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These days ‘Going Retro’ is all over the place. Fashion, home design, artwork etc. If you’re all Retro Fan, or just feeling nostalgic, by all means read on.
If you’ve been around computers a while, you should remember the good (well not good perhaps, but) old Windows 98. Back in the days a great piece of software. For the savvy home user, Windows 98 came with a really great enhancement: Windows 98 Plus! Which (if memory serves me right) had to be bought separately.
The Plus! pack was a set of themes to edit the appearance of your windows by changing the system colors, icons and screensavers – fun fun fun.
With Windows going on 8 we are getting used to the idea of changing themes and the graphic layout of our computer, but back then… this was as high-tech as we could get. Funny thing is – these “enhancements” still works today – on your Windows 7.
So if you feel like going Retro, or simply have a stroll down memory lane…
Windows 98 Plus!
First off the credits for this should go to a guy called, AnsonSterling over at Deviant Art. He was messing about on his old Windows 98 Computer (which I’m amazed are still existing, and working) and decided to copy the Plus Theme Control Applet onto his Windows 7.
Amazingly enough they worked. How’s that for Backward compatibility, Steve? [Editors Note: Steve Jobs, Apple].
There are a few steps to get it working, but here’s how:
- Download the Plus! Theme Pack (Click here!)
- Unpack The folder to your Desktop. It is important that you keep it here.
- In the Plus! Folder, Right-Click the file called: Themes.exe and choose Properties.
- Click on the compatibility Tab and check “Run this program in compatibility mode”.
- Choose Windows 98, and Click Apply, then OK
- Double Click Themes.exe and choose your theme.
Preview before “buying”
Don’t worry It’s all free. I just had to come up with a clever headline.
The Theme Application includes a preview function on most settings available. Making it safe to flash back without messing with your setup. The only thing that Didn’t work on my computer was the ScreenSaver settings. I suspect it is because the screensavers aren’t included in the download. Other than that – you get it all, poor 16-bit icons, tacky colors and terrible sound effects – all of which was very “HIP” back then.
Enjoy!
About Thomas
Computer geek from the age of 7, which amounts to 30 years of computer experience. From the early days (when every computer company had their own OS) of DOS, Windows 1.0 through Seven...
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