Soulburner
08-13-2007, 06:59 PM
This short guide will explain how to properly install the Vista Transformation Pack, version 7. These are all of the things I ran into during my experience with it and the solutions to get it working. I have not found much support for this so I had to figure it out myself.
http://www.windowsxlive.net/index.php?page_id=15
This neat program will completely convert Windows XP to be an almost full Vista Clone, yet its still XP underneath.
1. Fully update Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and all of the updates.
2. Add the following line to your registry by doing Start -> Run:
REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\HotFix\KB925902" /v Installed /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
This will hide Hotfix KB925902 which causes problems with the installation. That way you do not have to uninstall it to use VTP7.
3. Create a Restore Point
4. Disable Data Execution Prevention. This is done by editing your boot.ini file. Change the line that reads "noexecute=optin" to say "noexecute=alwaysoff". This prevents the problem with DEP sometimes killing VTP7 files when booting into Windows.
5. Reboot into safe mode and install VTP7. This will prevent problems with the installation trying to overwrite Windows files that are in use. Follow the instructions step by step - I do not have a guide for this. I recommend installing everything except those that you know you will not use. You can enable/disable things later.
6. Boot into Windows. You will notice a few changes. Open the Welcome Center icon that was placed onto your desktop and click Configure User Account. On the left side under Desktop Theme Enhancements check the items that you would like to use. Also click the theme you would like to use. The "Aero Style" skin is the actual Vista theme but requires Windowblinds 5.5 Enhanced*. On the right side you can choose to use LClock, Thoosje's Sidebar, and VisualToolTip. ViStart is only for the non-Windowblinds themes, the Windowblinds skin takes care of that function otherwise so if you are using that leave that unchecked. Also check the option to make VTP7 look "as close to Vista as possible". Please note all transformations won't be complete after the first boot into Windows. After you make some changes and get things setup you will need to reboot again - that is when you will see the full transformation.
A few notes worth mentioning:
-*To get the full experience you will need Windowblinds 5.5 Enhanced. Without it you can't use the WB Vista Aero skin which gets you all of the transparency aka "glass". I thought about making this one of the steps above however it is not required to use VTP7 and is an extra cost. Please, no talk of pirated software on this forum.
-Your mouse will feel different and will require adjusting. I am not sure why but mouse speed is handled differently with the new cursor. You have the choice of using your old cursor however.
-I recommend going and downloading the Sidebar v2.2. Included with VTP7 is v2.1 and since then a few bugs have been fixed. Find it at http://www.thoosje.com/.
I will say though, that I couldn't see using this setup without the Windowblinds theme, its a little bland after you are used to Vista. For me it had a very minimal impact on RAM, not worth mentioning anyway. If you use the sidebar you will see some memory use there, but that's to be expected. See the above link for screenshots of the final product, and if you are willing to take the necessary steps follow my directions and you should not have any problems. :cool:
http://www.windowsxlive.net/index.php?page_id=15
This neat program will completely convert Windows XP to be an almost full Vista Clone, yet its still XP underneath.
1. Fully update Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and all of the updates.
2. Add the following line to your registry by doing Start -> Run:
REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\HotFix\KB925902" /v Installed /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
This will hide Hotfix KB925902 which causes problems with the installation. That way you do not have to uninstall it to use VTP7.
3. Create a Restore Point
4. Disable Data Execution Prevention. This is done by editing your boot.ini file. Change the line that reads "noexecute=optin" to say "noexecute=alwaysoff". This prevents the problem with DEP sometimes killing VTP7 files when booting into Windows.
5. Reboot into safe mode and install VTP7. This will prevent problems with the installation trying to overwrite Windows files that are in use. Follow the instructions step by step - I do not have a guide for this. I recommend installing everything except those that you know you will not use. You can enable/disable things later.
6. Boot into Windows. You will notice a few changes. Open the Welcome Center icon that was placed onto your desktop and click Configure User Account. On the left side under Desktop Theme Enhancements check the items that you would like to use. Also click the theme you would like to use. The "Aero Style" skin is the actual Vista theme but requires Windowblinds 5.5 Enhanced*. On the right side you can choose to use LClock, Thoosje's Sidebar, and VisualToolTip. ViStart is only for the non-Windowblinds themes, the Windowblinds skin takes care of that function otherwise so if you are using that leave that unchecked. Also check the option to make VTP7 look "as close to Vista as possible". Please note all transformations won't be complete after the first boot into Windows. After you make some changes and get things setup you will need to reboot again - that is when you will see the full transformation.
A few notes worth mentioning:
-*To get the full experience you will need Windowblinds 5.5 Enhanced. Without it you can't use the WB Vista Aero skin which gets you all of the transparency aka "glass". I thought about making this one of the steps above however it is not required to use VTP7 and is an extra cost. Please, no talk of pirated software on this forum.
-Your mouse will feel different and will require adjusting. I am not sure why but mouse speed is handled differently with the new cursor. You have the choice of using your old cursor however.
-I recommend going and downloading the Sidebar v2.2. Included with VTP7 is v2.1 and since then a few bugs have been fixed. Find it at http://www.thoosje.com/.
I will say though, that I couldn't see using this setup without the Windowblinds theme, its a little bland after you are used to Vista. For me it had a very minimal impact on RAM, not worth mentioning anyway. If you use the sidebar you will see some memory use there, but that's to be expected. See the above link for screenshots of the final product, and if you are willing to take the necessary steps follow my directions and you should not have any problems. :cool: