Themes for XP
 

Well since IcED got me into the mood of prettying up my desktop..

It makes me want to change the Theme for my XP too...

I've seen people make their XP look like Vista and all that... so I assume those are done by installing a Theme???

Just found a How to webpage (coz I know absolutely nothing about this kinda stuff)

http://www.thepcmanwebsite.com/install_themes.shtml

And it instruct to "fix" the uxthemes.dll file...

So... is that what I must do? Is the link they provide valid? I'm just trying to be cautious coz i don't really wanna mess anything up that makes my window tell me to verify my windows or something xD

If it looks too risky then I wont bother...

The vista theme on Windows XP dont even bother with it. It takes a huge chunk of memory to even run the thing. I honestly wouldn't even recommend it at all.

http://www.themexp.org/
http://blog.shankarganesh.com/2007/0...or-windows-xp/

Ohh ok.. if it's resource consuming then I better not fiddle with that...

Well it depends on how much ram your computer has. It may be ok when you are not running another program that also takes up a chunk of memory but if the ram in your computer is not that good you would notice slowdown for sure when running Fiesta.

Is the theme only resource taking if it's the Vista one? What if it's like just colour overlay stuff?

But yeah Fiesta is almost always on when I'm at the computer so maybe not..

In case you're still wondering about uxtheme.dll, what it does, and whether or not it's safe:

uxtheme.dll patching is legitimate. I prefer it as my method for skinning my XP. Consider it the 'natural' way to skin your windows. The great thing about this method is that you don't need to run any programs at all. Which means it only requires a small amount, if any, of your system memory.

It works by unlocking window's theming capabilities. If you tried to install any themes without patching uxtheme.dll, then it will generally just revert to the classic theme with some changes in color/font. However once uxtheme.dll is patched, textures in your windows theme will be able to undergo more dramatic changes.

There are some limitations to this method compared to using third party skinning programs, but I think it will meet your basic needs.

Thieving's links are probably the best links you can get. DeviantArt has a few themes too, under "Visual Styles." Themes usually come with their own instructions for installation, since people sometimes use other programs to achieve a specific theme's look - stuff like icon changes, calendars or docks.


edit:

Some vista themes require you to install external programs to achieve certain things, like a program that forces your start menu to work like the Vista one, or your "Alt+Tab" to function/look like Vista, or making your theme capable of transparency - resource heavy stuff, particularly with the transparency.

The 3rd theme in ThievingSix's link will require some memory to work, since it needs WindowsBlinds. The first two will work just fine with uxtheme.dll patching, but you might not get the Vista look you were hoping for. If you're happy with just the taskbar and windows changing their textures, then they will work fine for you.

Ohh ok, so if i patch that with the link that I found... I don't need to run any 3rd party program?

(Does the Vista thing need a 3rd party program, that's why it's resource sucking?)

Some Vista skins will rely on 3rd party programs to achieve their look. Some will just need you to patch uxtheme.dll and install the theme's shell. It depends.

First two themes in thieving's link don't need a 3rd party program, just the uxtheme.dll patch. Oh yeah, once you patch uxtheme.dll, you won't need to do it again for other skins.

ohh awesome!! I'll try that 2night... (there goes my plan to study LOL)

I dont need vista function i was just using it as example..

so other skins should be good~