Recommended Posts

All tested on XP SP1 and SP2 (only the modified system file packages might not work...)

Tired off the default boring XP desktop?

Visual Styles

First thing we want to change is the visual style, a visual is what you see, the default Blue colors for example, a visual style basicly overlays everything with nicer buttons, colors and borders

A visual style is basicly a file with visual aspects that windows needs

Its located at C:\\Windows\Rescources\Themes\Name of theme

In That folder is a file located with the extension .msstyles, it has all the images from the borders colors etc inside,

In most cases there is also a Folder called Shell inside

This folder contains the shellstyle

The shellstyle is responsible for this

shellstyle.jpg

The common tasks sidebar in Windows explorer

Now, how can we skin all this?

Well, The XP skinning engine has a sort of protection inside off it, XP styles have a digital signature inside Which a file called Uxtheme.dll checks, without this digital Signature, windows wont accept the visual style,

There are differend ways around it

StyleXP

--> This program loads up with windows and replaces The uxtheme.dll in the memory so styles without signature will work.

XP autopatcher

--> this little program basicly replaces the uxtheme.dll with a patched one, this is best way in my opinion as there is no ram or disk space wasted

Its recommend using this program in safe mode though

--> that one isnt updated to XP SP2 yet so get a new sp2 version Here

Windowblinds

--> This program basicly adds a new skinning engine with more options to customize XP,

i recommend using one of the above programs first though.

Heres how you get themes to work:

Put the folder with the name of the visual style in windows/rescources/themes folder and click on the msstyle file, the windows theme manager will load up, just click apply or ok and the style will load!

Where to get visual styles!

ThemeXP

This site has a lot of visual styles, but they have spyware inside them!

there is a way around it though, extract the installers with winzip!

DeviantART

--> No spyware on this one, has awesome visual styles!

Wincustomize

--> has excellent skins for WindowBlinds

Making Visual Styles yourself!

Why not, once you start using visual styles, why not making visual styles yourself?

a few programs to do this:

Stylebuilder

--> the best program to make visual styles in my opinion!

In case you are using WindowBlinds, use:

Skinstudio

--> it is able to convert msstyle themes to windowblinds format.

Last thing about this: some older programs dont have skinning support and they have the old style buttons, you can patch that programs though!

xp skins

Icons

icons.gif

What about changing the default XP icons, there are lots better ones on the net

There are 2 differend ways changing the icons!

1. changing them in the XP system files with reshacker, more on this later...

2. Using a program to change them, a few programs are listed below

Iconpackager

--> nice program, loads of icons out for this one

Icon packages are availible at www.wincustomize.org

BeeIcons

--> i use this one myself, pretty good :)

DcolorXP

--> this ap doesnt really change icons, but allows you to you tiled icons on the desktop!

Iconphile

--> very light and fast program!

Bootscreen

Another good idea to customize xp is changing the bootscreen, the defeauld look is pretty boring, so we gonna do something about it!

How you can make it look like:

bootscreen.jpg

--> Instructions, copied this from themexp.org, why write it all down if someone else allready did it?

  Quote
  1.  In Explorer, browse to C:\Windows\System32 and find the file named "ntoskrnl.exe".

  2. Copy "ntoskrnl.exe" to "ntoskrnl.exe.bak", (COPY not RENAME). This way if anything goes wrong...you will have a backup.

  3. Extract the files inside the .zip file you downloaded to a temporary location of your hard drive, but NOT to C:\Windows\System32.

  4. Reboot your computer into Safe Mode (hit F8 before the boot screen appears) or into true DOS mode (from a boot disk)

  5. Browse to where you extracted the files for your new boot screen in Explorer and select the correct file to copy to C:\Windows\System32. If you have SP1 for Windows XP installed use ntoskrnlsp.exe, otherwise use ntoskrnl.exe. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE CORRECT FILE, OR YOUR SYSTEM WILL LOCK UP ON BOOT.

  6. If using ntoskrnl.exe, copy the file to C:\Windows\System32 overwriting the existing ntoskrnl.exe, (which should have been backed up).

  7. If you are going to use ntoskrnlsp.exe, delete ntoskrnl.exe in the temporary folder and rename ntoskrnlsp.exe to ntoskrnl.exe. Then copy the file to C:\Windows\System32 overwriting the existing ntoskrnl.exe, (which should have been backed up).

  8. All done! Reboot your computer as you normally would and enjoy your new boot screen.

If you dont like doing this all manually, feel free to use one of the programs listed below!

Loginuibootoptimizer

**ALLWAYS MAKE A BACKUP OF NTOSKRNL.EXE

Or this program that actually doesnt alter any files! it just changes the patch to it

Bootskin

--> Themes availible at www.wincustomize.org

Login Screens

Changing the login screen is also a nice trick!

logon.jpg

Steps:

  Quote
  1.  In Explorer, browse to C:\Windows\System32 and find the file named "logonui.exe".

  2. Rename "logonui.exe" to "logonui.exe.bak". This way if anything messes up...you have a backup.

  3. Place your new login in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 and rename it to logonui.exe.

  4. That's it! Now when you log off your new login screen will be there.

Also a few programs can change the login screen for you!

Logon Loader

--> nice program if you done like changing everything manually!

LogonStudio

AGAIN, ALLWAYS MAKE A BACKUP OF LOGONUI.EXE, if anything goes rwong you can replace the file again in safe mode!

Add Objects to your desktop

Objects are basicly things you put on the desktop, with the weather on it, ur system speed etc,

Here is a example:

samurize.jpg

What aps do we need?

Samurize

--> This one has the most docklets availible and works very smooth!

Avedesk

--> This one adds widgets to your desktop

Kapsules

--> This one is what i use, i find it better then Samurize, there only arent much Whigets out there for it....

Here are some screenshots

DesktopX

--> This one also adds widgets and is able to enhanced your icons icons

Themes are availible at www.wincustomize.org

objects.jpg

Docks

Whats a dock?

Its a dock like the one availible in Mac osX, its basicly a taslbar replacement:

dock.jpg

There are differend docks out there for windows, here are a few free ones

[]Y'z dock[/url]

--> Link removed cause _R2D2 noticed it was against the rules! we dont want to be a bad boy and ignore the rules do we

Objectdock

--> one of the best docks availible, its still in developement and runs pretty good,

new docklets can be found at www.wincustomize.org

Mobydock

--> Tried this one once, but it looks much differend then the mac dock...

Sidebar

Another nice thing to enhance your desktop is a sidebar!

There are several sidebars out there, here are a few:

SmartbarXP

--> this one basicly looks the most like the longhorn one! its only still in beta stage, so you can experience some problems!

Codename dashboard

--> Another great sidebar is codename dashboard! i didnt find it look so good, but tastes are differend!

Desktop Sidebar

--> This one is very flexible! i use it myself, but offcourse i dont know what sidebar you like so its up to you which on to pick!

smartbarxp.jpg

Resourcehacker

What about changing like every icon thats in windows?

Its possible

rograms we need for this:

Resource Hacker

ResEdit

tip: Most windows icons are located in Shell32.dll!!

There are also a lot off Packages availible with files that are hacked allready, install them at your own risk.

Longhorn Transformation pack

Screenshot

Mac Trasnformation pack

--> this one is just excellent!

Screenshots are on that site

Shell

A differend shell is basicly a replacement for the explorer Desktop and Startmenu

it does not replace the filemanager on XP!

There are many shell's out there, and what you want to use is really your own choise!

Litestep

--> This one is very easy to use, i recommend this one if its the first time you try a differend shell!

Aston shell

Geoshell

Here's a example of a litestep theme

litestep.jpg

Other stuff

We shoudl have a better looking windows now!, still there are a lot of progs out there that improves visual stuff on windows

Cursor XP

--> Very good program, improves the look of the XP cursor

theme_select.png

WindowFX

--> replaces the animation of windows

allows to fading in and out of windows, morphing into the taskbar, like everything you want, this is one of my favourite progs!

Y'z toolbar

--> this prog allows you to easily change the Windows toolbar icons!

yztoolbar.jpg

TClock Light

--> allows you to change the start button, and changes the clock, great little tool

tclocklight.png

Rainlender

--> this one adds a nice calender to the desktop!

post-107-1092162244.jpg

ZMatrix

--> ZMatrix is an animated desktop background which displays streaming characters in a style similar to what was used in the movie 'The Matrix'. The program was based off of source code for a screen saver found at www.elouai.com, and is entirely free.

A example of what you can get!

desktop.jpg

desktop2.jpg

desktop3.jpg

desktop4.jpg

Srry some screeny's from the post your desktop thread, i had desktops like that, but i'm on a pc with win2k right now... :ninja:

Edited by Medievil
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/201668-customizing-xp/
Share on other sites

Yo the boot screen editor link is down!

But this guide is excellent man hope you keep updating it and adding facts so far i seen so much on the net but not a guide together

Future suggestions: Msn messnger skinning guide, Stylebuilder guide,Shellstyle.dll guide, Shell32 editing guide, other file mods using resource hacker

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/201668-customizing-xp/#findComment-584335781
Share on other sites

  Prince21 said:
Yo the boot screen editor link is down!

But this guide is excellent man hope you keep updating it and adding facts so far i seen so much on the net but not a guide together

Future suggestions: Msn messnger skinning guide, Stylebuilder guide,Shellstyle.dll guide, Shell32 editing guide, other file mods using resource hacker

heh basically just put a link to virtualplastic.net and wintweaker.net

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/201668-customizing-xp/#findComment-584335873
Share on other sites

  Prince21 said:
Yo the boot screen editor link is down!

But this guide is excellent man hope you keep updating it and adding facts so far i seen so much on the net but not a guide together

Future suggestions: Msn messnger skinning guide, Stylebuilder guide,Shellstyle.dll guide, Shell32 editing guide, other file mods using resource hacker

might consider it, except msn messenger

i'm not going to make a guide for every program there is m8 ;)

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/201668-customizing-xp/#findComment-584335947
Share on other sites

I would've also included in the guide that it is possible to replace the shell32.dll file as well with others foudn on the web. I have used a few in the past myself such as the popular GANT shell32. And replacer is a nice little app to add to the list. Other than that, it is a very nice and thorough guide! Good job! (Y)

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/201668-customizing-xp/#findComment-584336364
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Vivetool also has a GUI. Literally took me three clicks to enable this from there.
    • Microsoft Weekly: OneDrive horror stories, ramblings about Start menu, and more by Taras Buria This week's news recap is here, delivering you a roundup of the most important Microsoft stories, including a bunch of odd stuff and bugs in Windows, OneDrive horror stories, ramblings about the Start menu, a couple of new Windows 11 preview builds, important news from AMD, and a lot more. Quick links: Windows 10 and 11 Windows Insider Program Updates are available Reviews are in Gaming news Windows 11 and Windows 10 Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions. Microsoft released a new out-of-band update to fix boot issues on certain Surface devices. The company announced certain Windows 365 updates, such as VBS and HVCI support (by default) and app provisioning in Windows 365 instead of entire cloud PCs. Microsoft is also removing legacy drivers from Windows Update in a new "strategic move." This is the default Windows 365 wallpaper On the negative side, we have the latest Patch Tuesday updates breaking the DHCP Server in all Windows Server editions. Also, there is some bad news for PC users with Windows Hello cameras: after the April 2025 Patch Tuesday updates, Windows Hello does not work in the dark. The change was quietly introduced to address security issues. Windows Goodbye That is not all, though. As it turned out, solid-state drives from WD could still block your computer from installing Windows 11 version 24H2, which was released in October 2024. Also, Microsoft's Family Safety feature is now blocking Chrome, for some reason. Here is an editorial from Usama Jawad (welcome back) about how, four years after the initial release, Windows 11 still does not offer strong enough reasons to upgrade from the outgoing Windows 10. Also, Usama shared his thoughts about the Start menu and why he had stopped caring about its changes altogether. Speaking of the Start menu, check out our overview of what users wanted from Microsoft and what the company delivered in the redesigned Start menu, which was recently announced. Windows Insider Program Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week: Builds Canary Channel Build 27881 This week's Canary build introduced context menu improvements, new accessibility features, Settings app tweaks, and more. Dev Channel Nothing in the Dev Channel this week Beta Channel Nothing in the Beta Channel this week Release Preview Channel Build 26100.4482 (KB5060829) This build improves File Explorer and search performance, adds some changes to default browser settings, and fixes multiple bugs. Some hidden stuff in the recent Windows 11 preview builds includes a new adaptive battery saver. This feature dynamically adapts battery saver mode according to your workflow, but in its current form, it is not fully operational. Even though Microsoft acknowledged its existence, the adaptive part still needs improvements. Another useful change in the recent builds is the return of a clock in the notification center. This time, however, Microsoft makes it more customizable, and you can toggle it on or off. Also, the company is moving more Control Panel bits to the Settings app and adding a rather unexpected customization feature that will let you select where system indicators (flyouts and sliders) appear on the screen. Microsoft started rolling out a new update for the Snipping Tool app. The latest release lets you save screen recordings as GIFs. Shortly after that, we posted a guide with a bit more detail about the feature. Updates are available This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) from Microsoft and third parties, delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more. Microsoft is working on a Dashboard redesign for PowerToys. Developers published an early look at what is coming to the app in future updates, revealing a better-organized page with quick links, a shortcut overview, and a list of available modules. This week's Office updates are rather mixed. OneDrive, for one, is having problems finding files. Microsoft acknowledged the issue, which affects users on Windows, iOS, Android, and the web. Unfortunately, that is not the only negative story about OneDrive. A new report from a frustrated user revealed a scary tale of Microsoft locking them out of an account full of invaluable content. Outlook also has some issues, this time, with opening emails, and Microsoft 365 will soon disable outdated protocols for file access. Finally, Copilot in Excel received a major update for context awareness, which made the assistant more useful when answering questions about data. This week's browser updates include several releases. Firefox announced a new method for pinning and unpinning tabs. It is now available for testing in the Nightly channel. Microsoft Edge was updated with fixes for two security vulnerabilities (high severity) originating from Chromium. Finally, here is this week's Microsoft 365 Roadmap with an overview of all the new stuff that Microsoft added to the website. Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting: Microsoft 365 security in the spotlight after Washington Post hack. Microsoft expands European sovereign cloud offerings with new data and key controls. Microsoft Defender XDR received TITAN-powered Security Copilot recommendations. Microsoft reportedly plans more layoffs. Watchdog found Microsoft guilty of confusing advertising when it comes to Copilot. Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week: AMD released a new chipset driver for Ryzen processors under version 7.06.02.123, which followed a security update for TPM-Pluton. Nvidia 576.80 WHQL with fixes for the RTX 5090 FE, new game support, and a long list of fixes. You can get some extra performance on certain AMD Ryzen chips with a simple system tweak. Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 received big firmware updates with multiple fixes and improvements. Reviews are in Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week This week, Steven Parker reviewed the TerraMaster D4 SSD, a palm-sized DAS with up to 32TB of storage that you can connect over USB4. This thing is rather impressive, and for a modest price tag, it delivers a tiny footprint, great looks, full RAID support in TOS 6, quick connection, and more. On the gaming side Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more. AMD and Microsoft announced some big news this week. The two companies revealed a new multi-year partnership, which secures AMD as the future maker of chips for Xbox consoles and other hardware. Sarah Bond announced the partnership in a new video on the official Xbox media channels. Turn 10 Studios announced a new Forza Motorsport update. Update 21 brings IndyCar content, Career mode expansion, Featured Tours, new reward cars, and more. It is now available on Xbox and PC via the Microsoft Store and Steam. Minecraft is another Microsoft-owned game that received a big update this week. The long-anticipated graphics overhaul is finally here with directional lighting, volumetric fog, improved shadows, reflections, godrays, and a lot more. In addition, Mojang released Chase the Skies, the latest content drop, which adds happy ghasts, new music disks, a locator bar for players, environmental fog in the overworld, new background music, and all sorts of small gameplay changes. Microsoft announced new games for Game Pass. The latest additions include FBC: Firebreak, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, Start Trucker, Wildfrost, Rematch, Call of Duty: WWII, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and more. As usual, some games are leaving the subscription. Valve released a big update for the Steam overlay. The latest version introduced major upgrades to CPU and VRAM usage, temperatures, and other important metrics that you might want to track when playing games on your gaming rig. Deals and freebies Also, be sure to check out this week's Weekend PC Game Deals article, which features rhythm bundles, fishing festivals, DRM-free summer sales, and more. Other gaming news includes the following: Take-Two confirmed Borderlands 4 will not cost $80 for the base game. The Coalition expanded the Gears of War: Reloaded beta after its rocky start. Ara: History Untold 1.4 update delivered overhauls to AI, map generation, combat, and more. Star Citizen Alpha 4.2 update lands with radiation hazards, dynamic rain, and more. This link will take you to other issues of the Microsoft Weekly series. You can also support Neowin by registering a free member account or subscribing for extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option. Microsoft Weekly image background by steve_a_johnson on Pixabay
    • I'm afraid not, Microsoft does release updated installation images for Windows through MVS every month, but they do not include any update to Defender's components or signatures. That's what the package talked about in the article is for, it includes a PowerShell script for the update.
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      Johnny Mrkvička earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      viraltui earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      serfegyed earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Dedicated
      firey earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Dedicated
      fettermanj earned a badge
      Dedicated
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      635
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      230
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      217
    4. 4
      Xenon
      149
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      141
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!