botmaster
2006-11-04 14:33:24
Before you read the tut: Undestand that this tutorial will not tell you how to install Vista. It merely gives you information on setting up your machine so it LOOKS like Vista, but at heart its still XP.
What this tutorial will teach you
Are you desperate to get the new Window Vista? (please nod here). Are you sick and tired of the old clumsy look of your machine? (nod again). Do you hate the bootlogo of your machine? (BIGTIME nod). Then this tutorial is for you!!! (jump up and down 3 times here:D )
In this tut, I'll tell you how to get the new Vista Aero user interface of windows while keeping the original windows XP alive!
Screenshots (click to enlarge):
BootLogo (may differ depending on selected logo)
Screen Saver
Logon Screen
Desktop
Startmenu
Some windows
BIG WARNING:
Some of the stuff you will do during the tut will seriously alter your operating system. If something goes wrong, you're screwed, cause you'll have to reformat and repartition your HDD and reinstall Windows. IT IS STRONGLY RECCOMENDED TO MAKE A BACKUP OF ALL IMPORTANT FILES!!! AT THE VERY LEAST YOU SHOULD MAKE A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT!
What you need
Okay, first you need to get the following:
Vista Customization Pack - contains Vista elements
Vista Visual Styles Pack 3.0 - contains Graphics, including new AERO surface
Modified logonui.exe - changes logon screen to Vista Logon.
Resource hacker - to exchange the bootlogo from ntoskrnl.exe
Side Bar - add a sidebar with widgets, similar to Vista - no Beta version available, so this is the best you can get.
Download all of them to a folder called "vista". Don't extract the archives yet, I'll tell you when to do it later. Downloading may take quite a while - the customization pack alone is almost 60mb.
Installing Vista Customization Pack
First things first. BACKUP YOUR IMPORTANT FILES!!! This thing will modify your entire OS, if something goes bad your comp may become trashed… So always be cautious. Best would be to burn your backup to disk.
Create a system restore point. This is quite simple. Go to Start –> Help and Support Center. Click on "undo changes to your computer with system restore". Now, a window should pop up. Select the option "create a restore point". Click next, enter a name (something like "B4Vista" should suffice") and then click create.
Now install the Vista Customization Pack by extracting the zip file and running the installer. Near the end of the installation, a ms-dos window will pop up showing what files are being replaced. DO NOT CLOSE THE PROMPT OR SHUT OFF YOUR MACHINE!!! Else your computer will be a piece of trash. Oh, and if messages about "critical files being damaged" are popping up, click "cancel" and then "OK". When the installation process has finished, press any key to restart the comp.
After the restart, you should see some changes (taskbar) and new desktop shortcuts if everything went right. Just delete them. You won't need them unless you want to further mod the system ;) .
Installing Vista Visual Styles Pack 3.0
Extract the .zip file and run the setup. Now right click your desktop and select "properties". Change it to the following settings (You need XviD and DivX codecs installed to do this, the screensaver is encoded):
Desktop background: Bliss5259
Screen Saver: Aurora_5xxx
Appearance:
Congrats. Your comp should now have the look and feel of a real Vista OS. However, it still lacks two crucial elements:
The logon screen is still old.
The boot logo still says "WINDOWS XP".
Changing the logon screen…
…is pretty trivial task unless you want to customize it :D. Go into the folder C:\WINDOWS\system32 . If neccessary, deactivate the security warning thingmabob you get.
Now, find the file called logonui.exe and rename it to logonuiold.exe . This will prevent the original windows logonscreen from being deleted, in case you decide to kill the vista look later (WTF??? AFTER ALL THIS WORK??? :duh: ).
Extract the content of the zipfile called "ModLogonUI.zip" into C:\WINDOWS\system32\ . To test the effect, log out and back into your system.
Adding a SideBar with Widgets
The new Vista will contain a sidebar with widgets, such as news, calculator, performance counter and more. Since Microsoft didn't release a beta of the sidebar, I use a different one instead. It closely emulates the Vista sidebar, however if you plan on getting the real Vista, it may look different. Anyhow, extract the file called SideBar.zip and run the setup.
Now you should have a nice sidebar. Its skin may not be Vista black yet. If thats the case (if it doesn't look like in this screenshot), do the following:
If you want to disable the bar, right click the bar and select "close". The bar has a useful autohide feature that lets you hide the bar when you're not using it.
Changing the boot screen using resource hacker
WARNING: THIS STEP IS NOT SUITED FOR BEGINNERS, INTERMEDIATES, OR PEOPLE THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WINDOWS WORKS!!! ONLY DO THIS STEP IF YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! I HAD TO FIX MY KERNEL TWICE IN ORDER TO GET IT TO WORK…
First things first: Get a good BootLogo. Just google "vista bootlogo" or "vista bootscreen". Make sure the picture is 215 x 147 px and only has a 32 bit depth with 71dpi resolution both horizontally and vertically and is a .bmp file. If neccessary, make adjustments with an image editor.
As a security precaution and to maintain the stability of Windows while you're working, make a copy of "C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe" in a convenient location.
Now, extract the .zip file called "Reshack.zip" (also to a convenient location :D ) and open the resource hacker. No install needed, ;) finally a good proggy. Anyhow, in the resource hacker go to file–> OPEN and open the copy you made of ntoskrnl.exe. In the file tree that appears, go to bitmap –> 5 . Right click the file called 1033 in the directory, and select "Replace Resource…" . In the window that pops up, click the button "Open file with new resource…" and select your BootLogo. Now save the file (File –> save, if you are a dum*** :D ).
Now rename the copy of ntoskrnl.exe to "vistakrnl.exe" (NO QUOTES - if you don't know that don't even do this last step). Cut and paste vistakrnl.exe to "C:\WINDOWS\system32".
To tell windows that this is the actual kernel, open C:\boot.ini and add the following after the line that boots your OS:
Restart your comp. Hope it works fine :D.
Troubleshooting: If all attempts to boot windows fail, use a bootdisk to boot using the normal kernel, then undo the changes you made to boot.ini.
Convincing your friends that you haven't hacked into MS computers and stolen Vista :D
Go to Start –> Control Panel –> System. Read the "General" specs to them.
Or, don't tell them at all and they'll think you're a dangerous h4x0r XD. Comments on the tut greatly appreciated. I plan to expand it and include mods for Media Player, Windows Media Center, etc.
END OF TUT.
What this tutorial will teach you
Are you desperate to get the new Window Vista? (please nod here). Are you sick and tired of the old clumsy look of your machine? (nod again). Do you hate the bootlogo of your machine? (BIGTIME nod). Then this tutorial is for you!!! (jump up and down 3 times here:D )
In this tut, I'll tell you how to get the new Vista Aero user interface of windows while keeping the original windows XP alive!
Screenshots (click to enlarge):
BootLogo (may differ depending on selected logo)
Screen Saver
Logon Screen
Desktop
Startmenu
Some windowsBIG WARNING:
Some of the stuff you will do during the tut will seriously alter your operating system. If something goes wrong, you're screwed, cause you'll have to reformat and repartition your HDD and reinstall Windows. IT IS STRONGLY RECCOMENDED TO MAKE A BACKUP OF ALL IMPORTANT FILES!!! AT THE VERY LEAST YOU SHOULD MAKE A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT!
What you need
Okay, first you need to get the following:
Vista Customization Pack - contains Vista elements
Vista Visual Styles Pack 3.0 - contains Graphics, including new AERO surface
Modified logonui.exe - changes logon screen to Vista Logon.
Resource hacker - to exchange the bootlogo from ntoskrnl.exe
Side Bar - add a sidebar with widgets, similar to Vista - no Beta version available, so this is the best you can get.
Download all of them to a folder called "vista". Don't extract the archives yet, I'll tell you when to do it later. Downloading may take quite a while - the customization pack alone is almost 60mb.
Installing Vista Customization Pack
First things first. BACKUP YOUR IMPORTANT FILES!!! This thing will modify your entire OS, if something goes bad your comp may become trashed… So always be cautious. Best would be to burn your backup to disk.
Create a system restore point. This is quite simple. Go to Start –> Help and Support Center. Click on "undo changes to your computer with system restore". Now, a window should pop up. Select the option "create a restore point". Click next, enter a name (something like "B4Vista" should suffice") and then click create.
Now install the Vista Customization Pack by extracting the zip file and running the installer. Near the end of the installation, a ms-dos window will pop up showing what files are being replaced. DO NOT CLOSE THE PROMPT OR SHUT OFF YOUR MACHINE!!! Else your computer will be a piece of trash. Oh, and if messages about "critical files being damaged" are popping up, click "cancel" and then "OK". When the installation process has finished, press any key to restart the comp.
After the restart, you should see some changes (taskbar) and new desktop shortcuts if everything went right. Just delete them. You won't need them unless you want to further mod the system ;) .
Installing Vista Visual Styles Pack 3.0
Extract the .zip file and run the setup. Now right click your desktop and select "properties". Change it to the following settings (You need XviD and DivX codecs installed to do this, the screensaver is encoded):
Desktop background: Bliss5259
Screen Saver: Aurora_5xxx
Appearance:
Windows and buttons: Aero Style (Vista Beta 2)
Color Scheme: Vista Start button
Font Size: Segoe UI
Congrats. Your comp should now have the look and feel of a real Vista OS. However, it still lacks two crucial elements:
The logon screen is still old.
The boot logo still says "WINDOWS XP".
Changing the logon screen…
…is pretty trivial task unless you want to customize it :D. Go into the folder C:\WINDOWS\system32 . If neccessary, deactivate the security warning thingmabob you get.
Now, find the file called logonui.exe and rename it to logonuiold.exe . This will prevent the original windows logonscreen from being deleted, in case you decide to kill the vista look later (WTF??? AFTER ALL THIS WORK??? :duh: ).
Extract the content of the zipfile called "ModLogonUI.zip" into C:\WINDOWS\system32\ . To test the effect, log out and back into your system.
Adding a SideBar with Widgets
The new Vista will contain a sidebar with widgets, such as news, calculator, performance counter and more. Since Microsoft didn't release a beta of the sidebar, I use a different one instead. It closely emulates the Vista sidebar, however if you plan on getting the real Vista, it may look different. Anyhow, extract the file called SideBar.zip and run the setup.
Now you should have a nice sidebar. Its skin may not be Vista black yet. If thats the case (if it doesn't look like in this screenshot), do the following:
- Right click anywhere on the deskbar. Select "Options…".
- Navigate to the tab "Appearance"
- Click on the link "Download more skins". Then download the skin called "Aero" by Illusion456
- After running the .dspackage file, select the "Aero" skin in the appearance settings.
If you want to disable the bar, right click the bar and select "close". The bar has a useful autohide feature that lets you hide the bar when you're not using it.
Changing the boot screen using resource hacker
WARNING: THIS STEP IS NOT SUITED FOR BEGINNERS, INTERMEDIATES, OR PEOPLE THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WINDOWS WORKS!!! ONLY DO THIS STEP IF YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! I HAD TO FIX MY KERNEL TWICE IN ORDER TO GET IT TO WORK…
First things first: Get a good BootLogo. Just google "vista bootlogo" or "vista bootscreen". Make sure the picture is 215 x 147 px and only has a 32 bit depth with 71dpi resolution both horizontally and vertically and is a .bmp file. If neccessary, make adjustments with an image editor.
As a security precaution and to maintain the stability of Windows while you're working, make a copy of "C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe" in a convenient location.
Now, extract the .zip file called "Reshack.zip" (also to a convenient location :D ) and open the resource hacker. No install needed, ;) finally a good proggy. Anyhow, in the resource hacker go to file–> OPEN and open the copy you made of ntoskrnl.exe. In the file tree that appears, go to bitmap –> 5 . Right click the file called 1033 in the directory, and select "Replace Resource…" . In the window that pops up, click the button "Open file with new resource…" and select your BootLogo. Now save the file (File –> save, if you are a dum*** :D ).
Now rename the copy of ntoskrnl.exe to "vistakrnl.exe" (NO QUOTES - if you don't know that don't even do this last step). Cut and paste vistakrnl.exe to "C:\WINDOWS\system32".
To tell windows that this is the actual kernel, open C:\boot.ini and add the following after the line that boots your OS:
/kernel=vistakrnl.exeRestart your comp. Hope it works fine :D.
Troubleshooting: If all attempts to boot windows fail, use a bootdisk to boot using the normal kernel, then undo the changes you made to boot.ini.
Convincing your friends that you haven't hacked into MS computers and stolen Vista :D
Go to Start –> Control Panel –> System. Read the "General" specs to them.
Or, don't tell them at all and they'll think you're a dangerous h4x0r XD. Comments on the tut greatly appreciated. I plan to expand it and include mods for Media Player, Windows Media Center, etc.
END OF TUT.