How to get back the themes feature in Windows XP?
- by Martín M.
When I try to set a visual style in Windows XP (the standard Luna, for example), I get one of these two:
"Access denied" error.
It works, but when I restart the computer, I get the Classic look again, with no errors.
Also, the "Windows and icons" dropdown is grayed out in the "Appearance". This is a list of things I have tried, with no results:
Making sure "Use visual styles on windows" is checked on System Properties Advanced Performance.
Restarting the "Themes" service. It starts cleanly, no errors.
Applying these two fixes: Kelly's Corner and tweaks.com.
Running sfc /scannow and checking the integrity of uxtheme.dll against a clean installation of XP
Restoring the whole \Windows\Resources\Themes directory.
Creating a new user. The new user does not seem to suffer this problem. Maybe this is the solution, create a new user and migrating all the data, but it would be a pain, and I would prefer reinstalling the whole thing.
I am using Windows XP Professional SP3, with no spyware, no virus, and no other visible malfunctions.
How can I fix this?
