Acquired an outdated PC nonetheless working Windows XP, however undecided what to do with it? Think about eliminating it, as Microsoft is now not updating the working system, and it’s very insecure at this level. As an alternative, set up Linux. If you happen to’re nostalgic for the Windows XP feel and appear, you may make Linux appear to be Windows XP to ease the transition.
By switching that outdated Windows XP PC to Linux, you’ll get driver updates for outdated {hardware}, elevated velocity, a safer desktop, and new options!
SPOILER ALERT: Scroll down and watch the video tutorial on the finish of this text.
Selecting A Desktop Setting
Step one to make Linux appear to be Windows XP is to decide on the desktop surroundings. There are lots of totally different selections on the Linux platform, and every desktop has its personal particular person options. That stated, Windows XP is/was a really light-weight working system, and that’s why on this occasion, it’s in all probability finest to disregard the fashionable, high-end desktop environments. As an alternative, deal with ones like Mate, XFCE4 and LXDE.
Any of those three desktop environments can simply be replicate the look of Windows XP with somewhat work, so every one is a good place to begin. These in search of the closest comparability to XP potential ought to use XFCE4. For starters, Windows XP has the power to cover icons on the duty bar right into a tray. Out of all the sunshine desktop environments on Linux, XFCE4 stays the one one to assist this characteristic.
These trying to replicate the precise reminiscence footprint of XP ought to select LXDE as a place to begin. This desktop surroundings can run on as little as 128MB of RAM (very similar to XP does).
Putting in XP GTK Themes
The cornerstone of any Linux distribution is the theme. To set up these themes, it’s a must to first set up the git device in your Linux PC. This device is helpful because it makes downloading code straight from Github a lot quicker. The git bundle is discovered on just about any Linux distribution. Open up the bundle supervisor, seek for “git”, and set up it.
Ubuntu (and derivatives)
sudo apt set up git
Debian
sudo apt-get set up git
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S git
Fedora
sudo dnf set up git
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper set up git
With the git device on the system, we are able to use it to seize the code.
git clone
There are three totally different XP themes to select from on this pack: Longhorn Plex, Longhorn Slate and Longhorn Jade.
Set up Longhorn Plex
To get the Longhorn Plex theme working, you’ll want to maneuver it to the theme folder. To set up the theme on the system stage (so each consumer can entry it), do:
sudo mv ~/Longhorn-Collaboration/Windows Longhorn Plex /usr/share/themes/
To make the theme accessible for one consumer, do:
mkdir ~/.themes mv ~/Longhorn-Collaboration/Windows Longhorn Plex ~/.themes
Set up Longhorn Slate
sudo mv ~/Longhorn-Collaboration/Windows Longhorn Slate /usr/share/themes/
or
mkdir ~/.themes mv ~/Longhorn-Collaboration/Windows Longhorn Plex ~/.themes
Set up Longhorn Jade
sudo mv ~/Longhorn-Collaboration/Windows Longhorn Jade /usr/share/themes/
or
mkdir ~/.themes mv ~/Longhorn-Collaboration/Windows Longhorn Jade ~/.themes
Putting in Icon Themes
The subsequent step in remodeling Linux into Windows XP is to alter the best way the icons look. To do that, we’ll be utilizing the B00merang XP icon theme. It comes as part of the XP conversion pack that we’ve taken the XP GTK themes from, and it’ll slot in properly. To get it, first just be sure you’ve bought each the wget bundle and the unzip bundle in your PC. These instruments are crucial in rapidly downloading and extracting the icon theme.
Wget and Unzip could already be put in in your Linux PC. If not, look by the working system bundle supervisor, and do a seek for “wget” and “unzip”.
Ubuntu
sudo apt set up wget unzip
Debian
sudo apt-get set up wget unzip
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S wget unzip
Fedora
sudo dnf set up wget unzip
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper set up wget unzip
Utilizing the wget device, obtain the newest model of the B00merang XP icon theme to your PC:
wget
The icon theme is not going to obtain with an XP label. As an alternative, it is going to be known as “master.zip”. To extract the contents of grasp.zip, use the unzip command.
unzip grasp.zip
Remember the fact that despite the fact that the zip file is labeled “master.zip”, the extracted contents is not going to be. As an alternative, the extracted folder might be labeled “WinXP-Icons-master”. Set up the icons into the system icon listing by utilizing both CP or MV. Use the copy command in the event you want to make a copy of the icon theme in your house folder (for modification functions). In any other case, use MV.
Set up to the system with:
sudo cp WinXP-Icons-master /usr/share/icons/
or
sudo mv WinXP-Icons-master /usr/share/icons/
Set up for one consumer with:
cp WinXP-Icons-master ~/.icons
or mv WinXP-Icons-master ~/.icons
Extra Modifications
Themes and icons for this information had been taken from the whole XP conversion pack that B00merang makes. If you happen to’re trying to additional convert Linux over to Windows XP, do check out their website. They’ve bought guides, paintings and knowledge on the way to make Linux appear to be Windows XP, and plenty extra in depth Linux desktop surroundings themes.
