CKyHC Posted August 13, 2018 Posted August 13, 2018 Problem was solved by replacing theme files and UxTSB.dll via file manager program. Before it theme files and UxTSB.dll was copied in their locations via windows explorer. I think that problem was in that. I just deleted theme and UxTSB.dll. Opened Far Manager and copy theme and dll again and all start to work. Thanks to all who tried to help!
Octopuss Posted August 13, 2018 Posted August 13, 2018 Could anyone explain what does "UxTheme Signature Bypass" mean? I've just installed the program and know nothing about all this.
GTI.H Posted August 13, 2018 Posted August 13, 2018 2 hours ago, CKyHC said: Problem was solved by replacing theme files and UxTSB.dll via file manager program. Before it theme files and UxTSB.dll was copied in their locations via windows explorer. I think that problem was in that. I just deleted theme and UxTSB.dll. Opened Far Manager and copy theme and dll again and all start to work. Thanks to all who tried to help! This seems to have been files blocked by Windows.
GTI.H Posted August 13, 2018 Posted August 13, 2018 21 minutes ago, Octopuss said: Could anyone explain what does "UxTheme Signature Bypass" mean? I've just installed the program and know nothing about all this. In few words: Windows does not allow you to apply third-party themes (Themes not signed by Microsoft), so if you want to apply a third-party theme, you will need a method for Bypass Theme Signature and one of the methods is to use UxTSB.dll which is the bigmuscle's method for this.
Octopuss Posted August 13, 2018 Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) But I can create a theme and use it without problems - I mean otherwise there wouldn't be the "use custom theme" option etc., where I can apply what I previously customized. How do you define third party theme anyway? And is this new to Windows 10? I tried googling around and found pretty much nothing. Edited August 13, 2018 by Octopuss
GTI.H Posted August 13, 2018 Posted August 13, 2018 14 minutes ago, Octopuss said: But I can create a theme and use it without problems - I mean otherwise there wouldn't be the "use custom theme" option etc., where I can apply what I previously customized. How do you define third party theme anyway? And is this new to Windows 10? I tried googling around and found pretty much nothing. Custom theme is created when you modify an existing theme and can be signed or not depending on which theme you have used to modify. If you read a few previous posts here you will see links to third party themes and they can be found here too for example:https://www.deviantart.com/devillnside
Aethelflaed Posted August 13, 2018 Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) 11 hours ago, Octopuss said: But I can create a theme and use it without problems - I mean otherwise there wouldn't be the "use custom theme" option etc., where I can apply what I previously customized. How do you define third party theme anyway? And is this new to Windows 10? I tried googling around and found pretty much nothing. Yes, Windows 10 supports themes of a sort, without having to patch dll files, or inject other dlls, into your system. Such themes are limited to colours, backgrounds, sounds and mouse cursors, however. Yet the Windows 10 engine is capable of altering much more than just the things just mentioned - buttons, titlebars, scrollbars and the like can all, in principle, be changed. Microsoft doesn't really want you to do this, preferring for its users to work with a mostly uniform interface. This is not surprising, really. The look of its interface helps Microsoft set Windows 10 aside from, for instance, Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8. This is important from a marketing viewpoint as these OSes are otherwise very similar. Strip away Windows 'app' support, a few security features, and a lot of telemetry, and Windows 10 is not so very different from 7. By using Bigmuscle's dll file, or applying patches to Windows' own dll files, users can 'relax' Microsofts' restrictions, and essentially do what Microsoft does every time it launches a new version of its OS. My own Windows 10 desktop currently looks almost identical to Windows 7, as you can see from the images below (note that I've also changed the icons, and installed a start menu replacer). Others prefer more radical changes - DeviantArt is a good place to start if you are interested in Windows 'skinning'. Do please note that patching Windows dll files can, potentially, be risky, so always make sure that you have proper backups and the means to recover your system should anything go wrong. Edited August 14, 2018 by Aethelflaed Second screenshot. 1
CKyHC Posted August 14, 2018 Posted August 14, 2018 11 hours ago, Octopuss said: But I can create a theme and use it without problems - I mean otherwise there wouldn't be the "use custom theme" option etc., where I can apply what I previously customized. How do you define third party theme anyway? And is this new to Windows 10? I tried googling around and found pretty much nothing. Wich way and what exactly you modify in themes? We means there that visual style file .msstyle not signed by MS didn't loads without way to bypass signature checking... If you modify colors, mouse pointers, sounds, screensaver, but didn't modify .msstyle file - theme modified that way will work without problems...
Octopuss Posted August 14, 2018 Posted August 14, 2018 11 hours ago, Aethelflaed said: Yes, Windows 10 supports themes of a sort, without having to patch dll files, or inject other dlls, into your system. Such themes are limited to colours, backgrounds, sounds and mouse cursors, however. Yet the Windows 10 engine is capable of altering much more than just the things just mentioned - buttons, titlebars, scrollbars and the like can all, in principle, be changed. Microsoft doesn't really want you to do this, preferring for its users to work with a mostly uniform interface. This is not surprising, really. The look of its interface helps Microsoft set Windows 10 aside from, for instance, Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8. This is important from a marketing viewpoint as these OSes are otherwise very similar. Strip away Windows 'app' support, a few security features, and a lot of telemetry, and Windows 10 is not so very different from 7. By using Bigmuscle's dll file, or applying patches to Windows' own dll files, users can 'relax' Microsofts' restrictions, and essentially do what Microsoft does every time it launches a new version of its OS. My own Windows 10 desktop currently looks almost identical to Windows 7, as you can see from the images below (note that I've also changed the icons, and installed a start menu replacer). Others prefer more radical changes - DeviantArt is a good place to start if you are interested in Windows 'skinning'. Do please note that patching Windows dll files can, potentially, be risky, so always make sure that you have proper backups and the means to recover your system should anything go wrong. Ok, I understand now. But it seems like the themes have to be made for the latest version of Windows, don't they? I'd like a Windows 7 like theme, but I am reluctant to try something from 2016 (the only one I found).
Aethelflaed Posted August 14, 2018 Posted August 14, 2018 (edited) Yes, it's best to use one made for the specific version of Windows that you are using. The one you see in my screenshots (esp. that of Notepad) was made by CleoDesktop, and is compatible with Windows 10 v1803. He sells his themes from his own website. EDIT - I am also currently using a Win7 theme atlas, although strictly speaking that isn't necessary (the Cleodesktop theme comes with its own titlebar and window frame). Edited August 14, 2018 by Aethelflaed
Octopuss Posted August 15, 2018 Posted August 15, 2018 So do all these themes actually require Aero Glass or not? I am looking at the Leodesktop site, and the instructions for the themepatches seem horribly complicated. Do I really need to install an additional program, this OldNewExplorer somethning?
Aethelflaed Posted August 15, 2018 Posted August 15, 2018 (edited) Yes, Cleodesktop writes fairly complex instructions. Here is a brief summary. * UXThemePatcher > patches Windows dll files, allowing you to install custom themes. Required, unless you use BigMuscle's UxTheme Signature Bypass. NB: if you have difficulty applying the patch there is a utility from WinAero called ExecTI which will allow you to run executables with 'Trusted Installer' privileges. * AeroGlass > this, of course, provides Windows 7-like translucent window frames and title bars. Can also skin the title bar and window frame. Do not use this last ability if you want to use the title bar and frame provided by the theme you have downloaded. * OldNewExplorer > allows you to modify the Windows file explorer; often used to make it more like the one in Windows 7. * Startisback > provides a skinnable Win7-style start menu. If you download these utilities from their home websites, all you really need from the zip/7-zip file provided by Cleodesktop is the folder containing the .theme file(s) for your version of Windows 10. Its contents need to go into C:\Windows\Resources\Themes. ....and do make sure you have a backup in case anything goes wrong! Edited August 15, 2018 by Aethelflaed
Octopuss Posted August 16, 2018 Posted August 16, 2018 (edited) Ok. How do the patchers work anyway? Are they all based on the same concept? Edit: Uh, the theme I bought, what are these folders "Hide CommanBar" and "Show CommanBar"? And I presume the OldNewExplorer is not mandatory for the theme. Edited August 16, 2018 by Octopuss
NoelC Posted August 16, 2018 Posted August 16, 2018 And make sure you know that using a non-Microsoft-signed theme can get you into trouble when you upgrade the OS... You'll either have to be careful to remember to disable re-theming before running through an upgrade or be sure to be able to restore your system if you get a black screen of death. -Noel
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