5 Packs to Transform Windows to other OS

It’s a new year, why not give your years old XP operating system a new look? If you’re bored of having to look at the same kind of icons and eyecandy everytime, you can download and install these free transformation packs, and transform XP to look like any other OS.

(Note: Some of the listed transformation packs are quite extensive so please read installation guidelines carefully)

Vista Transformation Pack [Download]

vista-transformation-pack.jpg

Vista Transformation Pack does all kinds of appearance tweaks, and makes Windows XP look like Vista. From icons, transparency to new sounds, this pack does it all to make your XP look like Windows Vista.

Mac OS Transformation Pack [Download]

mac-OSX-transformation-pack [bigger image]

Transforms XP to look like Mac OS X 10.5. Some important components like Windows Explorer and other shell files are patched to mimic Mac OS X appearance. Work only with Windows XP SP2 (English version).

FlyakiteOSX [Download]

flyakite-windows-like-OSX

Again, make your windows look like Mac OS X. However, it’s much more comprehensive than the above one. This enhancement utility does everything from registry tweaks, visual styles, sounds, icons to imitate the appearance of Mac OS X. See other screenshots here. If you’re using iTunes then make sure to deselect “˜iTunes Multi-Pugin’ option (under “˜Software’) in the installation wizard.

Fedora Transformation Pack [Download]

fedoratrans.jpg

This tool is intended for making XP resemble the Fedora Linux Distro. Though the utility just packs a simple visual style, it does include icons, screensavers and wallpapers, and other Fedora-like skins for programs.

Ubuntu Transformation Pack [Download]

ubuntu-transformation-pack

This pack contains visual styles, icons and other patches that can give the brownish Ubuntu look to Windows XP. If you just can’t get Ubuntu working on your PC, but still love its looks, you can download this pack. [via]

Tagged: • • •

Shankar Ganesh

A 16 year old Techie, High School Student, Blogger and Part Time Freelance Writer from India. He writes about computers and software at Killer Tech Tips

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  • http://www.michaelwales.com/ Michael Wales

    Although it doesn’t transform Windows to look like another OS, XPize is always one of the first things I install on a new installation.

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      Follow-up to Michael’s comment:

      “XPize is a GUI enhancer for Windows XP and 2003. It replaces most of the non-XP icons, avis and bmps that Microsoft has always overlooked. The installer simply automates the process of replacing resources in system files, making your XP’s look better.
      “

    • Primus

      check out this link i found about transforming xp to vista without using a transformation pack

      pretty good

      http://numberfail.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/xp-to-vista-in-30-minutes/

  • http://www.justleo.com.ar Leo

    Oh, yeah. Make Windows look like Ubuntu, I’m sure people are looking for that… ¬¬

    • http://www.rayrayworld.com PaulRay

      LOL! I use ubuntu and wouldn’t want that.
      But, I can do anything I want to make it look the way I want it to look.
      People don’t use ubuntu for the “LOOK”.

      • Mason Mouse

        I enjoy the warm look of Ubuntu. I’ve been running it for a year or so now and have never changed the appearance on any of the machines except to make my own wallpaper to go along with it. It’s refreshingly different from all the other default blue OS styles out there. If I had to run Windows at work, I’d probably grab this pack.

        • http://blog.shankarganesh.com/ Shankar Ganesh

          Ubuntu looks good, why not import the same look in XP when you happen to use it?
          That’s what I was talking about :-)

      • Patrick

        I love the Ubuntu look. It’s simple and nice, and I’ve always had my XP modded Ubuntu style, and this pack looks even better.

    • joe

      i like the ubuntu look

    • http://ubuntulinuxtipstricks.blogspot.com Mackenzie Morgan

      I put an Ubuntu wallpaper on the Mac I had to use last summer at work. My boss liked it. She said it reminded her of chocolate mousse, the only downside being it looked so delicious it made her hungry.

  • http://www.websq.blogspot.com Veerasundar

    Skins looks cool. Some time back, I tried a Vista transformation pack on my Windows XP.After that I decided not to go for any skin applying softwares. Coz, it created so many problems. I had to reinstall my OS after that incident. :(

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      You probably tried ver. 7, but now they released version 8, which solves dozens of bugs. Although, it still risky if you’re not sure about what can be done to undo the installation. :-) .

  • http://www.backuphowto.info/ Jan Polzer

    Wow :-) Fedora and Mac OS Transformation Packs seem to be very cool.
    To Veerasundar: You are absolutely right, this transformation pack creates many problems and only solution is to completely reinstall your system.

    • http://blog.shankarganesh.com/ Shankar Ganesh

      Yeah, a backup is recommended before installation.

  • http://teknoetlogia.blogspot.com Toni Hintikka

    Is it really smart to but ubuntu skin on XP? More smarter is to install Ubuntu and replace Windows.

  • http://crawlingfromtheusa.blogspot.com Charles Martin

    Given that current Macs can run both Mac OS X 10.5 (which, btw is awesome!) *and* XP (or even Vista!) faster and more smoothly than most actual PCs, I would have to say that struggling to make your Windoze look like the Mac is kind of … well, pathetic.

    Buy an XBox for your gaming fix and get a Mac already!*

    *PS — Macs run Ubuntu and other Linuxes just great as well! Wow, three OSes running simultaneously without exploding? MUST BE A MAC!!

    • Guruboy

      Yesssss Mrrrrrrrrr Jobsssssss I will dooo anyyyythiiiiinng yoooouu saaaaaay…

      PC gaming > console gaming any day.

      One OS is enough for me, though if I really wanted to, I could go ahead and stick Ubuntu onto my computer. The thing is, MacOS and Linux don’t give me anything I don’t already have with XP. Doesn’t get much simpler than that, does it?

      • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

        @ Guruboy

        I am 100% with you on that. ;-)

    • aragami

      i have my laptop running xp, osx and linux triple boot and it works just fine, the brand i hear you ask?

      Dell.

      time to get the mac off of the pedestal and realise it is just a tool to do a job :-)

  • http://netgear peter guszti

    Who needs windows, after i installed linux i have just been using it for 6 months now, I also posted this link on my blog, with extra funny comments, http://www.opentopix.com/topic/gadgets/windows-on-other-platfroms

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      Who needs Windows… ?

      Millions of people .

  • shintoo

    Funny, I never want to change my leopard UI…

    • http://blog.shankarganesh.com/ Shankar Ganesh

      That’s because it’s an awesome interface :D

    • http://ubuntulinuxtipstricks.blogspot.com Mackenzie Morgan

      That’s because you can’t. Jerks at Apple trying to pretend your computer’s not your own…

  • k31to

    Guruboy:

    Windows != Security.

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      there are plenty of excellent freeware that can take care of this.

  • A. Nieves

    I love VISTA but haven’t updated yet.. The Vista Transformation Pack looks like a good way to get familiar with the operating system until I’m ready to upgrade.

  • abanim

    Great article.

    For Vista, I highly recommend (and use) Vistamizer. It is really well done and the best part is that if you didn’t like, all changes can be reversed without any causing any system issues.

    • http://blog.shankarganesh.com/ Shankar Ganesh

      Thanks for the information on that program.

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      Link?

  • John

    How superficial can you get?

  • slack5

    why make xp look like another OS?? Just install the other OS!
    I got sick of M$ a few years back and have been running linux since then (CentOS, not that ubuntu crap), life is so much easier & stress free now

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      I guess M$ can easily refer both to Mac and Microsoft now. :-)

  • http://www.geekmusings.com Geek Musings

    Thanks for posting this. This should provide a couple of hours worth of entertainment screwing around with the vanilla install.

    Just keep the re-image discs handy… ;o)

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      Good Tip!

  • emil

    pathethic, change OS instead and you’ll get avantage from using a OS that not just looks better, but also works better

  • buddhistMonkey

    Given that current Macs can run both Mac OS X 10.5 (which, btw is awesome!) *and* XP (or even Vista!) faster and more smoothly than most actual PCs, I would have to say that struggling to make your Windoze look like the Mac is kind of … well, pathetic.

    Right reasoning, wrong result.

    I’m running XP on my Leopard-based Mac under Parallels Desktop, and I used FlyakiteOSX to make the ugly XP windows look like the rest of my Mac windows. It’s fantastic. With all of the advances that Parallels has made in the last year, all of the XP programs I’m running look and behave mostly like every other Mac program: they’ve got soft drop shadows, they swoop into the dock, and they work with Exposé. The red-yellow-green widgets are on the “wrong” side, but aside from that, I’ve got no complaints.

    It’s the only way to roll.

  • step21

    I believe the url to flyakite is faulty, it points to a rip off site, that maybe even distributes spyware with it. The real site is http://osx.portraitofakite.com
    This was also previously discussed on lifehacker here: http://lifehacker.com/337812/make-windows-look-like-a-mac-with-flyakiteosx
    (they made the same mistake)

    • http://blog.shankarganesh.com/ Shankar Ganesh

      Thanks for spotting it. I’ll ping Aibek to edit the post with the new link

      • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

        Done!

  • Jaymoon

    These make sense. I, like many people, use two (or more) machines in day to day work. Whatever the “dominant” OS you use, you kind of get used to more as time goes on. So minor tweaks, whether it be icons, toolbar placement, etc. are nice in this kind of situation.

    One example is that no matter what machine, or OS I’m using, I always have the Blue Tango icon pack selected. That way the icons are all the same, and I know by colors and icons what to click on when glancing at a folder cluttered with a ton of items.

    I know it’s subtle, but there are advantages to making on OS look like another.

  • http://www.fubar69.blogspot.com nothingman

    why don’t you just download the alienware theme pack?

    much cooler and much better than these,,,,

  • http://www.subcorpus.net/blog/ subcorpus

    why cant we just install the preferred OS and stick with it … ???
    hehe … good list though …

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      Check out the comment from “Jaymoon”

  • fuhrysteve

    “If you just can’t get Ubuntu working on your PC, but still love its looks, you can download this pack.”

    Oh yeah, like I can get XP working on my computer but not Ubuntu

  • manny

    am an ubuntu user and i love more the way the ubuntu theme looks in win XP than it does in my ubuntu installation …. weird lol

    i am tired of blue everywhere lol

    congrats to the author

  • Fox

    Hola, tengo instalado en mi pc el Windows xp modificado uE version 7. Mi pregunta es, si el Vista Transformation Pack 8 funciona con el Windows uE7? Saludos!

  • Neil

    I tried the Mac one and it only changed the icons in my start menu WTF did i do wrong? my desktop hasnt changed neither has anything else.

  • AmoniaPancake

    I want a pack that makes my OS X and Ubuntu look like Vista!
    Vista rocks, *NIX snobs!!

  • John Smith

    Does it fuck up the system just like other similar look change applications?

  • jordan

    the stupid mac osx10.5 one does not work at all for me. it changes the imagges in winexplorer, but nothing else, it just looks like plain windows, with Mac icons!

  • http://red-icculus.com Red Icculus
    • M.J

      How about Replacing Windows With KDE?

  • http://www.planetlowyat.com/blog Planet Lowyat

    Why not through away your Windows OS :P

  • geek_2k

    can i transform vista into mac ?
    plz reply me at geek_2k@yahoo.com if possible
    thanks

  • http://fisk.dk Fishman

    Waaah :S . ME WANT TRANSFORMATION PACK: VISTA > MAC OS X :P

    • http://spyhackarticles.blogspot.com spy

      http://www.vistaosx.net

      in that site thr is a transformation pack so called vistaosx

      install that

      u get the outmost illusions of mac

  • http://pcwizkid.blogspot.com PCWizKid

    I have an alternative list of apps to make XP look like Vista here:

    http://pcwizkid.blogspot.com/2008/01/customize-windows-xp-to-look-like-vista.html

    And I also changed my Ubuntu 7.10 to look be more like OS X Leopard, check it out here:

    http://pcwizkid.blogspot.com/2007/12/ubuntu-gutsy-gibbon-710-vs-osx-leopard_17.html

    Cheers
    PCWizKid

  • ox

    I don’t see any reason to make a piece of shit like windoz, looking like fedora, ubuntu, mac osx:)
    Burn the damn iso and install them!
    These transformation packs are just a load of crap, they use tons of ram and resources to run, they mess up the system when you try to unistall them, and a lot of other nice surprises -.-

  • Nils

    If i install this program and have the “vista-look”, can i the uninstall it and have the old “xp-look” back?

  • xobo

    wow! grEat huh!

  • Alvin Adducul

    Can this be used if you have installed SP3 build 3311?

  • chris

    i tried “FlyaKiteOS” and it’s a piece of crap… It slowed down my computer, and it only changed the Office icons, the rest was the same… The online demo version is cool though…it gives you the ilusion that you’re on a mac…

  • http://shazzisblog.blogspot.com/ ahmer

    nice articl .. thanks again.

  • m reza

    very nice. thank you

  • Supun(Suppa)

    What a fucking theme.I’ve never seen a theme like this before.Damn.Thank u.But VISTA theme is too large.Fuck i can’t download it my internet speed is too slow.try to zip it to atleast 2MB.

  • http://www.msn.com/ Justin Amaker

    I love Ubuntu Transformation Pack…thanks…whoever made it

  • Nikolas

    to bad all of these is for xp and not vista

  • sukha_ramapinda

    hey guys this stuff is very good,i have tried tall this each one is perfcet.thanx to people for there hard work…………..

  • Nuxly Stardust

    The link for the Ubuntu pack is dead, here is a new one:
    http://rapidshare.com/files/162745127/PNT_8_UBUNTU.rar.html

  • Ryan

    This guide is great. I used option 3 (I Have None of the Above) with my PSP (1001) running OFW 5.01. It worked the first time! Now I have 5.00 M33-4 because it turns the Network Update into an update for CFW. And for all of you having problems with your pandora battery not working, when your turning your PSP on, try holding the L or R button which will make it most likely boot from the Memory Stick due to the MMS settings.

  • http://www.subcorpus.net/blog/ subcorpus

    checking out mobilcal now …
    thanks …

  • tbvnz

    Nice. More professional and sophisticated in appearance. In one word: smoother. Good work!

  • http://www.techpavan.com Pavan Kumar

    Like a white snow… Love it… But I feel its better you change the adsense background color above the post..

  • http://www.techpavan.com Pavan Kumar

    Oops… it seems some error with comment posting :(

  • prasanna

    hi,
    simon
    i got my new battery today but i have a problem with it now.
    i opend it but the whole board was a different one i want u to take a look at this board but i don’t know how to send the images of the battery on this site can u please help me.
    the whole board is totally different from the slim battery.

  • Ic3cr34m M4n

    http://penny-arcade.com/comic/

    Always classy nerd humor.

  • james

    people still use public trackers?

  • carlosyamil

    The background color is not established. I have blue as the default and the design looks weird.

  • http://www.sheeptech.com Vincent Chow

    Hm, how the site used to look like again? It looks pretty much the same, guess it’s because of the color scheme.

  • sityu

    Yopmail is perfect!
    No need to register, od fill in anything.
    Just to add a name, and check the public inbox of the name’s yopmail.
    It’s gorgeous: a diposable e-mail shouldn’t be personal, no need to any privacy, because it’s not for personal use.
    It wouldn’t be easier! and safer
    great!
    thanx

  • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

    test

  • nadiem

    Tried downloading Ubuntu pack but files are not available anymore.

  • Mr. J

    I’d like to find the new apple leopard transformation pack, and I found it, then I try to Install but, no change in system,, any one can help me!

  • xavix

    I recommend rocketdock cheap of resources and very customizable

    • Hecho809

      hey rocketdock.com is the best. rocketdock is the best think known to OS users for changing look. just get the mac os x .mssyle and it will change everything. but not the awsome things that mac has…. man…. but i dont think i want to try any of these because of all the bad posts about “reinstalling”

  • Musten

    aku suka Ubuntu, karena tampilannya beda dari yang lain

  • http://www.beyondmegapixels.com/ megapixel

    I don’t see the point to these things. Why change the program you are using why not just upgrade to that program. It would make more sense, at least to me it does.

  • http://emailserver.com Smiledon

    kiddy

  • metallerium

    -= Vista OSX Leopard v1.1 2009 =-

    ENGLISH:
    wants convert VISTA or XP in “MAC OS LEOPARD” without consume much memory, and with a easy installation with only 12 steps for do manually?

    ESPAÑOL:
    quieres convertir VISTA o XP en “MAC OS LEOPARD” sin consumir mucha memoria y con una instalacion facil con tan solo 12 pasos para hacer manualmente?

    Go Here/Ve aqui:
    http://metallerium-elsalvador.blogspot.com/

    Screenshots in site!
    Screenshots en el sitio!

  • http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-packs-to-transform-windows-to-other-os/ happy

    22 try zaroor kariyo
    theek ae thode layi
    ssa

  • Mark

    These are all cpmlicated and potentially dangerous transformation packs. Well, maybe not Flyakite OSX. That’s a masterpiece. Best XP – Mac OS X transformation pack ever. But if you want a good Vista look, I suggest VistaMizer. This is another awesome piece of software. Works brilliantly.
    http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Themes/VistaMizer.shtml

  • http://v2tricks.blogspot.com vvishnu

    nic post… http:v2tricks.blogspot.com

  • jit

    good

  • http://chatbam.com/news Andrew

    Wow very nice indeed :)

  • Mark

    Vistamizer is a piece of shit, it fucks up the placement of your icons and is a resource hog. Stay away from it… The seven remix is cool and runs like a dream, but there are some bugs. Like the calculator doesn’t work and the new VLC media player doesn’t open either… Something about a dll problem.

  • xixaw

    does the ubuntu pack include compise effects or atleast the wobbly effect? pleas answer

  • Sagar

    Well after trying a shit load of them transformation packs, I prefer not to faq up by using transformation packs n stuff..
    To me, keeping whatever OS gives and tweaking its settings sounds ok..
    And may be install some standard sidebars n stuff (something like google desktop or thoosje sidebar…)…..

    Have a look to this…
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/24933661@N03/3811422977/

  • JER0EN R0LAND

    I have try to Transformation Windows XP into Windows 7.
    My start-menu is look so poor and i have problem with minimized icon’s in startbar, there are still more problem and lot of bugs, i don’t wan’t give advise to try to installed transformation packs. What you do is damage your Windows.

  • compaq

    mac os looks better than the vista

  • vitOr

    cheirem meu ovo e ta tudo certo ai vcs me pagan uma peta

  • http://www.goole.com vj

    dumbass
    bullshit theme pack
    really frustrating
    i hate such transformation pack.
    each any ever os look cool on their own style
    even xp looks cool
    i hav mac mini with dual boot (xp/lepord)

  • http://uploading.com/files/f148d6m3/Ubuntu.Transformation.Pack.2.0.zip/ Chip Ryan

    Ubuntu Transformation Pack 2.0
    Manual installation, no extra resources needed:
    http://uploading.com/files/f148d6m3/Ubuntu.Transformation.Pack.2.0.zip/