Mondak

I have been too cheap to buy Style XP and have not found anything that works like it. So I end up running a fairly vanilla desktop even though I envy the stuff in the "Post your Desktop" thread.

I came accross this today in a newsletter I get:

So it is not like I am running SP2 RC1, but I think SP 2 will come out soon and I was wondering if any of you had any opinion on something like this. Is it wrong since it sort goes against the StyleXP developer or is it good since it might expand the community of people who design themes? Any ideas?

bltzkriegmcanon

Like most things, it's a double-edged sword with potential for both good and bad for everyone involved. I think it has the possibilty of expanding the community of theme designers, but at the same time it discourages the people behind Style XP. I dunno, it'll probably work out in the long run.

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soopafreek

yeah, but when will SP2 come out?...

styleXP is cool. i use it. love it. recommend it.

besides... 20 bucks and all the enjoyment now vs. waiting for msft to get SP2 out...

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aaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!!

Nhanced1

you've always been able to download uxtheme.dll and use third party skins for windows xp. I used to do it when windows xp first came out because I absolutely hated the classic and new styles and i did the uxtheme.dll mod and put some fancy skin over my UI.

Then I realized that I really did like the classic UI, so I switched back.

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Mondak

Really? Wow. If anyone wants to shed some light on how to do this and what are the limitations of it if there are any, I would really appreicate it.

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_the_wombat

It's pretty idiot-proof. Download > run > restart.
Here is a good auto patcher: http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=140707

Limitations: None

People were hacking uxtheme.dll long before TGTSoft came around. Personally I hate TGTsoft and StyleXP.

Hanabal

hehe i actually got told how to hack uxtheme at a Microsoft developer conference by a microsoft employee, told us how to and then said "officially i cant reccomend changing your windows system files, but i did it, and ive had no problems"

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sailor

Ha, thats awesome. Sorta like the time a MS employee gave me a corporate (non-phonehome, no registration required) copy of XP

I still use StyleXP on my desktop, but on the laptop, Ive just decided to turn off all visual enhancements to eek out a little more speed.

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Mister B

Well if its idiot proof, you can call me Miles Davis.

I got the message:

Neowin UXTheme Multi-Patcher v1.5 has detected that there's any Windows NT setup file in

c:\

That doesn't even sound like proper english let alone tell me what I'm doing wrong. Of course help is appreciated.

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cliche

You can just d/l a copy of ready-patched uxtheme.dll and copy it yourself. Make sure it's the correct version for your copy of WinXP and service pack etc (use System Properties to find out your exact type).

As the module's loaded early on, you need to use the recovery console to get it installed. Just copy it into c:\windows\system32 as uxtheme.dll.patch or similar, then boot up recovery console (from your windows setup cd if you haven't installed it yourself) and rename uxtheme.dll to uxtheme.dll.bak, rename uxtheme.dll.patch to uxtheme.dll.

Then just copy the themes into c:\windows\resources\themes.
The .msstyles files go into a directory with the same name as the file (ie SS.msstyles goes into c:\windows\resources\themes\SS), and the .theme files go into c:\windows\resources\themes.

et voila! (OK, using the recovery console's a pain. Perhaps you could do it in safe mode, I'm not sure)

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_the_wombat

AFAIK that happens when you have the original uxtheme.dll hanging around.
IE: your windows cd is in the drive, you have copied the install files to your HDD or uxtheme.dll is in C:Windows\System32\dllcache

_the_wombat

The really important part is disabling WFP.

cliche

Oops... yeah, also delete the copy in system32\dllcache

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steveincolumbus

and you know that SP2 is publicly avalible right.......

_the_wombat

Yea, in beta form. Good luck uninstalling it when the final build is released.
Quick tip: Stay away from beta Microsoft software.

Mister B

HAHA!! Oh man, nevermind. I'm not computer illiterate by any means but that cannot be the easiest way to do it.

I've been reading various instructions on installing this bitch all day and they are all different. I've tried downloading a patched version and copying it over the old one but there is probably around 3423.45 steps that I forgot in the process. I have tried running my computer in safe mode and then running the multi-patcher, doesn't work.

I have my computer, I have the multi-patcher, what next? Why is it that you cannot just click on the thing and be done with it? It's like there is some secret to it that I cannot stumble across.

I get the message
I guess if it was easy, windowblinds would have been out of business by now.

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bob32

Or you can just download the patched uxtheme.dll and the Replacer or ReplaceIT (http://wint.virtualplastic.net/showt...hp?tweak_id=55)
No need to disable WFP or anything. Just drag the original file and replacement file into the window and it'll make a backup of the original and run a script to replace it. I've had no problems using it to replace many important WinXP system files.

And by the way, WindowBlinds are still popular because it's easier (being one program), if something goes wrong, there's a company to go to for help, and it's able to skin every program (including the command prompt)

Spanxxx

or you could just go to windowblinds.com, and get their product for free and then go to wincustomize.com and get tons of awesome themes already made =)

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