Or just download one of my themes.....they are stable and they work....I include tried and tested modules and the dev. build too so that I 'know' they will work, unlike some of the themes which can leave you lost...especially those that have not been set up with the default 'c:\Litestep' directory, but have chucked them on 'D' or something.
I'll post the full how-to regarding LiteSTEP install/removal here.
You are definitely NOT the first to regard LiteSTEP as 'evil' just the most recent to be wrong....
************************************************
* USE the "RTFM" method *
************************************************
(this is a blatant copy of the "Installing LiteStep" chapter of the LSDocs
helpfile in html format by the LiteStep Documentation Effort Team.
this wonderful manual comes with each new dev build and is constantly
updated to the newest state -- kudos to the authors of LDE Team....)
Installing LiteStep
=====-------=======
There are basically two methods to installing LiteStep. With the first method
you need to download the official distribution. This distribution contains an
installer that will automatically setup LiteStep as your shell for you.
You will have the option to change this later, so don't be worried about
being stuck with LiteStep if it just isn't your thing.
The second method to installing LiteStep is to download a theme containing all
the files you need to run the theme. This can be a bit more complicated so if you
are new to LiteStep or text based configuration please install the distribution.
Note: Themes do not necessarily come with the LiteStep release that you may
need, however if they do not look in the Readme.txt for which release or
Dev Build you may need.
Configuring Windows 95/98/ME for LiteStep
-----------------------------------------
Installing LiteStep on a machine built on the standards of Windows 95 is by far
the simplest system to install LiteStep on. In a few easy steps any user can take
their boring Explorer interface and turn it into a lean mean fighting machine.
In the instructions below you will notice that we mention LiteStep as being in the
C:\LiteStep directory and Windows being in the C:\Windows directory.
Your machine may differ from these directories so make sure you use the correct
information instead.
First you want to start up your text editor (ie notepad, editpad, ultraedit) and open
your c:\windows\system.ini file. If you set your windows directory to something
other than c:\windows\, look for it in that directory and you'll find the system.ini.
Next you will want to find the line shell=explorer.exe in your system.ini file:
shell=explorer.exe
this line is found near the top. You then comment out your shell=explorer.exe line
by placing a semi-colon ";" in front of it (;shell=explorer.exe)
Then on the NEXT line enter a line as follows;
shell=c:\litestep\litestep.exe
Save your system.ini - reboot and find yourself in the wonderful world of LiteStep.
Note: Many users, both during installation and un-installation process receive a
message stating "Cannot find (insert executable), You must Re-install windows."
By no means is this necessary. Reboot your computer and check your shell= line.
You didn't spell something right or missed a character. This by far is one of the
most common complaints brought up in the IRC Channels, don't be fooled.
If for some reason you do not find yourself in LiteStep when you reboot, you
are going to want to look in your system.ini file for another shell= line.
Windows does allow for multiple configurations for the shell, however, it will
only load one of them.
Configuring Windows NT for LiteStep
-----------------------------------
The most common problem that happens during a LiteStep install on a
Windows NT machine is that most of the time users don't have administrative
privileges on their machine and can't use a shell swapper.
There is, however, a way to get around this.
You will need to modify a few registry entries, don't be afraid, so fire up regedit
and lets get started :
- HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\
system.ini\boot>SYS:Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
change this to USR:Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\
Winlogon>Shell
change the value of Shell to c:\litestep\litestep.exe to add LiteStep.
- HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced>SeperateProcess
if this DWORD is set to "1" explorer won't load as the shell when triggered
inside another shell, if this key is set to "0" it will.
This key effects LiteStep if you are using Internet Explorer 4 and up, if you have
an earlier version of Internet Explorer, use a STRING named DesktopProcess,
with a value of "1" instead of the DWORD. Basically you need this set to yes if
you don't want to have explorer setting itself as shell everytime you access it.
Note: You can make LiteStep restart automatically after a crash in Window NT.
This was taken from the LiteStep b24 Manual written by TheMAN.
"The command SetAsShell makes LiteStep behave as the Official shell and it
notifies Windows of this fact. This does seem to create some problems with
with Windows at times (especially with IE and quite often when running NT)
and it has been found that if you do use StepAsShell in your Step.Rc, you might
have to set the
HKEY_LOCAL_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\DesktopProcess
key's value in your registry to 1 to get IE (and Windows) to work properly.
The only advantage to using SetAsShell is that LiteStep is automatically started
when it crashes, like Explorer normally does. As setting LiteStep as the shell
seems to create strange problems on different machines, it is suggested that
you don't set this value in your Step.Rc. If you do use SetAsShell and decide to
take it out after a while, remember that you will have to reboot (not Recycle
as is the normal case with a Step.Rc change) and that you may have to set the
HKEY_LOCAL_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\DesktopProcess
registry value back to 0 to get everything working properly."
So basically, if you want to try this - take a risk, worst thing that can happen is
that you will have problems with explorer until you change the key back.
Configuring Windows 2K for LiteStep
-----------------------------------
The most common problem that happens during a LiteStep install on a Windows NT
machine is that most of the time users don't have administrative privileges on their
machine and can't use a shell swapper. There is, however, a way to get around this.
You will need to modify a few registry entries, don't be afraid, so fire up regedit
and lets get started.
- HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\
system.ini\boot > Shell
change this to USR:Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon>Shell
change the value of Shell to c:\litestep\litestep.exe
- HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
create a New value called DesktopProcess and set the Data Field to 1.
- HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\BrowseNewProcess >
change this value to "yes", it seems to correct a few problems with explorer
spawning itself as the shell.
Note: You can make LiteStep restart automatically after a crash in Window NT.
This was taken from the LiteStep b24 Manual written by TheMAN.
"The command SetAsShell makes LiteStep behave as the Official shell and it notifies
Windows of this fact. This does seem to create some problems with Windows at times
(especially with IE and quite often when running NT) and it has been found that if you
do use StepAsShell in your Step.Rc,you might have to set the
HKEY_LOCAL_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\DesktopProcess
key's value in your registry to 1 to get IE (and Windows) to work properly.
The only advantage to using SetAsShell is that LiteStep is automatically started when
it crashes, like Explorer normally does. As setting LiteStep as the shell seems to create
strange problems on different machines, it is suggested that you don't set this value in
your Step.Rc. If you do use SetAsShell and decide to take it out after a while,
remember that you will have to reboot (not Recycle as is the normal case with a
Step.Rc change) and that you may have to set the
HKEY_LOCAL_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\DesktopProcess
registry value back to 0 to get everything working properly."
So basically, if you want to try this - take a risk, worst thing that can happen is that
you will have problems with explorer until you change the key back.
Un-installing LiteStep
=====--------=========
Uninstallation of LiteStep should be considered your last resort. However, we do realize
that LiteStep is not for everybody, and were really nice people really, so we will tell
you how to make it all go away.
Before you decide to just uninstall it however, we do suggest either sending an e-mail
or dropping by one of the many LiteStep IRC channels and asking questions about your
problems. Many times users are overwhelemed by the necesary learning curve, and
give up. LiteStep by no means is easy or perfect, but many people have come up with
work arounds for many of the problems.
Uninstalling LiteStep from Windows 95/98/ME
-------------------------------------------
So you have decided that LiteStep just is not your thing and want to get rid of it like
a bad habbit. First thing you are going to want to do is open your favorite text editor.
From your text editor open your c:\windows\system.ini and find the
shell=c:\litestep\litestep.exe
line. Comment that line out by placing a semi-colon, ";", in front of it and delete the
semi-colin in front of your
shell=explorer.exe
line. If you do not have a shell=explorer.exe line commented out just add it in there.
Reboot your computer when you are finished and you're good to go.
For those unfortunate people who can't open their favorite text editor in Windows,
DOS edit is gonna have to do. Shutdown your computer and reboot to DOS mode.
To do this hold down the F8 key when you see "Starting Windows 9x" appear on
your screen and choose Command Prompt Only from the menu. Once there type
"edit c:\windows\system.ini" and then follow the instructions above.
Note: Many users, both during the installation and un-installation process receive a
message stating "Cannot find (insert executable) You must Re-install windows."
By no means is this necessary. Just reboot your computer and check your shell= line.
You didn't spell something right or missed a character.
This by far is one of the most common complaints I hear, don't be fooled.
Uninstalling LiteStep from Windows NT/2K
----------------------------------------
The most common problem that happens during a LiteStep uninstall on a Windows NT
machine is that most of the time users don't have administrative privileges on their.
However, if you do have administrative rights on your machine you will need to modify
a few registry entries to get LiteStep uninstalled. So lets fire up regedit and get started
on making your LiteStep headache go away.
First find the key:
- HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\
system.ini\boot>SYS:Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
change this to USR:Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon>Shell
change the value of Shell to c:\winnt\explorer.exe
- HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows>BrowseNewProcess
make sure that this DWORD is set to "no" so that explorer loads properly. This key
effected LiteStep if you were using Internet Explorer 4 and up, if you have an earlier
version of Internet Explorer, use a STRING named DesktopProcess, with a value
of "0" instead of the DWORD. Basically you need this set to no if you want to have
explorer setting itself as shell everytime you access it.
END OF BORROWED TEXT.....
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