How to Get Aero Glass Back in Windows 8
I don’t actually miss the Aero feature in Windows 8 but I do like transparent glass Windows. With Windows 8 RTM release, Microsoft removed the feature called Aero which was introduced in Windows Vista. But there is always a workaround and here’s how to get back Aero Glass.
DWM (Desktop Windows Manager) of Windows 8 works totally in different way. It has those parameters removed which were responsible for transparency. But, Aero Glass still exists; you just need a small trick to activate Aero in Windows 8.
- Right Click on Desktop and click Personalize.
- From Themes, select “High Contrast Black“. Windows will turn dark after applying.
- Click on “Colors” in the same Personalize Window and leave the window open.
- Right click again on Desktop and open another Personalization Window.
- Apply the “Windows” theme.
- Click on “Save Changes” button on the Personalize window which was left open in Step 3.
You will now notice that title bars of open Windows have turned transparent. Looks beautiful, isn’t it?
But there is a Problem with it. Not all will face it but most of you.
When you move Windows, transparency gets dirty with blurs. It appears similar to Windows screen when it stops responding. So, you get Aero transparency in Windows 8 but at a cost.
To fix this, temporary solution would be maximize the window and restore original size. I couldn’t find any permanent solution to fix aero glass appearance.
Will you still use it? I won’t.
Instead, I would recommend using Aero8Tuner tool which allows:
- Colorization of Windows or even Disable it.
- Change color balance or depth intensity.
- Enable Aero Glass transparency. (Similar to the way we did).
Tool is a successor of popular Aero Tuner and compatible with Windows 8 RTM. It’s a portable tool so no installation is required.
In short, method isn’t foolproof. If you find some working and better solution than this, I would be more than happy to hear from you in comments.
