how to make windows 8 look and act like windows 7

SpiritX MS MVP

I also have been a user of all past windows products. I agree with MartinGoens in that Microsoft is forcing a new approach to using windows. If I had a touchpad then maybe windows 8 would be welcome. I also have a laptop DV& Media center. I resent that Microsoft will no longer accept e-mails that are POP3 accounts, I do not like the new look and feel when using a non-touchpad. I am not a fan of windows 8 as I have had my laptop since January, it now has been 4 months and I still do not feel comfortable using windows 8. I also do not like the idea of passing the buck to someone else. WHY NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION PRESENTED??? It would seem that the MS "experts" also do not know these answers. I also wish for my windows 7 and will most likely be installing windows 7 in place of my windows 8. Perhaps my next laptop will have to be an APPLE as they seem to care about the customer and they do answer the questions when presented. NOT A FAN OF WINDOWS8 AT ALL.

Like many commenters on this site, I too felt that Microsoft could have added the new features available for Windows 8, but still leave a configuration option to make the Desktop appear (and behave) like Windows 7. I found an application that's free called “Classic Shell”. I installed this software and found it to be quite customizable. I still have the Win 8 Start screen with all of the apps and attributes that this new version has to offer, but now have a Desktop that works just like Win 7. The best part – it’s free! There is an option to donate, which I will do, but it’s optional. This is true freeware.

I found this software from “The Computer Tutor” while reading an article on this exact subject (http://computertutorflorida.com/2013/02/make-windows-8-look-like-windows-7-or-windows-xp/). You can get Classic Shell by going to http://www.classicshell.net/.

"Click the Desktop tile on your Start screen. That's the "Windows 7 interface"."

After trying Windows 8 for a couple of months I decided to unistall and go back to Wiondows 7.

There were so many things I needed to be able to do that vanished in 8.  Just because you can see a desktop does not mean you still had access to all the tools that used to be there.

Control panel was gone, access to msconfig vanished, notepad no longer existed and many others just went bye-bye for no reason I can see.  Add to that the insanity of using a touch screen format for computers that did not have a touch screen was the icing on the cake.

I recommend anyone who is using a non-touch screen machine would be well suited to stay with 7.

Tablets will probably be the only platform able to use this OS best.

I fixed the problem... I bought a new windows7 OS, whiped the hard drive clean and loaded it on. Problem solved!

I would have gladly sent the computer back that had the Windows 8 on it, but I spent too much time trying to figure the OS out and over stepped the warranty by 2 days.

Hi,

I'm not happy with the new Metro\Modern UI either. However, I found an app that returns most all, if not all of Win 7's and previous features...

I'm actually surprised that I didn't see it mentioned in any of the other replies..unless I missed it.

StarDock has an App called Start 8 that simply gets the job done without any BS...

It returns the start button, All Programs, and etc., as well as booting directly to the Desktop if desired.

It's a whole $5, and has a 30 free trial...This is precisely what Microsoft should have made available..

Then they would be getting applauded instead of criticized...