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Thread: Making XP look better

  1. #1
    Ol' Timer Bunjiweb's Avatar
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    Making XP look better

    I have seen programs such as WindowBlinds and ThemeXP that change the "look" of the XP interface. Are there any similar programs available that don't slow down the interface and use comparatively little system resources.

    Ideally i'd like a skin that makes XP look similar to Vista because although I like how Vista looks, I just can't quite bring myself to upgrade to Vista because of all the problems I hear people having with Vista.

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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by Bunjiweb View Post
    I just can't quite bring myself to upgrade to Vista because of all the problems I hear people having with Vista.
    Hyperbole. Usually generated by people who haven't used it either.
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent View Post
    ...every time Creative bring out a new card range their advertising makes it sound like they have discovered a way to insert a thousand Chuck Norris super dwarfs in your ears...

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    Senior[ish] Member Singh400's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by Bunjiweb View Post
    I have seen programs such as WindowBlinds and ThemeXP that change the "look" of the XP interface. Are there any similar programs available that don't slow down the interface and use comparatively little system resources.

    Ideally i'd like a skin that makes XP look similar to Vista because although I like how Vista looks, I just can't quite bring myself to upgrade to Vista because of all the problems I hear people having with Vista.

    Ben
    Hacked uxtheme.dll and some nice themes from DeviantArt.com

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    Chaos Monkey Apex's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    Have you tried the vista transformation pack ?

    http://www.windowsxlive.net/

    http://www.windowsxlive.net/vista-tr....0.1-its-fixed...

    I just have the basics installed ( none of the third party ad ons ) and i have not noticed any slow down from before

    Drew



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    Ol' Timer Bunjiweb's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    might give the vista transformation pack a go.

    Got Object dock which already helps alot, its primarily desktop icons that I didnt want anyway!

    Ben
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    ɯʎɔɐɹsɐʌʍ mycarsavw's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by aidanjt View Post
    Hyperbole. Usually generated by people who haven't used it either.
    x2

    Man up, try Vista (or Win7 beta)
    |Kata: "Read title as 'fisting'. Not sure why I clicked. Relieved, really."|
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    Senior[ish] Member Singh400's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by Apex View Post
    Have you tried the vista transformation pack ?

    http://www.windowsxlive.net/

    http://www.windowsxlive.net/vista-tr....0.1-its-fixed...

    I just have the basics installed ( none of the third party ad ons ) and i have not noticed any slow down from before

    Drew
    Quote Originally Posted by Bunjiweb View Post
    might give the vista transformation pack a go.

    Got Object dock which already helps alot, its primarily desktop icons that I didnt want anyway!

    Ben
    I wouldn't touch the Vista Transformation pack with a barge pole. It modifies alot of core system files, and when it does go bad (and it does) it completely messes up your system.

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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by Singh400 View Post
    I wouldn't touch the Vista Transformation pack with a barge pole. It modifies alot of core system files, and when it does go bad (and it does) it completely messes up your system.
    Not had this myself.
    I was till recently on SP2 and have been since I installed XP 4years ago ( yes that's right 4 years install )

    I had the older version of VTP on, i uninstalled this with out a hitch, rebooted, installed SP3, rebooted and then installed the V9 of VTP without a hitch - and like i said not noticed any difference in speed



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    Ol' Timer Bunjiweb's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    ive read very mixed things on the vista transformation pack.... Might wait until Windows 7 arrives and see what price this puts Vista down to, SP2 is meant to fix a lot of problems with Vista?

    Ben
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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by Bunjiweb View Post
    ive read very mixed things on the vista transformation pack.... Might wait until Windows 7 arrives and see what price this puts Vista down to, SP2 is meant to fix a lot of problems with Vista?
    Such as? SP2 is a rollup of most of the patches we already have via Windows Update. There's not a lot to fear with Vista, apart from the unfounded rubbish people tend to spew about it

    The VTP for XP is like putting lipstick on a pig - it's still a pig.
    Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719


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    Re: Making XP look better

    Upgrade to vista!

    I have recently (only because it was free) installed SP1 and haven't looked back, in fact i wish i had upgraded earlier, yep its a resource hog but just take your time and tune it to your liking, turn of the service you don't want/need and its fine!

    Go my memory footprint down for 1.1GB down to 653mb
    Insert clever sig here...

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    Senior[ish] Member Singh400's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by ConTRo13R View Post
    Go my memory footprint down for 1.1GB down to 653mb
    You do know that Vista memory management is much better than XPs right? And in fact the more RAM Vista is using the better (otherwise it is essentially wasted RAM). So, if anything you have done more harm than good to your system.

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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by Singh400 View Post
    You do know that Vista memory management is much better than XPs right? And in fact the more RAM Vista is using the better (otherwise it is essentially wasted RAM). So, if anything you have done more harm than good to your system.
    Having only 2Gb of ram i can quite assure you my system is much more responsive now than it was before
    Insert clever sig here...

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    Re: Making XP look better

    Royale theme brings XP nicely up to date - made by MS New Zealand and freely distributable.

    Get hold of Segoe UI from installing either word or powerpoint viewer 2007 and the result is quite vista like.

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    Re: Making XP look better

    The built-in Windows theme service, UXTHEME.DLL (as used by the default Luna theme) is based on a licensed WindowBlinds 2.0 engine

    FYI

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    Re: Making XP look better

    Quote Originally Posted by ConTRo13R View Post
    Having only 2Gb of ram i can quite assure you my system is much more responsive now than it was before
    tbh I doubt it, vista caches the memory you don't use to speed vista up; when an application needs RAM, Vista then provides it.

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