Windows Blinds 5 Enhanced

[WooSH]

hello.

all over the web ive herd differnt stories on this software. It is 100X more advanced then styleXp will ever be. StyleXP is just an extension of the built in features of xp. windowsblinds5 totally give ur pc a new look and feel.

the only thing differnt about style xp is that it takes virtually no ram, but WB is a monster! eats up everything.

HOWEVER, i herd that the new WindowsBlinds5Enhanced does not take any ram because it integregates itself into the os setup files or something...ican recall the xaact feature...but they stated on different forums that the new one takes no or very minimal ram. somewhere else i herd that since this is v5 it would take more because of added features.

what is the ACTUAL story here? i was hoping some of the ppl here who use this would answer my question.

thx everyone! cheers, statix1

[CeL_dAmAgE]

I actually use the program, very useful. It actually used up less memory than the defualt xp theme or with custom visual styles, since you can take off the themes service with WindowBlinds and still have it running. WindowBlinds 5, after you disable the themes service and enable Hyperpaint takes up less ram then StyleXP or the Uxtheme.dll hack ever will.

[likeapimp]

Your right. It is a monster compared to StyleXP. But doesn't eat up memory at all. It's very good overall. I also have an old video card (Geforce2 MX400) and everything runs pretty smooth on glass themes. The only problem I noticed was when I'm playing a video (WMP) and move another window at the same. It totally kills whatever I'm watching. Maybe that's cuz of my low system specs.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

[Thread Moved from Customizing Windows XP to WindowBlinds]

[ThePitt]

I like more how WB4 loads. I dont like the idea that WB loads at the boot (hanging with winlogon process, etc). It lags sometimes, sometimes slowdown my whole system, sometimes the transparencies works really bad or doesnt work at all, sometimes the engine 'hangs', when you have a lot of windows open everythings slow down a lot and you have to unload WB5, after an intense use WB5 cant handle correctly the themes, etc, etc.

I think with WB4 and WindowFX you can have (somehow) WB5.

Looks great when the only thing you do is browse and chat, but nothing more (aka just a few process running). When you are at work, you really, really note the difference, work with it and with WB5 unloaded. It uses memory (despite that the developers (?) and many users say the oppocite), a lot of memory (check how many dll are open on every process or just check how many memory (virtual and real) a process uses with and without WB loaded).

Trust me, its a nightmare when you are working...

And yes, I pay for it, and I dont regret. Its just for screening only. Nothing more

[Borbus]

Style XP takes more ram than Windowblinds. It not only uses the windows engine but it runs itself because it patches uxtheme.dll in ram. Use the uxtheme.dll patcher to patch the file on your disk instead of Style XP. Windowblinds uses less ram than the windows engine and you can disable the windows engine if you're using windowblinds.

I have used a patched uxtheme.dll for years and I now I use Windowblinds. After using Windowblinds for a few months I can safely say that I cannot tell the difference between it and patched uxtheme.dll, except the great skin i'm using (foton). Even with an alpha blended skin like vistaxp I cannot notice any difference in performance.

[Zenquibo]

The only problem I noticed was when I'm playing a video (WMP) and move another window at the same. It totally kills whatever I'm watching. Maybe that's cuz of my low system specs.

Try to disable overlay playback. That should fix the problem I think

[arturogoga]

I used it for about 3 weeks, then got fed up at the limited amount of quality themes, and changed back to UxTheme.

Sure, the tansparent themes are great, but there are only about 2 worth looking at. And most of the themes available do not suit my tastes. So yeah, I do believe it works much better than windows built-in theme app (and uxtheme), but there's not enough content for me

[WooSH]

thx everyone for the great responses.

but i noticed somethign different. i used to use WindowsBlinds4 and i thought it took more ram and resoruces. is this an improvement in WB5?

and second. I use StyleXp just to organize my themes and stuff i dont have the service or the actual theme running in the background. would this still take up ram ? if so how can i remove it? just uninstall.

[RevoDS]

thx everyone for the great responses.

but i noticed somethign different. i used to use WindowsBlinds4 and i thought it took more ram and resoruces. is this an improvement in WB5?

and second. I use StyleXp just to organize my themes and stuff i dont have the service or the actual theme running in the background. would this still take up ram ? if so how can i remove it? just uninstall.

WB5 doesn't always have wbload.exe running in background, only when you apply a theme, so of course it uses less RAM.

Rumors even say that it is more efficient than uxtheme (msstyles)

Also, StyleXP always loads the UXtheme hack in background, under a different name, so even if you only use it to organize your themes, it eats memory.

[WooSH]

yeah but i disabled it from running at startup.

if i dont want it to run in the backround at all, secretly...and i if i uninstall it would it solve the problem.

also what if i USE a WB Theme and run WB5 inteh background. i want to know what effects will it have on my pc.

thx :)

[chavo]

I used it for about 3 weeks, then got fed up at the limited amount of quality themes, and changed back to UxTheme.

Sure, the tansparent themes are great, but there are only about 2 worth looking at. And most of the themes available do not suit my tastes. So yeah, I do believe it works much better than windows built-in theme app (and uxtheme), but there's not enough content for me

You do know that you can convert msstyle to Windowblinds themes right?

Just get the shareware version of SkinStudio and it will import themes on the fly.

I'm using an imported version of Luna Element 4 and it's flawless. I even used SkinStudio to import the scroll bars from Luna Elemnet 5 to make my own mod. You don't need to be a skinner to mess with SkinStudio, you can import individual parts of themes and mix and match them.

I don't work for Stardock, but I'm a loyal customer and Object Desktop subscriber.

yeah but i disabled it from running at startup.

if i dont want it to run in the backround at all, secretly...and i if i uninstall it would it solve the problem.

also what if i USE a WB Theme and run WB5 inteh background. i want to know what effects will it have on my pc.

thx

If you have a halfway decent computer you won't notice the Windowblinds running. As many people have said before, Windowblinds is more efficient than MS's own themeing engine. So if you use Windowblinds and disable MS theme service, your comp will run faster.

[urhash]

How do I disable the MS theme service?

[thecableguy]

How do I disable the MS theme service?

Start>>Control Panel>>Administrative Tools>>Services

Scroll down to Themes>>Right Click>>Properties>>Stop then disable.

[Punio4]

I have 512 mb ram, barton 2800+ and 9800pro... while moving or resizing windows it drops down to 15-20 fps... it is fine, but default windows rendering is smoother in my case...

[Autumnmist]

You do realize, though, that if you disable the Windows Theme Service, you won't be able to use msstyles/StyleXP. (duh)

Themes are going to take up more RAM than no-Themes because an extra program is needed to run and use the theme! Trying to use themes and then disable/delete the process that themes Windows is like installing your graphics card drives when you first set it up and then deleting them because you don't want them running in the background.

[CeL_dAmAgE]

You do realize, though, that if you disable the Windows Theme Service, you won't be able to use msstyles/StyleXP. (duh)

Themes are going to take up more RAM than no-Themes because an extra program is needed to run and use the theme! Trying to use themes and then disable/delete the process that themes Windows is like installing your graphics card drives when you first set it up and then deleting them because you don't want them running in the background.

Whats the use of using msstyles with WindowBlinds 5? You just need to pick up the free copy of SkinStudio and you can port them in two seconds.

[feverfive]

Whats the use of using msstyles with WindowBlinds 5? You just need to pick up the free copy of SkinStudio and you can port them in two seconds.

I can never get a msstyle to look good in WB....actually, haven't tried since early 4.x, not even sure if I can remember how to do it...

[WooSH]

soo....if i disable themes...then load WB5 and use WB5 Themes then it would be better on ram? and system resources?

spex:

512MB Ram

P43.0 Ghz HT

250 Gig Maxtor 7200RPM

[CeL_dAmAgE]

I can never get a msstyle to look good in WB....actually, haven't tried since early 4.x, not even sure if I can remember how to do it...

you can just double click on the msstyle file if you have skin studio installed and it should start importing. and btw, most msstyle files look fine, atleast to me.

Oh yeah, @ statix1, yup, it will definetely be a lot lighter.

[Borbus]

soo....if i disable themes...then load WB5 and use WB5 Themes then it would be better on ram? and system resources?

Yes, because only one theme engine will be running (WB) rather than two.

[WooSH]

no i ment is it better than running ONLY msstyles.

[alpha_omega]

What exactly is the problem? Your machine can handle both VSs and WBs without a problem. Try each of them and then decide for yourself what's better...

[Punio4]

Here's a question:

Does WindowFX's option "Accelerate alpha blending" cause trouble with window blinds 5? (i'm not actively using it)

Because, when dragging larger windows, they tend to slow down, and then snap about 50 pixels after... same happens when using glass2k or winroll's transparency...

What's bugging me is that my CPU doesnt go above 50% the whole time...

I am using 9800pro with the latest omega drivers, barton2800+, 512 ddr, and from background services im using RKlauncher, konfabulator, and winroll...

[Autumnmist]

Stardock has said that the current release of WindowFX is known to have problems in certain cases with WB5, so you might be seeing that