How-To: Use unsigned themes on Windows

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How-To: Use unsigned themes on Windows

Tired of the standard Luna Windows XP theme? Is the Media Center Edition theme growing old? Why not patch the uxtheme.dll yourself? What does patching the uxtheme.dll do? Well my friend, it lets the average Joe computer user break away from the mundane and splurge in the new. A patched uxtheme.dll gives you the freedom to use un-signed custom visual style. I’ll walk you through the steps required to successfully patch your system and get a new theme running.

Many people rely on “multi-patchers” which are simple gui based programs which automatically patch your uxtheme.dll file for you. From past experience, I’ve discovered that finding the correct multi-patcher for your Windows build – either SP1 or SP2 – is hit or miss. The best way to patch your system is to do it manually. Don’t worry, that’s what this hand holding tutorial is for. Let’s dive right in shall we?

Step one: Find out what WinXP build you’re running

Right-click on ‘My Computer’ and select properties. A System Properties window will pop-up. Under the ‘General’ tab you’ll notice your operating system (Windows XP), Version (200x), and the Service Pack (1 or 2). Take note of which service pack you have installed. I’m not going to delve into the reasons why I think Windows users should install SP2. I’ll just say that I run SP2.

Step two: Download the correct uxtheme.dll file

If you’re running SP1, download the uxtheme.dll file from here. SP2 users download the file from here. Unzip the file to your desktop for easy access.

Step three: Download Replacer

Replacer is a “system file replacer for Windows 2K/XP.” Download your copy here. Replacer safely (don’t hold your breath) replaces core system files safely while providing automatic backups [just in case something bad happens]. Unzip the replacer.cmd to it’s own folder, or leave it on your desktop.

Step four: The ol’ switcharoo

Opening Replacer.cmd will present you with the following window:

It’s tell you to drag the ORIGINAL system file to be replaced into the window. That means you need to find the original uxtheme.dll file in the system folder. Right-click on the Start button and select ‘Explore’. You’ll want to navigate to C:\WINDOWS\system32. Change the folder view to ‘List’ in order to view more of the system files on your screen. Scroll through the files until you locate the uxtheme.dll. The uxtheme.dll file you locate is the original file that you want to drag into the Replacer.cmd window. Or, you could just type C:\WINDOWS\system32\uxtheme.dll into the Replacer window manually without having to look through all that mess (assuming your Windows installation is on the C:\ drive. Press ‘Enter’. You’re now prompted to drag the replacement file into the window. This is where you drag the downloaded uxtheme.dll file.

Confirm that you want Replacer to patch (replace) the original uxtheme.dll. Replacer will inform you that a backup file has been created under the filename uxtheme.backup. Restart Windows.

Step five: Run a custom theme

There are a handful of great resources for finding custom Windows themes on the internet. Three great places are Customize, deviantART, and the Neowin forums. For this particular tutorial I’m going to use Codename: Opus by b0se. Download the files to your desktop from deviantART and unzip. Drag the unzipped folders into your themes folder located at C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\.

Step six: A fresh new look

Right-click anywhere on your desktop and select ‘Properties’. Under the ‘Appearance Tab’ you’ll find a drop down menu titled ‘Windows and buttons:’. In addition to the default Windows Classic and Windows XP styles, you should now see a new entry titled Codename: Opus. (or whatever theme you decided to download and try). Select your new theme and click ‘Apply’.

Before the uxtheme patch: Well you all know what the standard WinXP theme looks like.

After the uxtheme patch: