Skin Windows Tutorial

[Illegalx17]

ok was going to do a Pimp my desktop tut but this tut covers more than just your desktop also, i am not liable if you download anything i specify in here and experience slowed computer actions etc. some people say that this stuff screws up your commputer, mine has been fine. tho it may slow down your computer a little bit. remember i am in no way forcing you to download these things so i am not liable for anything that happens from you following your free will to pimp your comp . anyways, moving on. . .to step 1

Note: i am not sure if any of this works with a windows version before xp, so i dont reccomend trying it if you have windows 2000 or ME etc.

Part 1: Windows Blinds
OK, first thing you will need is a program called windows blinds. this is a freeware program, i found it very helpful and it didnt do anything to my computer. Here's the link to it, just go to "download" and you should get it free. once you've downloaded it open it up. once you have it open, it should look something like this:



In that picture, i also noted some important items, which i will refer to later. all you need to know now is the bar at the bottom is your "skin library" it has all the skins you install so you can easily open up WB and switch em around. i am currently running the "transylvania" skin and i love it . ok, now you need some skins for your library. i suggest looking here to find some great ones. download a couple to a place that you can remember, such as your desktop or something. now, in windowsblinds click "install skin from disk", number 1 in the picture above. now it will open up a browse window, browse to the skin you downloaded(make sure you extracted it) and double click the skin. the skin should now appear in your "skin library" find it, select it, then to apply it click "apply this skin now" (number 2 in the picture above). voila!! you have your own skin! now thats the basics of skinning, but that is by no measure where i am going to stop. heck we are not even started on our customization journey!!

Tip: if you want to revert back to your original skin at any time, right click anywhere on your desktop and click "properties". a "display properties" window should come up, go to the "appearance" tab and then it says "windows and buttons" and should have the name of your current skin. just go to that list and scroll up until you find the classic xp style.

Part 2: Logon Skins
OK, now you got your new skin, your pretty proud of yourself arent you?? but if you have a login name on your computer, than when you are starting up your computer it kinda spoils the mood, cuz it's that same happy-go-lucky innocent little windows XP theme. well thats no fun is it? well theres a solution to your predicament!! its called Logon Studio! you can download it for free here. Download it, extract it and install it. once its installed, start it up. It should look something like this:

You can see there is a list of your logon's, a preview image, and some buttons. i have marked some for later reference. OK, now you need to get some logons. you can check here to get some. sometimes, if you have a skin you like, the author will include a link in the description that says something like "more of the ___ suite here" and tehy will have a logon that matches the skin, as well as a lot of other stuff i will get into later. Anyways, download and unzip some logon's, remember where you put them tho. ok now click "load"(number 1 in the above picture) and browse to your logon you just downloaded. it should appear in the list when you double click it. then all you have to do is click it in the list, and then click "apply"(number 2 in the above picture) and voila! it will log you out automatically to apply the new logon, but you should be able to log right back in. if for any reason, god forbid, you want just a plain old regular login, then you can click "restore default XP logon" (number 3 in the above picture) and it should just go back to normal. That is it for part 2!

Part 3: Boot Skins
No, this is not a decorative accessory for footwear. it is the allfamous BOOTSKINS!!! bootskins are like logon skins, but instead of replacing the logon screen, they replace the bootup screen. you know that place where theres the windows logo and that little bar at the bottom. yea thats the one. now you might not see this that much, but its still fun to customize, and this is in my opinion, the most humorous part of skinning. first off, you will need bootskin, which you can download here. scroll downt he page nad click download or w/e. after that you can download some boot skins here. some of my favourites are "upside down", "lockdown", "evil edition", and "pirated xp". look around there are tons of bootskins. there are many matrix themed ones as well if you are a fan of that. ok, now after you download bookskin, extract it and run it. it should look something like this.

ok now, download and extract any bootskins you want. click file first off,(number 1) then click "import from file"(number 2). browse to the bootskin you downloaded and double click it. it should appear in the list below. now select it from the list and click "apply"(number 3). dont worry it doesnt restart your computer to test it out like logonstudio . ok, now you have a bootskin on! restart your computer a couple times to admire its greatness. also, if you want to have a random bootskin every time, you can check the "random bootskin on startup" option(number 4) and then it'll be random! good job! stay tuned for part 4!!!

Part 4: under construction
I'm gonna go to sleep now, actually im not but im gonna go watch tv or something, too lazy to type more . remember this tut is not NEAR finished! i have many more parts to come!

Tip 1: This is something i found useful, make a "customization" folder under "my documents" and make a couple new folders, eg "skins" "logons" etc. keep all your customization stuff there so you can easily find it. if you need any help you can PM me here or IM me on AIM at Hatedbymany82 or you can IM me if you just feel like chatting graphics. if it is a small question, such as "which skin do you use" or something like that, post the question here. please keep my spam level low. good luck and i hope you like my tutorial so far!

[robgasm]

i got two questions for ya:

when you dl a skin, do you have to use the wallpaper that comes with it - what if you only wanted the taskbar etc looking cool and you wanted a object deck thing but wanted to use your own wallpaper

can you change back to the normal windows look at any time easily?

[Illegalx17]

a skin does not usually set a wallpaper i think, and you can use your own wallpaper, it wont stop you. some skins have wallpapers that the people made to match, but you dont need to use them. and you can change back to the normal windows look, i'll edit the post and add that in soon. i shouldnt be on the comp right now, gotta go finish homework :\

[tacoX]

Thats very helpful mate, thanks for your tutorial. Although, i'm not really a huge fan of skinning my computer because it slows my old computer down =(. Thanks though!

[MinorThreat]

FINALLY THE TUT i HAVE BEEN WAITING 4!!!!1!!11

thx!

[Samuel]

I don't understand why people think it so hard to skin windows...but yeah nice tut. Even though windowblinds is actually quite esy to use If you need some skins and stuff goto www.wincustomize.com They have windowblinds skins and all kinds of others.

[Illegalx17]

uhh bfg, check the links i included in my tutorial and yea that part is simple, but im including a lot more. maybe later i will include a tut to code your own stuff

[ROTD]

Skinning is always fun :P im glad u made this tut doh

[Illegalx17]

updated with part 3

[dragoneye]

why do people think its so hard to customize ur desktop :blink: its quite easy actually