[Shell Patcher] Inexperience

[vertigosity]

This is a shell modification pack that replaces XPish resources with their counterparts from Windows 2000 (with bits taken from Windows ME, screenshots of Whistler betas, and some artistic license tossed in where appropriate). Obviously, the appeal of something like this is somewhat limited, but I expect there's a few people other than me who might want to use the older style, either out of nostalgia, because they find it to be cleaner and more usuable, or simply out of a preference for the pixel-art style. There are a lot of advantages to using the newer operating system, especially after the release of Service Pack 2; if you don't feel the iconset is one of them, now it doesn't have to be a disadvantage :)

I made this pretty much for my own personal use, but I know there's a (very) few others who are interested in it, so I decided to polish it up (ever so slightly - those security shields look pretty awful) a release of it. If you don't like the concept, good for you - but you are irrelevant to any discussion regarding it. If you want something specific de-XPified, or if you find any bugs, tell me about them, and I'll try to get them sorted in the next release.

Download, More Information, and Screenshot: DeviantArt

Edited July 12, 2008 by vertigosity

[AudioDope]

um im prejudiging this as a flawed up buggy, messes up ur system release, ill wait and see what ppl think and ill use it

[vertigosity]

Download link fixed... my host can't use RAR files. :rolleyes:

um im prejudiging this as a flawed up buggy, messes up ur system release, ill wait and see what ppl think and ill use it

586451652[/snapback]

Why do you say that? It's primitive... but it gets the job done. I just didn't want to put a high version number on it because I don't have every single icon on the system 2kified :ninja:

It installs and works fine on a clean VMWare install, and on my own box. Of course, if it DOES screw up for anybody, I'll be glad to hear it and try and fix it.

Edited August 30, 2005 by vertigosity

[acedriver]

:laugh: nice idea.. :ninja:

[eNeon]

:laugh:  nice idea..  :ninja:

586451866[/snapback]

Yep true.

[moglenstar]

works nicely, although would be better if all icons got replaced ;)

[eNeon]

Should it change the whole style too?

[vertigosity]

Should it change the whole style too?

586453303[/snapback]

Nope, I only touch the icons, bitmaps, and AVIs. I might throw the rest of the Classicifying stuff in as options in the installer that doesn't exist yet, but they're just a couple of tweaks that are pretty well documented, pretty easy to do, and not always appropriate for everybody.

* Turn off the Welcome screen + Terminal Services

* Disable Themes

* Classic Start Menu and Folder View

* Set Explorer not show icons in groups, use Icon view, enable the status bar, and set that as the default for all folders

* Enable Control Panel in My Computer and hide the documents folders

* Set small toolbars in Explorer/IE

* and if you're a real lunatic, disable the Shell Hardware Detection service.

* and if you're a double nutty lunatic, disable the User Accounts control panel and add an entry that starts Control Userpasswords2

* Slap me with a trout for actually KNOWING all that off the top of my head. :whistle:

works nicely, although would be better if all icons got replaced ;)

586453257[/snapback]

Workin' on it :happy:

[Roomiestdruid]

Well, I'll give major props if it could truly fool a 2000 user into thinking that an XP box was actually a 2000 box. There are some people whos personality is to get used to a single way of computing and making major changes to that way of working just freaks them out. That has some real potential to encourage more XP upgrades. Or I could just be rambling...

[vertigosity]

Well, I'll give major props if it could truly fool a 2000 user into thinking that an XP box was actually a 2000 box. There are some people whos personality is to get used to a single way of computing and making major changes to that way of working just freaks them out. That has some real potential to encourage more XP upgrades. Or I could just be rambling...

586456289[/snapback]

Those are exactly the people who aren't going to be installing a user-created shell pack on their systems... and XP upgrades are kinda irrelevant now that Vista is coming out RealSoonNow. I have to give you credit though, for trying to get me to abort work on this, by suggesting that I'm helping sell XP licenses :rofl: Besides, to do that I'd have to strip non-evil functionality from the OS. Ripping out the WiMP, Outlook Express, and MSN stuff is one thing, but removing all the benefits of the newer stuff is kinda pointless ;)

I've got netshell.dll together with some decent hacked together resources, and a 48x48 shortcut icon (how the heck did that not make it into XP itself, anyways?), so if that's stuff anybody wants, it'll be in the next release... I've got it running on my system, and I think it looks disturbingly faithful to 2000. Later tonight when I get home from running errands, I'll grab a copy of the NSIS dev stuff and see if I can't muddle through it.

Edited August 31, 2005 by vertigosity

[vertigosity]

0.3 released. Includes greatly improved batch files, resources for the Tasks panels, Netshell, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Link in first post (586451638[/snapback]) still applies.

[vertigosity]

Right in line with the Halloween season (it's kinda scary, and most of you kids have grown out of it), inXPerience 0.4 shows its ugly face. It's a pretty big update - everything included in the Start Menu on a default XP Pro install that has a direct 2k/ME analogue is skinned, and I took the time to make some original 2k-style resources. Lots of oddball other stuff around the system is now de-XPed as well.

As with last time, the link in the first post (586451638[/snapback]) is still accurate.

[Tungsten T]

This sh*ts hot!

[vertigosity]

Due to some server messiness, I've re-uploaded a slightly newer version of the patcher and fixed my PHP. If anyone's been having trouble with my page, it should be working again.

[Alex Suraci]

Hahaha, genius. :laugh: Nice job.

[summers]

Hmmm ... interesting. Can't help but feel as though its taking a step backward.

[vertigosity]

Hmmm ... interesting. Can't help but feel as though its taking a step backward.

That is, of course, completely the point ;)

[NightmarE D]

Not only a cool little download, but I like the fact that in your screenshot you have Depeche Mode playing :D

[vertigosity]

Updated April 24th, 2006 with comctl32.dll toolbars and icons for quite literally everything in system32 that doesn't require too much custom icon fabrication.

I needed a break from Tango's overwhelming blueness, and I did this a few days before I seriously started Tangerine/Orangutan, and having gotten that Windows 2000yness out of my system I jumped right into Tangerine, of course.

[vertigosity]

Updated today (not that many people here care).

Not a single new resource, but it has been updated to use the same XPize-derived patcher code as the October 2006 release of the Super Turbo Tango Patcher (so it now has the ability to keep coherent backups and reload on system updates). I may have inadvertantly fixed any issues with non-English versions of Windows and forgotten to release it, although I'm not sure that wasn't in 0.6 anyways.

[dreamz Veteran]

moved here

[schaggo]

Updated today (not that many people here care).

Maybe not many do care, but those doing so will love you for that ;)

I'll let Domokuns eat all my kittens if you want me to do so, master...

[Lenin91]

*Bump*

Using.. I love this pack and was modding Windows my self to look like 2K before i found this.. I like the old look :-) dunno why..

Was asking several people if they knew anyway to get 2K icons to XP or anyone that did it, but randomly i found your work here 2-3 months after..

Thank u

[breakfastclub]

I will try it later too (again) :pacifier:

Thanks for update !

[vertigosity]

Updated (2006/03/17): Again, Not a single new resource, but the patcher code has been updated to match Super Turbo Tango Patcher 7.03. I intend to go on a good old fashioned Classic killing spree sometime in the next few months, however.