XPize Darkside 2.0

XPize Darkside replaces the blue wizards, visual style, logon screen, boot screen and numerous other resources with a darker more disturbing theme

Improvements:
- All bugs relative to XPize 4.6 have been fixed!
- Full support for images/icons in Internet Explorer 7!
- Full support for Windows Defender!
- New boot screen!
- New logon screen!
- Over one hundred resources have been replaced or added!
- ... and lots more!

Known Issues:
- None!
Please give feedback on any issues you comes across.

Screenshots:



Disclaimer:
- I am not accountable for any problems/issues using XPize Darkside or any previous releases may cause your system, the only way any issues would occur is through user misuse, and if you are unaware of how to use this release correctly you should consult these forums for advice.

Changelog:
Changelog

Download Mirrors:
Primary Mirror
Secondary Mirror

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NOTE:
My hosting account charged me a fortune for going over my bandwidth last month!
Help me, help you... DONATE!

Tyvm zedox

Dl'ing and then uploading now...

http://www.wpiw.net/downloads/XPizeDarkside20.exe

Please add my mirror to the top of the list my bandwidth is unlimited.

Uploaded

great job
i will test it now

Downloaded. I will test soon. but I believe that for theme I will keep MS Zune theme.

What about an Vista mod based on it ?

Alot of people have been saying the Zune theme pairs well with this... May consider it for the next release.

Thanks for the update!

Hum... For me I prefer Luna Element 5.05 black compact msstyle.

But Zune may be a good choice too.

By the way, Good job Zedox with XPize Darkside 2.0 and also to good Job To Xpero for XPize

Is it necessary to uninstall XPize 4.6 before installing this? Thanks.

I think it is. XPize Darkside 2.0 is the standalone version... So it is recommanded to uninstall XPize 4.6 before to avoid competition between the two reloaders IMO. Maybe Zedox can confirm this...

Zyx Maiden is right, if you install both, both reloaders will try to reload the same files with their respective resources...

Not to mention installing one after the other will back up modified files from the previous installation creating havok when coming to uninstalling...

So in other words, Uninstall XPize before installing XPize Darkside

Thanks a lot zedox!

P.S. By the way zedox, the History section of the official site is down.

Works fine for me...

For those interested I knocked up a quick "official" site for xpize darkside here...

http://www.zedox.co.uk/xpizedarkside

I'm afraid he's right... Home, About, Screenshots, Downloads and Contact all work, but History (including the direct link you posted) gives a "Page not found" message, with an option to return to the homepage. BTW, it says to email webmaster@this.domain; I doubt if this will reach the right person.

does the entire page not work for you or just part? I've tried on different machines, works for me :S

I too get page not found on the History Link, using latest Firefox.

Many thanks for this new update zedox

Problem exists with firefox and displaying iframes...

Havn't built a website for along time, so let me get my brains around it and will fix it asap

Woop! Fixed it!

CTRL + F5 if it still looks funny... working and tested on IE and firefox...

Any contructive criticisms of my site?

That fixed it! I should have thought to try it out in IE (I only use it for sites that don't work in Firefox). BTW, verified working in Firefox 2.0.0.6, Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11, and Opera 9.21 Build 8776.

XPize and XPize Darkside are such welcome additions to computing. I really appreciate all the work you guys put into them. I do seem to have a problem getting the new bootscreen to show up, though. I've had some weird computer issues lately, so I can't in good faith blame XPize Darkside, but I'm not sure how to fix it. All I keep getting to show up is the original Windows XP bootscreen. I've tried a bit of Googling, but I seem to only come up with solutions regarding bad BIOS or corrupt Windows installs where *nothing* shows up.

I know it may seem patronising in me pointing out but, the XPize Darkside bootscreen is very similar to the original. So are you 100% sure it is the original that is being displayed?

If so, what happens when you uninstall XPize Darkside, COMPLETELY and reinstall? Does it work a second time arround?

I forgot to mention that... couldn't get the boot screen to show up on this one either (had the same problem with the previous version).

No, I had thought that might be the case, too, but I was only seeing the blue progress bar--the screen was identical to the default XP one. I uninstalled the program completely (including the backup files), rebooted, and reinstalled... but I'm still seeing the default XP one.

Nope, definitely the blue bar going across instead of the grey. I've tried both the reloader, and uninstalling/reinstalling, still get the original bootscreen.

What machines are processors are you guys running?
What flavours of XP are you running?

I'm running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2 with an Intel Pentium D 820 2.80 GHz processor.

SiSoftware Sandra lists it as:

Processor
Model : Intel® Pentium® D CPU 2.80GHz
Speed : 2.79GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Package : FC LGA775
Rated Speed/FSB : 2800MHz / 4x 200MHz
Multiplier : 14/1x
Minimum/Maximum Multiplier : 0/1x / 14/1x
Generation : G8
Name : P4D (Smithfield) Pentium D/XE 90nm 2.8-3.2GHz 1.25-1.4V

hmmm, I'd hedge my bettings bettings that CLHatch's processor is also Dual Core.

You would be right. Core 2 Duo T2050. Also Windows XP Media Center 2005, btw.

I couldn't find the file XPize_Logon.exe; is logonui.exe patched or is this file created and used to replace the logon?

If there is a link to that file only, let me know!

http://www.wpiw.net/downloads/Darkside_Logon_Screen.zip

The logonui.exe file is patched and them renamed to XPize_Logon.exe.
Then the registry is changed to point to xpize_logon.exe as the logon screen.

kelsenellenelvian
Is that the latest logonui?

The latest I have gotten from you.

Will there be in future support for nLite intigration? Why doesn't Darkside patche extras if a patch an XP folder?

Ooo, the latest is in XPize Darkside 2.0... will re-up the newest one and send you a link for hosting. Thanks!


I386 patching will only patch system files, no extras are included.
Will look into nlite integration.

Hope you will make it soon. Until now i used always Xpize for nLite intigration, but black (and red) is my favorite color. Xpize Darkside looks better than normal Xpize for me, so plz hurry with nLite intigration. Perhaps you could make also patching extras possible

I've searched for xpize_logon.exe and cannot find it anywhere. I still see logonui.exe, and it hasn't been modified for today either.

tap52384
Is the logon screen not installing for you? Not sure what your going on about in your message...

It doesn't seem like it is, no, even with the defaults; I realize that the logon is an extra, and all the extras are checked, even taskbarxp is installed. Is there a log file i can send you?

I have the same problem of not having the darkside bootscreen. I tried uninstalling, then reinstalling, used the reloader and still it showed the old blue bar on the boot screen. Please help! I'm not using Dual Core processor.

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer NVIDIA
System Model AWRDACPI
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 15 Stepping 0 AuthenticAMD ~2210 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG, 4/6/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.2
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Total Physical Memory 1,024.00 MB

tap52384
ok, check this directory for me...
\Windows\XPize Darkside\Backup..
Is there a logonui.exe in there?

Yes, there is a logonui.exe in that folder.

Can you check the registry key...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\winlogon, does UIHost have the value "XPize_Logon.exe"
?

Yes, that registry key exists and the value points to xpize_logon.exe. Not to cause a ruckus, but am I the only one with this issue?

Also, by checking the MD5 value using HashTab, the logonui.exe in C:\windows\system32 is identical to the file in c:\windows\xpize darkside\backup.

I do have one question though; would it matter if the logonui was already patched once before? I didn't think it would matter initially, my apologies if it does.

tap52384
Its good that the backup file is identical to the system32 file... the backup is a backup of the system32 file!
I've never tested patching and then patching again... i'm assuming it was patched with XPize?
Are you actually seeing the normal welcome screen? ... is your PC on a domain?

Perhaps i've made a mistake somewhere; I'll try on a virtual machine and let you know what happens.

Same prob here, although I am running a Dual Core CPU. Why would this make a differance, though? Just intereted to know, if you know...

Multi-core/processor systems use ntkrnlmp.exe instead of ntoskrnl.exe

Can this be fixed then? Or does it just mean, anyone using a multi-core CPU system, can't have the new boot screen...

Many thanks...

Darkside does patch ntkrnlmp, but obviously something is going wrong somewhere...

Will look into this.

Is it possible for someone to post the new logonui.exe?