Is there a way to make Windows Vista command prompt run in 256 colors so I can use my VIM color theme in it?

Solution 1:

no, the default "command prompt" (aka terminal aka cmd.exe) is not capable of doing what you want.

why aren't you using 'gvim'?

Solution 2:

There are few terminals which can host console vim and support xterm-256 colors. And of course you need to choose in .vimrc proper colorscheme (xterm256 capable). Example:

set term=xterm
set t_Co=256
let &t_AB="\e[48;5;%dm"
let &t_AF="\e[38;5;%dm"
syntax on
colorscheme zenburn

mintty

Poderosa

ConEmu (I'm the author)

Only official Vim can work properly in ConEmu. cygwin/msys versions can't use 256colors mode because their implementations tries to emulate ANSI processor internally and ANSI sequences do not pass to terminal.