How do i change desktop display settings?

It's becuase i got this mesage while trying to play a game- Your Direct3D hardware accelerator cannot render into a window with the current desktop display settings.How do i change desktop display settings?
on the desktop right click and click properties and click on the display tab and click the desktop tab.How do i change desktop display settings?
On desktop left click, go to properties and click on desktop, choose which one you want, then hit apply and ok. this should do it.