Microsoft has offered a series of themes to change the overall look of its operating system for a long time. Windows 10 is no exception: a quick visit to the official store lets you download a huge number of free themes, but the real gems are out there, in the hands of enthusiasts who dedicate time and effort to developing custom themes. Would you like to know how to install new graphic themes for Windows 10?
I was never particularly obsessed with Windows' appearance. In fact, for years I limited myself to stripping away the extra and leaving an interface similar to that of old Windows 95. However, I ended that practice with Windows 7, and all I do in Windows 10 is install Classic Start to restore the classic Start menu. Now I admit that is boring. On the other side of the fence, there are plenty of users who customize their Windows 10 installations to the bone, changing icons, windows, color palettes, and layouts. One of the most popular tools for that is Rainmeter, which I'll probably explore more closely in the future, but today I'll focus on Windows 10 graphic themes, where to find them, and how to install them.
How to find and install new Windows 10 themes
The simplest way to obtain and install themes compatible with Windows 10 is to visit the official store. From the Settings menu go to Personalization, click on Themes, and then click on Get more themes in Microsoft Store. The vast majority of themes in that repository are free, with a certain bias toward animals, landscapes, nature, cities, and the occasional touch of science and space. Click the theme you like, wait for it to download, and then apply it. Some of the images are beautiful and definitely deserve a place on your desktop.
Now, graphic themes for Windows 10 made by third parties require a little extra work, because in general Windows 10 does not allow direct integration. With many themes, the "compatibility steps" are two: install the latest version of UltraUXThemePatcher (which modifies some system files to enable support for external themes), and, if the instructions indicate so, install OldNewExplorer, a module that undoes several "optimizations" to File Explorer in Windows 8.x and Windows 10.
Once those programs are installed, we need to look for a theme, and the first stop is DeviantArt. As expected, the best themes are commercial, but there is a good free selection on that platform. The rest is a matter of copying the theme's contents into the appropriate folder, which is C:\Windows\Resources\Themes. Remember that copying the compressed file there doesn't work; you must dump the contents of the zip/rar/7z inside the Themes folder. Windows will ask for confirmation due to elevated privileges (Themes is a system folder), but it's just a warning. Go back to the Themes menu in Settings > Personalization, find the new theme in the list, and apply.
Finally, two technical details: First, make sure the theme is compatible with your Windows 10 build. Redmond loves breaking support with each new patch, so you need to keep a close watch on those changes and study the descriptions. And second, no external theme will work well if you disable the "Themes" service in the Services section. It must appear as "Started" and "Automatic". That's all for now. Good luck!
