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Graphic Win2k tweaks, start menu icon and others

caps_buster
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caps_buster

caps_buster

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Guys, one day I tought it will be cool to be able to change the start menu icon. So, I went and look, where and in what file the icon is. I soon find a guide about this - but for Windows XP.

http://www.aspfree.com/c/a/BrainDump/Chang...rt-Button-Icon/

Usually, XP and W2k are the same, so I go with it and look and yes - in the explorer.exe file, there are first bitmap and that is exactly the same as the bitmap on the start menu! So I thought "Voila!", changed the bitmap, reboot... and hell! No change?! WTF! So I went to the String Table and changed the tooltip message when mouse is above the start button and rebooted. Wow, this time a change happens, so, these texts are working, but bitmap must be taken from elsewhere...

For the interesed people, to change the "Start" text on the start button to anything else, visit explorer.exe, String Table and item 37. In item 34 are the tooltip message and so on...

Now I futher studied and searched and I found that the icon for the start button is taken on Windows 2000 from user32.dll, where it is stored as 5th out of SIX different 16 color icons sizes. They are sorted this way:

32x32

10x10

14x14

12x12

16x16

22x22

Now to replace them with the wanted icons one need to create a *.ico file with SIX icons inside and that is not all! They has to be sorted exactly the way they are above! That is a serious problem, because most icon making software refuse to create *.ico file with more that ONE icon (and that kill all the resources 1-6, leaving only resource 1 and possibly a huge problems, because resource 5 (16x16) is used and when it does not exist, well... bad things probably happens.

So ATM I'm a bit stuck there. Anyone can help me out? The linux penguin litttle icons are there: http://ax2.php5.cz/linux_look_icons.zip

If someone can make a icon out of them, well, I would gladly test it!

So, I failed at this, but stuck into another funny mod. The icon that reside in the top right corner of every Windows window when exploring my computer drives and stuff are located at browseui.dll file with THERE size variants. For my classic view, a 22x902 pixels big 256 colors bitmape are used. And editing the top 22x22 pix big "rame" one can change the bitmap, so a custom image in the right up corner is possible. Look:

2a6rshv.jpg

Funny, huh? Probably there is also possibility to save memory when replacing the big, huge, long bitmaps with the animated stuff with one pixel custom frames :) Gotta test that idea :) Sizes are 22x902, 26x1066 and 38x1558 - 22, 30 and 63kBy in size.

Another thing that makes me wonder, tough, are where the bitmap for the login/logout window is. You know, the Windows 2000 Professional logo that you also see upon pressing Ctrl - Alt - Del. At first I thought it might be in the shell32.dll, but the image there is is NOT it:

1z58c45.gif

...and there is NOT anything like the wanted bitmap in the ntoskrnl.exe anyway. Winlogon.exe did not have any bitmap as well, so, where to look for THIS particular one, guys? Anyone know?

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caps_buster

caps_buster

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Yea, that it is! msgina.dll contain the bitmap displayed during Windows starting and user logging in, as well, as shutting/restarting PC! Great! This one:

2hnaqlh.jpg

Only slight complication is, that the 413x72 pixels image (Bitmap 101) is NOT used during user logon, so, to avoid the ughly dafault Windows image flicking on screen during that, it is also necessary to replace the Bitmap 107 - this time 413x88 pixels in size. Worked like a charm, uncompressed BMP 256 color images and ResourceHacker and there we go! :thumbup

Sadly, there is no way to capture even the Ctrl - Alt - Del screen to show how much nicely it looks with girl image, hehe :) I picked this one:

264gqag.jpg

...but, of course, anyone is free to use any image he/she see fit :thumbup

Now back to the cursed start button icon thing. Anyone know icon edit program that allow me create such special icon?

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caps_buster

caps_buster

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Thanks but no thanks - these icon have 256 colors, while the Windows 2000 like 16 colors for the GUI elements only. Also, the icons need to be sorted by this size order:

32x32

10x10

14x14

12x12

16x16

22x22

And I wish I was kidding about it. Can you do that and keep them in the 16 colors I have them in?

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Tripo

Tripo

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There is a Pack called VistaPack that change to icons and stuff automatic for you.

it is very great. http://www.vistapack.org

They are now working on Version 3.

Then you can take a look on WildBills Smoothtext That will give you Cleartype looks on windows 2000 is also has a skinning engine in it so it can change

allot of stuff like taskbar, buttons and stuff.

But it is under development so it is not fully stable.

There is some stuff needed to get it to work.

So for me it works quit stable. And Wildbill is doing a fantastic work on it.

Also there is a project called Daedalus that makes windows 2000 explorer use 32bit icons.

Edited by Tripo
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Colonel O'Neill

Colonel O'Neill

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Only slight complication is, that the 413x72 pixels image (Bitmap 101) is NOT used during user logon, so, to avoid the ughly dafault Windows image flicking on screen during that, it is also necessary to replace the Bitmap 107 - this time 413x88 pixels in size. Worked like a charm, uncompressed BMP 256 color images and ResourceHacker and there we go! :thumbup

I think Bitmap 101 is used for MSGINA's waiting dialogs (Windows is starting up/shutting down, etc).

Now back to the cursed start button icon thing. Anyone know icon edit program that allow me create such special icon?

I used icoFX and it ended up with all of these (didn't bother removing the extras)

48 x 48 (256 colors) - Ordinal name: 1
32 x 32 (256 colors) - Ordinal name: 2
24 x 24 (256 colors) - Ordinal name: 3
16 x 16 (256 colors) - Ordinal name: 4
48 x 48 (16.8mil colors) - Ordinal name: 5
32 x 32 (16.8mil colors) - Ordinal name: 6
24 x 24 (16.8mil colors) - Ordinal name: 47
16 x 16 (16.8mil colors) - Ordinal name: 48

We're talking about Icon Group 105 in user32.dll right?

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caps_buster

caps_buster

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Kelsenellenelvian -

It doesn't resample right in articons.

Yep, that is exactly the issue. I can't produce the icon the way it need to be - 16 colors and ORGANIZED that way, M$ see fit. Witch is definitively NOT from the biggest size to the lowest, sadly. Articons suxx then, my friend tried to use icoFX 1.6 and same results. However he managed 16 color icons, as the original png bitmaps are, but they are drop-dead ughly, no idea why. Each icon can have different and own 16 color palete, right? And they are already 16 color ones, so...

Tripo - now come on, you can't be serious. I was looking for ONE slight change and I already find it, just need the **** icon to be assembled they way it has to be, and you come with complete skin project? Oh my... That is not helpfull, mate. I have zero ambitions to convert my nice small Win2k into bloated (even in the form of excessive graphic) Win Vista. No way. Thanks, but no thanks.

Colonel O'Neill -

I think Bitmap 101 is used for MSGINA's waiting dialogs (Windows is starting up/shutting down, etc).

True, that is what I found too. However the Bitmat 107 is also ONE time used during start - when user prefs are loading and user is logging on. It is even on old slow computer a small fraction of second, but the "flick" is there and you notice it. Hence I have to recommend change both bitmaps.

I used icoFX and it ended up with all of these (didn't bother removing the extras)

Yea, but that is useless. They have to be 16 colors (the png bitmaps already IS 16 colors) and sorted the way they is, eg.

32x32

10x10

14x14

12x12

16x16

22x22

256 or true color bitmaps are no-no for Win2k menu. Thanks for trying anyway.

We're talking about Icon Group 105 in user32.dll right?

Yes, of course.

32 x 32 (16 colors) - Ordinal name: 1

10 x 10 (16 colors) - Ordinal name: 2

14 x 14 (16 colors) - Ordinal name: 3

12 x 12 (16 colors) - Ordinal name: 4

16 x 16 (16 colors) - Ordinal name: 5

22 x 22 (16 colors) - Ordinal name: 6

:hello:

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caps_buster

caps_buster

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Well, the point is, that I did not want anything else (Daedalus), only change the icon :)

And that could be the difference and why I must have 16 colors icon only. Because originally, W2k is pretty color-limited for these icons, so... No use for non Daedalus W2k.

Only thing I need is to create the **** ico file the way it has to be done and THAT IT IS, I hope at least...

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Colonel O'Neill

Colonel O'Neill

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Does it not accept any other icon arrangements for you? Error messages, etc?

The one I posted works, with and without Daedalus.

Non-Daedalus:

72646763.th.png

EDIT: Or, instead of replacing the entire icon group at once, replace the individual icons?

Edited by Colonel O'Neill
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caps_buster

caps_buster

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If you actually try modify the user32.dll for yourself, you quickyl realize that altrought you can select individual icons and let the ResHacker replace them, it always end up with replacing the WHOLE group 105, witch is these start menu icons...

If you have only ONE icon in the file, the there is a problem. Or if the icons have different depth (16colors) or different arrangement...

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caps_buster

caps_buster

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Good news. MicroAngelo did not break the order of icons, so... Good program! However I learn that the 16 colors icons must be ughly, becuase the 16 col VGA palete IS fixed, so... Anyway, I go for 256 colors icon then and - it worked right away! :thumbup

2wntueo.jpg

Now that is definitively MUCH nicer icon, hehe :sneaky:

Another ughly bitmap is located in sysdm.cpl file - the my computer properties one. 16 colors, but as long as 13 color is 255,0,255 and not used (will become transparent color), a 256 colors BMP with RLE compression is accepted:

ostnhj.jpg

Heheh :) Source penguin image is from there: http://snipp.hostuju.cz/linux.gif ... my version of the monitor is there: http://ax2.php5.cz/win_sys_bitmap_new.bmp and yes, I made the window a bit wider, so even the descriptions of LONG CPUs fit (AXP M come to my mind) there and the serial was shorted a lot to prevent others see too much :-) (another way is select not show in the properties of this text...)

Enjoy!

Edited by caps_buster
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