Didn’t I tell you that the guys at deviantArt are crazy geniuses? Well, some of them are Winboys too. A deviantArt user kAtz93 made a superb Windows 7 theme called ‘Glow Air’ that caught my attention. Yes, it is a full fledge theme and not a themepack.
Glow Air is for those who seek slick1 and edgy themes with some extra glare. Glow Air turns windows sharp edged and with extra faded and translucent borders. It flaunts a cool new ‘Start’ button too!
How to install Glow Air theme on Windows 7?
Installation of Glow Air is a bit tricky. Follow these steps:
1) Download Glow Air theme by clicking the link given below.
2) Extract the RAR file to a folder, let’s name it ‘GA’.
3) Now go to ‘GA’ > ‘uxtheme patch’. Here run the UXThemePatcher.exe. [There are two such files. One for Windows 7 x64 and the other for Windows 7 x86. So use it according to your Windows 7 architecture]. This will enable third party themes to be installed on your computer.
3) Now again go to ‘GA’ > ‘Theme’ folder and you will find a ‘Glow Air’ folder and Glow Air.theme file. Copy these two and paste them in ‘C:/Windows/Resources/Themes’.
4) Now go to ‘C:/Windows’. Here, you need to take ownership of ‘explorer.exe’ file. [Don’t know how to take ownership? Read this small tutorial]
5) Once you have taken the ownership of ‘explorer.exe’, rename it to ‘explorer.exe.old’ [This will be your back-up].
6) Now proceed further according to your Windows 7 architecture.
For Windows 7 – x86 (32 bit) users
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Go to ‘C:/Windows/System32’, take ownership of ‘Explorerframe.dll’ and rename it to ‘Explorerframe.dll.old’.
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Now in ‘GA’ folder, go to ‘System files’ > ‘Explorerframe (x86 Only)’ folder, copy the ‘Explorerframe.dll file and paste it in ‘C:/Windows/System32’.
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Again, in ‘GA’ folder, go to ‘System files’ > ‘x86 (32-bit)’ folder, copy the ‘explorer.exe’ file and paste it in ‘C:/Windows/’.
For Windows 7 – x64 (64 bit) users
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In ‘GA’ folder, go to ‘System files’ > ‘x64 (64-bit)’ folder, copy the ‘explorer.exe’ file and paste it in ‘C:/Windows/’.
7) Finally, go to ‘C:/Windows/Resources/Themes’ and double-click ‘Glow Air.theme’ to apply the theme.
If at all you find the Start button not properly displayed, restart your PC and hopefully everything will be fine.
Phew! Enjoy!
Download Glow Air theme for Windows 7 / 14 MB
1 I am much into Alliteration these days.
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Thanks
hey i do everything as your tutorial says but it doesnt work! when i aplly the theme change to the “Clasic Windows” theme.. Please if someone can help me im crazy about this theme i lovew it…!
Hi mariano, may I know what flavor of Windows 7 you are using? Is Aero enabled? is it 32bit or 64bit?.. I’d be glad to help.
oh! thanks u so much..!
its W7 ULTIMATE, RTM, yes its aero enabled its 32 bit (i did how the tuto for 32 bits says)
Ok. Well, as you said on applying the theme, it changes to ‘Classic’ theme, I think you need to install the uxthemepatcher.exe (32 bit). This problem occurs because Windows 7 does not allow 3rd party themes by default. Install uxthemepatcher.exe (32-bit), restart your PC and then try to apply the Glow Air theme. Hope this helps. Let us know if the problem persists.
Same problem as ‘mariano’ and I have installed the uxthemepatcher.exe already.
@Alex If uxthemepatcher.exe does not work, then use VistaGlazz instead. Here’s the link. Keep the rest procedure same. Hope this helps.
sorry man, its the same..! i patch and unpatch and nothig T_T
My start button changed but I don’t have the transparency I should have according to the pictures, someone help me please?????
Windows 7 – 32 bit
@ralph Are you using Windows 7 Home Basic?? If yes, then it wont support Aero transparency. If your using any other flavor of Windows 7, enable Aero (enable transparency) in ‘Control Panel > Personalization > Window Color and Appearance’