Windows XP Native Themes
I've collected a set of "native themes" for Windows XP: these are official Microsoft-developed variants that were released in various other products, compiled in one place. To my knowledge, Royale Noir was not released publicly, but the rest were all released by Microsoft in one way or another. Because of this, they are 100% compatible and require no modification to the system other than placing the files.
The ZIP archive contains a README and a Themes/ directory. You can go to C:\WINDOWS\Resources and replace the Themes/ folder there with the one in the archive. If you'd rather pick and choose, make sure you copy both the .Theme file as well as the matching folder.
I may be working on an installer for this at some point.
README
Replace your C:\Windows\Resources\Themes folder with the Themes folder in this archive. It includes: - "Windows XP Style" aka Luna: the default Windows XP theme, with Blue, Olive, and Silver variants.- "Media Center style" aka Royale: the default from Windows XP Media Center Edition.- "Embedded Style": the default from Windows Embedded 2009. It's basically Royale in Navy Blue. It's quite tasteful.- "Royale" aka RoyaleNoir: Includes two color schemes: Royale: Believed to be identical to Media Center Style Royale Noir: Black and Grey version of Royale, very classy.- "Zune Theme": The official XP theme for the Microsoft Zune. Similar to Royale Noir; dark brown with orange accents. These themes are virtually guaranteed to "Just Work" without any hacks or registry edits or any other effort.To my knowledge, these were all developed (but not necessarily officially released) by Microsoft,so they are 100% compatible and should not cause any issues.
Download
Available from this site