Windows 11/10 is arguably one of the significant improvements over the previous Windows 7. Being the latest version, Windows 11/10 has seen a lot of significant improvements in security, performance, and efficiency. It certainly has lots of new features like Cortana, Universal apps, Classic Start Menu, and many more. However, Windows 7 remains popular among most Windows users and is one of the favorite platforms despite the steady growth of the new version.
While it is possible to make Windows 10 look like Windows 7 to a large extent, the same cannot be said for Windows 11. To see which of these apply to Windows 11 too.
Make Windows 11/10 look like Windows 7
To make Windows 11/10 look and feel like Windows 7, you will have to do the following:
- Change the Windows 11/10 Start Menu to look like Windows 7
- Make Windows 11/10 Explorer look like Windows 7 Explorer
- Customize the color scheme of Windows Title Bars to look like Windows 7
- Remove Cortana Box & Task View from the Taskbar
- Turn Off the Action Center
- Switch to local account instead of Microsoft Account
- Add shortcut to Classic Personalization Windows for quick access
- Change the Desktop Background & Icons to Windows 7.
If you are an admirer of this decade-old Windows 7 platform and looking out to have a Windows 7 like interface on your latest Windows 11/10 platform, then you are on the right place. Without any doubt, it is always wise to install the latest version of Windows to have a secured platform and have the benefit of more features with improved efficiency. Windows 7 remains popular even now for its aesthetics, and if you still miss Windows 7, you can have the best of both the worlds by making your Windows 10 look like Windows 7 without sacrificing the useful features of Windows 11/10.
While there is no direct method to switch back to the Windows 7 interface, you can use third-party software and tweak settings to make your Windows 11/10 platform appear and act like Windows 7. In this article, we step you through a variety of tips and tricks to make your Windows 10 look like Windows 7.
1] Change the Windows 11/10 Start Menu to look like Windows 7
If your fan favorite of Windows 7 design, then you will like its classic Start menu. You can convert the Windows 11/10 Start Menu to look like Windows 7 using a free tool called classic Shell tool. Follow the below steps to use this tool to modify your Windows 11/10 Start Menu.
Download and install Open Shell. We now suggest Open Shell, because the development of Classic Shell has been stopped. The last stable version of Classic Shell is available for download on classicshell.net.
Launch Classic Shell. Click the Start Menu Style tab and choose the Windows 7 Style from the options.
Now go back to the Classic Shell menu and choose the option Custom at the bottom of the window.
Click Pick image and select the downloaded Windows 7 start orb.
Navigate to the Skin tab and choose the option Windows Aero from the Skin drop-down menu.
Click OK to apply the new settings.
TIP: Development of Classic Shell has stopped. You may use Classic Start now rebranded as Open Shell.
2] Make Windows 11/10 Explorer look like Windows 7 Explorer
If you like the Windows 7 ‘s File Explorer over the current File Explorer, you can use the software called OldNewExplorer that will make your Windows 11/10 Explorer to Windows 7 Explorer.
3] Customize the color scheme of Windows Title Bars to look like Windows 7
The Windows Title Bar is White by default. You can customize the colors of the Title bar to resemble Windows 7 using inbuilt settings.
- Open Settings and navigate to Personalization.
- Click Colors option from the menu and pick the Windows colors that closely resemble Windows 7.
- Select the box for Title bars to display the accent colors on the Windows Title Bars.
4] Remove Cortana Box & Task View from the Taskbar
Windows 10 has a search box integrated with the Cortana. If you want to have Windows 7 like interface, you can remove the Cortana from the taskbar using the inbuilt settings.
Right-click anywhere on the surface of Taskbar. From the menu, deselect the Show Task View.
Tap Cortana from the menu and select the option Hidden from the submenu.
In Windows 11, it is called Desktops. If you want to hide this option from the Taskbar, you need to right-click on it and select the Hide from taskbar option.
5] Turn Off the Action Center
Action center is an option available in Windows 10 which helps to keep a tab on all the notifications. You can disable the Action center using inbuilt settings.
Open Settings and navigate to System.
Click Notification & Actions from the menu and Toggle the switch to off on the slider to disable the Action Center.
For your information, Windows 11 doesn’t have an Action Center. In other words, you do not need to enable or disable anything to get rid of Action Center when you use Windows 11.
6] Switch to local account instead of Microsoft Account
In Windows 7, you logged into your computer with your local account unlike Windows 10 which asks you for Microsoft account by default. You can use the local account to login into Windows 11/10 by using the inbuilt settings.
7] Add shortcut to Classic Personalization Windows for quick access
You can enable the Personalization window from Windows 7 and add a shortcut to the desktop for easy access to the classic personalization window in Windows 10.
Right-click on the desktop and select New from the menu. Choose Folder from the submenu to create a new Folder.
Name the folder as Personalization.{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921}. The new folder automatically changes to the Personalization icon.
Click on the icon to access the classic Personalization window directly from the desktop.
8] Change the Desktop Background & Icons to Windows 7
You can change the desktop background to the Windows 7 wallpaper to make your Windows 11/10 appear like Windows 7. Simply download the Windows 7 wallpaper for desktop and set it as your desktop background. Try the free icon packs from here to make your Windows 10 computer resemble Windows 7.
How do I make Windows 11/10 look like classic?
You need to edit or change several things to make Windows 11/10 look like classic Windows 7. From the Start Menu or File Explorer, you can need to work on everything to make the latest version of Windows look like Windows 7.
Can you make Windows 11/10 Start menu look like Windows 7?
Yes, you can make the Windows 11/10 Start menu look like Windows 7’s Start menu. For that, you need to download and use the Open Shell program, which is a freeware and compatible with both platforms. However, if you are using Windows 11 and want to make it look like Windows 10, you need to edit the Start_ShowClassicMode REG_DWORD value in Registry Editor.
Your Windows 10 should now look like Windows 7!
