Windows 7: Vista Windows Sidebar - Reinstate on Windows 7

I did follow the tutorial! I must have made a mistake somewhere along the way, because I can get the gadgets to appear and work, but I can't get the multiple page effect.

Perhaps I should undo what I've done, and try again.

P.S. Thanks for the quick reply!

Well because I have never tried that particular feature, I tried it myself and can confirm that you should get multiple pages using the tutorial.

I have updated the tutorial with an easier method for anyone having issues with the old one, so for anyone having problems with the old Tutorial, Try Method One.

Mr Grim: can you open flyouts in your sidebar?

Is this what you mean?

I'm back! After a good night's sleep, I thought I'd try again. (I've got to stop playing with my system at two in the morning... nothing good comes of it.)

I see you added an additional way to get the Vista sidebar into Windows 7. I used the new method and it worked! Mostly...

I have the Vista sidebar, with the multiple page function and the mini sidebar toolbar on the top... which is good. And if I click on the "+" to get more gadgets, it takes me to the gadget box. (Again, good so far...)

When I click on the "Get more gadgets online" link in the box, it takes me directly to the Vista gadget webpage. That means the sidebar itself is the Vista sidebar. Great!

However, I still have two problems.

1. If I try to grab a new gadget from the webpage, it never installs. Whether I tell it to "open with Windows sidebar", or I save it to my desktop and try to install it from there, the gadget never installs. Nothing visible happens at all. It doesn't appear in the sidebar, nor in the gadget dialog box. If I check Process Explorer, I can see the sidebar.exe running... so it may be trying (and failing) to open the new gadget. I dunno.

2. The gadgets that appear with the sidebar don't seem to be Vista gadgets. I think they are the Win 7 destop gadgets I installed a few days ago.

In short, I think I have the Vista sidebar, but its filled with Win 7 gadgets.

I also seem to have gadget files in three separate places... in the new sidebar (x64, renamed "Windows sidebar"), under the old sidebar (renamed "Windows sidebar (2)"), and in Windows sidebar (x86). And they are all the same... all Win 7 desktop gadgets.

Got any ideas what I did wrong? Any advice is appreciated!

Mr Grim: This is what I mean. Picture was taken from my Computer at work running Server 2008 - this is what doesn't work in Windows 7.

I wonder if there is a way to reserve the right border of the screen for gadgets, so I could get a pseudo-sidebar with the original Windows 7-gadgets. Some programs like desktop sidebar do this, maybe there is a simple way or tool that I don't know (yet).

Thought I might add that after you reinstate vista sidebar you will no longer be able to add gadgets from microsoft website, the only option is to download and install all gadgets before you convert. You can of course enable and disable all gadgets in your gadget folder though.

Mr grim maybe this piece of info could go somewhere in your tutorial so ppl dont do whole of it then realise that you then cant add any more gadgets.

There is an extra step in the tutorial on how to add new gadgets, thanks for bringing it up.