Change the start button picture AKA How to screw Windows up: The Complicated Way

[hellrazor]

This should (in theory) change the start button, but here goes anyways. I did (or didn't, whatever you want to call it) do this on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

Step 1: Get artsy
Make a sweet picture of a nuclear trefoil from the Duke Nukem website.

Step 2: Rambo, I choose you!
Grab ResEdit x64, attempt to assume control of C:\Windows, and Explorer.exe - I apparently had trouble doing this right. Plan B: Copy Explorer.exe elsewhere.

Step 3: Take the safety off
Open new Explorer.exe with ResEdit, delete pictures 6801, 6805, and 6809, add the sweet trefoil 3 times (interesting...), rename one picture to 6801, the next to 6805, the last to 6809 (making sure that each of them are "English (United States)"). Save. Don't attempt to run the new Explorer.exe to see if it works.

Step 4: Pop a few shots
Attempt to write over the original Explorer.exe.

Step 5: Miss
Windows says I have to get permission to do that.

Step 6: Grab a bigger gun
Pop into Linux, teach Windows a thing or two.

Step 7: Complain about the giant hole in your forehead
Start Windows, around this time you should be greeted by a black screen and a message that says that Explorer.exe has crashed; if not, you are unlucky

Step 8: Grab a band-aid
Curse like a sailor. Pop back into Linux, notice that there are Explorer.exe.1 and Explorer.exe.2 in the Windows folder. Delete FUBARed Explorer.exe, rename Explorer.exe.2 to Explorer.exe.

All in all, nothing was lost. If anybody knows how to do it correctly, do tell.

 

[Formula350]

Would've been easier to just assume ownership of Explorer.exe, instead of boot into another OS lol But, good job on pooching it! Sounds like me Back when we got our first computer in 1994, I compressed the HD because it'd give over a gig (from the 830MB drive it had), but... Windows couldn't boot from a compressed drive :S So, I pooched the system Of course that was before I knew anything, and so I couldn't fix it. Plus I was only 11, so I didn't know any better lol

 

[hellrazor]

I'm still not sure how to do it (I guess I could Google it), but when it didn't let me I figured that it'd be better if I couldn't do that from within Windows anyways.

 

[Formula350]

Not as hard as it sounds
Right Click> Properties
Goto Security Tab
Click Advanced
Goto Owner Tab
Click Edit
(Assuming you are Admin) Click Administrators (username\Administrators)
Click OK (and on the dialog box that shows up)
Click OK again
Click Edit (to change permissions)
Click Administrators
Tick Full Control box
Click OK
Click OK on the Properties box to save

TADA! Yes, I really dumbed it down, I know, but why risk it? lol Often have I ran into instructions that something is implied and left me wondering if that is FOR SURE what needs to be done heh

This works for registry entries and folders too, but it can be dangerous, so don't abuse it. Like I change over Ownership of the "winsxs" folder... because it's effing huge, and ownership is needed to compress the folder lol

 

[FordGT90Concept]

You can't modify a running a file so it might work to use Task Manager to kill explorer.exe. Make sure it doesn't start again. If it does, you'll have to disable the automatic restarting of it via Group Policy Editor.

 

[Formula350]

You can't modify a running a file so it might work to use Task Manager to kill explorer.exe. Make sure it doesn't start again. If it does, you'll have to disable the automatic restarting of it via Group Policy Editor.

Quite true, that's an equally important step heh I thought I read he had, but doesn't appear so