Need help not sure what to call it. please look

[JackDark316]

***IMPORTANT*** i need help from someone with LOTS of experience (a sage). if you dont know windows 7 inside and out you probly wont be able to help me but thanx anyways


hi i recently bought a used acer aspire one netbook and im quite confused about something, ill break it down for ya....

when i bought it and booted it up i looked around and seen the previous owner did a very good cleanup job (might as well have been stock, there was NOTHING) but there was something odd about it, something...wrong ...

see, for all intents and purposes it's windows 7 starter. it looks, feels and works like it with a few exeptions

the login screen had a background image for Mac OSX Snowleopard. i thought it was just a custom screen and thought nothing of it until i was going to put a custom screen of my own and even though i did it the same exact way i always do, not with a program, but the manual way everyone smart does, it still showed the snowleopard one (i would post a screencap but the key doesnt work at the login screen).

a few days ago i noticed in some setting/information window i cant remember and it showed the apple logo and osx version right above the windows stuff!

then i noticed alot of the icons (control panel stuff, .exe files, .rar/zip) where those for a mac osx.

i KNOW it's not a theme and so im really thinking that somehow, snowleopard was integrated into windows 7 and it's kinda freakin me out because ive NEVER heard of anything like this before and its like everything i knew about OS's just went down the tubes faster than an unwanted pregnancy on prom night.

so like i said up top, i pretty much need to find an old man with a long beard, a cloak and a tall wooden staff to help. those guys know their stuff lol

 

[DustSailor]

No, not integrated at all. To change the log on screen background: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/5382-log-screen-change.html - created by Brink

Here are some icon changing tutorials:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/224162-devices-printers-change-device-icons-custom-icons.html - created by Ageeb
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180615-taskbar-pinned-icons-change.html - created by JaidynM
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/53402-shortcut-change-icon.html - created by Brink

Basically it is in the program's Properties, and you click "Change Icon"

I wonder if a repair install would change this for you: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html - read all warnings and make sure you have the disk to do it with - created by Brink

Or clean install: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html - created by Brink

Do you have the disk still?

 

[FliGi7]

Sounds like the original owner did something along these lines:
Make Windows 7 look like Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
http://www.windows7hacker.com/index...7-look-and-feel-like-a-mac-os-x-snow-leopard/

And, they weren't able to fully remove what remained of this transformation before they sold it. If it were me, I'd do a clean reinstall of the OS. Things like that tend to cause nothing but indefinite problems.

 

[JackDark316]

hi dusty.

i know i'm the new guy here but you must not have read the whole post... i got it USED so, no, i dont have the disk and like i said, i already tried the methods for changing the login screen (the one you posted a link to, to be exact). i'm sorry, i dont want to be "this guy" but you're obviously a high ranked, respected member of the community so, i dunno...act like it? thanx for trying to help but its useless information and you would know that if you read the whole thing...moving along...

fligi7, same thing, thanx for trying but again you must not have read the whole thing. the links you posted are a different thing than what im seeing altogether.

since i started this thread ive talked to my brothers tech specialist (this guy has a 200 terabyte HDD, any song/tv show/movie you can think of and is on his PC just about every second of every minute of every...well you get the picture) and he thinks its a hard-coded theme...thoughts?

also Dusty, you mentioned a clean install but as i said i dont have a disk so, yah...but since you seem to know what youre talking about i figure youre the one to ask this - is there ANY way to "reset" windows? not like system restore does, but more like a "back to square one" sorta thing. no 3rd party software or anything that windows doesnt start with just pure, unadulterated windows 7

again thanx for ur time guys and i know im being a bit difficult here but im reeeeeee-*deep breath*-eeeeeeeeealy confused. also if it helps, i found out i have W7 ultimate, not starter like the sticker on here said

 

[FliGi7]

To me, it sounds like that is what the original owner did to the system. If it's not applicable, so be it, but we can only act on what you've told us so far. I can assure you we've all read the whole thing, no matter how passive aggressively you'd like to push your opinion that no one's read the whole thread simply because we're not providing you with what you think should be the answer. You are a new member that obviously does not understand the OS enough to determine what went wrong and how to fix it so you've come on here asking for suggestions from people that are well more versed than you in this OS. So, in your own words, "i dunno... act like it?"

You've talked to someone who spends a lot of time on a computer and downloads everything they find. So what? The fact that they can use their fingers to point and click to download every torrent you can find has nothing to do with them actually knowing how this OS works and how to fix it. However, their logic sounds pretty good in that it's a hard-coded theme. Ironically, you must not have "read the whole post" on the two links I provided to you as that's exactly what I pointed you to, how a Mac OSX theme is hard-coded into Windows. The only way you're going to get rid of it is to go through that tutorial and try to manually reverse everything that was done or you can do a Repair Install.

So, to answer your last question, yes, there is a way to reset Windows and it's through a System Repair, conveniently located in the tutorial below:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

 

[pparks1]

since i started this thread ive talked to my brothers tech specialist (this guy has a 200 terabyte HDD, any song/tv show/movie you can think of and is on his PC just about every second of every minute of every...well you get the picture) and he thinks its a hard-coded theme...thoughts?

There is no 200TB hard drive. I highly doubt he has a 50 drive array of 4TB disk drives.

also Dusty, you mentioned a clean install but as i said i dont have a disk so, yah...but since you seem to know what youre talking about i figure youre the one to ask this - is there ANY way to "reset" windows? not like system restore does, but more like a "back to square one" sorta thing. no 3rd party software or anything that windows doesnt start with just pure, unadulterated windows 7

No, there is a not a restore back to defaults option. this was something that they are adding to Windows 8. There is a repair install option from the disk, that might fix the problem...but could leave things behind as well since it's used to repair and not reinstall the whole machine.

I'm going to agree with the poster above who suggested this is one of those craptastic theme add-on packs, which probably needed a bit of forcing to go on, and now won't come back off.

It doesn't sound like you really want to install again, but I think it's your best bet. I mean, it started out as Starter Edition, now appears to be Ultimate. Who knows what you have. That thing could be malware or spyware riddled. I wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole.

 

[DustSailor]

Mate, despite the computer being used, the original owner could have given you the disk that went with it for all i know. And your comment for me to "act like it" was a bit offensive, but I'm the forgiving sort. You can do a clean install with an ISO from digital river without use of a CD (download to USB). You'd have to save documents to a USB stick, as I'm sure you're well aware. You will need the license number, commonly stuck to the computer top or side.

Unfortunately, I am not sure how to remove the mac look on your computer other than this complete reinstall. Sorry I couldn't be more help.