Download Windows 8 Metro UI Inspired Windows XP “Luna” Theme for Windows 7

We have shared many excellent themes for Windows 7 in past which can be found in our exclusive “Themes and Wallpapers” section. We have shared several Windows 8 Metro UI inspired themes as well as some classic Windows XP themes for Windows 7.

Today we are going to share a unique theme which is actually mix of 2 different themes. “Metro+Luna” theme is an awesome theme for Windows 7 created by “Giro54” @ DA which provides classic Windows XP Luna look-n-feel to Windows 7 along with a refreshing Metro feeling inspired from Windows 8.

The theme features same color schemes used by Windows XP Luna theme but the square corners and other UI elements provide Windows 8 style feeling. The combination of both Windows XP and Windows 8 looks perfect as shown in following screenshot:

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Download_Metro_Luna_Theme_Windows_7.png

The theme can be used in Windows 7 only. Both 32-bit and 64-bit editions are supported. It can be used in Windows 7 systems with or without SP1.

Interested people can download the theme using following link:

After downloading the ZIP file, extract it and you’ll get 2 folders:

  • Visual Style
  • Explorer Frames

STEP 1: Copy content of “Visual Style” folder to “%windir%\Resources\Themes\” folder (where %windir% means “Windows” directory present in system drive where Windows is installed. Most probably C: drive). Now you can apply the theme using Desktop Personalization window. But make sure you have patched your system to use custom 3rd party themes as mentioned in following article:

How to Use 3rd Party Themes in Windows 7?

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STEP 2:Explorer Frames” folder contains files to replace default Back/forward buttons present in Windows Explorer with new Metro style buttons. To use them:

If you are using 64-bit Windows 7, you’ll need to replace “ExplorerFrame.dll” file present in Windows\System32 and Windows\sysWOW64 folders with the new files present in “ExplorerFrames\.dlls\x64 (64-bit)” and “ExplorerFrames\.dlls\x86 (32-bit)” folders.

If you are using 32-bit Windows 7, you just need to replace “ExplorerFrame.dll” file present in Windows\System32 folder with the new file present in “ExplorerFrames\.dlls\x86 (32-bit)” folder.

Check out this link to learn more about replacing system files in Windows.

Feel free to share your feedback about this theme in your comment…

PS: If you want to enjoy this theme in Windows 8, check out following article:

Download Windows XP Luna, Royale Blue and Zune Themes for Windows 8 and 8.1

Published in: Themes and Wallpapers, Windows 7

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Oh, I’m such a fan of the default Luna & the awesome Metro UI of Win8. Thnx for sharing.

  2. The title made me feel like this would be terrible, but the screenshot is actually impressive- sure to give a long-sought-after blend of modern and retro!

  3. PLEH… imo the look of this is revolting. ima go hurl. lol jkjk. i am fan of metro ui too but i just dont like this look. imo metro just doesnt seem to xp well. but good post vg thanks for sharing.

  4. Thanks for the theme, it’s really nice. I successfully placed the “ExplorerFrame.dll” but I don’t have any clue where to put the .bmp files. Any idea?

  5. whoaa! this theme really nice!
    I Love good old luna theme..
    but i like windows 8’s simple theme..
    so… this theme is good for Me! 😀

  6. Hey VG!

    It’s a great theme. I’ve put it into my system but was experiencing this little glitch. See – the start orb (button) hasn’t changed even after patching the ExplorerFrame.dll file as mentioned in the theme’s setup. Although, the explorer’s buttons which are used for moving forward/backward between paths have changed.

    Would be glad if you could help.

    Cheers!

  7. where is the start orb. is the only thing that did not appear the folder. the theme is great and thanks for shearing…..

  8. ^^ here:

    deviantart.com/download/319841060/metro__luna_by_giro54-d5afaxw.zip

    @VG
    thnx for sharing this awesome theme. 🙂

  9. I tested this theme on Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit and its cool, Thanks VG!

    Btw, for those who wants this theme for Windows XP well i found something identical with this and here it is.
    “MetroXP v2.0 Final”
    Link: underwatersun.deviantart.com/art/MetroXP-v2-0-Final-Windows-8-Visual-Style-for-XP-330052957

    Enjoy guys! 🙂

  10. That is a great theme combo of old vs new. I dig it a lot. Any chance of you posting to complete the theme, an iconpackager that offers a replacement of the existing Win7 icons with the old XP Luna icons? Iconpackager beta 5 is out, so it should be able to nearly completely replace all the existing Win7 icons with the old XP Luna ones.

  11. First off, even if this is a little late to respond……W O W. That does truly look awesome, especially with a good 1080p or better monitor. I am very impressed, and am happy that you showed us this theme. It is a bit minimalist + a tiny bit of eye candy + a bit of a retro feel but new. My only thoughts on improvement, would be this. First, how about a free icon pack software similar to IconPacker by Stardock, and include a icon set, that would be the original XP icons, but have a icon artist, enhance them to give a more modern feel, without being so drastic as to be too snazzy and ruin the “retro” feel of the Luna-esque of the theme? Secondly, that artist is talented. I would drool all over myself if he or she would do the exact type of theme, and appearance, but instead of XP Luna, do it with the theme of Mac OS X Tiger. Likewise a icon pack to match the original Tiger ones, but somewhat enhanced a little to give a bit more of a flat like Metro of the overall theme feel? That would be AWESOME. Keep up the great work VG.

  12. Hi VG,
    Each time I either click to exit a opened tab or click on a link on a webpage in IE I get a message across the top of IE that says IE has stopped working, and then a few seconds later I can close the opened tab or it will take me to the website I am trying to open. Can you please explain how I must deal with this or if there is a fix to this issue?
    Thank you,

    Carl

  13. ^^ Try to disable all add-ons using Add-on manager in IE. It might be possible that a 3rd party plugin/extension is causing this issue.

  14. single coluns on Luna.theme it is good- not Dual columns Luna.theme

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