Windows Aero - Force it on?

Or, you could use THIS forum
https://www.sevenforums.com/customization/19247-force-enable-aero-windows-7-a.html

The Top Rated Windows 7 Forum of 2009 - SevenForums



Force Enable Aero in Windows 7

1. Open Registry Editor (RegEdit).
2. Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
   If the DWM registry key is not found, right click on Windows and then select New -> Key to create new branch and name it as DWM.
3. In the right details pane, create a new DWORD (32-bit value) named UseMachineCheck, and set its value to 0.
4. In the right details pane, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named Blur, and set its value to 0.
5. In the right details pane, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named Animations, and set its value to 0.
6. Restart the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager in Services in Control Panel (type Services.msc in Start Search), or run the following commands in a command prompt with administrator privileges: net stop uxsms
   net start uxsms
7. Attempt to enable and apply Windows Aero in Windows 7. Restart the computer if required.

You didn't say what video adapter you're using, but if it's one of the infamous Intel 915 series, you're wasting your time. I have a tablet PC with that chipset and I can confirm that NONE of the registry hacks do any good. I tried them with Vista and retried these with Seven -- and nothing works.

If you have one of the newer Intel chipsets (945GM or newer), these hacks should work, but then, you should be getting Aero by default.

As for Aero-like effects, the basic problem is that without the newer drivers, you won't get transparency, so even if you install custom themes, you won't see the same image the theme developer posts because that image uses transparency to get its effects.

I have a post in the Customization subforum dealing with non-Aero desktops, and several forum members have posted themes that will work well with Seven Basic. You can also subscribe to StarDock's Object Desktop Ultimate product and get their Beta 2 of WindowBlinds, but I've been using that on my Tablet PC with Seven and have encountered so many lockups that I quit using it.