Windows 7 Themes, Visual Effects and Desktop Composition.

[skybuck2000]

So far the following setup looks beautifull on the laptop:

1. Windows 7 Theme enabled.
2. All effects disabled except:
2.1 Desktop Composition enabled.
2.2 Visual Styles enabled.

It looks gorgious, nice and blue.

Also transparency disabled in right click on desktop and then personalize settings and then somewhat in one of those buttons below, only shows up if windows 7 theme active.

Also if desktop composition is disabled again windows will look different, still kinda nice.

It's amazing to see how many different looks windows 7 can have.

HOWEVER I write this message mostly to inquire about the stability of this theme and desktop composition technology.

The laptop just experienced a BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH.

After playing with these settings and re-enableing the ones as described above.

This happened while using FIREFOX and looking at a website this one:

https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/127411-desktop-composition-enable-disable.html

THIS HAS ME CONCERNED.

There is a special service involved with enabling these themes apperently:

Desktop Window Manager Session Manager crashes - Unable to use Aero themes

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-desktop/desktop-window-manager-session-manager-crashes/943c8db9-5ca2-4519-988c-13f50ea22b94

Apperently this service can crash and maybe take down the operating system ?!

I have always used the classic theme with all effect disabled throughout the years so I have little experience with this service on a full blown actively used PC.

Maybe the bluescreen of death is only "switching related" but it got me spooked.

THE SECOND REASON I wrote this message is because:

The description of this services and technology makes it seem that it might be using some kind of hardware acceleration and that might explain why this technology might make the windows GUI FASTER.

I am always interested in ways to optimize windows, especially on my old PC, to make it faster ?!

However not at the cost of reliability.

Very maybe I will experiment with this theme and mode to try and make the GUI a bit faster.

I does feel like the classic GUI is slow at times... no matter what graphics card is in there ?! Except maybe old dual 7900 gtx but that might have been on windows xp or so and might have accelerated the old gui somehow or maybe the new one was on on windows xp.. not sure only later the OS on dreampc 2006 was switched to windows 7.

Now laptop uses windows 7 home edition. still feels very advanced except for the 5200 RPM harddisk which I hate and dispice... it's so fucking slow sometimes feels like I want to blow a bullit throw my BRAIN ! haha... at least it's abit more reliable.

I am contemplating of maybe using the following procedure to make it faster:

Procedure A:

1. Laptop HD -> Image -> USB Drive.
2. Buy SSD
3. Detach mouse usb. or boot from usb drive but that would require installing windows again which kinda sucks and might not work well and enable windows to go.
4. Boot laptop with USB stick.
5. Burn img from usb drive back to SSD.

This is a nice trick where the two usb ports on laptop can be used to:

1. boot usb windows 7 image with usb drives windows to go which I made earlier.
2. copy usb windows 7 drive image back to ssd.

Not sure if this will work but maybe.

This would save having to reinstall windows and this home edition is a valid version/genuine version of windows... does have key, it's only home edition which is kinda lacking in some small ways... but ok...

Not sure if it's worth the trouble... thought I write about it lazy for now.

Another option would be to re-install the laptop completely with my own w7 ultimate iso... though it might be missing some updates... on ssd.

This would loose some software and such... not really worth the time for it...

I use the laptop as a shitty place to store info ... dont take it seriously but it is a kinda nice fast laptop from intel... it does have hickups from time to time... sometimes the computer will just freeze for 1 or 2 seconds especially during video playback which is quite weird.... very sometimes with other things as well not sure if this is a known issue with these intel icore5 laptop processor from 2012 or so.

I am kinda hoping to buy a new threadripper soon... and thus investing time into this laptop not sure if it's worth it... then again if I have to go somewhere it would be nice to have the speed of SSD ?!

Is there a faster way of copieing laptop HD to SSD ?!?

I do have a second PC available.

It would be interesting to know if there is a faster simpler way by using only the laptop but I would also be interested in a two-pc way ! ;)

Anyway just rambling a bit... now I am kinda mixing topic but ok it does have "speed" as the main topic hehe... also a little realibility.

What is your experience with this desktop service ?

Does it crash a lot ? Do you think it speeds up your GUI/OS/Computer ?

Oh by the way.. Delphi community edition 10.3 was also running on laptop during the time of the crash, experimented somewhat with images.

Delphi community edition 10.3 actually needs the aero theme enabled otherwise it will render it's GUI completely FUCKED.

So that is what got me interested in these windows 7 themes HAHA.

Better late than never ! LOL.

Bye for now,
Skybuck.