Software that forces basic colour scheme

Orbital Shark

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I thought i'd start compiling a list of software that forces Windows 7 (and indeed Vista) to automatically revert to the Standard/Basic colour scheme, thus disabling the Aero effects within the Windows GUI.

This is not a fault with Windows, the software must be calling for resources/environment variables that are either not available or different in Vista/Seven.

WinAVI Video Converter
M2VPlayer
PowerDVD Blu ray edition - thanks to swarfega for this
MediaCoder but only for preview - thanks to LePoilu for this

Yes, the list is small but it will grow as I find more.

If anyone knows of any more then by all means please contribute to this thread.

Thank you :)
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD Sempron Dual Core
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Screen Resolution
1024x768
Hard Drives
150GB Sata
ALLPlayer and Media Player Classic (the newest version as far as I know works fine with aero).
 

My Computer

OS
Windows Vista/7
CPU
AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+
Motherboard
DFI Infinity NF UltraII-M2/g / NF SLI II-M2 / NFII-M2
Memory
2xGeIL Ultra 1GB CL4-4-4DDR2-800
Graphics Card(s)
Palit GeForce 8600GT sonic+
Sound Card
Realtek ALC850 @ nVIDIA nForce4 SLI (CK8-04)
Monitor(s) Displays
HP L1906
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
Seagate Barracuda 7200 250GB (System)
2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (Storage)
PSU
Chieftec 400W GPS-400
Keyboard
Logitech S510
Mouse
Logitech S510
Internet Speed
10Mb/s
Older JAVA apps if you have older Java JREs installed
VB6 and VB.Net apps that do not have a Manifest making them theme aware
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    The Beast Model A (homebrew)
    OS
    Windows 11 21H2 Current build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spec
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Plat
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + MB 3
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable),Chrome, Edge
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Dell Latitude E5470
    OS
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Registry Mechanic, I think.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Inspiron 1520 (Laptop)/ Home (Desktop)
OS
Windows 7 x64 / Same
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / Intel Core i7 930
Motherboard
Intel 945 / Asus P6X58D-E
Memory
4GB / 6GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS / ASUS 1GB
Sound Card
Whatever Dell gave me :-( / Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
15.4" LCD / Crappy CRT
Hard Drives
Seagate 500GB SATA; 7200 RPM / Seagate 1TB SATA; 7200 RPM
PSU
N/A / OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular
Case
N/A / Antec 900
Cooling
Air
Mouse
Microsoft Presenter (Bluetooth)
PowerDVD if it decides to run in modes other than EVR, which supports Aero.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    The Beast Model A (homebrew)
    OS
    Windows 11 21H2 Current build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spec
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Plat
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + MB 3
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable),Chrome, Edge
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Dell Latitude E5470
    OS
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD Sempron Dual Core
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Screen Resolution
1024x768
Hard Drives
150GB Sata
PowerDVD if it decides to run in modes other than EVR, which supports Aero.

I've just installed PowerDVD 9 & it had no effect on Windows GUI. What's the EVR setting you speak of?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD Sempron Dual Core
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Screen Resolution
1024x768
Hard Drives
150GB Sata
I had another discussion going in another thread about how PowerDVD can sometimes force Basic if it reverts to VR9(I think that is what it is called) from EVR, or else reverts to a plain old overlay....

Usually only happens on systems with not enough graphic power, but was more notorious for happening on Vista often enough.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    The Beast Model A (homebrew)
    OS
    Windows 11 21H2 Current build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spec
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Plat
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + MB 3
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable),Chrome, Edge
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Dell Latitude E5470
    OS
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
ok, cheers man :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Compaq Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD Sempron Dual Core
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Screen Resolution
1024x768
Hard Drives
150GB Sata
Ive run PowereDVD Blu Ray edition which does switch to basic mode. Id think my graphics card would be powerful enough to cope with both.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
self built
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU
Intel E8400 3GHz
Motherboard
Intel DX48BT2
Memory
Kingston PC3-10700H 4Gb
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon HD 5850 BlackEd.
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DG
Monitor(s) Displays
2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
Screen Resolution
1680x1050 on two monitors
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 2 120gb 3.5" (OS)
Seagate Momentus XT 500gb
Samsung F3 1Tb (games)
2x Samsung F1 1Tb
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
Case
Thermaltake Armor
Cooling
Scythe Mugen II
Keyboard
Microsoft Comfort Curve USB
Mouse
Razer Diamondback 3G
Internet Speed
8128/443
MediaCoder but only for preview.
 

My Computer

OS
Vista H.P. SP1 x32 Seven RC x64
CPU
Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz
Motherboard
GA-EP45-DS3L
Memory
4Go PC2-6400
Graphics Card(s)
8500GT @ 700/500
Sound Card
Audigy Platinium
Monitor(s) Displays
Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 920 + Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 720
Screen Resolution
1600x1200 twice
Hard Drives
Hitachi 160Go
Maxtor 160Go (system drive)
Maxtor 200Go in Antec MX-1 EC external box (eSATA-USB2.0)
PSU
Corsair VX550W
Case
Thermaltake Xaser III
Cooling
Watercooling (CPU, GPU, HDD, NB)
Keyboard
MS Wireless Multimedia 6000 V2.0
Mouse
IntellEye Explorer 3.0
Internet Speed
ADSL 18Mbit/s/1Mbit/s

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Inspiron 1520 (Laptop)/ Home (Desktop)
OS
Windows 7 x64 / Same
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / Intel Core i7 930
Motherboard
Intel 945 / Asus P6X58D-E
Memory
4GB / 6GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS / ASUS 1GB
Sound Card
Whatever Dell gave me :-( / Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
15.4" LCD / Crappy CRT
Hard Drives
Seagate 500GB SATA; 7200 RPM / Seagate 1TB SATA; 7200 RPM
PSU
N/A / OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular
Case
N/A / Antec 900
Cooling
Air
Mouse
Microsoft Presenter (Bluetooth)
VLC Player sometimes switches the theme to basic but only with certain movie files, i have to take a closer look the next time it happens.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
hp
OS
win7.7100x64
CPU
core2duo t5870
Memory
4gb
Monitor(s) Displays
l2245w
window live messenger when installing it with compatible mode to vista sp1 forced the colour scheme to basic.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus F83VF Noteook
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo P8800
Motherboard
Intel PM45 Chipset
Memory
4 GB DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 220M, 1 GB GDDR3 SDRAM
Sound Card
Realtek
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
Seagate 500 GB
PSU
-
Case
-
Cooling
-
Keyboard
-
Mouse
Razer Lachesis
Internet Speed
10 Mb/s
Also, GTA:San Andreas. I don't know if that comes under software, but...oh well.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavilion zv6000
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate RTM (Build 7600.16385)
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Motherboard
HP(propietary mobo) Board ID:3085
Memory
2 GB DDR 166/200 MHz Strontium (1+1GB)
Graphics Card(s)
ATi Radeon XPress Mobility Series 200M
Sound Card
Conexant AC-Link Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
1280 x 800 17" or 15' LCD
Screen Resolution
1280 x 800
Hard Drives
100 GB Seagate 4200 RPM 8 MB cache
PSU
-
Case
-
Cooling
-
Internet Speed
2 mbps
Media Player Classic depending on what output you choose, overlay is fine but other ones like EVR will cause switch.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Built
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
CPU
Intel I5 2500K 3.3Ghz Stock
Motherboard
Asus P8H 61-M LE USB 3
Memory
8Gig Kingston DDRIII HyperX Blue 1333 Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Sapphire 7870 2GB
Sound Card
Creative Fatality Pro
Monitor(s) Displays
27" BENQ LED
Screen Resolution
1920X1080
Hard Drives
1 x OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD
1 x Seagate 250GB
1 x Western Digital 1000GB
1 x HP 500GB
PSU
700W Coolermaster Stealth Pro etc
Case
Coolermaster Scout
Cooling
Some fans
Keyboard
Some Logitech type.
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Internet Speed
Wireless 8mb
Other Info
Canon Scanner
Epson Printer
Nikon DSLR 3000
Wacom Tablet
I've just installed PowerDVD 9 & it had no effect on Windows GUI. What's the EVR setting you speak of?
Enhanced Video Renderer.
from MPC guide that i found on internets:
...newest renderer that comes out from Redmond and available in Windows Vista (and XP if .NET Framework 2 or newer is installed). It is different than VMR7/VMR9 in that it do not have features like VMR/YUV mixer mode and are dependent completely on Direct3D. It supports MPEG2 (Windows XP and Vista) and H.264 (Vista only) hardware acceleration in DXVA2 mode.
Media Player Classic depending on what output you choose, overlay is fine but other ones like EVR will cause switch.
it works fine here with EVR Sync. DXVA too. maybe it causes switch because the video card has porblems running Aero.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1
CPU
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE
Motherboard
ASUS M5A99X EVO
Memory
12GB (Kingston 4GB & 8GB DDR3 1333MHz Kits)
Graphics Card(s)
MSI GeForce N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II
Sound Card
ALC892, SB Audigy ES
Monitor(s) Displays
ViewSonic 24"
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SATA III, Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA II, Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA III, Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB SATA II
PSU
Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850
Case
Cooler Master HAF 932
Cooling
Zalman CNPS10X Performa, CM 230mm, Titan 140mm PWM
Keyboard
Logitech Illuminated
Mouse
Logitech G400 on SteelSeries 4HD
Other Info
M-Audio Oxygen 25, Xbox 360 Wired Controller
add tiger woods 2007 to the mix.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
I built sysytem
OS
win 7 home premium
CPU
I5 2500 3.4ghz
Motherboard
Asus p8p67 le
Memory
gskill ripjaws 8gig
Graphics Card(s)
msi 430 fermi (nvidia)
Sound Card
On- Board
Monitor(s) Displays
NEC 90gx
Screen Resolution
1280x1024
Hard Drives
1 tb sata 6 (WD)
500 gig IDE
80 gig Seagate IDE
PSU
PC Power & Cooling 500w
Case
Antec Full Tower
Cooling
WHole bunch of fans (6)
Keyboard
Logitech Wave (wired)
Mouse
MS 5000
Internet Speed
Cable
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