How to Make XP Look and Act like Windows 7 (Method 1)

Windows 7 was said to launch on October 22, 2009 and the media's been buzzing about it since it was first released. But what if you're a tried-and-true XP user who was so scared by Vista's release that nothing can tear you away from your trusty XP?

Well now you can have all the comforts of Windows 7 without switching to it. Here's how you can make Windows XP look and act like Windows 7.

Disclaimer: I did not create any of these files and I don't support them, but all of them have been tested to be virus free. Keep in mind that installing the extra programs on your computer has the potential of slowing down your computer. So please set a system restore point before installing any of these programs so that you can restore your computer if necessary.

To make this a lot easier I've grouped all the programs that we'll be covering into one, 15 megabyte download that you can find at this link: www.tinkernut.com/forum/video-tutorial-help/make-xp-look-like-windows-7

Once you have it downloaded and extracted you'll notice seven folders that each represents a different step.

How to Install and Use:

1. In the first folder we'll install the Windows 7 visual theme. So open up that folder and then open up the "Theme" folder inside of it. Double-click on "Theme.exe" and run through the installation process. When the theme is installed, apply it and you'll notice your taskbar and background have changed.

2. Now go back to the Step 1 folder and open up the "Styler Toolbar" folder. Double-click on "First Install Me" to install the Styler program. When it's through double-click on "Then Run Me.exe" to install the Windows 7 style. Now go to Start>All Programs>Styler to start the Styler program and this should put a Styler icon in the taskbar. Now double-click on the icon and double-click on the Windows 7 visual style and this should make your computer theme look a lot more like Windows 7.

3. Another Windows 7 feature is that the taskbar only shows icons and not in text. So to add this functionality go back to the Step 1 folder and open up the iconized taskbar hack folder. Then double-click on "Install.reg" to add a registry hack for showing only icons. Then once it's installed, Log-out and Log back in to your account and you should see the new icon feature.

The remaining 2 folders in the Step 1 folder are for Fonts and a hack for common tasks. You can install these if you want but I'm going to skip over them for this tutorial.

4. Now go back to the main folder and open up the Step 2 folder. This folder is for changing the icons to match Windows 7. So double-click on the "Icon Theme" folder and double-click on "First Install Me" to install the Icon Tweaker program. Then double-click on "Then Run Me.itt" and this should launch the icon set. Click Apply and OK and you should see your icons change from Windows XP to Windows 7 icons.

The Steps 3 and 4 folders install Windows 7 window functionality called AeroShake and AeroSnap.

5. First open up the Aero Shake folder and double click on "Aero_Shake". When it's through installing it should out an icon in the taskbar. Now all you have to do is shake the current window that you're in and all other windows should minimize.

6. Next go into the Step 4 folder and double-click on "aero_snap_0_61_setup" to install it. Once it's through installing, you can go ahead and launch it and now you should be able to drag your window to either the left or right side of the screen and it'll 'snap' to that side of the screen. You can also drag it to the top of the screen and it'll maximize the window.

7. The Step 5 folder installs a program that mimics the way Windows 7 allows to drag and drop items in the taskbar to where you order them. Just double-click on "ts2.5_setup" to install it and after you've got it installed and launched you should be able to drag and drop the taskbar icons to different locations.

8. In the Step 6 folder you'll find an application that changes the Windows XP hard drive icon so that they have a percentage bar that shows how full they are. Just double-click on "VistaDriveIcon_1.4_Setup" to install it. Then launch the program and open your My Computer icon and you should now see a percentage bar underneath your hard drive.

9. The last step adds the Windows 7 'Show Desktop' feature to the taskbar. Double-click on "Show Desktop" to install it and it should put a button to the far-right of your taskbar that acts as a show desktop button and when you click it, it should minimize everything to the taskbar.

Now what I've just covered shows some of the more basic ways to convert Windows XP to look more like Windows 7. If you visit the link that I provided in the video description you'll find a lot more customization options that require a little bit more computer know-how.