How to find the secret hidden themes in Windows 7

Accessing and installing hidden Windows 7 Themes from different countries.

Windows 7 Hidden themes screenshot

Windows 7 themes are amazing. By default, Microsoft installs themes based on the language and location chosen at the installation face, but maybe you did not know that you can access the others themes, hidden in Windows. These are called Windows 7 Regional Themes. Today we are going to see how to access and install themes from different countries.

1-  Click Start in the search box “Search programs and files” and type “C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT”; press “Enter”. MTC folder window will open (See image 1); you will find five folders called MCT- AU, -CA, -GB, -US, and – ZA.

Hidden Themes Location

Click image to expand. Image1.


To install, access each “MCT-xx” folder and open the “Theme” folder and double click the file “‘name’.theme”. Repeat this step to add all the new themes. See image 2.

Note: “US” is already installed in your computer.


Theme folder

 

Click image to expand. Image2.


3-  When you are done installing all the themes, you can switch between them by going to the personalization feature in Windows 7; the new themes will be located under “My themes” area with their respective country names, i.e., Australia, Canada, South Africa & United Kingdom. See image 3.

 

Windows 7 Regional Themes

Click image to expand. Image3.

 

4-  Enjoy the new regional themes.

Tip: It is possible to grab just the wallpapers instead of installing the themes by browsing to “MCT-xx”\”NameOfTheCountry”. See image4.


Canada's Wallpaper Folder

Click image to expand. Image4.

 

This is a pretty cool trick to add personalization to your Windows 7.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].