One automatic shift background pictures may not be enough to improve performance and efficiency. We need to change the entire style of displaying information on the screen. How to update the desktop theme in Windows 7 using special programs or manually, we will understand further.

Is it possible to change the subject?

In most cases, when talking about Windows 7, it is precisely “Windows 7 Ultimate (Ultimate)” that is meant. You can change the theme for this version. However, not everyone has the opportunity to use this particular version, and the home options - "Windows 7 Home Basic" or "Windows 7 Home Starter" - are generally deprived of the possibility of customization: the "Personalization" item is simply absent in context menu desktop. So in the future, speaking about installing themes, we will focus specifically on “Windows 7 Ultimate”.

Also, before starting the topic change activity, it is worth making sure that your Account has sufficient rights to perform such actions in the operating system. It is best if you are an Administrator on your PC. If this is not the case, most likely, you will not be able to replace the topic that has set the teeth on edge. Try to contact system administrator or a computer expert with a request to expand your powers.

Theme Installer for Windows 7

The global brand in the field of application programs - the StarDock company - has been releasing the WindowBlinds program for many years, which is the most popular program for theme manipulation on Windows.

The program is available for download at official resource, which is located at https://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/

The following window will open:

After downloading and running the installer, the program will offer you to use the paid version or the free trial version, which is active for 30 days.

To run the program, you will need to enter the address Email, after which an email with an activation link will be sent to the mailbox:

After clicking on the button indicated in the letter, activation will automatically occur in the WindowBlinds application and from that moment the trial period will begin:

During installation, you will be prompted to install another useful program from the same developer, changing the theme of the desktop design - "Fences". It will allow you to organize the icons on the desktop, spreading them into a kind of folders. However, the folders themselves on the table will have the shape of rectangles of arbitrary sizes, which you can define yourself. In addition, you can "flip through" additional screens to the right and left of the main one, as in a smartphone.

The installed program "WindowBlinds" looks like this:

The application allows you to choose from 15 styles. Each of them is both similar and different from the others. Among such a variety, for sure, you will find something suitable for yourself. In addition to the style, you can immediately change the desktop wallpaper, as well as create your own unique and inimitable style in the “Modify style” tab.

How to install the official theme?

The operating system offers its users several themes to choose from, which are installed according to the following instructions:

If you don't like the above options, you can download other official themes. To do this, we continue our actions:

How to install a third party theme?

Microsoft does not allow its users to arbitrarily set and change themes in the operating system. This is done to improve the overall stability of the OS and the security of the users themselves. However, if the workplace is not too responsible, it is quite possible to allow yourself to experiment, choosing a topic that suits you individually. But for this you will have to conjure a little.

The principle of installing an unsigned Microsoft theme is to download any program that allows you to patch system files, and then download and install the new theme itself.

The most recognized programs for our purposes are as follows:

• Universal Theme Patcher. It replaces some system files, and after that you can install any themes of any creators without restrictions. However, replacing system files may be negatively perceived by your antivirus. After replacing the files, you need to restart the PC.
• ux style core. Its difference from the previous one is that no system files are affected, but an additional Unsigned Themes background service is launched. However, the application has a significant drawback: when you try to change the theme, sometimes the theme "flies" to the usual classic one. In this case, uninstalling and reinstalling UxStyle Core helps, after which the desired theme can still be installed. Maybe until the next change.
• Vista Glazz (VG). This application also affects system files, but it also has important additional features: automatic creation initial copies of healthy files with the possibility of automatic recovery if necessary; adding a "transparency" effect to windows (expanded folders, etc.).

After downloading and installing one of the three programs, you need to patch the system files. Next, consider this process on the example of the VG program (in the case of other programs, the actions are similar):

Next, proceed directly to downloading and installing a third-party theme.

One of the most popular and trusted sites with a huge number of themes for every taste is located at https://winzoro.net/themes/windows7_themes/

The themes themselves are downloaded to any folder on the PC, even on the Desktop itself. Most often, a downloaded theme is an archive in *.zip format, which can contain not only files for the theme (Theme), but also thematic ones:

• wallpapers (wallpaper) - background options for the theme;
• preview - screenshots to get an idea of ​​the appearance of the theme;
• me - a file that describes the features of the theme, the nuances of installation and a little self-promotion of the creator;
• System Files is a subfolder whose contents need to be replaced by system files, but this is at your own peril and risk.

To install the downloaded theme, follow these steps:

To fully comply with the creator's idea, you may need to install fonts, wallpapers and replace the "explorer.exe" file. It must be remembered that when changing the theme, the results of these manipulations will have to be canceled or restored. Therefore, it is better to copy the replaced files in advance to a backup folder on a PC or USB flash drive.

Tip: I would like to warn lovers of everything free from downloading themes and styles for Windows 7 in the format of "*.exe" files. Any of these files may contain a virus, and instead of updating appearance Desktop, you may have to reinstall the entire Windows 7 (see). In this case, you can lose all your documents, Word settings, Excel, other office or accounting programs. If you still download executable files from the Internet, be sure to use an antivirus.

Video instruction

This short video walks you through the easy process of changing the theme in Windows 7:

Well, now, after reading our article, you can change themes and styles in your Windows 7 yourself. You can make your workplace less formal, more friendly and individual, in some ways even surprising you. This will help you special programs and great amount themes for Windows 7 hosted on the Internet. Good luck with your design search!

Many personal computer users want to give the Windows operating system a more interesting and attractive appearance by personalizing it.

Therefore, the question of how to install a theme on Windows 7 is relevant.

Consider the whole theme installation process for various versions of this popular operating system.

The easiest way to install a theme on Windows 7

For novice users, the most simple and accessible method changes in the appearance of the operating room Windows systems 7 will be the installation on Personal Computer one of the certified themes downloaded from the official website of Microsoft.

In this case, you need to perform a number of simple steps:

• on the free space desktop click right click mouse to call the context menu;
• select "Personalization" in the menu;

• to select one of the themes preinstalled on your computer, simply click on the option you like with the left mouse button.

• When you left-click on the link "Other themes on the Internet", the page of the official Microsoft website will open, where a wide selection of various topics is presented.

• Once you've chosen the one that appeals to you, click on the "Download" button located directly below the corresponding image.

Download the selected theme

• Next, you should run the downloaded file to install the theme - after that it will immediately be displayed in the "Personalization" panel.
• If you want to change the image, you need to select the “Desktop Background” item on the “Personalization” panel and select the desired image option.

• In order to install several images on the desktop at once, you must select them and set the slide show mode.

• After all the settings are made, do not forget to save the result.

Installing a Theme on Windows 7 Home Basic and Windows 7 Starter

Many people use versions of this popular operating system such as Windows 7 Home Basic and Windows 7 Starter on their computers.

In these cases, there are some nuances and features of installing themes.

Let's consider where and how to install the theme if the default personalization feature is disabled here.

Before you can install themes on Windows 7 Starter or Home Basic, you need to enable personalization.

You can do this by installing a special patch on your computer called the Aero Patch.

Downloading the patch

You can download it on the winaero.com website in the Unsupported software section. Next, the downloaded file must be unpacked and run as a computer administrator.

Run as administrator

After this procedure, you must reboot. As a result, the personalization function of the operating system will be activated.

This method works equally well for both Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic.

Installing a non-certified theme

Quite often, users of personal computers need to install non-certified themes on Windows 7.

Therefore, it would be useful to consider how the third party themes without any threat to the operating system.

This process is not particularly difficult, so on average it will take no more than ten minutes.

The main thing is to perform preliminary preparation of the operating system, strictly following the instructions and rules.

In order for the installation process to be as successful as possible, you must first download and install two patches: Theme resource changer and Universal Theme Patcher.

Then each of them in turn run as administrator.

After both necessary patches are installed, you need to restart your computer.

Thus, the operating system will be completely ready in order to install third-party themes of your choice on it.

This process consists of several successive stages:

• we open a site that presents a wide selection of interesting themes for Windows 7;
• choose the option you like best and download it to your computer;
• as a rule, such themes are offered in archive format, so the contents of the archive must be extracted ;

• the extracted folder should be moved to the C:/Windows/Resources/Themes directory.

• after the theme is displayed in the Personalization panel, you can apply it and see the result.

Changing the Start Button and Navigation Buttons

After new topic for Windows 7 will be installed on your personal computer, it is necessary to give an appropriate updated look to such important components as the "Start" button, which are present in the "Explorer".

We start by replacing the Start button. To do this, follow these steps:

• pre-prepare the system for further changes - get access rights to the explorer.exe file using special program, such as Takeownershipex;

• after obtaining access rights, you should select the most appropriate version of the "Start" button and download a simple utility called Windows 7 Start Button Changer;
• when you run this utility, a window will open in which you need to click on the button labeled Select & Change Start Button;

• next, the "Explorer" window will open, where you need to find the place to save your "Start" button;
• now it remains to click "Open" - and the new button will be instantly installed on the computer.

Replacing the navigation buttons in the Windows 7 operating system is as follows:

• the Windows 7 Navigation Buttons Customizer program is downloaded and installed on a personal computer;

• the program is run as administrator;
• in the window that opens, select the appropriate option and click on the Change Selected Bitmap inscription;

• after selecting the image you like, you need to open it and save the changes made.

Keep in mind that installation of themes from third-party developers is only possible on such versions of the Windows 7 operating system as Professional, Ultimate, Home Premium, and Enterprise.

Many different themes for Windows 7 will help you create a unique, stylish, unlike any other shell of your operating system. You can use your favorite wallpapers, color combinations and graphic filters for windows, which, combined with a set of interesting gadgets, will help you create your exclusive Windows 7.

In special sections of our website you can:
See the download link for Universal Theme Patcher at the end of the article.

For topics to work in windows 7 patch required Universal Theme Patcher.

This small patch is designed to install new styles and themes for Windows 7.
To install this program, do the following:

Step 1. Run the program as an administrator (included are both for x86, and for x64 bit version of your system).

Figure 1. Run as administrator

Step 2 Let's press the button OK to confirm the selected language.

Figure 2. Confirm the selected language

Step 3 Next, press the button again "Yes" for confirmation.

Figure 3 Installation Information

Step 4 After that, a window will open in which in this case you need to patch 3 files. To do this, next to each file, click patch. After each action, you will be informed about the successful operation.

Figure 4. Patch information for using themes for Windows 7

Step 5 After you change all the files, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Click "Yes" to reboot.

Figure 5. Reboot Confirmation Window

Step 6 Next, you need to copy the content of the theme to the folder C:/Windows/Resources/Themes.

Step 7. In chapter "Personalization" ("Start" - "Control Panel" - "Personalization") you will see a freshly installed theme.

Step 8. In extreme cases, re-running this patch allows you to restore the changed files. To do this, click next to each file "Restore" and restart your computer again.

Figure 6. Patch for installing themes for windows 7

Installing a theme for Windows 7 is very simple and does not require the user to have special computer skills. Initial setup it will take about 5-10 minutes, as you need to patch the system and learn how to install new skins. If for the first time you install strictly according to the instructions, then subsequent installations will be quick, smooth and smooth.

Preparing the system to support third-party themes

If you are installing a theme on your computer for the first time, you will need to patch the system.

After installing the patches, you must restart your computer to apply the changes. After that, the system will be ready to install third-party themes.

If you want to change the Start menu icon and navigation buttons in File Explorer, you need to get permissions on system filesexplorer.exe(for the start menu) andExplorerFrame.dll(for navigation buttons in File Explorer).

The above steps need to be done only once. The following skin changes do not require re-installing patches and obtaining rights to system files.

Installing a Theme

Step 1

In the downloaded archive we find the theme file in the format .theme(example: theme name.theme) and a folder with the same name. The file and folder must be copied to the system directory C:/Windows/Resources/Themes.

Step 2

Go to the personalization panel and in the section " Installed themes"find our theme.

Step 3

We double-click on the topic name and observe the changes in the interface design.

Demonstration of an unsteady start button and navigation buttons in File Explorer

As you can see in the screenshot, we still have the same Start menu button and navigation buttons in File Explorer. To replace these system elements, go to the next paragraph.

Replacing the start menu button

Find in the archive with the theme an image with a button in the format *.BMP(in our case, the image is in the folder " Orb”) and set the button, .

Replacing Navigation Buttons in File Explorer

If the theme archive contains the ExplorerFrame.dll file, copy it to the folder C:/Windows/System32.

1. Go to directory C:/Windows/System32 and find the file ExplorerFrame.dll.
2. Rename the file ExplorerFrame.dll in ExplorerFrame.dll.old.
3. Transfer from the archive with the theme new file ExplorerFrame.dll to a folder C:/Windows/System32.
4. Restart your computer or simply restart File Explorer for the changes to take effect.

If there is no ExplorerFrame.dll file in the archive, then there are pictures in the format .BMP, which must be installed using the "Windows 7 Navigation Buttons Customizer" program.

You must have permissions to the ExplorerFrame.dll file. The first paragraph of the article says how to get the rights to this file.

1. Install the program