In the Control Panel, select "Date, Time, Language and Regional Options." (In Windows Vista, this may be called "Clock, Language, and Region.")
Open the "Regional and Language Options" icon.
Choose the "Languages" tab, and ensure the "Install Files for East Asian Languages" is checked. (In Windows Visa, choose the "Keyboards and Languages" tab, and then click "Change Keyboards.")
Click the "Details" button to open the "Text Services and Input Languages" dialog.
If Chinese is not listed in the "Installed Services" box, click "Add."
In the "Input Language" list, if you are typing in simplified characters, choose "Chinese (PRC)." The "Keyboard Layout" should be set to "Chinese (Simplified) - Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0." (If you want to type in traditional characters using a pinyin input method, you need to install a different input method editor, such as the Google Pinyin Input Method.
In the "Text Services and Input Languages" dialog, under "Preferences," click the "Language Bar" tab. Make sure that "Show the Language bar on the desktop" is checked.
Click "OK" on both dialogs to return to the "Regional and Language Options." You will probably need to insert your Windows XP operating system CD for the files to be installed.
The language bar should now have appeared in the bottom right of the taskbar. It should default to English, "EN."
Click on the "EN" button to show the available languages.
By changing the language to "CH," you can now type in pinyin. You can toggle between languages by pressing CTRL + Shift on your keyboard.
