Moving from Windows 7 to windows 10 - testing 1-2-3

[AdeV]

Brave browser is about the only software I use, that nags about needing to update to W10 before next browser update. So far, for some reason Brave hasn't forced to update itself.
I use it only to watch Youtube videos, as it blocks all bloody annoying ads. In other words - Youtube like it used to be.

Try Opera - it also blocks all those tedious adverts, and it doesn't nag about updating Windows It's also available for Linux, when you decide to make the switch 

[awemawson]

Thanks Ade - I've just downloaded Opera and as you say it makes YouTube 'as it was' !

[sorveltaja]

Thanks Ade - I've just downloaded Opera and as you say it makes YouTube 'as it was' !

I'll second that, thanks!

[sorveltaja]

An update - unfortunately nothing new (yet I hope).

So, after moving not once but twice this spring, I don't have much room to set up tools for machining anymore. Hmm... what to do then?

Well, one thing that doesn't take plenty of room - playing with computer! PC is actually one of the first things I have to get working after moving.

Anyways, I decided to revisit Win10 and see what actually prevented me using it. Yes, major problem is its very limited(or prohibited) ways to modify its gui(graphical user interface).

So far I've ran it in Oracle VM (as I did previously also). It's still the same debloated W10 Ltsc 21H2 image(iso file).

Some free tools that are available to modify gui colors and such - by using them, I just can't get anything that I'd expect.

One big thing that's missing in W10 is the possibility to make active/inactive windows visually separable(although it can be done) - like it was in W7 and W2000/XP and whatever, if that makes sense.

And W10's default font sucks(my personal preference), but it just might be possible to change that. I prefer Tahoma Bold font in window's title bars.

In short, to "7 windowize" W10 gui to utilize it better. As probably mentioned earlier, it has to do with high contrast themes(also known as ease of access for visually impaired) and registry hacks.

I've done some testing, and finally W10 gui colors are closer to what I'm used to with W7. There are some quirks, though. The way that certain colors are used/applied/tied together with other objects in W10 is just weird.

As I've searched and searched on the net for possible solution, eventually I hit the bottom, or so it seems.

There are plenty of options to try out, though. Some are free and some are not.

Basically, just to get taskbar color changed to light gray as a personal preference (RGB 212 208 200), requires something (program or service)  that needs to be started with windows, and which then needs to hang all the time on the background.

One thing that might (not sure at this point) be worth tinkering with is Msstyle editor (which is free). But it has so god damn many 'classes' to go through. And every class has its own sub things called property.

I'm not interested in duplicating Win7 GUI per se, as some do. "All the start menus and 3D buttons have to be exactly like in Win7" - for what - I don't know.

But what I know (although I'm not a pro in any way) is when I'm doing some demanding things (like using several progs at a time, and dozens of windows open), that the screen I'm watching is clear, and not restricted with some dumb things like Win10's restricted color modifiability.

In other words, to forget the Windows, and do the stuff instead, as one Youtuber aptly said.

Bit of a rant, but I guess I'm not alone with this. 

Anyways, hoping to extend my ability to search more about the subject, I started using ChatGPT, as it's free (and I assume it has a large database).

I certainly don't expect it to spew any Microsoft's insider info, but rather looking ways to squeeze something useful out of it, if possible.

[sorveltaja]

Closer - but not quite there yet. There is something called Aero Lite, that's apparently "hidden" in Win10. It can be enabled though, but its default colors aren't that good(like too dark taskbar with black text).

Aerolite.theme -file doesn't seem to be included in W10, so I had to download it from the net.
Well it's always risky to do that, but it's just a text file, and I opened it in notepad in VM to see what's in there.

As I earlier wrote, I tested W10's high contrast themes to edit colors, but what might look ok in desktop, actually messes program's colors also(like Firefox), so I think I'll skip it altogether.

To me, Aero Lite looks better, and has borders on the windows. Modifying at least some of accent colors can be done with AccentPalette.

The end result maybe depends also on default windows- and default app mode(light or dark), havent tested it yet.

As can be seen in the pic, buttons in windows titles doesn't show at all, except on active window, and even then only the 'X' one.

Yeah, although I don't care much about AI, I've used that Chatgpt to ask silly questions about the subject - it doesn't seem to mind at all.

 

[sorveltaja]

One free tool that makes W10 to look like W7 is "Automatic classic theme script for windows 10" at https://winclassic.net/thread/204/automatic-classic-theme-script-windows

It's actually a bat-file, and yes, it does work in changing the GUI, but it's also buggy. For example, after applying it, there is an option to disable it by using the same script, but it doesn't work, or maybe it worked on older versions of W10. Also, it seems to work only in 100% scaling, so text(like under desktop icons) is overall rather small.

It modifies (or breaks) parts of W10's system. Perhaps that's the only way to force W10 to use custom colors, hope not.

But the colors are just spot on. I tried to edit the bat file by removing one portion at a time to consist only color altering registry keys. So far, without success.

It might have something to do with W10's DWM(desktop window manager) and/or other things that prevents further color customizing.

 
 

[sorveltaja]

Just today, while looking possible locations in W10's registry for the colors, I noticed that windows' own registry editor's search doesn't show all the results(if any).

For example, I know that there is a certain value FF994D00 in following keys, when navigating in reg editor, which "are not found":

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SystemProtectedUserData\S-1-5-21-576976833-1637798910-2310749630-1001\AnyoneRead\Colors
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-576976833-1637798910-2310749630-1001\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Accent

When exporting whole registry, and opened in notepad or whatever, those keys with that data can be found...

One free registry editor, that I'm testing, is 'ooregeditor', and it seems to be able to find 'hidden' keys: https://www.oo-software.com/en/ooregeditor

In some registry keys one has to add/take permission to edit; otherwise it's denied. It's just few steps, and easier than I thought.

While fiddling with different colors and settings, I managed to make W10's inactive title bars red(as it's easier to indicate if something has changed), no matter what theme I used, so I guess I managed to do something that was permanent - what it is, one can only guess, since I used msstyle editor and some other simple tools. I've been trying to reproduce it, but so far nothing.

Last but not least - about color formats used in registry: RGB, ARGB, BGR. And some are in hex form like one mentioned above.

[philf]

You do know that Microsoft are stopping support for Win 10 in 2025!

I'll have to live without updates as my two Win 10 laptops and desktop all fail to meet the minimum requirements for Win 11.

[sorveltaja]

I've been looking for ways to locate the bitmaps used for window buttons(minimize, maximize and close), and it seems they are located in one bitmap in msstyles file.

By using Resource Hacker, one can see, extract and replace the bitmap(s): https://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/

Yeah, there's a bit of a compromise - one have to use SecureUxTheme to enable third party(or just edited ones) themes: https://github.com/namazso/SecureUxTheme
It is said to be safer to use, as it doesn't modify system files.

Another one, that I haven't used, is UXTheme Patcher: https://uxthemepatcher.com/

Also, if one wants to experiment with windows' aero.msstyles or aerolite.msstyles files, as it's a system file, permission needs to be added to current user. That way the msstyles file can be moved to desktop or other temporary place for editing, because it can't be edited and saved in its original folder.

Apparently there is not much info on the net, of how to interpret msstyles files. It's almost like an occult science, but still there seems to be plenty of people making fancy themes and skins, which they sell. Wonder where they have learned about such things. One place is DeviantArt, but even when registering there, the forum is rather restricted(I guess for new users): https://www.deviantart.com/

I'm not looking for something radical; just to change certain colors, or edit certain bitmaps to achieve that to make W10's gui more usable for old farts like me. 

Little bit of testing - just by editing one msstyles' bitmap, it's possible to make the window buttons to have certain background color, that doesn't change much whether the window is active or inactive. It doesn't seem to affect apps like firefox and system setting, though.

Some colors are somewhat off. Might need more testing with other theme-related settings.

Current result with:

- edited msstyle bitmap,
- one key registry entry for taskbar color
- Accentpalette to change the highlighted window in taskbar(not sure what it's called). It seems to change startmenu color also.

   

[sorveltaja]

You do know that Microsoft are stopping support for Win 10 in 2025!

I'll have to live without updates as my two Win 10 laptops and desktop all fail to meet the minimum requirements for Win 11.

I've tested W11 in VM, and it's very heavy compared to W10. But so is default W10 install.

Any chance of making slimmed down version of W11, and see how it goes?  Probably needless to say, that windows 11 updates would make it heavy again.

It all depends on what Windows features user wants/needs to have.

[sorveltaja]

I played with aerolite.msstyles file, and it has a png file in it called STREAM777.

By coloring different areas, I managed to locate some positions, which appears to hold certain elements' colors.

Right side of the image is blank, and coloring it doesn't seem to have any effect(maybe it does when using themes which use aero.msstyles).
The orbs may be a part of windows animations. Haven't played with them yet, as I usually disable all animations and decorations.

Located colors for elements so far: