You may not have the option to enable transparent glass effects in Windows Vista

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SYMPTOMS

You may not have the option to enable transparent glass effects in Microsoft Windows Vista.

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CAUSE

This issue may occur if any one of the following conditions is true:

The copy of Windows Vista is not a validated genuine copy.
The video card does not support the Windows Vista Aero theme.
The video card supports the Windows Vista Aero theme. However, the video card is configured incorrectly. For example, the video card may be configured to use only 32 megabytes (MB) of VRAM.
There are no Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) drivers available for the video card. If the computer has more than one video card, this issue may occur if only one of the video cards does not have WDDM drivers.
The computer has more than one video card. However, the video cards are not from the same manufacturer.
The version of Windows Vista that you are using does not support the Windows Vista Aero theme.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

Make sure that the copy of Windows Vista is a validated genuine copy. If you receive the following message when you try to enable the Windows Vista Aero theme, you must validate the copy of Windows Vista:
You need to validate your copy of Microsoft Windows. To get the Windows Vista Aero appearance and its associated visual elements, you must validate your copy of Microsoft Windows as genuine.
Note If you click Learn more about the benefits of genuine Microsoft Windows in this message, you can validate your copy of Windows by following the instructions that appear on the screen.
Make sure that all video cards support the Windows Vista Aero theme and that the video cards have WDDM drivers.
Make sure that the version of Windows Vista supports the Windows Vista Aero theme.
If the computer has more than one video card, make sure that the video cards are from the same manufacturer.
Make sure that the video card is configured to use at least 64 MB of VRAM. You may have to use more than 64 MB of VRAM if the screen is set to a high resolution or if you are using DirectX 9 or Pixel Shader 2.0.

For information about how to configure video card settings, see the product documentation, or contact the manufacturer.

For a list of video cards that contain a graphics processing unit (GPU) that supports WDDM, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905088.aspx#EDD (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905088.aspx)

Run Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor to obtain information about hardware that a computer may require to support the Windows Vista Aero theme. To run Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx)

The Windows Vista Aero theme is supported only in the following versions of Windows Vista:

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Microsoft Windows Vista Business
Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate

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MORE INFORMATION

Windows Aero uses WDDM to provide an enhanced user experience in Windows Vista. This enhanced experience include glass effects, advanced window management features, and a more stable experience that is provided by using desktop composition.
For help with Aero Glass effects problems in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft web page:

Fix problems when Aero Glass effects are not working in Windows (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/aero_effects_not_working)

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