Love the speed and security of Windows 8, but miss the transparent look of Windows 7? Or maybe the blues and greens of Windows XP5 Reasons Why You Love Windows XP & What You Sacrifice5 Reasons Why You Love Windows XP & What You SacrificeNearly 30% of computers are still running Windows XP. It was a stable and reliable system for years, but all good things come to an end. Almost no good reasons to keep using Windows XP..Read More?
Here’s how to make Windows 8, or even 8.1, look like your favourite version of Windows from the past.
1. Get a Start Menu
First things first: if you want an experience that’s anything like the Windows 7/XP you remember, you’re going to want a Start menu. Nothing makes your system feel less like a classic version of Windows than the modern (aka Metro) Start screen.
Jul 17, 2014 Download Windows 7 Themes For Windows 8.1 Step 1: Add third-party themes support to Windows 8.1 by installing either UXStyle Core. Step 2: Download one of the above mentioned themes and install it by following. Step 3: Next, download and install Aero Glass for Windows 8.1 software to. Windows 7 theme for Windows 8.1. Then need to copy all the files included in the downloaded zip to the Themes folder. If you’re on Windows 8.1 and missing Windows 7 Aero powered theme, this is the perfect theme. We advise you create a system restore point before installing third-party visual styles in Windows. Sep 13, 2019 Personalize your Windows 10 device with a wide variety of new, great looking themes from the Microsoft Store. Get more themes A theme is a combination of desktop background pictures, window colors, and sounds.
I recommend Classic Shell which, as I’ve noted before, offers you a variety of classic Start menusMake Windows 8 Suck Less With Classic ShellMake Windows 8 Suck Less With Classic ShellMake Windows 8 usable for people who think it's not. Add a start menu to the desktop and tweak the way Explorer and Internet Explorer behave, all thanks to a piece of software called Classic..Read More. You’ll recognize the three main options:
You can choose themes for your menu, and use custom images as your Start button. As you’ll see below, this makes it really easy to get a Start menu that blends perfectly with the look and feel of Windows versions past.
Oh, and with Classic Shell installed, Windows will boot straight to the desktop. You can just about ignore the Start screen completely.
If you’ve been paying attention to the features in the upcoming Windows 10Will Windows 10 Make Productive People Even More Productive?Will Windows 10 Make Productive People Even More Productive?It's official, the new Windows will be a perfect 10. Why Windows 10? Because Windows 7 8 (ate) 9. And here is what you will find inside the Technical Preview.Read More, you know Microsoft is bringing back the Start menu. That’s a year away, though, so for now if you want a Start menu you need to add your own. There other ways to get a Windows 8 Start menu2015!? No Way Microsoft! How to Get Your Windows 8.1 Start Menu Now2015!? No Way Microsoft! How to Get Your Windows 8.1 Start Menu NowWindows 8 won't get a native Start Menu after all. But why wait on Microsoft? Here's how you can help yourself with third party tools like Classic Shell or Start8 and other workarounds.Read More, but for retro-skinning purposes I recommend Classic Shell.
2. Enable Custom Themes
Got Classic Shell installed? Good. Now let’s set up your computer so that it can use custom Windows themesMake Windows 8 Sexier With These Background & Theme TweaksMake Windows 8 Sexier With These Background & Theme TweaksDoes your Windows 8 system look too bland with the default settings? You can customize it in a variety of ways, changing a variety of backgrounds and colors -- whether on the Start screen, lock..Read More.
There are two main programs out there for the job: UXStyle and UXThemePatcher. Both patch Windows 8 so that you can use custom themes – something Microsoft disables by default. I personally had better luck with UXThemePatcher, but your milage may vary.
Once you’ve patched Windows, you’ll need to restart your computer. Then we’ll get to the fun part.
3. Install Custom ThemesUpdate Windows 7 To 8.1
Once everything is patched, installing themes will be as easy as dragging them into the C:WindowsResourcesThemes folder on your computer.
Once you’ve installed a theme, right-click your desktop and click “Personalize”. If you’ve patched everything properly, and installed extra themes, you should see new options. Just click an option to use it – it’s that easy.
Now that you know how to install and use themes, let’s check out some of your options.
Make 8 Look Like 7Vista Theme For Windows 8
If you want that Windows 7 look, check out Windows Aero by xxinightxxcreative. With this you’ll barely notice you’re not using Windows 7:
Set this up with a Windows 7 custom start button, then set Classic Shell just right, and it’s hard to tell which OS you’re using.
It’s the closest thing to the Windows 7 look you’re going to find.
Make 8 Look Like XP
More than a few of our readers were upset when Microsoft announced the end of support for Windows XPIt's The End Of Days For Windows XP - Microsoft Will Send Pop-up RemindersIt's The End Of Days For Windows XP - Microsoft Will Send Pop-up RemindersIt's the end of the line for Windows XP. Microsoft is planning to use pop-up warnings to remind users to upgrade and it could start as soon as next week.Read More. Most simply didn’t want to install a new system, but a few miss the green and blue look of that operating system.
If you’re one of them, I recommend checking out Royal VS, which brings back that classic look.
Grab the proper Start button for Classic Shell and you’ve got a pretty convincing XP setup.
Like Classic Mode
Of course, back in the days of XP, many users turned off the green and blue theme in favour of Classic Mode. If you want that back, the Windows Clasic Theme is a close approximation of what you’re looking for.
It’s not perfect, but it is simple. Combine it with the proper Start button and you can just about party like it’s 1999.
Which Windows Look Will You Use?
So there you have it: how to make Windows 8 look like Windows 7 or XP. Part of me wishes Microsoft would offer this option by default, but I suppose they want more control over the look and feel of their product – and to give it a modern feel. Not so long ago we also showed you how to make Windows 7 look like Windows XPHow To Make Windows 7 Look Like Windows XPHow To Make Windows 7 Look Like Windows XPSome people have a hard time letting go of Windows XP. If you know someone like that, follow this tutorial and they won't even know you upgraded them to Windows 7.Read More, and now we can do the same thing with Windows 8. Windows is pretty flexible, thanks to third party tools – we hope this never changes.
Be sure to check out other features missing in Windows 8, and how to get them back8 Features Missing in Windows 8 and How to Get Them Back8 Features Missing in Windows 8 and How to Get Them BackMicrosoft removed a variety of features from Windows 8. Many of them aren't great losses to most people, but they are if you depended on them. Luckily, Windows 8 isn't yet a locked-down mobile operating..Read More. Installing a theme is just the beginning.
Oh, and let me know: which Windows theme are you using? Did you find a nicer one than those outlined above? Let’s talk retro skinning in the comments below.
Explore more about: Start Menu, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows XP.
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PC users who have upgraded to Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have been complaining about the lack of Start menu, Explorer toolbar, and Aero glass theme (visual style) ever since the release of Windows 8. Microsoft has restored only the Start button in Windows 8.1 update, and end users who aren’t satisfied with the default look and feel of Windows 8/8.1 have no option but to relay on third-party utilities to get Windows 7’s look in Windows 8/8.1.
In one of our earlier posts titled how to make Windows 8.1 look like Windows 7 we discussed about workarounds to get Windows 7-style look and feel in Windows 8.1. Installing a Windows 7-style visual style (popularly known as theme) is one of the easiest ways to transform your Windows 8.1 into Windows 7.
If you’re looking for a perfect Windows 7-style theme for your Windows 8.1, then your search should end here. Windows enthusiast over at the DeviantArt have released a couple of Windows 7-style themes for Windows 8.1. We are sharing the best two themes in this article.
7Mix for Windows 8/8.1 is a beautiful Windows 7 theme ported to Windows 8/8.1 with a couple of changes. As you can see, the designer of the theme has replaced the default navigation buttons and caption buttons with custom ones.
Windows 7 Aero Theme For Windows 8.1 Download
8Plus is another Windows 7 aero theme for Windows 8.1. It includes navigation buttons extracted from Windows 8 Release Preview (RP) build and is certainly one of the best theme you can install in Windows 8.1 to get Windows 7 look.
As some of you may know, one can’t get the Windows 7 look by just installing a visual style. You need to enable the Aero and also disable the Ribbon in the Explorer to get Windows 7 look. If you want to make your Windows 8.1 desktop just like the one in the above screenshot, follow the given below instructions:
Step 1: Add third-party themes support to Windows 8.1 by installing either UXStyle Core or UXTheme Patcher software. Note that UxStyle Core for Windows 8.1 is temporarily unavailable as of writing this guide.
Step 2: Download one of the above mentioned themes and install it by following the simple instructions provided in the theme file.
Step 3: Next, download and install Aero Glass for Windows 8.1 software to enable Aero in Windows 8.1.
Windows 7 Classic Theme For Windows 8.1
Step 4: If you want to get Windows 7-style Start menu in Windows 8.1, you need to install a Start menu programs. There are a couple of good Start menu programs. Install Classic Shell, Start Menu8, ViStart, StartIsBack+ (paid), or Start8 (paid).
Windows 7 Theme For Windows 8.1 DownloadWindows 7 Theme For Windows 8/8.1/10
Step 5: Finally, disable the Explorer Ribbon by following our how to disable ribbon in Windows 8/8.1 Explorer guide. That’s it!
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