Aero Glass Transparency

How to Enable or Disable Aero Glass Transparency in Vista

information   Information
Glass Transparency is part of the Windows Aero color scheme that makes your window borders look like transparent glass. This will show you how to enable or disable the Windows Aero Transparency feature.
Note   Note
Glass Transparency can be a resource hog on your video device. This can cause your computer to slow down on systems that are not very powerful. Using Windows Aero without Transparency does not use much resources though.
warning   Warning
You must have the Windows Aero color scheme turned on for the Glass Transparency, Taskbar Thumbnail Previews, and Flip 3D features.

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR: WINDOWS AERO
See: Windows Help and Support: Troubleshoot problems with Windows Aero

NOTE: The Windows Aero color scheme is not available for the Vista Home Basic version. :(
  • 1 GHz 32 bit or 64 bit CPU processor.
  • The computer needs at least 1 GB of RAM.
  • A graphics card with support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB of memory.
  • The graphics card must support Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware.
  • The graphics card driver must support Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM)
  • The computer display color depth must be set to 32 bits per pixel.

EXAMPLE: Transparent Window
Transparent_Window.jpg




OPTION ONE
Through Window Color and Appearance

1. Right click on a empty area of your desktop.​
2. Click on Personalize. (See screenshot below)​
Personalize.jpg

3. Click on the Window Color and Appearance link. (See screenshot below)​
Choose.jpg

4. To Disable Transparency
A) Uncheck Enable transparency. (See screenshot below step 7)​
B) Go to step 6.​

5. To Enable Transparency
A) Check Enable transparency.​

6. Click on a color you want to use for the windows, Start menu, and Taskbar.​
7. Adjust the Color intensity by sliding the bar to the left to decrease the intensity and to the right to increase the intensity.​
NOTE: If the Color intensity is set to far to the right, then the window borders and taskbar may be to dark to be transparent if enabled.
Uncheck.jpg

8. Click on OK.​
9. Close window from below step 3.​





OPTION TWO
Using a REG File Download

1. To Disable Transparency
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.​
Disable_Transparency.reg
download

B) Go to step 3.​

2. To Enable Transparency
A) Click on the Download button below to download the​
Enable_Transparency.reg
download

3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the Desktop.​
4. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.​
5. Click on Run, Continue (UAC), Yes, and then OK when prompted​
6. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.​
7. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.​




OPTION THREE
Manually in Registry Editor

1. Open the Start Menu.​
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.​
3. Click on the Continue button in the UAC prompt.​
4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)​
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

5. In the right pane, right click on ColorizationOpaqueBlend and click on Modify.​
DWM_Key.jpg

6. To Disable Transparency
A) Type 1 and click on OK. (See screenshot below)​
B) Go to step 8.​

7. To Enable Transparency
A) Type 0 (Number Zero) and click on OK.​
Modify.jpg

8. Close regedit.​
9. Log off and log on or restart the computer to apply the changes.​
That's it,
Shawn


 

Attachments

  • Disable_Transparency.reg
    278 bytes · Views: 3,380
  • Enable_Transparency.reg
    278 bytes · Views: 5,856
  • Personalize_and_Color.png
    Personalize_and_Color.png
    76.2 KB · Views: 424
Last edited:
I had the same problem, with the loss of transparency and those nifty thumbnails that appear when I hover over a window on the taskbar, but when I went to "color and Appearance" that menu with the "Enable Transparancy" didn't appear. Instead I get that old little box that's supposed to let you chnage the color of your active/inacitve windows, but that's not working either. Other people have said it's because of iTunes ad DivX, but I went so far as to uninstall them and nothing happened. I've been running Vista with no problems before now. Any suggestions?
 

My Computer

Hi Skoralee,

Welcome to the forum. :party:

You will need to have the Windows Aero color scheme selected for this to work. I heard of video drivers causing this problem where you cannot select it any more. You might try reinstalling the video drivers to see if that will fix the problem. If not, you might consider doing a Repair Install. This will allow you to repair your Vista installation without loosing your files, settings, and programs. You can see how to do this in this tutorial. You may need to reinstall your drivers afterwards.


How to Perform a Repair Installation for Vista

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
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    Corsair Hydro H115i
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    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
You're welcome Skoralee,

Glad to hear your problem is resolved.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi Roj888,

I would do whatever method you like and feel comfortable doing since they both do the same thing. One it Automatic and one is Manual. I prefer using the REG download to save time.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
hey shawn, i just bought a new vaio with vista basic and upgraded it to vista ultimate, pretty nice stuff.
my problem is that transparency is enabled while the windows are in "down mode" but there is no transparency in "maximize" mode. how do i work about it? (using vista ultimate x86 SP1)
thx
 

My Computer

Hello MirjA,

You can use the latest 1.1 beta 3 version of the free program VistaGlazz to have your Maximize window transparent to. It only works in the 32 bit Vista version and not the 64 bit version. The VistaGlazz 1.0 version will not work with the Vista SP1 installed.

Downloads | CodeGazer

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
i installed vistaglazz and patched my aero theme as i had to to but it falls back to windows classic theme, thank god there is option of "restore original"! but as u mentioned it wont work with SP1, then is there any way i can get my maximized windows transparent??????????

thx
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Not that I am aware of MirjA. :)

You might also post this question in the Software forum to see if anyone else may know of a program that will let you do this.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
So, I used to be able to use the nifty color mixer on Windows Vista Home Premium, but it decided to stop working last night for some reason o.o

Uhm, what do I do?

Now there is the old box from XP where you can attempt (and fail) to change the window colors and the taskbar color and whatnot...
 

My Computer

Hi VistaEnigma,

Welcome to Vista Forums. :party:

If you are seeing one of the screenshots below step 4 in this tutorial below instead of the one below step 3, then you do not have the color scheme Windows Aero selected. It must be selected, then click OK to close the window (step 4) and reopen it to see it (step 3) again.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/83824-color-scheme.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hello Brink :)

Thanks for the guide, Never thought that this will effect in system performance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Q6600 OCed till 3.3Ghz
    Motherboard
    Nvidia XFX nForce 780i SLI
    Memory
    2X2GB Corsair DDR2 800Mhz OCed @ 820Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    2xNvidia 9500 GT SLI OCed @ 730Mhz each.
    Sound Card
    Motherboard Built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22' LCD + 18.5 Wide Samsung LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1680 1050
    Hard Drives
    Internal 2x250 GB SATA II Maxtor,
    External 500GB SATA WD,
    PSU
    600Watts
    Case
    GIGABYTE
    Cooling
    GIGABYTE Volar CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Samsung Pleomax
    Mouse
    Prestigio
    Internet Speed
    2Mbps
uhm.
this may be beating a dead horse
but is there any way to get aero to run on an un supported graphics card?
thnx for any feedback
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Pentium 4 1.80 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel D845BG
    Memory
    512 mb 400 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Ati raedon 9250 256 Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Internet Speed
    3522 kb/s down 384 kb/s up
    Other Info
    doesn't support aero
    ......1.0 windows exoerience rating LOL
Hi Brandon,

Sorry, but the unsupported ATI Radeon 9250 graphics card will not run Aero. :(

You will need at least a 9500 model or higher.

Sorry,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
yeh i kno
=/
its so prettyful
lol
thnx ne way
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Pentium 4 1.80 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel D845BG
    Memory
    512 mb 400 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Ati raedon 9250 256 Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Internet Speed
    3522 kb/s down 384 kb/s up
    Other Info
    doesn't support aero
    ......1.0 windows exoerience rating LOL
No problem Brandon. The good thing is that you can get one these days at a pretty reasonable price.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
yeh
im considering upgradeing mine ot get the aero effects
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Pentium 4 1.80 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel D845BG
    Memory
    512 mb 400 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Ati raedon 9250 256 Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Internet Speed
    3522 kb/s down 384 kb/s up
    Other Info
    doesn't support aero
    ......1.0 windows exoerience rating LOL
Shawn,

How do you enable Areo on Unsupported Graphics Cards? I dont see it listed here :confused:

Steven
 

My Computer

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