and never change skin   

Just because I'm running Odyssey now for the testing, right?   

Till the same trouble as well for me with the WB6 release (after i thopught it was corrected: 5 reboots corect, then again while applyin wallpaper (smart mode) through WindowBlinds control panel, the trouble came back on the next boot ...

Though i uninstalled (again and again) WB6, cleaned up everything (as suggested by NEIL) as well on disk AND registry, (with all reboots needs) then reinstall WB6 released version WITHOUT using the Wallpaper feature, and the problem still goes on ...

I've not winamp loaded at startup (i don't know why winamp or anything else in fact would interact in this trouble apart WindowBlinds itself ...) BUT it seems to me there's something's wrong in WindowBlinds building .wb4 files and especially "NameOfSkin.uis_frames.wb4". If this file is not present in the skin folder there's the trouble ... I've tried to handly "buid up" one inspired from a skin (Arileen to name it) with which i don't get the problem. In first stage that permited to "rebuild" correctly the appearence of the skin badly applyed in the WindowBlinds Configuration Panel and though to apply it. On second stage (mean a reboot), the problem was back without a skinned StartPanel and Taskbar ... I Looked up in the folder and the "NameOfSkin.uis_frames.wb4" was disappeard   as if "something" in the WindowBlinds feature deleted it (is there in any kind of way a verification through internet on boot, linked to WindowBlinds ? i ask for that because i had a full day off internet connection and during this full day i didn't had the trouble ... and as soon as the connection came back and though i had to reboot, the problem came back also ...).

BTW, i'm pretty sure that problem is linked to a bad building list of skins (and/or a bad building feature of the .wb4 files.)



In another way i've also noticed that some (not so old skins) which are "qualified" as Perpixel UIS2 skins, are skinning correctly the ShutdownDialog panel but not the LogoffDialog panel ... It's pretty strange as both are defined the same way in the .uis file ... (yep it's another weird trouble   )

Hey guys, i'm on trying another experience :

As the trouble is still on, that's what i just did with the skin i'm concentrated on (Artwork WB skin done by a very new skinner, mean treetog   - with little modification for the "All Programs" button to show in the right place on french version + a modified ButtonToolbar image)

If anyone want to test it for the trouble here's the version: WWW Link

Though here's the "new method" to apply the skin   :

- open the WindowBlinds Configuration panel
- choose the skin with trouble and edit any substyle of it with SKS V5 (think V6 will do the same)
- when the substyle skin is opened in SKS, choose to edit the "main" version
- just change anything (and change it back to his origial value), just to be able to save the "Main" skin
- close SKS
- close WindowBlinds Configuration Panel (which still must show the substyle version ... normally ...)
- right click on desktop and then ==> display properties / appearance
- you may still have the "main" skin selected ... and showing the taskbar (    )
- click "OK" and reboot, the skin may be applied correctly (well i'm at the third reboot this way for now ...   )

Tell us each other if something's better ...

How many experiments did it take to get that chain of steps?  Amazing work. (Glad I don't use the French version of Windows.)

Nice work!

Hours ... days ... nights ... monthes (euh nope, not monthes yet   )

Well, since the very begining of the creation of WindowBlinds i think it can be count in monthes in fact ...       and never, i say never, in any beta or release version the problems came from my PC's (smiley whistling in the air ...)

Arrrrrgggggggggggggggggggg, damned, the last chain of steps and method described before seem to be neither unworking after un few numbers of reboots ...  

It works (in fact as every skin works correctly i guess) till the "NameOffSkin.uis_frames.wb4" is not deleted (by which process ???) 

Another weird constatation still on same trouble: once the skin applied correctly (and preview correct both as well in WindowBlinds Configuration Panel & Display Properties / Appearence), and just leaving the PC running (with or without using it), after a while, StartPanel and Taskbar are just not shown anymore neither in WindowBlinds Configuration Panel neither in Display Properties / Appearence ...       
In the same time the "NameOffSkin.uis_BLOCK.WB4 decreased from 99 ko to 97 ko     ... That is to say "something" has done a refresh in the skins list / catalog ??? and a bad refresh ...

That point make me think the trouble is not directly linked to reboot but to another "system rebuild" ...

OK Neil, bear with me here...

I started futzin' around with the computer when I got home from work. First, I reset the Shrllstyle of the skin which I have loaded using neophil's workaround (loading the skin in Skinstudio and re-applying the skin, causing the taskbar & start menu to re-appear properly). Then, I disabled all startup items and rebooted. Upon startup, all skinned elements appeared as they should. just to be sure, I rebooted several times wit no problems, so far, so good. Next, I started adding startup items until the problem reappeared. It didn't take long...

The first startup item, the Symantec User Session app (ccApp.exe, part of Norton 360) caused the taskbar & start menu to revert to Windows classic style. After re-applying the skin through Skinstudio and disabling ccApp.exe, after rebooting everything is fine again. After enabling the remainder of my startup items, WB6 is still working properly
after several reboots. ccApp is still disabled, and as a result, Norton is operating with limited functionality. I am considering uninstalling Norton and going back to ZoneAlarm if I can't find a fix for Norton.

Still have the ClearType issue... Oh well, 1 crisis at a time, I guess.

Hope this helps...

Again, thanks in advance.

neophil78: Do you use norton?

Just booted up since yesterday. Still A.O.K. ...   

Nope... still wonky, darn it: POST HERE

Meesa go to sleep now. Gnarl it over again in the a.m. Ta.

Yep, Norton 2007, i'm gonna see if it's going same way disabling it on startup ...

EDIT: as soon said, as soon did ...

I unchecked ccapp from loading on startup (and stopped all services from Norton).
Rebooting was OK for StarPanel (like in some others cases) but after a while, looking up in WindowBlinds Configuration Panel the skin was again without StatPanel and Taskbar Though for me trouble is not coming from Norton ...

BTW i've seen (sometimes, because it's very quick when appearing) kinda popup. I managed to stop it. Called MS_WebcheckerMonitor (nothing in my Starup is showing me directly this thing even in services)
A quick google search indicates it should be linked to webcheck.dll which i get effectivly in C:\Windows\System32 and is part of Windows XP SP2 IE6 version. Should it be something linked to WindowsUpdate or something's like that ??? don't know and know if there's any relation with the WindowBlinds problem ...

N.B: i omit to say that of course i've checked (by two ways) for viruses and checked (3 ways) for any spyware or ugly things and my PC is as clean as a baby just born   

For me the two points which seems to me important for the trouble are explained
1) in #54
2) in #53