Uxtheme Patch for Windows 7 SP1

Uxtheme Patching in Windows 7 Service Pack 1

What is Uxtheme Patcher?

There are countless visual styles for Windows 7 SP1 released by many skinners. Using these non-certified visual style is disallowed by Microsoft's certificate protection so you need to bypass certification verification in uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll, and themeservice.dll. Uxtheme Patcher automatically patches these three system files.

Types of Uxtheme Patch

There are three methods for patching uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll, and themeservice.dll:

• Uxtheme multi patcher (Universal Theme Patcher)
  
• Uxtheme memory Patcher (UxStyle Core)
  
• Manually replacing the system files (For expert users)

Use any of the method explained below for installing the 3rd-party visual styles in Windows 7.
Note: Windows 7 RTM (Non SP1) users click here!


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Automatic Uxtheme Multi Patcher

There are lots of Uxtheme patchers available on the net but the Universal Theme Patcher created by deepxw is confirmed to be working fine on Windows 7 SP1 x86 (32-bit) and x86 (64-bit) versions.
This patcher is also compatible with Windows XP SP, SP3; Server 2003, Vista SP1,SP2; Server 2008 and Windows 7 RTM, SP1.

Download Universal Theme Patcher

How to use Universal Theme Patcher

• Choose the corresponding patcher based on you Windows:
  For 32bit(x86): UniversalThemePatcher-x86.exe
  For 64bit(x64): UniversalThemePatcher-x64.exe
  
• Right-click the exe file, select Run as Administrator.
  
• You need to patch three files. Don't worry, the interface is very simple. See the screenshot.
  
• After patching the files, restart computer to take effect.
  
• The "Restore" button will be activated after patching the files so that you can restore the original files back.

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Uxtheme Memory Patcher (UxStyle Core)

Uxtheme memory patchers don't replace uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll, and themeservice.dll but they patch these system files in memory (RAM) and allow you to use the third-party visual styles within a few seconds. An Uxtheme memory patcher is the safest way to patch uxtheme files but the only problem is that it adds an additional process (UnsignedThemesSvc.exe) running on the Task Manager. Currently UxStyle Core by Rafael is the most popular Uxtheme memory patcher.

Download UxStyle Core

How to use UxStyle Core

• Choose the corresponding patcher based on you Windows:
  For 32bit(x86): UxStyle_Core_Jul13_x86.msi
  For 64bit(x64): UxStyle_Core_Jul13_x64.msi
  
• Right-click the exe file, select Run as Administrator.
  
• Click on the Install button and you are all done!

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Manually Replacing the System Files (For expert users)
If you already have the patched uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll, themeservice.dll files and don't want to run any patcher then use my this guide to replace them with the original files. I'll update this post soon with the download link of the patched files.

How to replace these files?

• Login as a user with Administrative privileges -or- have Administrative credentials ready (check under the keyboard for a slip of paper).
  
• Navigate to %systemroot%\System32
  
• Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
  
• Take ownership of the file and close dialogs.
  
• Repeat steps 3 and 4 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll
  
• Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
  
• Give yourself (or group) Full Control permissions and close dialogs.
  
• Repeat steps 6 and 7 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll.
  
• Rename uxtheme.dll to uxtheme.old.
  
• Rename themeui.dll to themeui.old.
  
• Rename shsvcs.dll to shsvcs.old.
  
• Copy patched files into %systemroot%\System32
  
• Reboot (yes, this is really required)
  
• Enjoy your visual style. :-)

If you can't follow these simple steps then use this Registry File or Take Control for taking ownership of system files in Windows 7.


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Note:
I've never seen any broken Windows PC due to any uxtheme patch but you are still advised to create a system restore point before using Universal Theme Patcher (method 1).
If you are still unsure, then use UxStyle Core (method 2) because it is the safest way to use visual styles.
Replacing system files manually (method 3) is for the expert users only.

Now enjoy your themes and don't forget to "Like" my post.