WinVista - How To Install A VS

Author: Downtheory a.k.a. Allen W
Link: www.downtheory.deviantart.com
E-mail: allenwdev@gmail.com (PLEASE NO SPAM!!)
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Ok since I get litteraly a TON of emails / notes on this subject,
I have decided to write this small, but long, readme for those of you new to
installing / using visual styles for Windows Vista.

First things first.
You need to determine what version of Windows Vista you are running currently.
What I mean is, are you running Service Pack 1 or not?

To find out:
On your desktop, or start menu, right-mouse click on "Computer" or "My Computer"
Next find and click "Properties"
A new window should pop up.
Under the heading "Windows edition"
You should find all the info you are looking for

Ok now that we have determined which version of Windows Vista you are running,
Its time to get to work, well, not really.
There are two paths to take now. I will go over both, with as much detail
as possible.

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1. Non Service Pack 1 Users (READ HERE) (OTHER WISE GOTO SP1 USERS BELOW)
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You guys have it easy.
All that needs to be done on your part is to download "VistaGlazz"

You can find it here: www.codegazer.com/vistaglazz/
Don`t feel like searching for it on that site?

Go here:
www.download.com/VistaGlazz/30…

Download that app, install it, and follow instructions!
And voila! You are ready to rock.
Now go download all those amazing VS`s over at DeviantART.
Check out work by some dude who goes by "downtheory" or whatever.
Dude is awesome . Only kidding.

Oh and one more app that should help installing those visual styles that don`t
have or include the .msstyles file. You know the little 6kb-??kb sized file
that goes in to the open "ResourcesThemes" directory
along with the theme`s folder? Yeah that one.
This is what you do.

Download this little app called "Desk Hack".
You can find it here: depositfiles.com/en/files/5128…

For a forum topic discussing this application go here:
www.thehotfix.net/forums/index…

Now you can see the names of whatever theme you want to apply,
when you are using the "Window Color and Appearance" option.

For those that can`t find that option do this:
Right-mouse click on your desktop, anywhere is fine, just not on a file or folder.
Find and click "Personalize"
When that window pops up, at the very top you will see
"Window Color and Appearance"
Click that
Look for the little link that says:
Open classic appearance properties for more color options.
Boom! There ya go. Didn`t scare you did I?

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2. SERVICE PACK 1 USERS (THIS IS GOING TO BE LOADS OF FUN *evil laugh*)
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Ok want to know why this will be fun?
Because as of this writing, VistaGlazz, is not compatible with SP1 yet.
So you are going to have to MANUALLY, yes manually patch your UXTHEME.DLL files.
But don`t get stressed or anything.
It`s really quite easy. Not just saying that because I`ve been doing since the
release of Windows Vista or anything.

OK, first things first, again.

Here are the patched uxtheme.dll files for SP1 ONLY.
This is my own personal upload, and there will be another mirror soon.

Here you go:
rapidshare.com/files/108448451…

And you can always google that and find it as well.


After downloading that
Now you are going to need to navigate to: "C:WindowsSystem32".
After doing so, you are going to look for the following three files:

|shsvcs.dll
|themeui.dll
|uxtheme.dll

GREAT! You found them.
Now you just need to take ownership of these three files.

To do that do this:

1. Login as a user with Administrative privileges -or- have Administrative credentials ready (check under the keyboard for a slip of paper).
2. Navigate to %systemroot%System32
3. Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
4. Take ownership of the file and close dialogs.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll
6. Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
7. Give yourself (or group) Full Control permissions and close dialogs.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll.
9. Rename uxtheme.dll to uxtheme.old.
10. Rename themeui.dll to themeui.old.
11. Rename shsvcs.dll to shsvcs.old.
12. Copy patched files into %systemroot%System32
13. Reboot (yes, this is really required)
14. Enjoy!

Yes I am sure there are easier way to go about this.
In fact, run a YouTube.com search on it. I saw a bunch of videos on this subject
not long ago.

So yeah, that`s pretty much it.
This tutorial will be obsolete once VistaGlazz is SP1 compatible.
But hopefully I can help a lot of peeps out with this tutorial.
And yes, I have WAY too much time on my hands.

Thanks for reading, at least I hope you actually read this.
Because it was a bitch typing this all out .
Happy Vista VS`ing! <- Made up word.

Please forgive any spelling errors or repetitive words.

2008. www.downtheory.deviantart.com |
Allen W. a.k.a. DowntheoRy