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[SOLVED] Stuck in Classic View

3070 Views 10 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Coolfreak, 
Q
Hey everyone ^^ After reinstalling Win XP SP3, I went ahead and downloaded a theme for Vista to give my computer that Vista "feel" about it, however, now places such as the Control Panel and My Computer are stuck on "Classic View" and I'd like to try and get the panel on the left back to where I can toggle between current and classic. I remember having this problem when I did this very same thing last time (Reinstalling XP and adding a Vista theme to it) and remember reading about changing the value of something in the registry but I'm unable to find that same article on the Internet again. So here I am, asking if you guys might be able to help me out.

Thanks!
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Coolfreak
Re: Stuck in Classic View

I don't have much experience with themes - as I never really had a need for them..

But, this may be of use to you. Line 214 on the page.
Troubleshooting Windows XP, Tweaks and Fixes for Windows XP

The file is a .reg file - you need to save the file to your hard drive and then double clicking on the file should import it to the registry.
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Q
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Hey Coolfreak, thanks for the suggestion! Oddly enough, I have that very site saved to my favorites XD Alright, so right-clicked the file and saved it, but wasn't exactly sure where exactly it needed to be saved (Sorry, I'm not as knowledgeable around the computer that a lot of people give me credit for ._.) so I went ahead and simply saved it to the desktop. It's a txt file for some reason when it downloaded, so I'm guessing I'm going to have to set it up manually in the registry? I opened the txt document that downloaded and here's what opened:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"NoVisualStyleChoice"=dword:00000000
"NoColorChoice"=dword:00000000
"NoSizeChoice"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"SetVisualStyle"=-

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ThemeManager]
"ThemeActive"="1"
"DllName"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
74,00,25,00,5c,00,72,00,65,00,73,00,6f,00,75,00,72,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,5c,\
00,54,00,68,00,65,00,6d,00,65,00,73,00,5c,00,6c,00,75,00,6e,00,61,00,5c,00,\
6c,00,75,00,6e,00,61,00,2e,00,6d,00,73,00,73,00,74,00,79,00,6c,00,65,00,73,\
00,00,00
"ColorName"="NormalColor"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoSaveSettings"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"ClassicShell"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"ClassicShell"=dword:00000000
Click to expand...
Now, I'm sure this should be pretty easy, simply go to where it's telling me to in the registry and then manually create the right type of (For a lack of a better word at the moment) "file" in those sections of the registry and set the values to what's quoted? Or am I over complicating things here? >.<
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spunk.funk
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Personally I would uninstall the Vista Theme you have an try a different one. Downloaded themes sometimes don't always work with every install
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Q
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Hey Spunk ^^ Hmm, if possible, I would like to try and avoid that option if at all possible ^^;;; I'm using the same Vista theme that I used last time I reinstalled XP, I had this same issue, which was just a simple registry change :gonk: If it helps, last time this happened, the (Again, lack of a better word) file I changed last time was already in the registry so I didn't have to add a new one if that helps.
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spunk.funk
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Only you would know what file you changed in the Registry and what you changed it to. Go to where you downloaded the theme and see if there is an FAQ or Forum and see if someone who has the same problem with the same theme can help you.
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Q
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Well, that's the thing, I found a forum last time this happened when doing just a Google search (Which amazingly I can't find now no matter how I try and search online for this problem) that someone was having the same issue (Except this was on their normal XP theme) and they pretty much said "Go to X part of the registry and change this Value to either 1 or 0" and that was it lol Just to try it out, I went ahead and switched back to my normal XP theme and removed the Vista one. My Computer and Control Panel still look the same however, (Screenshot) so that rules the downloaded theme outta the picture. I know it's a simple registry value edit, but unfortunately I don't know which exact one it could be >.<

I'm still willing to try Coolfreak's way, but I'd need a little help with how exactly to go about it. (Problem I ran into trying it myself is outlined in a previous post)
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spunk.funk
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Select and copy the text that you downloaded in Post #3. Paste the text into Notepad. Save the file to your Desktop as All Files with the name Reg.Reg. Not as a .txt file. Double click the reg.reg file. Click OK to import the file into the registry, restart the computer.
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Q
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Alright, that's done. However, I'm still missing the little panel on the left of My Computer/Control Panel to where I can toggle between current and classic view I'm afraid.
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Q
Re: Stuck in Classic View

Wow, um. I finally figured it out. I feel really stupid about it but to humor you guys the issue was that the "Show common tasks in folders" wasn't ticked. Did that and everything is better. Still looks a bit weird, but I guess that's just because I've been stuck looking at the classic view for so long XD

Anyway, thanks for your help guys ^^ I do have another issue but I'll make a different Thread considering it's for something completely different.
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Coolfreak
Glad to hear you got it figured out! :smile:

Thread closed.
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