcut properties, you can also set a convenient combination of hot keys that will open it.

Windows 8

The eighth version of the operating system is distinguished by its design. Thanks to this, it has new ways to solve the question of where the “Control Panel” is in . Let's list them:

Call system menu keyboard shortcut Win + X. A list will appear in front of you that will contain the “Control Panel”; just double-click on it.
Using the Win+R key combination, open the “Run” window, in which to launch the panel you need to enter control panel and confirm your actions with the “Ok” button. Please note that the command must be written in Latin letters only.
Move your mouse cursor to the upper right corner of the screen and a additional panel. There will be a search bar in it. In it you need to enter “Control Panel”, the system will quickly detect the program, you just have to activate its use with the left mouse button.
The Start menu in version 8 has a tiled appearance. Among all programs, find “My Computer”. Launch it, then select “Desktop”, left-click on it. Find the service you need among the shortcuts.
Hover your cursor over the top right corner. In the pop-up menu, find the “Options” item, open it and you will be taken to new list, where the desired “Control Panel” will be located.

All these methods of searching for the resource you need work great. To use them you do not need to have specialized knowledge or PC administrator rights.

Windows 10

If you need the “Control Panel” in, where it is located will be no more difficult to find than in other versions of the OS. The easiest way to access it is in the following ways:

Use the context menu in Start. To do this, right-click on the “Start” button and select “Control Panel” from the list that appears.
Open the Start menu and use its search. Enter “Control Panel” in the line, and then launch it from the list of results.
Press the Win + R key combination to open the Run window. Enter the word control in a single line and confirm your action with the “OK” button or the Enter key.

Now you know how to find the “Control Panel” in any version of the operating system Windows systems. Using any of the above methods will not take you more than a minute. Share information with friends, ask questions in the comments and tell us about your experience using the Control Panel.

The control panel is present in all Windows versions default and allows you to manage a large number settings, programs and processes occurring in the computer. You can open it in several ways, and for convenience, it is possible to change appearance and interface.

Launching the panel

There are several ways to get to the Control Panel in Windows 7. Some actions in the Control Panel will require administrator rights, so open it from the main account to have full access to all possibilities.

Through shortcut programs

How to call the panel via search

Through command execution

Via shortcut

Video tutorial: launching the control panel

Change your appearance

You can change the appearance of the control panel by selecting another option in the “View” line, located on the right top corner window. The smaller the icon format you choose, the more sections you will have to fit on home page control panels. There are three options: categories, default, small icons, and large icons.

Change the appearance of the control panel by choosing a different icon format

What to do if the control panel is missing

Usually the administration panel disappears along with the desktop and panel quick access. This is due to the fact that the explorer process, which is responsible for system access to computer files, for some reason stopped working. To start it again, you need to do the following:

Press the Ctrl+Alt+Delete key combination to go to a special menu.
Press the combination Ctrl+Alt+Delete
In the menu that opens, go to the task manager. You can navigate the menu using the arrows on the keyboard and the Enter key. Go to the task manager
Expand the File menu.
Expand the “File” menu
Select the "New task" function.
Select the “New task” function
Run a task called explorer.exe. Done if file explorer is not damaged, then all system elements, including the control panel, will begin to display stably.
Create a task explorer.exe
If you ever want to specifically “disguise” the panel, then disable the explorer process, but this is strongly not recommended.
Close the explorer.exe process

What to do if the administration option is missing from the Start menu

The easiest way to quickly access the panel is to use the button from the Start menu, but this button may not appear or disappear. To return or replace it, follow these steps:

What to do if it doesn’t open

If, when you try to open the panel, nothing happens or an error appears, then most likely one of the broken files is preventing it from starting, causing an error and termination of the process.

What to do if the panel is empty or not working

If you encounter problems launching the panel, and you have Windows “Professional” or “Ultimate” installed, then the problem lies in the Group Policy Editor:

Open Run. Expand the “Run” window
Use the gpedit.msc command.
Execute the command gpedit.msc
Using the folder tree on the left side of the window that opens, follow the sections User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Control Panel.

The Control Panel in Windows 10 has fewer functions than in Windows 8, but there are also new ones. The classic Control Panel in Windows 10 is an important part of the operating system interface. Using the Control Panel in Windows 10, you can control some functions of the operating system. The Control Panel in Windows 10 became standard after the update.

Windows 10 Control Panel Classic View

This classic control panel in Windows 10 consists of 8 categories. Each category is presented in the form of an applet, that is, an icon with which it is launched required application and with its help the selected tasks are performed. These applets have the extension .cpl. Standard Panel Windows management 10 contains the following categories: System and Security, Accounts Users, Network and Internet, Design and Personalization, Clock, Language and Region, Hardware and Sound, Accessibility,Programs.
If you want to see All Windows 10 Control Panel items, then in the View item you will need to select Small icons.

Windows 10 Control Panel view small icons

How to access the Control Panel in Windows 10

You can open Control Panel in Windows 10 different methods and ways.

How to Find Control Panel in Windows 10 Using Quick Search

On the taskbar near the Start button, click on the icon in the form of a magnifying glass and the built-in system will immediately open quick search. You need to enter Control Panel at the bottom in a special line. After this, Control Panel will appear at the top.

How to find Control Panel in Windows 10

By clicking on this inscription on your computer or laptop, you can open the Control Panel in Windows 10.

How to find the Control Panel in the Start menu in Windows 10

You can open the Control Panel in Windows 10 through the Start button located on the Taskbar.

Where to find Control Panel in Windows 10 via Start

Clicking the button Start A list will open in which at the very bottom you will find the item System-Windows. Expand this item and in the list of service applications you will see the Control Panel item. By clicking on it you will be able to open the Control Panel on Windows 10.

How to enter the Windows 10 Control Panel through the Run app

First, launch the Run application, and to do this, press two Win + R keys on your keyboard at once. Will open context menu in which you will need to click on Run.

Where the Control Panel in Windows 10 can help you find the control command

A window will open in which, to open the Windows 10 Control Panel, you need to enter the control command in the line, and then click on the OK button.

How to launch Control Panel from the Windows 10 command line

First you need to launch the command line, and to do this, click on the button Start reveal System-Windows and find the item Command line.

Where in Windows 10 the Control Panel will show the start control command

In the command line that opens, type the command start control and after that press the Enter key on your keyboard and the Windows 10 Control Panel will immediately be called up.

How to get to the Windows 10 Control Panel through the Task Manager

First you need to launch Task Manager. This can be done in different ways, for example by pressing three Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on the keyboard at once.

Where is the Control Panel in Windows 10

When the Task Manager opens, you need to open it and click on File select item Start a new task.

How to enter the Panel Windows management 10

The Create Task application will launch. In this application, enter the command in a special line control and click on the OK button. After this, you can enter the Windows 10 Control Panel.

The “control panel” is the holy of holies of everything that can be controlled. Be it spacecraft or personal computer, even a horse-drawn cart has its own control panel - the reins. It’s good when this tool for interacting with the device is simple, but the further progress goes, the more buttons, switches, settings and modes the control interface has. This means that understanding it may not always be easy.

How to get to the Control Panel in Windows 7

At standard settings in a freshly installed operating system, the “Control Panel” (CP) can easily be found in the “Start” menu.

Press the Win button on the keyboard or the corresponding icon in the lower left corner.
Then click on the link to the element you need in the menu that opens.

Through the “Start” menu, open “Control Panel”

But these are not all possible ways to open the Control Panel and interact with it.

How to run Control Panel as an administrator

Unfortunately, no way. Windows 7 does not provide this feature. It’s unclear whether it’s a whim of the developers or a mistake, since individual elements of the user interface can be opened with administrator rights, while the panel itself categorically refuses.

To open separate element(applet) “Control Panels” with administrator rights:

Just go to the Start menu and enter the name of the corresponding file in the search field for files and programs - for example, appwiz.cpl (removing and installing programs).
Then click right click on the found file and call the context menu. In it, select the “Run as administrator” item.

Open the found file using the context menu with administrator rights

List of main “Control Panel” applet files:

appwiz.cpl - applet for removing and installing programs;
desk.cpl - display settings;
intl.cpl - date and time settings;
main.cpl - device settings (mice, keyboards, printers, etc.);
mmsys.cpl - sound settings;
netcpl.cpl - network settings;
themes.cpl - setting and selecting a Windows theme;
sysdm.cpl - “My Computer” properties.

And many others. All settings for your device are located in the system32 folder, which is in Windows directory, and have the extension *.cpl.

How to launch Control Panel from the command line

How to change the appearance of the Control Panel

Unfortunately or fortunately, the PU doesn’t have many appearance settings. In fact, there is only one, it consists of the “View” filter, which is in the upper right corner of the “Control Panel” window:

category;
small icons;
large icons.

Photo gallery: possible options for the appearance of the “Control Panel”

The first appearance variation is more extensive and is designed to associatively direct the user to a section if he does not know exactly where the settings he needs are located. For example, the “Programs” category provides access to uninstalling and installing programs, assigning programs to run files with a specific extension, and much more. In the icon categories, only the item with the main functionality of removing programs from the list of installed ones is responsible for the entire category of programs.

Why did the Control Panel disappear?

First of all, you need to understand whether it really disappeared or whether the link from the Start menu just disappeared. Try calling the PU through the “Command Line”, as shown in the example above. If the “Control Panel” does not open, then you really have problems and may have to reinstall operating system or contact a specialist. If the PU window has opened, then you should check just one setting item in the Start menu.

How to enable/disable Control Panel

It turns out that displaying PU in the Start menu can be enabled in just a few clicks.

Problems with the "Control Panel"

Real problems with the Control Panel are extremely rare. It is not without reason that the user interface is considered to be the most developed element in Windows. However, there are cases of damage to this service by viruses or accidental user actions. This leads to various consequences, such as an empty control panel menu or lack of response when called.

What to do if the “Control Panel” does not open or it opens empty

The first thing you need to do is scan your computer for viruses with two or three different antiviruses. Because none of the security programs provides a complete guarantee of security. After checking and deleting possible viruses, worms and other “joys” we begin to return the launcher to working condition.

Press the Win+R key combination, enter gpedit.msc in the “Open” field and click OK.
Call "Local Editor" group policy» command gpedit.msc
The “Local Group Policy Editor” window will open. Click on “Administrative Templates” in the “User Configuration” tab.
Select “Administrative Templates” in the “User Configuration” tab
Select the “Control Panel” subdirectory.
In the drop-down folder menu, click on the “Control Panel” folder
We see several folders and four settings items. We are interested in these settings, double click opens a window where you can change the options between Not Configured, Enabled, and Disabled.

Select the Control Panel service option
We change the service settings according to the template:
"Hide specified elements control panel" - disabled;
“Always open all control panel items when you open it” - enabled;
“Prohibit access to the control panel and computer settings” - disabled;
“Display only specified control panel items” is not set.
Pattern that guarantees correct work"Control Panels"

By default, when you close the editor window, a working Control Panel should appear in the Start menu, but it is recommended to restart your computer to be sure.

Video: solving the problem with an empty Control Panel

Working with the Control Panel is very easy. Our instructions will help you customize your device according to a convenient template, as well as solve possible problems quickly and for a long time.