Member Avatar for J☼E

ok i know where to get themes now but do i have to have a program that is constantly running in order for the theme to stay or is there no way around that?

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Quick summary tied to the thread: @J☼E has a downloaded theme that won’t appear in Appearance and Windows keeps falling back to WindowBlinds; rightly suggested uninstalling WindowBlinds and trying the patch in Safe Mode, and / called out third‑party theme tools. The behavior you’re seeing usually comes down to one of three things: the download is a WindowBlinds skin (not a native Visual Style), the theme package wasn’t the right type or wasn’t extracted correctly, or the patch/OS mismatch or leftover WindowBlinds hooks are preventing the native style from loading.

Practical checks that weren’t spelled out above: verify the package contents — a native XP visual style will include a .msstyles/.theme pair inside an extracted folder; if the download is a single installer/skin package it may be intended only for WindowBlinds. Open the theme’s .theme file in a text editor to confirm it points to an existing .msstyles inside the same folder (that catches broken paths). Try applying a known‑good native .theme as a simple test: if that works, the problem is the downloaded file; if it fails, the patch or system hooks are the culprit.

If the patcher itself refuses to run: make a System Restore point and keep a copy of the original system file before changing anything; temporarily disable antivirus or any "explorer protection" that could block patchers; confirm you’re using a patch built for your exact Windows build/Service Pack. If Windows still loads WindowBlinds after uninstall, look for leftover startup entries or running WB processes (kill and remove them or use an autorun/startup tool to clean entries) — stale shell hooks are a common cause.

If low‑level patching is undesirable, use a manager like StyleXP or WindowBlinds (supported installer + rollback) so skins apply cleanly. Always back up system files or use System Restore before modifying uxtheme-related files.

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Member Avatar for Zoogies

ok i know where to get themes now but do i have to have a program that is constantly running in order for the theme to stay or is there no way around that?

Probably....what do you use, DesktopX? For everything but the original windows themes, yes.

Member Avatar for Dani

Well, you can go with www.stardock.com for WindowBlinds or for StyleXP. Depends which software you go with. Personally I like StyleXP better.

Member Avatar for unb0und

check on the neowin.net forums for a uxtheme.dll patcher that allows you to apply msstyles without having to use stylexp. the patch is also on the stylexp site ;)

Member Avatar for J☼E

ok i downloaded uxtheme.dllwhat do i need for it to run? what does it do?

Member Avatar for unb0und

ok i downloaded uxtheme.dllwhat do i need for it to run? what does it do?

you dont need anything to run it. it should be a self executing program that patches uxtheme.dll that allows you to use msstyles w/o having to have stylexp installed, or running at all. you might have to go into safe mode to succesfully patch uxtheme.dll. once you have done so, create a folder in c:\windows\resources\themes\ and place the files for the visual style you have downloaded into it's own folder. once you have done so, go to your display properties, click the appearance tab, then select the desired theme from the drop down menu under "windows and buttons"

Member Avatar for J☼E

the patch wont work, i get this message when i try to run the exe file
[img][/img]
any ideas??

Member Avatar for J☼E

that didnt work, i patched it with that thing and restartede, created c: windows rescources themese put a theme in there and went to the apperance tab then to that pull down menu and i selected it but it just loaded windwo blinds (theme running program)

Member Avatar for unb0und

that didnt work, i patched it with that thing and restartede, created c: windows rescources themese put a theme in there and went to the apperance tab then to that pull down menu and i selected it but it just loaded windwo blinds (theme running program)

uninstall windows blinds, then try to apply the theme. if that doesnt work, repatch the uxtheme.dll and then apply visual style.

Member Avatar for J☼E

i cant get the theme to show up on the list even tho i uninstalled window blinds and put it in the c windows rescources themes folder

Member Avatar for unb0und

you created a seperate folder for the theme correct?

are you patching in safe mode?

Member Avatar for J☼E

no i didnt patch it in safe mode how do i run safe mode?


so if the theme is called "x" then i should creat C:/windows/rescources/themes/x

is this right?

Member Avatar for unb0und

no i didnt patch it in safe mode how do i run safe mode?


so if the theme is called "x" then i should creat C:/windows/rescources/themes/x

is this right?

yes

From the Windows Start menu, go to Turn off computer and click Restart.

As the computer restarts, watch for a progress bar at the bottom of the screen. press F8 about once every second.

Immediately press F8 before the progress bar reaches the right side of the screen.

From the Windows Start-up menu,(you may have to press F8 to see this) highlight Safe Mode and press Enter.

Wait for your desktop to appear, and then make the necessary repairs (for example, uninstall programs or devices).

When the repairs are done, restart the computer, and allow it to boot normally

Member Avatar for J☼E

it still didnt work i booted in safe mode and installed the patch again and no dice

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