Change the accent color of the Start Menu icon and applications

L

laywee

New Member
Hello, I can't figure out how to change the accent color for these elements before installation.
1708539769384.png
1708539790671.png
I realized that this section is responsible for the color on these elements: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SystemProtectedUserData\S-1-5-****\AnyoneRead\Colors.
But the trouble is that this sid is always different and I can't choose it in advance. Is there any other solution?
My accent settings:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Accent]
"AccentPalette"=hex:9b,9a,99,00,84,83,81,00,6d,6b,6a,00,4c,4a,48,00,36,35,33,\
00,26,25,24,00,19,19,19,00,10,7c,10,00
"AccentColorMenu"=dword:ff484a4c
"StartColorMenu"=dword:ff333536
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\DWM]
"AccentColor"=dword:ff484a4c
"ColorizationAfterglow"=dword:c44c4a48
"ColorizationColor"=dword:c44c4a48
"EnableWindowColorization"=dword:00000001
"ColorPrevalence"=dword:00000000
 
You can't apply HKCU changes by using a SID (which is randomly created on every install). Add a .reg file from Post-Setup (User).

My understanding is Windows overrides some Accent Color values because the palette doesn't provide enough contrast, and it replaces your color with another one. See this GitHub for more information: Pitch Black Theme.reg
 
When you load .reg files under the Registry, HCKU entries are added to Default User's NTUSER.DAT.

For unknown reasons, W10 & 11 now like to override (and ignore) such updates. If you check Default User's profile, all your changes are present. But it has no effect on all new user accounts.

Therefore you should move any HKCU changes to Post-Setup (User), so they get applied in a live user session.
 
garlin said:
When you load .reg files under the Registry, HCKU entries are added to Default User's NTUSER.DAT.

For unknown reasons, W10 & 11 now like to override (and ignore) such updates. If you check Default User's profile, all your changes are present. But it has no effect on all new user accounts.

Therefore you should move any HKCU changes to Post-Setup (User), so they get applied in a live user session.
Click to expand...
I tried to do this, but still the color remained the same. After that, I decided to just run this .reg file on a new machine, and the color changed. The question now is why it doesn't change via ntlite?
Here is the contents of the file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Accent]
"AccentPalette"=hex:9b,9a,99,00,84,83,81,00,6d,6b,6a,00,4c,4a,48,00,36,35,33,\
00,26,25,24,00,19,19,19,00,10,7c,10,00
"AccentColorMenu"=dword:ff484a4c
"StartColorMenu"=dword:ff333536

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\DWM]
"AccentColor"=dword:ff484a4c
"ColorizationAfterglow"=dword:c44c4a48
"ColorizationColor"=dword:c44c4a48
"EnableWindowColorization"=dword:00000001
"ColorPrevalence"=dword:00000000
1708552875071.png
 
I made a few Accent Color changes with WinPaletter, and monitored all reg updates using registrychangesview.

While you can have a PS script determine your current SID, the real problem is AnyoneRead is protected by registry write permissions. Unless you have TrustedInstaller rights, it's not possible to change that key or its permissions. Unless you install a tool like PowerRun.
 
garlin said:
When you load .reg files under the Registry, HCKU entries are added to Default User's NTUSER.DAT.

For unknown reasons, W10 & 11 now like to override (and ignore) such updates. If you check Default User's profile, all your changes are present. But it has no effect on all new user accounts.

Therefore you should move any HKCU changes to Post-Setup (User), so they get applied in a live user session.
Click to expand...
I don't know how, but it ended up working, even though it didn't work before for some reason. Thank you very much!
 
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