UPDATE: Tutorial updated to match latest Windows 8 RTM UI.Finally, the wait is over. After getting so many requests to post a tutorial to transform Windows 7 into Windows 8, today we are happy to announce it. This is the 4th tutorial of our "Transform Windows" series. You can take a look at other 3 tutorials using following links:
- Transform Windows XP into Windows Vista without using Customization Pack
- Transform Windows XP into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack
- Transform Windows Vista into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack
NOTE: Please create a Restore point using "System Restore" before applying anything mentioned in this tutorial so that you can restore your system back to default if you don't like the changes.After following this tutorial, you'll get the same Windows 8 look in your Windows 7. Following is a list of things which are going to change after following this tutorial:
- Windows Theme or Visual Style
- Boot Screen
- Login Screen or Welcome Screen
- Start ORB or Start Button
- Icons, Sounds and Cursors
- Ribbon UI in Windows Explorer
- Start Screen with Live Tiles
- Charms Bar
- Wallpapers
- Windows 8 Metro Task Manager
- User Picture Tile in Taskbar
- Aero Auto-Colorization Feature
- Centered Titlebar text, icon and Up Button in Windows Explorer
- Extras
Windows 8 features a clean and minimal theme which doesn't come with Aero glass transparency and blur effect. You can get a look-like interface in Windows 7 using following themes:Windows Theme or Visual Style
Download your desired theme using following topics:
- Download Windows 8 RTM Theme for Windows 7
- Download Windows 8 Release Preview (RC) Theme for Windows 7
- Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Beta) Theme for Windows 7
- Download Windows 8 "Aero Lite" Theme for Windows 7
- Download Windows 8 "Aero Lite with Glass" Theme for Windows 7
Windows 8 comes with a new clean and minimal boot screen which looks like following:Boot Screen
You can get a similar boot screen in Windows 7 using following article:
Download Windows 8 RTM Boot Screen for Windows 7
Windows 8 login screen looks very simple and doesn't provide any eye candy effects as shown in following screenshot:Login Screen or Welcome Screen
To get Windows 8 login screen in Windows 7, check out following articles:
Download Windows 8 RTM Login Screen for Windows 7
Download Windows 8 Blue Login Screen for Windows 7
To get the date and time on login screen, check following topic:
Download Windows 8 Metro Logon Clock Screensaver
You can also check following awesome Windows 8 concept login screen for Windows 7:
Download Windows 8 Concept Login Screen "Gloosh" for Windows 7
Although Microsoft has completely removed Start Menu and Start button from Windows 8 but Windows 7 users can replace existing Start ORB with a nice looking Windows 8 style Start button as shown in following screenshot:Start ORB or Start Button
You can get this Start button in Windows 7 using following tutorial:
Get New Windows 8 Start ORB (Start Button) in Windows 7
Windows 8 icons are almost similar to Windows 7. You can get new Windows 8 sounds and cursors from following topic:Icons, Sounds and Cursors
Download Windows 8 Sounds and Cursors for Windows 7
Windows 8 also features Office 2010 Ribbon UI in Windows Explorer. You can get the Ribbon UI in Windows 7 Explorer using following articles:Ribbon UI in Windows Explorer
- Get Windows 8 Look-Like Ribbon UI in Windows XP, Vista and 7 Explorer using Styler Skin
- BExplorer (Better Explorer): Windows 8 Look-Like Explorer with Ribbon UI for Windows 7
- STDU Explorer: Get Windows 8 Style Explorer with Ribbon UI in Windows XP, Vista and 7
Microsoft has featured a new Start Screen in Windows 8 which looks similar to Windows Phone 7 home screen. It basically shows live tiles of the installed programs in Windows 8.Start Screen with Live Tiles
You can get this new Start Screen in Windows 7 using following articles:
- Get Windows 8 Start Screen in Windows XP, Vista and 7 Using "Omnimo" Rainmeter Skin Suite
- Mosaic: Get Windows 8 Style Live Tiles with Metro UI on Windows XP, Vista and 7 Desktop
Windows 8 also comes with a new Charms Bar which is a black sidebar panel which shows some useful shortcuts like Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings when you move your mouse cursor to right-side of screen.Charms Bar
You can get this new Charms Bar in Windows 7 using following articles:
- Download RocketDock Skin to Get Windows 8 Charms Bar in Windows XP, Vista, 7
- Get Windows 8 Charms Bar in Windows XP, Vista and 7
- How to Get Windows 8 Metro Style Start Menu (Charms Bar) with Clock in Windows 7?
- Win8Menu: Get Windows 8 Look-Like Tablet UI with Sidebar Panel (Charms Bar) in Windows 7
You can download some cool Windows 8 wallpapers using following links:Wallpapers
Windows 8 comes with new modern and advanced Task Manager which opens in a small window and shows the running programs list.Windows 8 Metro Task Manager
You can get a similar Metro Task Manager in Windows 7 using following topic:
Get Windows 8 Look-Like Metro Task Manager in Windows XP, Vista and 7
Initial Windows 8 testing builds featured new user picture tile in Taskbar notification area. It was added because of the integrated Windows Live services in Windows 8 shell.User Picture Tile in Taskbar
If you want, you can get it in Windows 7 using following topics:
- UserTile: Free Utility to Get Windows 8 User Picture Tile (Avatar) in Windows 7 Taskbar
- Get Windows 8 Look-Like User Picture Tile (Avatar) in Notification Area of Windows 7
One of the most interesting feature of Windows 8 is "Aero Auto-Colorization" which is the ability to automatically configure the color of Aero elements, like the Start Menu, Windows Explorer windows, and the taskbar based on the desktop wallpaper.Aero Auto-Colorization Feature
You can get the same effect in Windows 7 using following free tools:
- Aura: Get Windows 8 Aero Auto-Colorization Feature in Windows Vista and 7
- Aero Color Show: Free Tool to Get Windows 8 Aero Auto-Colorization Feature in Windows 7
Windows 8 Explorer comes with good old "Up" button in toolbar. The Explorer window also shows titlebar text along with icon in center.Centered Titlebar text, icon and Up Button in Windows Explorer
Windows 8 Shows Centered Titlebar Text, Icon and New Up Button in Explorer
You can get the same in Windows 7 using following tutorial:
How to Get Windows 8 "Up" Button and Titlebar Text in Windows Vista and 7 Explorer?
Following are some software and skins which will provide Windows 8 Metro UI feeling in Windows 7. You should definitely have a look at them:Extras
- 8 Start: Windows 8 Start Screen Like "Metro Style Homepage" for Mozilla Firefox, IE, Chrome and Opera
- EIGHT: Windows 8 Start Screen Like "Metro Style Homepage" for Mozilla Firefox, IE, Chrome and Opera
- Metro UI: Download Windows 8 Metro Style Inspired Theme for Yahoo! Messenger
- Download Awesome "HTC Home" and "Metro Home" Desktop Widgets for Windows Vista and 7
- MetroViewer: Simple Image Viewer for Windows with Metro UI
- MetroBackUp: Free Utility with Metro UI to Keep Directories in Sync
- Download Free Windows 8 (vNext) Skin for RocketDock
- Download Free Windows 8 Metro Theme for WinRAR Archiver
- Download Awesome Metro UI Inspired Themes for Steam
- Download Windows 8 Metro UI Inspired Desktop Sidebar for Windows Vista and 7
- Download Awesome Windows 8 Metro Theme for KMPlayer