How-to install your downloaded theme

So, you have down-loaded a zipped theme file and you click on it and nothing happens. Or, when you click on it a window pops open and you can see all these files in zipped archive but you still don't know what to do..........

..........If you think I am describing you then this web page is just for you...

Hardware/Software Requirements

To use these themes successfully you need to be running Windows 95/98/NT on a suitable PC with a recommended screen resolution of 800x600 and 16-bit colour or higher. A Desktop Theme is nothing more than an association of multimedia files (graphics, sounds, icons, cursors etc.,) which together create a new feel or theme to your desktop as an alternative to the standard Windows configuration. A Theme can include special startup/shutdown screens which extend the desktop theme experience to the opening and closing Windows screens. All these various multimedia files are then stored in a compressed archive using a file compression utility (WinZip 6.0 or higher) which preserves the long file names, provides for a single file name to download and helps reduce the overall download time to a minimum.

To install these desktop themes, you'll need 2 pieces of software in addition to Windows 95/98/NT. WinZip 6.0 or higher is an essential tool which will allow you to unzip and access the archived files that comprise a desktop theme - you can download a shareware copy of this by hitting the WinZip button at the foot of this web page. You will also require a theme installer as provided with Microsoft Plus! or some other installation program - see our section.

Download and Installation Sequence

All desktop theme zip files available from have been created using WinZip and preserve the directory structure to make it easier to install these theme files. Each WinZip theme file contains a ReadMe file which gives further details of the zip file contents and installation instructions. However, if all is not clear follow these simple steps

1. Create a directory on your hard drive to download the themes to (usually C:\Download) or download them to where you usually download files to. After you have download the zip file:

2. Back up these 3 files (copy them into a backup directory)

- C:\logo.sys - Startup Logo
- C:\Windows\logow.sys - Shutdown Logo
- C:\Windows\logos.sys - Shutdown Complete Logo

3. Load WinZip 6.0 or higher and open the (theme).zip file. Click on Extract.

4. In the 'Extract to' type C:\

5. Make sure you also select the following storage/extract options;

- All Files
- Use Folder Names
- Overwrite Existing Files

6. Click on Extract. This will:

- Extract the files into C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes\(themename)
- Extract the .Theme control file into C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes
- Extract the Screensaver file(s) to C:\Windows

7. Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Desktop Themes and choose the theme from the dropdown list. Click Apply to install it.

8. Now move the three logo*.sys files from C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes\(themename) as follows:

- logo.sys to C:\logo.sys - Startup Logo
- logow.sys to C:\Windows\logow.sys - Shutdown Logo
- logos.sys C:\Windows\logos.sys - Shutdown Complete Logo

That's it - nothing to it really is there?

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