i think i might of removed something that allows theming, when i first booted into windows after the installation it gave me the windows classic theme and the xp style wasnt listed in the drop down box. i was just like "ill re install it" and downloaded a few other themes. when i tried to install one i got this error message:

"the visual style could not be applied.the service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion"

i just looked and i dont have a copy of my nlite settings what could be causing this?

Start -> Run -> Services.msc, find "Themes", right-click, properties, set its start mode to automatic, click on start. You should be done.

And next time you have a problem, attach you lastsession.ini, it is really helpful for us.

the themes service isnt there, i guess i removed it by accident i was gonna attach my last session.ini but like a dummy i deleted all of them

Edited December 17, 200619 yr by Brando569

Brando, did you select Classic Setup or did you just leave that alone? I am having this problem as well, with 2 minor differences. My themes service is there, it just won't start. And, This problem only occurs when I use Classic Setup. If I dont enable that option, then I get my themes just fine.

i just left it alone, my problem was i removed the color schemes and that in turn removed all themes except classic

Well darn, because I just double checked mine, and themes service is starting now, but it's still giving me grief.