XP Themes, Vista Transformation & Spybots

Using Spybots S&D on a WinXP computer and wondering why the inbuilt updater gives an error “Cannot open AVI”? I don’t know why it happens, but if you have installed Vista Transformation Pack (VTP) to enliven your desktop, Spybots update will give just this error. So get rid of that Transformation Pack because Spybots is definitely worth more than any desktop enhancer. And if my experience is anything to go by, VTP is easier to install than get rid of. Had to go through the complete routine; uninstall VTP, run system file checker (SFC, to restore changed files), uninstall and reinstall Internet Explorer 7 (which stopped working thanks to SFC, I guess), not to mention the zillions of reboots…

Anyways, if, like me you’re sick of Microsoft’s Luna theme and you want to take a lightweight (read non-bloatware) route for new desktop themes, go for uxtheme.dll patching and grab some themes from DeviantArt. Now, if you were smart enough to install (and more importantly, uninstall) VTP, you’ll surely understand how to go about it. And if you’re not, your own risk, don’t flame me later.