Ultimate System GUI

Hi Guys,

I am trying to really customize my laptops system for both Windows 7 Ultimate & Windows 8 Professional + Media Centre Edition.

By Customizing, I mean I want to create a complete eye candy and suiting system them, ie: Wallpaper, Voice Sound Scheme, and Optimizing my system to its ultimate performance with the best drivers, software, tweaks, and tweaking software, etc

However, I have basically no idea where to get the software needed to be able to do this, 2 Major Geek'ers have helped me with the software to create the custom voice sound schemes, like having a strong and deep male voice saying.. "Welcome David" for the Windows Log-On sound, or "System Is now shutting down, Goodbye" for the shutting down windows sound, etc etc

But in regards to everything else, I have no idea and would really appreciate anyones help, I would be extremely greatful, I have always wanted to do this in the past many years ago but never got around to trying it, but now I am adamant about dong it, I will be posting a few YouTube videos of my progress in making it, and when its completed, but I am very rusty when it comes to windows as I have been out of the game for quite some time due to very critical severe health issues, with many ICU admissions fighting for life and HDU admissions, wards stays, basically since April 14th 2007 until Present I have spent basically 4 of the past 5 years admitted into hospital accumulated, because I usually get admitted for months at a time, started off with bouts of Pancreotitis, Dangeously low potassium, then due to a Hospital Emergency Room, I was sent home without being properly assessed, to fall asleep and have both my Kidneys and Liver fail during the night, A liver absus rupture poisoning my blood, Severe bout of Pancreotitis (for the 10th Time), Dangerously Low Potassium (Once Again), Phumonia, Fluid On the Lungs, Golden Staphe Infection C/O The Hospital, and a heap of other issues, all in the one day at the same time, if it wasn't for my wifes quick thinking, I wouldn't be here right now!

Anyway, that's the reason I have been out of the computer scene for the past 5 years, and although I have kept a slight interest in it while I was away from it, a lot has changed dramatically, so I really do need peoples help and guidance, I want to create something really snazzy, that I can keep for a long time, the already made themes out there that I have come across are very dodgy and un-professional looking, rather jaggy and blurry, not sharp and crystal clean, etc

I also would like to add specific applications that sit on the desktop, I don't know if its possible at all, but little applet style software that measures the download speed, but in a speedometer style applet? or something else really high tech...

Is this at all possible to do with Windows 7 Ultimate & Windows 8 Professional?

Kindest Rehards,

EXOX3

 

I forgot to include some other enquiries, so I will add them here now....

Question 1)
My laptop has a 640 Gigabyte Hard Drive which I am assuming is SATA, However, whenever I copy, move, etc. data from the main drive which is an Hitachi brand to my USB 3.0 Buffalo 2 Terabyte HDD I can only get a maximum of 24 Mb/Sec, same goes for the opposite, copying files onto the drive, or copying from Partition to Partition, DVD to HDD, etc., this speed is the very best I can get, which is frustrating because this is the speed I used to get years ago using IDE/ATA....

Is there any software out there that can speed up the data transfer rate? With my Buffalo, I got a program called Turbo PC EX, which significantly sped up the data transfer rate, however, The program is very buggy and I had issues with permission on files and folders, etc., then I accidently killed my Buffalo hard drive by getting up and not looking where I was stepping, I hit the cord and the hard drive fell off the coffee table and hit the ground with a massive thud, now its not workies!

Anyway, that's my first question, software to increase HDD performance, I have defragged the hard drive literally everyday for the past 2 weeks using many different defragging software, and different styles of defragment, and its not made an impact at all really,....

Question 2)
In Windows 7 Ultimate, I could change my speaker configuration to 5.1 Surround Sound, so my Logitech Z506 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers & Sub Woofer would work perfectly, including all 5 speakers to work brilliantly, ie:Left, Left Read, Right, Right Rear, Centre, Subwoofer.... However, since I took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 8 Pro the system will not allow me to change the speaker configuration what so ever, its set as 2 desktop speakers and that's it, I have tried every single thing I could think of to try and fix it, from going from the Windows 8 Pro default driver package to installing the latest Realtek HD Audio drivers from their website for Windows 8 and that made no difference what so ever, if anything, it just added non-essential crap, so I tried going deep within all the property settings within the hardware and software packages and drivers, but still not luck. I don't want to have to format and go back to Windows 7 Ultimate, because I really do actually like this new Windows 8, has anyone else had this issue or something very similar? I also went to the extreme trying to rectify this issue, so after trying everything I could think off, and installing drivers and software all over the place I though maybe a clean, fresh full format, and clean install of Windows 8 Pro might do the trick, as I originally upgraded, instead of opting for the clean install, bug again, no difference, it just wont allow me to change it, its un-highlighted, and unable to select..... Please Help (This one is making me go bald)

Question 3)
Is it possible to overclock a laptop via software only? i.e.: Not having to unscrew and open up anything?

Cheers,,

EXOX3

 

Attached is a speed test of my hard drive....