If you’re unable to hear the sounds from your computer—or if you simply don’t want to—you can set up a visual cue such as a flash where a sound would normally be played. You can also set captions to be displayed by programs that normally signal an event with a sound. However, not all programs support the caption alternatives, so you won’t always see the captions displayed.

Turn on Visual Cues

1. Open the Control Panel from the Start menu, choose Ease Of Access, and choose Replace Sounds With Visual Cues.

2. Select this check box to see visual cues for sounds.

3. Specify the cue you want.

4. Select this check box if you want programs to display captions for sound events.

5. Click Save.

See Also

"Using Alternative Ways of Working" for information about other methods of customizing the way Windows works.