help getting themes to work on win10 any version

[Morph699]

hey guys and gals :)

ive tested every version available since windows 10 came out in a virtual machine to make sure that i like what im testing before actually using it and i am yet to get the themes to work (the way they do in windows 7) ive had freezing, black screens, white screens, half white bright and half niothing and mostly a terrible experience).. my main reason fo rnot moving to crapy 10 aka win10.

is there any program available that will enable me to customize without manually editing files (taking ownership, renaming and copying etc) like in win7?

ive even tested the latest anneversary ed and still nothing works and before you say i have to use the version of theme with the version released dont worry i have definately done that using the express info from here..

I am at a loss although still veeeery much enjoying win7 in all its red jarvis glory :D

any info would be greatly appreciated, please excuse any spelling mistakes i havent slept for the last 36 hours and my keyboard is misbehaving and keys are jumping around my keyboard. ;)

[Shemhamforash]

Can you tell us the steps you've taken to apply custom themes? If you have a VM with the latest insider build installed all you should have to do is install UxStyle for Windows 10 and put the Black Edition themes in their default locations (\Resources\Themes).

[Morph699]

sigh..

ok ive tried the Win10_theme-patcher, UXThemePatcher, W10_Black_Theme_Toolkit_v0.5, Edited .theme files, SkinPack Auto UXThemePatcher 5.0 and UxStyle_0242_x86_x64_preview.exe but with all of them even if i edit the files 'themeui.dll, uxinit.dll and uxtheme.dll' it still doesnt work.

i still have the normal white of win10 and no theme preview in the theme manager window i do get a background, icons and cursur's but thats it.

the themes ive tried with about 10 different version/ releases of win 10 since it was released are:

Equinox Limited Edition_Win10
Hardwired Red and Blue Premium Win10 Themes
HUD Red for Windows 10 TH2 1511 10586
Jarvis Green and Red for Windows 10 TH2 AKA 1511 AKA 10586
Stealth Blue for Windows 10 TH2_1511_10586
Windows Black Edition Complete Colection
Zero-G Win10 TH2 1511 10586
SkinPack Alienware HQ
SkinPack DeathStar
W10_Black_Theme_Toolkit_v0.5
Black_Theme_Windows_10_1511_th2
Poison Windows 10 TH2 AKA 1511 AKA 10586 Only
tema_w10_alien_dark_red__no_november_update__by_alien_byte-d94y1so
theme_w10__alien_return_red__november_update__by_alien_byte-d9m5pp2
theme_w10_th2_eclipse_by_alien_byte-d9n7cwr
tema_w10_alien_return_by_alien_byte-d9771l8
max_mix_dark_theme_for_windows_10_rtm_by_cu88-d96kagg

this is why i say ive come to an end and have no idea what to do now.. and its not like im new to customising.. editing no but customizing i love and enjoy..

the closest i came to a verison of win10 to work was from teamos: Windows 10 Gamer Edition - Feb 2016 ▬TEAMOS▬

ive tried:
Windows 10 Redstone 1 [14393.5] RTM
Win10_Pro_1511_English_x64_june_2016_v.2

i dont know all the versions of win10 but ive tested just the pro's and enterprise's for the last year and no joy.

[Shemhamforash]

the closest i came to a verison of win10 to work was from teamos: Windows 10 Gamer Edition - Feb 2016 ▬TEAMOS▬

ive tried:
Windows 10 Redstone 1 [14393.5] RTM
Win10_Pro_1511_English_x64_june_2016_v.2

i dont know all the versions of win10 but ive tested just the pro's and enterprise's for the last year and no joy.

OK here's the steps to patch your system TH2 (not recommended, wait for RS1, there seems to be some kind of bug with patching going on)
1. Download official isos from microsoft and burn with Microsoft media creation tool or use the iso in a vm
2. Install OS and install latest updates from Windows update
3. Copy over all your files you have backed up
4. Use this method to patch your system:
Uxstyle and Theme Signature Bypass for Windows 10 TH2 AKA 1511 AKA 10586 (http://virtualcustoms.net/showthread.php/70555-Uxstyle-and-Theme-Signature-Bypass-for-Windows-10-TH2-AKA-1511-AKA-10586)

You will get an incompatibility message with Aero Glass but you can just ignore it. Extract the folder "symbols" into your AeroGlass directory after installing version 1.4.5 from the Aero Glass website and reboot and it should be working properly as well.

Set your OldNewExplorer settings like this:
http://virtualcustoms.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=70715&stc=1

And in StartisBack, open the preferences window and select the start menu, select the Orb, hide user account picture and hit apply to get the themed taskbar and start menu.

[Morph699]

alrighty i'll give that a try thank you for the assistance.

I shall report back once im able to get the iso.. only 4 days left to get for fwee ;)

[Shemhamforash]

alrighty i'll give that a try thank you for the assistance.

I shall report back once im able to get the iso.. only 4 days left to get for fwee ;)

Yeah the time is running out to upgrade for free. There's only that method of patching available to safely use on TH2 now. The patching has to be done manually and you probably want to use TakeOwnershipEx (http://winaero.com/download.php?view.16/) Some people seem not to be affected with the flashing screen bug still using the old way of replacing system files and having black squares in their personalization pane. But to be on the safe side it's best to not even try to get that old method of patching to work, since there are definitely people that have that bug, rendering the OS unbootable.

[Morph699]

Yeah the time is running out to upgrade for free. There's only that method of patching available to safely use on TH2 now. The patching has to be done manually and you probably want to use TakeOwnershipEx (http://winaero.com/download.php?view.16/) Some people seem not to be affected with the flashing screen bug still using the old way of replacing system files and having black squares in their personalization pane. But to be on the safe side it's best to not even try to get that old method of patching to work, since there are definitely people that have that bug, rendering the OS unbootable.

ye i messed up my last attempt by having that exact issue thankfully i test in a VM first so no harm to my system

[Shemhamforash]

ye i messed up my last attempt by having that exact issue thankfully i test in a VM first so no harm to my system

A good idea is to make snapshots or backups of your VM as soon as you have it installed and all your files copied over so it's easy to restart if something goes wrong.

[2635599]

A good idea is to make snapshots or backups of your VM as soon as you have it installed and all your files copied over so it's easy to restart if something goes wrong.


Shemhamforash (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280089-Shemhamforash) might want to look at and let peeps know to use dhjohns new auto-installer works on 10240, 10586, and 14393. it is pretty sweet. i have tested all 3 versions throught the current .5 on 14393 in vm and not one issue. as for the vms if you're concerned that you might mess something up just create a subfolder in the folder you told your vm program to store your image in and copy all files from the main folder to the new subfolder. this way if you do mess something up just delete all the files in the parent folder and replace with the files from the subfolder.

[Shemhamforash]

Shemhamforash (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280089-Shemhamforash) might want to look at and let peeps know to use dhjohns new auto-installer works on 10240, 10586, and 14393. it is pretty sweet. i have tested all 3 versions throught the current .5 on 14393 in vm and not one issue. as for the vms if you're concerned that you might mess something up just create a subfolder in the folder you told your vm program to store your image in and copy all files from the main folder to the new subfolder. this way if you do mess something up just delete all the files in the parent folder and replace with the files from the subfolder.

I might look into using it, but dhjohns auto-installer doesn't actually patch the system does it? It just installs the themes and optionally:

Add Classic Appearance Settings to Desktop Right-Click Menu
Remove Quick Access
Remove Delegate Folders
Remove Both Quick Access, and Delegate Folders
Hide One Drive Icon from File Explorer Navigation Pane
Hide Removable Drives from File Explorer Navigation Pane
Increase Taskbar Transparency
Enable Blur in Taskbar and Start Menu
Change Alt-Tab View to Transparent, and Show Desktop

[Morph699]

thank you everyone, im testing now with the 1511 pro x64 retail version its the only one i have at hand without spending the next couple hours downloading a new iso.

i havent once done any updates so maybe that could be the issue however they usually mess up any themes/ options which is why i dont usually do them.

[Shemhamforash]

thank you everyone, im testing now with the 1511 pro x64 retail version its the only one i have at hand without spending the next couple hours downloading a new iso.

i havent once done any updates so maybe that could be the issue however they usually mess up any themes/ options which is why i dont usually do them.

Before you patch and apply any custom themes you should always do all system updates. Same thing goes for Windows 7, 8, 8.1. It can be a pain like having to update from Windows 8 to 8.1 but it's something you should always do before doing any patching and applying custom themes.

[Morph699]

hmm ive been using windows since win 3.11 and have never updated windows aside from the service packs and have had not a single issue in all my years however im not saying that it wont hurt trying,, we can always learn a thing or two from others.. :cheeky:

[2635599]

Shemhamforash (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280089-Shemhamforash) his auto-installer does install uxstyle along with adding grims themes to the themes folder along with oldnewexplorer and what you listed above. so yes it patches the system so you can run custom themes.

[Shemhamforash]

Shemhamforash (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280089-Shemhamforash) his auto-installer does install uxstyle along with adding grims themes to the themes folder along with oldnewexplorer and what you listed above. so yes it patches the system so you can run custom themes.

That is pretty cool. Definitely worth trying out I guess. Right now I'm busy with RS1. It's constantly failing and aborting, just lost a whole bunch of work now. It's partly because of this bad new version of VirtualBox for sure.

OK so I did a clean install of TH2 to try it out. It patches the old way (not Grim's method) but it's working fine for me. No complaints really. I had to change the ONE settings and one other thing is I really dislike those black personalization images for themes. Obviously there's aero glass and SiB to install as well still. Overall though dhjohns did a good job on the installer, I'm sure lots of people will like using it.

[2635599]

That is pretty cool. Definitely worth trying out I guess. Right now I'm busy with RS1. It's constantly failing and aborting, just lost a whole bunch of work now. It's partly because of this bad new version of VirtualBox for sure.

OK so I did a clean install of TH2 to try it out. It patches the old way (not Grim's method) but it's working fine for me. No complaints really. I had to change the ONE settings and one other thing is I really dislike those black personalization images for themes. Obviously there's aero glass and SiB to install as well still. Overall though dhjohns did a good job on the installer, I'm sure lots of people will like using it.

yea the default ONE settings do need to be changed. now i only tested it on rs1 so not sure what you mean about black personlization images, unless you're not using the personalize cascade menu tweak. as for patching the "old" method is just fine by me. how often is someone going in to the theme chooser, and who can't figure out which them they want just by the name. as for aero glass and sib those are items you should do manually anyway. so yes over all dhjon did a great job. t only problem i really have is the lack of information he puts in his post about his auto-installers.

[Shemhamforash]

yea the default ONE settings do need to be changed. now i only tested it on rs1 so not sure what you mean about black personlization images, unless you're not using the personalize cascade menu tweak. as for patching the "old" method is just fine by me. how often is someone going in to the theme chooser, and who can't figure out which them they want just by the name. as for aero glass and sib those are items you should do manually anyway. so yes over all dhjon did a great job. t only problem i really have is the lack of information he puts in his post about his auto-installers.

Well I said I installed in TH2. When the method of patching you use in TH2 involves patching system files with RTM build files you get black personalization squares in control panel theme selector, it's very annoying to me. I do agree Sib and aero glass need to be installed on their own. This should be in the thread. Also that uxstyle is installed should be in the thread.

[2635599]

Well I said I installed in TH2. When the method of patching you use in TH2 involves patching system files with RTM build files you get black personalization squares in control panel theme selector, it's very annoying to me. I do agree Sib and aero glass need to be installed on their own. This should be in the thread. Also that uxstyle is installed should be in the thread.

ok now i get you squares instead of the images for the themes. now i found this odd on my last inst and this install i the only thing besides sib and adjusting one settings is dhjohns auto-installer. i never touch/used grims method nut i have the images in th2 aka 10586. here'a a screen i just took. i think i am going to fix dhjohns thread though.

74542

[Shemhamforash]

ok now i get you squares instead of the images for the themes. now i found this odd on my last inst and this install i the only thing besides sib and adjusting one settings is dhjohns auto-installer. i never touch/used grims method nut i have the images in th2 aka 10586. here'a a screen i just took. i think i am going to fix dhjohns thread though.

74542

Yes that's what I mean, and I was actually wondering why in your video you had the themes in a folder showing the preview too. That's odd for sure, I'm not sure what the reason could be for that. It was one of the things I was hoping the installer would not do (show black squares), I wonder if other people have the normal theme previews. Here's a screenshot of mine (haven't installed anything except dh' installer).
74543

[2635599]

Shemhamforash (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280089-Shemhamforash) i honestly don't know what the story is with mine. on the last install of the os i had the black squares and then one day i went to change or test a theme and noticed i had the images. all i use was dhjohns auto-installer, ad the menu cascade, and sib, and of course themes i wanted to test. then when i did my current install i had the images as well. the only thing i have installed that "might affect that is MediaPreviewSetup-1.4.3.429.sfx.exe. other than that it truly remains a mystery to me why i have the images.

http://www.videohelp.com/software/Media-Preview

[Shemhamforash]

Shemhamforash (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280089-Shemhamforash) i honestly don't know what the story is with mine. on the last install of the os i had the black squares and then one day i went to change or test a theme and noticed i had the images. all i use was dhjohns auto-installer, ad the menu cascade, and sib, and of course themes i wanted to test. then when i did my current install i had the images as well.


I've never heard of that happening. The preview images only should show up on an install that hasn't been patched to replace those three system files. Again, this is not mentioned at all in dh' installer thread listing how it goes about patching the system, so it's hard to know for sure what it does until you try it. Nothing in the thread about uxstyle either, and it always causes graphics display problems for me now so had to remove that and install Aero Glass and Theme Signature Bypass. Got it set up how I usually do for the most part now, had to completely repatch using Grim's method to get the theme previews, and deleted all themes previously installed to display though. Also restored the three original system files that were backed up before I did this.
74546

[Morph699]

ok so ive been playing around and this is the best i can come up with by follwing the steps in the post 'Uxstyle and Theme Signature Bypass for Windows 10 TH2 AKA 1511 AKA 10586'

ive used the edited mstyles/ theme files and this is what ive been saying by still getitng the white.

74557

[Shemhamforash]

ok so ive been playing around and this is the best i can come up with by follwing the steps in the post 'Uxstyle and Theme Signature Bypass for Windows 10 TH2 AKA 1511 AKA 10586'

ive used the edited mstyles/ theme files and this is what ive been saying by still getitng the white.

74557

The paths are wrong in your .theme file. In that thread Grim has provided modified .theme files for all his themes download them to see what the correct path is. Also check the thread for the instructions on how to redirect your .theme file.

Basically, remove the space after the word aero so aerolite.msstyles is connected.

[Morph699]

ye i did and only used his files so the path cant be wrong unless my files path are wrong as thats the only thing that was edited.

[Shemhamforash]

ye i did and only used his files so the path cant be wrong unless my files path are wrong as thats the only thing that was edited.

My bad it was wrapping the text and didn't realize. Not sure what else to suggest other than wait for anniversary update or maybe try dhjohns auto installer.

[Morph699]

thank you. ye i think i'll give that a try.