Everyone's been asking how to install visual styles in Windows Vista so I've decided to re-post an article from winmatrix:Download and replace these three system files (uxtheme.dll, shsvcs.dll and themeui.dll):
Windows Vista SP1:
Uxtheme Vista SP1 (32-bit) | Mirror Uxtheme Vista SP1 (64-bit) | MirrorWindows Vista SP2:
Uxtheme Vista SP2 (32-bit) | Mirror Uxtheme Vista SP2 (64-bit) | MirrorInstructions:
1. Login as a user with Administrative privileges -or- have Administrative credentials ready (check under the keyboard for a slip of paper).
2. Navigate to %systemroot%\System32
3. Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
4. Take ownership of the file and close dialogs.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll
6. Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
7. Give yourself (or group) Full Control permissions and close dialogs.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll.
9. Rename uxtheme.dll to uxtheme.old.
10. Rename themeui.dll to themeui.old.
11. Rename shsvcs.dll to shsvcs.old.
12. Copy patched files into %systemroot%\System32
13. Reboot (yes, this is really required)
14. Enjoy!
You can use Take Control or these registry files for taking ownership of system files in Vista:
Just add this file to your redistry and right click on the file you want to own and click on "Take Ownership".
own.zip ( 338bytes)To remove the feature just run this file.
own_rem.zip ( 248bytes)If you don't like above registery files, then follow these steps to do this manually:
Start button > All Programs > Accessories > Right-click on Command Prompt > Select Run as administrator > Click Continue.
At the command prompt, input takeown /f filepath
Now input icacls filepath /grant yourusername:f
For Windows XP and Server 2003 click here.
For Windows 7 click here.
Sources: winmatrix.com | withinwindows.com