How to Install & Use 3rd Party (Custom) Themes in Windows 7?

Windows 7 look is very much similar to Vista with a few minor changes here and there and if you are a customization lover like me, you might want to change its look and apply some 3rd party themes. But the question is, how to use 3rd party themes in Windows 7?

Like other Windows versions, Windows 7 also doesn't allow 3rd party themes to be used by default and you'll need to patch following 3 system files to be able to use 3rd party themes in Windows 7:

uxtheme.dll
themeui.dll
themeservice.dll

All these 3 files are stored in "%windir%\System32" folder. Manually patching these files is a risky and time consuming task, so we are sharing a small utility which can help you in patching these files easily and quickly.

"Universal Theme Patcher" is an excellent UxTheme Patcher which supports Windows XP SP2/SP3, Server 2003, Vista SP1/SP2, Server 2008 and Windows 7. It can be used in both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) systems.

You can download it using following links:

Download Link

Mirror1

Mirror2

Following are simple steps to use this awesome tool:

1. You just need to run its EXE file and it'll ask you to select the language:

2. Click on OK button and it'll detect the OS and condition of the system files. It'll show you the information and will ask you for confirmation:

3. Click on Yes button. Now you'll see the main interface of this tool. You just need to click on the "Patch" button given for each file:

4.Once you patch a file, the "Restore" button gets activated so that you can restore the default file in future:

5. Restart your system and you'll be able to use 3rd party themes in Windows 7 without any problem.

6. At last simply copy the .theme file and its theme folder to "%windir%\Resources\Themes" folder (where %windir% means "Windows" directory present in system drive where Windows 7 is installed. Most probably C: drive). Now double-click on .theme file and it'll apply the theme or you can apply it using Desktop Personalization window.

Following is a screenshot of Windows 7 RTM using 3rd party theme "Gel XP Blue":

PS: It supports all Windows 7 builds including public Beta and RC.

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This article was posted in 7 Themes, Troubleshooting, Windows 7.

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41 Comments

MAGNUMHEART

hi vishal can u create an "aero basic" mock up theme

for windows xp. and cud u make it with thick borders.

the one that im saying is the one with the small rectangle buttons

i wud love if u wud add light up effect on min, max, close buttons.

thx ^^ hope u make it hardcore.
goldi

VG its not working for me ! when i run it , it asks for language & then got this

[IMG]http://i26.tinypic.com/9rndwo.jpg[/IMG]
Jason

I am running a windows 7 RC build 7100 and its 32 bit. I downloaded this file and it only has 64 and 86, is it still ok to patch my files ? or do i need a 32 bit patcher.

Thanks for your help
VG

^^ 32-bit and x86 means same.

@goldi
That's strange. Try to run it as Administrator.

@MAGNUMHEART
Its already there in "SevenVG" theme.
goldi

Yes VG i tried it as admin but got same thing ! is any trick for patching it manually ???

BTW Happy Independance Day . Aazadi Mubarak Ho !
Maniaslayer9

hey VG,

thanks man! this patched succesfully
im going to restart now
but hey....where can i get themes for Windows 7 RTM?
ibar

hey vg,

how to change the drive volume indicator color?
thanks
Jason

Hey VG, This worked fine for me until i applied the Gel Xp blue theme onto my windows 7 RC build 7100 and restarted. When i restarted it came up with the logon screen as normal and i typed in my password and it went to a black screen and came back with the password entry. So i could not logon at all and i had to use a program called macrium reflect to restore my pc. Why did this happen? I doubted that it was the .dll patches and the theme that would do it so i tried again and it did exactly the same thing. Could you help?
Jason

I Patched my files and then used the Gel xp Theme for my Windows 7 RC build 7100. But the problem was that when i restarted i could not logon. When i typed in my password it went black for a few seconds and took me back to the logon screen. Could you tell me why this happened and how to fix it?

Thanks
Jason

Hey VG i wasnt sure if you got my last 2 messages on this or they failed. Heres the problem, I patched my system files succesfully and applied and then restarted. Next i applied the Gel Xp Theme succesfully but when i tried to log on to my windows 7 RC build 7100 it took me to a black screen for a few seconds and went back to the logon screen and i could not logon at all and safe mode did not work either so i had to restore my pc with macrium reflect. But i wasn't completely sure that it was the theme that did it so i re did it all and still the same thing happened, can you tell me why and how to fix it?

Thanks