Windows 7 – Simple Technique For Unlocking The Locked/Hidden Regional Themes
Windows 7 Operating System comes with four to five default themes which are included at the time of installation. However, Windows 7 builds starting from Build 6956, including Build 7000 contain some hidden themes which can be easily unlocked and used along with the default Windows 7 themes.
These hidden or locked themes are essentially designed for some of the regional countries including Canada, Australia, Great Britain, South Africa and United States. However, if you think that the default themes are not enough or if you would like to personalize your system further, you may unlock the locked/hidden regional themes in your Windows 7 Operating System.
You need to just follow the below mentioned procedure.
- Firstly, go to “Windows Explorer”.
- Click on “Organize” and choose “Folder & Search Options”.
- Then, go to the tab “View”.
- Select the option for showing hidden files, drivers and folders. Uncheck the checkbox corresponding to the option that hides protected OS files. If you are prompted for a confirmation, simply click on “Yes”.
- Click on the “OK” button.
- Navigate to the below mentioned folder: \Windows\Globalization\MCT\
- You will find five folders having the names in the format “MCT-XX” in which, XX would be CA, AU, US, GB or ZA which correspond to the globalization settings for different regions. Choose and open the respective folder depending on which theme you wish to activate. You need to note that CA, ZA and AU regions include the same theme.
- From within the region folder that you have selected, you need to open the folder “Theme”.
- Double-click on the file “XX.theme” in order to apply and activate the theme. Once you have activated and applied the theme, it will be saved into the “Personalization options”. So, if you want to apply this theme again in future, you can directly go to the Personalization settings screen.
- Finally, go back to “Organize” -> “Folder & Search Options”, and in the tab “View”, check or tick the checkbox corresponding to the option that hides protected OS files and folder.
Alternatively, you may go to the folder “\Windows\winsxs” and then search for “*.theme”. Just double-click on the first five searched themes having names in the format “XX” as mentioned above to apply/activate and save them to the “Personalization options”. The remaining themes that show in the search results are the ones which are already incorporated in the system.