Transform Windows Vista into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack

[Posted in Resource Hacker, Vista Themes, Windows Vista]

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NOTE: If you are getting error "Can't create file..." while saving a file after editing in resource hacker, that means you have edited and saved the same file in past and there is a backup file which need to be deleted before saving this file again. Go to the folder containing this file and you'll see a similar file having "_original" in its name. Delete it and try to save the file in resource hacker.

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As you all know Windows 7 Beta build has been released and is available everywhere on the net. We posted a small review of Windows 7 at following link:

What’s New in Windows 7: A Small Review with Screenshots

Windows 7 provides lots of new features along with a newly designed interface. It looks very similar to Windows Vista but there are many GUI changes like redesigned taskbar, Explorer, new boot screen and login screen, etc.

If you are still using Windows Vista but want to enjoy the new Windows 7 look, then this tutorial will definitely help you.

After following this tutorial, you'll get the same Windows 7 look in your Windows Vista. Following is a list of things which are going to be changed after following this tutorial:

Windows Theme or Visual Style
Boot Screen
Login Screen or Welcome Screen
Taskbar
Wallpapers, Sounds & Icons
About Windows Box
Extras like "Aero Shake", "Aero Snap", "Aero Peek" and "Calculator"
A Few Other Mods...

So here we start our transformation tour:

PS: Please create a Restore point using "System Restore" before applying anything mentioned in this tutorial so that you can restore your system back to a working state if anything goes wrong.

1. Windows Theme or Visual Style:

Windows 7 provides a new refreshing look which includes redesigned taskbar and start menu, Windows Explorer and a few other small changes.

You can get the same look by using an excellent theme created by our friend "DJ Gx".

Download Windows 7 Theme for Windows Vista

There is another Windows 7 theme for Vista which has been created by our friend and active reader "Ganesh" exclusively for AskVG.com readers.

You can download it using following link:

Download Another Windows 7 Theme for Windows Vista

2. Boot Screen:

Windows 7 contains a new animated boot screen which shows animated items/balls that come together to form Windows logo.

You can get a similar boot screen in Windows Vista:

Download Windows 7 Boot Screen for Windows Vista

3. Login Screen or Welcome Screen:

Windows 7 login screen looks similar to Vista login screen except the new background image and the text displayed at bottom.

Download Windows 7 Login Screen for Windows Vista

4. Taskbar:

Windows 7 taskbar has been highly redesigned. It doesn't show opened program's name in their taskbar buttons, instead it only shows their icons. Also the taskbar buttons are a bit large in their size.

You can get the same behavior in Vista by using following tutorial:

Get Windows 7 Iconized (Icon Only) Taskbar Feature in Windows Vista

Or you can use following small utility which can do the task automatically:

Taskbar Iconizer: Utility to Iconize Taskbar in Windows Vista

To increase the taskbar buttons size:

Get Windows 7 Like Large Taskbar Buttons in Windows Vista

Windows 7 taskbar also allows you to move taskbar buttons to change their positions, you can get the same feature in Windows Vista by using "Taskbar Shuffle" utility:

Taskbar Shuffle: Move Taskbar and System Tray Buttons in Windows

5. Wallpapers, Sounds & Icons:

You can get Windows 7 wallpapers, sounds and icons using following links:

Download Windows 7 Official Wallpaper Shown at PDC 2008

Download Windows 7 Beta Build 6936 Default Desktop Wallpaper

Download Windows 7 RC Build 7048 Sound Schemes, Wallpapers, Icons & Lots More

Download Windows 7 Build 7057 Wallpapers and User Pics

6. About Windows Box:

You'll need to change the top logo in the About Windows dialog box so that it can look like Windows 7:

Download the required BITMAP files from here:

Download About BMPs

Now go to "%windir%\Branding\Basebrd\" folder and look for a file "basebrd.dll".

Once you find the file, take its ownership using following tutorial:

Add Take Ownership Option in File / Folder Context Menu in Windows Vista

Now open this "basebrd.dll" file in Resource Hacker and then replace following BITMAPs with the downloaded BMP files:

Bitmap -> 100 -> 1033 (replace with About_Windows.bmp)

Bitmap -> 101 -> 1033 (replace with About_Windows.bmp)

Bitmap -> 110 -> 1033 (replace with About_Windows_Separator.bmp)

Bitmap -> 111 -> 1033 (replace with About_Windows_Separator.bmp)

Save the file and you have done.

7. A Few Extras:

Windows 7 provides 3 new features which are called "Aero Shake", "Aero Snap" and "Aero Peek".

"Aero Shake" is quite useful. Suppose you have more than one windows opened and you want to minimize all other windows except the window which you are working on, then you have to simply shake the current window with your mouse and all other windows will be minimized automatically. Shake it again and all minimized windows will be maximized again.

Using "Aero Snap", you can minimize, maximize, resize windows by just dragging-dropping them to the screen corners.

"Aero Peek" has replaced the old "Show Desktop" feature in Windows 7. It can be found as a small rectangle present at last in Windows 7 taskbar. When you hover the mouse cursor over it, it allows you to peek behind all open windows by hiding all windows and showing only outlines of all windows.

You can get all these features working in Vista using following tutorials:

Get Windows 7 “Aero Shake” Feature in Windows Vista

Get Windows 7 “Aero Snap” Feature in Windows Vista

Get Windows 7 “Aero Peek” Feature in Windows Vista

Windows 7 also contains a new redesigned Calculator which has new GUI and new options.

You can get the same calculator in Windows Vista using following link:

Get Windows 7 Calculator Working in Windows Vista

8. A Few Other Mods:

1. Windows 7 shows 2 extra options in Desktop context menu ( i.e. when you right-click on Desktop). The 2 extra options are:

Screen resolution
Gadgets

"Screen resolution" shows the graphics card settings page where you can change the monitor and resolution settings.

"Gadgets" opens the Add gadgets window so that you can add new gadgets to your sidebar.

You can get both these options in Vista desktop context menu:

Get Windows 7 Desktop Context Menu in Windows Vista

2. One of new redesigned features in Windows 7 is new "Window Color and Appearance" tab in Desktop Properties. When you right-click on Desktop and select "Personalize" and then go to "Window Color and Appearance" tab.