Download Vista Transformation Pack 9.01

There are people who regard Windows Vista as Windows XP with a better appearance, but with a lot of misery. Some of them are secretly a bit jealous of all that eye candy. However, there is a solution for those people. It is possible to stick with Windows XP, but then redesign the user interface so that it resembles Vista. A year ago Stardock already made that possible with Windows Blinds, but that program is not free. So at Windows X’s Live, they started developing the Vista Transformation Pack, which is free, and version 9.0 was released a few days ago. However, this turned out to have some minor flaws and now there is version 9.0.1. Below are the release notes for both versions 9.0 and 9.0.1:

Vista Transformation Pack 9.0 Keynotes:

New 3rd party applications

• ViSplore – Vista Glass explorer simulator
• Vista Drive Icon – adding free space percentage in your drive icon like Vista explorer
• Vista Rainbar – Lightweight Vista sidebar based on Rainmeter that even consume less resources than real Vista Sidebar

Improved 3rd-party applications

• ViStart – Files indexing for documents search, improved reliability and compatibilities
• ViOrb – Improved graphics and reliability (C++ rewritten)
• TrueTransparency – Improved reliability with improved AeroStyle’s glass border
• WinFlip – Improved stability and reliability

New functionalities

• Setup personization – Allow customizing Vista experiences upon installation without access to Welcome Center
• Windows XP Service Pack 3 compatibilities – Now you can enjoy Vista themes after installation with Windows XP Service Pack 3
• x64 compatibilities – More secured x64 installation without getting hurt by incompatibilities

Changes in Version 9.0.1

• Added ViSplore in unsafe applications list (It’s first beta version after all)
• Added restrcting applications don’t meet the requirements from startup list (But not from installation so you can set it manually still)
• Added restrcting to set unsafe applications in Personalization page (Welcome Center only)
• Fixed Windows XP Service Pack 3 compatibilities (Even non-RTM version can apply so make sure you use official build 5512)
• Fixed “Do not show this welcome screen after restart” option bug that always keep program in startup instead
• Updated Vista Rainbar’s launcher for constant waiting cursor activity issue
• Updated Vistalize basic desktop theme components to apply font and toolbar in Personalization
• Updated VisualTooltip default configuration to set area space in bottom from 30 to 0
• Updated WinFlip’s configuration for higher reliablity and compatibilities with ViStart

Changes in Version 9.0

• Added Gavatx’s Vista Rainbar 4.3 (Slim) in place of Thoosje’s Vista Sidebar
• Added large icon resizing option for high resolution monitors
• Added Personalization setup screen for configuring current user account before installation
• Added running ViStart, ViOrb and ViSplore to WindowBlinds and TrueTransparency’s exclusion list (prevent stability issues)
• Added ViSplore project (Vista Glass Explorer for Windows XP/2003)
• Added Vista Drive Icon in place of Vista Windows Drive Icon
• Added Windows XP Service Pack 3 uxtheme patching compatibilities
• Fixed automate 3rd-party applications optimization requirements
• Fixed graphic driver detection issues in transformation package for cases that doesn’t use the first slot of driver
• Fixed OS detection incompatibilities with Windows Vista
• Fixed possible errors when auto-configuring user account during installation without “Express Mode”
• Fixed Thoosje Sidebar’s auto-configuration bug on some resolutions.
• Fixed uninstallation script to terminate newly added applications such as WinFlip, TrueTransparency, etc.
• Fixed Vista orb positioning in “System Properties” dialog
• Fixed WindowBlinds’ installation detection bug in configure user account dialog
• Updated Aero Style’s glass border for more visibility and less distortion for both WindowBlinds and TrueTransparency
• Updated AeroStyle’s glass border in TrueTransparency to simulate “little-blurring-like” WindowBlinds
• Updated boot screen to traditional ones without Vista flag
• Updated configure user account’s installed components and applications UI
• Updated “Glass” sounds scheme from Windows Vista’s Ultimate Extras
• Updated installation branding bar image
• Updated TrueTransparency to version 0.9.4
• Updated ViOrb to version 1 (C++ rewritten)
  • Added start orb’s right click menu
  • Fixed hook recovery when explorer shell is reloaded
  • Fixed always on top visibility issues with some applications including ViStart
  • Updated start orb graphic to for all sides compatibilities
• Updated ViStart to version 2.0 build 3467
  • Added font customization feature in settings.xml
  • Added indexing file search support like Vista (you can search for extension with .ext)
  • Added “Reset Shell” in menu option to reload explorer along with ViStart
  • Added multi-DPI Support
  • Fixed Chinese characters issue with Recent Documents
  • Fixed hook recovery when explorer shell is reloaded
  • Fixed start menus hooking reliability with full screen and resolution changes
  • Fixed strange ActiveX errors
• Updated Visual style’s top taskbar background to have the same image as bottom’s like Vista
• Updated WinFlip to version 0.50
• Being updated in some areas for easier understanding
• Updated x64 operating system compatibilities

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Windows XP desktop transformed with Vista Transformation Pack 9.
Click on the image for a larger version.