XpGnome - Make Linux Look like Windows XP

Make Gnome look like XP by running this simple script:

WARNING: Run at your own risk! I take no responsibility for anything that happens to your computer!

Before / After

(click on screenshots for a bigger picture)

Video of Installation/Restore on Ubuntu 9.04

Just download the tar.gz file, Right-click it and select "Extract Here", then run the "InstallXpGnome.sh" by double-clicking it and choosing "Run"!

Changes: Icons, GTK, Metacity, Splash, GDM Theme, Mouse Cursor, Panel Background, Desktop Background, Visible Desktop Icons, Nautilus Tree View, Toolbar to Icons only. Deletes all GNOME Panels and adds a new one at bottom with Start Menu, Show Desktop, Window Switcher, Notification Area, Volume Control and Clock.

Settings are saved and can be reverted by running the Restore_Settings.sh script in the restore folder

FAQ

Why? - Why not? I don't use this. I don't recommend it, either! I actually made the script as a programming exercise. And people want to use it...
How'd you make this? None of the theme items are mine - I got everything off of gnome-look.org. I just wrote a script to simplify the install process.
OpenOffice Menus are White! - I've changed the theme to Luna, so the regular XP theme will work.
Will you make an uninstaller? Yeah - I did - Merry Christmas!
What about theming XP to look like Ubuntu? See http://pc-hacks.blogspot.com/2007/10/make-up-over-your-windows-look-like...
I don't see the START button! This happens. I don't know why. Run the script again, it should appear.
Linking: Please link to this page, instead of direct download, as the script may update - http://ubuntu.online02.com/xpgnome
GNOME Login Theme: The GDM in Ubuntu 9.10 is not themable, so you won't be able to theme the login screen as of now
How to remove certain Desktop Icons: Open a run window (alt+F2) and type "gconf-editor" it will bring up a window where you can change all these settings. If you browse to Apps->Nautilus->Desktop you can check which icons you want to show
What about a Windows 7 theme?: http://ubuntu.sun.ac.za/index.php?title=W7_Theme

AttachmentSize
XpGnome.tar.gz2.49 MB

Comments

May i replace xp windows logo

May i replace xp windows logo with Ubuntu one through out the whole theme?

sure

sure

Thats awesome, but does it

Thats awesome, but does it work on Xfce / Xubuntu?

Nope - But some of the theme

Nope - But some of the theme elements may if you unpack and search through the archive

Ok, you ROCK!!!! This thing

Ok, you ROCK!!!! This thing is awesome. I have SOOOOO many people buying laptops and those little netbooks with limited featured OSs on them that look like they're running XP. I install Ubuntu for them and they always get upset that it looks different. This will save my butt! Thanks man!

Works great on Ubuntu 8.10,

Works great on Ubuntu 8.10, thanks !
If you want a Windows XP Usplash: http://www.scorpking.za.org/node/2 (if it doesn't work, see the README to compile it)
The correct URL for Gnome Windows 7 Theme is http://ubuntu.sun.ac.za/index.php?title=W7_Theme

Hey can you make a script

Hey can you make a script that makes Ubuntu look like Windows Vista and also one that makes Ubuntu look like Windows 7?

no. But read the FAQ for

no. But read the FAQ for people who already have

I love this. It is truly

I love this. It is truly great work. I am now using it a lot. Thanks to your work, and with a little help from WINE, I can now legitimately say I "faked my Ubuntu system for Windows." LOL. Thanks!

One step closer to faking my

One step closer to faking my Ubuntu system! Thanks so much! I totally love this. I've always had issues with Windows, but I liked the windows XP interface, this was just what I was looking for. :)

It works great, installed on

It works great, installed on ubuntu 10.04 LTS it works

love you, works cool on

love you, works cool on linuxmin..

http://ubuntu.sun.ac.za/wiki/

http://ubuntu.sun.ac.za/wiki/index.php/W7_Theme

This is excellant!!! Great

This is excellant!!!
Great Work.

i will test this with Ubuntu LTSP and see how well it works on the client terminals. On a my desktop install 9.04 - Awsome!!!

Thanks! works great on my

Thanks! works great on my Fedora 12 box

thankssssssssssssssssssssssss

thanksssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

great script the only issue i

great script the only issue i see is that it will allow linux to be accepted faster. ie people will start writing spyware or viruses for linux sooner

how can I remove "My

how can I remove "My computer", "Recycle bin" and other icons from the desktop?

http://ubuntu.online02.com/xp

http://ubuntu.online02.com/xpgnome#comment-1869

Lol! Thanks a bunch, this

Lol! Thanks a bunch, this will help me migrate some teachers finally to Ubuntu.

great script works perfect on

great script works perfect on my 9.10 except one thing(bit important thought).Opened windows arent on panel and I can only access them with ctl+tab!!!

Any solutions?

The window list may have slid

The window list may have slid too far to the left or right - You can add a new one to the panel - Right-Click -> Add to Panel -> Window List and then you can right-click the separator line to move it wherever you want

Dude great job! , it's good

Dude great job! , it's good to have people like you in the community who actually do things! Maybe i can trick an unsuspecting user into using Ubuntu now! I like how you said "Will you make an uninstaller? Yeah - I did - Merry Christmas!" Nice! lol

Works Great Thanks, Just

Works Great Thanks, Just wondering if there is an easy way to remove the network plces and my documents folder as i have never liked these on my desktop .

Thanks Again

Yes - If you open a run

Yes - If you open a run window (alt+F2) and type "gconf-editor" it will bring up a window where you can change all these settings.
If you browse to Apps->Nautilus->Desktop you can check which icons you want to show

Cool!! it works well on my

Cool!! it works well on my ubuntu 9.10 except for the GDM theme, any idea for the macOsx version? (especially on the nautilus tree view)

Thank a lot!

Thank a lot!

Please update your install

Please update your install script to correctly work on Ubuntu 9.10!! in other case you broke the system.
After installing this theme on Xubuntu910 with Gnome sessison - it prevent me from login after restart. It was extremely frustrating!
Here is a small script to skip change login theme for 9.10 at all, for one before last block in InstallXpGnome.sh.

#!/bin/bash
UBUNTU_VERSION=`lsb_release --short --release`
UBUNTU_904="9.04"

if [ "$UBUNTU_VERSION" == "$UBUNTU_904" ]; then
echo "# Setting up GDM theme..."
# GDM Theme
cp files/XP_Ubuntu.tar.gz /tmp
gksudo -m "Enter your (sudo/root) password to change the Login screen to a XP Style - Or click cancel if you do not wish to change it" files/GDMTheme.sh
rm /tmp/XP_Ubuntu.tar.gz
else
echo "Skipping setting up GDM theme, this operation is supported only for Ubuntu 9.04"
fi

I fail to see how this would

I fail to see how this would prevent you from logging in - You cannot select the theme in 9.10 anyway - Does creating a new folder in /usr/share/gdm/themes mess it up?

While I do agree this is a good idea, my script is used in other distributions, so I would steer away from Ubuntu-specific code. It should detect if your running GNOME 2.26 or less

Thanks, works great with

Thanks, works great with ubuntu 9.04

I think Linux's interface is

I think Linux's interface is already better than Xp.

That was really a very nice

That was really a very nice script. But I am not going for it. I don't want to get confused with my Gnome. Anyway, best of luck for your future scripts.

Regards,
MP3 Converter

Thanks! works great on my

Thanks! works great on my Fedora 12 box (exact version:2.6.31.9-174.fc12.i686). Uninstalls without a problem also.

I installed but when I tried

I installed but when I tried to revert the process the Ubuntu bars don't get like before. When I installed the file Panel_settings.xml was not created.

That's odd - check /tmp for

That's odd - check /tmp for the file. Also, make sure you've downloaded the latest release from this site.

Its ... a wonderful script

Its ... a wonderful script .... But just changing to XP reminds me how horrible it is .... I immediately switched to my lovely gnome ... Anyways u have made a wonderful script ....

I can confirm that it works

I can confirm that it works just fine in Ubuntu 9.10 except that the login window is not themed as it seems this is no longer supported in Ubuntu.

This doesn't prevent everything else from working just fine.

Good work, and thank you.

great work! I installed this

great work! I installed this on an old pc and it works great. It could have fooled my parents :-)
I am planning on installing it on their pc as well, saves me a lot of cleaning and repairing every few months.

I only wish that it could be made to look more like the old win98 or win2K, I liked they grey rectangular theme of win98 more than XP with all the bells and whistles.

YABADABADOOOOO!!!! it works!

YABADABADOOOOO!!!! it works!

Please check progressbars

Please check progressbars style. On my computer there look empty with thin line on the bottom.
P.S. Nice work, but i made rollback to ubuntu styles.

Yeah, I don't edit the theme

Yeah, I don't edit the theme files - I just got them off of gnome-look.org - you could check there to see if the author has updated them...

Installed Karmic Koala on my

Installed Karmic Koala on my brothers old PC, but he hated it (didn't want to learn new tricks). I searched for just this very thing & now he thinks it is fine. The only thing that gives it away was Firefox, so I themed it with the IE 8 look. He is completely happy now.

may i translate your web

may i translate your web page to chinese in my blog http://kadok0520.pixnet.net/blog ?

go for it!

go for it!

Hello I use your script on

Hello
I use your script on Ubuntu 9.10
but now each time I open gvim in terminal
like this: $ gvim
it would appear
/home/mitnick/.themes/XPLuna/gtk-2.0/panel.rc:13: Unable to locate image file in pixmap_path: "shadows/window-bg.png"
/home/mitnick/.themes/XPLuna/gtk-2.0/panel.rc:112: Unable to locate image file in pixmap_path: "menubar/menubar-item.png"
/home/mitnick/.themes/XPLuna/gtk-2.0/panel.rc:115: Background image options specified without filename
how can I avoid this error message

thanks

That's a problem with the

That's a problem with the XPLuna theme - I do not make the themes, only the script to install them - Search for it on gnome-look.org to find the original author.

Really great. My mom uses

Really great. My mom uses ubuntu now thanks to your great work

i love you, works cool on

i love you, works cool on linuxmint

I love you, its

I love you, its coooooooooooooooooooooool

Hello PhrankDaChicken: your

Hello PhrankDaChicken:

your article is very internesting to me.

may i translate your article in my blog?

my blog is http://kadok0520.pixnet.net/blog

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