I've spent a lot of time with that and i know the importance of backups...

And that's why this update does not come with a backup. I'm holding responsibility for those files.
They're 100% compatible with any language and any update. They're not dependent on anything.

With RP7 is the most painful situation.
One MUST understand that RP7 is gone forever (since i don't have sources, and architecture is too difficult to manage).
When updating RP7, i should replace all patched files with original ones - and where should i get them?
This update replaces comctl32.dll with latest one (IE6SP1) and effectively kills patched RP7 one.
There will be separate update(s) to kill more of RP7.
Moreover, some RP7 components will be lost forever and i have to make sure that it's true.

32-bit icons/packs were ready the moment i published the screenshots (90% ready, 'Release Candidate' technically - as Uberskin 8.1.0 was).
However, i'm not releasing them since i don't have an installer and config program ready at all.
Since UberSkin/RP8 are aimed to be 99% noobprome and glitch-free, i can't release those components unless i'll have those things ready and all scenarios tested. If i'm to open beta testing, that'll make a worser noob-scenario and updating problems.

so, uh any comment on the disabled but ticked checkboxes ?
asked here

This still bugs me a little

No, that's not a bug in US. I've checked all skins and that's only BlackMesa which uses images looking almost the same.

Hi, Chozo4. I'd like to tell you a little more about the solved problem.

I decided to install this update because of two following things on the announcement:
This is good, no need to talk about it, OK? And:
I thought this was OK too because I always turn off this option in the RP Config. In other words, I never use it, so I don't care about its fate, or how it is disabled, or destroyed, or killed, or murdered!

After the installation, I didn't like the result so tried to fix it myself. It wouldn't have taken me two hours if there had been such information on post 283:

The problem has come and gone. I am somehow accustomed to this since I decided to use these unofficcial packs, projects or updates. I didn't write a post to blame anyone or to have a row with anyone.

Off topic (I don't know why I like talking off topic so much!): I read your post three times, Chozo4. If you were me, what would you think when reading the above posts by Tihiy replying to me, especially post 295? Exactly, how would you feel if you were me at that time? I'll tell you about my thoughts and feelings if you are interested.

Off-topic goes to PM, or off-topic forum or thread. This thread belongs to UberSkin.

It's emphasized in UberSkin thread that this thing is not compatible with RP7,
and it's emphasized in RP7 topic that it's intended for advanced users only.
The logic goes this way:
what is 32-bit icons -> ??? -> RP7 provides nice icons -> ???? -> 32-bit icons == nice icons
it disables 32-bit icons -> you lose nice icons

That's how my logic works.
That's being extremely rude to casual users.
But! RP7 was not intended to them. I can't change rules of the game after game is over.

Uberskin WORKS with Win98SE-Explorer5.50.4134.100-Kex0.3.3e-98SE2ME,with Lotsa RAM and all updates after Auto-Patcher"Dec2007-Final"version was released!!! ***And RP7.11 is great for temporary use....if ya just do not update certain programs after A.P.Dec'07Final:If you wish to use this until we meet thee NEW RP8!!!.....***These work with RP7.11-Win98SE-Explorer5.50.4134.100-Kex0.3.2a-MDCU2.40-(NOT 2.50!),MDDACU1.4,MDIECU2.1e,Sesp1.5-Sesp3.0.b2,and use Auto-patcher"Dec2007-Final" with <"out of memory"application"> Extensive Trial and Error is best for your own system.As You only Know How You want Your Own System to function?.(Sometimes 98SE2ME helps RP7*if used "Cautiously!!!"-Lotsa RAM helps too.) NEVER mix RP7+UBERSKIN+UBERKERN as not a good mix for your motherboard or components!!!Just NOT fun to recover !!! Personally will continue to use RP7 yet-without any updates after A.P.Dec2007Final on older ViaApolloShuttle233MMX-MoBo...as this is all that helps it look nicer with 64mbRam and it cannot upgrade higher,functions terriffically as simple Win98SE O.S. thydreamwalker<*Congrats to "Tihiy for great system improvements-asRP8 should be worth thee Wait!!!>

You're right it wasn't in the BMP file

I fixed it up, now it shows...

my edited file is attached (had a hard time finding some software that could edit 32bit transparent BMPs)

I'm no gfx artist, but I think it's not too bad

Thanks for this wonderful piece of software

Hmmm .....




Now, how did that happened ? ..... AFAIK, MPRservices only works in w9x ... besides, there's several APIs in Uberskin not implemented in w2K .... like SetObjectOwner ... phew, Tihiy sure knows how to use these undocumented ones ...

BTW, Tihiy ... this minor bug found its way back to 8.2.1 ...



Rgds

Chozo4, because I felt you were trying to say good things for the update and its author, I just wanted to tease you a little. Do you notice that it took Tihiy only 7-8 minutes to reply to me? And it took me 15-20 minutes to give him an answer. Here is my thought and feeling at that time, Chozo4:
- Thought: I thought Tihiy was quite good at English. He can read, understand and write it easily and very fast; faster than me.
- Feeling: I felt sleepy, very much, because it was almost 1:00 AM at my place.
I hope you weren't afraid of my previous post. I was just kidding. And sorry if you found it offending.

Tihiy, sorry for talking off topic. I promise it won't happen again. I read your post very carefully, word by word, and sentence by sentence. Surely I know what this thread is about. I'll try to talk about it only. I found a lovely wallpaper on the net a few weeks ago and like it a lot. I think it will go along well with something blue. Now I ask you for a permission. I want to modify your BlackMesa, which I got from the Uberskin, and give it a new name so that I can use it with the wallpaper. Maybe I'll call the modified theme BlueMesa. It's not nice if I don't let you know first. There are already a lot of blue themes but I decide to choose yours to modify. Thanks in advance, Tihiy.

Edit: It seems that the person who needs to see the picture has seen the picture. Then, the link should be deleted. RIP.

There is already BlueMesa iirc
http://toastyghost.deviantart.com/art/BlueMesa-19116378
You don't need my permission. Furthermore, that's not my skin (i don't make graphics). Zoinkity obtained permission from author iirc...
You can make what you want.

I thought I had posted the corrected BlackMesa ages ago in this thread, but somebody chalked it up to a simple color shift...

As far as anything I made goes take it, use it, and any credit goes to the original author instead of my thieving self ;*) Just a note, there were a couple changes to blackmesa on 98. The help button and min/maximize/restore come to mind.

Uh... I know this is for Win9x/ME, but I just have to ask anyway... By any chance, will this work in Windows 2000? I SOOO want these skins on my Win2k laptop!

No, they won't. But there is a Revolutions Pack available for 2k, go look for it. Here is a good start.

Where can i find other uberskin themes ?

I posted a suite of CE (Central European font) variations of the Royale theme, somewhere in this thread. There are a few made by X-Style (sorry, nickname may not be accurate) in some other thread and there may be others too.



if none of them satisfies you, there's nothing in the world stopping you from creating your own themes.

@Tihiy: please add italian translation, thank you:
http://www.msfn.org/board/UberSkin-t110483...109#entry749109

UberSkin 8.2.5 released!
http://tihiy.ahanix.org/uberskin.exe
- Fixed 16-bit memory corruption which could lead to system crash (when running Windows Setup);
- Fixed some more apps not displaying icon on task bar correctly;
- Added Italian translation.

UberSkin Add-On: Kernel Task Manager!
* Applicable to version 8.2.5
http://tihiy.ahanix.org/KTM8.zip
This addon provides extended functionality for Ctrl-Alt-Del dialog. It allows you to run programs as well as provides other important functionality like RP7 dialog.

Installation:
Copy ktm8.dll into \windows\system. Reboot is not required.
Uninstallation:
Delete ktm8.dll from \windows\system. Reboot is not required.

NICE!

The kernel task manager when I installed it added no extra functionality.I followed the instructions.So what did I do wrong?

It's applicable with latest uberskin. You installed that?

Yes,I did install the latest Uberskin.

My powers tell me that you have 98FE. I'll need kernel32.dll from 98FE to know how to hack it.

info not useful anymore

Works Great with past updates with RP8+98SE -just keeps on gettin better and lighter resource users the better!!! thx....still minor bugs with Kexo.3.4 but NO CRASHES . . .YET! Could be some application from some 3rd party vendor me thinks....? Upward and Onwards to RP8 for all goodness sake

Kernel Task Manager with italian localization (in attachment):

Updated UberSkin 8.2.5 with 98FE kernel support;
Updated KTM Add-On with Italian language.

Please clean-up attachments from this topic in order not to confuse users.

removed

Tihy: it appears to me that uberskin would be the perfect skinning app for the reactos explorer, have you thought about lobbying the devs to add uberskin support to the new explore? or getting the source code and adding it yourself? thx

If I was an ReactOS developer, i would kill or at least ban forever anyone who tries to speak about skinning.
Besides, Wine uxtheme was severely fixed and improved lately. They can use it.

seeing my topic was DELETED! i.ll say it again, im going to try and put support for uberskin into reactos , anyone interested should visit my forum, check my profile for more info.

are you mentally defective? why would anyone kill anyone because they are talking about desktop themes? in case you havnt noticed, reactos is OPEN SOURCE! do you even know what that means? IT MEANS ANYONE CAN MODIFY REACTOS CODE!

AFAIK, 1000+ people asking for Tihiy to make Lame/Uber Skin for ReactOS only annoys him, not convinces him

apparently everything annoys him , anyways as uxtheme.dll i tried installing a theme in reactos and it failed.

p.s. so if a 1000 plus people have had the same idea then maybe its worth a try? i mean,its only a reg file,a dll and some resource files.

I prefer a working windows 98 fully updated, with current improvements of this section.
I can't desire other.

Reactos is a project without a particular graphic, it's better so in my opinion.

I think, you should add to requirements in the first post that either IE at least 5.5 or some updated DLLs ARE REQUIRED. Because I tried to install UberSkin on Win98 SE with its IE 4.0 and it didn't skin anything. At first I wondered why, because IE 6.0 was only RECOMMENDED but not required. After installing IE 6.0 SP1 everything works perfectly.

I want to ask some questions.
1. In theme preview all is not skinned. Should it be so?
2. Should start menu be skinned?
3. Where can I see the installed UberSkin version?

1. So far yes.
2. So far no.
3. So far nowhere.

The problem is, i've never owned 98FE and don't have it to test on, so i couldn't say for sure. Thanks.

I have it, but never used it

I've rewrited RP thumbnailer for even more awesomeness.

If you've never seen it, and you have ME shell, it's worth a try!

Thanks for the update and KTM will be very handy

Well, actually I have Win98 SE, not FE (at least it states so). But it installs IE4, not IE5.

And Tihiy, I forgot to say thank you for a GREAT program. May be its because I too used to be a QA and notice problems first

And a little problem - with Crimson Land setup - in the taskbar its caption starts over the icon.

Oh, i had to bump! So i wrote third post which provides a bit of additional UberSkin info.
Also i fixed minor uptime display issue with KTM8
http://tihiy.ahanix.org/KTM8.zip

Dear group, dear Tahihy,

I have been following this thread for one week now and I am extremely impressed by your uberskin software. I am amazed at how many people are out there who still stick to Win98. I thought I was alone.

I am a software developer myself, so I'll make my own contribution. Maybe this is common knowledge already, but here it is anyway:

WIN98 SETUP
-----------
* 98Lite (chubby, because the 98 version of explorer.exe is needed for most open source software, like OpenOffice)
* MS-Installer (for modern installation packs)
* DirectX81.exe (for multimedia)
* WinRAR (for opening almost all installation packs, without installing them)
* IE5 SP1 (for minimal OLE Automation, otherwise, even FireFox will not work)
(If you don't want IE on your computer at all, install Dcom95.exe only)
* IE6 SP1, but no need to install it. Only the following files are needed:
Comctl32.dll (Setupw95.cab)
Shlwapi.dll (Ie_3.cab)
* Win98SE version of user32.dll. I got it from:
http://home.arcor.de/carsthom/updates/win98se_updates.html
(yes, its german, but you only need user32.dll: first ocurrance in the list)
(I'm not sure about user.exe, I did not install (copy) it and uberskin works fine)

Stay away from Active Desktop!!!

XP ICON SETUP
-------------
* Below the reg file
* I got a copy of XP's shell32.dll, where most system icons live, and simply placed it in the Resources folder.
* Some of the icons, I had to extract manually (ICL-Icon Extractor)
* The beauty of this approach is that the main system registry is left alone, only the current user will see these icons.
* If you want to revert to the regular 98 icons, just use regedit to remove both the 'Shell Icons' and 'CLSID' sections. This will not cause damage, since these sections are not used normally.

I bow to y'all. Keep up the good work, but don't stay up too late!

Dandee

REGEDIT4

;-----------------------------------------------------
; EXPLORER ICONS, including Start menu
;-----------------------------------------------------

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Shell Icons]
; Unknown File Type
"0"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\Default Icon.ico"
; Default Document
"1"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\Default Document.ico"
; Default Application
"2"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\Application.ico"
; Folder
"3"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,3"
; Open Folder
"4"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,4"
; 5.25 inch Floppy
"5"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,6"
; 3.5 inch Floppy
"6"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,6"
; Removable Drive
"7"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,7"
; Hard Drive
"8"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,7"
; Network Drive
"9"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,9"
; Network Disconnected
"10"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,10"
; Cd-rom Drive
"11"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,11"
; Ram Drive
"12"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,12"
; Network Neighborhood - Entire Network (globe)
"13"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,13"
; Network Pipes (?)
"14"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,14"
; Desktop
"15"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,15"
; Print Manager
"16"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,16"
; Network Neighborhood
"17"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,17"
; Workgroup
"18"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,18"
; Start Menu - Programs
"19"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,19"
; Start Menu - Documents
"20"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,126"
; Start Menu - Settings
"21"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,110"
; Start Menu - Find
"22"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,22"
; Start Menu - Help
"23"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,23"
; Start Menu - Command
"24"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,24"
; Screen Saver
"25"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,25"
; Docking
"26"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,26"
; Shut Down
"27"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,27"
; Sharing Overlay (Hand)
"28"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,28"
; Shortcut Overlay (Small Arrow)
"29"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\Shortcut.ico"
; Default Printer Overlay (Small Tick)
"30"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,30"
; Recycled Empty
"31"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,31"
; Recycled Full
"32"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,32"
; Dial-up Networking
"33"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,33"
; Desktop
"34"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,34"
; Control Panel
"35"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,21"
; Program Groups
"36"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,36"
; Start Menu - Settings - Printers
"37"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,58"
; Fonts
"38"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,38"
; Start Menu - Settings - Task Bar
"39"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,39"
; Audio Cd
"40"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,40"
"41"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,41"
"42"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,42"
; Start Menu - Favourites
"43"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,43"
; Log Off
"44"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,44"
"45"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,45"
"46"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,46"

;-----------------------------------------------------
; DESKTOP ICONS (shell32.dll)
;-----------------------------------------------------

; My Computer
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,15"

; Printers Folder
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,58"

; Network Neighborhood
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,17"

; Recyle Bin
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,31"
"Empty"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,31"
"Full"="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,32"

;-----------------------------------------------------
; SHELL EXTENSIONS
;-----------------------------------------------------

; My Documents (mydocs.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,126"

; Dial-Up Networking (rnaui.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,88"

; Scheduled Tasks (mstask.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\Scheduled Tasks.ico"

; Url History Folder (shdocvw.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\History.ico"

; Temporary Internet Files (shdocvw.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\ActiveX Folder.ico"

; Downloaded Program Files (occache.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{88C6C381-2E85-11D0-94DE-444553540000}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\ActiveX Folder.ico"

; Subscriptions Folder (webcheck.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F5175861-2688-11d0-9C5E-00AA00A45957}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\Subscriptions Folder.ico"

; Fonts Folder (fontext.dll)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}\DefaultIcon]
@="c:\\windows\\resources\\Icons\\WinXP\\shell32.dll,38"

Welcome Dandee to the Windows 9x support hub of the planet!

I like your registry approach to the Windows system icons.
I'll test it out some time.

Tihiy, there's an idea for customisable icon sets without resource hacking the live shell files.

Be careful, Dandee! You wrote his name wrongly. And I have a question for you. If I use a modified Shell32.dll (it's also from XP), can your registry, the above reg key, work too?

I wonder why no one said welcome to me when I first came to this forum. It's not fair at all!

explorer.exe isn't needed for software to run.
There are some functions missing in shell32 from Windows 95, but there are workarounds.

You are right, but I remember shell32 croacking about GetSpecialFolderPath when trying to install OpenOffice on an 98Lite micro setup. But there's another thing: the chubby installation supports more of the Desktop Extensions, including the "My Documents" folder, which is not supported by the Win95 explorer (98Lite micro).

Tihihy, I'm sorry for mis-spelling your name!

I forgot to say that the icons have to be rebuilt after applying the reg file. This can be done with TweakUI, which is part of the Power Toys for Win 98.

To demonstrate the swapping of icons I prepared an XP icon pack to match the Windows XP theme. Get it from:

http://www.baut.nl/downloads/WinXP-Icons.zip

1. install the TweakUI control panel:
Unzip the file, open the "tweakui" folder. Right-click the "tweakui.inf" file and choose "install".

2. install (copy) the XP icons:
Open the "Resources" folder, and copy the entire "Icons" folder to c:\windows\Resources.

3. Apply the XP icon reg file by double-clicking "Win XP.reg" and choosing "yes".

4. Rebuild the icon cache:
Open the TeakUI control panel from the start menu, click the "Repair" tab, and then "Repair Now".

Watch the magic...

If you want to revert to your old icons, double-click "Win XP off.reg", and rebuild the icon cache again, using TweakUI.

Of course this is a highly manual process, and not as slick as switching themes with uberskin. Maybe, in the short future, I could write a program which does this automatically. But I have to do some research concerning the icon rebuilding part first.

NYoy

Yarr!!!

Thx for information. Icon packs that i develop work the same way, except they don't use registry and are more powerful.

There or where? I'll deliver it once other [secret] projects will be released.

I'm sorry again, Tihiy. Suffering from brain damage. Software projects, you know...

By the way, RetroOS, thanks for the warm welcome!

Hi everyone, and specially Tihiy!

I'm new on this forum, and just had tried Uberskin 8.2.5 (on my W98SE).

It is wonderful! Working very well, no slowing at all the system.

Notwithstanding, I have a small bug: the title of the page is not displayed at the topbar in MyIE2,
which is an overlay for IE (currently called Maxthon).

Best regards.
CharlesF

Edit:
The empty bar seems to be "covering" the title of the webpage.
See on this screenshot: