Tired of your XP? Want to buy Vista? Well, don’t. Vista is still full of bugs and not reliable yet. So what’s so good about it? Most people like the new and pretty looks.
It’s a great idea to mix together the good things from both Windows systems: the reliability of XP and looks of Vista.

To do this we need to change the boring XP theme to match the design of Vista, which is not exactly as straightforward as copy-paste, as XP only allows its own handful of themes which are all mostly dull. We need to modify the uxtheme.dll file in your system directory. The easiest way is to download a patched up version and replace it with the original. You can get one here:
service pack 1 or service pack 2 .

It’s a good idea to use replacer, which also backs up the original file if a problem occurs.

To replace uxtheme.dll go to the System32 folder in C://WINDOWS and look for it.
Drag it into the replacer window. Next drag the replacement file which you downloaded also into the window and confirm the replacement.

There are various Vista-looking themes on the web, I recommend VistaXP or YAVFC which you can download from deviantart. Unzip the folder and paste it to C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes.
You’ll need StyleXP to use the themes.

And that’s that!
Enjoy your fake Vista and be sure to show off to your friends

Of course, don’t have to stop there, download the Vista cursor pack, add one of the many Vista wallpapers and even get the TRANSPARENT explorer and internet explorer, which are almost as good as the real ones.

More cool XP tips & tricks HERE