Why is the Windows Vista taskbar and start menu black?
Published July 1st, 2006 in Technology, VistaA thought just occured to me. In Windows Vista’s new Aero user interface (UI), all of the window titlebars and borders are translucent, and by default are a shade of silver, but can be changed to any color. However, the taskbar and the start menu have a black color scheme. No other part of the Aero UI is black. Although the taskbar and start menu are translucent just like the borders and titlebars of the windows, the color scheme is inconsistent with the rest of the UI.
Before Aero made its way to the builds of Vista, when it was known as “Longhorn”, a place-holder UI called “Plex” was used. This UI was blue, but a lighter blue than what was used in the Luna UI of Windows XP. Following Plex was another place-holder UI called “Slate”, which had a smokey grey color scheme. In both of these place-holder UI’s, the taskbar, start menu, and the windows all had the same color scheme. That consistency went away as Aero took shape.
Maybe Microsoft made the color scheme distinction in order to set the taskbar area apart from the rest of the desktop, including any windows contained therein. While that isn’t a bad idea, the lack of a way to change the color of the taskbar and start menu, similar to the way the tint of color of the windows can be changed, is a slight oversight.
57 Responses to “Why is the Windows Vista taskbar and start menu black?”
- 1 Pingback on Mar 10th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I DONT GIVE A F***k ITS BETTER THAN BLUE !!!!
yeah, I know what you mean. I actually found this site looking for a way to change the colour to match the windows, but with no avail. If you do find a way, let me know ^.^
So there is no way to change the taskbar from being black? I really want it to be pink..
I just installed Vista RC2 and the main sticking points are the black window border for maximized windows and the black taskbar.
I finally realized why I hate them. I think that black makes the use of Fitts’ Law worse for the user. From
“…some consequences for user-interface design include:
…
Edges (e.g. the menubar in Mac OS) and corners of the computer display (e.g. “Start” button in Windows XP) are particularly easy to acquire because the pointer remains at the screen edge regardless of how much further the mouse is moved, thus can be considered as having infinite width….”
The typical monitor has a black bar around it, so if you make the window edge and taskbar black, the window edge and taskbar now look like they are part of that black bar, extending the height of the window top and taskbar.
So if the user now aims for the top or the bottom, their aim may overeshoot the actual window top and taskbar bottom.
Try to find a windows Theme Style installer that incorporates a Pink Taskbar.
How do you download the black vista task-bar?
You can download a zillion themes from DeviantArt (http://www.deviantart.com) that look like Vista.
You can easily change the color of the taskbar! simply goto window color and appearance -> open classic appearance -> select windows aero -> advanced -> choose ‘desktop’ under ‘item’ -> change color 1
that’s it, the taskbar gets shaded primarily this color. Default desktop color is simply black!
Hi mrbase, thanks for the hint, but apparently it does not work. I can change the colour of maximized windows, but the taskbar still remains in this depressing black.
Ya, the mrbase instructions did not work for me. I can live with it, but it would be nice to be able to change it. I am always changing the colours and look and feel of my PCs…when you spend as much time at them as I (we, I am sure) do, you need to!
Ya,…But my computer has a different problem. The taskbar and windows that are opened in programs are all black. I can’t even read any text on the bottom bar or in the website top blue bar. What used to be blue is now all black and unreadable.
Does anyone have a similar problem or has ever encountered this??
is there any way i could make my task bar && start menu pink? please help im so bored with the blue that doesn’t match my background!
brii: You could switch to the classic theme in lieu of the Aero or Windows XP theme (depending on which OS you are running). Once you switch to the classic theme, you can click the advanced button which will allow you to change the color or every window element. Problem is that it looks kinda tacky, but it is the easiest way to change your windows and taskbar to be pink.
I found your website while doing a search to see how I could change the color and it looks like it’s not possible.
The user interface people at Microsoft have basically no taste at all, and I think I’m going to have to drop Windows as a result.
Let me put things this way: When I upgraded to IE7, I started using Firefox because I hated the new IE interface so much. Through XP, I actually liked the Windows interface. I hate it in Vista, and so I’m very close to just starting to use a Mac now. This is just a major disappointment and I think they’ve lost track of the way that users think.
i looking for a way to change my task menu black but i dont have vista nor do i want to upgrade it any websites?
I loved windows up to XP but then when I tried the Vista premium I really really lost interest in the windows no more! right nowI’m using Mac OSX and trust me it’s way better then Vista!
Ok, looks like it’s been done (check the sample picture on the following URL)
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread67357.html
Looks like it then takes the colour from windows appearance settings.
Just to confirm i’ve just tested it on Vista Ultimate and it does work!
Pink task bar - http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w203/lollett/pinkvista.jpg
A couple of issues, two of the dll’s are in use so windows won’t allow them to be overwritten… Tried booting into safe mode and they where still in use so plan ‘B’.
Boot from an old MSDOS boot disk and run NTFS4DOS.EXE (available from various sources on the net).
Then copy the files as per normal….
Next thing i’ve noticed is the taskbar isn’t a very strong colour, so you need to turn the intensity right up.
Enjoy!
Lee
“No other part of the Aero UI is black.”
That is such bull***t. Ever tried making ANY window maximized/full screen? Do you even look at what color it is?! Moron.
I had this black taskbar problem and after some digging around found that it was due to incompatibility with another program.
If you right click the taskbar and go to Toolbars look for any ticks against program names. In my case Google Desktop was the culprit. I unticked this and the transparency came back. Power DVD and the iTunes toolbar are common ones too.
HTH
Thar
Thar:
Your solution fixed the problem on my Vista. In my case however, it was the HP Advisor that locked in the black color. But I find that I prefer Black to any dull red, green, blue, or silver.
So I have decided to stay with black afterall.. Thanks again.
OMG GUYZ DIS UI IS SO UGLEE
Wow. Any number of third party applications to change the look of it, anyone?
@Thar: man, thanks for that tip. I was such freakish when this black taskbar problem even when AERO is enabled. ahaha! iTunes was the problem, when I ticked it off from the taskbar. Thanks. so crazeeeeyyyy. >:-] OSX must be ported to the PC. But I think Jobs wouldn’t do that. sad…
Thar Apr 29th, 2007 at 7:31 am
I had this black taskbar problem and after some digging around found that it was due to incompatibility with another program.
If you right click the taskbar and go to Toolbars look for any ticks against program names. In my case Google Desktop was the culprit. I unticked this and the transparency came back. Power DVD and the iTunes toolbar are common ones too.
HTH
Thar
THANK YOU!!! I have been searching for hours trying ti figure out what the freak happened to it! what an annoying waste of time oh man. I thought I’d never get it back. Thanks you so much!
I downloaded a program called styler, which then you can change the colour of the taskbay, or make it look like xp again! It’s pretty awsome. http://www.auslogics.com/vstyler/details.php
Yes it is true toolbars cause it to go black, i had itunes toolbar enabled and it was black,
to disable it right click the taskbar and under toolbars disable w/e toolbar is there, especially itunes.
The people that think that the obsolete, defunct Max OS X is somehow “better” than vista 7 XP are truly retarded.
If you want to get work done, if you don’t want to crash every five minutes and if you want access to the most sophisticated software tools every created you NEED either Windows Vista or Windows XP.
Mac OS X is garbage, and the only people that like it are the ones you get their thrilles from the dinky little animated icons which you can download as themes for XP and Vista anyway if you are really into that stuff.
Apple does not have the resources nor the required talent to develop a real operating system; they are basically a toy and very-expensive-cute-mp3-player marketing company.
It would be nice to change the color of the toolbar though and i am sure there’s an update to Vista which will address the problem since so many people are are asking for it.
^^
lol @ micro$oft fanboi
Yeah its annoying that you can’t change the color of the taskbar easily but if that is why you are switching to mac then wow good riddance. OSX will never run on windows machines because PC’s allow for third party hardware in fact they thrive on it. So they have to write all the drivers to support the limitless mountains of hardware out there. Apple produces all the hardware for their machines so they have less to maintain. Trying to support everything Microsoft does while maintaining stability would be far more painful than the end gain.
Apple makes good products but they are specialized and don’t do everything PC’s can do. PC’s are good too but not as flashy, vista remedied part of that but still needs to be fixed up a little, big whoop.
i wanted mine pink :[ my brothers desktop has windows vista & he was able to change da colors why cant with my laptob??? or mayb i just cant find where is it :[
OH MY GOSH. It was iTunes. Thank you so much for helping me!!!!
Also, if after de-selecting the tick mark next to items under “Toolbar” the taskbar is still black, check to see if the screen is maximized. If the screens for certain programs such as Internet Explorer are maximized and not just expanded, the taskbar will be opaque black, not a more transparent grey.
im only lookin for a way to change my taskbar coler not why its black
My friend knows a website where you can find a free program for any cloured taskbar you want! But the problem is… she forgot it! BUT DONT GIVE UP HOPE!
Its out there somewhere… lol
I want to make my taskbar gray
I Think someone realy likes black, MS..
Windows Vista Customization
UxTheme Patcher for Windows Vista found at
http://windows-vista-customization.blogspot.com/2007/01/uxtheme-patcher-for-windows-vista.html
UxTheme Patcher for Windows Vista
Are you tired of Vista’s Aero theme?
A patched uxtheme.dll gave you the freedom to use un-signed custom visual style in Windows XP but in Windows Vista you have to replace three dll files to use third party visual styles.
Those three files are uxtheme.dll, shsvcs.dll and themeui.dll
Download The Patched Files
6.0.6000.16386_XX.rar (32bit)
http://anti-tgtsoft.com/repository/
6.0.6000.16386_XX_AMD64.rar (64bit)
http://anti-tgtsoft.com/repository/
How To Install
1. Login as a user with Administrative privileges -or- have Administrative
credentials ready (check under the keyboard for a slip of paper).
2. Navigate to %systemroot%\System32
3. Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
4. Take ownership of the file and close dialogs.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll
6. Right-click uxtheme.dll and click properties.
7. Give yourself (or group) Full Control permissions and close dialogs.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll.
9. Rename uxtheme.dll to uxtheme.old.
10. Rename themeui.dll to themeui.old.
11. Rename shsvcs.dll to shsvcs.old.
12. Copy patched files into %systemroot%\System32
13. Reboot (yes, this is really required)
14. Enjoy!
Now Click here and download this nice HilledSE visual style for Vista RTM.
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11326
IT WAS ITUNES! The iTunes Toolbar feature causes the toolbar to go back. It is almost like Apple wants to make the bar go black and make people depressed so they go out and buy a mac! My toolbar is now a nice shade of blue. To fix the problem right click on the task bar, go to toolbars, and uncheck iTunes. Then Go to appearance and change the colors. If it doesn’t work it might be another toolbar causing the problem to, such as HP Total Care Advisor or Google Desktop. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at kevin52094@gmail.com
i like the gray and black task bar
because they just tand out and look minted
Thar:
Thank you so much; that taskbar remedy worked wonders. It was the HP for me as well. man you are a genious
again thanks alot ^_^
Thar,
You are simply amazing. Thanks for your help!!!!
JMo
i found how to change the color of the taskbar wihtout hacking in or anything like that. all of you have to do is to right click on your taskbar, go to toolbars, and disable all of them except the quicklaunch toolbars.
Michael is right. Although you can still have a few of the toolbars up. Like my favorite is the Windows Media Player, I can still have that checked and the color or my taskbar is now green (the color that I wanted it to be), but you can still change the color by going into your Personalize menu when you right click on your wallpaper.
My vista color scheme is changing to windows classic color scheme when ever Iam starting my system. Can you please suggest some solution.
it was the hp advisory for me as well
thanks so much thar
Are you guys stupid or something, the start menu & toolbar can be changed so easily, when you select the colour from the personalisation menu>windows colours & themes, just select the colour you want and THEN select the OPACITY!!! the further to the right the better that affects the colour of the start toolbar, its not black its a dark clear, trust me it is as simple as that try it!!
can anyone tell me how to change a windows xp taskbar to a windows vista taskbar? i accidentally changed my windows vista taskbar to a windows xp taskbar and i don’t know how to change it back.
can anyone tell me how to change a windows xp taskbar to a windows vista taskbar? i accidentally changed my windows vista taskbar to a windows xp taskbar and i don’t know how to change it back.
Lee is wrong. Its not that easy. Personalize>Window Color and Appearance will not let you change the color of the Taskbar or Start Menu. Adjusting the Color and Color intensity only affects windows on the screen, not the taskbar or start menu.
LISTEN GUYS I HAVE VISTA ULTIMATE ON MY COMPUTER AND MY DAD HAS VISTA ULTIMATE INSTALLED ON ONE OF HIS HARD DRIVES (SO HE CAN SWITCH BETWEEN VISTA AND XP WITH A SINGLE REBOOT) AND IF HE GOES TO RIGHT CLICK - PROPORTIES - WINDOWS COLOUR AND APPERENCE, HE HAS A NUMBER OF OPTIONS AVAILABLE AND HE CAN CHANGE THE COLOUR OF HIS TASK BAR TO BLUE - RED - PINK- AND COLOUR, BUT I CANT, I AM STILL SEEKING ADVICE, IF ANYBODY KNOWS PLEASE TELL ME - email little_big_man13@msn.com
Yeah, better black than blue!!!!!!
Maybe someone out there can help me. I got windows visa premium. I want to change the appearance of some things too, but i cant get access to Window colour and appearance. Actually, the only thing i can get into is Desktop backgrounds, sounds and mouse pointers. All the other selections wont let me in. Any one had the same prob and know how to fix it?
Phew! It was my iTunes and HP Advisor making my taskbar that hideous black! I can’t believe those were the cuprits! Weird. Now my computer is pretty
Thank you guys!
Where do I get a luna theme for Windows Vista?
Google Desktop was my problem, too…(I KNEW I’d remembered the taskbar orange! :P)
The thing is that as much as I hate the black-ness, I really want my google desktop, too. Any chance these two could magically become compatible with each other?
Hahaha, ya’ll are all funny. Windows Vista UI is set to have a clear transparency theme, which enables default color scheme to be black. If you Change the color by going to Control Panel > Windows Appearance and Personalization > then Customize Colors, there you will have a select few of colors to change that shade of black to something else. If you’re encountering difficulities with it Switching back to “Classic Mode”, you’re running low on harddrive space, or your computer is not familiar with a certain type of program causing it to go back to “Classic Mode”. With Classic Mode, you cannot view Aero Style themes, in which you can’t change the taskbar. but with Windows Aero you can. Any further comments or questions feel free to E-Mail me at CNDawgg2k7@aim.com. I am friends with Computer Technicians and I’m hoping to hear ya’lls next gripes about the new upcoming Windows 7 UI.
Changing the colour is simple
Control panel>Under Appearance and personalisation, Customize colours>Choose your colour!