Customise your Windows XP for free.
Many of us would like to customise the appearance of their system but they do not know how to do it.Some use Style XP but it's not free.Here I will tell you how to do it without using any paid software.
1.First download the uxtheme file patcher from
www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=140707
Run it and follow the instructions.This patches your uxtheme.dll file so that you can use .msstyles visual styles without any resources.You can download
visual styles from the net for free from www.belchfire.net
2.Next download Logon Loader from
logonloader.danielmilner.com/download.php
This changes your login screen.You can download some great login screens from www.belchfire.net
3.This will have completely changed your system appearance.Next come the simple steps.Download some wallpapers of your choice from any site.
4.Change some of the common icons with Registry edits.Proceed as follows.
---Start Regedit---Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons---The default icons are numbered in the right panel from 0-40---Double click on the number of the particular icon you want to change. See the chart below.---Enter the name of the icon file you want to use followed by the number of the icon in that file.---Note: The numbering starts with zero.If you use a single .ICO file, it should be followed by a 0.e.g. - filename.dll,4 - This would actually be the 5th icon since it starts with 0.Make sure you delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE
Below is a reference for the icons I've been able to figure out:
0 - Default Icon1 - Default Document2 - Application3 - Closed Folder4 - Open Folder5 - 5 1/4 Drive6 - 3 1/4 Drive7 - Removable Drive8 - Hard Drive9 - Network Folder10 - Network Offline11 - CD12 - RAM Drive13 - Entire Nertwork15 - My Computer16 - Printer17 - Network Neighborhood18 - Network Workgroup19-27 are the Start Menu icons19 - Programs20 - Desktop21 - Settings22 - Find23 - Help24 - Run25 - Suspend27 - Shutdown
28 - Share29 - Shortcut31 - Recycle Bin (Empty)32 - Recycle Bin (Full)33 - Folder, Dial-Up Networking34 - Desktop36 - Program Group40 - Audio Card
In addition, you can change:My Computer - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}Network Neighborhood - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}InBox - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}Recycle Bin - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
5.Next comes customising your mouse pointers.Go and download CursorXP from www.cursorxp.com .This will completely change your mouse pointer scheme.
6.Next download YzToolbar from www.windowsstartup.com/wso/detail.php?id=4674 .This will change the toolbar appearance which appears on top of every Window.
7.Want to add a cool Mac Like dock to your XP.Go download MobyDock from www.mobydock.com/.
This finishes my tutorial.If you have any extra steps feel free to comment.I will add them with your name to my blog.
Many of us would like to customise the appearance of their system but they do not know how to do it.Some use Style XP but it's not free.Here I will tell you how to do it without using any paid software.
1.First download the uxtheme file patcher from
www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=140707
Run it and follow the instructions.This patches your uxtheme.dll file so that you can use .msstyles visual styles without any resources.You can download
visual styles from the net for free from www.belchfire.net
2.Next download Logon Loader from
logonloader.danielmilner.com/download.php
This changes your login screen.You can download some great login screens from www.belchfire.net
3.This will have completely changed your system appearance.Next come the simple steps.Download some wallpapers of your choice from any site.
4.Change some of the common icons with Registry edits.Proceed as follows.
---Start Regedit---Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons---The default icons are numbered in the right panel from 0-40---Double click on the number of the particular icon you want to change. See the chart below.---Enter the name of the icon file you want to use followed by the number of the icon in that file.---Note: The numbering starts with zero.If you use a single .ICO file, it should be followed by a 0.e.g. - filename.dll,4 - This would actually be the 5th icon since it starts with 0.Make sure you delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE
Below is a reference for the icons I've been able to figure out:
0 - Default Icon1 - Default Document2 - Application3 - Closed Folder4 - Open Folder5 - 5 1/4 Drive6 - 3 1/4 Drive7 - Removable Drive8 - Hard Drive9 - Network Folder10 - Network Offline11 - CD12 - RAM Drive13 - Entire Nertwork15 - My Computer16 - Printer17 - Network Neighborhood18 - Network Workgroup19-27 are the Start Menu icons19 - Programs20 - Desktop21 - Settings22 - Find23 - Help24 - Run25 - Suspend27 - Shutdown
28 - Share29 - Shortcut31 - Recycle Bin (Empty)32 - Recycle Bin (Full)33 - Folder, Dial-Up Networking34 - Desktop36 - Program Group40 - Audio Card
In addition, you can change:My Computer - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}Network Neighborhood - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}InBox - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}Recycle Bin - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
5.Next comes customising your mouse pointers.Go and download CursorXP from www.cursorxp.com .This will completely change your mouse pointer scheme.
6.Next download YzToolbar from www.windowsstartup.com/wso/detail.php?id=4674 .This will change the toolbar appearance which appears on top of every Window.
7.Want to add a cool Mac Like dock to your XP.Go download MobyDock from www.mobydock.com/.
This finishes my tutorial.If you have any extra steps feel free to comment.I will add them with your name to my blog.
