# Cant afford Vista but still feel the wow!!



## iMav (Apr 26, 2007)

Well iv been wanting to write this for a long time but never actually got the time ... actually it took me a lot of time to find all these applications which wud make my xp look almost like vista

*Screenshots* check out the aero effect
 *img148.imageshack.us/img148/9287/01hy5.th.png *img100.imageshack.us/img100/6295/02wq0.th.png *img149.imageshack.us/img149/7918/03ig6.th.png

Do u want to make ur XP look like Vista and believe me it has stark resemblance ... i am using this on my xp and honestly i sometimes forget which OS iv booted into ... cant give u screenshots coz im currently in vista ... however here is how u do it ...

To achieve this we will make use of many 3rd party softwares:

1. Vista Bricopacks ... il tell what it is and how to get it
2. Windows Blinds 5.5 (If u want the aero effect, else a lower version of windows blinds will do but u wont be able to use the aero effect)
3. Vista Theme
4. Stardock Logon Studio
5. Vista Drive Status Icons
6. Stardock Bootskin
7. A patch
8. Vista Sidebar
9. Flip 3d

Now who will do what ...

*1. Vista Bricopacks:*
Download from *Here* - (size= 38.39 MB)

What will this do ... this is a shell pack so basically it will change the icons, and default window images to resemble the ones by vista ... note as this is a shell style it is not a resource hogger

and u will get:

*img253.imageshack.us/img253/8219/th2130oq0.th.jpg

*2. Windows Blinds:*
I dont think application needs any introduction it ia the best theme manager for XP and is a beauty .... 
Unfortunately this not being free u will have find ur own way of obtaining it
Please note only versions 5.5 above support aero-like interface

For more info ... *Go Here*

*3. Vista Theme:*
now this theme has not been made by me but i have edittd it so i am giving links to both ... u can use which ever u feel is better major difference between both is that vista has a search bar in the start menu and in the windows ... so the original creator of the theme included that but unfortunately u cannot search it is just an image which i did not like so i edited and removed it and some more minor tweaks to give it the exclusive vista feel
*
Edited Theme - Download
* *Original Theme*

All credit to him for creating such a meticulous replica of vista

*4. Stardock Logon Studio:*
As the name says it will change the default logon of windows xp to look like vista
Price: Free
Size: 1.82MB 
*Download*
*Download Page*
*Info*

Now once downloaded and installed use this logon screen as it is almost similar to the one with vista:
*Download This logon*
*Info* .... Thanx to Vishal for this it was posted in his tut

U can also try this
*This logon

* *5. Vista Drive Status Icons:*
Now 1 feature that i like about vista is that when u open my computer u get ur hard drives with a status bar below the drive which tells u how much of the drive is filled ... now this package does the almost the same ... the results are pretty close
*Download*

*6. Bootskin:*
Now to get the boot screen that vista has ... download this software:
Price: Free
*BootSkin*
*Download This Boot screen*

*7. A patch:*
Now in vista when u click on the start bar u get log off and shut down as text next to the buttons but vista doesnt have this text and that is what this patch does ... it removes the text it even allows u to restore it if u wish to
*Download*

*8. Vista Sidebar:

There are 2 ways of getting this

Method 1:
*
Download this *zip file* and extract under ur program files in sidebar named folder
In the folder mentioned above, run the file named Patch (and do as it says).

Screenshot of my desktop:

*img128.imageshack.us/img128/272/04ku4.th.jpg

*Method 2: *(im using this) coz like the vista sidebar this also blends itself to the desktop
*Obtain DesktopX:* unfortunately this also not being free u will have to find your own way of obtaining it

Download this widget *here* (screen shot on the page)

Screenshot of my desktop:

*img61.imageshack.us/img61/9496/05fw7.th.jpg

*9. Flip 3d *(im not using this so cant give u screenshots of my desktop however images are there on the info link)
Well 1 of the most time pass feature of vista that i enjoy is the flip 3d ... its brother for xp ... thanx to amitava82 (a member of our forum) for posting this on thinkdigit forum
*Download*
*Info*

.... a long tut that is 1 reason y i had not written it earlier ... i have compiled all this by myself its my copyright ... wanna share it do so but just give me some credit

Also this is not resource hog like the vista transformation pack ... that being a resource hog i took all this trouble to make my xp look like vista

please note that if u put ur pc under a lot of pressure then u will have to be patient


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## prateek_san (Apr 26, 2007)

cool man.......this awesome stuff...... didnt knew about Vista Bricopacks its cool....


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## Third Eye (Apr 26, 2007)

Nice tut mAV3


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## rakeshishere (Apr 26, 2007)

Good one ...There is also another one by Vishal


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## blueshift (Apr 26, 2007)

Good yaar!

i too want to try Vista and feel the wow


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## Pathik (Apr 26, 2007)

nice one manan.. But i prefer to use vista instead..


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## iMav (Apr 26, 2007)

rakeshishere said:
			
		

> Good one ...There is also another one by Vishal


 vishal's is a shell style and doesnt have the aero-like interface ... and thanx for the appreciation all of ya'll ... pathiks ... original toh original hai 

first post edited ... sidebar and flip 3d also added


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## Choto Cheeta (Apr 27, 2007)

@mAV3

gr8 one bro.. u deserve a *Pat on Back* to get the time out to write one 



Unfortinatelly there is no REPs to give


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## iMav (Apr 27, 2007)

an appreciative reply goes more than a rep


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## sabret00the (Apr 27, 2007)

this is a very kool thread!!!


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## ctrl_alt_del (Apr 27, 2007)

A vey detailed one. How about a few screenshots of what your desktop looks like after having done all this?


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## rakeshishere (Apr 27, 2007)

ctrl_alt_del said:
			
		

> A vey detailed one. How about a few screenshots of what your desktop looks like after having done all this?



I was about to point that out!


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## anandk (Apr 27, 2007)

really nice mav3 !!! *www.smileycons.com/img/emotions/88.gif nice title too.


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## aryayush (Apr 27, 2007)

ctrl_alt_del said:
			
		

> A vey detailed one. How about a few screenshots of what your desktop looks like after having done all this?


And the speed of your PC too?


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## iMav (Apr 27, 2007)

screen shots i want to but will do it as soon as i boot into xp ... may b by today evening ...

and arya speed there are no lags on my 512 ... but if u add say something like windows fx then the system will slow down while opening windows and hings like that ... but as far as this is concerned on my 512 i did not find any considerable lag ... when using my PC normally and not having photoshop, moviemaker, media player, firefox and explorer open at the same time  ... sidebar is good but i did not personally like flip3d wala thing


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## ITTechPerson (Apr 27, 2007)

What is ur commect on the Vista Transformation / looks Pack ver 6 - is tht doesn't able to give a closer looks to vista ? 
The only nagetive feature of ur "copywright" is the Win Blind 5.5 - it's not free & the demo will not give what u want.

But I must congratulate u Mav3 - it's amazing work

I am looking forward to ur coments bcos I want to have a better looks of Vista on my XP Home.


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## aryayush (Apr 27, 2007)

mAV3 said:
			
		

> i did not personally like flip3d wala thing


Which rational and sane human being does! It does nothing apart from looking pretty.


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## iMav (Apr 27, 2007)

^^ arre not in vista but the 1 for xp ... 

and screenshots hav been added ... and ittechperson ... well every1 has his own choice but wat i felt was tht the transformation pack hogs a lot of system resources hence i found these ways to overcome it

screenshots added


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## saurabh kakkar (Apr 27, 2007)

GOOD WORK MAN 
GO THOURGH THIS TUTE ALSO 
TRANSFORM XP TO VISTA


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## Vishal Gupta (Apr 27, 2007)

Very nice tut. What rakesh mentioned is this tut of mine:  

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49141


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## iMav (Apr 27, 2007)

^ well i cant compete with mr. vista and no offence i wanted the aero ... i think ur v2 has the aero style in it ??

the view and other options in ur screenshot seem to be very much like they appear in vista are they images or v can operate them from there if we can operate them from ther cud u tell me how to edit my theme to have em there


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## Kiran.dks (Apr 27, 2007)

Good one mav3. Look forward for more from you.


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## Ron (Apr 27, 2007)

Gr8 work buddy!!!!!


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## iMav (Apr 27, 2007)

@kiran & ron thank u fo ur appreciation ...


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## satyanjoy (Apr 27, 2007)

great job dude


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## blueshift (Apr 27, 2007)

arre...u didn't compress the image files, did u?


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## Sukhdeep Singh (Apr 27, 2007)

Very Good Indeed


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## iMav (Apr 28, 2007)

blueshift said:
			
		

> arre...u didn't compress the image files, did u?


 hmmm... i did y wats it saying????


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## piyush gupta (Apr 28, 2007)

Isnt it same as vishal's tutor a long time ago


*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49141

Still u guys are saying too gud


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## rakeshishere (Apr 28, 2007)

@piyush gupta
maggi Tomato sauce: *Its Different*


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## iMav (Apr 28, 2007)

thanx rakesh


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## ambandla (Apr 28, 2007)

Appreciate your patience in first getting that vista look to xp and putting everything you did here.

IMHO, Having this setup is better than original. Get the look of vista and app. compatibility of XP. 

I am having real hard time in getting apps work in Vista


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## blueshift (Apr 28, 2007)

mAV3 said:
			
		

> hmmm... i did y wats it saying????


Your last image is 1.2MB big.You could have compress that to less than 200KB in JPEG format.


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## iMav (Apr 28, 2007)

blueshift said:
			
		

> Your last image is 1.2MB big.You could have compress that to less than 200KB in JPEG format.


 ok done ...


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## piyush gupta (Apr 29, 2007)

rakeshishere said:
			
		

> @piyush gupta
> maggi Tomato sauce: *Its Different*


 

Buddy if u analyze whole thread u can see

Both posted same boot sceen
same icons

Vista sidebar same


How its ur maggi buddy?


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## the.kaushik (Apr 29, 2007)

its making comp slow


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## rakeshishere (Apr 29, 2007)

piyush gupta said:
			
		

> Buddy if u analyze whole thread u can see
> 
> Both posted same boot sceen
> same icons
> ...



Vishal's tuts are unique always ..How can u say its the same

Click this *link *and Find out the difference


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## iMav (Apr 29, 2007)

vista ka boot screen ek hi hai ... toh main post karun ya koi aur boot toh wahi rahega ... and iv also said tht vishal's tuts are way ahead than anything some1 else here can come up with and kaushik wats ur config ... 256 k systems pe yeh workling fine ... and please note the difference between vishal's theme and this is that it gives u aero ....


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## piyush gupta (Apr 29, 2007)

OK oK

I was saying that u should give credits to ur inspirations

I m not saying its bad work


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## Ron (May 3, 2007)

mAV3 said:
			
		

> *www.4shared.com/file/14780743/bc405fba/LSPatch.html
> 
> *8. Vista Sidebar:
> 
> ...



*Unable to download *this file buddy.......


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## ITTechPerson (May 3, 2007)

Hey mAV3 ; I am able to dwnld thtsidebar but the "patch" is missing webpage boss - do some thing


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## iMav (May 4, 2007)

Ron said:
			
		

> *Unable to download *this file buddy.......





			
				ITTechperson said:
			
		

> Hey mAV3 ; I am able to dwnld thtsidebar but the "patch" is missing webpage boss - do some thing



Sorry for the inconvinience ... i think this sholud solve the problem

Download this *zip file* and extract under ur program files in sidebar named folder
In the folder mentioned above, run the file named Patch (and do as it says).


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## Rollercoaster (Jul 14, 2007)

very nicely done!


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## iMav (Jul 14, 2007)

woah thanx guys ...


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## freshseasons (Jul 20, 2007)

IMav really nice tut there.
   Had read this somewhere on CrystalXp but yours tutorial was better and well oriented.
  Keep up the good work and keep em coming .!


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## iMav (Jul 20, 2007)

thank you for the lovely comments freshseasons


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## vish786 (Jul 20, 2007)

thanks dude will try... when free.


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