Here's how to make your Windows-based PC croak like a frog, or make any other kind of sound you can think of:

1. On the Internet, locate an appropriate WAV audio file and save it in the right place on your own computer's hard disk
2. Configure your Windows program so that it'll use that file when you want it to.

The following more complete directions are for those people using Windows 98. If the directions are different for other Windows editions, please drop me a letter and I'll add the extra instructions here. Here are step-by-step instructions for Windows 98 users:

STEP 1: Find out where on your computer's hard disk your default WAV audio files are kept
By "WAV audio file" I mean a file with a name ending in .wav, such as "frogsound.wav." These are the files making all those beeps, whooshes and dings when your computer does something, such as come on, or start up a new program. Normally, at least for Windows 98 users, the audio files are at this address: c:/windows/media. In other words, in the folder "media" in the folder "windows" on Disk C. One way to confirm this is:

• Click on your desktop's "Start" button
• Click on "Settings"
• Click on "Control Panel"
• Click on "Sounds"
• Highlight a category with a yellow "speaker icon" next to it, like "Default Sound"
• In the "Name" window, see the address of the WAV file that makes that sound
• Write down this address (but not the file's name, which will consist of two sets of letters separated by a period, something like sound.wav, at the end of the line)

STEP 2: On the Internet, find an appropriate WAV audio file.
One of the quickest ways of doing this is to use a search engine and in the search box type in keywords such as "wav audio frog" or "wav audio bird," or whatever kind of sound you're looking for. You can try it here with the Google Search Engine: 

When I make a search, some particularly promising-looking sites I come up with include the All About Frogs Site and the Animal Sounds page at a1freesoundeffects.com.

STEP 3: Save the WAV file you've found on your own computer's hard disk.
When you find a WAV file you like, do this:

• Be sure no one is telling you not to download the file because of copyright considerations
• If it's OK to download it, click on the file, which will show up as a link
• Your Windows Media Player should automatically come on
• After the Player has produced the sound, click on "File"
• Click on "Save As"
• In the "Save in" box, be sure you are in the folder where your computer's WAV files are kept -- at the address you wrote down, probably  c:/windows/media
• You may want to rename the file (in the "File name" box) to make it easier to find later -- something like "froggy.wav"
• Click on "Save"

If your Media Player doesn't come on, then go to your Windows Help program and search for information on installing your Media Player.

STEP 4: Configure Windows to use your WAV file

• Click on the "Start" icon on your desktop
• Click on "Settings"
• Click on "Control Panel"
• Click on "Sounds"
• Choose the "event" you want to make the sound in your WAV file -- "Start Windows" is a good event
• Click on your chosen event so that it's highlighted
• Click on "Browse"
• In the "Look in" window, be sure the folder is listed where earlier you saved your file -- if you saved it in c:/windows/media, the window should read "media."
• Click on your newly saved WAV file, so that its name (like "froggy.wav") appears in the "File name" box
• Click on OK, and then all the other OKs you need to click on to get rid of the boxes.

Mission accomplished!

Now the next time your computer comes on, it should make the sound contained in the WAV file you found and saved.