gHacks technology news » windows vista themes http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:22:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Windows Themes Patcher http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/21/windows-themes-patcher/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/21/windows-themes-patcher/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 16:51:20 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/21/windows-themes-patcher/ microsoft windowsMicrosoft has build in a protection into the Windows operating system that prevent users from installing third party themes. It is not really clear why the protection has been implemented in first place. The problem that users who want to change the look and feel of their operating system face is that there are only a handful of official themes available that can be installed. Windows 7 changes that a bit by offering basic custom theme creation possibilities.

The only way to enable third party theme support in the Windows operating system is to patch system files. The number of files depends largely on the operating system. Windows XP users for example only need to patch one file while Windows Vista and Windows 7 users need to patch three files to be able to add custom Windows themes.

Universal Theme Patcher is the solution for all users. It can patch system files of 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and even those of Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. The program is fully portable and can be executed right after downloading and unpacking it. Users of 32-bit editions of Windows need to execute UniversalThemePatcher-x86.exe while those that run 64-bit editions need to run UniversalThemePatcher-x64.exe instead.

windows themes

The Windows theme patcher will display information if files need to be patched on the computer system after selecting the interface language. A click on Yes will lead to a detailed screen that is displaying the system files that lock the custom theme selection in Windows. Information included are the file version, platform, checksum and if the file is patched. Each system file can be patched and restored individually in that menu.

windows 7 themes

The program will automatically create a backup before patching the system files. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users need to run the application as administrators to be able to patch or restore the system files. The computer system needs to be restarted for the changes to take effect. It is possible to patch silently by using the -silent argument.

It is then possible to add custom themes to the operating system. Take a look at available Windows 7 themes for various Microsoft operating systems for a start.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/21/windows-themes-patcher/feed/ 4 Install Vista Themes Without Patching The System First http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/23/install-vista-themes-without-patching-the-system-first/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/23/install-vista-themes-without-patching-the-system-first/#comments Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:11:24 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=8478 Microsoft is protecting the Windows Vista operating system from unsigned third party themes. The protection prevents the installation from Vista themes if they have not been signed by Microsoft. The usual way of installing Vista themes is therefor to patch the files responsible for the protection so that third party themes can be installed on the operating system. The Vista Theme customization article covers those basics.

There is however a second possibility. Third party software that can load themes into Windows Vista. These programs usually patch the files themselves. One of those software programs that can install Vista themes automatically is Style Selector.

Style Selector is a free 200 Kilobyte portable application that runs on 32-bit editions of Windows Vista. New Vista themes have to be moved into the Styles folder. The Vista theme has to make use of a .styles file to be recognized by the software program.

vista themes

Vista themes that have been moved into the folder are automatically recognized by the application. Selecting the Vista theme in the list of available themes and clicking on the Apply button will load that theme into Windows Vista.

The Startup box can be checked to apply the Vista theme during startup so that the new theme will be available even after a reboot of the system. The same preferences allow to pick a default font and font size which will then be used as the standard font in Windows Vista.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/23/install-vista-themes-without-patching-the-system-first/feed/ 11 Another Signed Windows XP Theme Emerges http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/09/another-signed-windows-xp-theme-emerges/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/09/another-signed-windows-xp-theme-emerges/#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:30:59 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=7511 Windows XP users have not really seen a lot of love theme-wise from Microsoft since the release of the operating system. A measly handful of official themes have been released by Microsoft and the trend seems to continue for Windows Vista users. There is not really a reason to not to supply customers with fresh themes for their operating systems. If you look on the Internet you find many resources that cater to the needs of users who want to change the default themes.

Official themes on the other hand have the advantage of being signed meaning that there is no need to tamper with the uxtheme.dll file that protects the operating system from unofficial themes. Vishal over at Ask VG discovered a new signed Windows XP theme that is also compatible with Windows Server 2003 that can be installed without changing system files.

He discovered the theme in the Windows Embedded Standard CTP Refresh distribution and provided download links to it. The theme is supplied as a self extracting executable that installs the theme in the right location in Windows. The theme can then be selected from the Themes tab in the Display Properties.

windows xp theme

The main benefit of this theme is that it is signed. Many users will probably still prefer unsigned themes because of the choice of thousands of themes instead of the handful of signed ones. Take a look at my Windows Vista Theme Customization article for information about applying custom themes to Windows Vista or the Windows XP Theme Royal Noir which is also signed.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/09/another-signed-windows-xp-theme-emerges/feed/ 10 Windows Vista Take Ownership Extension http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/05/windows-vista-take-ownership-extension/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/05/windows-vista-take-ownership-extension/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:10:25 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=7430 If you want to manipulate system files in Windows Vista you need to take ownership of them and assign the correct rights to the file so that it can be manipulated. Windows Vista system files are not owned by the user but by the Trusted Installer and every attempt of manipulating these system files will result in a access denied error message.

One example where taking ownership of files comes in handy is when trying to patch the uxtheme.dll file. Custom themes cannot be applied to Windows Vista without patching that file first and patching the file is only possible with file ownership and the correct user rights. After patching the file users can add and use custom Windows Vista Themes.

Winmatrix forum user XPero wrote a lightweight script that speeds up the process of taking ownership and setting file rights tremendously. All that needs to be done is to execute the Take Ownership application, add the file or files that the user wants ownership of and seize control by pressing the Take Ownership button.

windows vista

Take Control has a file size of just 160 Kilobytes and works fine only in Windows Vista.

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