# Losing my mind with Win XP color themes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-my-mind-with-win-xp-color-themes/289405 "2005-02-10T15:40:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-my-mind-with-win-xp-color-themes/289405/1 "2005-02-10T15:40:19Z")
I hate the default windows color schemes. In Win2000 I created my own color scheme and was quite happy. So along comes Win XP (Pro). Here’s what I do: right click on desktop to get Display Properties. Hit Appearance tab, then Advanced. I change the colors to suit my tastes. Hit OK. Hit Apply. And… it doesn’t take hold. Well actually when I open a new window, as it expands into existance, it seems to have my colors but as soon as it is fully rendered, the lousy Win XP blue colors return. What am I doing wrong? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-my-mind-with-win-xp-color-themes/289405/2 "2005-02-11T07:47:10Z")
The XP scheme is more complicated than the previous windows so it’s more difficult to customize. There are various customizations available for download at various sites, though I don’t know of any at the moment (google’ll probably know) and they may not work with SP2. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-my-mind-with-win-xp-color-themes/289405/3 "2005-02-11T08:45:55Z")
Did you by any chance disable the “Themes” service? Right-click on My Computer, choose “Manage”, then when the Management Console comes up, go to “Services and Applications”-\>“Services” and look to see if the “Themes” service is set to “Automatic” startup. It should also say “Started” under Status. If not, your themes won’t work. That’s the only guess I have. ---
**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-my-mind-with-win-xp-color-themes/289405/4 "2005-02-11T16:17:57Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I hate the default windows color schemes. In Win2000 I created my own color scheme and was quite happy. > > So along comes Win XP (Pro). Here’s what I do: right click on desktop to get Display Properties. Hit Appearance tab, then Advanced. > I change the colors to suit my tastes. Hit OK. Hit Apply. And… > it doesn’t take hold. Well actually when I open a new window, as it expands into existance, it seems to have my colors but as soon as it is fully rendered, the lousy Win XP blue colors return. > > What am I doing wrong? > > Thanks. What you are trying to do will work, but before you click on the “Advanced” button, you need to go to the dropdown menu for “Windows and buttons” and select “Windows Classic style.” Presto! Now it will all work like you expect it to. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-my-mind-with-win-xp-color-themes/289405/5 "2005-02-12T21:49:41Z")
But I don’t want the windows to look like the Windows Classic style. That’s the whole point. I want the XP look but with my colors. Try doing exactly as I outlined in my OP. Why would/should XP let you choose colors without allowing them to be used? I would think the color choosers would be greyed out.