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Message: <blockquote data-quote="danielcom" data-source="post: 9853512" data-attributes="member: 127031">Make Windows XP look like Windows Vista   The one change that I liked when I transitioned from Windows 98 to Windows XP was the new look and feel. Windows  98 was amazingly boring in looks and Windows XP just the hip thing that  I wanted. A incredible long wait later came Windows Vista which took  the oomph factor to a new level but unfortunately with Vista came heavy  hardware requirements and the cost factor. That said I still wanted the  looks and features from  Windows Vista for my Windows XP PC. With the help of a few tools and  utilities I was able to achieve that and all of it for FREE.  So if  you are in love with the looks of Windows Vista but do not want to  spend all those big bucks on buying additional hardware and of course  the software itself then the tools below will help you change the visual  style for Windows XP and add more functionality to it just like Windows  Vista has.ThemeThere are tons of themes out there but the one that I liked the most is <a href="http://oddbasket.deviantart.com/art/OB-Windows-Media-Player-11-V3-45808870" target="_blank">Windows Media Player 11</a>  theme for XP. This theme changes the look of Windows XP to look like  Windows media player 11. This is definitely one of the most cool looks I  have come across. There are lots of other themes you can find at <a href="http://browse.deviantart.com/customization/skins/" target="_blank">deviantArt</a>.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/OB_Windows_Media_Player_11_V3_by_oddbasket.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/OB_Windows_Media_Player_11_V3_by_oddbasket_thumb.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a><a href="http://oddbasket.deviantart.com/art/OB-Windows-Media-Player-11-V3-45808870" target="_blank">http://oddbasket.deviantart.com/art/OB-Windows-Media-Player-11-V3-45808870</a>If you want other themes check out Devian art <a href="http://browse.deviantart.com/customization/skins/" target="_blank">http://browse.deviantart.com/customization/skins/</a>Logon ScreenIf you bored of your logon screen then it is time for you to do with a change. <a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/" target="_blank">LogonStudio</a> is a free program that allows you to change and edit logon screen. I personally use the <a href="http://danskiblendoodle.deviantart.com/art/Windows-Vista-Logon-Screen-63851754" target="_blank">Windows Vista Logon Screen</a>. You can find more logon screens at <a href="http://browse.deviantart.com/customization/skins/windows/xplogon/" target="_blank">deviantArt</a> or you can also browse the gallery at <a href="http://www.xptheme.info/resources_view.cfm?restype_id=3&type=xp%20logon%20screens" target="_blank">xptheme.info</a>.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/Windows_Vista_Logon_Screen_by_danskiblendoodle.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/Windows_Vista_Logon_Screen_by_danskiblendoodle_thumb.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a><a href="http://www.deviantart.com/download/63851754/Windows_Vista_Logon_Screen_by_danskiblendoodle.zip" target="_blank">http://www.deviantart.com/download/63851754/Windows_Vista_Logon_Screen_by_danskiblendoodle.zip</a><a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/" target="_blank">http://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/</a>Boot ScreenBoot  screen is the basically the screen which shows up when you start your  PC. The regular boot screen shows a Windows XP logo with a progress bar  below. How boring. Well even though this does not really matter since it  only shows up when you start or reboot your PC. It’s always better to  look at something interesting while the PC gets powered up.<a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/bootskin/" target="_blank">BootSkin</a>  a free software allows you change the boot screen for your PC. BootSkin  is safe to use and does not patch your Windows XP Kernel. You can get  tons of boot screens from <a href="http://browse.deviantart.com/customization/skins/windows/winstartup/" target="_blank">deviantArt</a> .My <a href="http://salinah20.deviantart.com/art/Thank-you-for-using-Windows-11165617" target="_blank">personal favorite</a> is the one below which cheers up my windows startup screen.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/Thank_you_for_using_Windows_by_salinah20.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/Thank_you_for_using_Windows_by_salinah20_thumb.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a><a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/bootskin/" target="_blank">http://www.stardock.com/products/bootskin/</a>IconsThe  best thing I like about Windows Vista is the new set of icons it has,  it is definitely much better than what Windows XP has. <a href="http://joost.endoria.net/home" target="_blank">IconTweaker</a> is a great utility pack if you want to change the Icons of your system.There  are many free icon packs you can download and use to change the default  icons in Windows XP. I personally use the Vista icon set for my PC.  Unfortunately the site I downloaded it from does not exist anymore, but I  have shared the icon set on my <a href="http://cid-3bd1c38fa6f2d7ad.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/icons_vista.zip" target="_blank">Microsoft Live SkyDrive</a> for anyone interested in downloading it.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistaiconsdesktop.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistaiconsdesktop_thumb.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a> <a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistaiconsfolder.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistaiconsfolder_thumb.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a><a href="http://joost.endoria.net/home" target="_blank">http://joost.endoria.net/home</a>Vista Start MenuOne  of the major change with Vista is the start menu, which allows you to  load application simply by typing it into the search box. <a href="http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13526" target="_blank">ViStart</a>  is a utility that brings the Vista Start menu to your Windows XP PC.  Using this you can easily search for programs or documents from the  start menu itself. The quick search function is a real life saver if you  have lots of applications installed.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistartmenu.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistartmenu_thumb.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a>ViStart also comes with the transperancy quotient that is heavily used in Windows Vista. <a href="http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13526" target="_blank">http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13526</a>Breadcrumb NavigationWindows Vista Explorer comes with a new breadcrumb navigation that allows you to easily navigate with folders. <a href="http://techie-buzz.com/how-to/add-breadcrumbs-to-your-address-bar-with-qt-address-bar.html" target="_blank">QT Address Bar</a> is a neat little utility that allows you to have a breadcrumb like navigation in Windows Explorer.With the software installed not only do you get the Windows Vista feature but you will also be able to navigate your folders with ease.<img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/AddBreadcrumbstoyourAddressbarwithQTAddr_13CDB/qtaddressbaradded.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><a href="http://techie-buzz.com/how-to/add-breadcrumbs-to-your-address-bar-with-qt-address-bar.html" target="_blank">http://techie-buzz.com/how-to/add-breadcrumbs-to-your-address-bar-with-qt-address-bar.html</a>Alt-Tab ReplacementThe  alt and tab keys are perhaps the most used keys on my keyboard since I  make very minimal usage of the mouse. Alt+Tab are use to easily switch  between different open applications without having to use the mouse.Windows Vista has a nice little feature where the application can be previewed while you using Alt+Tab keys. <a href="http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/TaskswitchPowertoySetup.exe" target="_blank">Alt-Tab replacement</a> provides the same set of features for Windows XP.After installing the utility you will immediately be able to see the previews of applications while using Alt+Tab keys.<a href="http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/TaskswitchPowertoySetup.exe" target="_blank">http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/TaskswitchPowertoySetup.exe</a>Taskbar PreviewWindows  Vista added another nice feature where you can view thumbnails of the  application by hovering your mouse over them in the taskbar. <a href="http://chsalmon.club.fr/index.php?en/Visual-tooltip-about" target="_blank">Visual tooltip</a>  is a utility which adds the same feature to Windows XP. Using the  software you can view the thumbnails for the application when you hover  your mouse over it. This saves you some time when you want to see what  the application is running before bringing it on top.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/visualtooltips.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/visualtooltips_thumb.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a><a href="http://chsalmon.club.fr/index.php?en/Visual-tooltip-about" target="_blank">http://chsalmon.club.fr/index.php?en/Visual-tooltip-about</a>SidebarAnother enhancement for Vista is the sidebar. <a href="http://www.thoosje.com/index.html" target="_blank">Thoosje Vista Sidebar</a> allows you to bring that functionality to your Windows XP PC. I personally use the <a href="http://desktop.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Desktop</a> for this purpose.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistalikesidebar.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/vistalikesidebar_thumb.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a><a href="http://www.thoosje.com/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.thoosje.com/index.html</a>Clock <a href="http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=157465" target="_blank">LClock</a>  (Longhorn Systray Clock) is an enhancement for the default Clock that  sits in the task bar, you can use different skins for the clock. I  currently use the <a href="http://webtrance.deviantart.com/art/Q-s-WMP-11-LClock-33954427" target="_blank">Windows Media Player Skin</a>.<a href="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/lclocksysclock.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn2.techie-buzz.com/images/stories/MakeWindowsXPlooklikeWindowsVista_226C/lclocksysclock_thumb.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a><a href="http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=157465" target="_blank">http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=157465</a><a href="http://webtrance.deviantart.com/art/Q-s-WMP-11-LClock-33954427" target="_blank">http://webtrance.deviantart.com/art/Q-s-WMP-11-LClock-33954427</a><a href="http://www.windowsxlive.net/?p=1119" target="_blank">If you want to chane all at once use the Vista Transformation Pack</a>  which transforms it for you. The software changes the boot screen,  logon screen, visual styles, icons, progress dialog, sounds, tray icons,  wallpapers, media player skin and much more, so that your desktop will  look like Windows Vista.Do you use any other software that makes  Windows XP look like Windows Vista, do share them in the comments. I am  looking forward to your hear about you favorite themes etc so that I can  give it a try.Sorry if some one has seen this kind a post before but this post is for those who haven't seen it.This post will be useful if you want to customize individual options of Win XPAll links tested and perfectly working ." DON'T FORGET TO GIVE REP AS A WAY OF THANKING "</blockquote>

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