Since Windows 7 has been unveiled at PDC 2008, coders and artists have been hard at work to emulate it’s look for it’s predecessor – Vista. Along with the theme, coders have come out with applications that provide you with 7’s features like Shake & Snap on Vista too. As a matter of fact, 7’s calculator can run on Vista too! To make your Vista look & feel like Windows 7 here are some resources that you can use.
1. Windows 7 Boot Screen
- Open the folder “%windir%\System32\en-US” and replace the existing “winload.exe.mui” file with the one in zip file. You will need to take ownership of the file before copying it. Please take a back up of the actual file before replacing it.
- Start->Run->msconfig and in the Boot tab and select “Microsoft Windows Vista” entry and enable “No GUI Boot” option and apply it. Restart your system to take affect and watch the new boot screen in action.
[via AskVG]
2. Logon Screen:
- Download Logon Screen
- Download & install LogonVista
- Load the logon which is in the rar file
-
Take ownership for basebrd.dll from c:\windows\branding\basebrd\basebrd.dll
- Replace with the given dll
- Logout and see the changes
3. Theme – Windows 7 Vista Style FINAL by ~giannisgx89
4. Wallpaper – Here is the official blue Windows 7 wallpaper:
Click to enlarge.
5. Taskbar: To make your Taskbar show only the icons, you can use the manual registry edit method or this nifty little application. Project page.
To make your taskbar show large icons:
- Unlock the taskbar
- Right click in the Quick Launch area
- View -> Select ‘Large Icons’
Also, to increase the height of the window tab, download this application:
6. Right Click Menu:
Just like Windows 7 has the Gadgets shortcut & the Display Settings shortcut in the Right Click Menu, this link will help you achieve the same as shown in the screen shot. [via AskVG]
7. Aero Snap: Just drag a window to a corner and it sticks there, if you liked this nifty feature added to Windows 7 you can rejoice for it is available on Vista too.
8. Aero Shake: Like the new Windows 7 feature, shaking the active window with your mouse will minimize all other windows; shaking it again will restore them. Dev Page
9. Win 7 Calculator
Some genius figured out that you can use the Windows 7 calculator in Windows Vista too. All you need to do is replace some system files and you’re done. [via DailyGyan]
To do this:
-
Make a backup of C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe
-
Replace it with the one in the archive.
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Backup C:\Windows\System32\en-US\calc.exe.mui
-
Replace it with the one in the archive.
10. Sidebar: As Windows 7 won’t be featuring a ‘Sidebar’ you can simply drag your gadgets out of the sidebar then:
- Right click on the Sidebar.
- Select Close Sidebar.
Now you won’t be having the sidebar obstructing your desktop wallpaper.
~Enjoy.
PS: Please use this application inorder to ownership of system files to be able to replace them.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Ooooh! That Aero-shake feature looks damn interesting.
Good post. Stumbled.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Nice Tutorial Manan
November 13th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Nice Article man!
November 15th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Great article man.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:48 am
great posts.
im so excited about windows 7 so im going to try this on our Vista.
thanks.
coolbusteratyourservice.blogspot.com
November 20th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Nicfe post. Stumbled and DUGG
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:57 am
hey i got a problem ..in my laptop it doesnt open the file..it says to search a program to open the file..what can i do ti make my vista look like win 7..thanks
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Hi hector, can i know which file is this? Only the logon screen requires an external program.
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 am
this messed up my vista how can i fix this or unistall i have dual boot and im on xp now what the hell did it do to my computer after it restart it?
January 3rd, 2009 at 6:47 am
Can’t be of much help unless you tell me what exactly happened to your Vista. Nevertheless try System Restore in Vista.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:07 am
How do you get the quick launch buttons to be big like that? Thanks
February 4th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
@Sean:
1. Unlock the taskbar
2. Right click in the Quick Launch area
3. View -> Select ‘Large Icons’
February 21st, 2009 at 5:25 am
You forgot, download IE8 RC1 to make it even more like Windows 7
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/default.aspx?ocid=ie8_s_460cbebd-1bc8-4e0c-980a-acee32ac3e1d
February 21st, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Yeah true thanks for the link.
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:01 am
Its a very good programm thx too
March 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Nice one mate, i knew some1 would figure out how to make windows vista look like windows 7
March 27th, 2009 at 6:32 am
Hey, thanks for all this. but i have a problem. when i moved the theme into resources > themes. and i used it, it just went into classic mode. like if the skin wasnt really windows 7.
the only thing it really changed was the wallpaper.
March 27th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Hey, this is james again; i have fixed the problem above and all i ask of you know is the following:
When i go to do this step,
Take permission for basebrd.dll from c:windowsbrandingbasebrdbasebrd.dll
not even administrator permissions will allow me to replace it with your file.
and how do i make the task bar more transparent?
thanks,
James
March 27th, 2009 at 7:42 am
ok, well all i need now is a mirror for the ownership download. i prefer for it to be compressed in .rar and i need to find out how to make the taskbar more transparent.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I’m sorry for not replaying earlier, didn’t have access to the net. Anyhoo, making the taskbar more transparent is in the Control Panel -> Appearance & Personalization menu.
For replacing system files you will need replacer, get it here. Should work. If you cana ccess rar files, zip shouldn’t have any issues at all
Its just 338 kb.
March 27th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
yeah, i got that figured out last night. all i need now is how to replace the explorer.exe file to change the shutdown system in the startmenu. since i cannot take ownership of the file what do i do? (yes i have already downloaded ownership application.)
March 27th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
manan this is my most likely last post here. the following i need are:
how do i make the taskbar resizer work? i get this side-config error.
i made the explorer that i dl’d work temporarily i just need to know how to overwrite it.
and if i replaced the boot screen would anything possibly go wrong?
thanks,
James
March 27th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
sorry if i’ve posted too much.
(i accidently pushed the enter button on last post, in which i was going to add more before the thanks part)
i also need:
how to replace vista icons with windows 7 icons.
and how do i make not only the time appear on the right corner of the taskbar but also the date or day?
sorry for posting so much lol.
March 28th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I’ll try to help you out. Internet is giving me some issues for the past week.
To replace explorer, try the the replacer application I linked you to in my reply above. Replacing the boot screen won’t affect your system. For date & time this link should help. For icons this app should help.
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Manan,is Windows 7 Screen boot safe?I mean,can possibly anything go wrong?
I did this before with another one and i reinstall my windows…
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Well, there shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve not faced it & haven’t come across complaints as of yet. So, I can say its safe, but then nothing can be predicted in the matrix.
April 10th, 2009 at 5:50 am
Heya manan. I’m having a bit of trouble. I’ve gotten a good bit done but the boot screen… i can’t find the file to replace for the Win7 boot screen. Search couldn’t find %windir%System32en-US anywhere. I do realize that it’s in Cdrive->Windows->System32 but where’s the file?
Thanks,
Rasen
April 10th, 2009 at 7:27 am
I figured it out. Nothing a bit of looking into can’t fix lol.
April 10th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Great! Glad you figured it out
April 11th, 2009 at 12:50 am
Actually, I’m still having problems with the boot screen. I replaced everything, put the backup of the original file on my flash drive, but the boot screen doesn’t show.
April 11th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Kinda difficult to troubleshoot but have you done all the steps mentioned above?
April 11th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Yeah. I replaced winload.exe.mui with the one in the file. Just won’t load. I suppose it isn’t a big deal. I guess the file won’t load or is outdated. That’s all i can figure.
April 11th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Have yo done step 2?
April 12th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Yes, I have. Should I also click “Make all boot settings permanant”?
April 12th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Hey can anyone help me when i use the theme it makes my computer look like windows classic.
April 12th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
@Daaba: I think theres some patching issue in your case
@Rasen: The boot screen has anyway been changed, you can find the new one & a simpler method to apply it in the follow up post, here.
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
would be nice if someone found a way to make the gadgets not reposition after every restart when the sidebar is closed
May 29th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
i hav installed the win7 theme but everytime i try to change the theme my computer changes me to the classic theme instead. does any1 no y this is???
May 29th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
dont worry i hav resolved the problem
June 30th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
dylan I am facing the same problems with my vista,i try to change the theme my computer changes me to the classic theme I wanted to know how did you resolved that problem