Recommended Posts

KoL, this skin is absolutely amazing. With the release of 5259 there are just a couple things that I noticed that might help to make it more accurate. In the screenshot attached, I have combined elements of Arrow theme (Glass borders) with your theme (everything else). You'll notice Arrow's glass borders include a darker outline around the outside edge of the glass. They also include some darker shadows around the glass border which makes the window stand out more, slightly more like the actual vista builds. I am in no way criticizing your work, I love it. I just wanted to make a few suggestions for future updates. Thanks again for the hard work.

post-5139-1133585521_thumb.jpg

I think I found a bug in your theme.

I run it on WB5 Final Enhanced (5.0.0.1 x86)

When the start menu shows up, the top of the start button gets different than the bottom. It looks like it's cut off

post-124927-1133572693_thumb.jpg

Otherwise, it's OK and looks good but I can't post another shot because of the attachment limit...

Hope it's corrected in the update you just spoke about

That screenshot does not seem to be WB 5 release.

WB5 release should disable shadows on the startmenu when the skin has an enlarged start button.

What is the date of your wblind.dll?

That screenshot does not seem to be WB 5 release.

WB5 release should disable shadows on the startmenu when the skin has an enlarged start button.

What is the date of your wblind.dll?

I don't know the date but version number is 5.0.0.0

Edit: I found the date: 2005/11/28 13:57:10

hey KoL, great theme, ummm i want to know how to add the StartButtonRound.png to the start bar. i read your readme and it didnt say anything about it. and i couldnt be bothered to read the whole 43 pages to find the answer (i read from 35-onwards then gave up)

thanx in advance

Dale Majid

PS im using v3 on Windowblinds 5 Enhanced

Awesome theme, Kol.

I only don't like the fact that the title bar goes completely opaque when you maximize it. I don't think Windows Vista VS does that or does it? So why make it 100% opaque? With the Logoff and Shutdown buttons not working, and your reason for it is that you want to make it look like Vista. Well why change the way the title bar when it maximizes. If anything, don't make it completely 100% opague, have a little transparency in it. I'll do it myself if someone show me what I need to change in SkinStudio.

hey KoL, great theme, ummm i want to know how to add the StartButtonRound.png to the start bar. i read your readme and it didnt say anything about it. and i couldnt be bothered to read the whole 43 pages to find the answer (i read from 35-onwards then gave up)

thanx in advance

Dale Majid

PS im using v3 on Windowblinds 5 Enhanced

You need SkinStudio. Then got to the startbutton and import the new one.

Awesome theme, Kol.

I only don't like the fact that the title bar goes completely opaque when you maximize it. I don't think Windows Vista VS does that or does it? So why make it 100% opaque? With the Logoff and Shutdown buttons not working, and your reason for it is that you want to make it look like Vista. Well why change the way the title bar when it maximizes. If anything, don't make it completely 100% opague, have a little transparency in it. I'll do it myself if someone show me what I need to change in SkinStudio.

That's the way it is on Vista and I tried it transparent and I didnt like it.

Awesome theme, Kol.

I only don't like the fact that the title bar goes completely opaque when you maximize it. I don't think Windows Vista VS does that or does it? So why make it 100% opaque? With the Logoff and Shutdown buttons not working, and your reason for it is that you want to make it look like Vista. Well why change the way the title bar when it maximizes. If anything, don't make it completely 100% opague, have a little transparency in it. I'll do it myself if someone show me what I need to change in SkinStudio.

As Kol said, Windows Vista makes the titlebar opaque and black. I like it :)

Yeah, I have this message in System Information.

So why taskbar is transparent?

Is it possible to turn on this feature anyway ?

The taskbar and startmenu are transparent I believe because they are static images, not live, eg. drag a window below the taskbar and you'll notice the taskbar doesn't change to reflect the window. But its just my guess.

If you have the message, it means your window borders arent going to be transparent because they are rendered in real time. The taskbar and start menu do not use per pixel alpha blending to render transparency. The windows do, and because your video card does not support this, you will not see it. This is exactly the same as when you uninstall video drivers, the taskbar and start menu will still be transparent, but the window borders will not, because the default vga driver does not support per pixel alpha blending.

Edited by Wolken007

I really love the updates, but the glass beta2 taskbar looks odd.. like half of it is designed to be transparent and the other much less or not at all. Maybe make the beta2 substyle with the beta1 style taskbar? (the new start button is fine though)

I undestund.

But whats wrogn with that:

I'm running now WindowBlind v5 Enhanced and:

- Command Prompt isn't skinned

- I cannot change toolbar icons and animations

What's the metter?

Well, did you purchase the enhanced version, or did you download it? If you downloaded it, you might consider purchasing it to enjoy the full functionality.

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

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Waymo recalls self-driving software after cars enter closed freeway work zones by Paul Hill Waymo, the self-driving car maker owned by Alphabet – the parent company of Google –, has recalled some of its fifth-generation Automated Driving Systems (ADS). It did so after some of its cars drove through closed construction zones. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the affected vehicles were capable of driving through a closed freeway construction zone and continuing to drive at speed. The listing on the NHTSA website says that Waymo is currently developing a solution to fix this issue, but in the meantime, freeway driving is being restricted. Waymo will update its ADS software so that vehicles can detect when they can avoid entering construction zones. According to the Safety Recall Report, on April 20, 2026, Waymo’s Field Safety Committee began meetings reviewing an event from April 11, 2026, and five events from April 19, 2026, where Waymo’s autonomous vehicles didn’t recognize and drove past ramp closure signs into the pre-planned freeway construction zones. This took place in Phoenix, Arizona. Separately, on May 18, 2026, seven Waymo vehicles entered freeway lanes with active construction in the San Francisco Bay Area by driving between cones that were placed to show the lane was closed. On the back of both of these events, Waymo restricted freeway driving until it could address the issue. In June, Waymo’s Safety Board reviewed the issue and additional information related to ADS performances around construction zones; then, as a result, it decided to conduct a recall. This development is not good for Waymo as it adds to a growing list of technical hiccups its cars have experienced. Ultimately, it will lead to more scrutiny from lawmakers around the world who will be more cautious about letting autonomous vehicles on their roads without tighter regulation. For readers in areas where Waymo operates, does this news make you more wary about stepping into one of these vehicles?
    • I'm still on Windows 10 22H2 because I didn't want to deal with all the issues in Windows 11, so I waited almost a week before installing the latest Patch Tuesday update (KB5094127), I went ahead and did it, and it was a huge mistake—ever since then, my File Explorer has seen a performance drop of about 30% when transferring large files... Once again, Microsoft has outdone itself! This update cannot be uninstalled, either through the Control Panel (via Settings) or by accessing Advanced Startup Options. The only possible alternative would be to use system restore points, but I’d have to reinstall all app and driver updates (and there’s no guarantee it would work). Or there’s the “nuclear option” of a in-place repair without losing files or apps, but even then, all my customizations would be lost! Microsoft just can’t help but mess everything up! Way to go, Microsoft! But I still don’t want your c****y Windows 11!
    • Microsoft: Windows 11 could finally solve a major issue across AMD, Nvidia, and Intel GPUs by Sayan Sen While Microsoft has been trying to improve it, Windows 11 is definitely not flawless, as even today some issues are taking a year to publicly acknowledge. However, one area of trouble that may finally see much better results soon is graphics driver crashes. Work on graphics driver timeouts, also called Timeout and Detection Recovery (TDR), is not new as the latest WDDM 3.2 also has specific improvements regarding it. Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) version 3.2 is supported on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. However, with the upcoming version 26H2, TDR crash diagnosis could go to the next level as Microsoft is introducing a new DirectX 12 API feature called "DirectX Dump Files". Similar to how system memory dump files work when a system crashes or freezes or encounters any such major issue, DirectX Dump Files (DDF) will essentially record a snapshot of the GPU execution right at the moment a graphics-related crash or hang or freeze occurs, so that developers can better understand and diagnoze these TDR and timeout detection errors. The dump will be available as a .dxdmp file for analysis and it will be a comprehensive dump file generated with detailed insights about the hardware, drivers, Windows, as well as the affected application. This should be another welcome change in this department. Earlier at GDC 2026, when the technology was first debuted, Microsoft had shared more details regarding it. The company had explained how DDF is designed to gather data from every layer of the graphics stack into a single file, eliminating the need for developers to manually correlate logs from multiple tools. As mentioned above, the dump can contain a lot of useful details like GPU hardware state information such as register values, shader program counters, page fault virtual addresses, shader memory data, and command buffers. Alongside that, it also captures DirectX runtime and kernel information, including D3D objects, pipeline state objects, device error data, adapter details, and CPU call stacks. Microsoft says the feature has been built around two primary use cases: retail device removals and local device removals. The former allows developers to collect crash information from end users' systems in the field, while the latter helps QA teams and developers investigate issues on test machines. Developers will also be able to include up to 2 MB of custom application data through new D3D12 APIs, providing additional context for troubleshooting. In addition, Microsoft is introducing three dump collection modes ranging from zero-overhead capture, which has no runtime performance impact on supported hardware, to higher-detail modes that collect more vendor-specific debugging data. On compatible Tier 2 hardware, zero-overhead dumps will be enabled by default, meaning developers may begin receiving useful crash diagnostics without making any code changes. The table below explains the three tiers: Tier Description NO_OVERHEAD Enables crash capture with no runtime cost and is suitable for broad deployment MEDIUM_OVERHEAD Provides a balance, capturing additional diagnostic data with moderate impact HIGH_OVERHEAD Collects the most detailed GPU and driver state available, enabling deeper investigation at the cost of higher runtime overhead In terms of availability, the company expects broader release to be around the fall of 2026, which should be right around the time when Windows 11 version 26H2 lands. Right now, DirectX Dump Files are available as a preview and currently, only AMD has the compatible AgilitySDK Developer Preview driver version 26.10.07.02. You can find the official announcement post here on Microsoft's website.
    • And with SO much better perf than the laggy mess that is Files.
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      BizSAR earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Jordan Smith earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      BizSAR earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • First Post
      AndreaB earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Huge Trailer earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      598
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      190
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      80
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      76
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      69
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!