~pcwiz Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 (edited) OK, I have actually found the perfect theme for me at least. Its not 100% Vista look (no glass, etc.) but I like it a lot because its completely safe, plus it doesn't even use WindowBlinds (it uses MSStyles). Follow this guide: Requirements: Windows XP SP1/SP2 or Windows 2003 (commercial) Uxtheme Multi-patcher (Download here) Stolen v12 VS Theme (Download here) Stardock IconPackager (Shareware here) VistaVG Icons Pack (Download here) XP Vista Pack (Download here) Thoosje Vista Sidebar (Download here) Instructions Download and run the Uxtheme Multi-patcher (follow instructions and reboot) Download the Stolen v12 VS theme by leoss from deviantART Extract the Stolen12 folder into C:/Windows/Resources/Themes/ Go into the Stolen12 folder and run the Stolen12 Windows Visual Style File In the dialog that pops up, leave everything default (AeroVS) and click Apply, OK Download and install Stardock IconPackager Extract the VistaVG Icons Pack Uninstall WinZip or WinRAR or any other archiving programs you may have temporarily (icons get messed) Open IconPackager, Browse to the VistaVG Theme file and Install the package Load the VistaVG Package and Apply, click OK Reinstall any archiving software you uninstalled earlier Download and install the XP Vista Pack Go to Control Panel -> Mouse -> Pointers Tab and Choose Windows Aero as the scheme, click Apply and OK Go to Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices -> Sounds tab and choose Windows Vista as the Sounds scheme and click Apply and OK (accept all warnings) Go to Display Properties -> Desktop and choose a wallpaper and Apply Download and install the Thoosje Vista Sidebar Run it, set it to run at startup, add widgets using the + button and choose the transparent skin My desktop looked like this after following the above steps: EDIT: I know the screenshot is low resolution, I'll try to get a high resolution screen as soon as I get my DVI cable so I can switch my monitor into high res without screwing stuff up! This config gets you a pretty good acceptable looking Vista theme with minimal and safe modifications. Here are some more additions you can do to make your applications more Vista like: myFirefox: Install this to make Firefox look like Internet Explorer 7 from Vista Windows Media Player 11: Install this (if you haven't already) to make WMP in XP look like the WMP from Vista. This can also be installed through Automatic Updates VisualTaskTips: This sort of bogs down your PC, but if you don't mind that, then this allows Live Window Thumbnail Previews in the taskbar like in Vista. I myself didn't install this to minimize the slow down of my PC. EDIT: Just installed this now and I'm happy to say that there are no noticable slowdowns Now for the concerns and caveats: Uxtheme Patcher: I know some may be afraid to do this, but this is one of the least harmful system mods you can do. I assure you, its 100% safe as long as you use it properly, and with a supported operating system (Windows XP SP1/SP2 or Windows 2003). Just run the executable and follow instructions. You can always revert back by running the executable again. Slow downs: Some may be worried about slowdowns to your system as other transformation packs and applications do, but other than the sidebar which takes a bit of time to load up at the start, this mod uses no system resources and there is absolutely no slow down. I personally think it looks great Enjoy! ~pcwiz [EDIT] Other stuff I tried: Shortly after writing this, I also tried out 2 other modding applications: LogonStudio and Bootskin from Stardock (both freeware). LogonStudio allows you to customize your logon screen and Bootskin allows you to customize your boot screen. LogonStudio works, but you are using user submitted skins and many of them are very buggy. So after playing with it, I restored the XP default and rebooted, but the buggy custom skin was still there and no XP default. I had to reinstall LogonStudio, click the "XP Default" button again, and reboot before I could uninstall it. Too much hassle there. Bootskin works great, but the problem is that when you are using detailed boot screens, it looks horridly ugly with the 8/16-bit color. This is especially noticable on larger monitors. With the XP default screen, its not detailed so you can't notice the bad quality too much. So, while you can also try out those two programs to further customize your look, it might be too much of a hassle and it might even make your system look dead ugly Edited January 20, 2008 by ~pcwiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subnork Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Why the {censored} would you want it to look like Vista? XP is 100 times better looking than Vista; that would be like making Leopard look like System 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassJAw Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Windows 2000 Classic theme > all other Microsoft themes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subnork Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~pcwiz Posted January 20, 2008 Author Share Posted January 20, 2008 Why the {censored} would you want it to look like Vista? XP is 100 times better looking than Vista; that would be like making Leopard look like System 7. That's just your opinion. I think Vista looks better and so do a huge number of others (have you seen how many sites have been made dedicated to making XP look like vista?), but you may feel differently like others here. This is all debatable, so no arguments or anything please. People interested in this can use the guide, no need to make a fuss about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyguy Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 2 Programs Windowblinds ($20, or complete object desktop $50) Icontweaker (free) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLiDE FTW!!1 Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Why the {censored} would you want it to look like Vista? XP is 100 times better looking than Vista; that would be like making Leopard look like System 7. That's your opinion ... Vista has a nice default theme and I'm pretty productive with it. If you really think Luna looks better than Aero, you must be on drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~pcwiz Posted January 20, 2008 Author Share Posted January 20, 2008 I tried WindowBlinds and there are some nice themes but I found MSStyles easier to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dainix Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 How to make Windows XP look like Vista: 1) Gouge your eyes out 2) Use your imagination It's pretty awesome if you don't mind the extra disability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermatea Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Or, you could use Bricopacks Vista Inspirat Ultimate 2. Judging by your pic pcwiz, the Start Menu icon is not reproduced accurately. Vista Inspirat takes care of that, and all you have to do is install it. Pretty simple. http://www.crystalxp.net/galerie/en.id.130.htm Note the icon is isolated and on the right instead of the left like traditional XP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apowerr Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 [How To] Make XP look better than Vista: $20- Stardock Window Blinds 6 $15- Stardock Icon Packager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scj312 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 UXtheme patch and icons are not 100% safe. You still are modifying system dlls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermatea Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 The UXtheme.dll may be a system file, but it only controls XP's internal skinning engine. Just back it up before patching it and if by some odd chance something does go wrong just restore the patched file. Inspirat Ultimate 2 for example, also changes a huge amount of system files, but they are all visual changes affecting XP's own internal visual themes engine, so even things like the file transfer animations are changed, but since it's XP's own engine, much less memory is needed and thus, there is a much less noticeable slowdown. I can even use it on the absolutely ancient Dell Inspiron 7000 laptop, originally designed for Windows 98, (which I am typing on as I speak) without any significant slowdown at all. I can't say the same for external third-party skinning applications such as WindowBlinds, which uses its own skinning engine and thus more memory and resources, which means you probably need a fairly recent graphics card for everything to run smoothly. Anyways, changing Windows themes only affects the appearance of Windows, nothing else, so no matter what, you cannot mess up your boot record or cause Windows to be unusable in any way, other than, of course, making it look so ugly you can't be seen using it;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermatea Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 On a side note, I really like dobee's Vista themes, especially the Royale Vista II Final theme. It even changes XP's old logon/logoff music, (which I've heard so many times it's mind-numbing) to a nice ethereal melody. It's a really good theme, although much simpler than a full-blown Vista transformation. dobee's even got a really good OSX theme. You can see his gallery here: http://dobee.deviantart.com/gallery/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~pcwiz Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 Guys, an update to this. I found a MSStyles skin that looks better than Stolen V12 and does a much better job on the Start Menu. Its called Vistaluna Basic. It looks excellent in the "No Username (Alternative)" color scheme with the start menu icon size set to small. I will post up a screen in a bit. @Dermatea, I've tried dobee's skins but the problem with them is that although they have a simple, futuristic look, they do not come close to recreating real Vista. @Meowy, What Dermatea says is right. You are only modifying one DLL, uxtheme.dll and the only thing it controls is XPs skinning engine which is not important to the base operating system. And if you want to revert back to the original for any reason, all you do is run the Patcher Application again and it automatically restores it, or you could restore the original from the dllcache folder. @erei33, WindowBlinds does use system resources and even though you can't notice any slowdown, the point is that MSStyles is much easier to use since it is built into the Windows OS. However I do agree with you that IconPackager is excellent software, however I decided to revert back to the original XP icons shortly after writing the tutorial because IconPackager messed up the icons that other programs (like WinRAR and Word) put on their files. For example, IconPackager replaced the icon for RAR files with the icon for CAB files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metrogirl Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Nice work. But what I want is something to make Vista look like XP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scj312 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 WindowBlinds does use system resources and even though you can't notice any slowdown, the point is that MSStyles is much easier to use since it is built into the Windows OS. However I do agree with you that IconPackager is excellent software, however I decided to revert back to the original XP icons shortly after writing the tutorial because IconPackager messed up the icons that other programs (like WinRAR and Word) put on their files. For example, IconPackager replaced the icon for RAR files with the icon for CAB files. IconPackager isnt what is messing it up, it's just a theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~pcwiz Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Nice work. But what I want is something to make Vista look like XP You asked for it, you got it : http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-25854.html @Meowy, Yeah you're probably right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apowerr Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Nice work. But what I want is something to make Vista look like XP Luna for Vista =) Sorry ~pcwiz, the link you supplied make it look like Windows NT 4 or 2K, not XP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InorganicMatter Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Meh. GUI mods make Windows so unstable and slow, you'd be better off just installing Vista. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(MoC) Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Yeah, all this is not worth not upgrading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDRacer48 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 This won't make your desktop look like vista... But, for me at least, it makes it feel more vistaeee... Zune Desktop Theme (once you click, it will ask you to save the .msi file) My Xp Desktop: My Vista Desktop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~pcwiz Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Wow, except for that orange start button () that looks excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDRacer48 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Wow, except for that orange start button ( ) that looks excellent. I didn't like the orange Start button and accents at first, but it grew on me. I also, changee all of the icons to Vista style by finding the location of the dlls on my vista machine and then copying them over to my Xp machine in a random folder. But I decided to stick with Xp icons in the end... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermatea Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Here's my complete Vista makeover using Vista Inspirat 2: http://www.crystalxp.net/galerie/en.id.130.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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