Manas T

The Random Blog

Make Windows XP look like Ubuntu Linux

with 67 comments

Post Last Updated on 08 – June – 2007

After I started using Ubuntu last month, I was really impressed with the clean and attractive interface of Ubuntu. So I decided to make my Windows XP look like Ubuntu Linux.

Why would anyone want to do that ?

  • Firstly to have a consistent look across the two operating systems, if you are using a dual boot system with Ubuntu and Windows XP.
  • Secondly, to have the clean super sexy look of Ubuntu on Windows XP.

Before & After Screenshots

Before you begin the transformation, I thought you would like to have a look at how your final desktop will look after the transformation.

Before

winxp_desktop winxp_mycomputerwinxp_firefox

 

 

 

After

Final Transformation Look 1 Final Transformation Look Screenshot 2Final Transformation Look Screenshot 3

 

 

 

Make Windows XP look like Ubuntu Linux

1. The Visual Style

ubuntu_stage1The first part of the customization is to change the visual style. You will need to download and install the Uxtheme Multipatcher before you can use the theme. Then download the Human Visual Style. It is the best port of the Ubuntu default orange look, I have seen.

Extract the archive to C:\Windows\Resources\Themes, assuming you have installed Windows XP in C drive. Now right click on your Desktop and click on Properties. Go to Appearance and select Human as the theme.

2. The Icons

ubuntu_stage2The second part, change the icons to orange tango theme found in Ubuntu. For that download the Super Turbo Tango Patcher. Double click on the downloaded file to start the installation. Select the Icon Set as Tangerine while installing. The Tangerine set has the icons which are included with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. After installation restart your computer to see the new icons.

3. The Wallpaper

Next part is to change the wallpaper on your desktop. Go to C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\Human\Wallpapers. You will find matching wallpapers there. Set the one you like as the wallpaper. The default Ubuntu matching wallpaper is the Intelmac Orange one.

3. The Mouse Pointers

Next come, the mouse pointers. Luckily you already have them on your computer. Go to C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\Human\Cursors to find the mouse pointers used in Ubuntu. The problem is you need to change the pointers manually. You can do that in the Control Panel.

You will find an “install.inf” in the mentioned folder. Instead of assigning the pointers manually, simply make a right click on the install.inf and select “Install”. Then open the Control Panel and choose the newly added cursor theme as “xFree Cursors (Alphablended)” – saves a bit of manual work. ( Method suggested by Boomer )

Ubuntu BootScreen4. The Boot Screen

Download the Ubuntu style Booscreen from here. To use it you need either BootSkin or TuneUpStyler. BootSkin is free. You can get it from Stardock.

5. The Logon Screen

Get the Ubuntu style Logon screen from here. It is not exactly perfect but will serve our purpose. ;) To apply the logon screen use LogonStudio from Stardock. (Logon Studio is free too ;)

Customizing / Installing 3rd party applications

1. Mozilla Firefox & Opera Web Browser

To make Firefox blend with the Ubuntu look, install the Ubuntu Tango theme from Mozilla Addons. Opera fans can find a matching theme Dapper Retouched at Opera skins.

Update 29-04-07

2. Windows Explorer

You can use this beautiful Ubuntu Human Styler toolbar. Makes Windows Explorer blend better with the Human Visual Style. :)

Before using the above toolbar, you will need to install the free Styler software. You can download it here.

Update 09-05-07

3. Instant Messenger Pidgin

Install Pidgin, the default instant messenger for Ubuntu Linux. You can download it from here.

P.S. - I will update this tutorial as I keep finding new and better resources. So bookmark this article now. ;) And if you want me to add anything more, let me know in the comments. :)

Written by Manas

April 3rd, 2007 at 10:13 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

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7 Trackbacks/Pingbacks

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  4. Windows XP con la apariencia de Ubuntu « Prisma Digital
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with 67 comments to “Make Windows XP look like Ubuntu Linux”

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  1. cocker

    12 Apr 07 at 10:51 pm

    Your tutorial is great, that`s what I`ve been looking for when I searched Google for this. But how to change your entire Windows font to be exactly like one in Ubuntu? Thx…

  2. Manas

    14 Apr 07 at 8:00 pm

    Hmm, never tried that. Will find out and tell you.. ;)

  3. Emprex

    21 Apr 07 at 11:27 pm

    well.. do you know already?

  4. Manas

    22 Apr 07 at 12:17 am

    Try this : :)

    Go to Start -> Run, then type regedit to open the registry editor. Now navigate to:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes

    Now double click on “MS Shell Dlg” and put in the font style you want as the value.
    Then double click on “MS Shell Dlg 2″ and again put in the font style you want as the value.

    After you are finished, restart your pc. Just a note, make sure you enter a font that is installed on your computer, to see a list of available fonts, go to C:\WINDOWS\Fonts .

    Tip From Neowin. ;)

  5. Daniel Brown

    23 Apr 07 at 9:02 am

    It Looks Great Works Perfect.

  6. Emprex

    26 Apr 07 at 7:56 pm

    ok, mayby a stopid question, but where to find the font…:$

  7. Manas

    26 Apr 07 at 8:01 pm

    Hmm, if you have Ubuntu installed then you could get the font from there. ;)

    Else, I didn’t find any location for downloading it. :( Will post here if I find any download location. :)

  8. Emprex

    26 Apr 07 at 8:54 pm

    nvm found a good 1 =D, any1 else that´s looking for it?

  9. Emprex

    28 Apr 07 at 5:14 pm

    before i do this i wil ask it,
    i am Dutch (netherlands), and i know people´s that are looking for this skin, is it okay if i change the languages into dutch so they can understand it better?
    I will say the link, and that you made it
    hope its okay
    greats
    Emprex

  10. Manas

    28 Apr 07 at 7:58 pm

    You are welcome to translate this to Dutch provided you link to the original article. :D

    Tell me after you finish that, so that I can put a link here. ;)

  11. ranen

    1 May 07 at 11:17 am

    hi everybody……
    i install the turbo tango patcher…….it was sucsessfully installed but “human visual style” does not appear in the properties\themes tab……..when i browse and search ….it does not show in the c\windows\resource\theme…….i don’t know what’s wrong……..plz help me………….

  12. Manas

    1 May 07 at 8:05 pm

    Hi Ranen !

    Does the theme show in C:\Windows\Resources\Themes or not ?

  13. Jason

    15 May 07 at 10:31 pm

    If you do not see the “Human” theme in your properties box, then do this: go to C:\Windows\Resources\Themes and (if you have saved it as described in this article) and click on HUMAN.MSSTYLES – this will bring up the properties box with Human highlighted. To replace the Windoze START icon, click on HUMAN WIN FLAG.MSSTYLES.
    Recommendation: Do not extract the Human theme raw into your Themes folder, create one when extracting via Winzip – makes life a lot easier (and less cluttered).

  14. Emprex

    27 May 07 at 1:19 pm

    I made an Ubuntu, OSX and Vista style,
    http://pchelpforum.nl/viewthread.php?tid=15407

    But there’s no link to this site, becouse i also used my own thinks ; Logonscreen, Bootscreen and some more,
    if you realy whant your link at there ill post it, but its just an forum you know,,,
    im working with a friend on a site:
    http://www.onlineturtorails.be
    when its done ill post the turtorail there

  15. Manas

    27 May 07 at 2:05 pm

    Hmm, nice. Even if its a forum, you have taken some ideas from this post. So I think you should write that some parts of that article are taken from me.

    I will be updating the post soon with some resources I have found. :)

  16. Boomer

    7 Jun 07 at 11:41 pm

    Hi, just a short addition to this part of your tut:

    “3. The Mouse Pointers

    Next come, the mouse pointers. Luckily you already have them on your computer. Go to C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\Human\Cursors to find the mouse pointers used in Ubuntu. The problem is you need to change the pointers manually. You can do that in the Control Panel.”

    –>
    In fact, you can find an “install.inf” in the mentioned folder. Instead of assigning the pointers manually, simply make a right click on the install.inf and select “Install”. Then open the Control Panel and choose the newly added cursor theme as “xFree Cursors (Alphablended)” – saves a bit of manual work.
    If I misunderstood your text and you meant this method, I’m sorry.

    Thanks a lot for your great work, I now enjoy my WinXP in Ubuntu style (although I refused to install the Super Turbo Tango Patcher coz it changes system parts). ;)

    Cheers,
    Boomer

  17. Manas

    7 Jun 07 at 11:56 pm

    Thanks for the tip.. Did not know that thing abt mouse pointers. Watch for this post later. I will update it soon.

  18. Emprex

    28 Jun 07 at 9:57 pm

    mm.. still like this guild!
    but, you called the Styler “Explorer” .. i thought it was te second Taskbar from Ubuntu!!
    so im disepointed about that.. maybe you can make one?
    try this program its awesome and works great: http://www.stardock.com/products/objectbar
    you can make a second bar with it, i created my OSX bar with it!,
    also your Logon is DEUTSCH??!!.. f*ck that! (srry)..
    try this one..:
    http://wincustomize.com/skins.aspx?skinid=8251&libid=26
    It’s English.. but the background is ugly, you know what, im will make those 2 logon’s in 1!.. so that will be perfect!, ill tell you whens its ready!

  19. Emprex

    10 Jul 07 at 3:00 pm

    Is there a way to delete your post?..
    couse my last two post need to be deleted..

  20. Manas

    11 Jul 07 at 9:06 pm

    Deleted them. :P

  21. Mike

    27 Aug 07 at 2:23 pm

    what is the link to download the Ubuntu style bootscreen? It’s not linked in the article.

  22. Emprex

    28 Aug 07 at 4:41 pm

    you need to download it from deviantart;)

  23. Mike

    28 Aug 07 at 4:44 pm

    ya, I ended up looking it up on Google. The bootscreen looks horrible.

  24. Emprex

    28 Aug 07 at 4:50 pm

    alright…, add me on msn i have 1 ;) mike_de_snoo@hotmail.com, but im on holiday right now, so u will have to wait till sunday, then im back

  25. Emprex

    18 Sep 07 at 2:42 am

    Manas, can u add me on MSN or Yahoo or whatever?
    couse i’ve got the best Linux Ubuntu skin there is for you ;)

    http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9498/linuxubuntupw1.jpg

    Cool isn’t it?
    And it’s realy Windows XP!!
    I’ll tell you exectly how to get it! (woeps i made it myself =P)
    Mike_de_Snoo@hotmail.com ;)
    Add me!

  26. Manas

    18 Sep 07 at 4:44 pm

    Hi Emprex….

    Can you gimme ur yahoo id. I do not use Hotmail much. ;)

  27. Emprex

    18 Sep 07 at 11:20 pm

    well i don’t have Yahoo… i only use Hotmail.. so.. ;)

  28. Emprex

    19 Sep 07 at 8:58 pm

    send me your Yahoo id on mail or post it..
    my mail is:
    Mike_de_Snoo@hotmail.com

    ill wait for your reaction ;)

  29. Emprex

    4 Oct 07 at 11:19 am

    you know.. ill post it tommorow on a uploud site with a readme.. ill post the link ;)

  30. Emprex

    4 Oct 07 at 11:20 am

    you know..
    ill post it tommorow on a uploud site with a readme.. ill post the link ;)

  31. Emprex

    4 Oct 07 at 6:40 pm

    woeps dubble post.. can you delete 1 of them..? (and this 1 to)

  32. Emprex

    5 Oct 07 at 12:23 pm

    Well i uplouded it, you can download it here:
    Ubuntu Taskbars.zip
    Instructions are in the Readme File!
    Good luck, i hope you like it!

  33. Manas

    5 Oct 07 at 2:31 pm

    Dont worry about the comments. :P Actually there was an error on the site. Thats why. I will check that upload.

  34. Emprex

    7 Oct 07 at 2:33 am

    Tell me what u think about the upload :P :)

  35. Brizzle

    11 Oct 07 at 6:21 pm

    to those who couldn’t find “human” under properties>themes, i went though all the spot checks myself looking through folders, re-extracting, etc… till i realized i was being dumb… its under properties>appearance (as stated in the article actually)… hope that helps… peace

  36. Emprex

    19 Oct 07 at 1:10 pm

    Did you already took a look at it? couse im waiting for the awnser :P ;)

  37. Emprex

    19 Oct 07 at 1:11 pm

    You already looked at it?.. im waiting for your reaction ;)

  38. Manas

    24 Oct 07 at 3:52 pm

    Hi Emprex, my net is down at home. So I am unable to check it. :(

  39. Emprex

    24 Oct 07 at 8:22 pm

    mm that sucks.. well i hope your internet will be back soon..
    ill keep waiting for your comment :P

  40. gior65

    26 Nov 07 at 1:26 pm

    And what about the gnome-panel? Can someone add something like that? (One of the few reasons I am sad I switched back to XP after 1 year + of Ubuntu)

  41. jp

    3 Jan 08 at 8:22 am

    absolutely amazing, i just have a few things though, i already got the real ubuntu :)

  42. Juan A.

    24 Jan 08 at 11:34 pm

    Ubuntu’s Font is Bitstream Vera Sans 8 pt, i think it comes with OpenOffice Installation.

  43. Manas

    1 Feb 08 at 2:23 pm

    Hmm… if I am not wrong, Ubuntu Gutsy uses Sans as its default font. And if you install GIMP on Windows, then you get that font.

  44. obay

    1 Feb 08 at 2:58 pm

    I’m trying to restore my settings back after I tried this. I can’t restore the original Windows XP icons. How do I do this?

  45. Manas

    6 Feb 08 at 2:06 pm

    @ Obay – Run the Tango Patcher again. It will uninstall. Then you will get back your original XP icons.

  46. Bq32

    10 Feb 08 at 7:27 pm

    Will this affect all users, or only one user?

  47. Manas

    10 Feb 08 at 7:51 pm

    All users…

  48. abba

    12 Feb 08 at 3:12 am

    hi, is there a way to apply the ubuntu mouse pointers to all users on a pc? Or would i have to log in as each user and apply separately? thanks

  49. Emprex

    12 Feb 08 at 4:02 am

    you’ll have to log in..

  50. abba

    12 Feb 08 at 4:29 am

    alright, thanks!

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