is anyone familiar with these? i'd like to check more out but i honestly don't know about anything outside of what i'm using (where to find them besides deviantart / where i can learn a little about them / etc)

i tried litestep for like 5 minutes but it just changed too much - ideally i want something that changes the UI graphics with little to no change found in the actual functionality. i don't want something like rainmeter that just adds on to the UI/replaces it. currently my desktop looks like this



it's just windows with a different standard font and different graphics. i like it but there's a few small problems such as missing graphics and imperfect appearance on start up ( not sure if that's a problem with this theme or themes in general )

I'm fairly familiar with Windows themeing:
I did a lot of customization while on WinXP (Litestep, resource hacking etc.), but on Windows 7 I only make changes to the theme.

Do you have a particular question?

yeah so every time on start up my computer, before the wallpaper/taskbar/icons all load, i get a gray screen. when i see an icon for the first time (eg opening up the start menu) it's always a blank white rectangle for a second or two before switching to its actual graphic. besides that, the initial load up of all graphics just takes a little longer than on a stock aero theme. do you think this is unique to my theme, or is this just a problem with third party themes in general?

and are there any reputable theme sites besides deviantart? there's never new stuff and i'm not really a fan of most of what's on there

I've not experienced the problems you're describing, so I would assume they stem either from issue with your computer, or an issue with the particular theme.

Is that Appows2010?

Anyway, I would recommend rebuilding your icon cache, restoring the original .dlls you hacked in order to allow for 3rd party themeing, restarting your computer, and then repatching the appropriate .dlls.

In terms other theme sites: There are other sites dedicated wholly or in part to Windows themes, but very few themes do not make there way to DevArt at some point. You'd be hard pressed to find a publicly released theme elsewhere on the web that you could not also find on DevArt.

yea, appows haze. i like how clean and simple it is - and the fact that it isn't rounded out with an apple feel - like every other theme there is

i'm actually building a new computer right now and i'm looking for a new theme to put on that. are there any that you might recommend for win 7? and is there anything i may want to do in regards to installing the theme properly

I'd use like a UniversalTheme Patcher to replace the appropriate .dlls.

I really enjoy the visual style "Work" by Neiio; it's simple, usable, and comfy

Here's an older screenshot of my setup.

any experience with 3rd party icons? i'd love to have some but it looks like a pain to manage - not sure if things have changed since the last time i looked

google UxStyle - no more patching
google Theme Manager - Windows 7 by ~bickelk on deviantART

search deviantart for themes. must have a theme file at minimum. extras will be through explorer file and others (managed by the theme manager program)

reboot after you apply a theme using extras, but if it's only a theme file then no reboot needed

is it possible to run litestep identical to explorer.exe? i'd rather not learn how to use that when i'm perfectly content with the standard ui, minus the graphics...debating on whether or not to install win 8, as a lot of fresh themes are popping up for it


also i really dig the gaia09 icons but i can't find the windows version it was hosted on their website but it looks like it fell apart since its release. would be really cool if someone could share them with me - or even convert the unix version into a format i could view http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Gaia-09-Icons-132181006



yeah i read about that when i first installed some themes. i actually prefer the patcher as it's 1 less service that's running...even if it's not resource intensive lol

This post was edited by Reverence on Feb 17 2013 09:52pm

If you don't plan on replacing the Windows taskbar or on using popup menus (right click), Litestep may not be the best choice. For someone who is happy with the way they interact with the Windows interface, I would stick to UI tweaks as opposed to full blown shell replacement.

I'll pm you the gaia icons.