[Release] MS Signed Themes Addons v6.1

Happy-Dude · Post by **Happy-Dude** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:33 pm

Hm ... Also found this old post:

http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5776 --> Tweaked for default (I would use this one)
+
http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2676 --> Original

I know you're busy, 5eraph, so take your time

!!

I still think it is a good idea to use the Vista RTM (build 6000) icons and take advantage of them. Also, it is a good idea to set the defaults to Vista cursors (since they are soo much more nice looking).

It is all your choice, though.

Just remember to tell us when the Add-On is completed

!!

Post by **5eraph** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:30 am

Addons updated to v5.0.

I decided to remove the shadowless mouse pointers and add pointers with shadows instead. An added benefit is that two larger sizes are included for those who prefer or need them. If it weren't for Stimpy's sharp eye I would have missed this.

I went with Windows Aero Shadow which you pointed out previously, Happy-Dude.

Happy-Dude wrote:http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.p ... opic=11302
--> seems you can get a black version and different sizes. I dunno if it is of any worth integrating these, though. Of course, is nice to have . The guy said there were even shadows on this one.

The homepage I link to in the release post comes from the readme file included with the scheme, which I believe to be accurate. The actual ZIP file I used came directly from that homepage, which includes three sizes instead of just the one.

I will not be including any derivatives of this scheme. I believe doing so would be beyond the scope of these addons.

Happy-Dude · Post by **Happy-Dude** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:34 am

Yay !! The new release

!!

(I actually was able to *spot* the 5.0 before you posted your response. I was able to download it successfully !! Thanks for the great add-on

!!)

Post by **5eraph** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:44 am

You're welcome. You may also notice I altered the Royale Noir theme to use those cursors as default. I forgot to mention this in the Changelog.

crashfly · Post by **crashfly** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 2:06 am

Thanks for the updated themes. Going to try them on my "new" build.

Is there any way to add these themes to an already running system?

Thanks again for the updated themes.

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:55 am

You're welcome, crashfly.

You're not the first to ask, so I finally broke down and decided to release standalone installers. Check the Downloads section of the first post.

crashfly · Post by **crashfly** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 3:28 pm

Big question, however I think I already know the answer.

Can this pack *and* your MultiTheme Pack be used together?

I have looked at both. There does not *appear* to be any overlap (unless you consider Kelsenellenelvian's Royale theme an overlap), so I think it would be safe. However, I would like to make sure.

Edit: I forgot to ask this: Assuming I already integrated a previous theme pack (this thread) of yours, will the new installer have any trouble updating it?

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:24 pm

I don't know. I've never used Siginet's addon, but I can't imagine there'd be a conflict.

The new installer should overwrite the previously installed version without difficulty. I've been meaning to work on it a bit more to iron out an issue I've recently had with its cleanup routine.

crashfly · Post by **crashfly** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:13 pm

The installer works, per say only when you "deactivate" the themes (run classic) and then reboot. Before rebooting, there was an error I think having to do with an "overwrite" issue with a file currently in use.

However, after reboot (in classic mode), it installed just fine and I was able to change over to the themes just fine.

soms84 · Post by **soms84** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:13 am

I was wondering if this 5.0 version is updated with
[Release] Royale Theme Addons 2008/08/20 recently posted by Kel...
Thank you for the hard work, I love it!

Post by **5eraph** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:33 am

The only change Kelsenellenelvian made recently was to his Royale/Vista/Contrast addon, which is not included in mine. When mine was initially created the RVC addon did not exist, nor do I have any immediate plans or permission to add it.

soms84 · Post by **soms84** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:35 pm

I see. Thanks for the reply!

Happy-Dude · Post by **Happy-Dude** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:26 pm

Time to update

!!

http://www.askvg.com/download-new-offic ... -required/

Here is a new theme for Windows XP and 2003 users. Its called “Embedded” theme. Its an official Microsoft theme so you’ll not need to patch anything. You can apply it without any problem.

Screenshots:

This theme has been taken from “Windows Embedded Standard CTP Refresh” and works perfectly in Windows XP and 2003.

Download following ZIP file, extract it and run the .EXE file. After that you can apply the theme from Desktop Properties. A sweet wallpaper is also included in the pack.

Download Official Embedded Theme for Windows XP and 2003

Thanks to WPC for finding the theme…

Kelsenellenelvian · Post by **Kelsenellenelvian** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:42 pm

OOoooOooO SUPER nice find Happy-Dude!

Post by **5eraph** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 11:49 pm

Updated to v6.0.

Raoul90 · Post by **Raoul90** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:47 am

thanks.

ccl0 · Post by **ccl0** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:19 pm

i'm confused about something. Tablet PC Style & Energy Blue themes are seemingly identical. both share the same colors/background images etc.. so with that in mind, why have both as an option? seems a little redundant, unless i missed some slight difference between the two?

Post by **5eraph** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:30 pm

Tablet PC Style was requested by MrNxDmX and includes the Fedora Inverse mouse pointers and a WMP skin, where the Energy Blue theme uses the default pointers and has no associated skin. They are otherwise the same.

To see these differences yourself, simply open Royale.theme and "Tablet PC Style.theme" with a text editor.

Happy-Dude · Post by **Happy-Dude** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:51 pm

EDIT::
Oh, just read more.

Take a look:

This theme is absolutely FREE and can change the Windows XP default theme, a few icons and Desktop wallpaper. It doesn’t require UXTheme patching as it uses its own service which is very light on resources.

So I'm guessing that this won't quite work

. (Anyway, it was a gigantic package to start out with.)

---------------------Original Post-----------------------
Well ... 5eraph ... Guess what?

Take a look: Crysis Warhead theme; official too !!
http://www.askvg.com/download-official- ... -required/

Official: http://www.hyperdesk.com/products.php?p=25 ++ http://www.mycrysis.com/filebase.php?fileid=9374

NOTE:: Might not be 64 bit compatible.

*****
Hm... Is anyway interested in spending some monkey to grab some of the other Hyperdesk themes? If they are in fact official, this add-on might be interesting

!!

ccl0 · Post by **ccl0** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:29 pm

Happy-Dude wrote: Take a look: Crysis Warhead theme; official too !!
http://www.askvg.com/download-official- ... -required/

actually in the description it says "It doesn’t require UXTheme patching as it uses its own service which is very light on resources."

which to me seems like it requires some 3rd party app

Post by **5eraph** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:44 pm

Correct, ccl0. Happy-Dude has also pointed out that quote in his edit.

The installed service is to bypass signed theme checking. The theme is not signed, therefore it will not be included.

Happy-Dude · Post by **Happy-Dude** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:32 pm

Just for those who are interested, Microsoft has also published many other desktop themes.

Check 'em out here: http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsX ... hemes.html + http://beqiraj.com/windows/2002/theme/index.asp . They have some MS wallpaper and icons, but otherwise, I think they're meh.

NOTE:: These are NOT visual styles (and 5eraph has noted that he wish to add these themes in his pack unless requested).

The page I linked contained some themes mentioned here.

5eraph wrote:Your're welcome, Master Wolfe.

So far I've found four more themes MS created for XP.
Microsoft "Ree Ree Khao Sarn" Theme - A theme based on anime children playing a Thai game similar to "London Bridge Is Falling Down."

Microsoft Egypt Nile Theme - A very stylized theme with Egyptian-inspired elements.

Microsoft Nunavut Theme Pack - A selection of bubbly themes with highlights of the Canadian territory of Nunavut.

Microsoft Ontario Theme Pack - Themes very similar to the Nunavut themes, but focused on Ontario, Canada.
I've installed all of these and found that they don't introduce any new color or cursor schemes. They do have a few customized icons, sounds, mouse pointers, screensavers, and wallpapers, but they are all based on existing variations of the Luna theme.

I'll include them if requested, but there's not much that really stands out in my mind. I'll keep any further opinions to myself until I get some feedback on them.

&

Happy-Dude wrote:http://beqiraj.com/windows/2002/theme/index.asp --> I guess it lists some themes that Microsoft forgot to mention on their official site (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/down ... fault.mspx).

These aren't all that special, since (as far as I know) they don't really add anything new except icons and such. If you don't feel it necessary, don't worry about it . I'm just making sure people know that there are options out there .

ccuappz · Post by **ccuappz** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:33 am

Hi,
Thanks for the updated theme pack.
Will you please check the Standalone installer link? It doesn't seem to work.

TIA

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 5:24 am

Standalone installer reuploaded. No changes to binary.

MediaFire seems to be having some difficulties. Please be patient; it may take a few moments to start.

Passion · Post by **Passion** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:40 am

Maybe include this one:
http://interfacelift.com/themes-win/details.php?id=131

Kelsenellenelvian · Post by **Kelsenellenelvian** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:45 pm

@ passion, This thread is for "Official" MS themes only.

Ones that need NO UXTHEME patching.

Post by **5eraph** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 1:33 pm

It does look like a decent theme, Passion. But Kelsenellenelvian is correct.

eiffel_g · Post by **eiffel_g** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 5:50 am

Hi. What about the Vista like theme in WHS ?
I've searched it everywhere but not find it...
WHS is based on Windows Server 2003 so it should be perfectly compatible with XP. Unfortunatelt I didn't find it anywhere.

Offtopic - I was unable to login with my old user name "eiffel", so I've made an other. Hope it's not a problem. Recovering the password was useless as the provider used for my mail has "deceased".

Post by **5eraph** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:14 am

I'd be happy to include the Windows Home Server theme if it proves to be compatible and somebody can link to the files. I can't find it either.

RyanVM may be able to help with your login if you can catch him online.

eiffel_g · Post by **eiffel_g** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:26 am

Hmm, I think I can find a solution to find the files. An ISO image for WHS is offered as trial at Microsoft Downloads. I've start the download now, but I have to see how to find the files. It could be too easy to find them in the Server 2003 files. So it could be necessary to install it.

Ok. I will try to PM to Ryan.

L.E. Downloaded and installed in VMware. Strange, but only standard theme ( Luna ) and a 1024x768 nice wallpaper. I just not understand where is the Vista like theme from WHS snapshoots on the web...

Neo7 · Post by **Neo7** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:54 pm

Thanks, this is great!

Post by **5eraph** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:24 pm

Updated to v6.1.

Thank you, ccl0, for finding leosss's Embedded Enhanced themes.

crashfly · Post by **crashfly** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:39 pm

5eraph, I am not against addons by any means, however if there is an option for switchless (or silent) installers, I lean toward that method. Recently I have been having some issues with an addon (still figuring it out which one), were anything after that addon causes nothing else to be installed. Because I like *knowing* that a switchless (or silent) installer will be installed, is there a way to make your standalone installer silent?

By doing so, I will be able to rule out the majority of addons that can install switchless (or silent) and try to concentrate on the few left that cannot be made switchless (or silent).

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:41 am

Installer updated to v6.1.1. Addons are not affected.

I'm sorry it took so long to respond, crashfly. One thought led to another and before I knew it I was rewriting the installer from scratch in another scripting language. I think you'll be happy with the result though.

Details:

A GUI has replaced the basic CMD window.
Basic error handling has been implemented.
Silent mode added. No popups, no progress bars... nada. Error message boxes will pop up, but will timeout after five seconds allowing installer operation to continue for nonfatal errors. Fatal error messages will also timeout after five seconds, after which the installer will terminate.
Checks the following registry value to determine silent or verbose installation mode. This installer does not take switches.
Code: Select all
```
HKLM,"SYSTEM\Setup","SystemSetupInProgress"
```

galileo · Post by **galileo** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:50 am

@5er

Beautiful coding is a true art form...!!!...

Thanks!

galileo

crashfly · Post by **crashfly** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:41 pm

Thank you 5eraph. code65536 impressed upon me the usefulness and benefits of silent and switchless installers. I thank you for taking the time to update the installer. I will test it out this evening when I get home. From the sounds of it, I will not be disappointed.

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:33 pm

Installer updated to v6.1.2. Addons are not affected.

I got distracted while hammering on the code looking for bugs in v6.1.1 and missed an obvious fault. The problem only occured during verbose installations and was easily rectified by opening Task Manager and killing the SgndThms.exe process. It's fixed in v6.1.2.

crashfly · Post by **crashfly** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:23 pm

Tested the silent installer out 5eraph. It works beautifully. Thank you once again for modifying that.

Post by **5eraph** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:21 am

You're welcome, guys. Call me strange, but it was fun and I learned a few things in the process.

For instance, crashfly, I was first going to respond with the following bits of code (in white) to add to the CMD script that would make it switchless and unattended when added at SvcPack, but it would not be silent. And it would require that you know how to disassemble and reassemble the installer.

Code: Select all

TITLE 5eraph's MS Signed Themes 6.1.1 installer

[color=white]:: delims is a TAB followed by a space
FOR /F "tokens=2* delims=	 " %%A IN ('REG.exe QUERY HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup /v SystemSetupInProgress') DO SET SvcPack=%%B

IF %SvcPack%==0x1 GOTO FileOps[/color]

[...]

[color=white]:FileOps[/color]
ECHO.
ECHO Copying files...

[...]

ECHO Installation complete.

[color=white]If %SvcPack%==0x1 GOTO End[/color]
ECHO.
PAUSE

[color=white]:End
EXIT[/color]

For silence I had to choose another scripting language. AutoIt was the logical choice for me since I created SetLuna.exe with AutoIt, and recently I learned a great deal more about the language to help with the RVM Integrator.

motokiume · Post by **motokiume** » Fri May 22, 2009 7:46 am

I've been using this update since v2.2 over two years ago.

The latest versions are much improved and a very welcome addon on my install disc.

Thanks for all your time and hard work - it is much appreciated.

Post by **5eraph** » Fri May 22, 2009 8:05 am

You're welcome, and thanks for the compliment. It is gratifying to hear from a long-time user.

vartaxe · Post by **vartaxe** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:07 pm

maybe this darker theme would be nice http://www.msfn.org/board/Release_XPize ... 05823.html

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:13 pm

I've always liked the Darkside mod. Unfortunately, it's not a theme. It is a file resource patcher that could probably use an update for XP x86 SP3.

BTW, nice avatar. It looks strangely familiar.

ccl0 · Post by **ccl0** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:14 pm

vartaxe wrote:maybe this darker theme would be nice http://www.msfn.org/board/Release_XPize ... 05823.html

that only works with sp2
ps. 5eraph http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=133483 sp3 version almost out.. maybe

Post by **5eraph** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:40 pm

Thanks for the link, ccl0. I eagerly await x64 support.

vartaxe · Post by **vartaxe** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:35 am

i love xpize the themes are very polished

Kiki Burgh · Post by **Kiki Burgh** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:02 am

thanks for this 5eraph ... was using 5er_MSSignedThemes_v2.2_Addon all along ... way behind

George King · Post by **George King** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:26 pm

Hello, can you modify SgndThms.inf for easier translation?

I thinking about 3 new strings:

Code: Select all

Windows Aero Shadow
Windows Aero Shadow (large)
Windows Aero Shadow (extra large)

Thanks for great addon

Post by **5eraph** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:28 pm

You're welcome, George King. Request filled.

Addons updated to v6.1.1. No changes have been made to the installer.

Cipherfx2 · Post by **Cipherfx2** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:57 pm

I think the version should be 6.1.3?, since the last version is 6.1.2