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We purchased a new laptop for our 73 year old father who was just getting used to Win XP. He has asked if there is any way to make the interface look and work like XP? So my question is: is there any way to make the interface look and work like XP?
Brian
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
If you want that same classic mode (the gray toolbars and such), that does exist in Windows 7. Just right-click your desktop, choose Personalize, then scroll down and click "Windows Classic".
If this solves your issue, click the 'Propose as Answer' link below, and vote as helpful by clicking the green triangle to the lelft. Thanks!
For the most part it already does, because it was built from Windows XP. For example, all windows still have the familiar _ and X buttons to minimize and close them. You can also change the taskbar to show the words rather than just icons, or make other changes as you need. While there's no "XP button", changes like this can get close.
If you are simply wanting the visual style to look like XP without changing any function, you can use a skinning program such as WindowBlinds by StarDock.
If this solves your issue, click the 'Propose as Answer' link below, and vote as helpful by clicking the green triangle to the lelft. Thanks!
I feel things getting a little tense in here...
Shawn B Keene....Thank you I also had the same question and my father with appreciate your solution!
There is a whole cottage industry developing to provide hacks and utilities to make Win 7 work and look like XP
Get classic shell (open source, sourceforge), it will make the taskbar, explorer and the start button work like XP.
Go online to how to geek and there are all sorts of tutorials to change the desktop, file manager, folders etc. to look and work like XP.
Go to thoosje (?) these people have a utility that will allow you to change the boot and login screens to look like XP and much more, you can have almost any look you want.
You can get the alt tab functionality back, you can get the "up" button back and many other things, you just have to rummage around on the Internet using creative queries to unearth the changes you want.
I guess there are many users that don't like the new GUI, I can understand why they just want to get their work done and all this re-modeling is getting in the way of the work.
I hope this helps, yes there is a way to get what you want even though Microsoft has made it hard. I am also looking into using autohotkey (a free scripting utility) to add other things. But, programming and scripting may not be your thing.
I think the issue is the lost functionality - for example the lack of a functioning Start Menu. In all previous versions, the user could add desired programs and removed unneeded items.
Another example, you can't press the left arrow - backup key to back up a step when browsing files and folders- you never get to your list of drives.
Another example is this website where there is a Yes button to click if the answer is helpful but no "No" button.
Why would you take away the My Computer explorer icon and puposely make it difficult for us to find our files or know where they are stored?
Imagine if your banker pulled that on you? "Don't worry we know where your money is and we'll make sure it is safe but we can't tell you what bank (drive) we put it in."
We don't want the cloud shoved down our throat.
