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How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC

This wikiHow teaches you how to change the size of icons and text on your Windows computer's screen by increasing or decreasing your computer's resolution. Right-click the desktop. This will prompt a drop-down menu.
Method 1 of 5:

Windows 10

  1. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 1How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 1
    Right-click the desktop. This will prompt a drop-down menu.
  2. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 2How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 2
    Click Display settings. It's toward the bottom of the menu.
  3. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 3How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 3
    Scroll down and click Advanced display settings. This link is at the bottom of the page.
  4. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 4How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 4
    Click the bar beneath the "Resolution" heading. Doing so will invoke a drop-down menu with different resolution values (e.g., "800 x 600").
  5. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 5How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 5
    Click a resolution value. The resolution best-suited to your computer's screen will say "(Recommended)" next to it.
    1. The higher the resolution number is, the smaller your computer's text and icons will appear.
  6. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 6How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 6
    Click Apply. It's below the "Resolution" bar. Clicking this button will apply your selected resolution to the screen.
  7. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 7How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 7
    Click Keep changes. If you don't like your new resolution settings, you can click Revert or simply wait for a few seconds until the resolution automatically reverts to your computer's default setting.
Method 2 of 5:

Windows 7 and 8

  1. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 8How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 8
    Right-click the desktop. This will prompt a drop-down menu.
  2. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 9How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 9
    Click Screen resolution. It's toward the bottom of the right-click menu.
  3. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 10How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 10
    Click the resolution bar. It's below the "Resolution" heading. Doing so will prompt a drop-down menu with different resolution values, such as "1920 x 1080."
    1. On Windows 7, you may have a vertical slider here that allows you to click and drag a button up or down to increase or decrease the resolution.
  4. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 11How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 11
    Click a resolution value. The resolution best-suited to your computer's screen will say "(Recommended)" next to it.
    1. The higher the resolution number is, the smaller your computer's text and icons will appear.
  5. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 12How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 12
    Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will prompt you to confirm your choice.
  6. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 13How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 13
    Click Yes when prompted. Doing so will save your resolution settings.
    1. If you don't like the new resolution settings, you can click Revert or simply wait a few seconds for your computer's resolution to revert to your computer's default.
Method 3 of 5:

Windows Vista

  1. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 14How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 14
    Right-click the desktop. This will invoke a drop-down menu.
  2. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 15How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 15
    Click Personalize. It's toward the bottom of the right-click menu.
    1. On some versions of Vista, this option may say Properties instead.
  3. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 16How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 16
    Click Display Settings. This link is at the bottom of the "Personalize" window.
  4. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 17How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 17
    Click and drag the "Resolution" slider left or right. It's near the bottom of the "Display Settings" window. Dragging the slider to the left will decrease your screen resolution, while dragging it to the right will increase the resolution.
    1. Raising your resolution will make things smaller, while lowering the resolution will make things larger. If you are having difficulty seeing things on your computer, try lowering your resolution. If you want the clearest picture possible, raise the resolution to the size recommended for your display.
  5. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 18How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 18
    Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will prompt you to confirm your choice.
  6. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 19How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 19
    Click Yes when prompted. Doing so will save your resolution settings.
Method 4 of 5:

Windows XP

  1. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 20How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 20
    Right-click anywhere on the desktop. This will invoke a drop-down menu.
  2. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 21How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 21
    Click Properties. It's at the bottom of the menu. This will open the "Display Properties" window.
    1. If "Display Properties" doesn't open to the "Settings" tab, click it at the top of the window.
  3. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 22How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 22
    Click and drag the "Resolution" slider left or right. It's near the bottom of the "Display Settings" window. Dragging the slider to the left will decrease your screen resolution, while dragging it to the right will increase the resolution.
    1. Raising your resolution will make things smaller, while lowering the resolution will make things larger. If you are having difficulty seeing things on your computer, try lowering your resolution. If you want the clearest picture possible, raise the resolution to the size recommended for your display.
  4. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 23How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 23
    Click Apply. It's at the bottom of the window. After doing so, your screen will change resolution, and a confirmation box will appear.
  5. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 24How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 24
    Click Yes when prompted. Doing this will save your resolution settings.
    1. If you don't like the new resolution settings, wait for a few seconds; the screen will revert to the old settings.
  6. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 25How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 25
    Click OK to close the "Display Properties" window. Your new resolution will be saved.
Method 5 of 5:

Windows ME

  1. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 26How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 26
    Using a mouse, right click on an empty part of the screen. There should be a pop-up menu that appears.
  2. How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 27How to Change the Screen Resolution on a PC Picture 27
    Scroll over to View. Select how big you want your icons to be.
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