First of all: I did these modifications with my Dell Precision M4400 with a Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Mini-Card under Windows 7 Ultimate. The mods "modifying the tray icon" and "hide >>remove icon<< menu item" should work on most systems, the mod "icons for adapter states" probably only works for the driver of the mentioned Bluetooth module.
mod 1: modifying the tray icon
In my opinion, the style of the Bluetooth tray icon doesn't match with the style of the other tray icons. So I decided to change it's style so that it looks more in place there, which was kind of tricky. That's why here is a little guide how to do that on your own.
1. gaining file ownership: We are going to replace a system file, so first off all, we have to take the ownership of that file (because otherwise we wouldn't be able to do anything). Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\bthprops.cpl, right click and choose "Properties". Make sure that in the tab "General", read only is not checked, switch over to the tab "Security" and click "Advanced". In the window that pops up, switch to tab "Owner", klick "Edit" and mark your account from the list below "Change owner to:"(If you already did that and you still haven't got the permission after the following steps, try the list entry called Administrators (or sth. similar)).
Hit apply, and click ok until you are in the properties window again. There, click "Edit", mark your account (pe. "users (Johns-PC\\users)" ) (or if that didn't work the entry Administrators) and hit the checkbox "Full control" in the list below. Click "Apply", confirm in the upcoming window and click "OK" twice.
2. making a BACKUP of the original file: now, rename "bthprops.cpl" to something else, for example "backup_bthprops.cpl" and confirm all dialogs popping up. DON'T skip this step, because if something does not work afterwards, you will be able to recover everything by simply deleting the new file and renaming "backup_bthprops.cpl" to "bthprops.cpl". If Windows denies the renaming, go to step 1 and try the things written in brackets.
3. Download the "bthprops.cpl" file you can find below and copy/paste it into C:\Windows\System32\. Now restart explorer.exe or simply log off and on again. Now, the Bluetooth icon should look like this:
1. gaining file ownership: We are going to replace a system file, so first off all, we have to take the ownership of that file (because otherwise we wouldn't be able to do anything). Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\bthprops.cpl, right click and choose "Properties". Make sure that in the tab "General", read only is not checked, switch over to the tab "Security" and click "Advanced". In the window that pops up, switch to tab "Owner", klick "Edit" and mark your account from the list below "Change owner to:"(If you already did that and you still haven't got the permission after the following steps, try the list entry called Administrators (or sth. similar)).
Hit apply, and click ok until you are in the properties window again. There, click "Edit", mark your account (pe. "users (Johns-PC\\users)" ) (or if that didn't work the entry Administrators) and hit the checkbox "Full control" in the list below. Click "Apply", confirm in the upcoming window and click "OK" twice.
2. making a BACKUP of the original file: now, rename "bthprops.cpl" to something else, for example "backup_bthprops.cpl" and confirm all dialogs popping up. DON'T skip this step, because if something does not work afterwards, you will be able to recover everything by simply deleting the new file and renaming "backup_bthprops.cpl" to "bthprops.cpl". If Windows denies the renaming, go to step 1 and try the things written in brackets.
3. Download the "bthprops.cpl" file you can find below and copy/paste it into C:\Windows\System32\. Now restart explorer.exe or simply log off and on again. Now, the Bluetooth icon should look like this:
If that didn't work and you see no icon any more, delete the downloaded "bthprops.cpl" and rename the original file "backup_bthprops.cpl" to "bthprops.cpl". Log off and on again and you should see the vanilla icon.
mod 2: hide >>Remove Icon<< menu item
When clicking on the Bluetooth tray icon, the lowest entry is called "Remove Icon". I accidently clicked this multiple times and many others are experiencing this annoying thing too. That's why I wrote down how to delete the "Remove Icon" menu item so that this can't happen any more. The show/hide function for the Bluetooth tray icon itself still can be found in the "Change Bluetooth settings" window accessable by typing "bluetooth" into the windows start menu search.
1. Download ResourceHacker and install it.
1. Download ResourceHacker and install it.
2. locating the file that matches with your language: Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\. Now, choose the folder with the name of your computer's language (pe. for US-English choose Folder "en-US"). This is the folder where Windows stores the translation of the text of system applications for your language. Next, scroll to "bthprops.cpl.mui" and open it using ResourceHacker.
3. deleting menu entries: Using the folder overview on the left side of ResourceHacker, open the file "2140:1033" (file name might differ) located in the folder "Menu". There, remove |
(the text "Remove &Icon" is different in other languages. Anyways, it should be found in the lines 19 and 20 (have a look at the picture). Save "bthprops.cpl.mui" on your desktop.
4. gaining file ownership: In the following, we are going to do the same thing we did in mod 1 step 1 and 2 for the "bthprops.cpl.mui" we located in mod 2 step 2.
Navigate to "C:\Windows\System32\[YOUR LANGUAGE FOLDER]\bthprops.cpl.mui" (for US-English "C:\Windows\System32\en-US\bthprops.cpl.mui") , right click and choose "Properties". Make sure that in the tab "General", read only is not checked, switch over to the tab "Security" and click "Advanced". In the window that pops up, switch to tab "Owner", klick "Edit" and mark your account from the list below "Change owner to:"(If you already did that and you still haven't got the permission after the following steps, try the list element called Administrators (or sth. similar)).
Hit apply, and click ok until you are in the properties window again. There, click "Edit", mark your account(pe. "users (Johns-PC\\users)" ) (or if that didn't work the entry Administrators) and hit the checkbox "Full control" in the list below. Click "Apply", confirm in the upcoming window and click "OK" twice.
5. making a BACKUP of the original file: now, rename "bthprops.cpl.mui" to something else, for example "backup_bthprops.cpl.mui" and confirm all dialogs popping up. DON'T skip this step, because if something does not work afterwards, you will be able to recover everything by simply deleting the new file and renaming "backup_bthprops.cpl.mui" to "bthprops.cpl.mui". If Windows denies the renaming, go to step 4 and try the things written in brackets.
6. putting new file in the folder and making it work: Copy/paste "bthprops.cpl.mui" from your desktop to "C:\Windows\System32\[YOUR LANGUAGE FOLDER]\" and restart explorer.exe or simply log off and on again. The entry "Remove Icon" now should be there where it belongs (in hell).
If that didn't work and you see no icon any more, delete the "bthprops.cpl.mui" and rename the original file "backup_bthprops.cpl.mui" to "bthprops.cpl.mui". Log off and on again and you should see the vanilla icon.
Navigate to "C:\Windows\System32\[YOUR LANGUAGE FOLDER]\bthprops.cpl.mui" (for US-English "C:\Windows\System32\en-US\bthprops.cpl.mui") , right click and choose "Properties". Make sure that in the tab "General", read only is not checked, switch over to the tab "Security" and click "Advanced". In the window that pops up, switch to tab "Owner", klick "Edit" and mark your account from the list below "Change owner to:"(If you already did that and you still haven't got the permission after the following steps, try the list element called Administrators (or sth. similar)).
Hit apply, and click ok until you are in the properties window again. There, click "Edit", mark your account(pe. "users (Johns-PC\\users)" ) (or if that didn't work the entry Administrators) and hit the checkbox "Full control" in the list below. Click "Apply", confirm in the upcoming window and click "OK" twice.
5. making a BACKUP of the original file: now, rename "bthprops.cpl.mui" to something else, for example "backup_bthprops.cpl.mui" and confirm all dialogs popping up. DON'T skip this step, because if something does not work afterwards, you will be able to recover everything by simply deleting the new file and renaming "backup_bthprops.cpl.mui" to "bthprops.cpl.mui". If Windows denies the renaming, go to step 4 and try the things written in brackets.
6. putting new file in the folder and making it work: Copy/paste "bthprops.cpl.mui" from your desktop to "C:\Windows\System32\[YOUR LANGUAGE FOLDER]\" and restart explorer.exe or simply log off and on again. The entry "Remove Icon" now should be there where it belongs (in hell).
If that didn't work and you see no icon any more, delete the "bthprops.cpl.mui" and rename the original file "backup_bthprops.cpl.mui" to "bthprops.cpl.mui". Log off and on again and you should see the vanilla icon.
mod 3: icons for adapter states
Using this mod the Bluetooth tray icons for different states of the module, for example deactivated are also in the style of the other tray icons. This works on several Dell Laptops running Windows 7 with a Dell Bluetooth Module.
1. finding out if mod is applicable: To find out if this mod is applicable to your system, navigate to "C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btrez.dll" (or "C:\Program Files (x86)\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btrez.dll"). If this doesn't exist, this mod won't work.
2. making a BACKUP of the original file: rename "btrez.dll" to something else, for example "backup_btrez.dll" and confirm all dialogs popping up. DON'T skip this step, because if something does not work afterwards, you will be able to recover everything by simply deleting the new file and renaming "backup_btrez.dll" to "btrez.dll".
3. stopping bluetooth application: simultaneoulsy press CTRL+SHIFT+Esc to open the windows task manager. Head to processes tab and stop all visible Bluetooth-related processes (mainly BTTray.exe, BTStackServer.exe and BluetoothHeadsetProxy.exe).
3. Download the "btrez.dll" file you can find below and copy/paste it into "C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\". Now log off and on again and the deactivated Bluetooth icon should look like this:
1. finding out if mod is applicable: To find out if this mod is applicable to your system, navigate to "C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btrez.dll" (or "C:\Program Files (x86)\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btrez.dll"). If this doesn't exist, this mod won't work.
2. making a BACKUP of the original file: rename "btrez.dll" to something else, for example "backup_btrez.dll" and confirm all dialogs popping up. DON'T skip this step, because if something does not work afterwards, you will be able to recover everything by simply deleting the new file and renaming "backup_btrez.dll" to "btrez.dll".
3. stopping bluetooth application: simultaneoulsy press CTRL+SHIFT+Esc to open the windows task manager. Head to processes tab and stop all visible Bluetooth-related processes (mainly BTTray.exe, BTStackServer.exe and BluetoothHeadsetProxy.exe).
3. Download the "btrez.dll" file you can find below and copy/paste it into "C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\". Now log off and on again and the deactivated Bluetooth icon should look like this:
If that didn't work and you see no icon any more, delete the downloaded "btrez.dll" and rename the original file "backup_btrez.dll" to "btrez.dll". Log off and on again and you should see the vanilla icon.