In order to use unsigned themes and visual styles on Windows XP, you have to patch or replace a file named uxtheme.dll on your computer. This file is what controls the new visual styles in XP. In most cases third-party theme managers or the free Multi-Patcher have no problem patching your uxtheme.dll file.

But what do you do when these programs give you an error saying they can't patch your uxtheme.dll file? Or even after installing the program you still can't load themes and styles? Here's how to replace your uxtheme.dll file manually.

1. Ensure that you do not have the Windows XP installation CD in your cdrom drive.


2. First, open Windows Explorer and go to Tools --> Folder Options --> View (tab). Put a check mark beside:
   
   "Show hidden files and folders"
   
   Then un-check:
   
   "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)"
   
   Click Apply and Okay and close Windows Explorer.


3. Next, click Start --> Search --> All files and folders (button). Click the little plus symbol beside "More advanced options" and put a check mark beside"Search hidden files and folders". The first three items should now be checked. Scroll up and type uxtheme.dl_ in the "All or part of the file name" box and click Search. Wait for the search to finish. When it's done, rename ALL uxtheme.dl_ files to _uxtheme.dl_. Don't worry. These are just backup files.


4. When done go Back in the Search screen and this time search for uxtheme.dll. Rename ALL to uxtheme.bak (any extension - doesn't matter).


5. Next, download the pre-patched uxtheme.dll file for you system. Pre-patched uxtheme.dll files for XP SP2 can be found at http://www.withinwindows.com/uxtheme-patches/ or using the direct download links below:
   
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP3 v6.0.2900.5512 English <-- latest version for XP SP3
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP3 v6.0.2900.5512 Deutsch
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 English <-- most will want this one
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 Deutsch
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 Danish
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 Spanish
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 French
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 Korean
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 Dutch
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 Chinese PRC
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180-1 Chinese PRC Rev. 1
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP2 v6.0.2900.2180 Swedish
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP1 v5.1.2600.1106 English <- old SP1 version for those who haven't upgraded yet
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP1 v6.0.2600.0 Taiwan
   
   
   • uxtheme.dll for SP1 v6.0.2800.1106 Italian
   
   
   
   Many thanks to Rafael Rivera and the many contributors for creating and making these available! You'll need WinRAR to extract these files. See the Notes below for how to check your version of Windows.


6. UnRar and extract the uxtheme.dll file you downloaded into c:\windows\system32. Within a few seconds of copying the file, you should get a pop-up window titled "Windows File Protection":
   
   
   Click to view attachment
   
   Click the OK button. You should then see a second Windows File Protection pop-up window asking you to insert your SP2 CD:
   
   Click to view attachment
   
   Click the Cancel button. You'll then get a third pop-up window asking you if you are sure you want to keep the unrecognized file:
   
   Click to view attachment
   
   Click Yes. Wait for it... You'll probably then get yet another pop-up window asking for the SP2 Cd again. At this point ignore the pop-up and REBOOT.
   
   If you don't these see pop-ups immediately upon copying the downloaded uxtheme.dll file into c:\windows\system32, go back to step 2. There's still a backup copy somewhere you missed.

When your computer restarts, you'll get (you guessed it), another pop-up window saying that your uxtheme.dll file is either unsupported or is patched. Just close the window. You won't see it again.

That's it! You have successfully replaced your uxtheme.dll file with the patched version and should now be able to load up unsigned XP themes and visual styles.

Notes:

Make sure that you download the right uxtheme.dll file for your system.
To check your exact Windows version, go to Start --> All Programs --> Accessories
--> System Tools --> System Information. On the System Summary page (the
first page shown), look at the line that reads "Hardware Abstraction Layer".
It should say something like Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)":

Click to view attachment

The last four number (.2180 in this example) must match the version of the
pre-patched uxtheme.dll file you download. To check the file version, right-click
the uxtheme.dll file you downloaded and go to Properties --> Version (tab):

Click to view attachment

The File Version of the file should match the version listed beside Hardware
Abstraction Layer in System Information. Language can be confirmed here
also.

If the file version does not match that of your system, don't copy the file
into your system32 folder. It won't work.

Why all this trouble?

uxtheme.dll is a protected operating system file. As such, Windows keeps
several copies of uxtheme.dll, plus compressed uxtheme.dl_ files at various locations
on your system as backups. If it senses that uxtheme.dll has been replaced
with a different version, it will immediately overwrite the changed version with
one of it's backup copies. This is why it is necessary to find and rename
all copies of uxtheme.dll and uxtheme.dl_ everywhere on your system. Generally
speaking, there are only a handfull of places these backup copes are stored:

• The Windows XP installation CD.


• The Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD.


• A Windows XP installation folder on your hard drive (HP, Compaq and Dell computers are bad for this - if your system came with a 'Recovery CD' and not an actual 'Windows XP' installation CD, the XP installation files are somewhere on your hard drive, on an additional hard drive or on a parition. Will be in a ~/i386 folder somewhere on your system).


• C:\Windows\System32


• C:\Windows\System32\dllcache


• C:\Windows\System32\LastGood (if exists)


• C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386

If just one uxtheme.dll or uxtheme.dl_ exists in any of these locations, Windows
will find it. That is why it is necessary to find ALL copies and backups
of this file and rename them so Windows can't find them to overwrite your patched
copy. The reason you want to rename them is so that you can move them back
if you ever have to re-install Windows or SP3 comes out. Windows should
still run without a uxtheme.dll file. You'll just be limited to the Windows
Classic desktop.


Recommended Theme Manager Software:

Once you've successfully patched your uxtheme.dll file, check out TuneUp Utilities 2008 for loading and managing themes, visual styles and more all from a single interface.

I cant see the Danish dll. So now you have it.

Its for :

SP2 v.6.0.2900.2180

Best regards

Iskineseren

Thanks much. Added to the list :)

Unfortunately, I had to boot into safe mode/command prompt to replace the uxtheme.dll file. My systems just kept replacing the files I renamed in every location. Talk about backup...

HELP AHHH!
ok so i followed every step in here and when i extract the patched dll into my sys32 folder i get some wierd winrar error. It says "the process cannot acces the file because it is being used by another process" And then i get this error as well, it says there no files to extract, i have the following options...
1.close
2.break operation
3.copy to clipboard

PLEASE HELP HAMESH

thanks.
-Conspiracy

I haven't come across that yet. Close any theming programs like StarSkin or Style XP and try again, or do it in safe mode - that usually works.

I have this REALLY weird thing. I downloaded 6.0.2900.2180_EN.rar. When I extract the file to a random directory, the dll version matches my system. when I copy it to /system32/, the file version changes. I don't seem to have any other backup of the original file on my system. strange behaviour, has anybody else noticed this?

That's pretty much the exact behaviour if Windows does find a backup copy somewhere. Immediately upon copying the file over, Windows will overwrite it with a backup without even prompting you.

Better search again. There has to be a backup copy somewhere you missed. Ensure you have 'Search hidden files and folders' checked when searching and that you don't have the Windows XP CD in your CDROM and that the Windows XP installation files are not saved somewhere on your computer (i.e. Compaq, Dell, HP).

If anyone's having any weird issues with getting themes to work, I'm documenting what I can at my website. I already figured out that if you leave uxtheme.dll in your root WINDOWS folder (it should only be in SYSTEM32 & ServicePackFiles), your taskbar & start menu themes will not work. I also put together a reg file for enabling theme support, out of several I found that tried to address the issue.

Wolfsheep Technical: How to Use Custom Themes in Windows XP

Uhh, does anyone know where I can find a patched Hungarian SP2 uxtheme.dll? Bloody obscure OS version. :angry:

Hamesh:

You mention not to replace files if the version doesn't match. If you look at the screenshots above under "Notes", you'll see they DON'T match. The system's is 5.1.2600.2180, and the patch provided here is 6.00.2900.2180. Is this not the file version?

I notice that the latter part, ie. (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158), is the same. Is that what's important?

PLEASE HELP! :rolleyes:

(Oh, btw, FIRST POST!! :D )

Oh I see how that could cause confusion. It's actually just the last four numbers (.2180 in the example) that must match. I have updated the article to this effect.

my version number says : 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)

i gather i don't have either of the SP installed. is there a file for that even?
can anyone help please? :huh:

i followed all the insturction at the beginning of this post and my themes work, all except that my start bar is stuck in classic mode. is it got to do the file?

does anyone have any suggestions?


i also downloaded and run starskin but same thing with the start bar. also i get an error everytime i run it "cannot patch uxtheme.dll". is that because of the version not matching up?

pleassssssssssssssssse help me :blink:

what if the file does not exsist on the computer? i checked show all hidden files and searched for that excat filename in the whole computer but nothing came up?

You also need to uncheck the option that reads 'Hide protected operating system files'. Do that and search again and you should find it.

Like many others, I'm new to the site and new to the concept of changing the windows themes. So thanks Hamesh for all the info you've posted thus far.


Question; I'm running a new laptop with XP SP2. Is it possible that there is only one uxtheme.dl_ file and only one uxtheme.dll file? I've done the search like the instructions mention above, but only came up with one of each. Yet the instructions repeatedly say 'rename ALL'.

Also, when trying to rename the uxtheme.dl_ file it gave me an error saying I couldn't rename it. Yet moment later it appeared below the original file the way I was trying to rename it.

Thanks in advance.

Yes if your computer came pre-installed with SP2, it is possible there are no backups of uxtheme.dll. Just make sure you changed the necessary View options in Windows Explorer or you won't find them when searching, even if there are any.

Open Windows Explorer and on the toolbar click Tools --> Folder Options. In the pop-up window that appears, click the View tab. Then in the Advanced Setting list, put a check beside:

Show hidden files and folders

And uncheck:

Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)

Apply and close. Then search again this time for uxtheme.*. You should then find any backup copies. There are usually only two:

c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386
c:\windows\system32\dllcache

Cheers

Thanks for the quick reply!

Just did the search again (uxtheme.*), after applying the patch and it only came up with the patch and the one I changed to uxtheme.bak. :)

Last questions;

Is using Starskin a must for managing the themes I download? Or is it simple enough to save the Jpeg wallpaper in a folder of my choice and the *.msstyles file to a certain folder designated for themes?

Are some of these themes supposed to be *.msstyles and some *.exe? I unzipped one I downloaded and it's an executable.

No you don't need Starskin. It just makes managing things easier. But all you really need to do is extract themes/visual styles to c:\windows\resources\themes. You should end up with each one in it's own directory under this dir. Then just drill down and find the .msstyles files in the extracted directory and double-click it (or the .theme, if it has one - few do - most are .msstyles only). This will load up a preview in Display Properties. If it looks right, click Apply to load it.

Some themers like Lightstar package their themes in self-installers. So if you download a theme and it extracts to a .exe, just run the .exe to launch the installer. This is not to be confused with LogonUIs or Bootscreens with are .exes by default, but are not installers.

Thanks for answering all the questions dude. It worked. However I noticed some Visual Style skins I downloaded don't seem to work (if they are in a format other than *.exe). But I'm not complaining, the ones that do work have made my desktop a thing of beauty.

This web is the pwntneage :D the tutorial is clear as water ty alot hamesh

thanks for the great post hamesh

but alternately, you can download replacer here: http://www3.telus.net/_/replacer/
run the cmd script
drag the uxtheme.dll from your system folder into the cmd box and press enter
drag the new uxtheme.dll file into the cmd box and press enter
type y and press enter
reboot

works for me and it saves time searching for the backups

Yeh so i was trying to change the file names or watever.. then when i restarted my computer nothing came up.. the log in screen did then the error msg came up and said that like explorer.exe cannot load... so i can't get into my com.. wat do i do?

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=7][COLOR=blue]
hello, i was wondering if anyone knew how to fix this problem as i am having the same one now.
thanks

I don't get that. StyleXP doesn't say anything about having to do this first. What if you didn't?

Right now I'm using WindowBlinds. Thousands of themes available but I'm not really too crazy about it running all the time (close it and you also lose the theme that's showing). I much better like the idea of having the new themes show up in the normal windows theme windows.

Oh, well styleXP patches your uxtheme.dll file upon install, so if you get it, no need to patch manually. And because it uses the native XP visual styles format, doesn't use any resources (doesn't run on top of explorer) so recommended over others that do.

Okay, I've checked the Show Hidden Files (did that along time ago) and unchecked the Hide Protected Operating System Files. Did the search for uxtheme.dl_, which resulted in zilch! I followed your instructions exactly. I did a search for uxtheme.* and got four hits. Also did a search for *.dl_ , which did not result in any hits for uxtheme.

Also, this is interesting. When I searched for uxtheme.*, this is what I got - four hits for the ".dll" extension.

c:\windows\system32
c:\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$
c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386
c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download\16b2c9c22d4f96a8a34fbdbf2df34.......

Ideas?

PS. XP Home with SP2.

- Hondo

yeah so i did this. and my computer wouldnt turn on. so i had to go into safe mode and do a system restore to the day b4.

running xp home SP2

any suggestions?

yeah i havent figured it out still i have to system restore in safe mode everytime because it wont turn on any other way.

Hello,
I tried the uxtheme file 6.0.2900.2180 as well as the uxtheme multipatcher 4.0 and even the service pack 1 file for kicks and nothing will work.

5.1.2600.2180 is my abstraction layer if that helps at all...
I am on service pack 2...

Any help would be appreciated

I haven't messed with themes in years. Having seen some of the designs available online, I thought they'd look nice on my machine. But Microsoft sure makes it tough to use themes without paying for Plus!.

I'm not sure how recently the instructions on the first page have been updated, so perhaps this is a recent development:

Windows will simply not allow successful renaming of uxtheme.dll, nor will it allow successful renaming of all its backups. Specifically, any attempt to rename the backup in C:\WINDOWS\System32\dllcache automatically generates a new backup, just as renaming uxtheme.dll in C:\WINDOWS\System32 automatically generates a backup.

However, if you start Windows XP in Safe mode by pressing F8 during a reboot, you can bypass the automatic backup generation.

My suggestion to anyone following the instructions on the first page of this thread is to first boot into Safe mode. This also avoids the various warning messages the author discussed.

I can now install 3rd-party themes. It seems many themes are designed for use with 3rd-party front-ends, such as StyleXP. How many 3rd-party quality themes are available without the use of some commercial front end remains to be seen . . . .

And if I have to look at another bad rip of Vista, I'm gonna kill somebody . . . .

Thanks for the tip. The instructions are up to date as of SP2 and the indicated versions. I'll add a note about safe mode.

No themes or visual styles on Belchfire.net require third-party or commercial software to work.

It is good to read that the themes do not require commercial applications.

Having discovered first-hand how frustrating it can be to enable third-party themes (by replacing uxtheme.dll), I can understand why some people would simply prefer to use StyleXP. However, I'd still rather install themes manually. To me, paying for themes is like paying to clean out my startup folder -- it is something I should be able to do myself.

I should add that my system had no backups named "uxtheme.dl_". All backups were named "uxtheme.dll".

I would like to BEG hamesh to write up a guide to installing the theme archives. Some have so many files that cannot possibly be relevant to a manual installation. For example:

Reflex_rainy [file folder]
----> button-left.png
----> button-right.png
----> days.png
----> hoog0555_cyr2.ttf
----> mini.ttf
----> Reflex.ini
----> Reflex_rainy.png
----> ReflexMessageEventToDo.rainy.png
----> today.png
----> weekends.png
mini.ttf
Reflec.iebarzip
Reflex.jpg
Reflex.msstyles
Reflex.wsz
Reflex_Full.theme
Reflex_Norm.theme
SHELLSTYLE.DLL

Do I really need to extract all those into my Themes folder? Aren't the wallpapers supposed to go elsewhere? What about logon/logoff screens? Don't the fonts need to be put in C:\WINDOWS\fonts and installed through the Control Panel?

Many of the archives contain files I believe are intended for use with commercial software, and aren't needed for a manual installation. Please, for the love of God, someone write down what pertains to manual installations and where it all needs to go. I'm tired of getting themes without working wallpapers and such.

Install instructions can be found in the Help.

The only file 'required' for a theme is *.mstyles. Every themer can package their theme differently, however, so it is not practical or even possible to explain what files should go where and to cover all possible additional or third-party add-ons that may or may not be present in a particular zip archive, so we won't even attempt it.

This is the price we pay for getting and doing it the free way. Commercial theming programs that use proprietary formats address these issues, by eliminating the guesswork altogether. And it is that ease of use that makes those types of programs attractive and why some chose to purchase them.

Yeah, well, I just thought it would be nice to have a little more than this:



But I suppose if anyone made it too easy, we wouldn't need those commercial applications to do it for us.

Don't worry, I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

nice tut but i cant replace my uxtheme.dll because its saying access denied im not sure how to stop it from being used can you help because i cant replace it with the patched file...

--DMC

PLEASE help me. I am so screwed. I followed the steps and now my computer isnt working. Nothing happens when i reboot my computer. I get pop up messages saying that certain applications cant load because uxtheme.dll is disabled or something.


ive tried rebooting in safe mode and ive also tried the option to return my computer to the last working state but NOTHING happens. I cant see any icons or the start menu.


PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My PC did the same thing so I just extracted the file to my desktop and then right click on the UXTHEME.dll. and moved it to C:/Windows/System32. After that my system followed the instructions just like Hamesh said.

I have a Toshiba laptop running the media center edition of XP. I'd like to know what uxtheme.dll I should download for my system. My version number doesn't exactly match either the SP2 or SP1 numbers given in the original post.

Here's what I see in the System Information for Hardware Abstraction Layer:

Version = "5.1.2600.2765 (xpsp.050928-1517)"

Thanks in advance for any help.

EDIT: I notice my uxtheme.dll in system32 is version 6.0.2900.2180, so I assume this means I dl the matching version?

Hello, is there a uxtheme.dll for polish version xp pro sp2?

I had the exact same problem. This program, Universal UXTheme Patcher, fixed it:



http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enh...e-Patcher.shtml

Skinny is much better for patching your UXtheme.dll
Its free too.
http://www.download.com/Skinny/3000-2326_4...27.html?tag=pub

First of all, thanks for writing this guide, it's very clear and helpful! :D
However, in step 3 my search doesn't find any files named 'uxtheme.dl_' at all, even when searching for 'uxtheme.*'. Can I just ignore this part and move on to step 4, or am I missing something important? I'm 100% sure I've followed the previous steps properly, and I can find files named 'uxtheme.dll'.
Also, is it true that I now have to start up in safe mode in order to rename the files?
I realise this is a pretty old thread, so sorry for bumping it, and thanks for the help.

Yes it's a bit old but should still work. You may not have any uxtheme.dl_ files kicking around. Mostly folks with Dells and HPs have these within a recovery partition. Shouldn't need to restart in Safe Mode to do any of it. But if you have any trouble, try it and may help :)

Wow! Thankyou!

I have tried the multi patchers but they would not work as mine is an OEM, a PB. Tried manually patching it but to no avail, followed this and voila! It works and the patched uxtheme download from your post works! I am overjoyed at this

Well it worked second time around, I thought it had failed the 1st time but as I found out my searching here, the .msstyles ones do not load up the same way, so I thought it had failed, but using a zip one worked (and now the styles ones, now I know how). So my mistake 1st time around.

Cheers

When I open System Information, my Hardware Abstraction Layer reads "5.1.2600.3023 (xpsp_sp2_qfe.061030-0020)"

Where can I download the appropriate uxtheme.dll file for .3023? I'm kind of scared to use any of those automatic universal patchers out there...

Hi, ive tried just about everything trying to get my windowsblinds to work.

I am on xp version 51.2600.2180.



Ive tried all the patches, the manual install, searching and renaming for uxtheme.dll, but i still cannot get windowsblinds to load a theme, all i get is the windows classic theme. I installed stylexp to try and get their uxtheme patch, and stylexp worked fine and their themes came up, but still windowsblinds does not.

Im really getting desperate as i have spent hours trying to get it to work. Can anyone help me, it will be much appreciated.

StyleXP and Windowblinds work for two different file formats. StyleXP, and the uxtheme.dll patches in this thread, allow you to load unsigned themes in the native Microsoft format (.msstyles, .theme). Windowblinds works with the Stardock proprietary theme format (.wba). So if native format themes work with StyleXP, you're fine on that front.

If Windowblinds doesn't work, nothing to do with uxtheme.dll will help. Maybe head over to the Stardock support pages for help with it. Perhaps you're version has expired (it's trialware) or is old so doesn't recognize .wba files made with newer versions of their SkinStudio.

Oh right, i thought it also had something to do with uxtheme. Ok, i will continue looking around, thanks for your reply

I also had problems with the file in use error. Someone else mentioned moving the files to your Desktop first, which I was already doing. For me, I had left the search window open from the instructions to find the uxtheme.dll files. Closing that window did the trick. I can't believe that search would lock files, but that's what worked for me.

And I must have replaced the file 3-4 times before it actually took. Just hovering over the file shows file info. I watched it change before my very eyes. As a Mac guy just trying dress up his copy of XP, the whole process has been interesting.

I appreciate the way you solved the problem by replacing the dll directly. The other solutions required a program that I don't know what else it's doing. I've only downloaded a few themes, and I like Vista VG Black and Avilla just fine. Thanks for the education.