Back in 1995, Windows 95 dropped and suddenly your PC felt personal for the first time—thanks to custom Themes. Instead of the bland gray default, you could swap in wild color schemes, desktop wallpapers, and matching sounds that made startup and shutdown actually fun. Microsoft doubled down in Windows 95 Plus! Pack later that year, dropping official themes like “Underwater” and “Mystery,” and by the late ‘90s, sites were packed with fan-made themes featuring video games, movies, and even TV shows. Every update—from OSR2 in 1996 to the lead-up to Windows 98—kept that customization alive, letting you turn a beige box into something that actually felt like yours.