Does anyone remember any of the "fun" desktop system monitors that used to be available for XP?

Evening, guys. Haven't posted here for an age, so.....

Does anyone here recall, what - for lack of a better description - I will describe as a "fun" desktop-based system monitor for XP? I used one myself, many years ago, and I'm trying to remember what it was called.

You could get all kinds of skins for it. My favourite was this one:-

Scrn-Shot1.png


This was my XP desktop, around 12 years ago. It's that thing up in the top-right corner; this particular set of skins resembled complex analogue chronographs. I'm certain it started with an "X", but I'm hanged if I can remember what it's called!

I want to recommend it to a mate who's setting up a brand-new, completely offline XP install specifically for gaming.......and he's always been "into" gizmos & gadgets. Can anyone shake the cobwebs off their long-ago memories, and recognize it.....along with remembering what it was called?

It would be very much appreciated. TIA!


Mike. ;)
 
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That looks like one of the Vista Sidebar gadgets. I don't know the specific name of that particular gadget unfortunately. There was a way to get Vista gadgets working in XP (I installed it on a PC I no longer own many many years ago) but I don't remember the steps I took..
 
I tried searching but found mostly dead links. I will have to dig through my old DVDs to find the Vista Sidebar for XP.
 
@tekkaman :-

Mm. Yeah, I remembered what the dock was called - the tooltip showing on the screenshot actually pointed me in the right direction! All these years and I never noticed it.... :oops:

But the clock-thingy up in the top-right corner wasn't part of it, that much I DO remember. This was an entirely separate "project", with its own community, forums, modders, the whole shebang. I cannot for the life of me remember where I found it, OR what it was called. THAT'S the info I'm after.....if anybody else can recognise or remember it.

If anyone CAN, it would be very much appreciated. Here's hoping.....


Mike. ;)
 
I still think it's one of the Vista Sidebar gadgets. It had several of those clock and system monitor gadgets. Here is one that's similar to yours.

gauge-meter-2.png



I haven't had the opportunity to dig through my old DVDs to find the install and instructions for installing in XP (web search came up empty).
 
@ClippyBeer :-

Heh. Well those are neat, I must say. Never got far enough down the road to discover them for myself, mind you; at EOL for XP I switched to the other side of the fence. Spent 6 months with Ubuntu, then discovered 'Puppy' Linux.....where I've been ever since.

I still don't think those are what I'm remembering, though. These have a charm all their own, butttt......they're still not the same. Ah, hell; I'll keep searching. Thanks for looking, anyway..!

I know one thing; when I do find the correct site, the name will leap out at me and smack me "upside the head". I shall recognize it when I see it (once I've dragged a ton of cobwebs out of my skull!)

Mike. :p
 
I mentioned Nexus because they do have clocks and since I saw your dock I thought that was it. See the picture:

There were 2 main projects for sidebars for XP.
1-A third party one called Thoosje Sidebar. Link to get here:

The other one was to actually make the oficial vista sidebar compatible with XP
Instructions and download here:
 
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