vertigosity
Jul 8 2007, 00:54
Note: Due to other things going on in my life (work, cars, video games, hanging out with friends, etc), work on this project has essentially ceased. The Tango shell patcher is designed to make integrating icons from the Tango project and its descendants a fairly simple process. It works by modifying your current system files, and inserting the modified versions back into the system; at it's heart, it is simply a tool for batched, automated resource hacking and system file replacement. This version is intended for use on Windows Vista.
Notes:
- It supports (in theory) all languages and editions of 32-bit Windows Vista and Server 2008; 64-bit versions are NOT supported, nor will be anytime soon (the tools to make it happen just don't exist).
- I'm almost positive that this will break horribly on non-English setups, and certain dual-boot scenarios. If you don't have a standard c:\windows setup, you may need to perform a search-and-replace on the paths hardcoded in FileList.xml. I really have no idea how XPero's handling this in Vize, I guess I need to either look into it or write some code myself. Don't uncomment the line in FileList.xml for user32.dll unless you're feeling brave and are comfortable talking to the activation support machines/people – but please, let me know what happens if you do / I'm not buying you a new license if it gets you on a WGA blacklist. If you are editing FileList.xml, remember to start notepad with admin credentials, or you won't be able to save your changes.
- I know I'll regret it as soon as I've posted this, but I'm ready for people to start posting their skinning requests so I can prioritize and make the most efficient impact with what little time I do have free for the patcher these days.
Current Release: 8.03 (2008/04/01)Highlights from my SVN log:
- Remove the "identifier" overlays from the battery meter
- At least the beginnings of Tangoization on iexplore, wimp, wab, hh, msi, cleanmgr, games also in gnome-games, and a few miscellaneous things that were in 2600
- Add branding images for each Vista+Srv2k8 edition
- Classic start button bitmap (Srv2k8 OOB default)
- Tweaks to folder icons, and add an icon for the home folder
- Miscellaneous fixes to the installer and patcher
Information on 64-bit support (Last updated 2008/07/07):
- I've got CFF Explorer working as a reshack wrapper.
- Which means... reasonably simple-to-implement 64-bit support... finally! I've been a 64-bit Vista user myself now, for a few months, so that pleases User #0, too.
- So I've got a test build up to play with.
- Resources and file-list are identical to the 8.03 release - I haven't added extra entries for ProgFiles (x86) or SysWOW64.
- It's not ready for mass use, just because it requires more testing.
- Anything that goes wrong, I disavow all knowledge
- http://rapidshare.com/files/128270709/Tiiz...SVNr54.exe.html
Future plans (Last updated 2008/07/07):
- I'm just hacking away at it, converting scripts from STTP 2600 where applicable, converting resources, and tweaking the stuff I made bespoke to STTP 6000(+1)
- I haven't done a whole lot in the past few months, but now that I've got 64-bit support sussed out, it's time to start digging through the piles of resources again.
ViperAFK
Jul 8 2007, 01:44
I get an error opening it with winrar, have downloaded it using opera and ie. "error unexpected end of archive"
vertigosity
Jul 8 2007, 02:03
Bah. Acknowledged and re-uploading. Try it again in 30 minutes
Edit: One more episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer later, reuploaded.
^Hey, nice
It works, half at least... I had to manually make me owner of the modded files and give me the rights to overwrite them.
Even an elevated command prompt couldn't do it, don't know why. Maybe it's just my vista install but strange behaviour nonetheless. The vertical folders are great!
vertigosity
Jul 8 2007, 20:15
I think that counts as not working, as far as I'm concerned, since the script should be setting ownership and permissions for itself. What'd you have to do to take ownership of everything, and did you do it from the GUI or the command line?
Well, basically I edited the rights via the file properties (Security tab --> Advanced --> Owner tab --> make me owner; Security tab --> Edit --> give me full access).
From what I could see in the batch script, the patcher HAD changed permissions but still couldn't overwrite the file...
SHADOW-XIII
Jul 8 2007, 21:47
great to see Vista Patcher, unfortunately I cannot/don't want to test it right now (because I do not have backup of my Win and no CD either - laptop OEM X_x)
but I'm looking forward to see it expanding, maybe proper instalator in future.
DigitalE
Jul 9 2007, 01:37
Nice! I'm probably going to be purchasing Object Desktop pretty soon, now I can fully (well, almost) Tango-ize Vista
Thanks for all the hard work, Vert.
rm20010
Jul 9 2007, 04:07
Quote - (MrFuji @ Jul 8 2007, 14:46)
^Hey, nice
It works, half at least... I had to manually make me owner of the modded files and give me the rights to overwrite them.
Even an elevated command prompt couldn't do it, don't know why. Maybe it's just my vista install but strange behaviour nonetheless. The vertical folders are great!
Did you try running the script while Vista is in safe mode?
vertigosity
Jul 9 2007, 07:32
Quote - (MrFuji @ Jul 8 2007, 16:29)
Well, basically I edited the rights via the file properties (Security tab --> Advanced --> Owner tab --> make me owner; Security tab --> Edit --> give me full access).
From what I could see in the batch script, the patcher HAD changed permissions but still couldn't overwrite the file...
hmm. Are the commands the patcher is using for ownership-taking dumping any negative output?
To test that seperate of the patcher, replace %1 with something nonessential and not already yours (say, %windir%\system32\notepad.exe), and execute the code block in a command prompt (elevated, of course):
CODE
takeown /f "%1"
echo y|cacls "%1" /g everyone:f
...and then see if you can manipulate your target file in explorer (rename, delete, etc). If you can't, we'll have to work out some way to compare the your ACLs against your ACLs after pushing buttons, and the ACLs of an install that the patcher's working on, but it's late, so I'm not going to think up a nice repeatable test procedure ATM.
^The first part succesfully made me owner of mspaint.exe
However, the second part didn't work:
CODE
C:\Windows\system32>echo y|cacls "%windir%\system32\mspaint.exe" /g everyone:f
Zuordnungen von Kontennamen und Sicherheitskennungen wurden nicht durchgeführt.
(which roughly translates to "Nope, didn't work"
)
I already found out that this doesn't occur if I change the group parameter to something non-existant. Then the "are you sure" prompt appears how it should (but this doesn't change the rights either).
But well, I'm for a week in venice now so I can't try out further things... but next week I will, of course!
vertigosity
Jul 9 2007, 15:30
Hmmm... a little bit of googling finds
this German Technet article which some more creative googling matches up with it's
English counterpart. Just a hunch, but I bet your "everyone" object isn't called that, but a German translation - when you (or anybody else having this sort of trouble on non-English Windows) get back, try replacing "everyone" with "%username%", since I suspect that environment variable does always have the same name, and it'll always return a valid user on the system since it's the username of the person running the command.
The way you're doing it will only work for English users (if it works at all). PM me for details. I will start working soon in something big for Vista and I know all the issues you are having right now
everyone is called "jeder" in german vista, but it didn't patch anything for me. I also tried it with %username%, but that didn't change anything. is there any kind of log that would be helpful if i post it? the cmd prompt is way to fast for me to see anything whats going on while patching, so i can't tell where the fault is.
vertigosity
Jul 9 2007, 21:04
Actually, there's a "pause" I rem'med out at the end of hack-o-matic that'll freeze output before it reboots and forgot to uncomment.
gigapixels
Jul 9 2007, 21:12
I'm definitely watching this thread
Nice work vert
Inplode
Jul 9 2007, 22:15
very nice ill be watching this as well !
cpl183
Jul 10 2007, 17:42
i removed the rem and replaced everyone with %username%, and here is what i get: (see attachement)
"erfolgreich" means succesfull, "Sind Sie sicher" is are you sure, "Zugriff verweigert" is acces denied and "Dateiname existiert bereits, oder die Datei konnte nicht gefunden werden" means filename already exists or the file could not be found.
i dont know if you still need the log or if XPero can offer you the solution (which i hope so
), but i'll post it anyway
when i look at this
CODE
Doit: Creating uninstaller for basebrd.dll.
Backup: Creating restore info for basebrd.dll.
1 Datei(en) kopiert.
Backup: basebrd.dll copied.
Doit: Prepare basebrd.dll.
Preparing basebrd.dll.
Prepare: Reshacking basebrd.dll
1 Datei(en) kopiert.
Das System kann die angegebene Datei nicht finden. (the system could not find the file)
1 Datei(en) verschoben.
Doit: Implant basebrd.dll.
Surgically implanting NewFiles\2_basebrd.dll.
Swapping C:\Windows\Branding\Basebrd\basebrd.dll for the NewFiles one.
ERFOLGREICH: Der Benutzer "C:\Windows\Branding\Basebrd\basebrd.dll" ist jetzt de
r Besitzer der Datei (oder des Ordners) "cpl-PC\cpl".
Sind Sie sicher (J/N)?Zugriff verweigert - C:\Windows\Branding\Basebrd\basebrd.d
ll
1 Datei(en) kopiert.
Zugriff verweigert
Dateiname existiert bereits, oder die Datei
konnte nicht gefunden werden.
it seems like the script is making the file itself the owner of the file. (?)
Angel Blue01
Jul 10 2007, 17:48
It looks nice!
I hope you and XPero can get a nice installer for it soon.
I will start the "Vize" project very soon. It is the XPize for Vista. I've successfully patched Vista system files, so the only thing I need is time to develop it!
I will not use XPize Installer System, I will be rewriting everything using C#, except the Reshacker thing (I'm waiting for a cool C# library from a guy at TheCodeProject).
@Vertigosity:
Do not hesitate in contacting me for help.
Cheers
vertigosity
Jul 11 2007, 23:05
Quote - (XPero @ Jul 10 2007, 17:18)
I will start the "Vize" project very soon. It is the XPize for Vista. I've successfully patched Vista system files, so the only thing I need is time to develop it!
I will not use XPize Installer System, I will be rewriting everything using C#, except the Reshacker thing (I'm waiting for a cool C# library from a guy at TheCodeProject).
@Vertigosity:
Do not hesitate in contacting me for help.
Cheers
Now THAT sounds shiny, especially the bit about not using Reshacker, since that's pretty much a massive licensing violation (at least for me, since I've never tracked down the author and beat specific permission out of him). How much of that are you planning on sharing? I've been exploring using PowerShell or Python (I'd kinda like everything to be in an interpreted language, since I've declared user-editable patch targets to be a necessary feature for me and mine, but it's pretty obvious NT batch script is a bit limited) for program logic, but they'd still be calling reshack, so I'd love to get my hands on something like your C# library, doubly so if it supports Win64.
For now I'm not thinking in sharing, but I can share privately
Also, that C# library is not mine, it is being developed by a guy at TheCodeProject and I don't know when it will be released
. I'm thinking on starting the project with reshacker but I don't have the time for it. We shall see
anonymous_user
Jul 14 2007, 05:16
The patcher works fine vertigosity and of the icons at are replaced, they look awesome
The sideways folders will take time to adjust to though.
Angel Blue01
Jul 14 2007, 12:49
Quote - (XPero @ Jul 12 2007, 13:48)
Also, that C# library is not mine, it is being developed by a guy at TheCodeProject and I don't know when it will be released
. I'm thinking on starting the project with reshacker but I don't have the time for it. We shall see
Wonderful!
I hope you get something for Vista x64 too
Daeron Tinúviel
Jul 23 2007, 15:41
any newz?
vertigosity
Jul 24 2007, 03:33
Quote - (Daeron Tinúviel @ Jul 23 2007, 10:41)
any newz?
Not really... I haven't really had time to work on it since the Fourth of July holiday, benpbrown.com is going down, and I don't really want to throw a half-assed pre-alpha up on DA, so it's going back into hiding for a while. I found out what I needed to know from the simple little preview version - that I'm going to need to do a lot more work to get everything right for everyone, and ATM I don't really have time to do much more with it. nVidia drivers still run my GPU fan at 100%, so I still can't use Vista as my primary OS, anyways.
Mackist Fire
Jul 24 2007, 05:24
Take your time.
MrFuji
Jul 24 2007, 20:24
^ Exactly
I'll use Ubuntu till then... ^^
Quote - (vertigosity @ Jul 24 2007, 04:33)
nVidia drivers still run my GPU fan at 100%, so I still can't use Vista as my primary OS, anyways.
Slightly off topic, but if you install nVidia's nTune app on vista, you can control the fan speed. BTW, if you need hosting, I might beable to provide something
ViperAFK
Jul 25 2007, 22:28
Quote - (Sam @ Jul 25 2007, 06:41)
Slightly off topic, but if you install nVidia's nTune app on vista, you can control the fan speed. BTW, if you need hosting, I might beable to provide something
Yeah the vista's nvidia drivers no longer have temp sensing, Overclocking ect.. you have to download nTune, that might work to control your fan speeds.
Echilon
Jul 26 2007, 10:34
This looked really good
vertigosity
Jul 28 2007, 15:22
Quote - (ViperAFK @ Jul 25 2007, 17:28)
Yeah the vista's nvidia drivers no longer have temp sensing, Overclocking ect.. you have to download nTune, that might work to control your fan speeds.
Success! The last version of nTune I tried didn't have that option exposed/visible for me, but the version that I downloaded yesterday along with the new dets did
Now time will tell if it keeps it from melting down, or just statically sets my fan to a percentage and leaves it there...
Scirwode
Jul 30 2007, 11:03
I believe the link is down at the moment.
Scirwode
reLapse
Aug 5 2007, 11:26
What happened to the Tango XP thread?
^It's in the XP Forum
Those tangerine folders look fantastic, how long before the links up ?
KaLiBL33K
Aug 8 2007, 21:44
Seriously, I'm DYING to download this. I've been using the XP Tango Patcher for a while now, and I'm literally not going to upgrade to Vista until I get the Vista-compatible one. Haha.
Does anybody have the file they can upload and link until vertigosity returns?
Scirwode
Aug 10 2007, 16:19
Quote - (KaLiBL33K @ Aug 9 2007, 05:44)
Seriously, I'm DYING to download this. I've been using the XP Tango Patcher for a while now, and I'm literally not going to upgrade to Vista until I get the Vista-compatible one. Haha.
Does anybody have the file they can upload and link until vertigosity returns?
I second that.
Scirwode
DrivenDaily
Aug 15 2007, 17:18
the sooner the better...i love the way tango looks on linux. I would use it but my X-fi isn't supported (thanks Creative) so I'm stuck with Windows.
vertigosity
Aug 15 2007, 22:52
Is it supported on Vista anyways
?
Scirwode
Aug 15 2007, 23:24
Quote - (vertigosity @ Aug 16 2007, 06:52)
Is it supported on Vista anyways
?
Should you be asking that question
?
Scirwode
vertigosity
Aug 15 2007, 23:37
Quote - (Scirwode @ Aug 15 2007, 18:24)
Should you be asking that question
?
Scirwode
Why not? I've heard same bad things about Creative's Vista drivers lately; apparently, they're lazier about proper Vista support than... well, me.
Scirwode
Aug 15 2007, 23:39
Quote - (vertigosity @ Aug 16 2007, 07:37)
Why not? I've heard same bad things about Creative's Vista drivers lately; apparently, they're lazier about proper Vista support than... well, me.
Scirwode
vertigosity
Aug 16 2007, 02:46
It's uploaded to DeviantArt, for anyone who's brave/stupid enough to try it.
DrivenDaily
Aug 16 2007, 04:19
haha the x-fi is a little shaky on vista too...especially the crackling/hissing/angry sounds when i have cool & quiet enabled (due to a long known nForce4 conflict that creative wont fix) but at least its better than onboard.
i'll let you know if the shell patcher solves any problems lol
Looks fantastic ! soooo much better than Vista's standard look, cheers !
BlakByte
Aug 16 2007, 15:09
Tuco, can we see a fullscreenshot
redrumy3
Aug 17 2007, 03:17
so far so good can't wait to see you complete this if you do
BlakByte
Aug 17 2007, 05:04
Looks awesome
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