Great cosmetic Vista update for Windows XP

[beeblebrox]

Folks, just FYI:

If you are tired of the old look of XP and want something that just looks like Vista, but still has the stability of XP and does not install some crapware, adware or whatever...
... then you might look at this package (use google):

- Vistamizer 1.1.5 (the best Vista package I have ever seen, fully stable, including cursors and sounds!). On the homepage is also a collection of the original wallpapers.

- iColorFolder (gives folders custom colors)

- Y'zShadow (great, fully customazible shadow, transparent menus, rocksolid and stable)

- WinRoll (makes windows foldable and transparent)

- TaskSwitchXP

I have been using the latter tools for a very long time without problems.

Vistamizer is still in development and the Flip 3D seems to be included in near future as well (some 3rd party tool).

Have fun!

[dsigma6]

Is Y'z Shadow as resource hungry as Y'z Dock?

[spt60]

Folks, just FYI:

If you are tired of the old look of XP and want something that just looks like Vista, but still has the stability of XP and does not install some crapware, adware or whatever...
... then you might look at this package (use google):

- Vistamizer 1.1.5 (the best Vista package I have ever seen, fully stable, including cursors and sounds!). On the homepage is also a collection of the original wallpapers.

- iColorFolder (gives folders custom colors)

- Y'zShadow (great, fully customazible shadow, transparent menus, rocksolid and stable)

- WinRoll (makes windows foldable and transparent)

- TaskSwitchXP

I have been using the latter tools for a very long time without problems.

Vistamizer is still in development and the Flip 3D seems to be included in near future as well (some 3rd party tool).

Have fun!

Where can you download Vistamizer 1.1.5 and does it have English since I found it orginally German, rite? Will it transform everything from glass effect, icons to bars, sidebars, etc? And will it work with the finger-print enroll log-on, I found others didnt transform this.

[RealBlackStuff]

I sorted out a brand new Dell 6400 laptop the other day.
It had only 512MB RAM.
Apart from running absolutely sluggish, nothing really worked OK either. Every few minutes stupid Vista asks for your permission to continue. When you click on a document in Outlook, the program shuts down. This new-fangled glass-whatever lettertype looks horrible on a 15" Widescreen.
Anyway, after adding another 512MB it now runs halfway acceptable, but only after I deactivated a lot of routines in the Trend PCcillin software and stopped a bunch of unnecessary services.
What idiots did design that crap?
The owner is contacting Dell to see if they can put XP on instead.

WHY would anyone want to customize XP with Vista?
You should wait until at least Vista SP2 is out, before even looking at it!

[beeblebrox]

Folks, just FYI:

If you are tired of the old look of XP and want something that just looks like Vista, but still has the stability of XP and does not install some crapware, adware or whatever...
... then you might look at this package (use google):

- Vistamizer 1.1.5 (the best Vista package I have ever seen, fully stable, including cursors and sounds!). On the homepage is also a collection of the original wallpapers.

- iColorFolder (gives folders custom colors)

- Y'zShadow (great, fully customazible shadow, transparent menus, rocksolid and stable)

- WinRoll (makes windows foldable and transparent)

- TaskSwitchXP

I have been using the latter tools for a very long time without problems.

Vistamizer is still in development and the Flip 3D seems to be included in near future as well (some 3rd party tool).

Have fun!

Where can you download Vistamizer 1.1.5 and does it have English since I found it orginally German, rite? Will it transform everything from glass effect, icons to bars, sidebars, etc? And will it work with the finger-print enroll log-on, I found others didnt transform this.

Don't worry about the language, it is independent. What it does is exchange all the icons, backgrounds, sounds and cursors with the Vista ones. It can be rolled back without any problem. It does NOT slow down windows, because windows is just the same, but only uses the new data. No emulation, no add-on software liks StyleXP.

I am more than happy with it on my second P-III notebook.
Finally no more odd Win95 icons and those horrible XP "in-your-face" sounds.

Anyway, it was just a recommendation.
btw:
Y'z shadow is a tiny program, rock-solid. Shadows are great. Semi-transparent menus, nice.
iColorFolder is one of the best gadgets I know.
These tools are also part of FlyAKiteOSX (the Mac transformation utility).

[beeblebrox]

I sorted out a brand new Dell 6400 laptop the other day.
It had only 512MB RAM.
Apart from running absolutely sluggish, nothing really worked OK either. Every few minutes stupid Vista asks for your permission to continue. When you click on a document in Outlook, the program shuts down. This new-fangled glass-whatever lettertype looks horrible on a 15" Widescreen.
Anyway, after adding another 512MB it now runs halfway acceptable, but only after I deactivated a lot of routines in the Trend PCcillin software and stopped a bunch of unnecessary services.
What idiots did design that crap?
The owner is contacting Dell to see if they can put XP on instead.

WHY would anyone want to customize XP with Vista?
You should wait until at least Vista SP2 is out, before even looking at it!

Well, I mentioned that I use windows XP that runs smoothly on 384MByte P-III notebook.
Vistamizer changed XP's appearance to Vista (well, kind of...) and it is gorgeous looking and sounding and still very fast, even on a 750MHZ P-III.

I have no idea who in their right mind would install the Real Vista (all that DRM crap, UAC and 1GB Ram). In 2 years the next windows version is supposed to enter the market, that is fine for me to keep XP running for another 2 years.

[dsigma6]

beeblebrox- How much time (if any) have you spent using a Vista machine? (namely your own, so that you can make whatever changes you wish)...

I was hatin' on it at first, while setting up a relatives computer, but I'm happy with it now. Now that I know where everything is located, and what works best. It's running as smooth as XP was on my T23 with 1.13GHz and 512MB.

[beeblebrox]

beeblebrox- How much time (if any) have you spent using a Vista machine? (namely your own, so that you can make whatever changes you wish)...

I was hatin' on it at first, while setting up a relatives computer, but I'm happy with it now. Now that I know where everything is located, and what works best. It's running as smooth as XP was on my T23 with 1.13GHz and 512MB.

I can't use Vista, because in our Office we have a lot of custom software, Lotus Notes and own software. I guess Vista will come in about 2 years, if ever. By then, the successor of Vista would be out (according to Microsoft, go figure...)

Vistamizer is Windows XP. However, it looks, sounds and behaves like Vista, but without the hassle.

[Temetka]

Ok, I'll bite. Post a screenshot of your box running all this stuff.

[WarMachine]

Hello !

Hey, I wanted to start a new topic, but I can use this one ! Cooool !

I have found a *.ZIP file with Aero Cursors.

If you want to give it a try, you can DL it here :

http://in.real.lije.free.fr/Aerocursors.zip

How to use this ? Easy ! :

- Decompress the archive on your desktop, for example,
- Open the new folder on the desktop,
- Right-click on the install.inf file,
- Choose the "install" option in the menu,
- Say "Crocodile",
- And that's all, you now have Aero Cursors.



What would you do without me, hmmm ?

W.

[masterus]

Hi

I'm bored WinXP look too , so I decided to change that without special extra software..for few days you will see my efect

Regards

[WarMachine]

After writing this, I will sure have enemies allaround the world, but that's what I think :

Aero Theme seems amateurish to me (excluding the mouse cursors). It's way too heterogen.

That's not only the theme. The fonts aren't as clearly visible as the XP ones (because of the blue color, the different sizes used).

There is too much eye candy, it's not as "pro" as Windows XP.

The Display Properties, the System Properties are not very usable too... Options everywhere, a new window with each section of the Display Properties appear when you select an option...

It's not as good as the previous versions of XP...

And we have waited for that during 5 years ? I'm really, I'm so dissapointed.

I must use it, I must learn how it works, beacause my clients now buy it... I'me not pleased at all to do that. That's the first time I would choose a linux distribution, if I had the choice. Gnome is rather simple to use, even if it's really different from Windows environment, and KDE, as it's a sort of Windows environment copy, is easy to use too.

It takes me twice the time to do a thing under Vista, compared to XP... So I really don't see what's the interest to use it... I don't want to change my habits.

I'm not at all into the gadget thingy, as it ruins the productivity. Aero IS a gadget. Having transparent windows doesn't make me work faster.

Place 4 windows side by side with Aero, it's more difficult to see what window is active. Transparent remains transparent, only the color of the buttons change. Not really visible...

What ? Use the classic "theme". Pouaaaaaah, I'm sick !!! It's nice on XP, but absolutely awful on Vista. The Start menu is horrible. Have a look at the Quick Launch Icons : No much difference between them, and the ones in the Systray are awful too. They give a "not finished" impression...



Sorry for this. I'm not the man who criticize everything. Just that I don't understand why we must (yes, "must", because, on the long term, we won't have the choice to continue with XP...) use a product which isn't as good as its predecessor. Not in every aspect (I love the search engine, the gpedit.msc thing, the firewall, the great cursors, the wallpapers, the sounds are not bad at all too, and so on...), but after 5 years, I was waiting somlething better...

W.

[K0LO]

WarMachine:

Give it a little time. I had somewhat similar first impressions. However, I feel really different after living with Vista for the past 3 months.

I have a rather unique situation in that I have two identical desktop machines (one at work and one at home). I only upgraded the work machine to Vista and still have the home machine running Windows XP, so I get a daily exposure to both operating systems running on identical hardware. One thing's for certain, I'm not going back to XP on the work PC! I've grown to prefer it over XP after getting used to it.

I'm not sure if I would feel the same running Vista on a laptop, especially one with a slow hard disk like mine, but on a desktop the newer features like Superfetch, better indexing, and shadow copies are great. Whether I am willing to spend my own money on a copy of Vista to run on the home PC is another story, but I'll probably do it some day.

[WarMachine]

Yeah, I know Vista is a young system, and I hope that one day, we will be friends !

It's just that when I upgraded from Windows 3.1 to 98 (I skipped Windows 95), it was a pleasant thing. Windows 98 was easy to use, and after a week with it, I was using it naturally.

Upgrading from 98 to 2000 was a * greeeeaaaat * improvement, especially on the stability side. (My windows 98 installation was bugged to death (I needed to boot approximatively 7 times before accesssing to the desktop, and when the boot was successfull, it took 5 minutes ! )

Upgrading from 2000 to XP was great too, but not so great that the previous evolution. I loved (and I still love) the new Start Menu, the way to make a network, the possibility to use IE6 (I had a lot of problems with IE6 on Windows 2000), I loved too the fast boot (even faster than 2K's). The only problem I had, was with my modem (it was an USB one, and I didn't have stable drivers). Well, I made a network with a second W2K PC and shared the connection, and it ran fine during 4 years !

The only BSODs I had with 2000 and XP were when I had a hardware problem.

But the upgrading to Vista is pain in the [censored]. Vista's to complex, to different, to "bells & whitles"-ish.

You're right about one point tho... Vista isn't as slow as everyone wants to say. It manages the hardware differently. It's heavier, but not really slower...

I would like to find some of the new Vista functionalities on XP, for sure, but I'm not ready to naturally use the new interface of Vista. I still hesitate when I must find an option, as they're not logically implemented.



W.

[nandaiyo]

I've gone back and forth between using XP Pro and Vista Business on my T60p, and have decided to stick with XP Pro because of performance issues.

Despite the fact that I don't like Aero, I was looking around for ways to style XP, but I am not terribly fond of having to install several programs just for aesthetics. The whole reason I moved to XP was to keep my system streamlined and responsive.

Here is something I found that I am currently using, and I belive it to be the best of both worlds:

img]http://www.istartedsomething.com/wp-con ... lenoir.gif[/img]

Get it at: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20061029/royale-noir/

Basically it's a hidden XP theme (unfinished by Microsoft, but complete enough for what I need) called Royale Noir. The best part is that it doesn't require any additional programs to install, it's already part of XP.

[Kyocera]

gator posted this theme quite a while back, been using it on my R52 running XP and it works great and does look nice. No performance degredation anywhere and it looks cool.

[KristianJ]

gator posted this theme quite a while back, been using it on my R52 running XP and it works great and does look nice. No performance degredation anywhere and it looks cool.

Seconded - and of course it is very complementary to the TP look.

[K0LO]

I also use the Royale-Noir theme on my XP machine and agree that it's nice. I find darker themes are easier on the eyes if you have to spend a lot of time staring at your monitor.

There is a another Vista-ish feature that you can download and add to Windows XP called Windows Desktop Search, but its implementation on XP is not nearly as good as the implementation on Vista. I find that the indexing is always "getting in the way" on XP and will probably turn it off. The performance hit is just not worth the gain. On Vista the search feature is very well done and unobtrusive.

[WarMachine]

There is even better than "Royale Noir".

I had found, long time ago, on deviant art, a theme called "Royale five color mod". It's not online nowadays, but if you want it, you can PM me, and communicate your email adress, I will send it to you.

The Royale noir is effectively unfinished, and is, in fact, a draft of the Zune theme.

Mmmmh, better, I'll put the five color mod on my site.

I'll post the link as soon as it's done.

There is a another Vista-ish feature that you can download and add to Windows XP called Windows Desktop Search

Aaaaaah, I knew there was a thing like that, thx for posting the link !

W.

EDIT : Well, it seems that I cannot upload the file on my personal page.

You'll find it on MediaFire :

http://www.mediafire.com/?c9l6je0mmsf

Note that, as it's not a genuine Windows theme, you must patch the uxtheme.dll file of your system (not an heavy task, better than using StyleXP and so on...).

The pacth is available here :
http://forum.windows.free.fr/themes_xp/ ... her_Fr.exe

Enjoy !

[zappb]

Warmachine - thanks for your post,. but how does that mod differ from the royle noir theme posted by the guys above (the one that doesn't require the patch)...

I've downloaded both of them and the patch and can't tell the difference between the two - it would save people the hassle of downloading two identical themes with no patch - any ideas?

thanks again!

[WarMachine]

Hello, and thx.

You have, in the royale five color mod, more choices concerning the colors, black, "ergo", green, metallic, and midnight, if my memory is good.

You also have adequat MSSTYLE files.

If you look your Configuration Panel, in category mode, you should see the difference (all white with the first theme, and colored with 5 color mod).

The Start Button and Menu aren't exactly the same colors : When you click on the button, it becomes green on RN, stays black on R5CM. On the screen capture of the royale noir, you see that the red bouton is redish than the one in R5CM, and a "glowing" blue effect appears
all around the OK button. It's black on R5CM.

The selectionned elements are blue with RN, black with R5CM.
The inactive title bars are different too.

I'll reactivate my "Themes" service and install these ones to verify.



W.

EDIT : Update done. There are differences, for sure. The R5CM appears to be more black that the RN. Me prefer ! More classy !
Up to you to find other differences !



I would have posted screen captures, you'd have seen the differences better, but I know that moderators don't like when the title of the topic doesn't mention it. I respect this choice.

[masterus]

Hello Everyone

As promised today in section: Pictures of your ThinkPad and desk setup>Post your desktop you can see my Version of Great Cosmetic Vista for WinXP..hope you'll like it.
If you have any question just PM me

Regards

[pkiff]

There is even better than "Royale Noir". I had found, long time ago, on deviant art, a theme called "Royale five color mod".

There is another alternate version of Royale, called "Royale Remixed" by oddbasket and it is available on deviantart.com here: Royale Remixed by ~oddbasket. On that page you can access a screenshot that displays all the key elements of Royale Remixed, including the various icons and highlights that differ from the original MS Royale.

It's a matter of personal taste, but I agree with WarMachine that the remixed versions of Royale are better than the MS versions. In general, the Royale Remixed version gets rid of all the incongruent colorizations and highlights of the original MS Royale (such as orange outlines, green progress bars, and green start button rollover) and replaces them with a consistently blue/black/grey colour scheme. But at first glance, the Remixed Royale does indeed look identical to the MS version of Royale.

Note that there are also login, boot, and shut-down screens that you can use to match the Royale Remixed theme. When I have a chance, I'll post those in the Pictures of your ThinkPad & desk setup forum.

[WarMachine]

You said with a few words exactly what I think. So, I totally agree with you.

The Royale Remixed seems very nice. I will try it ASAP !

Thx for everything !

W.