NoelC

Hm.... The ModernFrame.dll I'm running is still a debug version and is 1,332,224 bytes, dated August 5. I think this is the latest test version Big Muscle provided as a direct download, but NOT what was provided with the 1.4 release. Since it's mentioned in the release notes I guess it must be available in a non-debug build via an option in the installer. It's not in either of the "manual download" packages. I'm going to run the installer to see if I can get it from there... ...done... Yes, the Release build of ModernFrame.dll that comes with the 1.4 installer is only 203,776 bytes, dated August 24. My problem there was that ModernFrame.dll isn't in any of the manual update .7z files, so I was still running the pre-release. But that was not the issue with the title coloring... Now, after having run the installer, I have a new problem, possibly related to what you reported, adacom: Not only the Modern Frame title is dark, but also the titles on my ribbon-enabled windows. It appears the Aero Glass installer has set the AppInit_DLLs value to C:\AEROGL~1\ModernFrame.dll, and has removed my UxThemeSignatureBypass64.dll entry entirely. I was able to restore proper operation by putting the proper string back into AppInit_DLLs, which included the names of both UxThemeSignatureBypass64 and ModernFrame DLLs. I also had to restore the 32 bit AppInit_DLLs setting. I'm not sure whether the Aero Glass installer had removed that one, though. So... If you've used the installer: Check/correct your AppInit_DLLs values (both 32 and 64 bit), then reboot. Also, check/correct your color settings in the Aero Glass for Win 8.x GUI configuration tool. -Noel

Worked just as stated, and the process searchui.exe is gone for good. Thank you, maxXPsoft. Confirmed: Searches work as expected in the Explorer box, and from Classic Shell's start menu. -Noel

There was once a thing called "Release". You'd use the term "Released" to identify software that was fully system-tested by a large quality assurance organization, and was guaranteed more stable than "Beta" or "Alpha" software, and those two terms in turn defined two levels of integration and system validation testing beyond "Unit Test" software, which itself implies a level of completion beyond "what the engineer is working on at the moment". Software used to have to achieve "Release" before customers could buy it, because no one in their right mind would choose to use software that wasn't completed, integrated, and well-tested to meet its functional specification. That was then. Now we're seeing software at the "Alpha" or at best "Beta" level (though that is stretching it a bit) being delivered to the masses, and those in the Insider program are getting software that represents "what the engineer is working on at the moment". Microsoft sells this "quick path from the engineer to you" as a feature, as though it's some kind of positive thing. Don't let them get away with lowering their requirements to deliver something that is actually good. -Noel

I think it's Microsoft trying to manage a company full of misfits and IQ 90 engineers, to be honest. Blinding with Brilliance was last millennium. Now... -Noel

OK, in my case I needed to update my firewall settings to allow the Aero Glass software (running in DWM) to contact Microsoft to get the symbols. [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x69C:0x6A0] Installing DWM hook... [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x69C:0x6A0] User: SYSTEM [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x69C:0x6A0] Module: C:\AeroGlass\DWMGlass.dll [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6A8] Machine ID: ... [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6A8] Checking key ... for ID ...... [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6A8] Hook (USER32.dll!DrawTextW from udwm.dll) installed [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6A8] Hook (GDI32.dll!CreateBitmap from udwm.dll) installed [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6A8] Hook (GDI32.dll!CreateRoundRectRgn from udwm.dll) installed [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6A8] Aero Glass for Win8.1+ 1.4.0.200 x64 correctly loaded (C:\AeroGlass\DWMGlass.dll). [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6F8] DBGHELP: Symbol Search Path: .;SRV*C:\AeroGlass\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6F8] Loading settings (flags = 0x1) from HKEY 0x0000000000000000 for session #1 [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6F8] dwmcore.dll version 10.0.10240.16461 [2015-08-28 16:06:03][0x98:0x6F8] udwm.dll version 10.0.10240.16384 2015-08-28 16:06:04][0x98:0x6F8] Symbols loaded from external files: 0x80 -Noel

I can't honestly take credit for that, being an engineer of very little brain (but some remaining integrity) myself. Google "golden poo", then hit the Images link and see what comes up. In fact, for a daily dose of humor/irony, I recommend you do that with most any phrase at least once a day, then scroll down and look through all the results. I guarantee you'll smile at least once. -Noel

From my understanding: The .layout file is just metadata. It instructs Big Muscle's software on the specifics of loading and applying the contents of the .png file to the current system. Without that metadata, it uses the information the current system build requires. A key aspect of this is that with the proper .layout file contents, an older PNG file - such as one extracted from Windows 8 Release Preview - can be used with a new system - such as Windows 10 build 10240. What I don't know - and it's a testament to my own ignorance - is how he creates the .layout file from the DWM processes on a given system. Perhaps he added some code to his own software to print information in the debug.log. Big Muscle, would it be possible for you to derive and publish the entire .layout file that goes with Win 10 build 10240 when using a theme atlas that matches a STREAM resource that's been extracted from the Windows 10 build 10240 aero.msstyles? -Noel

Interesting, but a bit worrisome... That one seems serious, though possibly overkill... For example, it disables the Internet Time Service. Perhaps its intent is to disable all spontaneous online activity. Like I said, possibly overkill. Frankly it looks a bit like a retroactive divorce from Microsoft. Not that such a thing isn't warranted, but it seems pretty severe. But thanks for the link. I think I'll look through the (quite large) list of changes it makes in detail. Edit: I'm trying it on a Win 10 build 10240 virtual machine whose configuration I can easily restore. Since it's designed for multiple operating systems, a fairly large part of it completes with "not applicable" errors, and in my case since I've already been implementing privacy measures a fair number of steps reported "it was already done", but I am happy to report that it IS still possible to complete a Windows Update check after running it. Edit 2: Even after application of that draconian script my (non-standard) firewall setup just blocked taskhostw (running who knows what) from contacting Microsoft on a variety of addresses, as you can see here: Those addresses correspond to: 178.255.83.1 - crt.comodoca.com, Comodo (CCANET Limited), London, England 178.255.83.2 - crt.comodoca.com, Comodo (CCANET Limited), London, England 23.14.84.115 - Acamai Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts 23.14.84.154 - Acamai Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts 23.4.37.163 - NTT America (Acamai Technologies), Cambridge, Massachusetts 23.4.43.27 - NTT America (Acamai Technologies), Cambridge, Massachusetts Edit 3: One more address seen contacted by svchost with NOTHING else running, and the system configured as best I can to avoid automatic update checks: 157.55.240.220 - Microsoft Azure, Redmond, Washington Edit 4: It appears to repeat the attempts I listed in Edit 2 at regular intervals. -Noel

Today I saw that KB3081448 ("This update includes improvements to enhance the functionality of Windows 10") became available. It is a big one, another cumulative update. Lots of files are updated. To confirm something for which I performed a controlled test, permissions I set up to try to thwart an undoing of configuration changes I had made were reversed, and configuration changes were undone! Specifically, I had removed Desktop from appearing under This PC by removing these registry keys: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641} HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641} Then I set permissions on the NameSpace key that should have prevented any further access. Now I look and SYSTEM again has Full Control, and the subkey was readded by the Windows Update process. Our systems are no longer our own! -Noel

I'm vetting available updates before installing them on my Win 10 test system... I show KB3081449 ("This update improves the Windows 10 out-of-box experience (OOBE)") and KB3081452 ("This update makes improvements to ease the upgrade experience to Windows 10") available, in addition to a definition update for Windows Defender. The listing of files for KB3081449 doesn't include any of the *DWM* files, and they've neglected to put a list in at all for KB3081452 - only that it replaces KB3081441, which doesn't include any *DWM* files. After installing the above two, KB3081448 ("This update includes improvements to enhance the functionality of Windows 10") became available. It is a big one, a cumulative update, and it DOES have DWM components listed. Aero Glass was working perfectly before installing these, so I'll go forth and install KB34081448 as well and see what happens... ...Reboot completed. As expected, the popup "Aero Glass does not know how to hook your version of DWM" was displayed -- yet there is translucency, and the theme atlas was replaced perfectly. Pressing the Retry button repeatedly yielded only a redisplay of the pop-up message. [2015-08-28 09:35:07][0x1B8:0xC78] dwmcore.dll version 10.0.10240.16461 [2015-08-28 09:35:07][0x1B8:0xC78] udwm.dll version 10.0.10240.16384 [2015-08-28 09:35:10][0x1B8:0xC78] DWM incompatibility error 0x80 Big Muscle, I really feel sorry for you in the position you're finding yourself in. It's really impossible to keep up with Microsoft's ridiculous new "update continuously" policy. Oh, and some things I had configured got de-configured as well, even though I had build a cordon around them with permissions. For example, "Desktop", which I had eliminated, had magically reappeared under This PC. Microsoft == Fail -Noel

Things are always going to be broken in pre-release builds (not that they should be, but I'm going from past experience). And Big Muscle has explicitly stated that the release of Aero Glass doesn't work with them. -Noel

I'm seeing some windows open, close, then open again in Win 10. Example: Event Viewer. There are clearly a bunch of folks programming Windows that possess only a basic understanding of how it works. -Noel

Of course. But most "feature" lists prominently state that Windows 8 and newer have vastly improved the Task Manager. -Noel

Fuzsion, you might want to test on a dark background (e.g., astronomy images) and put a light pixel in the borders somewhere. Some prefer dark backgrounds, and it looks as though your borders might visually disappear there. -Noel

I've long wanted the ability to get more color in window borders. That would be possible if the pixels were combined with combinational logic that includes Multiply mixing, and would better approximate what actually happens in physical glass. I've added color to my theme atlas resources just to get (barely) enough blue into the active window borders to visually differentiate them. I understand the limitations with using Direct2D, but the ability to have a very deep blue, e.g. cobalt blue, glass color would be nice. See also: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/173827-feature-requests/#entry1098999 -Noel

Minimal? Why are people (not you Jorge) so kind with words? Looking as seriously as humanly possible at ROI, the thing is actually a net loss. No one wants or needs Metro/Modern Apps - and this condition has persisted for YEARS now, so it's not just a matter of time. Though it's basically compatible, the desktop is uglier and offers NO new usability features over Windows 7 (sorry, but their best effort with Task Manager left me flat). Same stuff as Windows 8, which (clearly) the Windows 7 users in question didn't want. No one in their right mind wants MORE of their personal / sensitive business info sent to servers all over the world, yet that's what Win 10 does. No one wants to have to figure out what it's sending where in an ongoing fashion and try to outguess it. The continuous update model... Who really wants their OS to CHANGE every few months? Who wants their settings reset by Microsoft every few months? Sorry, but Microsoft has lost the plot entirely... It's not about running the OS, it's about USING the OS. The OS needs to be STABLE and USEFUL. -Noel

It may not applicable, given your requirement that it be a server OS, but here's my anecdote: I put a Win 7 Ultimate install on my brand new Dell PowerEdge T20 small business server a few months ago. It serves two Subversion repositories. I couldn't be happier. It runs unattended sweetly for weeks at a time between Windows Updates that require reboots! Easily saturates gigabit Ethernet with file data. -Noel

Just to confirm, yes, with the only change being the Aero Glass tool version from 1.3 to 1.4 I saw it. I'm pretty careful to make only one system change at a time then test. Glad you were able to reproduce it. It's not a big deal for me, specifically, as I don't log in very often (my workstation normally stays logged-in and running for as long as it takes between Windows Updates requiring a reboot). FYI in about a day of operation with the release I've seen no problems on the desktop other than what I reported above, and I did some pretty heavy development work yesterday including remote collaboration and running some VMware guests. By the way, with my own releases of software I usually have the beta testers try at least one Release build before going live. Debug builds are never quite the same... -Noel

Thanks for the confirmation, VoodooPriest. I had heard rumors of that elsewhere, but not seen a definite post where someone had to go through exactly what you did and was successfully able to reactivate. I feel for you. I have tested Win 10 in a VMware virtual machine environment, and made the judgment not to upgrade without having had to go through what you did. At the moment, on my fully updated Win 8.1 system (on which I have NOT been offered Win 10), I have hidden these: KB2976978 KB3035583 KB3046480 KB3068708 KB3075249 KB3080149 Edit: I imagine some additional ones will show up after you get started installing them. -Noel

Already saw a glitch with 1.4 when getting ready to log into my Win 8.1 workstation. When the lock screen slides up, it ends up all broken up. This was after logging off only. I'm going to reboot the whole system just to be sure it's not a transient issue. Edit: It does it after bootup as well. The logon prompt background seems to jump in reducing stages of transparency as I type, as does the blue screen between logon and the actual desktop. But all the problems seem to be limited to the logon process. Everything on the desktop seems to be working okay. I can live with this. Note that I am using the March 8 UxThemeSignatureBypass DLLs. debug.log: -Noel

Trying to make a decision about whether to replace the Aero Glass components on a perfectly functioning Win 8.1 setup with the new release. Is 1.4 compellingly better for use on Win 8.1 than its predecessor, which seems perfectly stable and fast? I've tested it in a Win 8.1 VM; it appears to work fine. Up above, "hardcoded" is mentioned. Is 1.4 equally flexible as 1.3 if Microsoft should update the DWM components for Win 8.1? Will 1.4 attempt to compensate by downloading symbols, as past versions have done? -Noel

Welcome to "modern" design. Somehow it became okay - actually encouraged (see Office, Visual Studio, etc.) - to ignore the system theme entirely. That's apparently "legacy" now. We are told over and over that this is an improvement. So it must be, right? After all, Microsoft knows best (how to sell things without doing any work). I've not used ForcedSystemMetrics. With my theme atlas file I created a companion .layout file that added these entries: # Increases margins around window edges 47;0;3602=4,0,0,0 # Window Borders 45;0;3602=4,0,0,0 # Tool Window Borders -Noel

I've been called "behind" before. And I'm damned proud of it! Trouble is, the only way I can see all this BS this new paradigm blowing over shifting to something new and better is business failure. But say 100 million users (of the ridiculous awesome Windows 8 system) end up forcibly duped graciously upgraded into using Windows 10... That would probably be seen as something short of utter failure a success. I imagine Microsoft could profitably sell 100 million pairs of eyeballs. -Noel P.S., Speaking of re-packaging... Note that all Windows 10 Updates so far have been cumulative. Perhaps TH2 is no more than an excuse to reset everyone's tweaks.

Seems to me the more measures the better. I would definitely suggest selecting all the overt, provided settings to maximize privacy. Beyond that I'm not sure about some of the "published" measures. Some seem extreme, and none of us can possibly know what taking some of these measures will mean in the long term. For example, in a few months, after not having been able to contact 157.56.106.189 will the system just deactivate? How can we know? And we may never get out of the time of discovery! This is clearly Microsoft's plan, and the crux of the problem. Armed with as much information as I've been able to gather, all that simply makes Windows 10 a non-starter for me. Will there ever be a version that'll be acceptable? Perhaps not, given this "continuous change" model. I have to judge whether Microsoft's bandwagon is going in the direction I want to go, but so far it's going exactly 180 degrees from there. P.S., Imagine looking through a listing like this every day and trying to decide whether the blocking of network contact attempts is properly tuned, in order to maintain your privacy: -Noel

Should it? There's not been enough time for a proper Service Pack. I can't imagine that they've done anything good to it in just a few months, can you? Not that they're doing anything good as a rule... -Noel