I've recently completed a Viking based desktop theme that works with the Plus! desktop theme manager that comes with Win98. The theme is similar to the standard Win98 themes such as 'Leonardo' or 'Space', i.e. it contains Viking themed wallpaper, system sounds, icons and cursors. Here's a preview of some of the Images and sounds contained in the theme...

The theme itself is contained in a ZIP file, "ravenrose.zip", which can be downloaded by clicking the link below.

There is also an additional ZIP file, "screens.zip", that contains alternative bitmaps to replace the standard Windows "Startup", "Closing Down", and "It is now safe to switch of your computer" screens shown when Windows loads and closes down. These are contained in a separate file because installing these screens can prove to be a little tricky, and some people just don't like to fool around that much with their PC!

All aspects of installing the basic theme are covered in themeworld.com's FAQ section. Click here to visit themeworld.com's FAQ section in a separate window.

Click here to see themeworld.com's FAQ section on installing the custom startup/closedown screens. At times I have had to change their instructions slightly in order to install the screens correctly, so to save you the same bother, here's what I did :-
1. Back up the old *.sys screens as themeworld recommend.
2. Have all your new screens prepared as 320x400 bitmaps.
3. Open MSPaint twice - in one window open up your new bitmap, in the other window open the *.sys screen you are updating.
4. Copy your new bitmap and paste into over the image of the old *.sys screen.
5. Save and Close the now updated *.sys screen.

It is for this reason that screens.zip contains both versions of *.sys screens, and the bitmaps used to generate them, so that if the themeworld.com method doesn't work, you can use my 5 step method above with the bitmaps instead.

Disclaimer
I have made every effort to ensure that all the files in the theme are virus free. For the security of your own system, I strongly recommend that you also sweep the files with your own virus checking software before extracting and installing them.

The theme was designed for and tested at length on a Pentium II based PC with the Windows 98 operating system installed. I cannot accept responsibility for any software conflicts that may arise out of your use of the theme. By downloading the theme it is understood that you have accepted that the theme is supplied "as is". I also cannot accept responsibility for any errors made by persons downloading the theme who lack the skills required to install it correctly. If in doubt of your technical prowess, please re-read all the instructions referred to above, and if still in doubt do not download the theme.

Download
Click here to download ravenrose.zip (575k)
Click here to download screens.zip (217k)

Credits
A huge "Thank-you" to for the original artwork behind many of the icons and the animated cursors.