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:
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.
Complete list of AskVG articlesThis article was posted in 7 Themes, Troubleshooting, Windows 7.
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Bubs353
Thankyou vishal for this useful tutorial
Shariq
VG, i didnt patch them yet, because in the boxes where it shows current and backup, the backup is set to "6.1.7100.0" instead of "6.1.7600.16385" i am using the RTM version, shouldn't it show "7600" instead of the "7100" which is the build no. for RC? O_o
[IMG]http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss218/shariq00/Capture1.png[/IMG]
Shariq
^ thats the wrong link..
this is the right one:
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss218/shariq00/Capture.png
VG
^^ I think its showing backup file version in your system.
Shariq
Yea, thats probably it. but if i restore the patched files, then will i get the RC version of the files, instead of getting the original files back?
VG
^^ May be. I'm not sure.
Shariq
oh. thanks a lot.
Rover
Guys . . . i will just ask if this theme is fine although the theme i use in my 7 is just basic.
rover
Hey! It's not working.
The theme will not work if you are using the 7 basic theme.
VG, can you please make this theme functional even though i am using 7 basic theme.
suhaimi adnan
it's work,great!
tq a lot