Windows 7 Themes on Windows 8?

[Dark Knight]

I was just wondering, has anyone even tried installing a Windows 7 custom theme on Windows 8? if so what are the problems (if any) does it cause? Seems to me that other than the start and lock pages and the aero effect that the OS's closely resemble each other and that a custom theme from Windows 7 ought to work on 8. :icon_idea:

[razorsedge]

I was just wondering, has anyone even tried installing a Windows 7 custom theme on Windows 8? if so what are the problems (if any) does it cause? Seems to me that other than the start and lock pages and the aero effect that the OS's closely resemble each other and that a custom theme from Windows 7 ought to work on 8. :icon_idea:

HI Bud :)

Unfortunately no that won't work at all because the ui's are different with some of what you mentioned above like there being no start menu and no aero there is also the factor of the ribbon bar in explorer the different layout at the top of explorer windows even though slight is different windows 8 as much as it may seem similar to windows 7 is a completely different designed ui which is why there is a different version for windows style builder for it as well. You would have to open a win 7 theme in windows style builder and port it into windows 8 at the same time making changes to some aspects for the changes in the win 8 ui. As similar as they seem in ways they are very different win 8's ui has been completely redesigned taking a win 7 theme and just applying it in windows 8 nothing will happen the os will just reject the theme and show the basic windows 8 style :)

[Dark Knight]

HI Bud :)

Unfortunately no that won't work at all because the ui's are different with some of what you mentioned above like there being no start menu and no aero there is also the factor of the ribbon bar in explorer the different layout at the top of explorer windows even though slight is different windows 8 as much as it may seem similar to windows 7 is a completely different designed ui which is why there is a different version for windows style builder for it as well. You would have to open a win 7 theme in windows style builder and port it into windows 8 at the same time making changes to some aspects for the changes in the win 8 ui. As similar as they seem in ways they are very different win 8's ui has been completely redesigned taking a win 7 theme and just applying it in windows 8 nothing will happen the os will just reject the theme and show the basic windows 8 style :)

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I knew about the Windows 8 ribbon but just figured it could be disabled but I completely forgot about the start menu. I know that the Windows 8 version of WSB was in beta last time I checked. Is there any time frame for a full blown release? I am growing real tired of the boring Windows 8 look, I have found a few "simple Windows 8 themes" on DA but they don't do a hell of a lot for me and the couple of Windows 8 themes available here are not really what I am looking for ....... sorry guys :peace: Looks to me that no one is in a real rush like they were with 7 to do too much with this OS.

[razorsedge]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I knew about the Windows 8 ribbon but just figured it could be disabled but I completely forgot about the start menu. I know that the Windows 8 version of WSB was in beta last time I checked. Is there any time frame for a full blown release? I am growing real tired of the boring Windows 8 look, I have found a few "simple Windows 8 themes" on DA but they don't do a hell of a lot for me and the couple of Windows 8 themes available here are not really what I am looking for ....... sorry guys :peace: Looks to me that no one is in a real rush like they were with 7 to do too much with this OS.

Hi Bud :)

As far as I know all thats happened with windows style builder for win 8 is the beta release that was out and expired jan 1st the expire date has just been bumped to feb 1st so far thats all the info they have given, Unfortunately for themeing and such ya it's not a rush to do so far like win 7 as most of us that theme are not making the jump to win 8 cause there is so much less to customize with it also my understanding is just for simple things such as icons and so forth windows has made it much harder to customize on the win 8 side. As you see many ppl have problems just swapping dlls for icons end up causing system crashes and of course the no aero factor is a biggie for most of us themers not having it there is a few options for glass on win 8 but none are very good or they were designed for earlier os's and are very buggy when applied to windows 8.

With todays machines and the power they put out ms went completly the wrong way with 8 in that reguard there is no longer the concern of performance over graphics unless your using very old hardware taking out aero does not give really any performance boost to the system if your on a newer machine the benchmarking I did with my buddy on identical machines with win 7 and win 8 showed win 8 in fact to be slower in most cases running apps or doing things on the computer so that metro ui performance boost they had thought would happen never did unless your hardware is older you won't see any difference.

More so the big reason really is and I will never understand this when it comes to ms they take away the ability more and more for us to personalize our computers rather then make it easier. It's honestly bad enough they try and force us to use their applications and the way they want us to run our computers but now they are imposing on us how they want to make our computers look as well. I would have to say if they were going that route maybe they should hire some ui designers with a bit of taste and then they would not end up putting out os's of the future that look like windows 98 that was made 20 or so some odd years ago lmao

[Ghost Rider]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I knew about the Windows 8 ribbon but just figured it could be disabled but I completely forgot about the start menu. I know that the Windows 8 version of WSB was in beta last time I checked. Is there any time frame for a full blown release? I am growing real tired of the boring Windows 8 look, I have found a few "simple Windows 8 themes" on DA but they don't do a hell of a lot for me and the couple of Windows 8 themes available here are not really what I am looking for ....... sorry guys :peace: Looks to me that no one is in a real rush like they were with 7 to do too much with this OS.

Did you check Skin Pack ? There are a few nice ones ready for Win8: Alienware Red, Equinox, Mac OS X Mountain Lion and a few more...

[Dark Knight]

Did you check Skin Pack ? There are a few nice ones ready for Win8: Alienware Red, Equinox, Mac OS X Mountain Lion and a few more...

Yes I checked them out, but I am old school and like copying the theme files directly into the Windows/theme folder myself and not use an installation method because if the install goes bad A LOT can go wrong, the other way around I can just delete the files and the problem is gone. Besides, I have gone to the Skin Pack site and read through their install and uninstall methods and it looks to me that there have been quite a few problems with their skin packs, there is just too much of "if this happens, do this, this and this" and honestly I am just not willing to deal with that. I think what I am going to do is downgrade my desktop back to Windows 7 and install the 8 upgrade on my laptop that I use for work, this way when I hear ooh's and ahh's from those that are still using XP at work, I can tell them to stick with XP because 8 is really no great shakes. :cunning:

[Ghost Rider]

Yes I checked them out, but I am old school and like copying the theme files directly into the Windows/theme folder myself and not use an installation method because if the install goes bad A LOT can go wrong, the other way around I can just delete the files and the problem is gone. Besides, I have gone to the Skin Pack site and read through their install and uninstall methods and it looks to me that there have been quite a few problems with their skin packs, there is just too much of "if this happens, do this, this and this" and honestly I am just not willing to deal with that. I think what I am going to do is downgrade my desktop back to Windows 7 and install the 8 upgrade on my laptop that I use for work, this way when I hear ooh's and ahh's from those that are still using XP at work, I can tell them to stick with XP because 8 is really no great shakes. :cunning:

Well, I'm not runnng Wiin8 and I'm not a big fan either..I think I'll wait for Win9 lol
About Skin Pack I can tell you can run that in a totally safe way on Win7 - I tried lots of them with no any problem at all and right now I've got one installed - However I always got a full Acronis backup stored in a different HD.
Yes, I like also the old school but in my opinion Skin Packs are even better for some things. For example I can customize Bootscreen with no problen using SP, but if I use BootUpdater sometimes I got problems. Besides with SP you can customize even all system icons at once,during installation process you can choose what extras you want to install (rocketdock, logon, icons, bootscreen...) and you are always free to apply a custom theme "old school" way.
But yes, that is for Win7. I guess there can be some different issues on Win8 due to the security "improvements" by Microsfot - W8 is probably the more "locked" Microsoft OS ever -. Well I think could be a good idea downgrade to W7, but you can even give a try to SP for W8 if you found something you like. I think there should be no problems, but just be sure you got backup available.

[2635599]

i'll finally speak up, i personally am very leary of the skin packs hammed has posted. there is just something i don't trust about them. personally i would of removed them from here and informed hammed that they can't be posted.

[Dark Knight]

i'll finally speak up, i personally am very leary of the skin packs hammed has posted. there is just something i don't trust about them. personally i would of removed them from here and informed hammed that they can't be posted.

I agree Chucky, if you look at their site, it looks to me that there is too much that "can" go wrong wit the install & uninstall and really, I think if one of these "skin packs" are not compiled correctly they can wind up doing a lot of damage to ones system. This is the reason I don't use Stardock's Windows Blinds either, first I had a bad experience with it a long time ago and second I believe it's a resource hog for something you should not have to give up resources for. But as far as themes for Windows 8 , right now I am using Mr. Grim's Equinox beta1 along with rainmeter and rocket dock and it just feels like something is missing, the theme does not feel complete. I don't know what it is and I cannot put my finger on it but after installing a theme on Windows 7 you could be happy with it, on the other hand with Windows 8 it just doesn't feel right, understanding that Equinox beta 1 is probably not complete but I have installed other "complete" Windows 8 themes I had found on DA and it still feels incomplete to me ........ wierd :unhappy:

[Ghost Rider]

i'll finally speak up, i personally am very leary of the skin packs hammed has posted. there is just something i don't trust about them. personally i would of removed them from here and informed hammed that they can't be posted.
I guess you never really tried one of theme, right?
Perhaps you are confusing with old Hyperdesk packs. With that you could get some problems for sure - however, nothing really seroius -.
Again, Skin Packs for Win7 are totally safe.
By the way, I'm not trying to force anyone to use SP, everyone of course is free to choose I don't care about that. I'm just telling what my experience is about SP.

[Ghost Rider]

I agree Chucky, if you look at their site, it looks to me that there is too much that "can" go wrong wit the install & uninstall and really, I think if one of these "skin packs" are not compiled correctly they can wind up doing a lot of damage to ones system. This is the reason I don't use Stardock's Windows Blinds either, first I had a bad experience with it a long time ago and second I believe it's a resource hog for something you should not have to give up resources for. But as far as themes for Windows 8 , right now I am using Mr. Grim's Equinox beta1 along with rainmeter and rocket dock and it just feels like something is missing, the theme does not feel complete. I don't know what it is and I cannot put my finger on it but after installing a theme on Windows 7 you could be happy with it, on the other hand with Windows 8 it just doesn't feel right, understanding that Equinox beta 1 is probably not complete but I have installed other "complete" Windows 8 themes I had found on DA and it still feels incomplete to me ........ wierd :unhappy:

Man the list of things that "can go wrong" looks so FULL just because hamed tried to warn EVERYONE -even beginners of course - ABOUT EVERY POSSIBLE PROBLEM.
Of course there can be some antivirus that need to be disabled before installing, of course there could be some problems with Bootcreen - you can choose to not install that, and if you got problem you can uninstall it starting OS in safe mode...- NO any serious damage can come from SP.
Please, if you want to talk about this make a restore point - not really needed but just to be sure - and install a Skin Pack. Then we can talk.

About your feeling of themes "not complete" on Win8 try to think that W8 is for sure less customizable than W7.

[Dark Knight]

Man the list of things that "can go wrong" looks so FULL just because hamed tried to warn EVERYONE -even beginners of course - ABOUT EVERY POSSIBLE PROBLEM.
Of course there can be some antivirus that need to be disabled before installing, of course there could be some problems with Bootcreen - you can choose to not install that, and if you got problem you can uninstall it starting OS in safe mode...- NO any serious damage can come from SP.
Please, if you want to talk about this make a restore point - not really needed but just to be sure - and install a Skin Pack. Then we can talk.

About your feeling of themes "not complete" on Win8 try to think that W8 is for sure less customizable than W7.

It's nothing personal dude, I just don't like doing theme installs that will make changes to my system with an installer. When I manually do a theme install I back up any and all .dll's that will have changes made to them and anything else I need to. When doing a theme install with an installer you have no idea exactly what changes it is going to make to your system ...... see what I am getting at? It's nothing personal because even the artists here at VC that supply themes with installers (with the exception of 7tsp installers) I do not use, no matter how nice the theme may be, I want control over what is being changed on my system when it comes to important system files that can prevent me from booting and such. I know it's really no different than doing a software install but at least with a software install I can call tech support, I CAN'T call a theme artist in the middle of the night to help me with a theme install and support forums don't always get you the help you need as fast as you may need it.

[Ghost Rider]

It's nothing personal dude, I just don't like doing theme installs that will make changes to my system with an installer. When I manually do a theme install I back up any and all .dll's that will have changes made to them and anything else I need to. When doing a theme install with an installer you have no idea exactly what changes it is going to make to your system ...... see what I am getting at? It's nothing personal because even the artists here at VC that supply themes with installers (with the exception of 7tsp installers) I do not use, no matter how nice the theme may be, I want control over what is being changed on my system when it comes to important system files that can prevent me from booting and such. I know it's really no different than doing a software install but at least with a software install I can call tech support, I CAN'T call a theme artist in the middle of the night to help me with a theme install and support forums don't always get you the help you need as fast as you may need it.

It's OK mate it's up to you..
I understand what you say, but let me tell you a few more things just to be accurate:
1) Installing a Skin Pack it's not like installing a software - a Skin Pack don't need resources at all to work
2) Yes, you got control on the changes are made to your system - you can choose what you want to install and what not - Please note that this is only CUSTOMIZATION . The system files that are modified are only the files that need to be patched in order to apply 3rd party themes, even installing theme manually you need to patch that files anyway.
3) Any kind of problem you can get can be solved with a very simple workaround - for example I don't think you really need tech assistance to start the OS in safe mode and uninstalling Bootscreen , Windows will manage everything.
I don't use 7sp installer as well, but I use simple installers when provided. I understand you don't want get trouble just because of customizing, but it looks to me you are worried more than necessary. And by the way, if you make all the backup as you say you have nothing to be warried at all. To be 101% safe just be sure you can access your backup even if Windows is not bootable anymore - this is a general suggestion, nothing to do with Skin Pack - I use Acronis Recovery CD and my BIOS Boot Setup is: 1) CD; 2) main HD ; 3) USB .

[2635599]

Dark Knight (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/199178-Dark-Knight), try winstep xtreme. it rides on top of windows and it works on win 8. there is a 30 day fully functional trial. if you want i can upload my settings and pm you copies so you can get an idea of how configurable winstep is.

Applications: http://www.winstep.net/

Themes: http://www.winstep.net/themes.asp

Ghost Rider (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/239245-Ghost-Rider), if those skin packs really run on top of your os great. but i'll be honest i'll trust my gut until it's proven wrong, cause it is rarely wrong. now if someone is willing to do a video or two showing that these skin packs do run great on 7 and 8 then i'd be will to try them out.

[Big V]

I've got to agree with dark knight and chucky on this one their are a lot of things that can go wrong and can cause alot of damage.
I know you are new here ghost rider to the forum and theming the way we do it here but being a 3rd party theme user for a long time myself, the safest way is always the manual install option of any theme or theme extras.
What may work great for you on your system may not work for me or the next guy. The safest bet is all ways a manual install so you can control what is happening with your own individual system as dark knight stated.

[Ghost Rider]

Ghost Rider (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/239245-Ghost-Rider), if those skin packs really run on top of your os great. but i'll be honest i'll trust my gut until it's proven wrong, cause it is rarely wrong. now if someone is willing to do a video or two showing that these skin packs do run great on 7 and 8 then i'd be will to try them out.

Well, as I said before I'm not running W8 so I don't talk about that - though I think all problems have been FIXED - . What I can tell is about W7. I tried a lot of Skin Packl : HUD, Airlock, yys, Fire, Dark Zune, Mango,MAC OS X Mountain Lion, Android Honeycomb...Every time I installed theme files, rocketdock, logon, bootscreen (when available, in some SP is not included), system icons, wallpaper . NEVER got any problem...
But one thing: I always make a CLEAN installing or unistalling of SP. That means: before installing ore uninstalling a SP I always apply a W7 default theme and RESTORE system files - the 3 patched ones + start orb (explorer.exe). In this way you can't go wrong.
On a PC I'm running Kaspersky PURE and Kaspersky Internet Security on a second machine and I don't even need to disable. Everything works fine.

About video you can ask directly to hamed . He could post that on his website, that could be a good idea. At the moment I'm running Requiem Cyberfox Theme by razorsedge but I've got installed Fire Skin Pack so if you like I can upload some screenshots just to show Fire theme "at work".

Besides just think that many Skin Packs are based on MR. GRIM's themes. That means got MR. GRIM's permission and some of them have been tested with MR. GRIM. So, if you don't believe me, if you don't believe hamed, perhaps you can trust MR. GRIM...
I saw there are some users that installed some Skin Pack for W8 - see Equinox Skin Pack thread - Just ask to them and you can get all the info ypu're looking for. It's very easy...

[Ghost Rider]

I've got to agree with dark knight and chucky on this one their are a lot of things that can go wrong and can cause alot of damage.
I know you are new here ghost rider to the forum and theming the way we do it here but being a 3rd party theme user for a long time myself, the safest way is always the manual install option of any theme or theme extras.
What may work great for you on your system may not work for me or the next guy. The safest bet is all ways a manual install so you can control what is happening with your own individual system as dark knight stated.

It looks like we have to clarify one point: OF COURSE manual install is the SAFEST way. But that DOESN'T MEAN that Skin Pack ARE NOT SAFE.
I'm a 3rd party themes user since a long time as well, and yes , that is true : what works fine on my PC could be not workikng on a dfferent machine. But this is not the point.
Please, can you tell me in an accurate way what kind of SERIOUS damage (SERIOUS means everything that can't be solved in 5 minutes) you can get with Skin Packs ??

What are you talking about man ? I guess you never tried Skin Packs as well...right ?

[2635599]

Ghost Rider (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/239245-Ghost-Rider), if i have to be blunt and in your face about it o.k. i don't trust hamed's posted skin packs because i noticed a few are copied themes from artist here simply repackaged. i'm pretty sure permission wasn't given to modify the original themes. typically when something is modified without permission it is not done to help people out. i personally do not trust installing the packs hamed posted.

[Ghost Rider]

Ghost Rider (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/239245-Ghost-Rider), if i have to be blunt and in your face about it o.k. i don't trust hamed's posted skin packs because i noticed a few are copied themes from artist here simply repackaged. i'm pretty sure permission wasn't given to modify the original themes. typically when something is modified without permission it is not done to help people out. i personally do not trust installing the packs hamed posted.

Oh, I don't know about that . What I knolw is MR. GRIM knows, of course, about hamed Skin Packs. So, I think he gave permission. But, again, I don't know about this so I don't tell nothing. But however if Skin Packs were disapproved fom MR. GRIM or theme were modified without permission for sure these would have been removed from VC Forum - and I think from hamed site as well .

[Mr GRiM]

As far as I know he does ask for permission to do the Skinpacks but as far as what skin packs he has posted on VC well that's another matter, I would guess that the artists are probably not aware of all the different sites he is posting the packs and of course the real agenda for making the packs and posting them around the web is to bring traffic to his own site to bring in ad revenue.

As for the packs themselves they are not as complete as the packs I provide using 7tsp and in particular the ones for Windows 8 have had lots of the modifications removed as the automation process does not seem to work well on Windows 8 x64 machines and as a result only the basic icons in the imageres.dll and a couple of others are changed, Windows 8 seems to be very unstable compared to Windows 7 and it can be corrupted very easily leading to a system repair or reformat, the worst of these files to change is the shell32.dll and unless your very confident should not be changed, sadly this file is also one of the main ones I like to change for some of the best customizations.

I have done a little bit of testing with the Skinpacks he did for my Equinox theme but I still do not think it's 100% stable and not as safe as replacing the files manually, at the end of the day I am still using Windows 8 on a virtual machine and I would not use Skinpacks on a live machine.

[Ghost Rider]

Yep, as I said before I'm not running Win8 so I don't talk about that. Butt I've tried many Skin Packs on W7 and NEVER got a problem . In my opinion Skin Packs are safe on Win7 . There are years of customizing experience on W7, and that is what is still missing on W8...not to mention that W8 is probably the more "locked" Microsoft OS ever -