Hi, i manage to restore the old and lovely help, the horrible html one is gone forever..

Interesting to see that you are customizing the XP shell in order to look like the one from 95. A question though: how did you manage to remove the "Links" option in the main menu bar in windows? I am using Stardock Windowblinds on my system in order to give it a sort of mix between the Windows 3.x UI and the 95 one, but since I do not use Internet Explorer, the "Links" option in the main menu is a completely redundant and unnecessary feature to me. Did you customize your explorer.exe?

looking4awayout wrote on 2020-01-22, 11:57:

Interesting to see that you are customizing the XP shell in order to look like the one from 95. A question though: how did you manage to remove the "Links" option in the main menu bar in windows? I am using Stardock Windowblinds on my system in order to give it a sort of mix between the Windows 3.x UI and the 95 one, but since I do not use Internet Explorer, the "Links" option in the main menu is a completely redundant and unnecessary feature to me. Did you customize your explorer.exe?

Hi, are you talking about "Favorites"? because link menu in toolbar is easy to remove with right button menu

If you are talking about favorites or other menus, right now im not in home to check, but if i not remember bad are located in "browselc.dll" in menu>263 or 266

Is my advice to use XN Resource Editor instead Resource Hacker for menu type resource editing

https://stefansundin.github.io/xn_resource_editor/

theelf wrote on 2020-01-22, 12:43:

Hi, are you talking about "Favorites"? because link menu in toolbar is easy to remove with right button menu […]
Show full quote

looking4awayout wrote on 2020-01-22, 11:57:

Interesting to see that you are customizing the XP shell in order to look like the one from 95. A question though: how did you manage to remove the "Links" option in the main menu bar in windows? I am using Stardock Windowblinds on my system in order to give it a sort of mix between the Windows 3.x UI and the 95 one, but since I do not use Internet Explorer, the "Links" option in the main menu is a completely redundant and unnecessary feature to me. Did you customize your explorer.exe?

Hi, are you talking about "Favorites"? because link menu in toolbar is easy to remove with right button menu

If you are talking about favorites or other menus, right now im not in home to check, but if i not remember bad are located in "browselc.dll" in menu>263 or 266

Is my advice to use XN Resource Editor instead Resource Hacker for menu type resource editing

https://stefansundin.github.io/xn_resource_editor/

Yes sorry for the mistype. I'm talking about the Favorites menu in the window main bar. I already have removed the status window when the desktop loads, making it look more similar to 9x, but the Favorites menu irks me, a lot.

This is so frickin amazing!! I want it. I hope you are documenting the whole thing for others to follow suit! Myself wanted to do that but being a lazy person, I just went for the closest thing, Win 2k.

XP has three things hard to customize, the boot screen (I doubt it can be made to look like 95) and the logon/logout windows. I will follow this thread with MUCH interest.

I success!!!! one of the last things i did not make was the shutdown dialog! finally discover how to do 2 things:

1 - Avoid the fade off and replace with checkers pattern
2 - Change the menu to match 95 one

Not only this, as a bonus.. the "Restart computer in DOS mode" what does is close explorer... and open a fullscreen DOSbox jeje

The trick was difficult as hell, if someone know a better way... PLEASE i really want to know

The first is to change resource in explorer, in the menu, change the sutdown to another option we dont use, in my case "disconnect"

then edit the "disconnect "resource in shell32.dll, and change the dialog to draw "out" of screen, for example start at 5000px from left

then write a autohotkey script that wait for the pid #32772 that is the shutdown dialog, intercept the "disconnect" dialog, close, and open the shutdown dialog we want... in my case i write in same autohotkey

Bruninho wrote on 2020-01-22, 14:04:

This is so frickin amazing!! I want it. I hope you are documenting the whole thing for others to follow suit! Myself wanted to do that but being a lazy person, I just went for the closest thing, Win 2k.

XP has three things hard to customize, the boot screen (I doubt it can be made to look like 95) and the logon/logout windows. I will follow this thread with MUCH interest.

thanks, yes, im write some mod when they are very difficult or new to me, others not, because are basic or mods i did before

I will write in a post when finish some of the most difficult ones

Why not sharing the AHK scripts you are making? I use AHK as I have an 84 keys AT keyboard and some games don't detect the numpad as arrow keys. As I am absolutely ignorant about how AHK scripts work, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to share them here.

By the way: how in the world did you remove the fade to grey effect and replace it with the dithered background? I'm amazed.

About your keyboard, i understand some games dont use the 4,8,6,2 keys as left,up,right,down true?

maybe you can make a autohotkey script with something like this

1loop
2
3{
4Numpad8::up
5Numpad2::down
6Numpad4::left
7Numpad6::right
8}

This will remap numpad keys to control keys, you can check if works for the games/software you need, if not, there is other metods, but this is the more simple

looking4awayout wrote on 2020-01-23, 19:58:

Why not sharing the AHK scripts you are making? I use AHK as I have an 84 keys AT keyboard and some games don't detect the numpad as arrow keys. As I am absolutely ignorant about how AHK scripts work, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to share them here.

By the way: how in the world did you remove the fade to grey effect and replace it with the dithered background? I'm amazed.

Hi, for example, the shutdown dialog, i resolve with a autohotkey script with this code

If you copy/paste in a ahk file, and put the png in same folder, you can test

1SplashImage = shut.png
2SplashImageGUI(SplashImage, "0", "0", false, true)
3
4gui, +AlwaysOnTop
5gui, -Caption ;
6
7gui, +ToolWindow 
8
9
10
11gui, +owner
12gui, show,w280 h130 x200 y200
13gui, add, radio, checked1 gapaga1,&Shut down the computer?
14gui, add, radio, greset1,&Restart the computer?
15gui, add, radio, gdos1,Restart the computer in &MS-DOS mode?
16Gui, Add, Button, Default w79 x34 y107 gyes1, &Yes
17Gui, Add, Button,  w79 x117 y107 gno1, &No
18Gui, Add, Button,  w79 x200 y107 ghlp1, &Help
19return
20
21
22apaga1:
23return
24
25reset1:
26return
27
28
29dos1:
30return
31
32
33yes1:
34return
35
36
37
38no1:
39return
40
41
42hlp1:
43return
44
45
46
47
48SplashImageGUI(Picture, X, Y, Duration, Transparent = false)
49{
50Gui, XPT99:Margin , 0, 0
51Gui, XPT99:Add, Picture,, %Picture%
52Gui, XPT99:Color, ECE9D8
53Gui, XPT99:+LastFound -Caption +AlwaysOnTop +ToolWindow -Border
54If Transparent
55{
56Winset, TransColor, ECE9D8
57}
58Gui, XPT99:Show, x%X% y%Y% NoActivate
59}

Basically sums up what Win 95 is today.

@theelf: Did you manage to transform both Windows XP logon and logoff screens into W95 versions? The thing that bugs me most about XP are the icons, boot, login and logoff.

Edit: wouldn’t it be easier to do that on Windows 2000 instead of XP? I have a very stable Win2k VM and I’m happy with that, but this is not Windows 98 although it has the same look. The win2k banners are ruining my experience.

Bruninho wrote on 2020-02-02, 03:50:

@theelf: Did you manage to transform both Windows XP logon and logoff screens into W95 versions? The thing that bugs me most about XP are the icons, boot, login and logoff.

Edit: wouldn’t it be easier to do that on Windows 2000 instead of XP? I have a very stable Win2k VM and I’m happy with that, but this is not Windows 98 although it has the same look. The win2k banners are ruining my experience.

logon and logoff screen? what are you talking about? the dialogs in msgina? what do you exactly want to customize?

msgina have all bitmaps, i think use bitmaps in shell32 too if i dont remember bad, but they are just normal dialogs, very similar to 9x, very easy to customize

XP and 2000 are almost the same... no difference for customize

These screens are for Windows XP. These for login:

And these for logoff:

These are for Windows 2000:

Actually, I don't mind having a custom Windows 98 boot screen and custom banners for these screens on Windows 2000 (along with a Windows 98 blue banner on Start Menu) to look like a custom Windows 98 version. I believe it would be easier than changing the whole screens to be similar to Windows 98 (which would be the ideal thing).

I stick with Windows 2000 instead of XP because of these things and the icons... ohh the 3d XP icons... are terrible. I prefer the classic ones.

My immediate question is: Why?

Bruninho wrote on 2020-02-05, 03:30:

I stick with Windows 2000 instead of XP because of these things and the icons... ohh the 3d XP icons... are terrible. I prefer the classic ones.

Just use the Inexperience Patcher by Vertigosity. You can easily find it on Deviantart. It replaces the XP icons with the ones from 2000. Then, you can replace the few 2000 specific ones with the 98 ones after you download the full 98 icons pack you can find with a Google search, and the UI animations are just AVI files that you can extract from 98 resources and import in XP with Resource Hacker. That's what I've done. Problem solved.

There's also a registry key that disables the status window at login, so loading the desktop is even more similar to 9X, provided you have autologin enabled.

Bruninho wrote on 2020-02-05, 03:30:

These screens are for Windows XP. These for login: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XrenZAMqR-8/hqdefault.jpghttps://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C […]
Show full quote

These screens are for Windows XP. These for login:

And these for logoff:

These are for Windows 2000:

Actually, I don't mind having a custom Windows 98 boot screen and custom banners for these screens on Windows 2000 (along with a Windows 98 blue banner on Start Menu) to look like a custom Windows 98 version. I believe it would be easier than changing the whole screens to be similar to Windows 98 (which would be the ideal thing).

I stick with Windows 2000 instead of XP because of these things and the icons... ohh the 3d XP icons... are terrible. I prefer the classic ones.

All this dialogs are in msgina and shell32, you need to edit resources

For shutdown dialog, you need to replace with a custom one, or you change gina or program your own dialog, like I did and post

In this case you need to find your way to intercept the dialog in the start menu, the resources are in explorer

Logon, boot dialogs I just delete the dialogs in msgina/shell32 but you can turnoff with gpedit.msc

Sorry the short answer, im with cellphone

appiah4 wrote on 2020-02-05, 07:03:

My immediate question is: Why?

why what? you did not specify

looking4awayout wrote on 2020-02-05, 07:55:

Bruninho wrote on 2020-02-05, 03:30:

I stick with Windows 2000 instead of XP because of these things and the icons... ohh the 3d XP icons... are terrible. I prefer the classic ones.

Just use the Inexperience Patcher by Vertigosity. You can easily find it on Deviantart. It replaces the XP icons with the ones from 2000. Then, you can replace the few 2000 specific ones with the 98 ones after you download the full 98 icons pack you can find with a Google search, and the UI animations are just AVI files that you can extract from 98 resources and import in XP with Resource Hacker. That's what I've done. Problem solved.

There's also a registry key that disables the status window at login, so loading the desktop is even more similar to 9X, provided you have autologin enabled.

Inexperience patcher is a good start point, not for icons, but to see all resources whas changed

The problem is that noy only the icons are 2k, but almost all icons are 4/8/32 bits

Most .. if not all? icons in 95 are just 2/4 bits, then for a proyect like i started in this thread, is in most cases, double work, not only check if a icon is the same than 95, but edit the icon to remove the 8 and 24bits ones

I just extracted all icons from 95 dll, cpl and exe and replace the XP with the ones extracted

In case a icon not exist i use the one is most similar, for example for usb>pcmcia, wifi>irda or i find common software of the time, the camera icons from the mavica camera software for example

leileilol wrote on 2020-01-22, 02:47:

Also the "slow shell" is an IE4+ feature designed for Win95 that's integrated by default on Win98 and after.

I remember the "slow shell" on Win95 had some ugly circle design in every folder window, later replaced by clouds in Win98 and squares in WinMe.
On a 486 100 Mhz it was noticeably slower than vanilla Win95 shell.

I don't see much point in butchering XP with older DLLs though...

Once I used a Win2K-like theme on Windows XP (mostly icons, including Start button logo), but now I'd consider this a waste of time and effort.
Let 95 be 95 and XP be XP.

Hey!! How is it going now? I have a Win 2K VM with a few small parts that i'd like to customize to look like a updated Windows 98 version... *rolleyes*

Bruninho wrote on 2020-03-16, 20:36:

Hey!! How is it going now? I have a Win 2K VM with a few small parts that i'd like to customize to look like a updated Windows 98 version... *rolleyes*

what parts?

looking4awayout wrote on 2020-02-05, 07:55:

There's also a registry key that disables the status window at login, so loading the desktop is even more similar to 9X, provided you have autologin enabled.

I went in and disabled the theme manager completely. After that, you have to use Tweak UI...I can't remember the name of the setting, but it will make it so that the login and shutdown screens will copy the same "classic theme" settings, mouse cursors, etc. that you currently have applied to your desktop. Otherwise they use the Fisher-Price theme.

I've made other "fixes" to the Inexperience patch, but I've never seen the point in rebranding XP entirely and pretending it's "Windows 2002" or whatever. I just made a new XP banner that looks a little closer to Whistler, and reverted some other changes.

I did hack a bit of Windows FLP though, since I thought it was weird that there are unused and underused graphics in there, so now all of the logos match (stole some bits from Vista and newer). There's even an FLP loading screen in there that never gets used.

That one was a little trickier to get working, since it uses a different palette. And I threw the progress bar onto it for good measure.

...but that's a story for a different thread =)

theelf wrote on 2020-02-05, 10:16:

Most .. if not all? icons in 95 are just 2/4 bits, then for a proyect like i started in this thread, is in most cases, double work, not only check if a icon is the same than 95, but edit the icon to remove the 8 and 24bits ones

I don't know, every version of Windows 95 that I've used had 16-bit icons included. I saw a registry hack for enabling high-color icons in a magazine back in the day, and never went back. I know Plus! enables them, but I could've sworn one of the Power Toys did, also.

Open regedit, go to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop\WindowMetrics", create a string value named "Shell Icon BPP" (if one does not already exist), and set the value to "16". Then restart Windows.

Asaki wrote on 2020-03-18, 07:29:

I don't know, every version of Windows 95 that I've used had 16-bit icons included. I saw a registry hack for enabling high-color icons in a magazine back in the day, and never went back. I know Plus! enables them, but I could've sworn one of the Power Toys did, also.

Open regedit, go to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop\WindowMetrics", create a string value named "Shell Icon BPP" (if one does not already exist), and set the value to "16". Then restart Windows.

Windows 95 only include 4bits icons (and some 2bits). I did not check every dll, cpl, and exe, but almost all, and never find any 8bit icon