Apparently when Microsoft was designing the Royale theme for Windows Media Center (the one with the glossy look) they were also pondering whether to release a black version. Apparently they decided against it but it has somehow made its way to the web.
The theme, called Royale Noir, has been signed by Microsoft so it really is believed to be made by them. Here are the steps to install and use the new theme:
- Download the theme from here
- Extract the contents of the file to:
c:\windows\resources\themes\Royale Noir - Double-click on the luna.msstyles file to run it.
- The display properties should now be on the screen, and in the Color Scheme drop-down menu select Royale Noir.
The only thing that is kinda weird which I noticed is when you hover over the start menu it turns from the black button (in the image above) to the green button that we have all become accustomed to in Windows. That’s a little weird but not that big of a deal.
Note: The source below is currently down.
News Source: IStartedSomething [via Digg]
Love the way this one looks, I don’t know why Microsoft doesn’t release more “official” themes or open up so other can make themes with installing third party softwares.
That way they can charge money for the “Plus Packs.”
i used a patch to remove the text beside the log off and shut down buttons. anyway of getting the text back?
I’m pretty sure I know what patch you are talking about but I can’t remember the name. In order to get the text back you need to re-run the patch though. I think the name started with an “L”.
downloaded the lspatch and it reapplied the text. thanks.
I went through your steps, but Royal Noir does not show up as a color theme.
Royale theme for Windows Media Center (the one with the glossy look)
can anyone upload that one?
btw thx for the black theme looks/works great!
[softpedia.com]
You know, If you choose “Royale” for Color Scheme rather than “Royale Noir,” you get a nice shiny blue look. I didn’t like the black, too dark and made my tray icons look out of place
btw: noticed the slight mod of your comments math test
Yep, I added an extra number to the “phrase” for those sites that are just looking for numbers to add together. The parenthesis also help throw things off a bit. Just trying to keep up with the spammers without going to captcha, because I hate those.
I love the new theme. I wish it was known earlier.
Cool
I feel the same way. But I am not planning on getting Vista anyway so this will be on my system for some time and I am getting more and more into using Ubuntu.
I e-mailed Microsoft support and this is the reply I got:
[quote]I understand that you have a query concerning Royale Noir. I realize your concern.
As a Customer Service Representative, I would like to inform you that Royale Noir is not a Microsoft product. I have taken the time to look through our resources and found that Royale Noir is offered as a download by third party vendors.[/quote]
So I guess it’s not official, but is it still safe to install?
People on Digg were saying that they checked and it is signed by Microsoft but I haven’t tried to verify it myself. I installed this on my wife’s computer who is still running Windows XP and it worked without any modification to the uxtheme.dll, which a hacked version is typically needed for any themes that are not created by Microsoft.
I would say that this is safe and I’m sure Microsoft would deny any knowledge of a theme that hasn’t been released, especially since there are a few things that were left unfinished.
Royale Noir – BLACK Theme:
It is wired.
Everything good, but
Inactive window titlebars are absolutely black.
Royale Noir – BLUE Theme:
Everything good, but
Windows Explorer side panel (a.k.a. “Common Tasks”) is not skinned.
It is essentially a ZIP file but you need a special utility, like the [7-zip.org] in order to extract it.
are there any more themes i should know about
this was incomplete. one great dude has completed this theme with rave reviews from fellow users of his theme.
its called noir remixed i think. search for it.