Make XP look like Windows Vista / Longhorn for free!

Contributor Icon Contributed by risherz  
Tag Icon Tagged: Microsoft Vista  

Change your boring old Windows XP theme to look like Vista using MSStyles (no shell-packs!) for free! Plus you don’t need to download any software to do it either (so your computer won’t get messed up!). You can do it all by yourself and when you are done it is surely going to look like Windows Vista.


Steps: 1. Theme 2. Wallpaper 3. The Fox 4. Cursor 5. Vista-ish applications 6. Fine Tuning 7. Shell Packs 8. Sidebar 9. Final Result

Changing the XP theme

First make sure that you have patched up your uxtheme.dll file. So go read my other recipe if you haven’t so already. This recipe also tells you how to change your themes.

Now you are ready to do some downloading.

There are many msstyles themes out there that look super cool and look like vista/longhorn.

You can also get shell packs and windows blinds themes but some people claim that this can mess up your computer badly.
The theme that I found works best is VistaXP by -kol! (but it was so popular that MS got it removed). Just go to google to find themes that work well. These themes will make your computer look like Windows Vista for sure. So… go ahead and download it.
Then unzip or copy it to C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes

All right now you can change your computers theme to the Vista theme you chose.

Changing the Wallpaper

There are lots of Vista wall papers available… chances are that you have one included with your theme as well. If you don’t then you can try your luck at WinMatrix’s great post for Vista wallpapers. If not then you can always search on Google for Vista Wallpapers.

If you want you can also get this wallpaper which also a CoolGrass wallpaper by ApacheUser plus it has the Windows Vista logo on it!

Getting the Fox

Another great way of getting an impression that you are in fact using Internet Explorer 7, just like how it is on Vista is to get Firefox, and then use one of the many user designed themes and changing the look of the browser. If you don’t have Firefox already, then make sure you get it along with the Google toolbar as well, as it will help you keep track of your e-mail and at the same time search the web!

Once you get Firefox install one of the many Vista like themes here. Vista-aero and myFireFox are one of the popular ones out there.

Changing the cursor
You can download the aero cursor pack over here. Just read the read me file supplied and enjoy. Additionally, you can go to How to change your mouse pointers article and change your mouse pointer to the 3D-White (system scheme), it looks very similar to the original cursor in Vista.

Getting Vista-ish applications
Now once you are done that. And you like some transparency on your computer get these two very cool tools.

Vista Explorer: Something like the original Vista explorer but for XP and plus it has….. transparency. YES! IT IS TRANSPARENT! Just like the original one.
Internet Explorer (transparent version!): This is also very similar to the real internet explorer. Plus the internet explorer button on the task bar says internet explorer 7 (good for fooling people)! You can also get the real IE 7 (no transparency though)
Now your system should look like Vista for sure, but why stop when you have come so far?

Get the Alt-Tab Replacement PowerToy! This shows you the windows you are switching to (sort of something like in the real windows vista)…

Fine tuning

After that, fine tune your font settings and turn on ClearType fonts with the ClearType Tuner PowerToy (you can also do this online). Since the real Vista uses the font ‘Segoe UI’ which is a cleartype font, you can mimic the real fonts by using ClearType.

However, some themes already come with the Segoe UI font so don’t forget to enable it while you are using it.

Shell Packs
If you really want to get shell packs to do what you can already do on your own then here are some of them:
- Vista Customization pack by JoeJoe
- The brico pack by CrystalXP
- The Windows X longhorn Transformation pack by Windows X

Please keep in mind that the shell packs don’t customize your computer to look like the latest Vista/Longhorn builds, so your computer might not look like the recent Vista screenshots.

The Vista Sidebar
Since the links in Alex the Beast’s recipe do not work anymore, you can head on over to Thoosje’s website and get the Thooseje’s Sidebar version of Windows Vista’s Sidebar instead and put that on your computer too.

And when you are done that you can start celebrating! In fact you can claim that you have Windows Vista already, and nobody will doubt you. One last step enjoy and don’t forget to show-off your new look!

Take a look at these screenshots of how your PC will look once you are done. If I didn’t put that System Properties window up there then I’m sure I could have fooled you too!

note: I haven’t included a screenshot with the longhorn sidebar. If you want to view a screenshot of it then please go to Go to Thoosje’s website.

Screenshots:

Things I used in these screenshots: The YAFVC3 VS (and all the things included in the download, wallpaper from Winmatrix and icons for recycle bin and my computer from modified version of explorer found in YAFVC theme (install modified explorer.exe > right click on desktop > properties > desktop tab > customize desktop > change icon > type in ‘C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe’ > select icon > OK).

Enjoy!

 

113 Comments -


  1. hashem said on October 2, 2008

    thank you very much

  2. Lilshado said on October 3, 2008

    it has a infostealer.gamepass

  3. r342s said on October 3, 2008

    Your Vista start menu sucks man

  4. threema said on October 3, 2008

    working 100%

  5. sameh said on October 11, 2008

    thank you very much

  6. Jerson said on October 13, 2008

    Thanks a lot I been looking for this one!

  7. Leomagas said on October 19, 2008

    If you want Vista look, try window blinds!

  8. raf said on October 22, 2008

    thanx

  9. Anonymous said on October 25, 2008

    cool

  10. fuck u said on October 27, 2008

    Get more proof and pics

  11. RAK said on November 3, 2008

    why i can not get the Vista themes …who know to tell my about this pleaseeee on my msn Dishonest_Person@msn.com…….:@:@:@:@

  12. windrazxor said on November 8, 2008

    Hey. Can You Uninstall This Easily?

    Thankks and great recipe too.

  13. Anonymous said on November 14, 2008

    i like this theme

  14. Xpuser said on November 15, 2008

    I got the start menu but the log off and Turn off computer buttons got disorted or something while i was TRYING to replace the explorer thing. Unfortunatley i couldnt get all transparent windows. HELP!

  15. qwertyacme said on November 19, 2008

    just use the google desktop sidebar, it may not be EXACTLY like the vista one, but it’s better.

  16. qwertyacme said on November 19, 2008

    UberIcon – Google it.

  17. Tanish said on November 20, 2008

    can’t downloadable

  18. SMS said on November 23, 2008

    Very good
    Thanks

  19. Undisclosed said on November 26, 2008

    Nice instructions given there. =D

  20. Briguy said on November 30, 2008

    Why dont you use BootSkin and LogonStudio to make the “Vista” look more Vista? I use that and i have my logon screen set to Vista Ultimate and my bootskin set to Vista Ultimate. It’s sick. Another thing, you should use Res Hacker and hack your Start menu text to nothing,that way it’ll really look like vista, because after all, vista doesn’t have start menu text. Check out the real screenshots of them.

  21. Briguy said on November 30, 2008

    just use System restore

  22. David Parsons said on December 1, 2008

    I can’t see why anyone using XP wants it to look like Vista.

  23. saveang lychea said on December 2, 2008

    the boot screen or start manu is good looking

  24. tasos said on December 2, 2008

    thanx

  25. Rideon mower guide said on December 7, 2008

    Yes i agree with ya mate

  26. windows32 said on December 12, 2008

    it works!

  27. Veronica said on December 13, 2008

    i love it.. im so desperate of the Vista look. i want it badly for my xp. thnks:)

  28. Phil said on December 18, 2008

    I have service pack 3, what do i do??

  29. Anonymous said on December 19, 2008

    Will it make my PC slow???

  30. faizan said on December 30, 2008

    hiiiiii

  31. BiGAnZz said on January 1, 2009

    Dont download, its virus!

  32. Jack said on January 3, 2009

    I use vistamiza…the only problem is that it slows down your computer

  33. yuvaraj said on January 5, 2009

    Ya its nice

  34. aw said on January 13, 2009

    Wew, I Like it!!! xDxD

  35. Anonymous said on January 17, 2009

    hw 2 dwnld vista theme

  36. PortalGod said on January 18, 2009

    Nice! i tried using the crystal xp/bricopack app before this tut, and it lagged me so bad that i couldnt run any apps at all. almost any window that popped up would freeze. i couldnt change the settings, so i tried running the uninstall and that froze. but i used msconfig to boot to safe mode and uninstalled it that way. oh well. Nice Tut!

  37. Name said on February 12, 2009

    that’s cool Bricopack SUX!

  38. amar said on February 21, 2009

    it is fantastic software

  39. Ashley Thomas said on March 3, 2009

    I have tried all this but its still not what i want. I have purchased the full version of Windows Blinds (by Stardock) and i love the package i have. I have also purchased fences (by Stardock) and iconpackager. These really help, but i want a program so that my desktop icons are single click, but all my other icons stay the same.

    Can anyone please help me??

  40. mike said on March 4, 2009

    hey wats up guys, im mike, a simple coder from nc, e-mail me at mikegrady@rocketmail.com for free tips, software, and some pretty awesome pranks, and not the noobish pranks like on youtube/….

  41. ashley said on March 12, 2009

    how do i download this theres nothing to click on

  42. jim said on March 13, 2009

    dont try vista transformation pack u have to reinstall windows

  43. atul goswami said on March 17, 2009

    jkgf jfjf ufghg

  44. atul goswami said on March 17, 2009

    and i go to ps 117

  45. kenn said on March 30, 2009

    yeah yeah yeah..great :) “KOL”

  46. krishna said on April 6, 2009

    so coollllllllllllllllllll

  47. mina said on April 9, 2009

    it is excellent

  48. Jordan said on April 13, 2009

    It is not working where the heck do i download the freakin theme?

  49. MANNY said on April 17, 2009

    Yeah! Cool but can this theme be removed afterwards

  50. elevat said on April 19, 2009

    good job if work!

  51. umesh said on April 25, 2009

    its goood

  52. Rudy said on April 25, 2009

    You can get some more original Vista and Windows 7 applications for XP here (port):

    http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20480
    and
    http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21246

    Good luck & long live XP!

  53. :D said on April 28, 2009

    people dus it work????

  54. Bravo said on April 29, 2009

    i m not able to change my themes in that way what but other things are working thanks….

  55. asd said on May 8, 2009

    get
    a
    life!

  56. abin said on May 14, 2009

    Nice! i tried using the crystal xp/bricopack app before this tut, and it lagged me so bad that i couldnt run any apps at all. almost any window that popped up would freeze. i couldnt change the settings, so i tried running the uninstall and that froze. but i used msconfig to boot to safe mode and uninstalled it that way. oh well. Nice Tut!

  57. faisal said on May 20, 2009

    nice article

  58. praneeth said on May 21, 2009

    super thnx a lot

  59. praneeth said on May 21, 2009

    i think its making my sys slow[:o][:x]

  60. mauricio said on May 30, 2009

    hey can anybody tell me if this works or not?

  61. Anonymous said on June 2, 2009

    Verry Nice. I like it

  62. Reagan said on June 17, 2009

    I am using Window XP. It really i can change it look loke Vista

  63. jpenny said on June 22, 2009

    i have service pak 3 what uxthremdll do i use

  64. Anonymous vista fan said on June 22, 2009

    really good, absolutely brilliant, 10/10 must get

  65. cedric said on June 23, 2009

    do you know which website that give sidebar free download for xp???

  66. adnan said on July 7, 2009

    very cute

  67. HeNdRi said on July 12, 2009

    thx this is wat i want from before…………i can make my XP to vsta,actually i have downloaded the Windows XP sp 3 coz i thought it looks like vista but then its not,so i tried finding in google vista appereance,then this websites comes first,i choose it and these information helps me.. ! Thx

  68. Anonymous said on July 12, 2009

    its very nice

  69. J**** K*** said on July 26, 2009

    YOU FORGOT ONE THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TO TRULY MIMIC VISTA, YOU MUST DOWNLOAD A WINDOWS VISTA SOUND SCHEME!!!!!

  70. dev1333 said on July 27, 2009

    Thank you Very much!!!

  71. Aaqib Khan said on August 10, 2009

    boooring

  72. Anonymous said on August 11, 2009

    can you help me find a sp3 vista/longhorn theme cuz i cant use the uxtheme cuz im not administrator

  73. Anonymous said on August 12, 2009

    its not in the theme tab as a *.theme file but u will find it in appearence tab.
    its mentioned in “how to patch uxtheme.dll” recipe.
    i recommend u read it one more time.

  74. Anonymous said on August 12, 2009

    when u go to properties from right clicking on dekstop ur installed theme is not in theme tab but in appearence tab.(if u have installed it in resources folder of windows)

  75. Anonymous said on August 12, 2009

    try yahoo widgets……
    works for me..
    if side bar is better then please tell me

  76. Anonymous said on August 12, 2009

    when u go to properties from right clicking on dekstop ur installed theme is not in theme tab but in appearence tab.(if u have installed it in resources folder of windows)

  77. Anonymous said on August 12, 2009

    crack the administrator account if u want to.
    reply for the link.
    u need bart-peBuilder(3.2 mb)
    windows sp2 cd
    and a cd writer.
    hack the account and the admin will not even know

  78. Connor Smith said on August 18, 2009

    I found a better and easier to understand way to do exactly what you explain on youtube but if I never looked at this site I would never have got this far

  79. Anonymous said on August 26, 2009

    NiCe!!!!!!!!!!!!

  80. Glance World said on September 21, 2009

    Nice Sharing

  81. Anonymous said on October 4, 2009

    it is very nice.

  82. Smart Person said on October 16, 2009

    Here: http://jonnyw1989.wordpress.com/2007/01/01/vistaxp-by-kol/

    Found it in google, it has the VistaXp download links

  83. Anonymous said on October 29, 2009

    thank you for this prodect
    iam very need to it
    b cause i head the one themes every time i was change it

  84. msn cams said on November 13, 2009

    WINDOWS 7 is best.. try it..

  85. Anonymous said on November 27, 2009

    ownage :L

  86. Anonymous said on December 3, 2009

    good pack

  87. Anonymous said on December 10, 2009

    Nice :]

  88. Anonymous said on December 11, 2009

    this is a best

  89. Health Tips said on December 16, 2009

    wow…thanks for this tutorial, very nice

  90. Anonymous said on December 16, 2009

    What Will I Download….To Make The Start Button New how to make it new

  91. Anonymous said on December 29, 2009

    there may be any problem with dll sir i had the same problem with my pc but when i format my now its working wery good t

  92. Anonymous said on December 31, 2009

    is this just a screen shot or an actuall theme?

  93. Anonymous said on January 20, 2010

    this isn’t helping me at all.
    i am am trying to play wizard 101 but my computer is not allowing it i tried installing updates llike it told me to and i changed the compatibility and on it it had different types of computers except mine and thats y it isn’t working how do i put windows vista in the list. i really need it to work or else it was all for nothing. please help me.

  94. Anonymous said on January 21, 2010

    is there any way to do this even when im not administrator? please help me…
    lord_of_yuan@hotmail.com

  95. High Five said on January 22, 2010

    Seems cool.

  96. Anonymous said on February 5, 2010

    HOW TO MEKE WINDOWS XP LOOK LIKE WINDOWS VISTA

  97. Anonymous said on February 10, 2010

    izat se aik jaga par icon rakh day. ta’ k wahan se download karlein . itni bakwas karne ki kya zaroorat hai

  98. A said on March 7, 2010

    Uhm… trojanized as expected…

    Scan Started Sat Mar 06 23:26:04 2010
    ——————————————————————————-
    C:Documents and SettingsMDesktopYAFVC3 1.5VistaStartVistaStart1.3.exe: Trojan.Dropper-10500 FOUND
    ———– SCAN SUMMARY ———–
    Known viruses: 726053
    Engine version: 0.95.3
    Scanned directories: 26
    Scanned files: 59
    Infected files: 1

    Data scanned: 104.30 MB
    Data read: 84.95 MB (ratio 1.23:1)
    Time: 55.172 sec (0 m 55 s)
    ————————————–
    Completed
    ————————————–

  99. Anonymous said on March 13, 2010

    evan easier than all of that google search download vista transformation pack

  100. Mr. Angga Yudha said on March 18, 2010

    Thank’s My Friend ….

  101. Anonymous said on March 25, 2010

    I am very Happy For Downlode if +923323144917

  102. Anonymous said on May 15, 2010

    Kool but the Vista Explorer Link does not work

  103. Spoddle said on May 16, 2010

    Very, very impressive! This is guaranteed to trick people into thinking you have Windows Vista (Though some might consider Windows 7, lol). I like it!

  104. iwanttaskbar said on June 6, 2010

    where can i download a taskbar because my taskbar didn’t change

  105. Büyü Bozma said on October 6, 2010

    cool, have you checked the bricopack? It changes all and makes your xp look more like vista/longhorn. It also changes the default icons and other stuff.

  106. LIKITH00001 said on October 18, 2010

    I DONT NO WOW INSTALL A VISTA LIKIE THEAM FOR XP2

  107. Saadalgbaly said on October 19, 2010

    شكرا كتير وميرسى

  108. Khan Bhurgri said on October 25, 2010

    give window vista

  109. Nad said on November 1, 2010

    ur preview is a real vista. look at your start button. :)

  110. yeayeabonel said on December 3, 2010

    it seems no.5 step links doesn’t work anymore

  111. Fred Bullet said on January 10, 2011

    I patched ‘uxtheme.dll’ file and then copied the folder to ‘C:WINDOWSResourcesThemes’, but it won’t show up in my list of installed themes…?

  112. Renee' said on January 24, 2011

    Erg! I just CAN’T get it to work! When I downloaded the VistaXP theme (yes, I found someone’s hidden link to it ^_^) I unzipped it to C/ WINDOWS/ Resources/ Themes. Then, I checked on which SP (Service Pack) I had. It was SP #3. I didn’t see a like for the #3 file, so I downloaded #2, and also replacer. I changed it so everything was okay for my computer could change themes. When I went to change to VistaXP, the unzipped file said 0kb. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Help me! O.o

  113. rohan said on September 11, 2011

    nice share

 

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