Question: I have an ASUS Eee netbook with Windows XP installed on it. Ever since I switched to an SSD drive, Windows XP has been doing something strange; Almost every time I reboot my computer, it changes my desktop theme. I’m using the Classic” Windows theme with a grey task bar:
However Windows keeps switching to the XP theme with a blue task bar:
I am able to switch back to my theme, but on the next restart I’ll have to do it again.
I have reason to believe that the hard drive may have something to do with it, but I’ll be happy to hear any suggestions.
Why is this? How can I stop this from happening?
Answer: Common reasons that cause this problem:
- Settings that can have influence on the selected theme are configured wrong.
- The Themes service is disabled or it’s parameters/security/settings have been tampered with.
- Windows is not saving it’s settings when it shuts down.
How to fix this:
Right click this link, then save it on your computer and execute it after.
savesettings.reg (archive.org cached copy)
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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
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[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer] ?”NoSaveSettings”=dword:00000000
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[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun] ?”SystemTray”=”SysTray.Exe”
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[-HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsShellNoRoamBagMRU] ?[-HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsShellNoRoamBags]
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[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsShell] “BagMRU ?Size”=dword:00001f40
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[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsShellNoRoam] “BagMRU ?Size”=dword:00001f40
Do the same things with this link.
restorethemes.reg (archive.org cached copy)
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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
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[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem] ?”NoDispBackgroundPage”=dword:00000000 ?”NoDispScrSavPage”=dword:00000000 “NoColorChoice”=dword:00000000 ?”NoSizeChoice”=dword:00000000 “NoVisualStyleChoice”=dword:00000000 ?”SetVisualStyle”=”C:WindowsResourcesThemesLuna.theme”
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[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesThemes] ?”Type”=dword:00000020 “Start”=dword:00000002 ?”ErrorControl”=dword:00000001 ?”ImagePath”=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00, ?74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73, ?00,76,00,63,00,68,00,6f,00,73,00,74,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2d,00, ?6b,00,20,00,6e,00,65,00,74,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,00,00 ?”DisplayName”=”Themes” “Group”=”UIGroup” “ObjectName”=”LocalSystem” ?”FailureActions”=hex:80,51,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,04,00,19, ?00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 ?”Description”=”Provides user experience theme management.”
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[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesThemesParameters] ?”ServiceDll”=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f, ?00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00, ?73,00,68,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00 ?”ServiceMain”=”ThemeServiceMain”
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[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesThemesSecurity] ?”Security”=hex:01,00,14,80,90,00,00,00,9c,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,30,00,00,00,02, ?00,1c,00,01,00,00,00,02,80,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00, ?00,00,02,00,60,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,fd,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00, ?05,12,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00, ?20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,8d,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,0b,00,00,00,00, ?00,18,00,fd,01,02,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,23,02,00,00,01,01, ?00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00
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[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesThemesEnum] ?”0″=”RootLEGACY_THEMES 000″ “Count”=dword:00000001 ?”NextInstance”=dword:00000001
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[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer] ?”NoSaveSettings”=dword:00000000
Reboot your computer, set the theme right and reboot again.
The Registry files came from these sites:
- Kelly’s Korner: XP Tweaks ?
- How to Fix Windows XP Theme Problems
Extra attempts:
- Check at My Computer/Properties/Advanced/Performance/Settings that both”use visual styles on windows and buttons” and “use common tasks in folders” are checked.
- http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Themes/RestoreXPthemes.shtml
- Try to replace the theme that is wrong by the one that is right in C:WindowsResourcesThemes
- If it still doesn’t work, maybe creating a new user profile could fix this problem.