top of page
Search
deophrasnetnicestm

Windows 8 Themes For Windows XP: How To Get The Best Of Both Worlds



You get the Windows 8 Shell, Icons, Logo, Login Screen, Boot Screen, Start menu, Start Screen, Live Tiles, Share BarWith windows 8 taskbar skin, Ribbon toolbar. It almost replicates what Windows 8 Developer Preview has to offer in terms of look and feel.




Windows 8 Themes For Windows XP




You can choose themes for your menu, and use custom images as your Start button. As you'll see below, this makes it really easy to get a Start menu that blends perfectly with the look and feel of Windows versions past.


What this software does is patch the Windows theme engine files so that you can use any of the third party themes. Once the installation of UXThemePatcher is completed, restart your system so that the changes you just made will take effect.


Just like the start menus, there are many Windows XP themes. But Royal VS is the one that you can get as close as possible with minimal effort. Download Royal VS, and once you have, unzip and install the application. While you are installing, the installer itself provides the necessary steps and you can safely ignore them. If you want to have slightly rounded windows corners, then try installing Glass8.


Step 2: Next, visit this page of DeviantArt and download Windows XP themes for Windows 10. You need to extract the downloaded RAR file (learn how to extract RAR files in Windows) to get Windows XP themes for Windows 10 folder.


This is being written in May of 2014, if you're from the distant future you could be running a different version of windows 8 and any number of things could have changed. This guide applies to windows 8 and windows 8.1.


Does anyone remember the old themes Windows XP came with? (Brick, Desert, Eggplant, etc.) I was able to restore them in Windows 8, but not so easily in Windows 7 64 bit. I'd like a bit more variety like I had in Windows XP, so that I can make desktop themes much easier. If anyone knows where I can find these color presets, that would help immensely. Again, Google search results are frayed, so I would welcome any direct link to a solution (but explain where the link goes first).


Windows does not allow you to install third party themes, so UltraUXThemePatcher modifies your system files so that third party themes can be used.UltraUXThemePatcher is a small program that patches the theme specific files in the operating system which enables the user to install 3rd party themes.As a well-known and widely used utility, it's considered a reliable and safe way to apply third party themes. The software automatically creates backups of the original system files, which allows users to easily revert to the default theme if they encounter any issues with a custom theme.It is available for systems running from Windows XP up until Windows 11.


Windows XP themes are customizations of the graphical user interface of the Windows XP operating system. Luna, Royale, Zune, and Embedded are official themes designed for Windows XP by Microsoft. Since Windows XP, themes include "visual styles". By default, the Luna theme is preinstalled on Windows XP Home / Professional, the Royale (Energy Blue) theme is preinstalled on Windows XP Media Center Edition and the Embedded theme is preinstalled on Windows XP Embedded. All of the themes are compatible with all Windows XP editions. Compared to previous versions of Windows, the new scheme has a larger emphasis on the graphical appeal of the operating system, using bitmaps throughout the interface with rounded edges on each window. Since Luna's introduction, the scheme has been supplemented in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Royale, and Royale Noir, a Zune-derived edition of the Royale scheme.


Officially known as Windows XP style, the theme is available in three color schemes: Blue (default) (codenamed NormalColor), Olive Green (codenamed Homestead), and Silver (codenamed Metallic). The code names for these color themes can be observed in the file paths.


The "Windows classic style" theme is also available in Windows Vista and Windows 7 but must be enabled by the user. Users accustomed to older Windows versions such as Windows 2000 or Windows 98 may find it more comfortable to use. In addition to turning off visualizations, this option also offers relatively better performance and greater color and font customization options. The classic theme is also used for Safe mode and Win32 console windows in Windows XP.


Microsoft have published a number of Themes for Windows XP users. These themes include desktop background images, Windows event sounds, Icons, cursors and screen savers. Here's the list of published themes:


  • IntroductionWhen I wrote a review about Q4OS last year I was emailed about a package called XPQ4 which makes it possible to make Q4OS look like other versions of Windows such as Windows XP.I therefore set about reviewing XPQ4 and the results were very good indeed.Shortly after I had posted my review of the latest version of Q4OS I received another email asking me to take another look of XPQ4 because there had been a number of updates.If you wish to use a Linux operating system but you want it to look like Windows then XPQ4 is definitely what you are looking for.How To Get XPQ4You can get XPQ4 from There are 2 versions of XPQ4 available:Full

  • Free

  • The full version uses proprietary images and icons etc whereas the free version does not. Neither will cost you any money.The webpage has installation instructions but basically all you have to do is this:Click on the download link for the version you wish to install

  • Double click on the downloaded file

  • When the welcome screen appears click "Next"

  • When the license agreement appears make sure the "I Agree" checkbox is ticked and click "Install".

  • The User InterfaceAn icon for XPQ4 will appear on the desktop and when clicked the above screen will be displayed.You can choose between 6 themes:Windows 2000

  • Windows XP classic

  • Windows XP luna

  • Windows 7

  • Windows 8

  • Windows 10

The ThemesThe screenshots basically speak for themselves:Windows 2000 Theme - XPQ4Windows 7 Theme - XPQ4Windows 8 Theme - XPQ4Windows 10 Theme - XPQ4Windows XP Luna Theme - XPQ4eThe Windows XP Luna theme is astounding. I reckon this could fool many people into thinking they are using Windows XP.Some Linux purists would ask what the point is but I've never claimed to be a purist and I think the work performed by the XPQ4 team is brilliant.The Windows XP, 2000 and Windows 7 themes are very close to the real thing. Windows 8 doesn't really look like Windows 8 although an attempt has been made to make it authentic by pulling the menu in from the right and having a search bar in the top right corner. To be honest though how many people really want to use a system like Windows 8. It was horrific.The Windows 10 theme looks good and although the menu doesn't really look like a Windows 10 menu the theme does make Q4OS look modern.For pure style the XP Luna theme is my favourite. SummaryMany Linux distributions over the years have tried to look like Windows including Lindows, to a certain extent Linux Mint and of course Zorin OS.Q4OS with the XPQ4 theme is definitely the one that has achieved the best results.Zorin OS looks to be moving in a slightly different direction now and I have just installed version 12 as a dual boot to Q4OS so a review will be coming shortly.I could have made my experience with XPQ4 better by installing the ttf-mscorefonts-installer package from Synaptic.


How to make Ubuntu 14.04 LTS look like Windows 8. Make Ubuntu 14.04 look like Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows XP. Install Windows 7/8 themes and icons in Ubuntu 14.04. Install YlmfOS Theme Pack (Win XP) in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.


To install YlmfOS theme in Ubuntu 14.04/13.10/Linux Mint 16 open Terminal (Press Ctrl+Alt+T) and copy the following commands in the Terminal:sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/themessudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install ylmfos-theme


The default theme of Windows 10 is excellent but if you are looking to give a new design or look to your Windows 10 PC, you might be looking for some attractive windows 10 themes or skins.


If you are a fan of the Star Wars franchise then the Star Wars Theme might impress you. This theme for windows 10 is one of the best HD themes that you can install on your PC and it conists of 33 HD wallpapers.


The last best Windows 10 theme was on our list of windows 10 themes 2021 and it is still on the 2022 list. McLaren Senna Track Day can be directly downloaded from the Microsoft Store. If you are a fan of McLaren Senna supercar or a car enthusiast in general then this theme will definitely impress you.


I get the theme to apply when i click it through the .rar folder, i also extracted the folder to the Themes, but everytime i start the computer my settings go back to windows 2000 or something like that and my desktop changes to the classic XP one, how do i get it to stay the royal noir all the time?


For those that are having trouble:download WinRAR from and install it. This means you can open and extract the file. Extract the folder part (Shell) to c:\windows\resources\themesand then simply double click on the luna.msstyles file from within winrar. Then go to the appearance tab of your display settings (right click on the desktop and then go properties) and select Royale, and underneath choose from either Royale Blue or Royale Noir.


OK im kinda confused I downloaded the themes and applied it but everytime I reset my computer I have to re add the theme again. Its also not an option in my themes in order to apply it i have to open the themes folder in the .zip 2ff7e9595c


1 view0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page