How To Make Your XP Look Like Vista:

Tired of your XP? Wanted to buy Vista? Well, don’t. Vista is still full of bugs and not reliable yet. So what’s so good about it? Most people like the new and pretty looks.

It’s a great idea to mix together the good things from both Windows systems: the reliability of XP and looks of Vista. Lets go over this, step-by-step so you can easily follow.

1. Change the theme. This is probably the most important thing when trying to make your XP look like Vista. You will need a good Vista theme, I recommend VistaXP or YAVFC. You should be able to get some good ones from Deviantart.

But before you can install 3rd party themes, you will need to patch up your uxtheme.dll file. This file tries to stop you from using other themes than Microsoft’s own. Here are the patches for service pack 1 and service pack 2. (If you’re not sure which Service Pack you have, or what it even is, make sure you take a look at this post.)

You can replace the file manually, but the easiest way is to use replacer, which also backs up the old file in case anything goes wrong..

To replace, go to C: WINDOWSSystem32 and look for uxtheme.dll, which should be among the bottom half of the files. Drag it into the replacer window. Now drag the patch which you downloaded into the window and confirm.

To install a theme, download and unzip into the C:WINDOWSResourcesThemes folder.

You’ll also need StyleXP to use the themes. Now that the hardest part is over, take a deep breath and give yourself the good-old pat on the back.

2. Download the Vista cursor pack. Unzip it to your desktop or anywhere where you can find it later. Now, go to Control Panel -> Appearance and Themes -> Mouse Pointers and open the pointers tab. Click a cursor, press Browse and find the corresponding Vista cursor from the pack you downloaded.

Try Yahoo! Widgets or Thoosje for that Vista signature sidebar.

If you want to, you can also get the TRANSPARENT explorer and internet explorer, which are almost as good as the real ones. 

3.  A transformation pack is also necessary if you want to go all the way. Basically, what this does, is that it replaces the startup, logon and shutdown screens of XP and makes them look like Vista. You will need to sacrifice some startup speed, but that’s the price.

This is what my XP desktop 

Increase BROADBAND Speed

This is for broad band connections. I didn’t try it on dial up but might work for dial up.

Make sure you are logged on as actually “Administrator”. Do not log on with any account that just has administrator privileges. Then follow these steps:

Start – run – type gpedit.msc 

Expand the “local computer policy” branch 

Expand the “administrative templates” branch 

Expand the “network branch” 

Highlight the “QoS Packet Scheduler” in left window 

In right window double click the “limit reservable bandwidth” setting 

On setting tab check the “enabled” item where it says “Bandwidth limit %” change it to read 0

Effect is immediate on some systems, some need to re-boot. This is more of a “counter what XP does” thing. In other words, programs can request up to 20% of the bandwidth be reserved for them, even with QoS disabled, this is no big deal and most programs do not request it. So, although QOS has caused a big stink because people think it reserves 20% of their bandwidth, you can still disable it, just to be sure, hehe.

Start a program using a keyboard shortcut

The Start menu is great for finding programs, but its multiple levels of folders can be time consuming to navigate. If there is a program you start frequently, you should set a keyboard shortcut for it so that you can start the program without taking your hands off the keyboard.

To set a keyboard shortcut to start a program,

1.  Click the Start menu, and then click All Programs. Right-click the program that you want to start with a keyboard shortcut, and then click Properties

 

2.  Click in the Shortcut key box. Now press the letter on your keyboard that you want to use to start the program. Make it easy to remember—for example, press I for Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Note: You can use either uppercase or lowercase letters when creating your keyboard shortcuts—and when accessing them later. In the Shortcut key box, Microsoft Windows XP automatically adds Ctrl + Alt + before the key you pressed. When you want to start the program, hold down both the CTRL and ALT keys simultaneously, while also pressing the letter you chose. This way, your program won’t start every time you type that letter

 

3.  Click OK.

 4.  Now test your shortcut. Hold down the CTRL and ALT keys, and then press the letter you chose. If you find it difficult to hold down two keys at once, read Turn on the Sticky Keys feature. Your program should start.

Move your taskbar to a new spot

By default, the Microsoft Windows XP taskbar, which shows buttons for each of your open windows, sits at the bottom of your screen. That’s fine if you don’t open many windows. If you have more than six or seven windows open at a time, however, the taskbar can become extremely crowded. To make more room for windows, move your taskbar to the right or left side of the screen, where it will be displayed vertically, giving you room for more than a dozen windows. 

Tip: If you have a widescreen monitor, placing your taskbar on the right or left side of the screen can make much more efficient use of screen space.

To move your taskbar,

1.  Right-click your taskbar. If there is a check mark beside Lock the Taskbar on the shortcut menu, click Lock the Taskbar to unlock it.

2.  Drag your taskbar to the left, right, or top of your screen. To drag the taskbar, click and hold the mouse button over the taskbar. Then, while holding down the mouse button, drag the taskbar to its new location. When the taskbar is in place, release the mouse button.

 3.  Move the pointer over an edge of the taskbar until the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow. Click the mouse button, and drag the edge of the taskbar to widen it. When you can read the window titles, release the mouse button.

4.  Finally, to prevent your taskbar from being accidentally moved, right-click your taskbar, and click Lock the Taskbar on the shortcut menu.