Customizing Windows

While Windows 10 isn't as customizable as Windows 7, it still includes lots of options you can play with. Maybe Windows 10 being less customizable is a blessing in disguise? This guy on Twitter has a thread dedicated to Windows 98 SE ("Second Edition"), including its seizure-inducing themes. A preview: Windows 98 SE colorful theme

By contrast, Windows 10 desktop themes are much tamer. In fact, besides changing wallpaper and the color of title bars, I'd barely call those "themes". But customizing goes beyond themes: fortunately, Windows 10 retains most of the options of Windows 7 and earlier versions. (I skipped Windows 8 and 8.1, so I can't vouch for their customizability, one way or the other.) That's in part thanks to Microsoft leaving us the old-school Control Panel available in Windows 10: Control Panel is still available in Windows 10

Customize Windows 10 Tutorials

Change your screen resolution to view more items or make them larger.
Change title-bar color for active and inactive windows.
Change your PC's time zone, and show more time zones in the system clock.
Always show thick scrollbars instead of the thin / invisible line.
You can make the week start on Monday (vs. Sunday).
Make Windows show menus on the right side of your cursor.
Restore the startup sound, plus the logon, logoff, and shutdown sounds.
Change the default web browser that opens web links.

The Settings app and the Control Panel

Microsoft's Settings app is where you'll do most of the customizing. You can quickly open it with the +i keyboard shortcut. It's also available in the start menu by clicking on the gear icon. You can also type "settings" or "control panel" when the start menu is open. (Tip: yes, you can type a search whenever the start menu is open, whether the search box is visible or hidden.) You can also launch the Control Panel by opening the Run dialog with +R, typing "control", and hitting Enter: Launch the Control Panel by using the Run dialog

Thirteen categories of settings to explore

Microsoft separates settings into 13 categories, including some you might never use, like "Phone" or "Gaming". I'll ultimately try to cover them all, as long as I can do so without compromising this site's quality. (Since I don't know anything about gaming, I wouldn't make a good explainer about those settings.) Home screen of the Settings app

Most of the time, though, you won't need to go to the Settings app's home screen. Searching from the start menu nearly always pulls up the settings you need.