With the advent of the eighth version of Windows and above, many users were clearly bored with the graphical shell of the "seven", which, in comparison with the completely flat interface of the "eight", looked airy. This provided a special theme with the Aero Glass effect for Windows 7 installed by default. How to return it in newer systems will now be considered.
Aero Glass effect: what is it?
So what attracted users to the seven interface? The assertion that this was a unique in nature Aero Glass effect, which consisted in the fact that all elements of the graphical shell were made in a translucent form (windows, icons, panels, menus, etc.), would not be unfounded. This also applied to the faint shadows cast by them.
However, starting with Windows 8, the developers of this family of operating systems decided to abandon the Aero Glass effect. First of all, this was due to the desire to reduce the consumption of system and energy resources of a computer system. Indeed, although the seventh version in terms of performance still pleases users with speed, nevertheless, a large enough volume is allocated specifically for the operation of the graphical interface, so the execution of resource-intensive applications sometimes becomes not only problematic, but even impossible.
Today, system configurations have stepped far forward, so the use of the Aero Glass effect is noticeable on the performance of computers, laptops, and even mobile devices. What will be required in order to return the effect of transparency in versions of Windows 8 and above?
Automatic installation of the official Aero Glass utility for Windows 8.1 (8 or 10)
As already clear, there is no equity in systems 8 and above for applying this effect, even if there is a corresponding topic. Therefore, you will have to use a special utility called Aero Glass for Windows (sometimes the name contains Win8, Win8.1, Win10 indicating the system assembly).
You can download it on the Internet from the official site. At the same time, not only distributions for specific versions and assemblies of operating systems are available, but also options for installation on operating systems with 32 and 64 bit architectures.
The installation process usually goes without problems and does not cause any particular difficulties. But it is worth paying attention that during the installation it will be proposed to install a special applet regarding the personalization panel, as well as agree to refuse to sign some design themes. In principle, the default installer settings can be left unchanged. At the end of the process, the system should be rebooted, after which the Aero Glass effect will take effect.
Manual installation through the registry
The automatic installer has only one drawback. It installs absolutely everything, and this is often not necessary for most users. In such a situation, you can leave either individual elements or a test version.
This is done exclusively using the registry. Access to the editor is carried out through the regedit command, which must be entered in the "Run" menu, it is called by a combination of Win + R.
First, unpack the downloaded archive into the Aero Glass folder, which should be located directly in the system partition (usually this is drive C). In the registry we use the HKLM branch and through the Software section we get to the Windows folder, which is located in the directory of the current version (CurrentVersion). Here we are interested in three main keys:
- AppInit_DLLs - the value field indicates the full path to the DWMGlass.dll file, which should be located in the above folder;
- LoadAppInit_DLLs - value (1);
- RequireSignedAppInit_DLLs - value (0).
After setting all these parameters, as in the previous case, the system is restarted.
What if the installation does not start?
In some cases, the installer may not work for some reason. To solve this problem, you must initially use the installer exclusively on behalf of the administrator. Otherwise, it just might not start.
Another reason for the failure lies in the settings of the primary BIOS I / O system. In some versions, the Secure Boot item is available. It is strongly recommended to disable this function, i.e. set the value to Disabled. Next, just save the changes and exit the settings (F). After rebooting the system, the desired utility should install without problems.
Finally, pay attention to the bitness of the program itself (the application version of 64 bits will not be installed in the system architecture with 32 bits).
What should I do if the inscription constantly hangs on the screen?
All! The utility is installed, and the user seems to have achieved the desired result. But this is bad luck - at the bottom of the screen the name of the effect is constantly “hanging”, which cannot be eliminated. Its presence is explained quite simply: the utility itself is paid, and the user installs a test demo version. Let's see how to remove the inscription with the name in Aero Glass.
In the simplest case, many users offer to download not official, but already "cracked" utility, but this approach contradicts international copyright laws. Others advise to rectify the situation with a tiny application that removes the inscription. Its name is not given only because it is again a kind of “crack”. In general, the inscription can be removed only by illegal methods, but it is best to initially purchase the official program.
Parameter Setting Issues
As for the basic settings, if you install the official utility, you can adjust everything and everything. But when installing the “cracked” version without special corrections to it, it will be impossible to change the parameters. In addition, transparency is at such a level that working with the interface is extremely inconvenient. You will have to search and download a few more small programs that fix the management of one or another parameter, which is very inconvenient. In addition, it is still unknown how clean they will be. Indeed, it is in them that viruses and potential threats are most often contained, so it is better not to risk it, otherwise the system can easily “fly off”, and then there will be much more trouble with the restoration of its working capacity.
In some cases, you can install an additional application called Classic Shell version 4.1 or any other. It will allow in the same Windows 8.1 to change the Start menu, which is still displayed in the form of tiles, to the classic look, as in the "seven". Many users call the use of this or any other similar utility quite convenient, because some users, despite the everyday work with the eighth version, could not get used to its appearance.
Conclusion
As can be seen from the foregoing, the installation and application of the Aero Glass effect should not cause difficulties. With the inscription, which is constantly displayed on the screen, things are much worse. It remains only to buy the application or, at your own risk, use unofficial utilities that correct this situation, although when did it stop our person?