Tweak Windows XP with Vista Start Menu
Last night I was in a tweaking mood. I decided that I wanted to have my pc look a little more sleek…dare I say it…mac-ish (drats, on Ed Dale for nearly taking me into the dark side…LOL). I found a few interesting tweaks I thought you might find stimulating. This is a buffet…take what you want and leave the rest…but enjoy!
First, I didn’t want to reinvent any wheels but a I needed a killer (do people still use that word?) Microsoft theme. I chose the Zune theme because it had the basic color palette I was looking for in the theme (don’t worry if you like iPods…no one will have to know about it but you and me). So get this theme by click here.
To install the theme:
- Find the folder you just downloaded and unzip it
- Go to the opened file you just created and start the installation
- follow any prompts
- Click on START
- Click on CONTROL PANEL
- Click on DISPLAY
- In the THEMES tab click the drop down menu THEME and scroll until you see the Zune theme
- Click on APPLY in the lower right
- I didn’t want a Zune picture on my desktop so I clicked on the DESKTOP tab and chose a photo of my chihuahua’s instead
- Click on OK and we’re now finished with our new theme
Now for a real fun toy! Are you ready for this? I have seen Vista but don’t really want the program. It does, however, have some really great menu features that I would like to try on my XP pc. Here’s what you do…this is so much fun…
- Visit this site on download.com for the free application (this is also tested spyware free)
- Click on the DOWNLOAD NOW button
- Find the file you just downloaded and open it to start the installation
- follow any prompts
- Now check out you ultra-cool start menu! Didn’t I tell you this was awesome!
If you buy the software you get a ton of more features but you can use the free one just to get your feet wet and see how much you LOVE it! Here is the link for the developers website www.vistastartmenu.com to read more about your options.
Technorati Tags: windows xp, windows vista, vista start menu, tweak, start menu, Zune theme, microsoft
If I can do it! You can do it too! Celebrating Texas country living, down home cooking, family life, figuring stuff out and being a stay-at-home moxie mom computer geek.
Blessings,
Wendy Merritt
The Moxie Mom
XXO (A kiss on each cheek and a hug)
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Now if only the opposite of this could be done. If you ever find a way to get the XP start menu in Vista I’m willing to listen.
The one thing I really hate the most about vista is that I’m stuck in a scroll list. No I’m not talking about Classic Start menu (Windows 95 style) I’m talking about have expanding menus, with most frequently used applications like XP.
I hate being trapped in the scroll box.
JAB_au’s last blog post..Open Redirect at Ask.com
Wendy Merritt
Reply:
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:06 am
JAB_au, I’m sorry that I can’t help you with your Vista menu frustrations. I was told by our IT person to stay away from Vista. Several of the software suites that I use were not Vista compatible and now that Windows 7 is on the horizon…what’s the point of moving to Vista. I know Vista has its good points and its bad points…but I am still a Microsoft girl (so to my friends who are reading this…stop trying to convert me to Mac! LOL)! Good luck and let me know if you ever find a way to fix it.
Blessings,
Wendy
Some good advice here. After trying some of these tips, one can really notice an improvement in the performance on a PC.
Thanks for sharing!