Downloaded Themes

huffman said:

Running Windows 7 Pro

I download a theme from Microsoft called "Ferrari_Win7Theme.theme" and put it into a new folder in the Themes folder.

I then ran the Universal Theme Patcher and patched the three files (said was successful). I then rebooted.

When I try to change themes this theme still does NOT show as one available.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

If you downloaded a theme from Microsoft it will NOT require any patching. Microsoft explicitly FORBIDS patching of any system files so you will NEVER get a file from Microsoft that requires patching. There have been more than one occurrence of patches containing malware and because you are doing all the work for the malware by intentionally infecting your own core system files the malware does not need infection code and thus is invisible to virus scanners.

Creating and Installing Theme Files (Windows)

Themes include ONLY wallpaper, cursors, fonts, sounds, and icons. No patching required here.

Themes and Visual Styles (Windows)

You should have received a file with the .themepack extension. Double clicking it installs the theme and opens the theme dialog.

Run system restore or sfc /scannow to repair the damage you've done with the patcher and download this again to make sure it's not been tampered with http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...heme.themepack and double click.

If you downloaded a theme from Microsoft it will NOT require any patching. Microsoft explicitly FORBIDS patching of any system files so you will NEVER get a file from Microsoft that requires patching. There have been more than one occurrence of patches containing malware and because you are doing all the work for the malware by intentionally infecting your own core system files the malware does not need infection code and thus is invisible to virus scanners.

Creating and Installing Theme Files (Windows)

Themes include ONLY wallpaper, cursors, fonts, sounds, and icons. No patching required here.

Themes and Visual Styles (Windows)

You should have received a file with the .themepack extension. Double clicking it installs the theme and opens the theme dialog.

Run system restore or sfc /scannow to repair the damage you've done with the patcher and download this again to make sure it's not been tampered with http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...heme.themepack and double click.

Geez. Are you on commission from MS, naturally paranoid, or writing from your nuclear bunker? I'm really not sure that Microsoft has any power or right to FORBID anybody doing anything. If I choose to risk what are pretty valueless warranties anyway that's really none of their or anyone else's business!

This forum is about customization and the truth is that Microsoft in its wisdom decided to make genuine customization virtually impossible without patching. You may be happy to toe the party line and maintain a pristine system using only the anodyne changes of colour and wallpaper that Microsoft approves of but thousands understandably are not.

The customization community is not the fly-by-night, virus happy bunch of losers that you paint them but a surprisingly well regulated, peer reviewed group of hard working enthusiasts that has been responsible directly for many of the real improvements that companies like Microsoft have belatedly adopted (or should I say poached?) Their work is as thoroughly tested as any professional product - indeed, as they are not driven by profit and deadlines, one might very well argue considerably better tested and in much more realistic circumstances.

Of course there are rogues out there but they are easily avoided by going through reliable, trusted channels. Caveat emptor, of course, but let's not tar everybody that ever wanted a better way of doing things with the demonising brush. And, for pity's sake, let's not ever get into the way of thinking that Microsoft can do no wrong and only have our best interests at heart! After all, Windows 7, for all its benefits is actually a severe step down from Vista in terms of personalisation and that's really saying something!

They want clones - clones are easier to sell things to and at higher prices (we all know that the premium on Windows 7 is farcically out of kilter with its true value and what the company could easily afford to sell it at). So vive la revolution! We paid for it so we'll do what we damn well please with it (having backed-up everything in sight beforehand, of course ... we may be rampaging hotheads but we're not stoopid!!!)

Any support pro will tell you that unofficial patches are to be avoided regardless of the source. Microsoft have not tested their ecosystems with these patches and no matter how well intentioned these customizer folks are they still simply hobbyists who lack even a minuscule fraction of the resources required to comprehensively compatibility and regression test any of these patches. I agree that while many of these enthusiasts are hard working and do test their patches to make sure they look good and have the desired cosmetic effect they cannot possibly test with the required rigor, consistency and breadth required to match the literally thousands upon thousands of applications in the Microsoft compatibility test library. It's not feasible. The coordination alone is daunting not to mention the cost. Unless of course all of that software is pirated but that again raises concerns as to patch integrity. Who is the authority to name the reliable, trusted channels?

It sounds like you are on the complete other side of the software ideological spectrum. I don't like corporations much either since I firmly believe that the single role of government is to control the powerful so they do not victimize the weak and none are so powerful as trillion dollar corporations. That being said, their organization and resources dwarf the hobbyist bands that claim so proudly that they've bested the corporation, beaten "the man" and built a better mousetrap. Most successful open source development programs are staffed by fulltime employees of Microsoft competitors. IBM, Sun/Oracle, Redhat, etc are all contributing bits to make migration to their proprietary solutions attractive and to build anti-Microsoft sentiment through the bluster of open source propagandists. They are not the work of some altruistic rag-tag band of software "freedom fighters". This analogy rings true at a deeper level as well -- hardly any real "freedom fighters" are successful without rival government backing either. It's the same thing.

This is not an indictment of linux, open source or free software. Nor is it an indictment of your right to mess up your system however you choose with whatever unofficial patches you might opt to inflict upon yourself. You are obviously capable of fixing those problems they might cause. You are in the minority here, just as everywhere else. Not everyone can dig themselves out of a software mess and advocating dangerous things will make it harder for us to help Joe Sixpack here on the forums. Things will go awry, they will rail against Microsoft and clamor about switching to Mac or Linux when most of the time it's the "openness of the platform" to blame. People who run linux and compile their own stuff are not normal users. The customization crowd are not normal users no more than the car tuner crowd are normal drivers. They don't want to be.

But don't encourage Gramma to NoS her Buick. It's not good for her.