My grandma has alzheimers and was finding windows 11 impossible to use on her new computer. I followed your video and replicated the exact same windows 7 look and feel she had before. I placed everything exactly as it was, with the same position of desktop shortcuts, icons, backgrounds, colours etc. It has made a tremendous difference for her and I would like to thank you very much for creating this super helpful guide :-)
If you want to reacreate the translucency effect of the old taskbar, set the mode to "glass," set the opacity to about 30, and play with the color setting to taste.
Actually, it was Windows 8 when Microsoft removed Aero Glass and made Windows ugly and flat. Because the code was removed, it is difficult to duplicate in Windows 10 and 11. Attempts to do so don't make it look as good as Windows 7. There was an aero glass program for Windows 10, but it's been discontinued
@@CyberCPU I heard what you said about making Windows 11 look like Windows 3.1... If you can make that happen and show us how to do that with Program Groups and so on... and in a functional way similar to Windows 3.1, that would be simply AMAZING!!! Also, I did find a File Manager for free that was very reminiscent of the old Win3.1x file manager but for "modern" windows... "Free Commander XE" I forget where it was at, but it was something like "fosshub" or something. It was definitely "Free Open Source Software" site, though. It doesn't look exactly like it, but it's reminiscent of it. Just thought I'd throw that out there since you mentioned it. I've been loving your vids since I subbed your channel a few weeks ago. I can't wait to start implementing several of your projects like turning 10 and 11 into Windows 7 look-alikes!
The code for Aero Glass was technically still in Windows 8, it was just disabled (iirc the same could be said for the Windows 7 Start menu). I think you could enable it through registry tweaks but I may be remembering wrong, otherwise third party programs like Bigmuscle's "Aero glass for win8" would hack and enable it. Microsoft finally completely removed the code when Windows 8.1 came around.
Really useful, thank you. Effectively being forced into Windows 11 (need more powerful laptop and they don't have Win 7 drivers), so this will make things feel more natural and intuitive. I just wish that Microsoft would humour us and simply have an option to "Make Cosmetically Like windows 7 /8 /10 / 11" - so folks could quickly and easily select their default "feel". Crazy thting is, not only would it be easy for them, but it may have encouraged MILLIONS more people to upgrade the operating system - if they felt they would not have to learn yet another whim of Microsoft.
yeah u are right something like samsung has their themes app but just do it on windows it cant be hard for microsoft to do it. Also i am sure that boomers would love it :D
I have been making windows 10 look and act like windows7. I did that since 8.1 was end of life which I made it look and act like windows 7 as well. I do not want to go to windows 11 do to this. Thanks for giving me hope.
@@Buckeyebob Mostly by start 8 and the products there which became start 10 and now they have start 11. Microsoft made that company rich by going against what folks like me wanted in an OS. Which is to run the programs I want to run and the OS to stay in the background and not be a rat.
@@ardithconley2628 What's the difference between Start11 and that Open Shell free program shown in this video that helps make the start menu function more like in Windows 7?
Thanks for this and I will certainly be using parts of it to get back the Windows look and feel I grew used to. But this all leaves me thinking, if so many people still prefer Windows 7, why hasn't Microsoft gotten in on this? It's the perfect thing for them. Force newer versions of Windows on everyone and then they could get more of your money offering a Windows 7 Theme Add on Service Pack. If they really wanted to take it to the limit, they could ovcer it as a subscription to charge you every month to keep your Windows looking and feeling like Windows 7! Hell, why not also offer an upgeade that has Themes for Windows 98, Windows XP, and Windows 7? The money grabbing opportunities are plentiful!
Thanks! I personally love the look of the Windows 7 start menu + icon mixed with the Windows 10 style taskbar. Also the slightly rounded corners are exactly what I was looking for. This is amazing!
Nicely done! Getting a transparent taskbar alone is a plus for me, I hate that win11 doesn't even let you even use small icons or shrink the taksbar down a few pixels. But getting it transparent, that alone is a win for me.
I am SO happy to find this. I really want to get a good AeroGlass effect in my Windows 10. I haven't switched to 11, I'm gonna hold off on that for a long while, maybe forever.
As always a well documented video from you Rich. I Was not self a Windows 7 user because I had Windows XP. When end of XP support in 2014 I bought a upgrade licens to Windows 8 Pro, so Windows 7 Pro have just been used to the pc I'm having now, to upgrade it to Windows 8 and after that up to 10. My installation is still the one from 2015, just upgraded to the builds that came after that.
What an awesome guide, thanks for your efforts! I personally don't like seeing the little gear icon in the system tray and I always hide it in the Explorer Patcher properties. To do that, right click on an empty space on the taskbar and select Properties➡System tray➡Control Center Button❌ & restart File Explorer. There are also some other settings you can change in the System tray tab to make it even more like Windows 7. Hope this helps someone!
Excellent tutorial! I've hated the change away from window 7 from the start and grudgingly accepted windows 10 but windows 11 was the straw that broke my back. I spent an hour today on this and the only feature I couldn't emulate was the semi transparent texture 8.1 system tray....but blue is Ok too. Thanks. Edited to add: The issue with the system tray was the image I had chosen for my desktop background....once that image was changed the taskbar performed as I had hoped.
Thank you for this video, that win 7 taskbar is so much better as its effectively extra space. Aside from also looking cool. An additional part of my reply as I think you deserve it, I have seen many youtube videos over the years where the pacing is poor, things get over explained and so forth, but you nailed the pacing, I was kept engaged through out the whole video, and your editing as well for the zoom in out of your screen is very good work. Constant uninterrupted, you are a very good presenter and I am now subbed to your channel, will check out your other videos as well, thank you.
For me, the best option for menu and taskbar is "startisback". You can adjust start symbol, start menu and taskbar individually, between win 7, win 8 and 10/11. And it is 5 bucks.
You can use a windows 7 msstyles made for 10 to change the look of the caption buttons. Some windows 10 msstyles still work if they are made above 1607, since 11/10 still uses the same theming engine from 1607, which is why some themes made for 11 work on 10, and themes made on 10 1607 work on 11. Tried this and i guarrantee you, it works.
Nice mods! The Win 7 interface was the best so far but killing the aero glass effect was a really dumb decision. I don't understand why it was not re-introduced in Win 11 because the user can disable the effect if it's too heavy for their hardware and use the boring flat interface, but all PC's and laptops nowadays can easily handle the extra memory and processor load.
I have Win7 Ultimate with all the updates installed in VMware Workstation and when I miss it, its there for me😂Thanks for the video tho, great content. Cheers!!!👏👏👍👍
Thanks for the video, I'm certainly going to use it as a reference. Big propz to the guys who create the themes, the theme patchers and the tweakers as well. Did something similar a few years back with my Windows 8.1 installation to make it look like Vista, which I thought was a dreadful OS but a damn goodlooking one with the right tweaks. Really didn't like the 8.1 start menu or the window style, those flat windows, window control buttons and basic colours looked like they'd been designed by a 5-year-old. Used Classic Start Menu for the start menu and taskbar, found an "Eye Of HAL9000" png for the start button. Had to try a few theme patchers and Vista Aero themes before I found a combination that worked but ended up with the whole Vista black glass Aero thing going on, including rounded window corners, the red close window button and the translucent 3D effect taskbar. It was a couple of days faffing about and a few naughty words were involved here and there, but it was well worth it and I like it. I'm still using it. Some newer programs still give me the horrible flat windows but they're few and far between. Prior to that I had a W7 netbook on which I put a very convincing MacOS Snow Leopard theme without too much trouble. Don't laugh, I think Snow Leopard is rather pretty. Maybe when I've got a spare couple of days, enough beer & cigarettes, and I'm up for the fight I'll try to Snow Leopard my W10 laptop again. The first attempt on that didn't go well...
Tidbit: To set background, just right click picture and choose " set background" from context menu. That is a little shorter path than going through the personalize menu.
For those that don't want the color blue (or any color) on the start menu go for low opacity on skin -> glass color intensity. That's what I like better personally.
Very interesting mods! It's a bit involved, but in the end, it looks pretty convincing. I've wanted to do the same thing with Win 10, since Win 7 was by far, my favorite Windows OS for multiple reasons.😉 I'm avoiding 11 like the plague, since there are so many background data collection programs. Even if you get rid of them, they have a nasty habit of returning whenever you run updates.😡
I've been looking into linux myself, I am just tired of my PC becoming slower and slower, I have an older computer motherboard and parts yes, but if it ain't broke then don't fix it. When I heard about windows 11 and their requirements, I was absolutely fed up and still am. The requirements are ridiculous and will cause a bunch of e-waste. I will just install linux instead, I am just waiting for games to get more capabilities with linux and once it happens, I am switching fully. Don't need unwanted telemetry, I'll lose my copy of microsoft office but I don't care. I just want a computer that works as it's supposed to.
@@BrennanWest85 Just an FYI, Linux does support the Steam platform now. I run several machines with Linux (Linux-Mint in particular), and you'd be hard pressed to find any commercial OS that can do what it does and not even break a sweat!😉
@@BrennanWest85 I'm not using Microsoft Office anymore. I have Libre Office and that is fine for most users. It don't have a mail program, but that can Thunderbird help you with 🙂
nice Windows11 UI mod!....I'm going to make sure to come back here when I'm forced to use Windows 11. On 3 of my recent computers, I've been turning down the free update from windows 10 to Win 11, thinking I'd lose support of various old software or hardware drivers I still use & have installed. But yeah, the User interface of windows 11 was the other aggravation to get around. thanks for the helpful video.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us I loved Windows 7 alot.❤, Also can you please in the next video show how to make windows 11 look like Windows 8.1? Thanks.
That's blasphemy. 😂🤣 Not very many people liked Windows 8. I remember when it came out and the most popular job I would have back then was loading Windows 7 on those computers. 🤷♂️
@@CyberCPU Agree I converted a few back to windows 7 as customers of mine deemed windows 8.1 unusable and still wasn't happy with just the start menu mod with classic shell🤣🤣
Thank you so much. Yes I tried the trial of Windows Blinds, I got a bit frustrated with it. I was having some trouble getting it to give me the look I wanted. I love those task bar and start menu customizations. From this video I am a little less scared to move to Windows 11. Still gonna hold out for a while though.
22:19 I think there might be. I remember during the XP/Vista days there were many theme packed programs that automatically changed the icons of the OS which even changed the icons of the tools within the control panel as well as the system tray. One of these was Longhorn Inspirat for Windows XP. However it seems that ever since Windows 8, MS has made it harder for third parties applications to apply theme/icon packages on the system and making Windows harder to customize with every single realize.
A note on the Windows 11 background. You changed the desktop background to look like Windows 7 BUT I went one step further and use my own custom background using a picture. BUT I kept getting a random desktop background showing up which would go away when I clicked on the desktop. I did not want this, I just wanted my picture as the desktop background all the time. I discovered why this was happening. I had to make windows themes the same image as my desktop background to keep the same image on the desktop. I hope this helps other people who might have the same problem. One problem that I noticed about Windows 11 that I hate is when I am in a game on the internet or using a program I use to get to the desktop but that does not work in Windows 11 and it is very annoying. Can I change this to act like Windows 7? Another annoying thing was the split screen changing all the time because of my mouse actions but I was able shut that off in settings. Now I need to stop a window on the desktop from jumping to full screen sometimes when I move my mouse.
I must correct you on 2 things: 1) Windows 7 had more rounded corners 2) it's possible obtain AERO BASIC for make it more actual; it's free and requires 2 programs: BasicThemer2 and UltraUXThemePatcher. By the rest the video was great
At the time I'm watching this (April 9, 2024), there are 3.9K thumbs up for this video. That tells me there are a lot of people that are not happy with Windows 11 and came here for a solution, and there are likely many more people who feel the same but will never see this video. Why can't Microsoft respect the wishes of their customers and make this conversion available in a simple easy way?
Microsoft is nuts to have abandoned their old UI. Thanks so much for this tutorial. I didn't bother with the icons but everything else is just (chef's kiss) perfect.
The latest (beta version) of the free Open Shell program is 4.4.189, which includes several fixes vs. the version 4.4.170 used in your video. The "real" Windows 7 can be installed and run on up-to-date 2023 hardware. Although, if using the official Microsoft Win7 installation medium, will require initially using a PS/2 mouse until the USB port driver can get installed. Note: for Win7 to be able to boot to desktop will probably require the bios setting: CSM=enabled, although the "UEFI Mode" bios setting & "GPT disc format" should function ok. Use Rufus & the official MS free download of Win7 to create the USB installation medium. The USB port works okay during the installation phase, but during final setup the USB driver is absent, so that only a PS/2 mouse will work natively.
@@CyberCPU Microsoft has actually continued monthly update support for Win7 "embedded" versions, such as point-of-sale, medical, industrial, etc. Which updates can also be applied to normal desktop machines, "if you know where to look".
Watching this video just convinces me more that I shouldn't get rid of Windows 7. MS would make a ton of profits if they just updated Windows 7 to be a modern version that can run updated hardware and software.
It's amazing that while Windows has flattened its OS down over time, Linux has gone the opposite direction with desktop manager designs like those found in Garuda Dr4goniz3d Edition etc.
So awesome that U Show exactly how to do these things, plus u are verry good on explaining, which make things 90 times easier to get ! So thanks so much again Rich your awesome !!!
Windows 7 was the baby. I just installed it on an older machine, it wasn't easy but I got it to work great. Anyone who wishes to use the awesome Windows 7 3D icons on 10/11, just find a copy of W7 imageres.dll ...rename it slightly so it doesn't conflict with the current system version of it, drop it into the Windows System 32 folder. Now just update your icons to that .dll instead of the original one that is looked at by default.
Not sure if I'm doing anything wrong or not, or if it's just because the setup has been updated in the last three months, but the .NET thingy will not pop up when I press yes to download it. It's probably just me, but I would need some help with that. Not trying to be rude about this, but I was able to install your windows 11 to windows 10 setup.
When you say this is buggy, is it just getting everything working is buggy and once it's done it will work without issues or in sometime will i have to troubleshoot it and fix later down the line? Awesome guide BTW
@CyberCPU Tech, Great video. Thank you. Customization is a whole and worthy rabbit whole of it's very own. You may want to let your viewers know about using programs such as Rainmeter and RocketDock to completely change the desktop look and feel, often in more individualistic and artistic ways. Of course this is completely contrary to the forced unanimity that Microsoft pushes and hence all the more interesting and rewarding as a result. Thanks for the videos and keep up the great work.
I didn't have time to watch the whole video, but I have a question. With the extra programs being downloaded and running, does that affect performance?
To achieve the whole visual transformation it will add processes. Some of the apps required to modify the OS appearance have to run at startup. It`s probably not a big effect but they`re still running in the background.
I don’t even care if it doesn’t look exactly like aero glass, since trying to do that would be pretty much impossible unlike in windows 8.1, yes, 10 has the same issue
I still remember my first time seeing windows 7(never saw or used vista before that). Aero just looked so freaking cool. I will never understand the rationale for completely removing it
Build updates might but regular updates shouldn't. However, when you run Windows update you can run into problems with explorer patcher. It's a known issue that will hopefully be resolved soon. However, after you run update sometimes the taskbar will fail to load. In those cases you have to reinstall explorer patcher to make it work. It's a hassle but that's what you get sometimes with free and open source software.
Awesome video! Two questions: 1) How much of a resource tax comes with these mods? 2) With the Aero glass, my favorite feature was the cascading scroll using Win + Tab. Is that an option?
the resource usage is barely anything. in my case open shell uses 200kb of ram, and explorer patcher uses 2 mb of ram. both uses minimal (or none) cpu usage at all, and downloading them uses around 10 mb of storage space.
I just used the default windows taskbar options to move the Start button to the left hand side. That's enough for me. OpenShell might be worth it if compatible, but 11 is not what I'd call a new OS. There has been little need to update. 12 or 13 will probably introduce the most changes with heavy reliance on what everyone doesn't want (AI)
thanks to this video now i managed to make the taskbar use small icons in windows 11! this is huge u should make a video on that! untaped market i say, no one i searched for online changed this without messing the time and date on the right!! using regedit explorer patcher is the way!
Many thanks 1 I have W10 running with Classic Shell - but isn’t it crazy how we have to go to these lengths to get an OS to behave like the user-friendly Seven?
This is awesome, thank you so much! Yes, Windows 7 was the best looking and best running version of Windows. I work in IT as well, but I have used your videos for both help and learning, thank you so much! Is it possible to make Windows 10 look like Windows 11? I know sounds crazy, but someone has asked me to do it. They asked me to make Windows 10 look like Windows 11, basically they have two logins and they want one login to look like Windows 10 and the other to look like Windows 11. They don't want to upgrade to Windows 11, so thus the reason they want to make it look like Windows 11 for one login. I exported/imported the Windows 11 Themes and managed to get some of the Icons, but I am not finding anything for start menu and the remaining icons. Is this something you might consider making a video on, or at-least replying with some pointers? Thanks again,
To be honest, I hadn't considered it. Windows 11 is so close to Windows 10 functionally that I would just install Windows 11. I don't currently know of any Windows 11 start menu clones. Most people want to go back, not forward.
This is very interesting. I have been wondering if because Win 7 is not supported by MS anymore, will we be able to tell AI soon to update our copy of Windows 7 so that it comes with all the benefits of Windows 11, while still retaining the functionality and appearance of Windows 7. I have been running Windows 7 on my PC for more than 10 years. It has never crashed. It is the most useful, stable, and functional OS I ever had. It took me 2 hours to load Win 11 on a new build because Windows made it complicated. They also try and force you to sign in and sign up for things some people just don't want. IMO when you buy an OS you buy it to use freely, with no strings attached.
Same here. Win7, 10 years, loaded and LOCKED. ZERO problems. Since this is my main work PC, I got a new monster machine, installed Win 11, but MS has TOTALLY FCKED the GUI. I have checked all of the options and if Start 11 doesn't work properly I'll just go to Win10. Taskbar icons with no letters are just on BIG NO. Other programs: one is from Russia, other runs code in registry which can break the PC, one not supported, etc. In short: I will use MORE time to fix the BROKEN OS, than install all the stuff I need for work. Well done, MS, well done. IF I were to meet the genius coding this abomination, he would be visiting his dentist for a long time. It's really funny how MS is able to RAPE their customers unpunished for so long.
That was pretty good! Good job. I've FINALLY migrated from Win7 to 11 and the one thing I hate is the large screen elements. Since Win7, Windows OSs have been made primarily for tablets. I guess they say "screw the desktop people because we're too cheap to make dedicated OSs each for phones, tablets and PCs like Apple". Screen elements are HUGE on a large monitor. Take the Settings for instance which consists of these huge 1" x 10" rectangles while using a 20-30 pixel cursor? . LOL. But your videos are great. You have clear and concise delivery.
Do you use Browser Extensions? NVM. Also I would like too see both Open Shell and Start AllBack used to combined Open Shell with Start AllBack Open Shell for the start menu while Start AllBack is used make the taskbar less flat and the icons bigger simaliar to Windows 7 and 8.1 and also make the Taskbar Tabs less flat you know when you have an opened program on the taskbar.
Brilliant, I appreciate all your hard work doing this. I just went from win7 to win 11 and I don't like it. Now I can change it to look like 7, thanks.
I did this and now my full screen mode has a hairline crack all the way around. I made a restore point before everything, I wonder if it’s worth it. It looks so good and love it
I followed the instructions and have two problems. Or is it three? First, the blue color change in Open Shell Menu, Task Bar only appears with a flash when the Task Bar restarts. Second, the "gray" colored texture appears on the left and right, then splits diagonally on the left and right with the background appearing through. Third, only the Start Menu (Windows) icon and the Programs icon appears in the left window. Only when I hover the mouse over the Programs icon doe it populate. But when I move the cursor away, they disappear from the left column/window. Otherwise, I like the tweaks, although I was getting used to the Win 11 "features". Oh, btw, I have Win 11 Pro.
idk if there is a fix to this but anytime i play a game that isnt in fullscreen mode it just turns my screen full grey , for example if i had a game in windowed borderless it is all solid grey untill i make the game fullscreen
This was very good and perhaps it is just me but trying to keep up with how fast you are dictating what to do and what changes to make can be tiresome and frustrating at times. I don't want to be "That Guy" but it took me some back and forth with the video to get it going. Again, thanks, much appreciated because I never liked the look and feel of Windows 8 or 10 or 11. Win7 was always my favorite and I am still reeling about it lol.
10:26 I have an issue where when I click the start button, the settings menu shows up in a little icon in the taskbar and I can't click it. It's just stuck there and I have no clue how to fix it.
i love this lol might eventually do this on my laptop (once i get more storage lol) also yes, that´s me, the guy who´s old PC just wouldn´t work with Windows 10 lol i´ve got a Windows 11 gaming laptop now, it´s amazing (apart from only having 512GBs of storage of course which feels like a crime BUT at least i can put in a second SSD or HDD so that makes up for it, miss the DVD drive laptops used to have but i´ve got like 5 USB ports on this thing so i can easily plug an external one in, overall it´s amazing finally being able to play games and stuff on the highest settings the game allows, it´s REALLY nice
So if you have an update every time does it stick or do you have to wait for the programs you used to download get an update and re download it just to make it work on that current update?
New subscriber. Thank you man from bottom of my heart. Microsoft could have made a good program, i have a bad feeling they made windows such a mess then people wouldn't find what is under the machine
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My grandma has alzheimers and was finding windows 11 impossible to use on her new computer. I followed your video and replicated the exact same windows 7 look and feel she had before. I placed everything exactly as it was, with the same position of desktop shortcuts, icons, backgrounds, colours etc. It has made a tremendous difference for her and I would like to thank you very much for creating this super helpful guide :-)
Best comment I've ever read lmao. Wish the best for you and your grandma!
So sorry for your grandmother. That's very sweet of you
My father too find it difficult
Opoenheimenrs
that's actually so nice
If you want to reacreate the translucency effect of the old taskbar, set the mode to "glass," set the opacity to about 30, and play with the color setting to taste.
its not working for some reason my taskbar just goes black ?
And how do I set the mode to glass?
@@TheJaminator128 click on taskbar, then at the top it will say 'Taskbar look Opaque, Transparent, Glass Click on glass. and there you go! :)
missed opportunity to call it “Seven-Eleven”
I can see why windows 9 wasn't released
@@Woodshoe Because The Suspicious Lack Of Towers.
@@Woodshoe you need help
@@iaincoll okay
That is so convenient 😂!
Actually, it was Windows 8 when Microsoft removed Aero Glass and made Windows ugly and flat. Because the code was removed, it is difficult to duplicate in Windows 10 and 11. Attempts to do so don't make it look as good as Windows 7. There was an aero glass program for Windows 10, but it's been discontinued
Yeah, I saw that in my research for this video.
Unfortunately, me and many others are still trying to forget that Windows 8 was a thing. 😂🤣
@@CyberCPU
I heard what you said about making Windows 11 look like Windows 3.1... If you can make that happen and show us how to do that with Program Groups and so on... and in a functional way similar to Windows 3.1, that would be simply AMAZING!!!
Also, I did find a File Manager for free that was very reminiscent of the old Win3.1x file manager but for "modern" windows... "Free Commander XE" I forget where it was at, but it was something like "fosshub" or something. It was definitely "Free Open Source Software" site, though. It doesn't look exactly like it, but it's reminiscent of it.
Just thought I'd throw that out there since you mentioned it.
I've been loving your vids since I subbed your channel a few weeks ago. I can't wait to start implementing several of your projects like turning 10 and 11 into Windows 7 look-alikes!
@@CyberCPU
I think Microsoft themselves are trying to forget that Windows 8 was a thing!
@@redfonzie21 I may do the Windows 3.1 for fun. It wouldn't be very useless.
The code for Aero Glass was technically still in Windows 8, it was just disabled (iirc the same could be said for the Windows 7 Start menu). I think you could enable it through registry tweaks but I may be remembering wrong, otherwise third party programs like Bigmuscle's "Aero glass for win8" would hack and enable it. Microsoft finally completely removed the code when Windows 8.1 came around.
Really useful, thank you. Effectively being forced into Windows 11 (need more powerful laptop and they don't have Win 7 drivers), so this will make things feel more natural and intuitive.
I just wish that Microsoft would humour us and simply have an option to "Make Cosmetically Like windows 7 /8 /10 / 11" - so folks could quickly and easily select their default "feel". Crazy thting is, not only would it be easy for them, but it may have encouraged MILLIONS more people to upgrade the operating system - if they felt they would not have to learn yet another whim of Microsoft.
yeah u are right something like samsung has their themes app but just do it on windows it cant be hard for microsoft to do it. Also i am sure that boomers would love it :D
@@Riz4real I'm actually building something like this.
I have been making windows 10 look and act like windows7. I did that since 8.1 was end of life which I made it look and act like windows 7 as well. I do not want to go to windows 11 do to this. Thanks for giving me hope.
How did you do that??
Glad it helped.
@@Buckeyebob Mostly by start 8 and the products there which became start 10 and now they have start 11. Microsoft made that company rich by going against what folks like me wanted in an OS. Which is to run the programs I want to run and the OS to stay in the background and not be a rat.
Classic Shell software
@@Buckeyebob
@@ardithconley2628 What's the difference between Start11 and that Open Shell free program shown in this video that helps make the start menu function more like in Windows 7?
you got things wrong, Vista was first to have Aero Glass and Windows 8 removed Aero
8 had some aero in the taskbar
Thanks for this and I will certainly be using parts of it to get back the Windows look and feel I grew used to.
But this all leaves me thinking, if so many people still prefer Windows 7, why hasn't Microsoft gotten in on this? It's the perfect thing for them. Force newer versions of Windows on everyone and then they could get more of your money offering a Windows 7 Theme Add on Service Pack. If they really wanted to take it to the limit, they could ovcer it as a subscription to charge you every month to keep your Windows looking and feeling like Windows 7! Hell, why not also offer an upgeade that has Themes for Windows 98, Windows XP, and Windows 7? The money grabbing opportunities are plentiful!
7:33 press ctrl , shift , esc to bring up task manager. It's much quicker to bring up task manager
Good tip.
just Ctrl-Esc for the start menu if you've got an old keyboard without the Windows key is also useful.
Thanks! I personally love the look of the Windows 7 start menu + icon mixed with the Windows 10 style taskbar. Also the slightly rounded corners are exactly what I was looking for. This is amazing!
Nicely done! Getting a transparent taskbar alone is a plus for me, I hate that win11 doesn't even let you even use small icons or shrink the taksbar down a few pixels. But getting it transparent, that alone is a win for me.
You can shrink and use small icons with explore patcher
@@ddsunused that's good, but will we have to do Microsoft's job for them, namely restoring features they decide to remove for no good reason?
I am SO happy to find this. I really want to get a good AeroGlass effect in my Windows 10. I haven't switched to 11, I'm gonna hold off on that for a long while, maybe forever.
This is the operating system I used as a kid. I did this to bring back some amazing after school memories. Thank you.
What a bunch of work you must have done. Well done 😀😀😀
As always a well documented video from you Rich. I Was not self a Windows 7 user because I had Windows XP. When end of XP support in 2014 I bought a upgrade licens to Windows 8 Pro, so Windows 7 Pro have just been used to the pc I'm having now, to upgrade it to Windows 8 and after that up to 10. My installation is still the one from 2015, just upgraded to the builds that came after that.
Windows 7 is the only version I deliberately bought the pro edition, because it was more interactive and productive with it's desktop tools (widgets).
What an awesome guide, thanks for your efforts! I personally don't like seeing the little gear icon in the system tray and I always hide it in the Explorer Patcher properties. To do that, right click on an empty space on the taskbar and select Properties➡System tray➡Control Center Button❌ & restart File Explorer. There are also some other settings you can change in the System tray tab to make it even more like Windows 7. Hope this helps someone!
Excellent tutorial! I've hated the change away from window 7 from the start and grudgingly accepted windows 10 but windows 11 was the straw that broke my back. I spent an hour today on this and the only feature I couldn't emulate was the semi transparent texture 8.1 system tray....but blue is Ok too. Thanks. Edited to add: The issue with the system tray was the image I had chosen for my desktop background....once that image was changed the taskbar performed as I had hoped.
Thank you for this video, that win 7 taskbar is so much better as its effectively extra space. Aside from also looking cool.
An additional part of my reply as I think you deserve it, I have seen many youtube videos over the years where the pacing is poor, things get over explained and so forth, but you nailed the pacing, I was kept engaged through out the whole video, and your editing as well for the zoom in out of your screen is very good work. Constant uninterrupted, you are a very good presenter and I am now subbed to your channel, will check out your other videos as well, thank you.
For me, the best option for menu and taskbar is "startisback". You can adjust start symbol, start menu and taskbar individually, between win 7, win 8 and 10/11. And it is 5 bucks.
StarAllBack is needed for Win11. StartIsBack is incompatible.
May Allah (S.W.T.) guide you and bestow upon you His Blessings; Ameen.
@@NazmusLabs I am using StartAllBack.
You can use a windows 7 msstyles made for 10 to change the look of the caption buttons. Some windows 10 msstyles still work if they are made above 1607, since 11/10 still uses the same theming engine from 1607, which is why some themes made for 11 work on 10, and themes made on 10 1607 work on 11. Tried this and i guarrantee you, it works.
@akali1586
Great information. Thank you.
Nice mods! The Win 7 interface was the best so far but killing the aero glass effect was a really dumb decision. I don't understand why it was not re-introduced in Win 11 because the user can disable the effect if it's too heavy for their hardware and use the boring flat interface, but all PC's and laptops nowadays can easily handle the extra memory and processor load.
12:16 That is AWESOME that Start Menu looks just like Windows 7
I have Win7 Ultimate with all the updates installed in VMware Workstation and when I miss it, its there for me😂Thanks for the video tho, great content. Cheers!!!👏👏👍👍
Thanks for the video, I'm certainly going to use it as a reference. Big propz to the guys who create the themes, the theme patchers and the tweakers as well.
Did something similar a few years back with my Windows 8.1 installation to make it look like Vista, which I thought was a dreadful OS but a damn goodlooking one with the right tweaks. Really didn't like the 8.1 start menu or the window style, those flat windows, window control buttons and basic colours looked like they'd been designed by a 5-year-old. Used Classic Start Menu for the start menu and taskbar, found an "Eye Of HAL9000" png for the start button. Had to try a few theme patchers and Vista Aero themes before I found a combination that worked but ended up with the whole Vista black glass Aero thing going on, including rounded window corners, the red close window button and the translucent 3D effect taskbar. It was a couple of days faffing about and a few naughty words were involved here and there, but it was well worth it and I like it. I'm still using it. Some newer programs still give me the horrible flat windows but they're few and far between.
Prior to that I had a W7 netbook on which I put a very convincing MacOS Snow Leopard theme without too much trouble. Don't laugh, I think Snow Leopard is rather pretty. Maybe when I've got a spare couple of days, enough beer & cigarettes, and I'm up for the fight I'll try to Snow Leopard my W10 laptop again. The first attempt on that didn't go well...
Tidbit: To set background, just right click picture and choose " set background" from context menu. That is a little shorter path than going through the personalize menu.
I'm a little late but thanks so much! Such a nostalgia blast!
Excellent, ive been using classic shell in windows 10 everytime.
For those that don't want the color blue (or any color) on the start menu go for low opacity on skin -> glass color intensity.
That's what I like better personally.
Very interesting mods! It's a bit involved, but in the end, it looks pretty convincing. I've wanted to do the same thing with Win 10, since Win 7 was by far, my favorite Windows OS for multiple reasons.😉 I'm avoiding 11 like the plague, since there are so many background data collection programs. Even if you get rid of them, they have a nasty habit of returning whenever you run updates.😡
Windows 10 is the same in regards to telemetry. I don't believe there's a huge difference between data collection between Windows 10 and 11.
I've been looking into linux myself, I am just tired of my PC becoming slower and slower, I have an older computer motherboard and parts yes, but if it ain't broke then don't fix it. When I heard about windows 11 and their requirements, I was absolutely fed up and still am. The requirements are ridiculous and will cause a bunch of e-waste. I will just install linux instead, I am just waiting for games to get more capabilities with linux and once it happens, I am switching fully. Don't need unwanted telemetry, I'll lose my copy of microsoft office but I don't care. I just want a computer that works as it's supposed to.
@@BrennanWest85 Just an FYI, Linux does support the Steam platform now. I run several machines with Linux (Linux-Mint in particular), and you'd be hard pressed to find any commercial OS that can do what it does and not even break a sweat!😉
@@BrennanWest85 I'm not using Microsoft Office anymore. I have Libre Office and that is fine for most users. It don't have a mail program, but that can Thunderbird help you with 🙂
@@danw1955yes it supports steam. The platform. Thats also the only thing it does. Most good games still are incompatible with linux.
Thanks, Answered the it's not just a start menu (startallback) one in the beginning.
Glad I could help
I use the icon pack for windows 7 made by windows8.12013 or whatever, and it worked perfectly
nice Windows11 UI mod!....I'm going to make sure to come back here when I'm forced to use Windows 11. On 3 of my recent computers, I've been turning down the free update from windows 10 to Win 11, thinking I'd lose support of various old software or hardware drivers I still use & have installed. But yeah, the User interface of windows 11 was the other aggravation to get around. thanks for the helpful video.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us I loved Windows 7 alot.❤, Also can you please in the next video show how to make windows 11 look like Windows 8.1? Thanks.
That's blasphemy. 😂🤣
Not very many people liked Windows 8. I remember when it came out and the most popular job I would have back then was loading Windows 7 on those computers. 🤷♂️
@@CyberCPU Agree I converted a few back to windows 7 as customers of mine deemed windows 8.1 unusable and still wasn't happy with just the start menu mod with classic shell🤣🤣
@@CyberCPU Classic shell was the first program I installaed when I upgraded to Windows 8 from Xp.
Thank you so much. Yes I tried the trial of Windows Blinds, I got a bit frustrated with it. I was having some trouble getting it to give me the look I wanted. I love those task bar and start menu customizations. From this video I am a little less scared to move to Windows 11. Still gonna hold out for a while though.
22:19 I think there might be. I remember during the XP/Vista days there were many theme packed programs that automatically changed the icons of the OS which even changed the icons of the tools within the control panel as well as the system tray. One of these was Longhorn Inspirat for Windows XP. However it seems that ever since Windows 8, MS has made it harder for third parties applications to apply theme/icon packages on the system and making Windows harder to customize with every single realize.
A note on the Windows 11 background. You changed the desktop background to look like Windows 7 BUT I went one step further and use my own custom background using a picture. BUT I kept getting a random desktop background showing up which would go away when I clicked on the desktop. I did not want this, I just wanted my picture as the desktop background all the time. I discovered why this was happening. I had to make windows themes the same image as my desktop background to keep the same image on the desktop.
I hope this helps other people who might have the same problem.
One problem that I noticed about Windows 11 that I hate is when I am in a game on the internet or using a program I use to get to the desktop but that does not work in Windows 11 and it is very annoying. Can I change this to act like Windows 7?
Another annoying thing was the split screen changing all the time because of my mouse actions but I was able shut that off in settings. Now I need to stop a window on the desktop from jumping to full screen sometimes when I move my mouse.
I use alt tab in Windows 7. Will that work on your system?
I must correct you on 2 things:
1) Windows 7 had more rounded corners
2) it's possible obtain AERO BASIC for make it more actual; it's free and requires 2 programs: BasicThemer2 and UltraUXThemePatcher.
By the rest the video was great
nerd
@@Flowers-lu4no whoever says it is
At the time I'm watching this (April 9, 2024), there are 3.9K thumbs up for this video. That tells me there are a lot of people that are not happy with Windows 11 and came here for a solution, and there are likely many more people who feel the same but will never see this video. Why can't Microsoft respect the wishes of their customers and make this conversion available in a simple easy way?
Seems like a good idea since i love the look of the os
frutiger aero is love
frutiger aero is life
I don't know, is their any proof that you are a windows 7 fan?
@@Derpingtonshere was looking for a comment like this😂
Microsoft is nuts to have abandoned their old UI. Thanks so much for this tutorial. I didn't bother with the icons but everything else is just (chef's kiss) perfect.
The latest (beta version) of the free Open Shell program is 4.4.189, which includes several fixes vs. the version 4.4.170 used in your video. The "real" Windows 7 can be installed and run on up-to-date 2023 hardware. Although, if using the official Microsoft Win7 installation medium, will require initially using a PS/2 mouse until the USB port driver can get installed.
Note: for Win7 to be able to boot to desktop will probably require the bios setting: CSM=enabled, although the "UEFI Mode" bios setting & "GPT disc format" should function ok. Use Rufus & the official MS free download of Win7 to create the USB installation medium. The USB port works okay during the installation phase, but during final setup the USB driver is absent, so that only a PS/2 mouse will work natively.
Windows 7 has been out of support for years.
ruclips.net/video/FWoLW8bXPcA/видео.html
@@CyberCPU Microsoft has actually continued monthly update support for Win7 "embedded" versions, such as point-of-sale, medical, industrial, etc. Which updates can also be applied to normal desktop machines, "if you know where to look".
@@RVail623 That requires software piracy. You need an account with Microsoft to get those updates and it's pretty expensive.
Watching this video just convinces me more that I shouldn't get rid of Windows 7. MS would make a ton of profits if they just updated Windows 7 to be a modern version that can run updated hardware and software.
Thanks for the effort and all the research you did , in "Look Like Windows 7"
It's amazing that while Windows has flattened its OS down over time, Linux has gone the opposite direction with desktop manager designs like those found in Garuda Dr4goniz3d Edition etc.
thank you so much for taking the time to do this!!
Disabling the dumb old windows 11 context menu is the first thing I do on a new system.
This so cool I used too love windows 7 I really miss it
thanks for the great video
You're welcome!
So awesome that U Show exactly how to do these things, plus u are verry good on explaining, which make things 90 times easier to get ! So thanks so much again Rich your awesome !!!
what really bothers me is that on the right side the lines of the taskbar and the show desktop button are overlapping.
Windows 7 was the baby. I just installed it on an older machine, it wasn't easy but I got it to work great. Anyone who wishes to use the awesome Windows 7 3D icons on 10/11, just find a copy of W7 imageres.dll ...rename it slightly so it doesn't conflict with the current system version of it, drop it into the Windows System 32 folder. Now just update your icons to that .dll instead of the original one that is looked at by default.
This + the windows 11 debloat script makes windows 11 my favorite OS Ive used so far. Its colorful but super clean. I love it!
Not sure if I'm doing anything wrong or not, or if it's just because the setup has been updated in the last three months, but the .NET thingy will not pop up when I press yes to download it. It's probably just me, but I would need some help with that. Not trying to be rude about this, but I was able to install your windows 11 to windows 10 setup.
People are getting tired of this cold and uninviting themes companies are choosing.
mine already done ;), however the Aero glass came originally with Vista, i love Windows 7 but honestly i think Windows Vista looked better
Once Vista was fixed, it was actually a really good OS and had an undeserved poor reputation.
When you say this is buggy, is it just getting everything working is buggy and once it's done it will work without issues or in sometime will i have to troubleshoot it and fix later down the line?
Awesome guide BTW
@CyberCPU Tech,
Great video. Thank you. Customization is a whole and worthy rabbit whole of it's very own. You may want to let your viewers know about using programs such as Rainmeter and RocketDock to completely change the desktop look and feel, often in more individualistic and artistic ways. Of course this is completely contrary to the forced unanimity that Microsoft pushes and hence all the more interesting and rewarding as a result. Thanks for the videos and keep up the great work.
as much as i love 7 im used to 11 and really just want the aero glass looks
Excellent video. Thanks for your hard work.
Cool. Why didn’t you use Retrotaskbar??
Ps:But can you turn of that irritating oscilloscope?
I didn't have time to watch the whole video, but I have a question. With the extra programs being downloaded and running, does that affect performance?
To achieve the whole visual transformation it will add processes. Some of the apps required to modify the OS appearance have to run at startup. It`s probably not a big effect but they`re still running in the background.
I don’t even care if it doesn’t look exactly like aero glass, since trying to do that would be pretty much impossible unlike in windows 8.1, yes, 10 has the same issue
This is really informative and you are very good at presentation👍
It looks almost exactly like Windows 7. So cool. I would really think it was Windows 7.
I still remember my first time seeing windows 7(never saw or used vista before that). Aero just looked so freaking cool. I will never understand the rationale for completely removing it
Bit of a noob question, but will Windows updates effect the visual changes in any way?
Build updates might but regular updates shouldn't.
However, when you run Windows update you can run into problems with explorer patcher. It's a known issue that will hopefully be resolved soon. However, after you run update sometimes the taskbar will fail to load. In those cases you have to reinstall explorer patcher to make it work. It's a hassle but that's what you get sometimes with free and open source software.
Just saved your video to watch later. Windows 7 look is the best. laptop is win7 and pc is 10 pro but will probably change it, Thanks.😀
Awesome video! Two questions:
1) How much of a resource tax comes with these mods?
2) With the Aero glass, my favorite feature was the cascading scroll using Win + Tab. Is that an option?
Excellent question
the resource usage is barely anything. in my case open shell uses 200kb of ram, and explorer patcher uses 2 mb of ram. both uses minimal (or none) cpu usage at all, and downloading them uses around 10 mb of storage space.
@@Ormil Thanks!
I just used the default windows taskbar options to move the Start button to the left hand side. That's enough for me. OpenShell might be worth it if compatible, but 11 is not what I'd call a new OS. There has been little need to update. 12 or 13 will probably introduce the most changes with heavy reliance on what everyone doesn't want (AI)
for some reason when i try to get mica for everyone working, even after installing .NET core onto windows it still asks for me to install it
me too
u need the net 3.1 version
thanks to this video now i managed to make the taskbar use small icons in windows 11! this is huge u should make a video on that! untaped market i say, no one i searched for online changed this without messing the time and date on the right!! using regedit explorer patcher is the way!
Many thanks 1 I have W10 running with Classic Shell - but isn’t it crazy how we have to go to these lengths to get an OS to behave like the user-friendly Seven?
Glad to see a tutorial without WindowBlinds! Good job!
This is way better than TranslucentTB, I'll make sure the creators receive a good cup of coffee endowment
This is awesome, thank you so much! Yes, Windows 7 was the best looking and best running version of Windows.
I work in IT as well, but I have used your videos for both help and learning, thank you so much!
Is it possible to make Windows 10 look like Windows 11? I know sounds crazy, but someone has asked me to do it.
They asked me to make Windows 10 look like Windows 11, basically they have two logins and they want one login to look like Windows 10 and the other to look like Windows 11. They don't want to upgrade to Windows 11, so thus the reason they want to make it look like Windows 11 for one login.
I exported/imported the Windows 11 Themes and managed to get some of the Icons, but I am not finding anything for start menu and the remaining icons. Is this something you might consider making a video on, or at-least replying with some pointers?
Thanks again,
To be honest, I hadn't considered it. Windows 11 is so close to Windows 10 functionally that I would just install Windows 11. I don't currently know of any Windows 11 start menu clones.
Most people want to go back, not forward.
startallback could also be used for the startmenu, start icon, taskbar and mica effect
This is very interesting. I have been wondering if because Win 7 is not supported by MS anymore, will we be able to tell AI soon to update our copy of Windows 7 so that it comes with all the benefits of Windows 11, while still retaining the functionality and appearance of Windows 7. I have been running Windows 7 on my PC for more than 10 years. It has never crashed. It is the most useful, stable, and functional OS I ever had. It took me 2 hours to load Win 11 on a new build because Windows made it complicated. They also try and force you to sign in and sign up for things some people just don't want. IMO when you buy an OS you buy it to use freely, with no strings attached.
Same here. Win7, 10 years, loaded and LOCKED. ZERO problems. Since this is my main work PC, I got a new monster machine, installed Win 11, but MS has TOTALLY FCKED the GUI.
I have checked all of the options and if Start 11 doesn't work properly I'll just go to Win10. Taskbar icons with no letters are just on BIG NO. Other programs: one is from Russia, other runs code in registry which can break the PC, one not supported, etc. In short: I will use MORE time to fix the BROKEN OS, than install all the stuff I need for work.
Well done, MS, well done. IF I were to meet the genius coding this abomination, he would be visiting his dentist for a long time.
It's really funny how MS is able to RAPE their customers unpunished for so long.
You are right. They screwed the pooch with Windows 11.@@panan7777
Actually it was Vista that introduced Aero Glass and Transparency.
How taxing is this on system resources?
Transparency is going to take about 5-10% from CPU I guess, but once I installed transparent windows I didn't notice any difference.
You know what I miss Windows 11
The shortcut to folders in the taskbar for example music folders
great work! between this and msmg toolkit, i might consider switching to windows 11
That was pretty good! Good job. I've FINALLY migrated from Win7 to 11 and the one thing I hate is the large screen elements. Since Win7, Windows OSs have been made primarily for tablets. I guess they say "screw the desktop people because we're too cheap to make dedicated OSs each for phones, tablets and PCs like Apple". Screen elements are HUGE on a large monitor. Take the Settings for instance which consists of these huge 1" x 10" rectangles while using a 20-30 pixel cursor? . LOL. But your videos are great. You have clear and concise delivery.
I wish there was a way to blur the taskbar as well, since that was a thing. Unfortunately, the Openshell glass option no longer works.
I happen to have issues with the openshell window. The border within the window isn't transparent after I followed the instructions. How do I fix it?
Do you use Browser Extensions? NVM. Also I would like too see both Open Shell and Start AllBack used to combined Open Shell with Start AllBack Open Shell for the start menu while Start AllBack is used make the taskbar less flat and the icons bigger simaliar to Windows 7 and 8.1 and also make the Taskbar Tabs less flat you know when you have an opened program on the taskbar.
Brilliant, I appreciate all your hard work doing this. I just went from win7 to win 11 and I don't like it. Now I can change it to look like 7, thanks.
A nice challenge, to make windows 11 look like windows longhorn with the jade theme
I did this and now my full screen mode has a hairline crack all the way around. I made a restore point before everything, I wonder if it’s worth it. It looks so good and love it
I followed the instructions and have two problems. Or is it three? First, the blue color change in Open Shell Menu, Task Bar only appears with a flash when the Task Bar restarts. Second, the "gray" colored texture appears on the left and right, then splits diagonally on the left and right with the background appearing through. Third, only the Start Menu (Windows) icon and the Programs icon appears in the left window. Only when I hover the mouse over the Programs icon doe it populate. But when I move the cursor away, they disappear from the left column/window. Otherwise, I like the tweaks, although I was getting used to the Win 11 "features". Oh, btw, I have Win 11 Pro.
Mica for everyone aeroglass won't work (late september) other than that great video though
i loved Windows 7 Not just for aero it had a nostalgic browser
Internet explorer was the only thing that I didn't like because it was mega slow...
At 3:22 and exactly, how did we evolve backwards.
Windows 7 was the best os.
Now what would be nice is to remove settings and replace it with control panel
idk if there is a fix to this but anytime i play a game that isnt in fullscreen mode it just turns my screen full grey , for example if i had a game in windowed borderless it is all solid grey untill i make the game fullscreen
Thank you my brotha, You are my life saver, I watch all your videos COOL
This was very good and perhaps it is just me but trying to keep up with how fast you are dictating what to do and what changes to make can be tiresome and frustrating at times. I don't want to be "That Guy" but it took me some back and forth with the video to get it going.
Again, thanks, much appreciated because I never liked the look and feel of Windows 8 or 10 or 11. Win7 was always my favorite and I am still reeling about it lol.
10:26 I have an issue where when I click the start button, the settings menu shows up in a little icon in the taskbar and I can't click it. It's just stuck there and I have no clue how to fix it.
i love this lol might eventually do this on my laptop (once i get more storage lol) also yes, that´s me, the guy who´s old PC just wouldn´t work with Windows 10 lol i´ve got a Windows 11 gaming laptop now, it´s amazing (apart from only having 512GBs of storage of course which feels like a crime BUT at least i can put in a second SSD or HDD so that makes up for it, miss the DVD drive laptops used to have but i´ve got like 5 USB ports on this thing so i can easily plug an external one in, overall it´s amazing finally being able to play games and stuff on the highest settings the game allows, it´s REALLY nice
what gaming laptop did you get that has that many USB ports? I couldn't find any with more than 4 when I was shopping for a new computer last year!
@@CMRenda Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6
@@jakedrake3660 Thank you.
So if you have an update every time does it stick or do you have to wait for the programs you used to download get an update and re download it just to make it work on that current update?
New subscriber. Thank you man from bottom of my heart. Microsoft could have made a good program, i have a bad feeling they made windows such a mess then people wouldn't find what is under the machine