Making XP look like Vista

MedlockMedlock Miramar, Florida Member
edited April 2007 in Science & Tech
So, after a lot of problems with Vista (driver related blue screens among others), I've decided to just use XP. But after Vista, it's not enough to just go back to the default look and feel of XP. I wanted to make it pretty like Vista, so I went and got WindowBlinds and got a Vista skin to go with it. Since I still have the Vista installation on another partition I was able to apply the aero images to my mouse pointer, as well as the desktop icons like My Computer, My Documents and the Recycle Bin. Not bad. :bigggrin:

Now, I'm after the actual folder icons. You can right click on a folder and hit properties, and in the Customize tab under Folder icons, you can change them. Now, here's my problem. The icons seem to be stored in shell32.dll, so I pointed it to Vista's dll instead. It seemed to work, because some of Vista's icons appear in the list, but upon selecting the icon and clicking apply-ok, nothing happens.

I'm going to take a wild guess here and say it's not ok to replace XP's shell32.dll with Vista's. Anyone have any ideas?

Comments

  • jaredjared College Station, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    I think what you are looking for is the 'XP Vista Transformation Pack'. You can google it or look on any BT se and be able to find it I believe.


    cheers :jared:
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    XP Transformation pack, or simply use Stardock's icon packager.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    Thrax, I've never used any Windows GUI alteration software at all. I'd appreciate it if you'd fill in some knowledge gaps for me:

    - what operational penalty, if any is incurred -- memory overhead, CPU utilization?
    - is it difficult to uninstall such things, such as Windowblinds?
    - are there any conflicts with Windows or third party applications?

    This Vista Transformation Pack 6 sounds very interesting. Is it stand-alone, or does it run 'on top' of Windowblinds?

    I have no desire to upgrade(?) to Vista, but I am tired of looking at essentially the same GUI that I was six years ago.
  • miragemirage
    edited April 2007
    Such transformation packs usually make deep modifications in the system, and can potentially create important conflicts while installing an update or service pack. I was also feeling like bored with blue theme of XP and found the Zune desktop theme at MS website, I changed the background with an image I found at DeviantArt, installed the Yahoo Widget engine, ended up with the attached desktop below. It is not boring anymore for me, and it is as reliable as XP can be. Just my 2c.
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    yea i didnt want to use a big transformation pack........ because this way i can skin it like vista, and if i want to use a new sweet skin i can. I use stardock windowblinds (which skins the windows theme)

    and stardock iconpackager to change my icons.


    http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/

    skins for it are at www.wincustomize.com
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    Leonardo wrote:
    Thrax, I've never used any Windows GUI alteration software at all. I'd appreciate it if you'd fill in some knowledge gaps for me:

    - what operational penalty, if any is incurred -- memory overhead, CPU utilization?
    - is it difficult to uninstall such things, such as Windowblinds?
    - are there any conflicts with Windows or third party applications?

    This Vista Transformation Pack 6 sounds very interesting. Is it stand-alone, or does it run 'on top' of Windowblinds?

    I have no desire to upgrade(?) to Vista, but I am tired of looking at essentially the same GUI that I was six years ago.

    1. Very little, especially with the Vista Transformation Pack. Windowblinds incurs some memory and CPU overhead, but the VTP outrightly replaces the Windows shell. It's a marginal RAM impact for higher-quality GUI files, but otherwise, no change.

    2. Windowblinds, not at all, it just runs over the top of the existing Windows UI. Doesn't physically alter anything; really, Windowblinds is a "Standin." When Windows says "I want the start button!" Windowblinds says "Here's a start button." Some people have reported difficulty removing the VTP, on the other hand, but having used it a few times I found no issue with it on two computers.

    3. No, no compatibility issues I've seen.
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    heres a pic of my windows xp, looking like windows vista without using a transformation pack.:D
  • jaredjared College Station, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    Yeah but VTP goes a lot further than WindowBlinds is able to. Since it is a complete shell replacement it can make the windows explorer windows look identical to vista. More changes across the board from my experience.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    Thanks guys, your answers were well measured and informative. I think I'll give Vista Transformation Pack a try, with a fresh image of C:\ made before I experiment. Dual Core 4.0GHz and 2GB DDR2 - I don't anticipate an overhead penalty.

    Although I am very satisfied with Windows XP, I really would like a new look. The pics (and running machines) I've seen of OSX and Vista look appealing to me.
  • Byron172Byron172 Adelaide, South Australia Member
    edited April 2007
    Trumandrummer wrote:
    heres a pic of my windows xp, looking like windows vista without using a transformation pack.:D

    Looks good, I've been playing around with this sort of thing the last couple of weeks....how did you change to the Vista "Start" button?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    I installed Vista Transformation Program on two of my computers yesterday evening. Although I sure had fun playing with it, I wasn't very impressed. To me, it had a crude feel to it. The trappings of Vista were there, but it lacked the refinement and polish that both Vista and OSX have. For example, the icons looked clunky. The XP default icons have better detail and rendering. I will probably install it again and experiment some more. With a little more attention to detail, VTP has some great possibilities.

    The installation and and uninstallation were a tad troublesome. I had to install twice for each machine and uninstall twice. Perhaps that was due to programs running in the background. I did turn off most things, but not all prior to install and removal. VTP also leaves a folder with some data in it on the C:\ drive. It was an easy manual removal, though.
  • TrumandrummerTrumandrummer Taylor Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    Byron172 wrote:
    Looks good, I've been playing around with this sort of thing the last couple of weeks....how did you change to the Vista "Start" button?

    actually I didnt change anything, i just downloaded the skin like that

    im assuming you use windowblinds so if you want, heres a link to the skin


    http://www.skinbase.org/rate.php?skins=35902:D
  • Byron172Byron172 Adelaide, South Australia Member
    edited April 2007
    Thanks for the link, looks great..........I have only recently stumbled onto WindowsBlinds in the last week or so which I've now installed on the notebook, prior to that I did a manual conversion on the home PC using Royale Noir Theme and various Vista style logos from around the web. WindowsBlinds definitely kicks ass on anything else I've seen.........BTW does anyone know where to find the now infamous Vista Theme developed by KoL (micro$oft apparently had it banned!!)
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    Leonardo wrote:
    I installed Vista Transformation Program on two of my computers yesterday evening. Although I sure had fun playing with it, I wasn't very impressed. To me, it had a crude feel to it. The trappings of Vista were there, but it lacked the refinement and polish that both Vista and OSX have. For example, the icons looked clunky. The XP default icons have better detail and rendering. I will probably install it again and experiment some more. With a little more attention to detail, VTP has some great possibilities.

    The installation and and uninstallation were a tad troublesome. I had to install twice for each machine and uninstall twice. Perhaps that was due to programs running in the background. I did turn off most things, but not all prior to install and removal. VTP also leaves a folder with some data in it on the C:\ drive. It was an easy manual removal, though.

    yea that happened to me at first Leo...then I read the instructions!!! Recommends installing in safe mode. Tried that and it worked fine then.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2007
    Instructions? Oh, that stuff at the beginning that the user is strongly advised to read before installation? :D

    Then Safe Mode it will be next time! I doubt it will make look any better, but I'll try again. To me, VTP just looked like XP with different color schemes and gadgets, but poor quality icons. just my opinion
  • Byron172Byron172 Adelaide, South Australia Member
    edited April 2007
    I would recommend "windows blinds", some of the skins produced for WB are absolutely awesome, and as far as looking like XP there are at least 3 that I have seen that are as good if not better.
    I agree on your point about the transformation packs, they are a hassle to install and look mediocre at best.
    Happy skinning (but beware it can get addictive)..............:thumbsup:
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