Windows offers a setting named Dark Mode that applies a dark theme to apps you get from the Windows Store. It doesn’t affect most desktop apps, but we’ve got some other solutions for those. Here’s how to get your whole desktop (or as much as possible) looking dark.
To enable Dark Mode, head to Settings > Personalization > Colors. Scroll down and select the “Dark” option under the “Choose your app mode” section.
The Settings application itself immediately turns dark, as will many other “Universal Windows Platform” applications (those you get from the Windows Store). However, it’s up to each developer to support Dark Mode, and many do not. And, as we mentioned before, this option doesn’t affect most desktop applications. Those remain white. A few desktop applications, including File Explorer and Paint.NET, do respect this setting—but most don’t.
Enable Dark Mode in Microsoft Edge
The Microsoft Edge web browser included with Windows 10 also has a dark theme. However, its dark theme option is entirely separate from the Dark Mode option in Settings for some reason.
To activate the dark theme in Edge, click the menu button on the toolbar (the icon with three dots at the far right side), and then select the “Settings” option. In the “Choose A Theme” drop-down menu, choose the “Dark” option.
Note that the title bar, toolbars, and menus for Edge turn dark, but web pages themselves remain unaffected. You’ll need a browser extension like Turn Off the Lights to make the whole web dark.
You can also set your theme separately in the Groove music player, Movies & TV video player, and Photos apps. However, they’ll use your system theme setting by default. You don’t have to change the setting manually, as you do with Edge.
RELATED:How to Enable Dark Mode in Microsoft Edge
Enable the Dark Theme in Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office also contains a dark theme that isn’t enabled by default and must be manually enabled.
To choose the dark theme, open an Office application like Word or Excel and head to File > Options. On the “General” tab, look for the click the “Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office” section and set the “Office Theme” drop-down there to the “Black” option.
Your theme choice applies to all Office applications. So, if you set this option in Word and later open Excel, Excel should also use a dark theme.
RELATED:How to Enable Dark Mode in Microsoft Office
Install Dark Themes for Chrome, Firefox, and Other Applications
Many other Windows desktop applications have their own theming options and engines. For example, to use a dark theme in Google Chrome, you’ll need to head to Google’s Chrome themes site and install a dark theme. Firefox includes a built-in dark theme you can enable.
For example, we installed the Morpheon Dark theme for Chrome. It makes Chrome look much more at home on a dark-themed desktop.
Some websites, including YouTube and Gmail, let you choose a dark theme for that website. For other websites, you’ll need to install a browser extension that turns the whole web dark.
You’ll have to check to see whether the applications you frequently use offer their own theme options.
Enable a Dark Theme for Windows Desktop Applications
The real problem with the new Dark Mode setting is that it doesn’t affect the Windows desktop theme at all. Desktop applications like File Explorer continue using the normal, light theme.
Windows has a built-in dark theme for desktop applications, but it probably isn’t ideal. To enable it, head to Settings > Ease of Access > High Contrast. On the right, enable the “Turn on High Contrast” option and set the “Choose a Theme” dropdown to the “High Contrast Black” setting. Click “Apply” to save the setting.
Setting this high contrast theme makes most desktop applications show a dark background. However, they don’t look all that great. High contrast themes are an accessibility feature designed to increase contrast, so the screen is easier to read and understand. They don’t look nearly as slick as a modern dark theme would.
RELATED:How to Install Custom Themes and Visual Styles in Windows
If you want a slicker dark theme for other desktop applications, you’ll have to resort to a third-party app. While there are a few out there, we’re big fans of WindowBlinds from Stardock (the same people that make apps like Fences and Start10). The app costs $9.99, but there’s a free 30-day trial, so you can see if it’s right for you.
And the nice part is, when you apply a theme in WindowBlinds, it applies to everything—UWP apps, desktop apps, dialog boxes, you name it.
After installing it, fire it up and head to the “Style” tab. To apply a theme, just select the one you want, and then click the “Apply Style To Desktop” button.
Windows 10 Taskbar Clock Color
WindowBlinds doesn’t have a built-in dark theme (though some built-in themes are darker than others). You can always create your own by clicking the “Modify Style” link under any theme. You can adjust pretty much anything you can think of there. But, there’s an easier way.
Just head to the WindowBlinds section of the WinCustomize site. There, you’ll find all kinds of WindowBlinds-compatible skins you can download. After downloading one, double-click the file and the theme is added to the “Style” tab in WindowsBlinds so that you can apply it (or customize it) from there.
Here’s a shot of File Explorer with the Dark Mode skin (our favorite of the various dark themes on the site) applied through WindowBlinds:
Not bad, right? And with a little tweaking, you could make it look just the way you want.
Like many parts of Windows 10, Dark Mode feels a bit incomplete. Microsoft could include a dark theme option for Windows desktop applications, and the interface would look more cohesive. For now, though, this is what we’ve got. At least Microsoft has made the dark theme apply to File Explorer.
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It can be quite annoying to suddenly see your computer displaying a Black Desktop Background, instead of its usual colourful desktop background. Let us take a look at some of the ways to fix Black Desktop Background in Windows 10.
Fix Black Desktop Background in Windows 10
The Desktop Wallpaper is such a standard feature in Windows computers that it is difficult to think of a Windows PC without a Desktop Wallpaper or background image of some kind.
However, sometimes a Windows computer can suddenly start displaying a Black Desktop Background. This usually happens while you are trying to change Desktop Background image or trying to change the Desktop Background to Slideshow mode.
Luckily, the occurrence of Black Desktop Background in Windows 10 is quite rare and it can be fixed using any of the following methods.
Enable Show Windows Background
Switch Desktop Background Type
Replace Black Desktop Background with Picture
Unselect High Contrast Black
Check Ease of Access Settings
Check Power Plan Settings
Remove Corrupted TranscodedWallpaper File
1. Enable Show Windows Background Option
Follow the steps below to make sure that, Show Windows Background option is enabled on your computer.
1. Click on Windows 10 Start button and then click on the Settings Icon.
2. On the Settings screen, click on Ease of Access.
3. On the next screen, click on Other Options in the side menu and then make sure that Show Windows Background option is enabled.
4. Next, Restart your computer and see if its usual Desktop Background has come back.
2. Switch Desktop Background Type
Sometimes the simple act of switching to a different background type can fix the problem of Black Desktop background in Windows 10.
1. Click on the Windows 10 Start button > click on the Settings icon.
2. On the settings screen, click on Personalization.
3. On the personalization screen, click on Background in the left pane and then change the Background type from Color/Picture to Slideshow.
3. Replace Black Desktop Background With Picture
Windows 10 Clock Backgrounds Free
A quick way to get rid of black desktop background in Windows 10 is to replace the Black Desktop Background on your PC with any image stored in Pictures, Desktop or any Folder on your Computer.
1. Right-click on Windows 10 Start button and click on File Explorer.
2. Navigate to Pictures or any other Folder where an image that you want to save as Desktop Background is located. Right-click on the image and then click on Set as Desktop Background option in the Context Menu (See image below).
4. Unselect High Contrast Black
1. Right-click in any empty space on your desktop and click on Personalize.
2. On the personalize screen, click on Colors in the left pane, scroll down and click on High Contrast Settings in the right pane.
3. On the next screen, change High Contrast Black to None.
5. Check Ease Of Access Settings
The problem of a Black Background in Window 10 can also be due to accidental change in Ease of Access Settings.
1. Open the Control Panel on your computer.
2. On the Control Panel Screen, make sure that you are in Category View and then click on Ease of Access (See image below).
3. Click on Ease of Access Center > Make the computer easier to see.
4. On the next screen, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and uncheck the option for Remove background images and click on Apply.
After this set a Wallpaper of your choice as the Background Image on your computer by going to Settings > Personalization > Background.
6. Check Power Plan Settings
The problem of Black Desktop Background in Windows 10 can also be due to Power Settings in Control Panel.
1. Open the Control Panel on your computer.
2. On the Control Panel Screen, make sure that you are in “Category” view and then click on System and Security option.
3. On the System and Security Screen, click on Power Options.
4. Click on Change Plan Settings link located next to the current Power Plan on your computer (See image below).
Windows 10 Clock Black Text
5. Click on Change Advanced Power Settings link.
6. On the next screen, expand the item for Desktop background settings and make sure that Slide Show is set to Available (See image below).
If Slide Show option was disabled, enable the option for Slide Show and then set a Wallpaper of your choice by going to Settings > Personalization >Background.
7. Corrupt TranscodedWallpaper File
In case none of the above methods are working, it is likely that TranscodedWallpaper File on your computer is corrupted.
1. Right-click on Windows 10 Start button and click on File Explorer.
2. Navigate to C: Users/User Account/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Windows/Themes Folder and Rename TranscodedWallpaper File to TranscodedWallpaper.old.
Note: Enable Show Hidden Files option, in case you are unable to see AppData Folder
3. While you are still in Themes Folder, open Settings.ini File using Notepad, delete contents of this file (if any) and save this file.
After following these steps, setup a new Desktop Background on your computer by going to Settings > Personalization >Background. You should be able to see your New Desktop Background on your computer.
Windows Updates do bring in new features and improvements, but sometimes they introduce problems as well. The main reason for new bugs arising being incompatibility between old and new software components. One such issue that we are going to talk about in this post is missing, invisible or black Windows Clock. The issue was faced by users after a recent feature update. Well, you can follow the steps mentioned in this post to resolve it.
Clock is missing, black or invisible in Windows 10
This is a bug that can make Windows Clock in the taskbar to appear black or invisible which makes it difficult to read time on your computer. The bug has something to with Windows Themes and Aero styling. Here are a few solutions to fix this:
Before you begin, restart Explorer and see if that helps. Maybe it is a temporary glitch.
1] Disable Custom Theme
The possible reason for a black Windows Clock can be an old or incompatible theme. You might have a custom theme in place, and after an update it became incompatible. So, what you can do now is, switch to one of the default themes and re-create your custom theme.
To do so, right click on the desktop and select Personalise. Then select Themes from the left menu and select Windows 10 as your theme. Now you can delete all other custom themes are create them again from scratch. This would have fixed black Windows clock and would have turned it back into white.
2] Editing your existing themes
If you don’t want to lose your existing theme, there is a solution that can help you preserve your themes. This solution is a little complex, so we advise you to stick to the first one. You can follow these steps to modify your existing themes to fix black Windows clock.
Save your existing theme if you haven’t already. To save a theme, right click on the desktop and select Personalise and then select Themes from the left menu. Now click on Save Theme button just below your custom theme to save it. You can name the theme anything (we are going to change it later).
Now it is time to modify this saved theme. Go to C:UsersUserNameAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsThemes. Locate the file with theme name you saved in the previous step. Right-click the file and open it with notepad or any other text editor.
Now locate the line that says:
Change it to:
Save the file and rename it to something else.
Now go back to themes and select the new theme that you just created.
This should have fixed the black Windows clock problem along with other problems that you might be facing around Themes and Taskbar.
3] Use UWT
Download and use Ultimate Windows Tweaker. Under Customization > Taskbar, you will see the tweak to show or remove Clock from Notificatoon area. Use it.
4] Disable Small Taskbar Icons
This is a solution for most of the invisible Windows clock cases. If you have an invisible Windows clock, try disabling small taskbar icons on your computer.
To do so, go to Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar. And turn off the toggle button that says Use small taskbar buttons. This is a temporary solution, and it might not work in some cases.
These were a few possible solutions to the black Windows clock problem. Hope something helps you.
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