October 30th, 2006

Unlock a secret (free) Windows XP Theme

For a while I fooled around with WindowBinds, trying to get a decent theme that would make my XP interface look closer to Vista. After WindowBlinds seriously screwed up my laptop (I had to re-install XP), I decided to just accept the standard boring XP GUI.

That is, until I stumbled across Royal Noir. Microsoft developed this theme mainly for Media Center, but never released it!

You can download the Royal Noir theme here.

To install, follow these simple intructions:
– Extract files to “c:\windows\resources\themes\royale noir”
- double click on “luna.msstyles”
– Select “Noir” from color scheme.

It is code-signed by Microsoft. That means that there's no need for a UXTheme hack.

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6 Responses to ' Unlock a secret (free) Windows XP Theme '

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  1. Vartan said,

    on February 22nd, 2007 at 7:25 pm

    Thank you Microsoft! And thank you Justin Cook! This theme is rockin'!

  2. scott said,

    on March 10th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    i do not no how to set up this theme please could you help me , step by step ??

  3. Justin Cook said,

    on March 10th, 2007 at 4:16 pm

    Step 1: read the blog post

  4. robin1994 said,

    on May 20th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    it's easy, but you have to know how to work with it.

    Step 1: download the program (duh)
    Step 2: install the theme; therefore click on browse…and install to C:Windows/resources/themes
    Step 3: go to C:Windows/resources/themes
    Step 4: double-click on luna (the file)
    Step 5: double-click on luna (the programm)
    Step 5: click display and then click royale
    Step 6: click on Appearance and then on Royale_Noir.
    Step 7(final): click Apply and Ok.
    Step 7:

  5. Chaosdivine said,

    on October 1st, 2008 at 10:47 am

    Thank you for this theme! I have MCE 2005 and it does not include the black ('er noir ;) theme but does include the stylized blue theme. Cheers!

  6. Dimitri said,

    on February 27th, 2009 at 6:10 am

    Good looking..best performance.
    but still want another themes…like orange or red.
    But thanks anyway..it's work !
    :-bd

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